Americans win Presidents Cup for 10th time in row

Reigning FedExCup champion Patrick Cantlay leads the notables teeing it up at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He’s looking to build off a T3 from last season. Meanwhile, Daniel Berger returns to defend his title as the event goes back to a three-course rotation. FIELD NOTES: Berger looks to become the first repeat winner at Pebble Beach since Dustin Johnson more than a decade ago… Cantlay has finished T3-T11 in his last two starts here and tied the course record (62) at Pebble in the opening round last season… Jordan Spieth returns after finishing T3 a year ago. Spieth won this event in 2017… Spieth and Cantlay are joined by Bill Haas, Justin Rose, and Brandt Snedeker (who won this event in 2015) as past FedExCup champs in the field… Brandon Harkins – who won for the first time in 179 PGA TOUR-sanctioned starts on the Korn Ferry Tour last week – is a sponsor exemption along with Dean Burmester, Chan Kim, Alex Cejka, Mark Baldwin, Austin Eckroat and John Murphy. This will mark Murphy’s TOUR debut after a solid career at the University of Louisville… Min Woo Lee is in the field on an exemption as well. Lee, 23, has won on the DP World Tour the last two years and is ranked in the top 50 in the world, but he’s not even the best golfer in his family. Sister Minjee Lee is ranked 6th in the world on the women’s side… Some of the game’s legends are teeing it up at Pebble Beach, including Davis Love III, Peter Jacobsen, and Tom Lehman. COURSE: The tournament will return to a three-course rotation after using only two in 2021. Golfers will rotate through Pebble Beach Golf Links (which has played host to the ‘Clambake’ since 1947), Spyglass Hill Golf Course, and Monterey Peninsula Country Club (Shore Course) before finishing at Pebble Beach on Sunday. Pebble Beach: Par 72, 6,972 yards Spyglass Hill: Par 72, 7,041 yards Monterey Peninsula Country Club (Shore): Par 71, 6,957 yards FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points. STORYLINES: Ten of the top 50 golfers in the world will tee it up, twice as many as 2021… Watch out for Jason Day, who hadn’t won since 2018 when he suddenly played his way into the final group at the Farmers Insurance Open. Day finished T7 at Pebble Beach last season, his seventh career top-7 finish at this event, with no wins… Day would become only the fifth non-American to ever win at Pebble Beach… The 2021 edition of this event was played without fans, and on just two courses, but fans, a third course, and celebrities are back for 2022. Amongst those expected to tee it up this week: Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, two-time World Series winner Mookie Betts, country musicians Jake Owen, Darius Rucker, and Charles Kelley, soccer superstar Mia Hamm, and, of course, Bill Murray. 72-HOLE RECORD: 265, Brandt Snedeker (2015). 18-HOLE RECORD: 60, Sung Kang at Monterey Peninsula (2nd round, 2016). Pebble Beach record: 62, Tom Kite (3rd round, 1983), David Duval (3rd round, 1997), Patrick Cantlay (1st round, 2021). Spyglass Hill record: 62, Phil Mickelson (1st round, 2005), Luke Donald (1st round, 2006). LAST TIME: Daniel Berger holed a 30-foot eagle on the 72nd hole (the “best putt” he’s hit in his life, he said) to win by two. It was his second win since the TOUR returned after the COVID-19 break. Jordan Spieth held a piece of the lead Sunday but bogeyed two of his first five holes to fall out of contention. Maverick McNealy made five birdies over his final eight holes and fired a final-round 66. He was tied for the lead going into 18 but his eagle attempt at the last stopped just short. Berger was in the group behind McNealy and needed only two putts to win, but he rolled in the eagle for a two-shot victory. His 65 was the round of the day Sunday. McNealy finished runner-up – his best career TOUR result, although he also finished runner up at the Fortinet Championship to begin the current season. Spieth tied for third with Patrick Cantlay. Paul Casey and Nate Lashley rounded out the top five, four shots back of Berger. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-7 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (CBS) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12–6 p.m. ET. Saturday, 2-7 p.m. Sunday, 1-6:30 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR PGA TOUR LIVE PGA TOUR LIVE is available exclusively on ESPN+ • Main Feed: Primary tournament coverage featuring the best action from across the course • Marquee Group: New “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group • Featured Groups: Traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups • Featured Holes: A combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes

