2022 Gifts to Play

Round 4 of THE PLAYERS Championship begins Saturday from Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Lee Westwood leads by two with Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Thomas, Paul Casey, Jon Rahm, Sergio Garcia and more close behind. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW (All times ET) Television: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC) Every Shot Live: Live streaming of every shot hit at THE PLAYERS Championship will get underway Thursday morning from TPC Sawgrass. Nearly 100 cameras will capture roughly 31,000 strokes taken over approximately 430 rounds played. It will be available free through PGA TOUR LIVE on NBC Sports Gold on Thursday. See schedule below. PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 6:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups), 8 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes), 6:40 a.m.-8 p.m. (Every Shot Live). Saturday, 7:45 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups), 12 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes), 7:50 a.m.-8 p.m. (Every Shot Live). Sunday, 7:45 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups), 11 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes), 7:50 a.m.-6 p.m. (Every Shot Live) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). TOURCast: Get shot-by-shot info in real time with shot tracks and video with TOURCast. TOUR Pulse: Get the PGA TOUR app to utilize TOUR Pulse, which provides users the ability to experience a mix of content, such as video highlights, written hole summaries and stat graphics on every player after every hole they complete. FEATURED GROUPS Collin Morikawa, Martin Laird Dustin Johnson, Adam Scott Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed Sergio Garcia, Matthew Fitzpatrick MUST READS Westwood, DeChambeau reprise their regular game Round 3 review: THE PLAYERS Championship A predictably unpredictable PLAYERS By the numbers: No. 17 at THE PLAYERS Championship Win probabilities: THE PLAYERS Championship ‘Every Shot Live’ returns 20-year anniversary of Tiger’s ‘Better Than Most’ putt Inside THE PLAYERS’ greatest comeback Five things to remember from the 2019 PLAYERS CALL OF THE DAY

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DALLAS – In many ways, Sung Kang’s performance this week at the AT&T Byron Nelson resembled his play two years ago – and 230 miles south down Interstate 45 – at the Houston Open. He tied the course record in the second round. He separated himself from the field entering the weekend. And he went into Sunday a little bit fatigued and facing an early tee time, all the while wearing a target on his back. It did not go well two years ago. Kang played conservative those last 36 holes, watched Russell Henley make 10 birdies in the final round, and had to settle for second place. It was his best result on the PGA TOUR, but the lesson was a cruel one. And yet oh so valuable. What Kang learned two years ago, he put into action Sunday at Trinity Forest. RELATED: Final leaderboard | Winner’s bag | Updated FedExCup standings Knowing the scores were going to be low in the soft, windless conditions making this course defenseless, Kang knew he could not play conservative. And knowing it would be a long day – thanks to Saturday’s rain delay, he woke up early Sunday to play the remaining nine holes of his third round, followed by 18 more in the final round – Kang was determined to prevent fatigue (both mentally and physically) from impacting his score. So he asked caddie Jason Shortall to keep the between-shot banter light, to “just keep telling me about the funny things and that I can laugh and forget about the golf for awhile,â€� said the 31-year-old South Korean. The payoff came on the back nine, as Kang eventually broke away from playing partners Matt Every and Scott Piercy to win his first TOUR event in 159 career starts, shooting a final-round 4-under 67 to win by two. That victory moves Kang to 21st in the FedExCup standings and also improves his resume as a potential International Team member for this year’s Presidents Cup. “Dream come true,â€� said Kang, who lives in Coppell, Texas, about 30 minutes from Trinity Forest. “When I just started playing golf, I really dream about this, winning PGA TOUR event and it finally happened.