Austin Cook increases lead to 3 shots at Sea Island

It has been 68 years since The Open was held in a place other than Scotland or England. So why, after all this time, is golf’s oldest major back at Royal Portrush?

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NAPLES, Florida – Tournament host Greg Norman announced 22 players currently committed to compete in the 2018 QBE Shootout. The tournament will be held December 5-9 and will celebrate its 30-year anniversary as the PGA TOUR returns to Tiburón Golf Club at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort for the 18th year. Twelve of the top 50 players in the world will comprise this year’s field which includes a third consecutive appearance by Lexi Thompson, the highest ranked American player on the LPGA, as well as defending champions Sean O’Hair and Steve Stricker, a three-time winner in just seven starts on the PGA TOUR Champions this season. The field includes eight players who combined to win 13 times during the last PGA TOUR season. That group is led by Bubba Watson and Bryson DeChambeau who both won three times this year and Patton Kizzire who won twice. Other current champions in the field are Billy Horschel, Andrew Landry, Pat Perez, Brandt Snedeker and Gary Woodland. In addition to O’Hair and Stricker, past QBE Shootout champions returning this year are Davis Love III and Snedeker. Six players will compete for the first time in the $3.4 million event—Emiliano Grillo, Kevin Na, Luke List, Kizzire, Landry and Harold Varner III. Kevin Chappell, Tony Finau, Kevin Kisner, Kyle Stanley, Charley Hoffman and Graeme McDowell, who have a combined 11 career TOUR victories, are among the 19 players returning to the QBE Shootout. Two players in the field are past FedExCup champions. Snedeker won the season-long competition in 2012 and Horschel in 2014. Representatives from this year’s U.S. Ryder Cup team include DeChambeau, Finau and Watson as players along with Love III and Stricker as vice-captains. McDowell served as a vice-captain for the European team. Friday’s first round will be broadcast live by Golf Channel from 1:30-4:30 p.m. On the weekend, the final two rounds will be live on Golf Channel from 1:00-2:00 p.m. and on NBC from 2:00-4:00 p.m. “As we prepare to celebrate our 30th anniversary, I can’t help but get excited about the field we have assembled,â€� tournament host Greg Norman said.  “When I started the QBE Shootout 30 years ago, I did it to create something different for my fellow professionals. Today, it is incredibly rewarding to see so many of the game’s best join me in Naples each December. This collection of world class players will offer QBE, our corporate partners, Southwest Florida fans and an international television audience the ultimate hospitality and viewing experience.â€� “As the title sponsor for the QBE Shootout, we are thrilled that, once again, some of the most prominent names in golf have committed to this year’s tournament,” said Russ Johnston, Chief Executive Officer of QBE North America. “The QBE Shootout is much more for us than a week of memorable golf and great sportsmanship. We strive to raise as much money as we can through the tournament for charity and are proud to be able to give back to our community in that way. I am excited about the 2018 event, which will be even bigger and better than ever!â€� The two players to complete the 24-player field and the 12 two-person teams will be finalized in early November. The criteria for players qualifying for the 24-person field was adjusted in 2017 to accurately reflect today’s PGA TOUR standards. The Shootout’s field is comprised of its defending champions playing as a team, the top 12 committed professionals from the final 2018 FedExCup standings and 10 special exemptions; a minimum of four which come from the top 40 on the PGA TOUR career money list. The QBE Shootout will once again feature a scramble format during the first round, a modified alternate shot format on Saturday and a final-round four-ball on Sunday.

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