How to watch Sony Open in Hawaii, Round 1: Featured Groups, live scores, tee times, TV times

FedExCup points leader Bryson DeChambeau headlines the 30-man field that will determine the season champion, as the FedExCup Playoffs once again wrap at Atlanta’s historic East Lake Golf Club. Justin Rose, Tony Finau, Dustin Johnson and defending champion Justin Thomas round out the five players who can lay claim to the $10 million end-of-season bonus simply by winning the TOUR Championship. For everyone else, a little – or a lot – of assistance is required. FIELD NOTES Tiger Woods returns to postseason finale for the first time since 2013, when Henrik Stenson’s victory at East Lake allowed him to leapfrog Woods to the top of the standings. Woods will begin this week at No. 20. … Phil Mickelson is set for his 20th TOUR Championship start, extending his own record. He’ll also become the first man to reach 45 FedExCup Playoffs starts. … Jordan Spieth wound up 31st in FedExCup points, one below the cutoff. … Aaron Wise, winner of the AT&T Byron Nelson in May, is the only rookie to reach the final playoff stop this season. FEDEXCUP Winner receives 2,000 points. STORYLINES DeChambeau, who won both The Northern Trust and Dell Technologies Championship to start the Playoffs, seeks to become the first since Woods in 2009 to win from the No. 1 seed entering East Lake. If not, he’ll join McIlroy (2012) and Jason Day (2015) to win two of the first three Playoffs events but not the big prize. … The annual East Lake points reset gives everyone a mathematical shot at taking the crown. For No. 30 Patton Kizzire to win, though, DeChambeau would have to place in the bottom two at East Lake. … No. 5 Thomas, No. 9 Billy Horschel and No. 17 McIlroy have a chance to join Woods as the only two-time winner of the FedExCup crown. … Woods also can become the FedExCup’s first three-time winner, though he’ll need a win at East Lake, DeChambeau to finish no better than a share of 15th and other help. … BMW Championship winner Keegan Bradley stands No. 6, joining McIlroy (2016) as the only men to win one of the first three Playoffs stops but still needing help at East Lake to win the overall title. COURSE East Lake Golf Club, 7,385 yards, par 70. A Tom Bendelow design when it opened in 1908 as the Atlanta Athletic Club’s original home, the course got an overhaul just five years later by Donald Ross. It’s best known as the place where Bobby Jones learned the game, shooting 80 by age 11 and later stamping his name in history by completing the 1930 Grand Slam. East Lake welcomed the 1950 U.S. Women’s Amateur and 1963 Ryder Cup before a decaying neighborhood sent members moving to the northern suburbs. The AAC itself followed in 1967, leaving East Lake in the hands of 25 members opposed to the move. The club managed to hold on for a quarter-century before a 1993 project was launched to restore the club as a tribute to Jones. The TOUR Championship came to East Lake for the first time in 1998, becoming the annual host in 2004. For those visiting the Atlanta area, must-play courses include Bear’s Best Atlanta (Suwanee, Ga.), the Fazio Course at Barnsley Resort (Adairsville, Ga.) and Heritage Golf Links (Tucker, Ga.). Explore your options at TeeOff.com. 72-HOLE RECORD 257, Tiger Woods (2007). 18-HOLE RECORD 60, Zach Johnson (3rd round, 2007). LAST YEAR The TOUR Championship saw just its third split ceremony of the FedExCup era, with Thomas taking the $10 million season prize despite rookie Xander Schauffele winning the tournament. Thomas finished second on the leaderboard, carding birdies on two of his final three holes to finish off a 4-under 66. But that left him one stroke behind Schauffele, whose 68 was good enough to become the first rookie to win the season finale. It was his second win of the season, joining his win at the Military Tribute at The Greenbrier triumph in June. Thomas’ runner-up placement made him an easy winner of the points race, finishing 660 points ahead of No. 2 Jordan Spieth. East Lake’s closing ceremony had not crowned two winners since 2009, when Mickelson captured the tournament but Woods walked away with top FedExCup spoils. HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 1-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 12:30-2:30 p.m. (GC), 2:30-6:30 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, noon-1:30 p.m. (GC), 1:30-6 p.m. (NBC). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. (featured groups), 1-6 p.m. (featured holes). Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (featured holes). Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (featured holes). RADIO: Thursday-Friday, noon-6 p.m.; Saturday, 1-6:30 p.m.; Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Rory McIlroy will have an MRI on Monday when he returns to Northern Ireland after completing THE PLAYERS Championship. McIlroy has been dealing with back pain this week while competing on THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. He is expected to make the cut after shooting 73-71 in the first two rounds. “It’s obviously not 100 percent, but it’s good enough to get myself around here for the next couple of days,” McIlroy said about his back. He said the pain is coming from the same area as the stress fracture in his ribs that sidelined him for the start of the year. “If that injury was an 8 or a 9 in terms of pain and soreness and stiffness, this is around a 4 or 5,” he said. “It might just be a flare-up of what happened previously and I just need to rest for a few days and it might be OK. Hopefully that’s what it shows in the scan next week.” The pain he’s feeling this week feels like muscular discomfort instead of pain in a bone or joint, he said. McIlroy suffered a stress fracture in his ribs while testing golf equipment during the offseason. The injury sidelined him from mid-January until March. McIlroy, who announced this week that he has signed an equipment endorsement deal with TaylorMade, said his current discomfort may have been caused by a rapid return to practice after taking time off for his wedding. “I took three weeks off and then I went back at it again on Friday and instead of maybe gradually building it up again, I hit balls for four or five hours on Friday and did the same on Saturday,” said McIlroy, who got married on April 22. “I felt a bit of stiffness on Sunday, hit a couple of drives that didn’t quite feel right. Maybe I should have just taken it a bit easier over the weekend, but I was excited to get back, excited to play again.” McIlroy, who ranks 48th in the FedExCup, has finished in the top 12 in the past four PLAYERS. This is his first start since finishing seventh at the Masters.