Aaron Baddeley shoots 66 to take Puerto Rico Open lead

After a successful debut last year, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans returns with its unique team format. Many of the game’s biggest names have descended on TPC Louisiana for the opportunity to partner with a friend for the only team event during the FedExCup season. The two-man teams will play four-ball on Thursday and Saturday and alternate shot in the second and fourth rounds. Last year’s tournament included one of the best shots of the year, as Kevin Kisner chipped in for eagle on the 72nd hole to force a playoff with Jonas Blixt and Cameron Smith. Smith clinched the title by hitting a wedge to 3 feet on the fourth hole of the sudden-death playoff, which concluded Monday because of darkness. Blixt and Smith have returned to defend their title. They’ll be part of PGA TOUR LIVE’s Featured Groups coverage, as will two of the past three FedExCup champions (Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas), Masters champion Patrick Reed and all three medalists from the 2016 Olympics. The Thursday broadcast will begin at 8 a.m. Eastern, while the Friday broadcast will begin at 9:15 a.m. Featured Holes will begin at 3 p.m. and run until the end of the broadcast at 6:30 p.m. TPC Louisiana’s two back-nine par-3s, Nos. 14 and 17, are this week’s Featured Holes. PGA TOUR LIVE also can be viewed on Twitter from approximately 8 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. on Thursday and 9:15 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on Friday. Here’s a closer look at what you can see this week on PGA TOUR LIVE (Note: FedExCup rankings in parentheses): THURSDAY Justin Thomas (1)/Bud Cauley (61), Daniel Berger (66)/Gary Woodland (22): FedExCup leader Justin Thomas is teaming with fellow Alabama alum Bud Cauley for the second consecutive year. The duo finished fifth in last year’s Zurich Classic. Thomas won last year’s FedExCup and holds the lead again this season after victories at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES and The Honda Classic. They’ll play alongside Thomas’ Presidents Cup teammate, Daniel Berger, and another of this season’s winners, Gary Woodland. He won earlier this year at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Tee times: 8:39 a.m. Eastern off No. 10 on Thursday; 2:08 p.m. Eastern off No. 1 on Friday. Jordan Spieth (28)/Ryan Palmer (84), Wesley Bryan (153)/Jon Rahm (7): The Texas twosome of Ryan Palmer and Jordan Spieth has reunited after a fourth-place finish here last year. Bryan and Rahm are good friends who promise to make a colorful pairing. Rahm’s strong driving and Bryan’s crafty wedge play could make them a dangerous duo. Tee times: 8:52 a.m. Eastern off No. 10 on Thursday; 2:09 p.m. Eastern off No. 1 on Friday. FRIDAY Patrick Reed (6)/Patrick Cantlay (15), Jonas Blixt (162)/Cameron Smith (25): The Patricks are back after a 14th-place finish at last year’s Zurich. They were one shot off the lead at the halfway mark. For Reed, this will be his first PGA TOUR start since his Masters victory. Cantlay picked up his first PGA TOUR title earlier this season at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. They are the only team with two players ranked inside the top 15 in the FedExCup standings and the only team of PGA TOUR winners this season. Smith is coming off fifth-place finishes at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play and the Masters. Click here to read Ben Everill’s feature on Smith. Tee times: 1:44 p.m. Eastern off No. 1 on Thursday; 9:53 a.m. Eastern off No. 10 on Friday. Justin Rose (8)/Henrik Stenson (37), Matt Kuchar (58)/Bubba Watson (3): All four of these players competed for their countries at the 2016 Olympics. Three of them won medals (sorry, Bubba). However, Watson is the only one with multiple titles this season. He won both the Genesis Open and WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. Kuchar earned a bronze medal in Rio de Janeiro. Kuchar and Watson are among an elite group of players who have qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs in all 11 seasons of the FedExCup. Rose and Stenson, the gold and silver medalists, respectively, have reunited despite a surprising MC at last year’s Zurich Classic. Rose (2015) and Watson (2011) also are former Zurich champions. Tee times: 1:57 p.m. Eastern off No. 1 on Thursday; 10:04 a.m. Eastern off No. 10 on Friday.

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Watch today’s Par-3 Contest live on ESPN and the ESPN APP, as golf’s biggest stars have a little competitive fun before Thursday’s first round at the Masters.

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NORTH BERWICK, Scotland – Some players’ tee shots struggled to reach the fairway. Long-irons and woods were needed to get within shouting distance of the green … on par-4s. The most recent major champion watched an approach shot sail on the wind and land on the wrong green. After a morning that was docile enough to have one player dreaming of a sub-60 round, the afternoon of the Genesis Scottish Open was a struggle as the winds gusted off the Firth of Forth. Collin Morikawa didn’t hesitate when asked about the wildest shot he saw. It wasn’t one he hit and it barely got airborne, but it came to rest in a most unlikely spot. Matt Fitzpatrick and Will Zalatoris may have been separated by just a single shot in last month’s U.S. Open but their balls on the par-5 16th on Thursday were separated by the most miniscule of margins. Zalatoris’ chip on rolled across the green before hitting the hole. It slowed down until coming to rest atop the poker chip that Fitzpatrick uses to mark his ball. It was odd enough of an occurrence that Morikawa’s caddie, J.J. Jakovac, got down on one knee to snap a photo with his phone. In the morning, Cameron Tringale parred his final three holes for a 9-under 61 that gave him a three-shot lead. With the winds relatively manageable, Morikawa and Jakovac decided to leave the 5-wood in the bag instead of the lower-flying option of a 2-iron. “The 2-iron would have come in handy on the back nine,” Morikawa said with a smile. The Renaissance Club’s second half offers the best vistas of the Firth of Forth but that beauty also makes it brawny, leaving it more exposed to the high winds that are a trademark of golf in the game’s birthplace. This is the fourth edition of the Genesis Scottish Open played at The Renaissance Club. The first three were defined by benign conditions and low scores. The course fought back Thursday afternoon. A 66 from Kurt Kitayama was the best round from the afternoon wave by two shots. Only six players who teed off in the latter half of the draw shot under par, and only two shot lower than 69. Thirty-two players were in the red in the morning. The late starters’ scoring average of 73.5 was more than three strokes higher than the scoring average for the morning wave. Rickie Fowler, the 2015 Scottish Open champion, was among those who shot 69 in the afternoon. His 6-iron on the 147-yard, par-3 14th landed 20 yards short of his target. He needed a driver, 2-iron and 6-iron to reach the green on the par-5 16th, where many players struggled to reach the fairway. A driver and a 2-iron left him 30 yards short of the green on the par-4 finishing hole. The group of Fitzpatrick, Morikawa and Zalatoris represented the reigning champions of the U.S. Open and Open Championship, and the player who may be the TOUR’s best when conditions get tough. They all shot 71 on Thursday afternoon. “It was just knowing that you have to hit a great shot to hit it to 40 feet,” said Morikawa. Zalatoris, who ranks 16th on TOUR in driving distance, hit three 3-irons into par-4s, as well as a 3-wood. Fitzpatrick watched his tee shot on the par-3 12th catch a gust and sail into the middle of the adjoining 14th green. He took a drop off the putting surface, hit a 40-yard pitch over that green and an ancient wall to within 10 feet of the hole. He made the putt to save par. Justin Thomas shot 73, as did Hideki Matsuyama. Xander Schauffele shot 72. The rain that fell Wednesday made things even more difficult, making the course play longer and limiting players’ ability to run the ball along the ground. Winds of 15-20 mph are expected Friday, as well. “That’s links golf,” Zalatoris said. It is indeed.

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