Tiger on historic Masters cut: ‘I have a chance’

The PGA TOUR announced today the four featured groupings for Thursday-Friday at The Genesis Invitational, to be contested at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. Full groupings and starting times for the first two rounds of The Genesis Invitational will be released officially at approximately 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday, February 11.  RELATED: Preview: The Genesis Invitaional HOW TO FOLLOW (ALL TIMES ET) Television: Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-2:45 p.m. (Golf Channel). Saturday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, 3 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (CBS).   PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 9:45 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, 11:15 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (Featured Groups and Featured Holes) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, 1 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). FEATURED GROUPS (ALL TIMES ET) Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas, Steve Stricker • Returning to the site of his PGA TOUR debut in 1992, tournament host Woods makes his second attempt at a record-breaking 83rd PGA TOUR win; The Genesis Invitational is the PGA TOUR event Woods has made the most starts without a win (13). • The FedExCup leader and a two-time winner this season, Thomas led the 2019 Genesis Invitational by four strokes entering the final round before falling to J.B. Holmes. • Stricker, winner of the 2010 Genesis Invitational, will make his 500th career start on the PGA TOUR. J.B. Holmes, Jon Rahm, Justin Rose • Defending champion Holmes won his fifth career PGA TOUR title at The Genesis Invitational in 2019 and enters the week with three consecutive top-20s. • Rahm has finished in the top 10 in each of his three starts during the 2019-20 season (10th/Sentry Tournament of Champions, 2nd/Farmers Insurance Open, T9/Waste Management Phoenix Open). • A 10-time PGA TOUR winner, Rose is making his first start at The Genesis Invitational since 2017 (T4). Patrick Cantlay, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy • Cantlay, who played collegiately at nearby UCLA, has two top-fives in 2019-20 (P2/Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, 4th/Sentry Tournament of Champions). • In 12 starts at The Genesis Invitational, Johnson has one win (2017) and seven additional top-10s. • The defending FedExCup champion and top-ranked player in the Official World Golf Ranking, McIlroy is making his fourth start at Riviera Country Club in search of his second victory of the season (World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions). Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson • Koepka, who won three times last season, is making his first start on TOUR since withdrawing from THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES due to injury. • With a third-place result at last week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Mickelson became the third player in PGA TOUR history with at least one top-10 in 30 consecutive seasons on TOUR. • Three-time Genesis Invitational winner Watson has finished in the top 10 in each of his last two starts, accomplishing the feat for the first time since winning the 2018 World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play and a tie for fifth at the 2018 Masters Tournament.

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FITZPATRICK EARNS MAIDEN U.S. WIN IN MAJOR WAY Matt Fitzpatrick said he felt like he had a monkey on his back. The 27-year-old from England had never won on the PGA TOUR, though he had seven wins on the DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour) and has played in the Ryder Cup. Something felt different coming into this week, however. The U.S. Open was at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, and that’s where he won the U.S. Amateur in 2013. So with his comfort level and confidence at all-time highs, Fitzpatrick pulled out a dramatic major victory with a one-shot win over Will Zalatoris and FedExCup leader Scottie Scheffler. “No words,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s what you grow up dreaming of. It’s something I’ve worked so hard for and for such a long time. There was a big monkey on my back trying to win over here and all they ever talked about was that. And now to do it as a major for my first win, there’s nothing better.” His signature shot came on the 72nd hole. He hit 3-wood off the tee, but pulled it left into a fairway bunker. From 156 yards, he blistered an iron onto the green and two-putted from 18 feet for par. “It’s one of the best shots I’ve ever hit,” Fitzpatrick said. “There’s no doubt about it.” When Zalatoris’ birdie try barely missed from 15 feet, Fitzpatrick was a major champion. Fitzpatrick earned $3.15 million and 600 FedExCup points to move up to No. 10 in the FedExCup standings. TRAVELING TO TPC RIVER HIGHLANDS Five of the top seven in the FedExCup standings are scheduled to tee it up at the Travelers Championship, led by No.1 Scottie Scheffler. Sam Burns, ranked second in the FedExCup, is also set to compete. Others making their way to Connecticut include 2022 PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas, last season’s FedExCup champion Patrick Cantlay and RBC Canadian Open winner Rory McIlroy, who is playing his fourth week in a row on TOUR. Jordan Spieth, who won the 2017 Travelers in incredible fashion, will also make the short trip from The Country Club. Harris English returns to defend his title, which he won in an eight-hole playoff over Kramer Hickok, after recovering from hip surgery. TPC River Highlands is one of the TOUR’s shortest courses and tends to yield low scores, but it still presents a tricky challenge to the game’s best. This marks the 70th anniversary of the Travelers Championship. The key stretch comes as competitors traverse Nos. 15-17, where a four-acre lake comes into play. The winner will receive 500 FedExCup points. VIDEO OF THE WEEK Matt Fitzpatrick shot a 2-under 68 in the fourth round of the U.S. Open to finish at 6 under and claim his first major title. MIC CHECK “I had so much patience today. I said to (caddie) Billy (Foster) if I could hit 18 greens today, I’d like to think I have a good chance.” – U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick, who hit a remarkable 17 of 18 greens on Sunday. BY THE NUMBERS 2 – Men who have won a U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open at the same site. They are Jack Nicklaus (Pebble Beach: 1961, 1972) and Matt Fitzpatrick (The Country Club: 2013, 2022). 58 – Jim Furyk’s score at TPC River Highlands during the 2016 Travelers Championship. It still stands as the lowest round in PGA TOUR history. 5 – Norman Xiong’s winning margin in the Korn Ferry Tour’s Wichita Open Benefitting KU Wichita Pediatrics after Monday qualifying for the event. COMCAST BUSINESS TOUR TOP 10 The Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 highlights and rewards the extraordinary level of play required to earn a spot in the TOP 10 at the conclusion of the FedExCup Regular Season as determined by the FedExCup standings. The competition recognizes and awards the most elite in golf.

