FedExCup update: Rory McIlroy keeps FedExCup and BMW Championship dreams alive

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Justin Harding was playing the Valero Texas Open last week when he asked fellow South African Ernie Els for advice on how to play Augusta National. Preparing for his first career start in the Masters Tournament at age 33, Harding figured there was no one better to ask about it than Els, the 2019 Presidents Cup captain, who amassed six top-10 finishes, including two runner-up finishes, in 23 starts. Els proffered some advice on where to aim and where not to miss, adding that he’d never hit it in the water at the tricky, par-3 12th hole. “I said, ‘Thanks a lot, you just jinxed me,’â€� Harding said with a laugh after shooting a 3-under 69 in his first-ever round, good enough to take the early first-round lead despite a bogey at 18. Harding made par at the 12th, and if anything could only fault his play on the four par-5s, which he played in just 1 under par. Otherwise, nothing much bothered the late-bloomer, who uses a long putter and is mostly unknown to American fans. He was 422nd in the world a year ago, but his maiden European Tour win in Qatar earlier this season, plus a T2 the next week and three other top-10 finishes, pushed him all the way to 49th and punched his ticket to Augusta. “It’s more about, I guess, how I’m handling myself out on the golf course,â€� Harding said after hitting 10 of 14 fairways, and only 10 greens in regulation but taking just 25 putts. “Not really getting too worked up, no longer going through the highs and lows of emotions.â€� Also, he added, now that he’s started playing well, he can’t seem to stop. “Golf is purely momentum-based,â€� Harding said. “If you take enough confidence into the rounds then you’re bound to play well just pretty much need to get out of your own way.â€� Harding has worked his way up to seventh in the International Presidents Cup standings, meaning he could be playing for Captain Els at Royal Melbourne in December. “It’s in the back of my mind,â€� he said, “but way in the back.â€� Conners rides momentum after win In other news with Presidents Cup implications, Canada’s Corey Conners, who won last week’s Valero Texas Open to get to 10th on the International list, opened the Masters with a 2-under 70. The round was 10 shots better than his Masters debut in 2015, when he went 80-69 to miss the cut. He was first off the tee at 8:30 a.m., and watched Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player hit the ceremonial first tee shots. He also accepted congratulations from Nicklaus on his first PGA TOUR win. “That felt pretty special,â€� Conners said. “Never thought in a million years that Jack Nicklaus would know who I am and it just felt pretty cool.â€� Weir shoots best round in five years It’s been a rough stretch for Canada’s Mike Weir, 48, the 2003 Masters winner and eight-time PGA TOUR winner who has been trying to fight his way back on the Web.com Tour. After going 3 over for his first seven holes, Thursday looked like more of the same, but Weir, who has a new coach (Mark Blackburn) turned it around with three birdies to card an even-par 72. It was his best round since a second-round 72 in 2014, the last year he made the cut here. “All in all, very happy,â€� said Weir, who will serve as one of Els’ assistants at the Presidents Cup in December. “Hit the ball great. I’ve got to sharpen up the putting a little bit.â€� Weir took 31 putts.