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Justin Thomas birdies 18 the hard way to force a sudden-death playoff, then birdies the same hole to beat Luke List, this time by reaching the green with a daring 5-wood over the water. Welcome to the Monday Finish, where Thomas, 24, tamed tricky PGA National to salt away his eighth PGA TOUR win and seventh in his last 31 starts (23 percent). Here are some takeaways from the week. FIVE OBSERVATIONS 1-Thomas is burnishing his rep as a closer. Much has been said and written about reigning FedExCup champ pulling back into the lead in the current FedExCup standings, and taking no penalty strokes even amid all that wind and water at PGA National, and about moving up to third in the Official World Golf Ranking, ahead of Jordan Spieth and behind only Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm. That’s all great, but Thomas is especially proud of his clutch play. The Honda marked the ninth time he has gone into the final round at T2 or better on TOUR; he’s won seven of those times. Most clutch, perhaps, was his birdie on the final hole of regulation after getting out of position and needing to get up and down with a gap wedge in his hands from 117 yards. With List on the green in two, Thomas nearly holed his third shot to force the playoff. 2-This could be an epic follow-up to his FedExCup-winning season. Thomas won five times last season, and joins Patton Kizzire as the only multiple winners so far this season. He also joins Tiger Woods, Brandt Snedeker and Spieth as the only reigning FedExCup champs to win multiple times the following season. You have to wonder how far Thomas might go in 2018, especially considering he finished T5 at the 2017 World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship (back this week) and how close he’s been when he hasn’t won. After winning THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, he was T22 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, T14 at the Sony Open in Hawaii, T17 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and T9 at the Genesis Open.  “I was four [bad] holes away from probably winning Phoenix,â€� Thomas said. “One round away from having a great chance to win L.A. Sony, just a cold putter away from having a great chance to win that. Kapalua, I wasn’t really close. Actually, I wasn’t remotely close (laughter). I was a little rusty there.â€� 3-Luke List should be encouraged. His runner-up finish was his best finish on TOUR, and his 3-under back nine came after he made bogeys at two of his first four holes. “I’ve been in situations, maybe not in the final round, where I’ve gotten off to a slow start and that’s when why you are brain starts spinning a little bit negatively,â€� List said. “I was able to kind of bring myself back in.â€� List credited an Aussie Rules Football player named Brent Stevens, nicknamed Moose, for helping him with his mental game (List’s caddie introduced them.) Just as helpful have been his matches against recent TOUR winner Patrick Cantlay, who like List plays out of Virginia Country Club in Long Beach, Calif., and is coached by Jamie Mulligan. Even before the Honda, John Cook, who also plays out of the laid-back club, said List appeared to be “right on the vergeâ€� and “about ready to step into that level that Patrick has touched a bit.â€� 4-Tiger Woods is building up to something. Although his goal was to get into the field at this week’s WGC-Mexico Championship (he needed to win), Woods was pleased after hovering just out of contention before finishing 12th at even par. The Honda marked the first time he’s played in consecutive weeks since back-fusion surgery last spring, and amid other superlatives, he was third in driving distance (319.1). “I didn’t really know what to expect for the year,â€� Woods said after moving up 49 spots to 130th in the FedExCup. “I had not gone through this before. This is all new. I had to make some pretty big changes in my swing and my feels.â€� The best indication of his seriousness: He usually texts Thomas when the latter is in contention. Not this time. “Got crickets last night,â€� Thomas said to laughter. “I knew he had one thing in mind, and we both had the same thing in mind, so I thought that was pretty funny.â€� 5-Sam Burns was a delight. The LSU product and Web.com Tour rookie had never met Tiger Woods and said he didn’t even remember his opening tee shot, so surreal was the moment. “You see the guy on TV, you see him all over the place and you’re standing there next to him on the tee box and you’re like, that’s Tiger Woods,â€� Burns said. “We had a blast. He was super nice. Very encouraging. I think we’re all happy to see him back playing golf.â€� Best of all: Burns, 22, shot one of just two bogey-free rounds Sunday (68) to tie for eighth, earning him a spot in the field at next week’s Valspar Championship. Asked how many text messages he had on his phone after the final round of the Honda, Burns said, “448.â€� FIVE INSIGHTS 1-Thomas gives up some size to List, but still led the field in driving distance (320.9 yards), with List in second (319.9). That was hardly the only way in which the winner and runner-up were alike, statistically speaking. Thomas was slightly more accurate off the tee at 55.36 percent (T60) to List’s 53.57 percent (T65); they tied for 14th in greens in regulation (65.28 percent); and Thomas led the field in scrambling (84 percent), with List second (80 percent). List putted better, finishing ninth in strokes gained: putting (1.254) to Thomas’ 28th (.521). 