TGL highlights: Cantlay seals win for on Hole 15, Atlanta wins 6-5

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — A memorable start that featured the previous three U.S. presidents on the first tee ended with a familiar result in the Presidents Cup. The Americans are out to another big lead in the event they haven’t lost in nearly two decades. PGA champion Justin Thomas made his professional team debut with a short day of work as he and Rickie Fowler lost only two holes in a 6-and-4 victory. Jordan Spieth holed a 35-foot putt that sent him and Patrick Reed to another victory. Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar remained unbeaten. The Americans won the opening session for the sixth straight time in the Presidents Cup and built a 3 1/2-1 1/2 lead Thursday after the opening foursomes matches. Phil Mickelson, playing in his 23rd consecutive team competition, ended the tough, wind-swept afternoon at Liberty National by missing an 8-foot par putt, or the U.S. lead would have been even greater. He and Kevin Kisner were 1 down with two holes remaining to Jason Day and Marc Leishman, so a half-point wasn’t bad. Mickelson’s only complaint was that he botched his selfie with former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, with barely his head showing. For the most part, everything else went the Americans’ way. The lone bright spot for the International team was Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace, who improved to 5-0 as a tandem. The South African duo pulled away for a 3-and-1 victory over U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka and Daniel Berger. The stars on this day didn’t hit a shot. The leader of every country where the Presidents Cup is held are invited to be honorary chairman, but this was a first — three U.S. presidents together at this event, sitting together in a box on the first tee and then posing with the trophy, the players and their wives. “I was looking forward to this Presidents Cup for a very long time, and I didn’t expect all the presidents to be there,” Charl Schwartzel of South Africa said. “Just to get to meet them was a dream come true for me. Then to hit that first tee shot with the wind pumping off the right was quite intimidating.” The Americans have a 9-1-1 lead in the series, their lone loss in 1998 at Royal Melbourne a few weeks before Christmas. Nick Price, back as International captain for the third time, was not ready to panic. The Americans opened a 4-1 lead after the opening session two years ago in South Korea, and that came down to the final match. “We always get ourselves behind a little bit in alternate shot,” Day said. “It would have been nice to be 3-2, but once again, we’re not that far behind. The American side is very, very talented and stacked. But I think our team and our boys are ready to rally behind everyone, and hopefully we can finish strong later on in the week.” Fowler holed a 70-foot pitch and Thomas followed with a 12-foot birdie, and they were never seriously challenged. Spieth and Reed improved to 6-1-2 as a tandem in the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup. They won four straight holes early in the match against International rookies Si Woo Kim and Emiliano Grillo. And when the match looked as if it had a chance to get tight, Spieth rolled in his big putt and they were on their way. Johnson and Kuchar are unbeaten in four matches together, and they had to be at their best. The gusts topped 20 mph and felt even stronger on exposed areas of Liberty National, which sits across New York Harbor from Manhattan. The par-3 10th hole was so difficult to judge the wind that Adam Scott hit a tee shot that sailed over the green into a hazard, while Spieth in the match behind him came up some 60 feet short of the hole in a bunker. Johnson and Kuchar didn’t make a single bogey, remarkable in the format and in the wind, and they still didn’t take the lead until Johnson’s tee shot on the par-3 16th with a strong wind at his back stopped 5 feet away. Scott came up short, and then missed a 6-foot par putt. Scott and Jhonattan Vegas never caught up. “In alternate shot, in these conditions, not to make a bogey and for us to just win 1 up, that’s a heck of a battle that we had with those guys,” Kuchar said. Leishman was playing with his sixth partner in his last six Presidents Cup matches. He and Day were 1 up with two holes to play when Leishman missed the fairway on the 17th hole and they made bogey. On the 18th, Mickelson went over the green in a swale, while Day came up short. Both teams made bogey for the halve. Friday features five matches of fourballs, followed by a full day of foursomes and fourballs Saturday and the decisive Sunday singles. 

