Equipment changes for 2018

Woods started the third round just four shots off the lead and in the mix. Then his game stalled and his body began to give out. Here’s how his third round, and hopes of another Masters title, fell away.

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IRVING, Texas – What’s it like when one of the world’s top golfers gets his groove back? It probably looks a lot like Jason Day on Saturday at the AT&T Byron Nelson. Five consecutive birdies. A 60-foot birdie putt. Accuracy off the tee and even more so into the greens. And finally, a 7-under 63 to move into contention for another win at TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas. He’ll start Sunday’s final round at 10 under, two strokes behind leader James Hahn. “Finally today,� Day said. “… Everything was kind of clicking.� It’s been awhile. Day’s 63 is his lowest score in more than a year, ever since he opened with a 63 en route to winning the THE PLAYERS Championship in 2016 – which just happens to be the last time he won on the PGA TOUR. Day called Saturday’s 63 his best round since the PGA Championship last July, when he shot four rounds in the 60s – including a second-round 65 – to finish solo second to Jimmy Walker. “Quite a long time ago,� Day noted. Since then, he suffered a back injury that forced him to withdraw from the final two FedExCup Playoffs event. Then at the start of this year, his mother was diagnosed with lung cancer that at one point was considered terminal. Day brought her from Australia to the United States for further tests and surgery, and now the prognosis is much better. No surprise that his golf life had taken a back seat to his real life. Day entered this week without a top-20 finish in his last six starts and had fallen to 106th in FedExCup points. But he’s on the upswing now. Making his first start at the AT&T Byron Nelson since 2013, Day has posted three rounds in the 60s. At one point on Saturday, he shared the lead before dropping off the pace with his only bogey of the day, at the par-4 14th. He bounced back with a birdie at the par-5 16th – his eagle putt from 13 feet came up one rotation short – and then the monster 60-foot birdie putt at the par-3 17th that produced the loudest roar of the day. He knew it was good even before the ball found the bottom of the cup. “Obviously wasn’t the greatest iron from the tee,� said Day, currently ranked No. 4 in the world. “I was trying to hit a cut 8-iron in there and double-crossed it and obviously went long and left. … The biggest thing for me is to read the putt like it’s going to go in the hole, play like you have the putt. “Halfway down the slope I had my hands up. … It’s really cool to hear the crowds roar like that again because it’s been awhile.� Perhaps it’s fate that he’s found his game again this week. His first TOUR win came at TPC Four Seasons Resort in 2010, and now Day has a chance to give the course a proper send-off before Trinity Forest becomes the new venue next year. “I feel a lot more things are in balance now with regards to what happened earlier in the year, just kind of fighting myself,� Day said. “Finally I think things are starting to click back for me. “I’m starting to work harder and the desire to get back to No. 1 in the world is obviously coming back to me. This is a good step in the right direction. I just need to stay calm because obviously one more round to go.�

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Last month, Justin Lower was emotional on the 18th green at Sedgefield Country Club after a final-round, 1-under 69 – including a three-putt bogey on the 72nd hole – saw him finish T36 at the Wyndham Championship. As a result, Lower, 33, was outside the top 125 on the FedExCup Playoffs and Eligibility Points List and headed back to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals for an opportunity to improve his PGA TOUR status for the 2022-23 season. Friday afternoon, however, Lower and five others learned they were moved inside the top 125 on the 2021-22 FedExCup Playoffs and Eligibility Points List, effective as of 1:15 p.m. ET, replacing six players. Matt Wallace, Austin Smotherman, Lower, Doc Redman, Danny Willett and Kelly Kraft now rank Nos. 120-125 on the FedExCup Playoffs and Eligibility Points List, respectively. These six players will earn fully exempt 2022-23 TOUR status and gain THE PLAYERS Championship access following Friday’s announcement. Six players who finished inside the top 125 have been removed from the 2021-22 FedExCup Playoffs and Eligibility Points List – Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Joaquin Niemann, Harold Varner III, Anirban Lahiri and Cameron Tringale. Lower, Redman and Kraft have been subsequently removed from the Korn Ferry Tour Finals Eligibility Points List (i.e. – The Finals 25), as they cannot better their TOUR status via the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. These players will not count toward The Finals 25. Lower (ninth), Redman (16th) and Kraft (T32) all held points on the Finals Eligibility Points List entering this week’s Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance, the third and final tournament of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, as well as the 26th and final event of the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour season. Smotherman competed in the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron but missed the cut; Wallace and Willett did not compete in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. The top 25 players on the Korn Ferry Tour Finals Eligibility Points List at the conclusion of this week’s Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance will earn 2022-23 PGA TOUR membership, and they will slot into the TOUR Priority Ranking in alternating fashion with the top 25 players from the season-long Korn Ferry Tour Eligibility Points List (i.e. – The 25). The final FedExCup Playoffs and Eligibility Points List for the 2021-22 season will not be finalized until 5 p.m. ET on September 9.

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