â€� Kang set up his victory after tying the course record with a 61 on Friday. Two years ago, he shot a second-round 63 that tied the course record at the Golf Club of Houston and gave him a six-shot lead. But he shot 71-72 that weekend. Anything in the 70s this weekend in South Dallas would not be good enough. So Kang started the back nine of his third round Sunday morning with three birdies in his first five holes, leading to a 68 that gave him a three-shot lead over Every and five on Piercy and Brooks Koepka. Once the leaders teed off in the final round, it didn’t take long for Kang to be caught. Piercy birdied six of his first eight holes; Every was 4 under on his first six holes. Meanwhile, Kang was even par on his first seven holes and lost the lead. This time, he was determined not to be left in the dust. He rolled in an 8-foot birdie putt at the eighth, nearly holed his approach shot at the ninth, then birdied the 10th with a 14-footer to reclaim the lead. A poor tee shot at the par-3 12th left him in thick rough, and he hacked out into a greenside bunker. But he bounced back from that bogey with another three-birdie run, starting with a two-putt birdie at the par-5 14th and a 22-1/2 foot birdie putt at the par-4 15th. Piercy had a similar line on a longer putt, and Shortall raced over to check it once Piercy struck the ball. When Every bogeyed, Kang led by two. “I knew that was going to be the most important putt for this week,â€� Kang said. “… I had a read from him and I was really going to make this one in. This probably will give me the trophy. I really focused. I just saw the picture and went in.â€� It was the par-4 16th where Kang then put the tournament away. He and Every both had approach shots inside 100 yards from the same side of the fairway. Kang stuck his to 7 feet, setting up his third straight birdie; Every could not match, finishing 28 feet from the pin. “I kind of gassed it a little coming in on 15,â€� Every said. “Couple of those left pins, I like to fade it, wind off to the left, just disaster left, which is not a good set-up for me. I could have hit better shots.â€� But Every, looking for his first TOUR victory since his second consecutive Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard victory in 2015, was impressed by what he saw from Kang. They were paired for all 72 holes this week. “Sung played really good,â€� Every said. “It would have been tough to beat him.â€� Kang now becomes the 10th different Korean player to win on the PGA TOUR. The best of them, K.J. Choi, an eight-time winner, gave Kang a call going into the weekend. His advice? “Just play your game. Don’t change anything,â€� Kang recalled. Things, however, will change now. They always do for first-time TOUR winners.

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The World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play is back. Friday’s third round is the third of three days of group play. After Friday, the player with the best record in each of the 16 four-man pools will advance to knockout play (ties of two or more players will be broken via sudden-death playoff). Two rounds apiece will be played Saturday and Sunday to crown a champion. This is the only PGA TOUR event where players go mano-a-mano, and Austin Country Club is a perfect site for this format thanks to its offering of risk-reward holes. Upon the conclusion on Friday’s 32 matches and any sudden-death playoffs, 16 players will advance to weekend competition, where knockout play will commence Saturday morning in the Round of 16. As each group concludes its competition, this file will be updated to keep you apprised of the action from the TOUR’s only match play event. Return here often to learn about the latest upsets, comebacks and nail-biting finishes. FRIDAY RECAPS (Click here for live scores) (Click here for scenarios into Friday) GROUP 5 SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER (2-1-0) def. MATT FITZPATRICK (2-1-0), 5 and 4 Scheffler, a Match Play finalist in his debut a year ago, needed to win to stay alive in his group and got off to the ideal start, jumping out to a 3-up advantage after six holes. He nearly aced the par-3 fourth (3 feet) and won the sixth when Fitzpatrick tugged a drive left, next to an out-of-bounds fence. He scrambled for par, but Scheffler got up-and-down for birdie. A key turnabout came at the ninth: Fitzpatrick hit his approach to 11 feet, looking to cut into Scheffler’s 3-up lead. Scheffler was 29 feet away, facing a downhill, right-to-left putt. He rolled it in, and Fitzpatrick missed, Scheffler stretching his cushion to 4 up. Scheffler ended the match with birdies at the 13th and 14th holes. Both players finished group play at 2-1-0. Scheffler: “I didn’t really make any mistakes. I took advantage of a few mistakes he made early. He got a really bad break on our second