$15 million prize, simplified scoring system and regular-season rewards highlight changes to the 2019 FedEx Cup

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SOUTHPORT, England — Two great bunker shots by Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka — one for par, one for eagle — led to a 5-under 65 for each of them in the opening round of The Open. Koepka, with no competition and very little golf since winning the U.S. Open last month, was in a pot bunker short of the green on the par-5 17th when he blasted out and watched it roll into the cup for an eagle that allowed him to share the lead with Spieth among the early starters Thursday at Royal Birkdale. Spieth had a bogey-free round, and it required great bunker shots even by his standards to keep it that way. His shot out of the rough barely rolled into a pot bunker to the right of the 16th green, leaving the ball on a slight slope near the back edge. “This is dangerous,” he said to his caddie. He aimed to the right of the hole to avoid it going off the green on the other side and into another bunker, and it came off perfectly about 10 feet away. “That was awesome,” were his next words to his caddie. He made the par putt — Spieth made a lot of putts on Thursday — picked up a two-putt birdie on the 17th and narrowly missed a 7-foot birdie putt on the last. It was Spieth’s best start in a major since he opened with a 66 at the Masters a year ago. “I couldn’t have done much better today,” he said. Royal Birkdale was much more kind than it was nine years ago in raging wind and rain. The 146th Open began in cool temperatures, a light rain and a strong wind. Mark O’Meara, a winner at Royal Birkdale in 1998 who is playing in his last British Open, hit the opening tee shot. And then he hit another one. O’Meara’s first shot was lost in the gorse, he made a quadruple-bogey 8 and was on his way to an 81. But it wasn’t long before the wind off the Irish Sea pushed along the rain clouds and led to sunshine in the afternoon. The wind remained strong. The scores were largely good. Koepka and Spieth led the way, with Ian Poulter, Justin Thomas and Richard Bland in at 67. It was a businesslike day in more ways than one for Thomas, who wore a tie loosely draped around his neck and a cardigan sweater. He wasn’t all about making a fashion statement. Thomas, who shot a 63 in the third round of the U.S. Open, made eagle on the 17th hole to hang around the early leaders. Hideki Matsuyama was among those at 68. Koepka didn’t seem to miss a beat from his four-shot victory at Erin Hills, even if he barely touched a club. He stuck to a planned trip to Las Vegas after winning his first major, and he spent two weeks out West. When he finally got back to Florida, he played golf only one time, with manager Blake Smith at Hambric Sports, and lost to him (though he gave him 13 shots). Koepka considers himself the consummate gamer, though. He was itching to get back to competition, and after arriving last weekend at Royal Birkdale to learn the course, he proved to be a quick study. “It feels back in the routine now,” Koepka said. Whether he and Spieth had the lead depended on the late starts, particularly Matt Kuchar, who made the turn at 5-under 29. Kuchar was the U.S. Amateur champion when he played Royal Birkdale in 1998, still not even sure he was going to turn pro. Now he’s on the short list of best players to have never won a major. And the way the majors have gone the last few years, maybe this is his time. Koepka was the seventh straight first-time winner of a major.

