Emergency 9: Fantasy news for the WGC-Dell Match Play, Corales Puntacana

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ATLANTA –  FedExCup leader Jordan Spieth knows he doesn’t need to win the TOUR Championship to walk away with the PGA TOUR’s biggest prize. There’s a plethora of hypotheticals that would see him finish atop the FedExCup standings even if he doesn’t shoot the lowest score this week at East Lake Golf Club. Spieth hasn’t studied the scenarios, though. “And I’m not interested in it, to be honest,â€� he said. He knows several strong players are nipping at his heels, all of whom want to supplant him atop the FedExCup standings. He doesn’t want to leave his fate in their hot hands. There is just one way he can ensure FedExCup success: win the TOUR Championship. The top 5 in the standings are all in the same enviable position. And what a group it is. The FedExCup’s top 5 as we head into the season finale is the youngest and most fruitful top 5 in FedExCup history. The five men atop the TOUR’s season-long standings have combined for 15 wins in 2016-17 and their average age is 27.4. Both are FedExCup records. RELATED: Scenarios for each of the top 30 to win the FedExCup “The likelihood is the guys that have been playing really well, the guys that are hot, you’re likely to see toward the top of the leaderboard again,â€� Spieth said. The three players immediately behind Spieth the FedExCup standings – Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson and Marc Leishman – are the winners of the first three events of the FedExCup Playoffs. Three of the past four FedExCups have been won by a player who won one of the first three Playoffs events. The lone exception was Spieth in 2015. Spieth is looking to join Tiger Woods as the only players to win multiple FedExCups. Thomas is trying to put the perfect cap on his breakout season, just as Spieth did at the 2015 TOUR Championship. The two 24-year-olds have combined for eight wins this season, including two majors. Spieth’s three wins include The Open Championship and that dramatic bunker hole-out at the Travelers Championship. Thomas has won five times, fired a 59 and a record-setting 63 at the U.S. Open. Leishman, 33, is trying to replicate Billy Horschel’s hot finish to the 2014 FedExCup. Leishman, long respected as one of the game’s most underrated players, won last week’s BMW Championship to leap inside the top 5. It was his second win in his past 17 starts after he had just one win in his first 206. Johnson, also 33, is seeking redemption. It was at East Lake last year where he let both the TOUR Championship and FedExCup slip away with a final-round 73. He started Sunday tied for the lead, but his back-nine struggles opened the door for Rory McIlroy’s dramatic FedExCup-winning finish. “For me, it’s more about winning the TOUR Championship and becoming the FedExCup champion than it is about the money,â€� Johnson said. “Obviously that’s just a very nice bonus.â€� Rahm, the youngest member of the top 5, has finished in the top five at all three postseason events, the only player to do so. The 22-year-old is little more than a year removed from his college days at Arizona State. He’s trying to pull a Tom Brady by winning his sport’s biggest prize in his postseason debut. A FedExCup victory for Rahm would be unprecedented, as no player has won the top prize in his first trip to the Playoffs (outside of Woods and his win in the FedExCup’s first season). They’ll face a demanding East Lake course that requires strong ball-striking. Only once has a player gone lower than 13 under. The winning score has been single-digits under par in five of the 10 TOUR Championships at East Lake in the FedExCup era. “One of the things I always loved about East Lake … is that you can’t fake it,â€� said NBC commentator Jim “Bonesâ€� Mackay, the longtime caddie for two-time TOUR Championship winner Phil Mickelson. “Typically the guy that plays the best this week is going to win. … You really have to show up and play. I think that’s terrific for a tournament of this magnitude.â€� That will be especially true this year with such a strong leading contingent in the FedExCup standings. Four of the past five FedExCup champions were ranked inside the top 5 when they arrived at East Lake Golf Club. The exception? McIlroy, who was No. 6 before hoisting two trophies on that Sunday evening at East Lake last year. This season’s top 5 all have had successful seasons. Now have one more opportunity to add the perfect finishing touch. The season finale will be anything but a stroll to the finish line. It will be a sprint. The stakes are too high. Take Thomas’ word for it. “It doesn’t matter who you are or how much you’ve achieved, you always want more,â€� he said.

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – PGA TOUR and CJ Group officials today announced that THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES will move venues and will now be staged at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas, Nevada, Oct. 15-18, 2020 and will change to THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK. Since 2017, the event has been played annually at The Club @ Nine Bridges on Jeju Island, Korea, with Justin Thomas securing a playoff victory over Marc Leishman in the inaugural event and winning again last year. Brooks Koepka was victorious by four shots in 2018. "The PGA TOUR is truly appreciative of CJ Group's commitment to bring THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK to the United States this October," said Ty Votaw, PGA TOUR Executive Vice President, International. "While our players have always looked forward to visiting Korea, the current circumstances provided this new opportunity to bring the event to Las Vegas which will also provide brand exposure and awareness to the viewing audience in the United States and around the globe. We are thankful for the partnership and support that CJ Group and the Korean PGA have shown in view of the circumstances. We are confident this year's event will showcase a stellar field while bringing the CJ Group's brand values to a new time zone." Ethan Kim, Sports Marketing Director of CJ Group, said: "We are delighted to bring THE CJ CUP to the U.S. and to the renowned Shadow Creek. It is unfortunate we will not be able to showcase the PGA TOUR and the best players in the world on Jeju Island this year, but we look forward to having this tournament again in Korea in 2021. We are excited to bring our Korean culture and flavor of bibigo to show the TOUR players and American audience through coverage of THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK." As part of the early events on the 2020-21 PGA TOUR Season, THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK is slated to be played a week after the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas, Nevada. Votaw added: "We would like to express our appreciation to both Shriners Hospitals for Children and their tournament team in Las Vegas who have been fully supportive of our decision to bring THE CJ CUP to the U.S, immediately following their long-standing and successful event, the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. This will create an exciting and seamless two-week Las Vegas swing for the TOUR and our players." THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK will once again feature a 78-man field comprising of the highest ranked player of Korean nationality from the Asian Tour Order of Merit, up to five players designated by the KPGA and the top-3 available players of Korean nationality from the Official World Golf Ranking as part of CJ Group's vision to support the development of professional golf in Korea. The remainder of the field will be made up of the leading players from the 2019-20 FedExCup points list and sponsor exemptions. "THE CJ CUP quickly became one of my favorite events on TOUR. While winning twice certainly helped, the hospitality shown to us by CJ Group and the Korean community has made the tournament special to all of us as PGA TOUR players," said 13-time PGA TOUR winner and defending THE CJ CUP champion Justin Thomas. "It's unfortunate that we won't be able to travel to Korea for this year's event, but it is fantastic that we will still be able to shine a light on CJ Group through the tournament at a venue like Shadow Creek." George Kliavkoff, president of Entertainment & Sports for MGM Resorts International, said: "Shadow Creek is one of the country’s leading courses offering guests exclusive, first-class experiences. The course will be in tremendous shape and ready to host our PGA TOUR partners and the world’s best golfers as they compete in THE CJ CUP in Las Vegas." Shadow Creek, built in 1989 by renowned golf architect Tom Fazio, played host to The Match: Tiger vs Phil in 2018, which was a winner-take-all shootout between PGA TOUR legends Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. The exclusive course, owned by MGM Resorts International, is available only to guests of the company's properties.

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