As he turns 43, what lies ahead for Tiger?

Here’s a look at how players qualified for the Barracuda Championship. (Field information as of 7/28/2017) Winners of the Arnold Palmer Inv. & the Memorial (Last 3 Years) Matt Every Tournament Winner in Past Two Seasons Aaron Baddeley Steven Bowditch Alex Cejka Greg Chalmers Padraig Harrington J.J. Henry Smylie Kaufman Chris Kirk Davis Love III Hunter Mahan Peter Malnati Ben Martin Troy Merritt Brian Stuard Vaughn Taylor Career Money Exemption Geoff Ogilvy Carl Pettersson Sponsors Exemptions – Web.com Tour Finals Charlie Danielson Dru Love Sponsors Exemptions – Members not otherwise exempt David Duval John Rollins Sponsors Exemptions – Unrestricted Cody Blick Wyndham Clark Sam Horsfield Hugo Leon Curtis Luck Jay McLuen Maverick McNealy Jake Sarnoff PGA Club Professional Champion – 6 Events Rich Berberian, Jr. PGA Section Champion\Player of the Year Tom Morton Top 125 on Prior Season’s FedExCup Points List Ryan Palmer Harris English David Hearn Kyle Reifers Daniel Summerhays Ricky Barnes Johnson Wagner Chez Reavie Patton Kizzire Bryce Molder K.J. Choi Spencer Levin John Huh Jason Bohn Tyrone Van Aswegen Derek Fathauer Blayne Barber Brett Stegmaier Robert Garrigus Zac Blair Cameron Tringale Andrew Loupe Mark Hubbard Ben Crane Graham DeLaet Luke List Shawn Stefani Seung-Yul Noh Top 125 on Prior Season’s Official Money List thru Wyndham Ken Duke Retief Goosen Chad Collins Major Medical Extension Nick Watney Brian Gay Troy Kelly Top Finishers from Web.com Tour Prior Season (reordered) Kevin Tway Ollie Schniederjans J.J. Spaun Dominic Bozzelli Scott Stallings Trey Mullinax J.T. Poston Brandon Hagy Cameron Percy Seamus Power Sebastián Muñoz Jonathan Randolph Rick Lamb Martin Flores Rory Sabbatini Richy Werenski Julián Etulain Tim Wilkinson Ryan Brehm Andres Gonzales Brian Campbell Joel Dahmen Tag Ridings Gonzalo Fdez-Castano Mark Anderson Nicholas Lindheim Steven Alker Ryan Armour Brett Drewitt Miguel Angel Carballo Brad Fritsch Bobby Wyatt Max Homa Shane Bertsch 126 – 150 Prior Season’s FEC Points List (Reordered) Matt Jones Sam Saunders Chris Stroud Greg Owen Steve Wheatcroft Tom Hoge Willy Wilcox Tyler Aldridge Stuart Appleby Nicholas Thompson S.J. Park Reorder Category – Cat. 34 thru 38 Camilo Villegas Jonathan Byrd Bill Lunde Ã�ngel Cabrera Jason Gore Mark Wilson Chesson Hadley Brendon de Jonge Y.E. Yang Dicky Pride John Merrick Charlie Wi Tommy Gainey Arjun Atwal Troy Matteson Tim Petrovic Tim Herron

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Tiger Woods paused just long enough to change into his signature red shirt between the third and fourth rounds of the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP in Chiba, Japan, on Sunday.  Now, after playing 29 holes and building a three-shot lead over Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, he has history squarely in his sights. When players go back out to finish the final round at 7:30 a.m. Monday local time (6:30 p.m. ET Sunday on Golf Channel), Woods will be going for his 82nd PGA TOUR victory, which would tie Sam Snead for most all time.   RELATED: How to watch Round 4 | Chasing 82 | Visual Stories: Tiger’s Top 10 shots “Yeah, I have,â€� Woods said, when asked if he’d played this much golf in one day since he had his left knee operated on for the fifth time two months ago. “But it’s in a cart.â€� Woods has won in all sorts of ways. This one, should he hang on, has been a test of endurance. Tournament officials have been playing catch-up since Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club received 10 inches of rain in a typhoon that wiped out the second round before it began. Still, the first official TOUR event in Japan is on the verge of ending like so many before it.   “I think it’s the mind,â€� said Woods (64-64-66), when asked what was most taxing about playing so many holes Sunday, when he completed his round at 1:12 p.m. local time, changed his blue shirt for a red one, and went back out for the final round at 2 p.m. “Being in it for 10 hours is a long period of time … the mind tends to wander a little bit and just got to grab it and make it come back and be 100% committed on the shot.â€� Woods is also coming back from knee surgery. He considered having his left knee operated on for the fifth time in late 2018, but wanted to play a full schedule last season and put it off. He won the Masters Tournament, fell off, and after failing to qualify for the season-ending TOUR Championship two months ago, had the arthroscopic procedure done Aug. 20. “It’s great to see him healthy, first and foremost,â€� said reigning FedExCup champion Rory McIlroy (72-65-63), who is in fifth place, seven off the lead, with just two holes of his final round remaining. “Yeah, as soon as I get done tomorrow, I’ll be a very interested viewer.