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PACIFIC PALISAIDES, Calif. – Blockbuster venue. Blockbuster host. Time for a blockbuster finish. The Genesis Invitational looks set for a Hollywood worthy conclusion at Riviera Country Club after three former PLAYERS champions jostled their way into a tie for the lead with 18 holes to play. Reigning FedExCup champion and PGA TOUR Player of the Year Rory McIlroy (3-under 68) was joined by former event champion Adam Scott (67) and first and second round leader Matt Kuchar (70) at 10 under to set up an enticing final three-ball on Sunday. Combined, the trio have 40 PGA TOUR wins and 161 top-5s. In Los Angeles, the stars always come out. Riviera was once the playground of Ben Hogan who dominated for a period by winning this event in 1947 and 1948, while also claiming the 1948 U.S. Open at the venue. Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Phil Mickelson and Tom Watson are just some of the plethora of stars on the former Riviera winners list. Related: Leaderboard | TOUR pros: My first time with Tiger It has long been a coveted place to win. Just ask tournament host Tiger Woods who fell out of contention with a 5-over 76 on Saturday. No other course has repelled Woods like the one where he made his PGA TOUR debut as a 16-year-old. Yet he continues to press to fill the “gapâ€� in his resume. Strangely enough, Jack Nicklaus never won here either… but almost everyone else of note has. “There’s not a PGA TOUR event you wouldn’t want to win, but there are a handful that are extra special, have a great list of past champions, have a great golf course. This one’s one of those,â€� Kuchar says. “You chalk it up as one of those sort of extra special TOUR events that you really hope to put your name as a past champion.â€� Kuchar is chasing TOUR win no. 10, hoping to become just the 116th player in history to hit double digit wins, joining both Scott and McIlroy. The American typically has not fared well at Riviera having never finished inside the top 5 in 12 previous appearances. Scott has fared well at Riviera before. In 2005, he won the tournament, yet it does not count as one of his 13 official wins. Back then, torrential rain hit the course and it was shortened to 36 holes – although Scott had to win in a playoff. He seeks to join Bruce Crampton with the third most wins by an Australian on the PGA TOUR behind Greg Norman (20) and Jim Ferrier (18)… even if he feels he already has. “That is just a bit of motivation for me to win tomorrow here and have an official victory at Riviera and the Genesis Invitational… that would be extremely satisfying for me,â€� he said. The 39-year-old is in his first TOUR start since early November although he did play in the Presidents Cup in December and won the Australian PGA Championship the week after being part of the loss to the U.S. at Royal Melbourne. That was his first win of any kind since going back-to-back at The Honda Classic and the World Golf Championships – Mexico Championship in consecutive weeks in early 2016. Scott spoke earlier in the week of purposely starving himself of competition until he had the urge to come back, making sure he is always competitively sharp. He has two runner up finishes to go with the win at Riviera and was in the final group a year ago. “I almost feel like I know what I’m doing after 20 years of having a season and having a break and coming back out. I know what this course kind of demands of you,â€� Scott said. “If I can replicate today for 18 holes tomorrow, I’ll be very pleased no matter what happens, but I’ll definitely be giving myself a chance at it.â€� And then there is McIlroy. Recently reinstated as world No. 1, the two-time FedExCup champion is looking for a 19th TOUR win, which would also likely move him to the top of the season long standings. He has been inside the top 20 in his previous three trips to Riviera, including a T4 finish a year ago. The Northern Irishman is wary of his Sunday playing partners, but also knows this is far from a race in three. Just a shot behind the lead trio sits Russell Henley and Harold Varner III, while Dustin Johnson and Joel Dahmen are two back. Nine others, including Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Hideki Matsuyama are within four of the lead. “You just have to worry about yourself, concentrate on what you’re doing, do it well, set yourself a target, don’t think about anyone else and if that’s good enough at the end of the day, then great,â€� McIlroy says. “If not, then someone just played better than you and hats off to them.â€�

