Ariya Jutanugarn wins LPGA Tour playoff at Kingsmill

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The best players in the world descend on the Stadium Course this week at THE PLAYERS Championship. The top 30 golfers in the FedExCup standings – including 2017 FedExCup winner and defending champion Justin Thomas – will tee it up. It’s the strongest field of the season, and it includes world No. 1 Jon Rahm, 2019 PLAYERS champion Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth, Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa, Hideki Matsuyama and reigning FedExCup Champion Patrick Cantlay. And that’s just to name a few. Also, 600 FedExCup points will go to the winner as well as a first-place check worth $3.6 million. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action, including Featured Groups for PGA TOUR LIVE and newly expanded and extended coverage on ESPN+. Click here for more details. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC). PGA TOUR LIVE: See full coverage details below Radio: Thursday-Friday, 11–6 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 12–6 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 ENHANCED COVERAGE DETAILS THE PLAYERS and NBCU • 22 total hours of coverage from Thursday through Sunday ESPN+ coverage • More than 20 groups from the morning sessions will be available on ESPN+ Live From THE PLAYERS • 45.5 live hours on GOLF Channel, including the World Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony • PGA TOUR LIVE to produce an estimated 167 hours of coverage across our 4 streams for the 4 tournament channels. Practice round shows • Tuesday: Military Appreciation Ceremony followed by Kelsea Ballerini concert • Wednesday: World Golf Hall of Fame Ceremony PGA TOUR LIVE • 12 hosts, 3 walking announcers, 130 personnel onsite, 75 personnel in St. Augustine • Use of ARL graphic technology for tracing and hole flyover animations with statistical information 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 FEATURED GROUPS THURSDAY Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler, Brooks Koepka Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Daniel Berger FRIDAY Patrick Cantlay, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland Hideki Matsuyama, Cameron Smith, Joaquin Niemann Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen MUST READS The First Look Inside the Field Nine Things to Know: TPC Sawgrass Tiger Woods among those to be inducted into World Golf Hall of Fame

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ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Cameron Champ’s driving distance may be unprecedented, but Davis Love III can relate to the advantage Champ has over his peers. Three decades ago, Love was the rookie whose length was the talk of the TOUR. He led in driving distance during his debut season, averaging 286 yards off the tee. That’s almost 50 yards less than Champ’s eye-popping figure this season, but in 1986 Love was 9 percent longer than the TOUR average (262 yards). Champ is averaging 335 yards, nearly 13 percent longer than the TOUR’s early-season average of 297.1 yards. They played together Thursday at The RSM Classic and, as testament to the myriad ways golf can be played, Love came out one-stroke ahead. Love, 54, is the tournament host and a World Golf Hall of Famer. Champ, 23, is just five starts into his rookie season. The living legend sits tied for fourth at 5 under while the electrifying rookie is tied for seventh place after carding a 68. “It was fun. A lot of memories of when I was the rookie long hitter,� Love said. “No 3-wood, that was pretty cool because that was me in 1986.� The tree-lined Plantation Course was protected from the high winds that blew in off the Atlantic and made the other course in use this week, Sea Island’s Seaside layout, play a stroke over par. The cold weather is expected to continue as Love and Champ tackle Seaside on Friday. Love called Thursday’s weather the worst he’s seen in tournament history. Love would be the oldest winner in TOUR history if he could finish atop the leaderboard on Sunday. Champ would put an exclamation point on a breakout fall season. He also would tighten his grip on the Rookie of the Year award, for which he is the early front-runner. Champ already won this season’s Sanderson Farms Championship and finished 10th at the Mayakoba Golf Classic. He is ninth in the FedExCup standings. Love and Champ had Thursday’s largest gallery. Fans didn’t brave Thursday’s cold temperature just to see the long-hitting rookie. They also came for Love, who doubles as the tournament host and is a longtime resident of the area. Champ started the round with a double-bogey on the first hole. He played the final four holes of his front nine in 5 under, though. He birdied Nos. 15-17 before chipping in for eagle on the par-5 18th. He made two birdies on his back nine before closing his round with a bogey. Champ’s comeback illustrated the maturity that has helped him succeed in little more than a year as a pro. That attribute may be just as important as his ballyhooed driving distance. “I think prior in my golfing career, I probably would have went very south from there, but we had 17 holes and plenty of golf to make it up,� Champ said. Love had four birdies and two bogeys on his front nine, then added three birdies on his back nine. He has challenged for his hometown TOUR title just once before. He shared the 54-hole lead with Jim Furyk in 2012 before shooting a 1-over 71 in the final round. Love showed promising signs two weeks ago, though. He led the field at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Strokes Gained: Approach. He was second-to-last in Strokes Gained: Putting, though. “I putted well today and it saved me,� he said. The longest club in the bag can draw inordinate attention, but the shortest one should not be overlooked.   

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