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. – Australia’s Adam Scott had impressive command from tee to green, hitting nine of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens in regulation on the way to a 3-under 69. The 2013 Masters champion’s day might have been even better but for the fact that he took 30 putts. Scott was tied with South Africa’s Justin Harding and Spain’s Jon Rahm with several players still out on the course during the first round of the 83rd Masters Tournament. “Yeah, look, it’s a great start on a kind of tricky day,â€� Scott said. “Even though it wasn’t windy, I just felt it was very hard to get it near any of the pins through the first seven holes, whether I was just slightly out of position or the pins were just tough.â€� Scott, a 13-time TOUR winner, was one of a handful of Presidents Cup hopefuls who enjoyed a solid start, also including Harding, Corey Conners (70), Cameron Smith (70) and 2012 Masters runner-up Louis Oosthuizen (71). Scott, 38, hasn’t won on TOUR since 2016, but finished second at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in January. He hasn’t teed up since finishing T12 at THE PLAYERS last month.    “Generally in my career I’m kind of a slow starter,â€� said Scott, who opened with 75s in each of the last two Masters, and 76 in 2016. “Certainly the last 10 years, I don’t jump out of the gates, it seems. So, I don’t know if this is jumping out of the gates, but it certainly is great.â€� Scott started slow again Thursday. He was 1 over through seven holes but birdied the eighth, ninth, 15th, 17th and 18th. His bogeys came at the par-4 seventh and the par-3 12th holes. “I’ve talked a lot about kind of being at peace with the golf course,â€� he said, “and understanding it can give you a lot. It can take it away as well, but certainly I feel like there’s a lot of good karma if you treat it right out there. … A lot of past champions have a great rapport with this golf course and I think I kind of get that feeling too, so it does give you a little pump.â€� Harding off to strong start in Masters debut Justin Harding was playing the Valero Texas Open last week when he asked fellow South African Ernie Els for advice on how to play Augusta National. Preparing for his first career start in the Masters Tournament at age 33, Harding figured there was no one better to ask about it than Els, the 2019 Presidents Cup captain, who amassed six top-10 finishes, including two runner-up finishes, in 23 starts. Els proffered some advice on where to aim and where not to miss, adding that he’d never hit it in the water at the tricky, par-3 12th hole. RELATED: How Tiger’s Thursday went | Tiger accepts Ben Hogan Award | Nicklaus, Player kick off Masters | Day injures back, receives treatment on course “I said, ‘Thanks a lot, you just jinxed me,’â€� Harding said with a laugh after shooting a 3-under 69 in his first-ever round, good enough to take the early first-round lead despite a bogey at 18. Harding made par at the 12th, and if anything could only fault his play on the four par-5s, which he played in just 1 under par. Otherwise, nothing much bothered the late-bloomer, who uses a long putter and is mostly unknown to American fans. He was 422nd in the world a year ago, but his maiden European Tour win in Qatar earlier this season, plus a T2 the next week and three other top-10 finishes, pushed him all the way to 49th and punched his ticket to Augusta. “It’s more about, I guess, how I’m handling myself out on the golf course,â€� Harding said after hitting 10 of 14 fairways, and only 10 greens in regulation but taking just 25 putts. “Not really getting too worked up, no longer going through the highs and lows of emotions.â€� Also, he added, now that he’s started playing well, he can’t seem to stop. “Golf is purely momentum-based,â€� Harding said. “If you take enough confidence into the rounds then you’re bound to play well just pretty much need to get out of your own way.â€� Harding has worked his way up to seventh in the International Presidents Cup standings, meaning he could be playing for Captain Els at Royal Melbourne in December. “It’s in the back of my mind,â€� he said, “but way in the back.â€� Conners rides momentum after win In other news with Presidents Cup implications, Canada’s Corey Conners, who won last week’s Valero Texas Open to get to 10th on the International list, opened the Masters with a 2-under 70. The round was 10 shots better than his Masters debut in 2015, when he went 80-69 to miss the cut. He was first off the tee at 8:30 a.m., and watched Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player hit the ceremonial first tee shots. He also accepted congratulations from Nicklaus on his first PGA TOUR win. “That felt pretty special,â€� Conners said. “Never thought in a million years that Jack Nicklaus would know who I am and it just felt pretty cool.â€� Weir shoots best round in five years It’s been a rough stretch for Canada’s Mike Weir, 48, the 2003 Masters winner and eight-time PGA TOUR winner who has been trying to fight his way back on the Web.com Tour. After going 3 over for his first seven holes, Thursday looked like more of the same, but Weir, who has a new coach (Mark Blackburn) turned it around with three birdies to card an even-par 72. It was his best round since a second-round 72 in 2014, the last year he made the cut here. “All in all, very happy,â€� said Weir, who will serve as one of Els’ assistants at the Presidents Cup in December. “Hit the ball great. I’ve got to sharpen up the putting a little bit.â€� Weir took 31 putts.

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