2-Alex Noren’s first TOUR victory seems almost inevitable, and sooner rather than later. He shot a final-round 67 despite failing to birdie 18, and in registering his second top-three finish in his last four TOUR starts, he once again showed his consistency. Noren tied for eighth in driving accuracy (69.64 percent) and greens in regulation (68.06 percent), and was third in strokes gained: putting (1.754). His solo third moved him up to 19th in the FedExCup standings. 3-Tommy Fleetwood three-putted for bogey at 14 and then bogeyed 15, too, ultimately finishing two out of the playoff after a 69. But the Englishman, who was making his first-ever start at the Honda, tied for first in driving accuracy (75 percent). He simply didn’t get it done around the greens, finishing 10th in scrambling (68 percent) and 41st in strokes gained: putting (.173).     4-Woods led the field in proximity to the hole on approach shots (just over 29 feet), but was done in by the Bear Trap holes (15-17). Although he came into the Honda having played that difficult stretch in 2-over-par in his 11 previous rounds, it was a far different story this time. He was 8-over on those holes, with two water balls, both at the par-3 15th. 5-Speaking of the Bear Trap, the par-3 17th was the toughest hole all week, giving players fits as they compiled a 3.533 stroke average. The par-3 15th was the second hardest (3.391), with the 16th hole the fourth most difficult (4.262). You’d have to say the three-hole stretch lived up to its name. But the Bear Trap isn’t everything. Just one player, Andrew Novak, made par or better on those holes all four rounds, and he tied for 57th place.  

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WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — Scott Harrington enjoyed his long-awaited debut as a PGA TOUR member. In his 17th year as a professional, the 38-year-old rookie shot a 6-under 64 on Thursday, leaving him two strokes behind first-round leader Robby Shelton in the A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier. With all 21 tour rookies and other Korn Ferry Tour graduates in the field, the first round of the PGA TOUR’s season opener in West Virginia was a chance for the new guys and journeymen to make an impression. Especially for Harrington. “I always did think I was going to get here,” Harrington said. “Even though I’m 38 years old, I feel like I’m every bit as capable of winning out here as any 22 year old. Yeah, age is just a number.” Harrington turned pro in 2003 and played in four PGA TOUR events over the next 12 years. He took time off last year to be with his wife, Jenn, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The disease is now in remission. He locked up his first PGA TOUR card with a runner-up finish last month at a Korn Ferry event in his hometown of Portland, Oregon. In his debut Thursday, Harrington hit just nine fairways and 12 greens in regulation but made four birdies in a five-hole stretch around the turn. “It was a lot of fun,” Harrington said. “I’ll certainly remember this one for sure. I’ll remember it even more if I can put a few more good ones together.” Shelton made eight starts on tour as a non-member in 2016-17. He has his TOUR card for the first time after winning two Korn Ferry events in May. “I’m fired up,” Shelton said. “Last night it was tough to sleep. I’ve been waiting for this moment all season.” Starting on the back nine on the Old White TPC, the 24-year-old Shelton made the turn at 3 under and birdied Nos. 1-3. The 8-under 62 is his lowest score on TOUR. Defending champion Kevin Na, Lanto Griffin, Mark Hubbard and Zack Sucher matched Harrington at 64. Na’s putter won last year’s tournament. On Thursday, his approach shots got him onto the first page of the leaderboard. He had four birdies over his final six holes. Three of his back-nine birdies were putts of under 10 feet. “I have a lot of good memories here and I’m excited to be back defending,” Na said. “Nice to see my picture up on the wall and have my own defending champion locker. It’s pretty cool.” Hubbard, who won once in 23 Korn Ferry Tour events last season, had a bogey-free round and is looking for his first top-10 finish since joining the PGA TOUR in 2015. “Finishing 40th every week isn’t fun. Grinding to make cuts isn’t fun,” Hubbard said. “I feel like I needed to go back and get that experience and learn how to win again, and this time around I think I’ll find myself in the mix a lot more.” Brian Harman, Sung Kang, Harold Varner III and Jimmy Walker topped the group at 65. Hank Lebioda birdied seven of his first 11 holes in a 67. Bryson DeChambeau had a 68. Former Marshall player Davey Jude shot 70, two months after his father and caddie, David, was among seven people killed in a helicopter accident in the Bahamas.

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