â€� Players were not re-paired after the third round, so even though Woods’ closest pursuer is Matsuyama, he is still playing with U.S. Open Gary Woodland. Both players are competing not only for the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP title but to justify a captain’s pick for the Presidents Cup in December. Woods will name his captain’s picks Nov. 7.  Woodland was considered a good bet to make the team even before the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP began; Woods, the U.S. Captain, was more of an unknown in light of his recent health issues. Now, however, both look likely to be playing for the U.S. at Royal Melbourne, Dec. 12-15.  “(Woods) played unbelievable today,â€� Woodland said after Sunday’s marathon session, which he finished at 12 under, tied with Sungjae Im, six back. “Let a couple get away on a couple par 5s, but pretty impressive the way he’s hitting the golf ball.â€� Play was called for darkness at 4:40 p.m. local time with 46 of 76 players still on the course.   Woods played his first 11 holes of the final round in 2 under, with three birdies and a bogey.  The ending looked all but written in stone as he completed his third round with a three-shot lead over Matsuyama, as he is 24 for 24 at closing out tournaments with a lead of three or more going into the final round. The lead reached five until Matsuyama birdied the 11th and 12th holes to get it back to three before players were pulled off the course for the day. “I have a lot of ground to make up tomorrow,â€� Matsuyama said. “I need to play well to even have a chance, but I will give it a shot and do my best.â€� Woods, who won the 2004 and ’05 Dunlop Phoenix tournaments in Japan, has won 93.1% of the time with at least a share of the 54-hole lead, tops on TOUR. Still, the scarcity of scoreboards on the course has given him pause as he’s tried to keep an eye on his closest pursuers. “We had to ask a few times what’s going on up there, to get updates,â€� he said. “That’s probably been the only thing that’s different than normal.â€� Well, that and the significance of a potential 82nd victory. Snead was 52 when he won his 82nd; Woods, who returned from back fusion surgery to win the TOUR Championship two seasons ago and the Masters last April, is 43.  They are the only two players with 80 or more TOUR titles, and soon, it seems, they will be tied at the top. “Well, if I do what I’m supposed to do, and get the job done, then I get a W,â€� Woods said. “I guess that will add up to the 82 number, but my main focus is doing what I need to do to get the W first.â€�

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Presidents Cup combatants Xander Schauffele and Marc Leishman have seen immediate dividends from the new Callaway Mavrik driver as the company launches its new metalwoods and irons line. We first saw four-time PGA TOUR winner Schauffele with the new driver at the Presidents Cup in December and then again at the Sentry Tournament of Champions to kick off 2020. Schauffele garnered three points for the U.S. Team (3-2) at Royal Melbourne, including a very important Singles take down of International team veteran and on course leader Adam Scott. He then produced an impressive week in Maui, almost defending his title before falling in a playoff to Justin Thomas. “Equipment-wise, I’d say I’ve made the right decisions. I had a lead going into Sunday, which is what my team and I always work on, and the new equipment seems to be sliding in the bag perfectly,â€� Schauffele said in Kapalua. Leishman was part of 11 players in the field at the Sony Open in Hawaii to adopt the new driver that has taken the companies work with artificial intelligence or machine learning to a whole new level. The result was his best Strokes Gained: Off the Tee result over a tournament since June 2017. Leishman gained 1.1 strokes a round off the tee at Waialae Country Club (+4.394 for the week) to rank second in the field. He hit 73percent of his fairways, his highest driving accuracy percentage in a year. “This was the easiest driver fit I’ve ever had,â€� four-time TOUR winning Leishman said of suiting up to go to the Mavrik. “I think the new Mavrik driver will suit me a little better than the Epic Flash and I’m definitely feeling very confident with it. Obviously time will tell if I can keep up the improvement in my stats but the early signs are very good, especially on a tough driving course like Waialae.