Cantlay beats Rahm for PGA Tour Player of Year

Round 2 of The American Express takes place Friday from PGA West’s Stadium Course. The deep field includes defending FedExCup champion Patrick Cantlay, world No. 1 Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler and reigning Rookie of the Year Will Zalatoris. 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 (All times ET) Television: Thursday-Sunday, 3 p.m.-7 p.m. (Golf Channel) For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR Radio: Thursday-Friday, 1–7 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 2 p.m.-7 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) PGA TOUR LIVE ON ESPN+ FEATURED GROUPS Thursday – Marquee Group Matthew Wolff, Gary Woodland Featured Groups Jimmy Walker, Patton Kizzire Charles Howell III, Talor Gooch Friday – Marquee Group Jason Day, Justin Rose Featured Groups Russell Henley, Chris Kirk Sungjae Im, Abraham Ancer Saturday – Marquee Group Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler Featured Groups Patrick Cantlay, Scottie Scheffler Jon Rahm, Tony Finau MUST READS Patrick Cantlay, Lee Hodges share lead at The American Express Five things to know about PGA West’s Stadium Course

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THE OVERVIEW Charles Howell III was finally rewarded for his hard work. His victory at The RSM Classic was his first win in more than a decade and just his third in more than 500 starts on TOUR. He will start 2019 as the FedExCup leader. He won at Sea Island and finished fifth in the CIMB Classic. Those finishes alone wouldn’t be enough for him to hold the top spot, though. Proving that every point matters, it’s the four points he earned for his 61st-place finish at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES that prove to be his advantage over Xander Schauffele, who won the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. Howell’s persistence made him a popular winner. He has had a successful career according to multiple metrics – he has never lost his card in nearly two decades as a pro and earned more than $36 million on the course – but he will be the first to admit that his resume is short on victories. Just two players needed more TOUR starts to win for the third time. Even though Howell’s love for the game is often unrequited, it’s his passion for improvement that keeps the one-time phenom grinding away. “I always go back to, ‘OK, how do I improve, how do I get better, what do I need to work on?’â€� he said. “That’s the part I really, really enjoy.â€� Howell has an analytical mind, illustrated by the fact that he recently was investigating the discrepancies between his two launch monitors. He says he would work in finance if golf wasn’t his way to make a living. “I love (golf) because it’s all on you. It’s all on the player,â€� he said after his win. “What I hate about it is that you can work and work and work and get absolutely no results from that.â€� The hard work paid off in the final event of 2018. — By Sean Martin Click here to see who else made the Top 30 list. BY THE NUMBERS FEDEXCUP UPDATE Current 2018-19 position: 1st Playoff appearances: 12 TOUR Championship appearances: 2 Best FedExCup result: 18th in 2007, the first year of the FedExCup Playoffs. SHOTLINK FUN FACT Current FedExCup points leader Charles Howell III will try to continue the trend of points leaders after the fall events. Since the start of the wraparound season, each of the five previous points leaders after the fall have advanced to the TOUR Championship. INSIDER INSIGHTS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Charles Howell III in 2019. TOUR INSIDER: Leave it to Howell to have not one, but two, swing coaches. He works with California-based Dana Dahlquist as well as former TOUR winner Grant Waite, who lives closer to Howell’s home in the Orlando area. Playing with Waite at Isleworth has helped Howell focus on his score instead of his swing mechanics. Dahlquist has quieted the transition in Howell’s swing, teaching him to keep his arms passive as his body turns more during the downswing. — By Sean Martin FANTASY INSIDER: No doubt Howell was one of the best stories of the first eight events for having ended his drought at The RSM Classic, but he hasn’t fallen short of success in our world throughout his career. While the absence of a victory in the mainstream yields questions over time, because of consistently strong performances amid a busy schedule season after season, he’s retained cornerstone status in all formats. The win was a bonus, but it’s more of a reminder that he’s not slowing down as his 40th birthday approaches in June. — By Rob Bolton EQUIPMENT INSIDER: Known as a gearhead among gearheads, Howell’s recent win was all-too-fitting. Rumors began swirling about a big switch for CH3 after being spotted using Titleist metalwoods at the CIMB Classic. Then, the former PXG staffer sent the equipment world into a frenzy when he showed up to The 2018 RSM Classic with a bag full of new Titleist equipment — sans announcement from Titleist or Charles — and a TaylorMade putter. He won in his first week with the new arsenal. His winning bag consisted of a Titleist TS3 driver (10.5 degrees) with a Mitsubishi Tensei AV Blue 65TX shaft, TS2 fairway woods (15 and 21 degrees), a combo set of 718 T-MB, AP2 and CB irons, Vokey SM7 wedges, a TaylorMade Spider Tour Red putter, and a Titleist Pro V1 prototype golf ball. With a new Titleist staff bag and Titleist hat at the event, it’s obvious CH3 will be a Titleist staffer in 2019, we’re just awaiting the official announcement. It was a nice start for his new (assumed) deal. — By Andrew Tursky STYLE INSIDER: Howell is consistently one of the best dressed players on TOUR. Early in his career, he sported fashion-forward outfits, but recently he settled into timeless kits that turn heads for all the right reasons. The keys to his sartorial success are clean and well-balanced looks. The fit of his clothes falls into that perfect not-too-tight-not-too-loose range. While he doesn’t shy away from adding pops of bright colors, he always keeps them grounded with cool neutrals. — By Greg Monteforte