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – There are days when Jan Auger watches Kamaiu Johnson play golf and finds it difficult not to cry. Friday at THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass during the inaugural Billy Horschel APGA Tour Invitational presented by Cisco was one of those mornings. Auger, general manager of two golf courses for the City of Tallahassee, frequently reflects to her chance meeting years ago with Johnson. As does he, and both are grateful the universe put them together. Johnson was a 12-year-old who already had dropped out of middle school in the small town of Madison. He did not have a father figure in his life, and had no direction. He was swinging a stick like a golf club, walking on the fringes near the fourth hole of Hilaman Golf Course, where Auger works, imitating the golfers he would see each day outside the two-bedroom unit he shared with his grandmother and six others. Auger could have told Johnson that he was trespassing. She easily could have sent him on his way. Who knows how his life would have turned out but for a random act of kindness? She made him an offer from the heart. She sent him to the clubhouse, fetched a 9-iron and gave him a bucket of balls to hit. From there, Johnson was hooked. The club let him play for $1 a day, and it changed his life. Completely. Today, Johnson, 28, is a professional golfer, a man who rises each day chasing a dream. He started his own foundation (My My Foundation) to help introduce inner-city minority youths to golf. Johnson opened with a 1-under 71 on Friday, two shots behind leader Willie Mack III. “He’s like my son,” Auger said as she watched Johnson play the back nine. Johnson lives in Orlando now, but the two talk or text most every day. “It’s emotional for me to watch him. I told him last week, we’re going to come and see you play, and I don’t care if you shoot wide receiver (high) numbers. I just love watching you play.” This week at TPC Sawgrass, Johnson is competing among a select field of minority golfers (17 professionals and 15-year-old amateur Awesome Burnett comprise the field) in a two-day shootout, playing an event organized by Horschel, his management team and his generous sponsors under the umbrella of the 11-year-old Advocates Pro Golf Association Tour. The APGA was formed to try to make golf more diversified, and to provide playing opportunities that would help to develop Black golfers and other minority players to reach higher levels. Ken Bentley, a retired Nestle USA executive who serves as the unsalaried director of the APGA, once said that when he looks into his crystal ball, he sees “America out on the golf course. That’s our goal.” Horschel, 34, is a successful PGA TOUR professional, a six-time winner with $28.2 million in career earnings who remembers his own humble lower-middle-class beginnings. He wasn’t always able to afford the junior tournaments he wanted to play. He acknowledges how financially challenging the game can be, and he is passionate about giving back. Know this: He doesn’t attach his name to any venture without diving in fully. Horschel said he wants to see more minorities playing on the PGA TOUR in five or 10 years, and for that to happen, young golfers will need role models in order to make golf their choice. All efforts with his new tournament are aimed to help create those role models. “These are the guys who are going to reach kids in the inner cities, to reach kids that have a different background than what mine is, of my skin color, and how I grew up,” Horschel said. “These players are how the game is going to be, and that’s how the game is going to grow.” Horschel has been hanging around with players at TPC Sawgrass the last few days. He played in the pro-am and sat with players at lunch on Friday, answering their questions. He plans to work with a few on the practice tee. He is making sure that players will leave one of America’s iconic courses with more than just the memories of birdies and bogeys and how they performed on TPC Sawgrass’ famed island 17th. There was a pro-am for players to network with business executives on Thursday, and a business roundtable that featured big corporate hitters such as CEOs Jeff Dailey (Farmers Insurance) and Chuck Robbins (Cisco). Players rotated to different tables during dinner. This week is all about connections. The golf is a great opportunity, too: Experience one of the best tests on the PGA TOUR each year, where all the great players have competed, and play for an $80,000 purse that includes a winner’s check of $25,000. “We’re fortunate to be able to play pro-ams (on the PGA TOUR),” Horschel said. “You connect with sponsors and other people in the corporate world, and if you’re able to create relationships and grow them organically, then these people are going to want to help you with your dream of chasing the PGA TOUR. “Maybe they’ll sponsor you. If that dream (to play) doesn’t come to fruition, those people who you have met, who you have created this relationship with, more than likely are going to be there to help you if you need to figure out that next path in life.” Willie Mack III, who made the cut in his two most recent summer PGA TOUR starts (Rocket Mortgage Classic and John Deere Classic), shot 3-under 69 on Friday to take the tournament lead. Johnson, Troy Taylor II and APGA rookie Mahindra Lutchman, who recently graduated from Florida A&M University, will start Saturday’s final round two shots back. Kevin Hall is one of the APGA’s more seasoned players at age 38, and has been with the APGA since the start. When the tour began, there