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Built as a hybrid between a roster and one-and-done formats, PGA TOUR Captain’s Pick is a stand-alone fantasy game for the Presidents Cup, the four-day competition at Liberty National on Sept. 28-Oct. 1. It’s open for registration now – just click here. If you were already signed up to play any of the incumbent games, simply toggle over to the page dedicated to the newest offering. The rules (found in the upper right) spell out everything you need to know, but this primer will assist you in making decisions for the Captain’s Pick, which is unique. It requires an approach at game play not experienced in the other platforms. FORMAT & SETUP The beauty of the game is in its simplicity, but just as staying on top of your team is critical, timing and luck are also inherent to success. This means that even if you have just basic knowledge of how the Presidents Cup is organized, you’ll have just as much of a puncher’s chance to prevail as hardcore gamers. You’ll start by selecting the team you expect to win. “Scoring and Prizes” below addresses this value, but it’s important to understand that you’ll be selecting golfers only from the team you select. After deciding on the squad, it’s time to build the daily order in which you want your charges to count. Start by selecting three players for Day 1, and then save that lineup. Repeat the process for Days 2, 3 and 4 until all 12 are selected. Finally, you’ll set your tiebreaker. Select a value from zero to 30 for how many of the matches you think will go exactly 18 holes. Once your tiebreaker is saved, you can begin rearranging your team. Daily deadlines fall with the first tee time of the session (or the first session on Day 3). Once it does, the three golfers you’ve selected for that day will be locked in and unavailable to you for the remainder of the competition, even if they don’t play on the day you’ve chosen for them. SCORING & PRIZES Gamers who pick the winning team are awarded five points. Golfers collect points per match, including those who play in both on Day 3. Those who win their match yield one point plus the equivalent of the holes up at the conclusion of the match. This applies to both golfers on the winning side of Four-ball and Foursomes. Halves are worth one-half of one point for all golfers in a match. In 11 editions of the Presidents Cup, there’s never been a conceded match due to injury or illness, but Captain’s Pick is prepared for the contingency. In addition to one point for winning a qualifying conceded match, the winner will receive one point for every hole not played, with a maximum bonus of five points for the holes up when the match is conceded. At the conclusion of the tournament, the gamer with the most points wins. First prize is a set of Titleist 716 AP1 irons. The runner-up will receive a Titleist 917 driver. Third place nets a Scotty Cameron putter. TIEBREAKER If there is more than one fantasy team that totals the most points, a tiebreaker will determine final position. You can modify your tiebreaker until the deadline on Day 1 falls. Going back four editions, 11 of 34 matches in both 2009 and 2011 went exactly 18 holes. In 2013, 15 of 34 matches went the distance. The U.S. won each competition overall by five, four and three points, respectively. The Presidents Cup’s format was reduced to 30 matches in 2015 and half of them went exactly 18 holes. The U.S. squeaked out the victory, 15-1/2 to 14-1/2. STRATEGY There are three components to building a competitive team, and it helps to think of the format of the Presidents Cup in reverse order of the sessions. Since all 12 golfers on both teams will compete in singles on Sunday, all gamers are guaranteed a full lineup. And because it’s the last session, your team will be comprised of your last three available, naturally. Consider this as insurance at the beginning of the competition, but just as you took a fluid approach in PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO during the FedExCup Playoffs, remain flexible throughout the Presidents Cup.   Day 3 will pose the greatest challenge because there are two sessions of four matches each. Because the deadline for the day will fall with the first tee time of the first session and the matches for the second session aren’t announced until the first session is underway, it’s possible that one of your selections will not play at all on Day 3. See, after you’ve burned three golfers each in Days 1 and 2, it’s possible that all of your first six will be scheduled to play in the first session on Day 3, which means that you’re guaranteed just two of the eight actively participating.   In 2015, all 12 members on the U.S. squad competed at least once on Day 3, but just nine of the Internationals were in play. Captain Nick Price has returned this year, so it’s feasible he’ll take the same course of action even though he’ll be reacting to the competition in real time. However, if you’re going to choose the International squad, your objective should be to save three of the strongest members for Day 3. The following seven Internationals laced it up in both sessions on Day 3 two years ago: Hideki Matsuyama, Jason Day, Adam Scott, Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen, Branden Grace and Sangmoon Bae. Only Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed, J.B. Holmes and Bubba Watson represented the U.S. in both sessions on the same day. Your decision to select the Internationals to win should hinge on what you’re going to do on Day 3. Even if the U.S. wins the Presidents Cup and shuts you out of five points, bonus points for holes up at the conclusion of matches will cover for it and then some in some cases. Having two cracks at it in one day increases potential player impact from 25 percent (one of four days) to 40 percent (two of five sessions). Just like any golf tournament, you can’t win early, but you can lose it with misguided and anxious thinking. While a 6-and-5 victory in Four-ball on Days 1 or 2 would be more valuable than, say, a pair of 1-up wins on Day 3, you’d need that unlikely scenario to play out to validate the decision not to hope for golfers who will get two starts on Day 3. In preparation for this, consider rostering one or two of your weakest options at some point on Days 1 and/or 2. This will keep you in the game for a potentially game-changing Day 3. And who knows, you just might catch lightning in a bottle in the meantime.   PHILOSOPHIES Qualifying for team competitions requires long stretches of terrific form and usually a PGA TOUR victory along the way. This is to say that discerning between the best and next-best options in your lineup is as relative as it gets in fantasy golf. It’s akin to debating which golfer you want to take in a first round of a draft. Yet, the embarrassment of riches is most definitely affected by the captain’s thirst for team victory. Thus Price’s beefed-up lineups on Day 3 in 2015. Another element that can go overshadowed by the host country’s domination throughout the history of the competition is that it’s still match play. Toss in the variable that 60 percent of the matches involve two-man teams and you can slide into overthinking quicker than you can say, “Pick it up.” These unpredictable realities are constants, but it doesn’t mean that we are entirely at their mercy when constructing lineups. Do it smartly to put yourself in position to get lucky. RECAPS & PREVIEWS This primer is just the beginning. I will be writing daily reports based on the results, golfers’ form, matches for the following day and everything else that matters in your quest to win The Captain’s Pick. So, if you haven’t already bookmarked PGATOUR.COM/Fantasy, please do so.  

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