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OVERVIEW Webb Simpson returned to the winner’s circle in emphatic fashion this year with a dominant performance at THE PLAYERS Championship. He won by four shots despite a double-bogey on the final hole, after the final outcome had already been decided. He led by five at the tournament’s halfway point and took a record seven-shot advantage into the final round. Simpson tied the Stadium Course’s 18-hole (63) and 54-hole (197) records and shot a record-setting 129 (66-63) over the opening 36 holes. It was his first win in 4-1/2 years. “It means everything to me. I feel like it’s my first win,â€� Simpson, 33, said. He won the 2012 U.S. Open and finished second in the 2011 FedExCup before his beloved belly putter was banned by the U.S. Golf Association. After four straight trips to East Lake, he failed to qualify for the TOUR Championship in 2015 and 2016. Winning at TPC Sawgrass was fitting because it was where, a year earlier, former PLAYERS champion Tim Clark introduced Simpson to the arm-lock method that cured Simpson’s putting woes. He ranked sixth in Strokes Gained: Putting last season en route to his best FedExCup finish since 2013. Simpson’s nine top-10s were fifth-most on TOUR in 2018. He closed the season with a flourish, finishing second at the Wyndham Championship before back-to-back top-10s at the BMW Championship (T6) and TOUR Championship (T4). Simpson’s title reign may be truncated after THE PLAYERS’ move to March, but considering the way he dominated TPC Sawgrass, it’s likely he can’t wait to return. — By Sean Martin Click here to see who else made the Top 30 list. BY THE NUMBERS FEDEXCUP UPDATE Current 2018-19 position: 24th Playoff appearances: 10 TOUR Championship appearances: 6 Best FedExCup finish: 2nd in the 2011 season SHOTLINK FUN FACT Webb Simpson ranked fourth on the PGA TOUR in putting from inside 10 feet, making 90.1 percent of all putts within that distance. INSIDER INSIGHTS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Webb Simpson in 2019. TOUR INSIDER: Six of Simpson’s nine top-10s last season came on par-70 courses. Those courses have fewer par 5s for the long hitters to feast on and many of them are classic courses like the ones he played as a kid in North Carolina. Simpson, who ranked outside the top 90 in both driving distance and driving accuracy last season, thrives on layouts where distance isn’t a prerequisite for success. Shorter courses allow him to display his strong wedge game, as well. Last season, Simpson was third on TOUR in proximity from 50-125 yards and second from 75-100. — By Sean Martin FANTASY INSIDER: Typically, when any high-level touring professional focuses so heavily on improving a specific area of his game, such as he did with his putting, other areas pay the price. However, when those other areas are already at a world-class caliber, the cost can be negligible. Always known as a preeminent ball-striker, he not only enjoyed the best season of his career on the greens in 2017-18, but the 33-year-old also recorded a seven-year high in greens in regulation. You don’t need to enroll in Strokes Gained 101 to understand the confidence that that combination yields upon arrival at every tournament. We didn’t know that this is what he’d look like entering his prime, but his current level of excellence is exactly what we expected when he crashed onto the PGA TOUR in 2009. — By Rob Bolton EQUIPMENT INSIDER: Until last year, Simpson was playing a set of Titleist 680 MB irons that he used since before the 2012 U.S. Open. That changed when Simpson finally switched into new Titleist irons — the 718 MBs — citing the blade length and similar look of the 680 irons. On the greens, Simpson goes with the not-so-classic Armlock-claw putting grip. To do so, he uses an Odyssey Tank Cruiser V-Line putter with an Odyssey Arm Lock grip. The rest of the Titleist-staffer’s bag is Titleist, aside from a TaylorMade M4 fairway. — By Andrew Tursky STYLE INSIDER: Since arriving on TOUR, Simpson has relied on classic looks and fits. He is one of the few players still sporting traditional kicks, which sync well with his apparel. Expect more of the same from the reigning PLAYERS champ in the new year. Keep an eye on how Simpson accessorizes his outfits. He typically matches his belts to his pants or shirts for a smooth transition from top to bottom. — By Greg Monteforte

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