Americans one point from clinching Presidents Cup

HISTORY MADE IN HAWAII WITH MATSUYAMA WIN Thirty-nine years ago, Isao Aoki became Japan’s first PGA TOUR winner at the Sony Open in Hawaii, holing out for eagle on the 72nd hole to earn a one-stroke victory over Jack Renner. Sunday afternoon at Waialae CC, Aoki’s countryman Hideki Matsuyama became Japan’s second Sony Open winner in perhaps not as theatrical fashion, but with a memorable closing stretch nonetheless. Matsuyama trailed playing partner Russell Henley by five strokes as they made the turn Sunday afternoon in Honolulu, and the reigning Masters champion methodically chipped away at the deficit, authoring a 4-under 31 including a closing birdie to match Henley’s 23-under total and force a playoff. Matsuyama, 29, then hit 3-wood from 277 yards to 3 feet on the first playoff hole – Waialae’s par-5 18th – en route to a winning eagle, sending the lively Honolulu crowd into a frenzy. With the victory, Matsuyama matches 2008 Sony Open winner K.J. Choi for his eighth PGA TOUR title, most by an Asian-born player on TOUR. He earns 500 FedExCup points and overtakes Talor Gooch for the No. 1 spot in the season-long standings, well positioned to chase his first FedExCup title. He’ll cherish the piece of history that he now shares with Aoki, as well. “This is the first tournament that a Japanese won on the PGA TOUR when Isao Aoki won here,” Matsuyama said shortly after putting out for the winning eagle. “And to follow him up, I’m over the moon.” EXPRESS TRIP TO PGA WEST Last season’s FedExCup champion, Patrick Cantlay, world No. 1 Jon Rahm and tournament host Phil Mickelson lead the field to La Quinta, California, for The American Express. Si Woo Kim returns to defend the title he won over Cantlay, who shot a course-record 61 in the final round a year ago to finish runner-up. A number of top players will make their 2022 debut including reigning Rookie of the Year Will Zalatoris, Francesco Molinari, Gary Woodland, Alex Noren and Rickie Fowler who tees it up for the first time since becoming a father in November. The American Express will once again be played over three courses – PGA West (Stadium Course), La Quinta Country Club and PGA West (Nicklaus Tournament Course) – after utilizing just two last year for the first time in tournament history. There are 500 FedExCup points up for grabs as well as a spot in THE PLAYERS and majors for the week’s champion. NEW NETFLIX DOC TO FOCUS ON TOUR PLAYERS Two dozen PGA TOUR players have signed on to participate in a new Netflix series from the producers of the super popular “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” documentary. The PGA TOUR and the organizers of the four major championships will allow unprecedented access inside the ropes and behind the scenes through this season’s TOUR Championship. The series will capture the intensity of training, travel, victory, and defeat through the lens of a diverse group of players and their support teams. VIDEO OF THE WEEK Jim Furyk makes an incredible ace in the first round of the Sony Open in Hawaii. MIC CHECK “A true professional, Tim always treated our organization and our athletes fairly,” PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan on the passing of respected golf journalist Tim Rosaforte. “Writing and speaking with an opinion but without an agenda. He never stopped working the phones, ensuring that he not only got the story first, he got the story right. Those phone calls – and Tim’s gentle spirit – will be missed tremendously by all of us lucky enough to be part of the greater golf community. BY THE NUMBERS 4 – PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ kicks off in earnest this week at The American Express, with four streams available for fans from Featured Groups to Featured Holes. 5 – Five things to know about top-ranked amateur Keita Nakajima who contended over the weekend at Waialae. 10 – The new Korn Ferry Tour season began on Sunday with The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic. Check out ten players to watch over the next three rounds. COMCAST BUSINESS TOUR TOP 10 The Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 highlights and rewards the extraordinary level of play required to earn a spot in the TOP 10 at the conclusion of the FedExCup Regular Season as determined by the FedExCup standings. The competition recognizes and awards the most elite in golf.

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ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Sebastian Munoz saw the tough weather conditions on the way to The RSM Classic and figured all he could do was keep his head down and make birdies. He wound up with a 10-under 60 to shatter his career round by six shots. RELATED: Leaderboard | Jordan Spieth and wife welcome first child Scoring was so low Thursday at Sea Island that all that got Munoz was a one-shot lead. The Colombian, who won his first PGA TOUR event just over two years ago, birdied his final hole at Seaside. He led by one stroke over Sea Island member Zach Johnson at Seaside, while three other players were one shot behind. Past champion Mackenzie Hughes, Chez Reavie and Scott Stallings each had a 9-under 63 on the Plantation course. Four players were tied at 8 under, led by Canadian Corey Conners (62 at Seaside). His wife, Malory, gave birth last week to their first child, a girl named Reis. Jhonattan Vegas, Talor Gooch and Russell Henley shot 64 at Plantation. Scoring was so ideal that 33 players shot 66 or lower on the two courses, located just off the Atlantic Ocean, and all but 21 players in the field of 156 broke par. The cumulative score in relation to par at the Seaside Course was 288 under, 42 shots lower than the previous record set in 2018. The scoring average of 66.308 at the Seaside was a tournament record, and the second-lowest for any round on the PGA TOUR since 1983, when the TOUR began tracking hole-by-hole data. The record is 66.28 at Indian Wells in the 2003 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Munoz matched Tommy Gainey’s 2012 record for low round at Seaside; Hughes, Stallings and Reavie tied for low round at the Plantation set last year by winner Robert Streb and Bronson Burgoon. A warm, sunny day that began with just enough light rain to soften the already pure greens is expected to morph into more common November weather on the Georgia coast Friday with a drop of about 10 degrees in the temperature and wind forecast to gust as high as 30 mph. “When you’ve got just absolute pure conditions weather-wise and pure conditions on the golf course — the best I’ve ever seen these two golf courses, period — you know you’ve got to get after it,” said the 45-year-old Johnson, who hit all 18 greens. “It was a perfect day and we all knew it (low scores) was out there,” added Cameron Smith, who had a 66 at the Seaside. Munoz, however, was staying in the present for his best round as a professional. He hit 11 fairways and 16 greens, made six birdies on the front nine and punctuated the day with a 12-foot eagle putt at No. 15 and a 10-foot birdie putt at No. 18. “I felt great yesterday playing the pro-am, basically the same weather for two days, so I knew I was hitting it good,” he said. “I just let it happen.” And for tomorrow? “I haven’t really looked at the forecast,” he said. “I don’t know how much it’s going to blow tomorrow or if it’s going to be cold or not, so I’m just kind of here right now and I’ll adjust tomorrow and see what happens.” Johnson was the only player who had a reasonable shot at a sub-60 round. He was 9 under through 15 holes after making a 7-footer for birdie at No. 15 and missed birdie attempts of 10, 20 and 25 feet on the final three holes. “It hit me (the chance to shoot 59) after I birdied 12 and 13 and I got to 8 under,” Johnson said. “Making birdie on 15, I was like, ‘Well, two more and I’m right there.’ I gave myself looks, pretty good looks and that’s all you can hope for.” Johnson also had a shot at 59 in the TOUR Championship in 2007 until hitting into a bunker on the par-3 18th hole at East Lake and having to settle for par and a 60. Johnson and playing partners Matt Kuchar (65) and Joel Dahmen (65) didn’t make a bogey.

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