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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – With his victory on Sunday night at the AT&T Byron Nelson, Aaron Wise secured the 500th PGA TOUR title by a former Web.com Tour player. Wise played the Web.com Tour in 2017, compiling six top-25 finishes in 16 starts, including a win at the Wichita Open Supporting Wichita’s Youth in in June. The former University of Oregon standout finished 18th on the Tour’s Regular Season money list to earn his PGA TOUR card for the 2017-18 season, and entered the week in Dallas at No. 56 in the FedExCup standings, thanks to a career-best T2 finish at the Wells Fargo Championship two weeks ago. “It’s incredible to think of the vision Commissioner Beman had for the Web.com Tour, and how pivotal it has been over the last 29 years in preparing, identifying and transitioning the game’s next generation of PGA TOUR stars,� said Web.com Tour president Dan Glod. “Five-hundred PGA TOUR victories by former players is an impressive number and speaks to the depth of talent we see each week on the Web.com Tour. This milestone clearly demonstrates that our members are prepared to win as soon as they reach the PGA TOUR and continue to have sustained success.� The Web.com Tour, which was founded in 1990 as the Ben Hogan Tour, delivered its first PGA TOUR champion in 1991 when Bruce Fleischer won the New England Classic in a seven-hole playoff for the lone victory of his TOUR career. Fleisher made 12 combined starts on the Ben Hogan Tour between 1990 and 1991, recording four top-five finishes – including back-to-back T3 efforts leading into his breakthrough week at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Sutton, Massachusetts. Since that inaugural victory, the Web.com Tour has paved the way for 17 former players to win 23 major championship titles, including the last three PGA Championships (Justin Thomas, Jimmy Walker, Jason Day). In addition to major championship titles, eight former players have won THE PLAYERS Championship at least once in their career, including 2018 champion Webb Simpson. In 2012, Jacksonville, Florida-based Web.com became the umbrella sponsor of the Web.com Tour, with a 10-year agreement in place through 2021. With 50 PGA TOUR cards available for the following season (since 2013), the Web.com Tour has become the path to the PGA TOUR. Twenty-five TOUR cards are reserved for the leading money winners at the end of the 22-event Regular Season. Another 25 are up for grabs at the conclusion of the four-event Web.com Tour Finals that follow the Regular Season in September. “The Web.com Tour is producing high-caliber professional golfers ready to compete on the PGA TOUR, and the reason is clear. People in every profession can succeed if they have determination and backing from the right team and tools,� said David L. Brown, chairman, chief executive officer and president of Web.com. “It is gratifying to partner with the PGA TOUR to help golf’s current and rising stars succeed and achieve their potential. Congratulations to Aaron Wise on the win and thank you for demonstrating the power of the Web.com Tour.� That formula has given way to immediate success for a number of graduates in recent years. During the PGA TOUR’s 2016-17 season, the Web.com Tour’s Class of 2016 featured nine graduates winning 10 times, including Rookie of the Year Xander Schauffele, who became the first rookie in history to win the TOUR Championship. Thus far during the TOUR’s 2017-18 season, five players from the Class of 2018 have earned titles, including Ryan Armour, Austin Cook, Brice Garnett, Andrew Landry and Wise.

