Farmers Insurance Open, sudden death playoff: Leaderboard, tee times, TV schedule

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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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Scott Piercy (+15000) … Age 42; 10th appearance. As of nightfall on Monday, he was inside the bubble to qualify for the U.S. Open at the Dallas sectional, but he still had two-thirds of his second round to finish. (Weather suspended play until Tuesday morning. Ten spots will be filled when all hopefuls complete 36 holes.) Even if he doesn’t snatch one of the berths into the major, Colonial will provide a soft landing for the veteran. Since 2013, he’s 6-for-7 with a pair of top 20s. He’s also not too far detached from a T11 at the Wells Fargo Championship earlier this month where he led the field in par breakers and par-5 scoring. C.T. Pan (+8000) … Age 29; fifth appearance. Not surprisingly, the diminutive and decorated product of the University of Washington has settled into a horse for courses to define his career mold, so a T18 at Quail Hollow three weeks ago steps forward differently than, say, a T20 at Riviera in February and a T3 at PGA National in March. The latter two align with his profile as a gritty competitor on tough tracks, while the former is a relative bonus because of its length. That said, it’s his most recent top 25 in a season that has yielded five of them. He’s also recorded a pair of Colonial with a T20 in 2018 and a T3 in 2019. Brian Stuard (+20000) … Age 38; eighth appearance. The winner of the last Zurich Classic of New Orleans that was an individual competition (in 2016) always seems to be lurking, and that’s a hearty compliment as he’s survived 159 cuts in 274 PGA TOUR starts. He logged six of those paydays at Colonial, two of which going for a top 25. As one of the shortest members off the tee, this is a week that he circles before he, well, circles the prey, if you will. Currently third in fairways hit and 16th in proximity. He’s also a couple of clicks better than the TOUR average in scrambling and bogey avoidance, so numerous ingredients are present for something special at anytime. Camilo Villegas (+10000) … Age 39; sixth appearance. Despite his experience at Colonial, he hasn’t had much to show for it. The more recent of two paydays was a T26 in 2013. Instead, this is all about momentum. Since securing conditional status via his Major Medical Extension with a T8 at The Honda Classic, the Colombian has gone on to record another trio of top 25s. The most recent was a T11 at the Valspar Championship where he led the field in connecting for par breakers on half of his 38 greens in regulation. Joseph Bramlett (+12500) … Age 33; first appearance. As he continues to stalk his first FedExCup Playoffs in his third season, he’s closer to the target at 143rd in points thanks to a career-best T7 at the nearby AT&T Byron Nelson just two weeks ago. At TPC Craig Ranch, he fulfilled his reputation as a long-hitting ball-striker in ranking seventh in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, but he also finished 25th in Strokes Gained: Putting for the week, signifying a vast departure from that usual weakness. Hitting small greens at Colonial is a premium and he’s 34th on TOUR in GIR. Odds were sourced on Tuesday, May 25 at 5 a.m. ET. For live odds visit betmgm. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions.

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