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The weekly anticipation until tee times drop and featured groups are released on Tuesdays has nothing on the level of advance intrigue concerning the makeup of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Some partnerships in the two-man competition are telegraphed weeks and months in advance, but when the field publishes with confirmations of all 80 teams, the buzz is unique. An explanation of the format, analysis of TPC Louisiana and more information is detailed beneath a ranking of 10 teams and five others teams to consider. RELATED: The First Look | How it works POWER RANKINGS: ZURICH CLASSIC OF NEW ORLEANS OTHERS CONSIDERED Joel Dahmen & Lanto Griffin Max Homa & Talor Gooch Richy Werenski & Peter Uihlein Louis Oosthuizen & Charl Schwartzel Alex Noren & Henrik Norlander The Zurich Classic of New Orleans does not contribute to PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, so Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider will be abridged. Naturally, the fun isn’t limited to the fans to digest who’s teamed with whom at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. For all 160 committed to play, it’s a unique wrinkle in the middle of the season and positioned not long after an exceptionally challenging stretch of competition. When the local food and culture are accepted as perks of making the trip, it could feel like a bonus since guys play any variety of home games with a partner. Best ball will be used for scoring in the first and third rounds; alternate shot will measure performance in the second and fourth rounds. Since last season’s edition was canceled, this is the first staging of the four (since 2017) with a 36-hole cut of low 33 teams and ties. Each member of the winning team is credited with an official victory and the customary two-year membership exemption (or extension of one year up to the maximum of five, if applicable). Each winner receives exemptions into next month’s PGA Championship, the 2022 Sentry Tournament of Champions and the 2022 PLAYERS Championship, among other invitationals. While bragging rights are forever, those rewards exceed whatever exchange occurs on the last green of their private matches. Members of the top-five teams at the conclusion of the tournament will be exempt into next week’s Valspar Championship via the top-10 provision, if necessary. Another benefit exists in the absence of a negative; that is, because Official World Golf Ranking points are not assigned, the tournament does not contribute to the divisor for all of the entrants. So, a missed cut does no harm. A couple of days after Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer celebrated victory at TPC Louisiana in 2019, the course underwent a six-month renovation. Its wide-ranging attention included a modernization of the fairways and greens fitted with Celebration bermudagrass and TifEagle bermuda, respectively. Only the putting surfaces have been overseeded. They’re prepared to run up to 12-and-a-half feet on the Stimpmeter, weather pending. It’s likely that the greens will be as advertised as conditions for the opening round should be perfect. Things will turn come Friday and into Saturday due to a reasonable threat for inclement weather. With it, temperatures will rise into the mid-to-upper 70s. They’ll stay there for Sunday’s finale, which is forecast to be dry. Wind will be a persistent variable throughout the tournament. The latest versions of the greens on the par-5 second and par-3 14th holes have new hole locations. Upwards of nine dozen bunkers were rebuilt and reshaped to reflect a proper challenge. Improving the drainage across the property was the through line for the work. TPC Louisiana is a stock par 72 that stretches to 7,425 yards. Despite welcoming fairways framed by rough trimmed to 1.75 inches, it’s not a bomber’s paradise, but distance off the tee has increased since the advent of the team competition. However, hitting greens in regulation has gone in the other direction. Because the greens are undulating and segmented, precision on approach is at a premium. That’s multiplied in best ball with two looks into every green for as many as two rounds. Ball-strikers, short-game wizards and streaky profiles define who prevailed and contended in the first three spins of the team event, but that doesn’t rule anyone out. It merely validates the essence of the competition. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers; Fantasy Insider SUNDAY: Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Rookie Watch

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