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SHEBOYGAN, Wis. — The Americans haven’t opened with a lead this large in the Ryder Cup since Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino were playing, and before Tiger Woods was even born. RELATED: Full recap from Day 1 | Pairings, preview for Saturday morning That didn’t seem to be big enough to satisfy U.S. captain Steve Stricker. Dustin Johnson and Xander Schauffele each won two matches, Bryson DeChambeau smashed a drive that had everyone talking and the Americans were relentless Friday at Whistling Straits in losing only one match to build a 6-2 lead. “It’s a great start. We are happy with the start,” Stricker said. “But my message to the guys is tomorrow is a new day. Pretend today never happened, and let’s keep our foot down and continue to play the golf that we know we can play.” Oh, how Europe would like to forget this day ever happened. Rory McIlroy never made it to the 16th hole in losing both his matches on the opening day for the first time. The lone bright spot was Jon Rahm, living up his No. 1 ranking by winning in foursomes with Sergio Garcia and keeping Europe in a tight fourballs match long enough for Tyrrell Hatton to birdie the last hole to at least salvage a half-point. Europe has never trailed by four points after the first day since the Ryder Cup was expanded to include the continent in 1979, the modern era of these matches that Europe now dominates. Go back to 1975 to find the last time the U.S. had a four-point lead in the Ryder Cup. “No doubt, it was a tough day,” European skipper Padraig Harrington said, attributing the difference to a putt here, there and pretty much everywhere. “There’s obviously still 20 points to play for.” Suddenly, though, there seems to be a sense of urgency. The Americans were delivering big moments and the big smiles, waving up hands to get the one-sided gallery to cheer even louder, cupping hands to their ears to urge them along. They are looking for a fresh start after a quarter-century of losing, and its youngest team in history took a big step to creating their own memories. “They fought hard every single shot out there, from what I saw,” DeChambeau said after he and Scottie Scheffler earned a halve in fourballs. “This is a great start, but the job’s not over. We have two more days. A lot more golf. And we cannot lose our mindset to win.” The first point of the 43rd Ryder Cup, postponed one year by the pandemic, went to Europe and its new “Spanish Armada” of Rahm and Garcia. The final match ended in a halve when Justin Thomas delivered a late eagle putt that allowed him and Patrick Cantlay to come all the way back from a 3-down deficit. Through the morning chill, the midday warmth, a ferocious wind in the afternoon and even a little rain, the one constant was American red scores filling the boards across Whistling Straits. “We can come back from 6-2,” said McIlroy, trying to summon calm and confidence after losing both matches. Europe will have to do it without him. McIlroy is not part of the foursomes lineup Saturday morning, the first time he has sat in a Ryder Cup. Both captains stuck to their plans, and it only worked out for one of them. Even with a 3-1 start in foursomes, Stricker broke up all his American teams as planned and still won the afternoon fourballs session with two wins and two draws. Johnson and Schauffele never trailed together, while the high-spirited Tony Finau made six birdies as he and Harris English trounced McIlroy and Shane Lowry. DeChambeau still hasn’t won a Ryder Cup match, but he delivered quite a show. He pounded a drive to where no one had dared to go on the par-5 fifth hole. It cleared a massive bunker complex and stopped rolling at 417 yards, setting up a 72-yard flip wedge for an easy eagle. “There are two towers behind the green — I can’t even describe to you — they are like 250 or 200 yards right of where I’m trying to hit my drive,” Scheffler said. “And it’s crazy for him to be able to commit to that shot. “It was great. That was a good spark for us and good momentum for the rest of the day.” DeChambeau and Scheffler were poised for a 1-up victory until Hatton hit 5-iron into a hard left-to-right wind that landed near the hole and settled 7 feet away. He made the birdie putt to scratch out a halve and could only hope it was worth more. “Things like this can turn the tide,” Rahm said. After one day, it already feels like a strong tide, and that makes Saturday and another round of foursomes and fourballs more important than ever. Harrington also broke up all his pairings. This was the first time since the Ryder Cup was expanded to include all of Europe in 1979 that no one from the morning played together in the afternoon from either team. Cantlay and Schauffele were tough as ever in foursomes, which set the tone for the Americans. They were 5 up through five holes against McIlroy and Ian Poulter, and closed out their impressive 5-and-3 win with four straight birdies, the last one conceded. “I don’t know if anyone could have beat Xander and Patrick today,” McIlroy said. Only one shot went into the lake — a pull-hook from Tommy Fleetwood on the par-5 16th. And there almost was one player who went into Lake Michigan. That would be Jordan Spieth, facing an impossible shot beneath the 17th green with the ball on a severe slope in the morning round. He swung so hard with a 52-degree wedge that momentum sent him backward, scrambling to keep his footing and then running down toward the edge of the bank until he could get his balance. The shot? Remarkable as ever, plopping down 6 feet away. Thomas missed the par putt and the match was over. That was one of the few moments that didn’t go the American’s way.