were three events on public courses and total purses of $40,000. Hall shot 73 on Friday. Ten days earlier, a closing 63 at TPC John Deere in Silvis, Ill., lifted him to his first APGA victory since 2018. Why still chase the dream? “Every morning I have fire in my belly,” he said. “What can I do today to get better? When I win, this game just pulls me back in.” Hall is a huge inspiration and terrific role model. He is deaf, and answers questions through his saintly mom, Jackie, who translates a writer’s questions into sign language. Hall is a great barometer to measure how golf is doing as the sport tries to better diversify its playing field. He marvels at the quality of venues on this season’s schedule, which include courses that play host to big-time events. The APGA is at the home of THE PLAYERS this week, and earlier competed at Valhalla, site of four PGA Championships a Ryder Cup. “To have a tournament at TPC Sawgrass … five, six, seven years ago, I never thought this would happen,” Hall said. “All 18 of us that are here are very blessed to have Billy and his sponsors do this.” Mack, 32, from Flint, Mich., has seen momentum in his game this summer growing with each new opportunity. After missing the cut in his first two PGA TOUR starts, he played solidly for three rounds at the Korn Ferry Tour’s BMW Charity Pro-Am, shooting 66 in the third round, and played on the weekend at the PGA TOUR’s Rocket Mortgage Classic and John Deere Classic. How different can life be in the big leagues? At the Rocket Mortgage, Mack tied for 71st and collected $15,000. It’s nice to have some money in the bank. In order to keep his dream alive, Mack has slept in his car when finances were tight. “I was excited when I heard about this event, not only for me, but for everybody else,” Mack said. “To play for that kind of money, and to play in this environment, it’s really special.” For Mack, with each start at a big tournament, big venue, the lights do not seem to feel so bright, and the stage is not nearly as intimidating. His next step when the APGA season wraps up will be Korn Ferry Q-School, which can be a path to the PGA TOUR. It’s just golf,” Mack said, smiling. “I’ve talked to Billy a lot, and Rickie (Fowler), played with them a couple of times. I feel I have the game, I just have to get those opportunities. When I do, I just need to play well, and to have fun.” Fun wasn’t really on the radar on Friday for Awesome Burnett. He is a 15-year-old from Flower Mound, Texas, who doesn’t yet have his learner’s permit. On Friday, on an incredibly difficult test of golf, he struggled off the tee with the driver. For a player out of position, the Stadium Course can less forgiving than an IRS audit. Burnett is a nice story though, a player to watch, and he has a long runway ahead as he takes his own journey in golf. He and his parents, Brittany and Mark (Awesome’s caddie this week), are immersed in the game. (“Even our family dog plays with golf balls,” Brittany says, laughing.) Already their son has made most every sports fans’ All-Name team. Awesome Burnett? It’s, well, awesome. There is purpose in the name. Said Brittany, “I tell him all the time, you have a chance to wake up in the morning and be Awesome.” She and Mark also have a 13-year-old daughter named Amazing. Brittany smiles. “I tell her, ‘When you go to bed, you’re Amazing. And you’ll be Amazing when you wake up. You have no choice.’ So when Awesome is having some troubles on the course, I just tell him, ‘Go out and be Awesome. Be you.’” Awesome shot 89 on Friday, losing a couple sleeves of balls in Stadium Course penalty areas. He hung tough, holing a beautiful pitch for birdie at 14 and hitting it onto the green at No. 17. It’s golf, and he is very, very young. He dealt with a neck injury earlier this year, and a growth spurt has pushed Awesome to nearly 6 feet to carry his 122 pounds. He’ll add muscle. He is getting used to swinging with his new body. Before Wednesday, he’d only seen the Stadium Course when he played video games at home. And despite a tough day, he was a happy kid at the end of it. “I’ve been having a great time,” Awesome said. “It lets me see a lot of different things, meet people, and see what has to be improved in my game.” Playing alongside him was Johnson, who offered encouragement when he could. Johnson has had his share of tough days, too. Johnson knows Awesome Burnett and others like him represent the future of golf. Johnson could only imagine trying to take on such a difficult test of golf at age 15. “Fifteen,” Johnson said, pausing, thinking, looking back. “Kind of reminds me of how I was stepping out on the PGA TOUR this year.” With that, he smiled. Fortunately, with opportunities such as this one so graciously hosted by Billy Horschel, things will only get better. Johnson finds himself in a pretty good place these days. “He is such a good person,” Auger says as she stands in the shadows on a hot day and watches Johnson play. “Kamaiu could have gone down the wrong road, and he knows that. Golf saved him.”

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