Emergency 9: PGA Championship, Round 3

Hideki Matsuyama returns to TPC Scottsdale in quest of the PGA TOUR’s first three-peat in seven seasons, though he’ll have to rise above a lineup that includes reigning FedExCup champion Justin Thomas, current leader Patton Kizzire and Jordan Spieth. Three-time Phoenix Open champion Phil Mickelson is also back for his 29th appearance, breaking a tie with Gene Littler for most starts. The local faction also now includes Jon Rahm, another former Arizona State star now No.2 in the world after winning the CareerBuilder Challenge. FULL FIELD: Click here to see who’s playing FIELD NOTES: Rickie Fowler, who Matsuyama dispatched in four playoff holes two years ago, gives the field five of the current top seven players in the world rankings. … In all, 10 of the world’s top 25 are set for TPC Scottsdale, as well as 18 of the top 25 in the FedExCup standings. … Steve Stricker tees it up for his first PGA TOUR start since last year’s FedExCup playoff opener. He captained the U.S. Presidents Cup squad to victory last September, and teamed with Sean O’Hair to win last month’s QBE Shootout. … Julian Suri, a Florida native who won twice in Europe last year, will tee it up on a sponsor invite for the second consecutive week. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points. STORYLINES: Matsuyama seeks to become the first to go back-to-back-to-back at the same venue since Stricker won three straight John Deere Classics from 2009-11. Matsuyama’s first two came in playoffs; no one (at least since World War II) has swept three straight via extra holes. … Matsuyama has finished no worse than fourth in four visits to Phoenix. … Webb Simpson, last year’s playoff runner-up, owns six consecutive top-15 finishes at TPC Scottsdale going back to 2011. … Mickelson, whose history in Phoenix dates to 1989, tries once again to become its first four-time winner. Littler, Arnold Palmer and Mark Calcavecchia also have won three in Phoenix. … Last year’s TPC Scottsdale crowds of 655,434 again easily surpassed the Arizona Cardinals’ 2017 home attendance (513,741) – along with every other NFL team except the Dallas Cowboys. COURSE: TPC Scottsdale (Stadium), 7,261 yards, par 71. The most populous – and most raucous – venue on the PGA TOUR brings more than half a million spectators to the Scottsdale foothills over the course of a week. Some 20,000 each day pack the “Coliseumâ€� that rings the par-3 16th, an atmosphere that raises the adrenaline for anyone on the tee. Tiger Woods aced No.16 in his first Phoenix Open in 1997, one of just nine recorded at the hole. That doesn’t count the robot that turned the trick at the 2016 pro-am, drawing yet another beer shower. Andrew Magee made history in 2001 by holing his tee shot at No.17 – still the only TOUR ace on a par-4. The Tom Weiskopf/Jay Morrish design got $12 million in upgrades four summers ago. • 72-HOLE RECORD: 256, Mark Calcavecchia (2001), Phil Mickelson (2013). • 18-HOLE RECORD: 60, Grant Waite (4th round, 1996), Mark Calcavecchia (2nd round, 2001), Phil Mickelson (2nd round, 2005, and 1st round, 2013). LAST YEAR: Matsuyama won in a playoff for the second-straight year, another four-hole overtime in which he dispatched Webb Simpson with a 10-foot birdie. Simpson forced the playoff with three birdies in his last four holes to post a 7-under-par 64, while Matsuyama’s birdie attempt to win in regulation stopped just short. They matched pars for the first three extra holes, before Simpson found the green at the drivable par-4 17th – with a bunker in the way of an eagle putt. A lag putt could get no closer than 25 feet, and a birdie try burned the edge. It was Matsuyama’s second win of the season and fifth worldwide in a 3 ½-month span that included the WGC-HSBC Champions. His fourth PGA TOUR win also broke a tie with Shigeki Maruyama for most by a Japanese pro. HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 3-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 2-3:45 p.m. (GC), 4-7 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 9:15 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-7 p.m. (featured holes). Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. (featured holes). Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (featured holes). RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 1-7 p.m. Saturday, 2-7 p.m. Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).

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Wine country. Three post-round concerts (including Billy Idol, whose real name, by the way, is William Michael Albert Broad). Fresh faces and a fresh start – and a familiar defending champ — for a new PGA TOUR season. It’s Safeway Open week. Here’s a look at what you need to know as we enter the fall portion of the 2018-19 campaign. THE FLYOVER Few closing holes on the PGA TOUR are easier than the par-5 18th on the North Course at Silverado. The 575-yard hole played to a stroke average of 4.690 last season, making it the seventh easiest closing hole. Four eagles were made on the hole, with 46 percent of all second shots attempting to reach the green (just over 10 percent were successful). LANDING ZONE What do the 360-yard 8th hole at Silverado and the famed 315-yard 10th hole at Riviera have in common? Each played to a stroke average of 4.055 last season. Only one par-4 hole shorter than Silverado’s 8th was more difficult last season – the 354-yard 10th at the Plantation Course at Kapalua. More players do not go anywhere near the green, opting to find the wider portion of the fairway for a short iron into the green. Here’s a look at where all tee shots landed in 2017. WEATHER CHECK From PGA TOUR meteorologist Wade Stettner: “There is a slight chance of showers Thursday morning with clearing skies by Thursday afternoon. Sunny skies are forecast from Friday through Sunday with cool morning temperatures and pleasant afternoon highs. High winds are possible on Sunday as a front drops through the central valley of California.â€� For the latest weather news from Napa, California, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK I do love the fresh start here, being back to zero. BY THE NUMBERS 50.3 – Percentage of fairways hit by the Safeway Open field last season. That was the second lowest percentage of any course recorded by ShotLink. The toughest was Firestone South (50 percent). 50 under – Brendan Steele’s cumulative total under par at the Safeway Open since 2014. That’s the best score to par by any player in that stretch. 21 – Number of rookies on the PGA TOUR this season. SCATTERSHOTS This week offers players the first opportunity to earn FedExCup points this season. Ending the fall portion of the schedule has proven to be an important barometer. In each of the last five seasons, the FedExCup leader after the end of the fall events has reached the 30-man TOUR Championship. Former Oakland A’s all-star pitcher Mark Mulder in the field thanks to a sponsor exemption. Mulder has won the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship three times and was also the runner-up at the event this summer. Cameron Champ led the Web.com Tour in driving distance last season (343.1-yard average) en route to earning his TOUR card. He also ranked a respectable 48th in driving accuracy. Said Champ: “I kind of created a shot I like to hit, just kind of my ‘get in the fairway” I call it. It’s kind of a lower shot that I’m very comfortable with if I’m under pressure or if I’m having a bad day. If I can’t really find a fairway, I’ll usually go to that so I think that’s really helped me with the driving aspect.â€�

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