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ERIN, Wis. — Justin Thomas landed a 3-wood on the 18th green where some players couldn’t land a wedge, leaving him an 8-foot eagle putt that he calmly made for a 9-under 63 that matched one U.S. Open record and broke another. It also put him squarely in the mix to capture his first major. On an Erin Hills course that again lacked enough wind to be the stern test the U.S. Open wants, Brian Harman weaved his way through traffic at the top of the leaderboard Saturday for a 5-under 67 and a one-shot lead over Thomas, Brooks Koepka and Tommy Fleetwood. Thomas became the fifth player to shoot 63 in the U.S. Open, and the first with a score of 9 under. This is the first time in 25 years that the U.S. Open has played as a par 72. By the end of the day, that wasn’t even the most shocking number. Harman was at 12-under 204 and still only had a one-shot lead, with Rickie Fowler two shots behind. “Yeah, 12 under, I’d have about a 10-shot lead in most Opens,” he said. Just not this one. There were 18 rounds in the 60s, starting with one for the record book. If his hot pink pants were not enough, Thomas finished in style. He had 310 yards to the hole when he hit 3-wood that could have led to big trouble if he went too far long or left. “Oh gosh, Jimmy, be good,” he said to caddie Jimmy Johnson when the ball was in the air, and it was close to perfect. The ball landed on the front of the green just soft enough that it rolled out 8 feet by the hole. Thomas poured that in to become the 29th player with a 63 in a major championship. “The finish was awesome. I’d love to have another one of those,” Thomas said. But not long after he signed for his record score and an 11-under 205, he began to appreciate the significance of a 63 on this day. “That means I’m a part of history,” he said. “It means I have a lot better chance to win the tournament than I did when the day started. “I felt like I’ve been playing pretty well all week, and didn’t have quite the numbers to show for it. Obviously, today I definitely had something to show for it.” And he still has a long way to go. In the previous 116 U.S. Opens, only six players had ever reached 10-under par or lower, never in the same tournament. There were five players in double digits Saturday at Erin Hills. Koepka also reached the green in two on the 667-yard closing hole for a two-putt birdie and a 68. Fleetwood was poised to take the lead until his pitch to the 18th wasn’t strong enough and his next shot went beyond the flag and down the slope some 70 feet away. He got that up-and-down for a bogey and a 68. Fowler, sharing a house with Thomas this week, was being left behind until he ran off three straight birdies and shot 68. He was 10 under. “It’s going to be a really cool day for someone tomorrow,” Fowler said. “I’m looking forward to my shot at it. I’ve been there a handful of times and had some good finishes. But I’m looking forward to getting the job done.” Not to be overlooked was Si Woo Kim, who captured THE PLAYERS Championship last month. He shot 68 and was only three back. Even with the course drying out, there simply was not enough wind to frighten anyone on their game. Thomas, the 24-year-old from Kentucky who is a major away from joining the young elite in golf, only added to a year of low numbers. He made an eagle on his final hole at the Sony Open in January to shoot 59, and he went on to break the PGA TOUR’s 72-hole scoring record. The U.S. Open didn’t seem to faze him, and he delivered a variety of big shots that led to his sensational finish. He rolled in an 18-foot birdie putt on No. 5 from the edge of the green that broke so severely that he stood with his toes facing the hole and rapped the ball toward his left foot. It took a hard turn to the right and rolled in. In the hay left of the 12th fairway, he gouged it out with a 9-iron and watched it roll to 10 feet. And with the tees moved up on the 15th hole to make it reachable, Thomas hit a 3-wood that rolled off the back slope of the green to 6 feet. He two-putted for birdie, and he rolled in a 25-foot birdie putt on the 17th. “It doesn’t matter how long, how whatever the course is,” Thomas said about the longest course in major championship history. “When you give us soft greens, good greens and not much wind, you know there are going to be some good scores. I was just happy that I was the one that was able to take advantage of it today.” But the work is not done. Of the five other players who shot a 63 in the third round at a major, none went on to win. Most of them had to come from far back going into the weekend, and it was difficult to put together two good rounds. Then again, none of the top 16 on the leaderboard has ever won a major. “Someone has a very good chance of ending up with their first major tomorrow,” Fowler said.

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