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“The Clambake” returns to its full glory in 2022 as it welcomes back amateur players and Monterrey Peninsula Country Club to the three course rotation. RELATED: Five Things to Know: Pebble Beach Golf Links | The First Look Pebble Beach serves as the host course as it has every year since 1947. Last year was the first since 2009 that Monterrey Peninsula Country Club was NOT included in competition. A field of 156 will be cut to the top 60 and ties after 54 holes. All will play each course once and the top 25 Pro-Am teams qualify for the final round at Pebble Beach. Because of the Pro-Am, the setup won’t have slick greens, deep rough or demanding pin positions a la the US Open’s held at Pebble. The last 10 winners have ranked in the Top 10 GIR and the last seven winners have ranked T2 or better in Par-4 Scoring. On the greens, five of the last six winners have ranked in the Top 5 in Birdie or Better Percentage. Official Scorecard Yardages – 2022: Pebble Beach – 6,972 yards, Par 72 Spyglass Hill – 7,041 yards, Par 72 Monterrey Peninsula Country Club – 6,957 yards, Par 71 Let’s find some horses for courses! Horses for Courses Odds sourced on Tuesday, February 1 at 3 p.m. ET. For live odds visit betmgm. Recent Event Winner Stats *Stats for Strokes-Gained are from Pebble Beach ONLY* Extra Credit (players entered this week only) 2021 Winner Daniel Berger played Pebble Beach 13-under and had FOUR eagles for the week; career event scoring average 68.33. … Local Maverick McNealy (2nd) T7 Fairways, T3 GIR. … Patrick Cantlay (T3) tied Pebble course record (62) in Round 1 and is trending here with T3-T11-T35-T48 in last four visits. … Jordan Spieth (T3) led after 36 and 54 holes. … Nate Lashley (T5) played Pebble 14-under. … Jason Day (T7) joined McNealy as only two players to post all four rounds in the 60s and has now cashed 8 of 9 T11 or BETTER. … Charley Hoffman (T7) T7 GIR. … Russell Knox (T7) co-led the field GIR and has cashed T28 or better in his five paydays. … Cameron Tringale (T7) has cashed in seven of his last eight with 2021 being the best. … Kevin Streelman (T13) picked up his sixth straight T17 or better. 2020 Nick Taylor became second player to go wire-to-wire this century. … Kevin Streelman (2nd) was only player with all four rounds in the 60s. … Jason Day (4th) was T3 GIR. … Daniel Berger (T5) was 3rd in Fairways. … Thru 2021, Matt Jones (T5) has cashed eight of his last nine. … Maverick McNealy (T5) posted only BOGEY FREE round in Round 4 (68). … Charl Schwartzel (T5) hit top five on debut. … Lanto Griffin (T9) opened BOGEY FREE (67) on Spyglass Hill. … Only four rounds in the 60s on Sunday led by Jordan Spieth (T9) and his 67. … Matthew NeSmith (T11) followed up with T26 last year in his first two appearances. 2019 Scott Stallings (3rd) cashed T7 in 2018 and T14 in 2017, his best three. … Jason Day (T4) only seven bogeys. … Si Woo Kim (T4) swished 31 of 35 putts inside 10 feet on PB. … Brian Gay (T7) T8 Fairways, T2 GIR and thru 2021 has cashed in eight straight. … Kevin Streelman (T7) posted 65, co-low round of Sunday. … Lucas Glover (T7) led field in Proximity. … Scott Piercy (T10) is on run of five straight thru 2021 with 2019 being his best. … Michael Thompson (T10) closed with a bogey free 66. Notes: • Pebble Beach has the smallest greens on TOUR. • Only 4 international winners, ever, including ZERO Europeans. • Dustin Johnson is the last player to defend (2009-2010). • The last first-time winner on TOUR was DA Points (2011). • Former winners Jimmy Walker, Ted Potter, Jr., and Brandt Snedeker have all MC in their last three visits. • Snedeker holds the tournament record at 22-under (2015). • Chez Reavie was T2 2018 and T3 at the 2019 US Open here. • Troy Merritt has cashed three straight events for T8-T25-T16. • Cal alum Brandon Harkins has T16 and T28 in two visits and won The Great Abaco Classic last week on the KFT. • Justin Rose cashed T6 and T39 in two visits pre 2018 but was T3 US Open in 2019. Key stat leaders Top golfers in each statistic on the 2020-2021 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week.

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