hole (which Scheffler won with a par), and after that I started cruising and played some good golf. NOTE: A playoff between Fitzpatrick and Scheffler to decide a Group 5 winner is pending. IAN POULTER (1-2-0) def. TOMMY FLEETWOOD (1-2-0), 4 and 3 After two opening losses, match play’s Postman (he always delivers) broke through on Friday, making sure he did not exit Austin without at least one match victory. Poulter defeated his fellow Englishman pretty handily, never trailing in the match. Leading 1 up through four holes, Poulter went on a bit of a tear, starting the run with a pitch-in for eagle from behind the front right bunker at the 342-yard fifth hole. He birdied the par-5 sixth, won the eighth with a par, and when he rolled in a 16-foot birdie at the ninth, he was 4 up. Fleetwood made a nice birdie at the par-3 11th, but it was just a matter of time until Poulter closed the match out. He did so with his sixth consecutive par, winning the 15th hole. Poulter is 33-19-0 in his career at the Match Play, defeating Paul Casey for the title in 2010. GROUP 12 BILLY HORSCHEL ADVANCES BILLY HORSCHEL (2-0-1) tied THOMAS PIETERS (1-1-1) The first match out on the day and it was beautifully played from beginning to end. Yet Pieters walked off the 18th green heated, even though he made five birdies and no bogeys during the epic duel. That’s because Pieters was 2 up with two holes remaining and Horschel, who made six birdies in the match, made birdies on 17 and 18 to win the holes and tie the match overall. On the 17th green, Pieters had already made par and Horschel was standing over a birdie putt from 13 feet. He needed to make, or he’d have lost the match and would’ve been heading to a playoff to determine who would advance from the group. But the defending WGC-Dell Match Play champion calmly poured in the putt, then got up and down for birdie from 30 yards short of the 18th green, won the hole, tied the match and is moving on. Pieters missed a birdie attempt from outside 6 feet on the last hole that would’ve given him the victory. Pieters was 2 up after three holes and made birdies on the second, third and fourth holes. Horschel tied the match after birdie on the ninth hole, then Pieters went to 1-up on 13 when Horschel drove the ball into the water. Birdie on the par-5 16th from Pieters gave him the 2-up advantage before Horschel closed with the heroic finish to be able to continue his Match Play title defense. “I hung in there,” Horschel said. “I hit some really quality shots. Some of them didn’t turn out. I made some putts, which was nice to see. Being 2 down with two to go and knowing all I needed was a half to move on to Round of 16, that’s a real confidence boost to birdie the last two to get through.” TOM HOGE (0-2-1) tied MIN WOO LEE (1-1-1) Hoge was already eliminated before the match but still gave it a valiant effort, making birdie on the last hole to squeeze out a tie after being winless in his previous two matches. Hoge, who told reporters earlier in the week that he hadn’t played in a competitive match play event for 11 years, jumped out to an early 1-up lead, but Lee was 1 up at the turn. Lee went 2 up with a birdie on the 12th hole, but Hoge won the 13th with a par. Lee remained 1 up until the final hole, where he made a mess of it and drove it wildly left off the tee. That allowed Hoge to cruise, blasting a 342-yard drive and hit an approach to 7 feet to win the hole and tie the match. Lee had a chance to advance to the Round of 16 before the match started, but when Billy Horschel birdied the last two holes to tie his match against Thomas Pieters, Lee was officially eliminated before his match with Hoge ended. GROUP 13 SI WOO KIM (2-1-0) def. CHRISTIAAN BEZUIDENHOUT (0-3-0), 6 and 4 This match was lopsided from the opening tee shot and Kim was 5 up after seven holes. Bezuidenhout was eliminated before the match even started and didn’t put up much of a fight. He conceded the first hole, then Kim birdied the fourth, sixth and seventh holes, eagled the fifth hole and the match was quickly out of hand. Bezuidenhout made birdie on the 11th to cut into the lead, but Kim birdied No. 12 to move back to 5 up and then closed the match out on the 14th hole, not needing to play the final four. Bezuidenhout was winless on the week. With the match being over so quickly, Kim had to sit and wait to learn his fate. If Daniel Berger defeats Tyrrell Hatton, there will be a three-man playoff between Kim, Berger and Hatton. If Hatton wins or ties his match with Berger, Hatton advances.

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