Featured Groups: RBC Canadian Open

NAPLES, Fla. – Wait. What are the rules again? At the unofficial QBE Shootout at Tiburon Golf Club, half the fun is playing three rounds of no-cut golf with a friend, and the other half is trying to remember what the format is that day, and how it works. On a blustery, rainy Saturday, the name of the game was modified best ball, and Ireland’s Shane Lowry and Graeme McDowell made the biggest move with a 64 to tie first-round leaders Sean O’Hair and Steve Stricker (69) at 18-under going into Sunday’s final round. “I feel like we both played a lot of alternate-shot golf growing up,� McDowell said. “I was going to say it’s a format we’re comfortable with, but I think it’s one of the hardest formats in golf, to be honest. Obviously having the modified alternate, having two goes with the tee shots, makes it a little bit more relaxing, but such a difficult format.� In modified best-ball, both players tee off, then choose their favorite tee shot and alternate shots from there. (The player whose tee shot is not chosen hits second.) Lowry and McDowell’s 64 was the best round of the day by two shots, and was only two shots higher than their 62 in Friday’s first round, which is played using the far easier scramble format. “Yesterday I was a bit confused at the start,� said Lowry, who has a year of eligibility left for his 2015 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational win, and intends to play more on the PGA TOUR in 2018. “Because, like, you just put your marker down beside the ball and you place the ball beside it, but it’s not exactly where, you know? You just get as close as you can. It’s a bit weird. “But it’s great fun,� he added. “Golf is pretty monotonous at times, and you’re just playing 18 holes, strokes, all year, and 72-hole tournaments. To be in an event like this, it’s great fun.� The final round will be played using a best-ball format, which is more well-known as it’s one of the formats used in both the Presidents and Ryder Cups. Keegan Bradley and Brendan Steele, the 2011 champions here, were in third after a topsy-turvy 70 left them at 16-under, two back. They made a double-bogey, rare for this event, at the par-5 sixth hole. The biggest surprise of the tournament, and the biggest draw, has been the team of Tony Finau and Lexi Thompson. They birdied their last five holes, shot 66 (second best of the day) and were just three off the lead. Thompson, who played here last year with Bryson DeChambeau, is playing from the men’s tees this week. Finau is a rookie in this event. Tiburon Golf Club lost around 1,400 trees in Hurricane Irma, but the course is not without its hazards and even a few sneaky-tough holes. Even in Friday’s birdie-friendly scramble format, three teams bogeyed the par-3 fifth. And unsettled weather that blew in early Saturday morning further strengthened the course’s defenses. O’Hair and Stricker, who have both won this event, albeit with different partners (Kenny Perry and Jerry Kelly, respectively), were hanging onto the lead until making bogey at the short, par-4 10th hole. They made yet another bogey at the par-4 11th, where O’Hair rolled in a 10-foot putt to avoid a double. O’Hair chipped in for birdie at the 13th hole to spark a run of three straight birdies, but their ball wound up at the base of a sod wall in a bunker and bogeyed the 17th hole, as well. “It was a difficult day,� Stricker said. “For me, I struggled a little bit to feel comfortable. We should have probably been two or three shots better than what we were. I put Sean in a couple poor spots. It’s just a tough day with the weather the way it is, and the format the way it is, it’s just—it’s hard to get comfortable. I didn’t do a very good job of that.� No team looked more comfortable than Lowry and McDowell, who play the same ball, which helps, and who have played in two World Cups together for Ireland. They didn’t fare very well in those events, but they had fun, as they have again at the QBE. They’ve taken some ribbing for being the only team to wear uniforms, top to bottom, but they’ve had fun with that, too. “We’re trying to get into the spirit of the competition,� McDowell said with a laugh. Since 1989, laughter itself is the spirit of the QBE Shootout, but there’s money on the line, and pride, and like O’Hair and Stricker, the Irish team will wear their game faces Sunday. “Shane mentioned earlier, we both haven’t won this season,� McDowell said. “You know, a win’s a win. We’d dearly love to hold a trophy tomorrow night.�

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ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Scottie Scheffler was rewarded Sunday for his strong start to his first PGA TOUR season. Scheffler, who will enter the new year ranked 20th in the FedExCup, won the RSM Birdies Fore Love competition for making the most birdies and eagles in the fall portion of the 2020 schedule. Scheffler finished with 139 birdies and eagles, one more than Lanto Griffin. “It’s awesome. It’s great for RSM to put that up,â€� said Scheffler, the 2019 Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year. “It’s really them doing all the work, I was just lucky enough to make enough birdies. I’m looking forward to seeing what I’m going to do with it.â€� For winning the RSM Birdies Fore Love competition, Scheffler earned $300,000 for the charity of his choice. He finished fifth in The RSM Classic after shooting 15-under 267. It was his fifth top-25 in seven starts this fall, and third top-10. Griffin, the Houston Open champion, started the week with the lead in Birdies Fore Love, but shot a first-round 74. He rallied with a second-round 65 but fell one shot short of the cut. He could only watch as Scheffler shot 63-68 on the weekend at Sea Island’s Seaside Course. Scheffler made eight birdies Saturday but didn’t have one on his front nine Sunday. He made four on the back nine to squeak by Griffin. Griffin earned $150,000 for the charity of his choice for finishing second in the Birdies Fore Love competition, while Denny McCarthy earned $50,000 for finishing third.

