Everything you need to know ahead of Tiger Woods’ return to the Genesis Invitational

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NASSAU, Bahamas — Collin Morikawa chipped in for eagle and raced away from a 20-man field Saturday in the Hero World Challenge with an 8-under 64, building a five-shot lead and leaving him one round away from reaching No. 1 in the world. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Collin Morikawa could reach No. 1 in world ranking with Hero win | Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka hope to party like it’s 2019 Morikawa would stay at the top of the ranking for only a week based on the two-year rolling formula. Even so, only 24 other players have reached No. 1 since the ranking began in 1986. The guy who has stayed No. 1 the longest — Tiger Woods — watched much of it unfold from the broadcast booth and he saw a command performance. Morikawa had the first bogey-free round of the week at Albany Golf Club, only once coming close to a bogey on the back nine as his pursuers couldn’t keep up. Brooks Koepka fell back with a double bogey on the par-3 eighth hole and had two birdies the rest of the way. On this day, that allowed him to post a 69 and move into the final group. “Just keep doing what I’m doing, play good and hope for the best,” Koepka said. Morikawa was at 18-under 198 as he tries to win his second straight start. He is coming off a Sunday rally in Dubai to win the DP World Tour Championship. Not long after Morikawa finished the opening hole in the final group, a dozen or so spectators lingered behind and headed to the back of Albany’s practice range to watch someone who is not part of the 20-man field: Woods. He spent another day hitting balls, this time with a driver, fueling speculation that 10 months after his car crash that badly damaged his right leg, he might tee it up in two weeks at the PNC Championship with 12-year-old son Charlie. Tournament organizers are holding a spot in the field for him. Woods wasn’t quite ready to commit to that, and a return to the PGA TOUR remained just as uncertain as when he spoke to the media earlier in the week. “I can hit it,” he said in the NBC booth during the tournament. “It just doesn’t go very far.” Leaning on another joke, he said he’s not hitting it so short that “I can hear it land.” But he said he has a lot of work to do on his health, and playing against the best in golf remained a long way off. What he saw on the course from Morikawa must have looked familiar, not so much the power but the precision and methodical way the 24-year-old Californian carved up Albany. Also familiar was how the rest of the contenders peeled away. Bryson DeChambeau started the third round with a one-shot lead and that was gone quickly. He hit a spectator at the back of the green, a good break for him when it caromed back and rolled off a slope onto the putting surface about 15 feet. And then he three-putted for bogey. He shot 73 and now is eight shots behind. Sam Burns, who is ranked No. 2 in the FedExCup, made a big run with an eagle on the par-5 11th followed by four straight birdies to get within two shots of Morikawa. But he took bogey on the par-3 17th and finished his round with a double bogey for a 68 that left him six behind. Daniel Berger recovered from a lost ball and double bogey on the par-5 third hole by making two eagles, only to drop two shots on the last three holes, including a tee shot in the water hazard on the 18th. He had a 69, also six behind. They were joined in a tie for third with Viktor Hovland and Patrick Reed, who each had 67, and Tony Finau, who bogeyed two of his last three holes for a 70. Rory McIlroy, who began the holiday event with a share of the lead, never had a chance to get into contention after taking a quadruple-bogey 9 on the 11th hole. He had a 75. The only other round over par belonged to Jordan Spieth, playing for the first time since becoming a father. His ball moved on the 18th green and he forgot to replace it, leading to a two-shot penalty and a 75.

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The PGA TOUR and Anheuser-Busch today announced an extension of their longstanding marketing relationship that continues Michelob ULTRA’s position as the “Official Beer Sponsor of the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions” through 2024. Additionally, O’Doul’s will continue to serve as the “Official Non-Alcohol Beer of the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions.” As part of the multi-year extension, Anheuser-Busch will add Michelob ULTRA Organic Seltzer as the “Official Hard Seltzer of the PGA TOUR,” a new official category for the PGA TOUR. “We are thrilled to continue our longstanding relationship with Anheuser-Busch and look forward to celebrating 30 years of partnership in 2024,” said Brian Oliver, PGA TOUR Executive Vice President of Corporate Partnerships. “As all great partnerships do, our relationship has evolved over the years, and we share in the excitement that Michelob ULTRA is the fastest-growing beer brand in the United States. The PGA TOUR takes pride in providing the very best products for our fans, and we look forward to the addition of Michelob ULTRA Organic Seltzer with this extension to complement Michelob ULTRA and O’Doul’s.” Anheuser-Busch’s partnership with the PGA TOUR began in 1994, and Michelob ULTRA became an official sponsor of the TOUR in 2002. Michelob ULTRA will continue to have a substantial activation footprint at tournaments across the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions schedule. “Partnering with the PGA TOUR over the years has allowed Michelob ULTRA unprecedented access to engage with and provide meaningful experience to golf fans, who are core consumers of our beer,” said Ricardo Marques, Vice President of Michelob ULTRA. “Stepping into yet another new chapter with the PGA TOUR is truly exciting as fans are welcomed back and we build even greater experiences for years to come.” Michelob ULTRA will continue to advertise within PGA TOUR telecasts and across PGA TOUR social and digital channels. For more information, visit MichelobULTRA.com or follow @MichelobULTRA on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

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