Comparing the putters of Hideki Matsuyama and his hero, Tiger Woods

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER EARNS BREAKTHROUGH TOUR TITLE Scottie Scheffler plays with a casual yet self-assured demeanor, cultivated through accomplishments. The 25-year-old New Jersey native has risen to the top at every level – winning the 2013 U.S. Junior, starring collegiately at the University of Texas, earning 2019 Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year honors, and even compiling a 2-0-1 record in his maiden Ryder Cup appearance last fall. There was just one blank on the resume, a PGA TOUR title. That blank was filled in dramatic fashion Sunday at the WM Phoenix Open, as Scheffler delivered a 26-foot birdie putt on the third playoff hole at TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course, then watched Patrick Cantlay’s tying attempt slide just by. With a raucous contingent of fans cheering “Scottie! Scottie!” on a sun-kissed Sunday afternoon, Scheffler carded a final-round 67 in the penultimate pairing to post 16-under total, which proved enough for extra holes once Cantlay’s 10-foot birdie attempt at the 72nd hole burned the edge. The two matched pars on the first two playoff holes before Scheffler delivered a signature winning moment, punctuated by multiple fist pumps, a wave to the crowd and a high-five with caddie Ted Scott. The victory moves Scheffler to No. 4 on the FedExCup – 500 points accrued – as he continues to cement a place in golf’s legion of young stars. REVVING UP FOR RIVIERA Current FedExCup leader Hideki Matsuyama, along with the rest of the top 10 players in the world, is set to tee it up at storied Riviera Country Club for this season’s The Genesis Invitational. Max Homa looks to defend his hometown title after a dramatic playoff victory over Tony Finau a year ago. The invitational field will include Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland and reigning FedExCup champion Patrick Cantlay. Rory McIlroy makes his first start of 2022 on the PGA TOUR. This is the 59th time the George C. Thomas Jr./William P. Bell design will host The Genesis Invitational. Its compact design with primary rough of club-grabbing Kikuyu makes it a challenge for the best players in the world. Aaron Beverly is the 2022 recipient of the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption. Beverly was a celebrated college golfer and competes on the APGA Tour. 550 FedExCup points will be up for grabs come Sunday. FEEL-GOOD STORIES OF THE WEEK D.J. Gregory has been a fixture on the PGA TOUR since 2008. Gregory, who was born with cerebral palsy, attends more than 40 events each year and picks a player to follow each week. All told, he has covered more than 14,000 miles and raised more than $1 million for his Walking For Kids Foundation, predominantly through the donations of TOUR players like world No. 1 Jon Rahm. On Tuesday at TPC Scottsdale, PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan surprised Gregory with the TOUR’s Courage Award, presented to a person who has overcome personal tragedy or debilitating injury or illness to make a meaningful contribution to the game. He became the first person to receive the award who is not a member of the PGA TOUR. “He’s captured a lot of hearts of us players — definitely mine,” Rahm said. Rahm was also part of another emotional moment last week. He met up with Phoenix Small, 14, a Shriners patient who was born with clubfoot, which Rahm was diagnosed with as a child. The two had an emotional initial meeting at the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale, then played the final three holes together. “I think I would have been a lot more nervous than he was,” Rahm said after the round. “He composed himself in such a great manner, it was incredible.” VIDEO OF THE WEEK Fans react to Sam Ryder’s incredible ace Saturday on the raucous par-3 16th hole in Phoenix. And not to be outdone, Carlos Ortiz followed it up with another ace on Sunday. MIC CHECK “I’m like, ‘Let’s just put that one away,’ and we kind of put it in a different pocket. There were a couple other balls in there and I was like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa.’ But we got the right one.” – Sam Ryder on making sure he and his caddie kept the ball from his ace on the 16th hole in a safe spot in his golf bag. BY THE NUMBERS 600 – Starts for Charles Howell III after competing at the WM Phoenix Open. He reflected on the impressive mark before missing the cut after rounds of 75-69 at TPC Scottsdale. 1 – Brandon Matthews secured his first Korn Ferry Tour win in dramatic fashion with an eagle on 18 at the Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard. 67 – Final-round score for Steve Stricker last season on his way to victory at the Chubb Classic. The PGA TOUR Champions returns this week to Naples, Florida, after nearly one month off. COMCAST BUSINESS TOUR TOP 10 The Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 highlights and rewards the extraordinary level of play required to earn a spot in the TOP 10 at the conclusion of the FedExCup Regular Season as determined by the FedExCup standings. The competition recognizes and awards the most elite in golf.

