DJ grabs lead at HSBC Champions

The Genesis Open kicks off this morning from storied Riviera Country Club. Bubba Watson is the defending champion, Phil Mickelson is coming off a victory at Pebble Beach, and Tiger Woods is making his second start of 2019. Here’s everything you need to know for Round 1. Round 1 tee times Round 1 leaderboard HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN (ALL TIMES ET) TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 2-6 p.m. (Golf Channel). Saturday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6:30 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 9:30 a.m. – 8 p.m. (Featured Groups). Saturday, 10:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. (Featured Groups, Featurd Holes). Sunday, 11 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. (Featured Groups, Featured Holes). PGA TOUR Twitter window is Thursday-Friday from 9:30 a.m. to approximately 10:45 a.m. On Saturday the window is from 10:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. On Sunday the window will be 11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Sunday. A Fan Vote on Twitter will determine the second Featured Group on Friday, with final results announced at the end of Thursday’s first round. GOLFTV: International fans can stream PGA TOUR LIVE coverage from Thursday-Friday, 14:30 to 23:00 GMT. Saturday-Sunday, 16:30 to 23:00 via subscription to GOLF.TV. RADIO: Thursday-Friday, noon-6 p.m. Saturday, 1-6 p.m. Sunday, 1-6:30 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com). NOTABLE PAIRINGS (ALL TIMES ET) Cameron Champ, Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson: 10:11 a.m., 10th tee Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson: 10:22 a.m., 10th tee Bryson DeChambeau, Matt Kuchar, Jon Rahm: 3:11 p.m., 1st tee Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, 3:22 p.m., 1st tee MUST READS Power Rankings Expert Picks Featured Groups Tiger, Phil keep pushing each other Cameron Champ’s grandfather helped pave the way

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Rory McIlroy was voted Player of the Year by PGA Tour members, despite Brooks Koepka winning two majors and being named PGA of America POY on points.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – There are very few people who can really truly comprehend what Tiger Woods has achieved since having back-fusion surgery. One of those is two-time Super Bowl champion and five-time NFL MVP Peyton Manning. Manning famously returned to the heights of the NFL after sitting out a season following neck-fusion surgery in 2011. Having won his first Super Bowl with the Colts before the injury, he won another with the Denver Broncos after having surgery. RELATED: Watch Tiger exclusively on PGA TOUR LIVE on Thursday morning Getting there was not easy and plenty doubted he could. Woods finally succumbed to back-fusion surgery after multiple previous surgeries failed to fully address the issue. Now Woods has two wins since the surgery (TOUR Championship, Masters). Manning joined Woods for a pro-am appearance at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide on Wednesday, the second straight year they have played together. But this year came after Woods won PGA TOUR title No. 80 at East Lake and No. 81 at Augusta National Golf Club, replicating the amazing comeback success of Manning. “It’s hard to make comparisons. And I don’t think that anybody can speak to it from a physical standpoint, injury-wise. Only you know what it feels like. And I know how hard he worked,� Manning said of Woods, who will try to join Sam Snead with a record 82 PGA TOUR wins this week. “The most impressive thing is how he’s been able to adjust and be adaptive to playing in a new physical state. And that’s what I did. And maybe to use a baseball analogy … I couldn’t throw the 100 mile-an-hour fastball anymore, but you can still work the outside edges of the plate and you can still strike a guy out that way. “And he struck a lot of guys out down there at Augusta a few weeks ago and came home with the win. That to me is the most impressive thing, how adaptive he’s been. As a golf fan, like everybody, I liked watching that Sunday. It’s great having him out here watching him play again.� Woods’ chase for 82 has ramped up lately. While he missed the cut at the PGA Championship, this week he’s at a venue where success has come in buckets. There was a time that Muirfield Village was as much Tiger’s place as it was Jack’s. From 1999-2012, Woods finished no worse than T22 at the beautiful course Jack Nicklaus built near his Ohio roots. Woods won the Memorial Tournament five times and finished inside the top four on three other occasions. Three of his wins came in consecutive years between 1999-2001. So perhaps it would be somewhat fitting for Woods to claim his 82nd and record-tying PGA TOUR win this week. “To get into those numbers it takes longevity and it takes years. I think it’s been 10 years where I’ve won five or more tournaments. You need multiple win seasons like that and be able to do it for decades so that’s something I’m very proud of because it’s not something that happens overnight,� Woods said of his win chase. “To be able to come this close to get to one behind Sam Snead has been pretty amazing. It has been a pretty amazing run during my 20-some odd years out here. Hopefully I have a few more.� Woods was under the weather at Bethpage Black, but insists his health is fine this week. “I lost quite a bit of weight and wasn’t feeling my best, but I was able to put most of it back on,� he said. “I’m feeling a lot better. I just need to play a little bit more now. Hopefully it will be four solid days this week.�

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