â€� Having debuted their supercomputer efforts last year with the Epic Flash driver, Callaway has beefed up the capabilities of their machine friend and create a specific face architecture for all three new driver heads in their lineup. The Mavrik, Mavrik Max and Mavrik Sub Zero. The new Flash Face SS20 design is thinner and features a more robust face structure that maximizes peak ball speed out of the center but minimizes the variation of ball speed around the face as well. For the first time Callaway is using FS2S titanium in a club face, an exotic material they say is remarkably strong and a full six grams lighter than traditional materials. The Jailbreak and a T2C Triaxial Carbon Crown technology return. Jailbreak features two internal bars behind the face that connect the sole and crown to promote faster ball speed and the T2C triaxial carbon crown is significantly lighter than a titanium crown, allowing engineers to redistribute additional weight to raise MOI and forgiveness. A.I. was used to optimize the internal structure and position of numerous ribs to create a more satisfying sound and feel. The Mavrik has the new Cyclone Aero shape to promote faster head speed. It is shallower from front to back, with a flatter crown, and a sole design that sweeps upward dramatically in the rear to create a markedly higher trailing edge. This helps decrease drag for increased clubhead speed. The head’s internal and external weighting includes a single, fixed 5g weight positioned at the sole’s back-center, to promote mid-level spin and a moderate draw bias. It has a 460cc head available in 9, 10.5 and 12 degrees. The Mavrik Sub Zero is a slightly smaller 450cc head that brings a combination of low spin and high MOI. The head features two interchangeable screws in the front and back, 14g and 2g, to promote changes to launch angle and spin-rate. It has a neutral ball flight bias and the lie angle is slightly flatter compared to the Standard and Max models. It is available in 9 and 10.5 degrees. The Mavrik Max is a more forgiving face with two interchangeable weights, 14g and 2g, to help change launch and spin. Off center hits can still bring distance while a distinct draw-bias weighting is implemented to help decrease a slice. It is available in 9, 10.5 and 12 degrees. Callaway’s Mavrik drivers retail for $449 and will be available Jan. 23. The new fairway woods also come in Mavrik, Mavrik Sub Zero and Mavrik Max. Callaway incorporated their A.I. designed Flash Face to work specifically with the size, shape and CG location of each head, promoting optimum speed and spin. Using C300 maraging steel the company has achieved high ball speeds that extend well across the face. A.I. also contributed to an enhanced Face Cup, which is engineered to provide speed across the face and Jailbreak Technology promotes more distance at every impact location by utilizing two internal bars that connect the crown and the sole. The standard Mavrik has a large and expansive hitting area for a high launch and a flat trajectory. The Sub Zero model has a tighter leading edge engineered to create more workability. The Max head has a lowered leading edge for better performance on shots that are hit lower on the face. All models feature interchangeable weighting to fine tune shot shape. The weighting system provides golfers with options to optimize launch angles, spin rates, and bias settings. And every club features high performance shaft options from UST, Project X and Aldila, along with premium Golf Pride grips. Callaway’s Mavrik Fairway Woods retail for $299 and will be available Jan. 23. Lastly the new Mavrik hybrids and irons have also been developed with the help of machine learning for the first time. Callaway say they’ve set a new standard for distance and performance with supercomputer help in these areas also. The hybrids come with Face Cup and Jailbreak technology and as with the fairway woods use A.I. to develop a different face design for every loft, promoting an optimal combination of speed, launch angle, and spin rate in each one. The result is easy launch, high flight, long carry and soft landing. The irons also feature a new Flash Face Cup and A.I. inspired separate face architecture for every loft. The differing faces bring a boost in ball speed and increased spin robustness off of every club in the set. Ball speed is further enhanced by the 360 Face Cup that flexes and releases at impact on center and off-center hits. A Tungsten Energy Core (precisely positioned custom tungsten weights in each iron to optimize launch and trajectory) allows Callaway to strengthen the lofts while still maintaining player preferred trajectories, spin rates, and land angles. Over one million urethane microspheres are strategically placed into each clubhead to absorb unwanted vibration while maximizing COR. The long iron faces are designed for launch and speed, while the mid-iron faces are engineered for speed and spin consistency. The short iron faces are optimized for spin and precision to promote pinpoint shot-making. Callaway’s Mavrik Hybrids retail for $249 while the 7-piece Standard and Max irons retail at $799 for steel and $899 for graphite and the 7-piece Pro irons are $899 in steel. All will be available Feb. 6.

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