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Exorcising decades worth of Ryder Cup demons, the younger U.S. Team run away with it and post a gaudy, historic final score of 19-9, perhaps signaling a change in the balance of power. Where do the Americans go from here? For more on that, click here. As for Whistling Straits, one might have guessed a blowout was coming. The U.S. Team had 11 of the top 16 players in the Official World Golf Ranking; the European Team had just three. With so many highlights for the Americans, the only question is which ones stood out most. Was it Dustin Johnson, the oldest member of the U.S. Team at 37, going 5-0-0? How about Tony Finau holing putts from all over as he and Harris English beat Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy in Four-ball on Saturday? The did-I-just-see-that Brooks/Bryson hug? Here are the superlatives from the week in Wisconsin. BEST PLAYER Dustin Johnson became just the fourth U.S. player to go 5-0-0 in a Ryder Cup. He joined Arnold Palmer (1967), Gardner Dickinson (1967) and Larry Nelson (1979). Meanwhile, five Europeans didn’t win a single match. MOST UNFORGETTABLE SHOTS Bryson DeChambeau’s 417-yard drive at the par-5 fifth on Friday afternoon, setting up a 72-yard pitch and an eagle as he and Scottie Scheffler tied super-duo Sergio Garcia and Jon Rahm. “Well, I knew if it was a little downwind, I could take a unique line, and I luckily was able to have that wind today,” said DeChambeau, who went 2-0-1. It was 20-plus, and I said to myself, all right, I have to aim at the green, so I did. I just aimed at the green and bombs away.” DeChambeau driving the first green Sunday, a poke of 354 yards – and making the eagle putt. Jordan Spieth’s moon shot from below the 17th green, the trajectory of which looked like a rocket, after which he did well not to break an ankle or fall in Lake Michigan. “Once I started moving, I was like, I’ve got to keep moving until I find a flat spot,” he said. “Yeah, it’s kind of one of those shots that you practice as a kid for fun, and you don’t ultimately want to have it.” Tyrrell Hatton’s seven-foot birdie putt on 18 as he and Jon Rahm salvaged a tie against Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler in a Four-ball match Friday afternoon. Shane Lowry’s 11-footer for par as he and Tyrrell Hatton preserved a 1-up victory over Harris English and Tony Finau in a Four-ball match Saturday afternoon. BEST VISUAL Paul Casey climbing into the stands behind the first tee to dance and sing with European fans. The two teams lined up to shake hands after the match had been decided Sunday. Lake Michigan. WORST 360-DEGREE LIP-OUT Viktor Hovland at the 10th hole as he tied his match against Collin Morikawa. Shane Lowry at the ninth hole in his 4-and-2 singles loss to Patrick Cantlay. Jordan Spieth at the 13th hole in his and Brooks Koepka’s Four-ball loss to Garcia and Rahm. BEST START Captain’s pick Scottie Scheffler, ranked 21st in the world, making birdies on five of his first six holes on the way to a 4-and-3 win over world No. 1 Jon Rahm. “Definitely nice to get off to that start,” said Scheffler, who went 2-0-1. “You know, Jon has had a really good week so far, so to get off to that start and put him down early was big.” Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, U.S. anchor team for the Friday morning Foursomes, went 5 up through five in their 5-and-3 victory over Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter. “I don’t know if anyone could have beat Xander and Patrick today,” McIlroy said. BEST TEAM Sergio Garcia and Jon Rahm went 3-0-1. “To be able to win those matches with him the way we did it, that is undoubtedly the most fun I’ve had on a golf course by far,” Rahm said. Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa went 3-0-0. (They were split up Friday afternoon.) Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele went 2-0-0 in Foursomes. BEST NEW NICKNAME “Patty Ice” Cantlay became “No Hat Pat” as he went 3-0-1 for the U.S. BEST TEAM WITHIN A TEAM Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia, the new Spanish Armada, went 3-0-1 Daniel Berger and Brooks Koepka, Florida State products, went 1-1-0 MOST SPORTSMANLIKE GESTURE Harris English, after losing his ball in the hazard, conceded his singles match to Lee Westwood, after which they laughingly helped each other climb the steep bank to the 18th green. MOST HEARTFELT MOMENT Rory McIlroy, who had gone 0-3 and been benched the first two days before winning his singles match over Xander Schauffele, crying at the end of a long and difficult week. BEST INDICATION OF FUTURE U.S. SUCCESS U.S. Captain Steve Stricker’s U.S. Team featured six rookies and eight players under 30. What’s more, all 12 American players won at least one match going into the Sunday singles. All of which would seem to portend good things for the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome, and beyond. QUOTES OF THE WEEK “We wanted to send a message.” – Patrick Cantlay “I think it’s the fastest I ever got over losing something.” – Xander Schauffele, upon seeing the heavily red leaderboards, signifying a U.S. rout, after Rory McIlroy beat him 2 and 1 on Sunday. “I think I’m emotional, as well, because I wanted to do this for Padraig, too.” – Rory McIlroy COMCAST BUSINESS TOUR TOP 10 The Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 highlights and rewards the extraordinary level of play required to earn a spot in the TOP 10 at the conclusion of the FedExCup Regular Season as determined by the FedExCup standings. The competition recognizes and awards the most elite in golf.

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