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Here are nine tidbits from the third round of the CareerBuilder Challenge that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Be looking for the Emergency 9 shortly after the close of play of each round of the tournament. Cook-ing with Gas Austin Cook will carry the 54-hole lead into Sunday after posting the lowest round of the day with 64 at La Quinta Country Club. He torched the Nicklaus Tournament course in Round 1 with a 63 and survived the Stadium Course with 70 in Round 2. He’s only made two bogeys on the week, the same number of eagles that he’s circled. The 2017 RSM Classic champ will be looking to join Patton Kizzire as the only players with more than one win on TOUR this season. His nearest competitors haven’t won on TOUR but the next four listed on the scoreboard have done the business. The Cut The toughest part of this event for gamers is being patient. There were plenty of big rounds today that moved guys inside the line and will give them at least a chance tomorrow. The first time the Nicklaus Tournament and Stadium Course were in the rotation was 2016. The cut that year was nine-under-par so nobody should be terribly surprised eight was the number this year. When the winds gusted last year, the number fell on five-under so there’s not much room for rounds in the 70’s around these parts. Movers and Shakers Busy day Saturday as making the cut and getting into position were all in play. Of the 22 rounds 67 or lower, 21 were signed for on courses not named the Stadium Course. Going low on Saturday never hurts as 19 of the 21 players to shoot 67 or lower are going to play the weekend. John Huh and Stewart Cink both racked up 65 at La Quinta Country Club and both moved up 41 places to T-11. Course and Weather Management And then there was one. There’s no place to hide your players PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO as the Stadium Course will host the final round Sunday. Where was the wind on Saturday? Sure, it blew a bit but I don’t recall seeing any gusts of 40 mph!  Grayson Murray and Nick Watney opened the week with 65’s on the Stadium Course. Kevin Chappell went one lower in round two as Bronson Burgoon added 66. If you are looking for wagon to hitch up to on Sunday, start here. More choices follow below! Great Scott Scott Piercy’s name could have been added to the section above but after his 66 on the Stadium Course, he gets his own spotlight. I noted his flash last week at Sony as his 65 on moving day caught my eye. This week he has added three more rounds in the 60’s to sit T4 entering Sunday. The Las Vegas resident has plenty of familiarity with desert golf and going low. Long-term investors will be happy to see his shoulder injury behind him as he looks for his first top 10 since the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational last May. Power Ball Seamus Power started on the Stadium Course with 70 so he knew he had work to do over his next two rounds. He’s flying into the weekend after 66 at La Quinta and one better today at Nicklaus Tournament. He’s only made one bogey in his last 41 holes and he’s bashed the par fives to the tune of 10-under for the week. He only had one top 10 last year as a rookie. A big finish this week will help him move up in the reshuffle category where he currently sits 28th. Been There, Done That Adam Hadwin’s is again reinforcing his love for golf in the Coachella Valley. The last two years he’s given it a run but hasn’t broken 70 on Sunday. He’s currently T6 and while he didn’t post a super-low one at La Quinta, scene of his 59 last year, I will point out he was bogey-free at the Stadium Course with an excellent 67 on Friday. He’ll be doing the chasing tomorrow and that might take the edge off. I’d expect another big finish. The Big-Name Game The movers and shakers are noted above but gamers are also pining for answers for those who didn’t fire this week. Zach Johnson, who was noted yesterday after his wonderful 64, reminded us that four rounds are needed this week. His 73 on the Stadium Course dropped him out of the top five to T21. I don’t have to remind you which course they are playing tomorrow. … Brian Gay was also noted yesterday and the former champ had a great chance to capitalize on his 64 from Friday at the Nicklaus Tournament layout. His 73 dropped him 26 spots to T33. … Sleepers Aaron Wise and Beau Hossler couldn’t break par on the Stadium Course Saturday and also dropped out of the top 10. … Patrick Reed and Brandt Snedeker both shot 67 to warm up for next week at Torrey Pines but just like Phil Mickelson, they’ll all get their earlier than expected after MC. Study Hall For the second day in a row an ace was made. Yesterday it was Harold Varner III and today it was Daniel Summerhays. Of the three aces made on TOUR this year, two are Utah natives Summerhays and Tony Finau. … Rory McIlroy had another big day in the desert (65) and is just one shot off the lead of Ross Fisher and Thomas Pieters (-17) entering the final round in Abu Dhabi. … Sergio Garcia remains one back at the Singapore Open as they are struggling to complete round three due to weather. … Jonathan Randolph withdrew before round three with a shoulder injury.  

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Official PGA TOUR Statement: John Mutch, Ken Tackett and Gary Young have reviewed the Rory McIlroy videos from No. 18 yesterday and determined that it was virtually the same situation that Patrick Reed faced on No. 10 during the third round. It was reasonable for both players to conclude – based on the fact that they did not see the ball land, but given the lie of the ball in soft course conditions – that they proceed as the Rule allows for an potential embedded ball. They marked, lifted and assessed the situation to determine if the ball was embedded. Patrick went one step further and called in a Rules Official to be sure his assessment would not be questioned (although this step is not required). Both players took proper relief under the Rule 16/3. The Committee is comfortable with how both players proceeded given the fact that they used the evidence they had at the time. RELATED: Reed's drop on 10 declared ‘textbook' by rules official

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