2017 Greenbrier Classic, Round 1: Leaderboad, tee times, TV schedule

CHIBA, Japan – Tournament officials announced today that two-time major winner Collin Morikawa and former FedExCup champion Justin Rose have committed to play in the 2022 ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in Chiba, October 13-16, 2022. The duo are the latest big names to sign up for Japan’s lone PGA TOUR tournament following earlier commitments by reigning Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Xander Schauffele, Cameron Champ, Jason Day, Rickie Fowler and Tommy Fleetwood. Travis Steiner, Executive Director of the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, said: “We are delighted that Collin Morikawa and Justin Rose, who are both established stars of the game on the PGA TOUR, will compete in our tournament. Their presence will lend further credence to Japan being a major attraction for our top players and ensure another meaningful week of world-class golf for our Japanese fans to experience at Narashino.” Morikawa, 25, has emerged as one of the most exciting young talents in recent years. Since turning professional in 2019, he has won five times on the PGA TOUR including two major championships, the 2020 PGA Championship and 2021 Open Championship. He also became the first American golfer to win the DP World Tour Race to Dubai title last year. In the recently concluded 2021-22 PGA TOUR Season, the World No. 8 posted eight top-10s, including top-5 finishes at the Masters and U.S. Open, en route to a T21 finish in the FedExCup. Morikawa will be making his fourth straight appearance at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, with a T7 in 2021 being his best finish. Morikawa said: “I’ve played in every ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP since 2019 and it’s a tournament that I mark out on my calendar at the start of every year. Japan is an amazing country and the fans are incredible. The Morikawa family name goes back generations to Kumamoto, Japan, and having the opportunity to compete in a country with deep family roots is something I take great pride in. I look forward to concluding my year with some delicious Japanese food, playing on a great golf course and hopefully securing a win along the way.” Rose, a former World No. 1, is a renowned winner across the globe where he has won official tournaments on all six continents, including The Crowns Tournament on the Japan Golf Tour in 2002. He was also the gold medallist when golf made a welcome return to the Olympic Games programme in Rio in 2016. The 42-year-old Englishman holds 10 titles on the PGA TOUR, including a major triumph at the 2013 U.S. Open. Another career highlight was achieved in 2018 when he claimed the season-long prize, the FedExCup, following two victories and nine other top-10s. Rose’s best finish at the recent 2021-22 Season was a T4 at the RBC Canadian Open where he closed with a 10-under 60. His lone appearance to date at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP was at Sherwood Country Club in 2020 where he finished T17 when the tournament was moved to the U.S. due to the challenges of COVID-19. Rose, ranked 58th in the world, said: “Japan will always have a special place in my heart as one of my earliest professional wins was achieved in Nagoya back in 2002. I look forward to returning in October to compete for another title at the PGA TOUR’s lone tournament in Japan. I’ve heard nothing but great things about the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP in Japan and I look forward to experiencing it myself.” The US$11 million ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP will showcase a 78-man field which will compete over four rounds with no cut. As Japan’s only official PGA TOUR event, the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP was successfully launched at Narashino in 2019 when Tiger Woods claimed the inaugural title with a three-shot victory over Hideki Matsuyama en route to equalling Sam Snead’s record of 82 PGA TOUR victories. Patrick Cantlay was victorious in the 2020 edition at Sherwood while Matsuyama produced a popular victory when the tournament returned home to Japan last October. This year’s ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP will include the leading players from the 2021-2022 FedExCup, players designated by the Japan Golf Tour Organization, the winner of the 2022 BMW Japan Golf Tour Championship Mori Building Cup on the Japan Golf Tour and sponsor exemptions. As in previous years, part of the tournament’s proceeds will be donated to charitable causes. As a full FedExCup tournament, the winner of the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP will earn 500 FedExCup points. The event will be co-sanctioned once again with the Japan Golf Tour Organization. For more information on the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, please visit ZOZOCHAMPIONSHIP.com.

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HOUSTON – From the middle of the fairway, Roger Sloan’s mind often wandered far from his target. Instead of concentrating on his desired destination, he was worried about all the possible permutations for his next shot. He was calculating what a birdie would be worth, how many FedExCup points he would gain and what tournaments he’d earn entry into. “Sometimes I get caught up in the magnitude of the situation,” Sloan said Tuesday in his pre-tournament press conference for the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open. “It just builds the shot up too much to where it’s not a 6-iron anymore, now it’s the most crucial shot I’ve ever hit in my career.” Keeping his focus closer to the hole also meant his ball ended up there more often. It was especially helpful just a few weeks ago, in the final weeks of the 2020-21 PGA TOUR season. He closed the regular season with consecutive top-6 finishes to crack the top 125 in the FedExCup, not only earning a spot in the Playoffs but keeping his playing privileges for this season. The statistics would say that a large improvement in his ball-striking was the reason Sloan jumped from 169th in the 2020 FedExCup to 96th last season. He improved approximately 100 spots in both Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee (156th to 62nd) and Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green (166th to 67th) last season. Sloan said his improved mental approach was the real key. “I’ve always actually been a fairly good ball-striker, but I kind of get in my own way a little bit,” he said. “Getting out of my own way is really … what we’ve been able to accomplish, having a little bit of freedom and ultimately giving myself access to my skills more frequently than I have in the past.” He summoned his best when it mattered most last season. With just two weeks remaining before the FedExCup Playoffs, Sloan stood 137th in the season-long standings. The mountainous terrain at the Barracuda Championship reminded the boy from British Columbia of home, however, and it helped him to a sixth-place finish, just his fourth top-10 in 95 career starts. He was still outside the top 125 when he arrived at the Wyndham Championship, the final event of the regular season. By Sunday, Sloan wasn’t just trying to keep his card. He was trying to earn his first PGA TOUR win. “I know with five holes to go, if I make two bogeys I’m going to Boise (for the first event of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals) and if I make two birdies I have a chance to win the golf tournament,” Sloan said Tuesday. “The weight of all of that was so great that all of a sudden it just forced me to just think I can only control the next shot, and I was able to hit some really good quality shots coming in.” He birdied 16 and 17 to earn a spot in a six-man playoff for the title, which was won by Kevin Kisner. The second runner-up finish of Sloan’s career earned him his second FedExCup Playoffs berth. One of the rewards for that strong finish to last season is an opportunity to compete at Memorial Park for the first time. He played the new design, which underwent a dramatic renovation by famed architect Tom Doak, once in preparation for last year’s Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open but wasn’t able to get in the field. This week, he’ll have some of his Canadian peers over for dinner. He’ll balance his duties at home with his professional obligations. Sloan has taken to Texas and he has endeared himself to his neighbors. Last winter, he built a backyard ice rink. “I guess everyone needs a Canadian in their neighborhood when the freeze comes,” he joked. “That’s still talked about.” Sloan hadn’t been to the Lone Star State before attending college at the University of Texas-El Paso. The story of how he arrived there still makes Sloan shake his head. As a high schooler in Canada, he naively wrote letters to the biggest programs in the United States. His inquiries were met with rejection. Some older kids from his area had gone to play at UTEP, but Sloan was too afraid to write the coach. “I never wanted to write a letter because I didn’t want to get a rejection letter. I just didn’t want to have that final no,” he said. Then UTEP’s head coach, Rick Todd, unexpectedly appeared to watch Sloan’s group at a junior tournament. Except Todd was there to watch another player. Sloan quickly caught Todd’s attention, though. “It was very apparent after a few holes that he was not interested in that kid,” Sloan said. “He saw a couple shots of mine and he reached out afterwards and that’s kind of how it came to be.” He seized the opportunity, just as he did at the end of last season.

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