Former PGA TOUR Policy Board Chair Dick Ferris passes away at 85

Sungjae Im looks to defend his title at the Shriners Children’s Open as the PGA TOUR makes its annual stop in Las Vegas. Im is coming off an impressive performance at the Presidents Cup, and plenty of those who competed at Quail Hollow are in the field, including reigning FedExCup champion Patrick Cantlay, Max Homa, Tom Kim and Cam Davis. Multiple players with connections to Las Vegas are also in the field, including UNLV alums and recent Korn Ferry Tour grads Harry Hall and Taylor Montgomery. The winner will receive 500 FedExCup points. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action, including Featured Groups for PGA TOUR LIVE. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Sunday, 5 p.m.-8 p.m. ET. Saturday, Sunday, 4 p.m.-7 p.m. Radio: Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.–8 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 3 p.m.-8 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR PGA TOUR LIVE PGA TOUR Live is available exclusively on ESPN+ FEATURED GROUPS Thursday’s Featured Groups 10:13 a.m. ET: Rickie Fowler, Jason Day, Taylor Pendrith 10:24 a.m. ET: Max Homa, Tom Kim, Si Woo Kim ESPN+ AFTERNOON COVERAGE (Once morning groups finish) 3:13 p.m. ET: Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Cam Davis, K.H. Lee 3:24 p.m. ET: Patrick Cantlay, Sungjae Im, Harris English MUST READS Power Rankings Expert Picks Insider: Taylor Montgomery right at home on PGA TOUR No left hand no problem for Shriners ambassador Justin Thomas makes appearance on Tonight Show Monday qualifiers

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There are 21 rookies on the PGA TOUR in 2018-19. This page provides a subjective ranking updated weekly. The Rookie of the Year is voted by PGA TOUR members who make at least 15 starts. There he is again: Cameron Champ doing work. Of the 20 rookies in the field at The RSM Classic, only eight survived the cut and Champ set the pace once again, this time with a sixth-place finish, his third top 10 of the young season. He’s reminding us of Tony Finau, but only because they share the bonus of being able to send the ball out of sight. Instead, and in fact, Champ is excelling everywhere, just as his veteran comparison has illustrated with an exponentially greater sample size of sites and over time. After Champ broke through at the Sanderson Farms Championship at the Country Club of Jackson, a course where attacking on approach is Priority A, the 23-year-old placed T10 at Mayakoba where ball-striking and men of a certain age have thrived. Last week at Sea Island, he finished just T31 in distance of all drives (measured during three rounds on Seaside only) and T22 in greens hit, but he led the field in putts per GIR and finished fourth in converting GIR into par breakers. Finau, who went 22-for-31 with five top 10s (but zero top fives) as a rookie in 2014-15, presents similarly as a home-run hitter, but he’s the complete package. His game travels arguably better than any other one-time winner on the PGA TOUR, but you already can put Champ on that short list. The only rookie who sat out the 156-man contest in the Golden Isles was Cameron Davis. Opting to defend his title at the Emirates Australian Open in his homeland, he finished T40. Since the first edition of the wraparound season in 2013-14, seven rookies have won a tournament in the fall, six of whom entered the holidays inside the top 10 of the FedExCup standings. After winning last year’s RSM Classic, Austin Cook ranked third, best of the bunch. Champ sits sixth right now. Mackenzie Hughes (fourth in 2015-16) and Smylie Kaufman (fifth in 2014-15) also have slotted higher at this point. While Champ didn’t set a new mark compared to rookies early in previous seasons, to further accentuate his success against the current class, Sungjae Im is the only other rookie with at least one low-rookie performance, and he has three. Yet, the 20-year-old has only two top-35 finishes. NOTE: Since the Sentry Tournament of Champions is up next on the schedule, this page likely won’t be updated again until its field is released on Friday, Dec. 28. LOW ROOKIE: Cameron Champ, 6th. Third time. (Previous: Win=Sanderson Farms; T10=Mayakoba.)     CAREER-BEST FINISHES (AND TIES): Chase Wright (T7), Kyle Jones (T23), Hank Lebioda (T32).              * – Qualified for the Sentry Tournament of Champions (Jan. 3-6). Through The RSM Classic NOTE: A player’s rookie season (“Rookie Year”) is defined as the season in which he becomes a PGA TOUR member (including Special Temporary Members) and plays in 10 or more events as a member or finishes in the Top 125 on the Official FedExCup Points List or qualifies as a Top 125 – Nonmember, whichever occurs first. Further, for purposes of this definition, a new member (including Special Temporary Members) shall not be eligible to be a rookie if he has previously played in more than seven (7) Official PGA TOUR Money events as a professional in any prior season.                          

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ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Charles Howell III knew what you were thinking when that drive went into the water right of Sea Island’s second fairway. He was thinking the same thing. He thought he’d blown it again. His chances of winning were over. Another Sunday would end in frustration, not elation. “I just honestly thought I had shot myself in the foot again,â€� Howell said. He started The RSM Classic’s final round with a one-shot lead. It was the sixth 54-hole lead of his career. He’d lost the previous five, another frustrating statistic in a career defined by what he hasn’t achieved. Howell trailed by three shots when he arrived at the third tee. “Sometimes you wonder, well, maybe you just don’t have it in you,â€� he said. “Maybe today is just not the day. More than likely I won’t be winning the golf tournament.â€� Howell has heard all of the criticisms levied against his long and consistent career. He’s brought the same charges against himself. Sunday was different, though. He proved his harshest critic – himself – wrong. The 39-year-old won his third PGA TOUR title with an unprecedented performance. He summoned his best golf at the most important moment. Now he will take the FedExCup lead into the New Year. “I thought I had it in me, but I had never seen me do it,â€� Howell said. “It’s kind of like the guy who thinks he can dunk, but if you can’t dunk, you just can’t do it.â€� The comeback began quietly, with birdies at Nos. 5 and 6. Then he started the back nine with another birdie. But with a jammed leaderboard on a low-scoring day, he would need more than the occasional birdie. He two-putted the par-5 15th for birdie. Then he holed an 18-footer birdie on 16. He hit his tee shot to 5 feet on the par-3 17th. Two groups ahead, Patrick Rodgers birdied the 18th hole to go a shot ahead. Howell knew he needed to make his putt if he wanted to win. He did. His work wasn’t over, though. His birdie putt on 18 missed by the smallest of margins. He fell to his knees and dropped his putter in despair. “I thought, man, I’ve seen this movie before and I know how it ends,â€� he said. Last year, he barely missed a birdie putt on the final hole of the Quicken Loans National, then lost a playoff to Kyle Stanley. After watching Rodgers miss a birdie putt on The RSM’s first playoff hole, Howell barely missed a 15-footer from the fringe for the win. Rodgers putted first on the second playoff hole. He missed again. This time, Howell poured in his 15-footer. Overwhelmed with relief, he sank to the ground and grabbed his face with his hands. “Quite honestly, I didn’t know if I would ever win one again,â€� Howell said. “I had come up short so many times.â€� Howell has been a pro for nearly two decades. He’s won more than $35 million. He’s never lost his card and he’s qualified for every edition of the FedExCup Playoffs. He is known more for what he hasn’t accomplished, though. He has played 529 PGA TOUR events. Only two men needed more starts before winning for the third time. He has 16 runner-up finishes on TOUR. He’s finished third nine times. “Playing with a lead isn’t one thing I’ve really done a whole lot of. I could talk to you about finishing second or third a lot,â€� he said Friday after shooting consecutive 64s. His first win came at an event that no longer exists. His second win was more than a decade ago. The standards were high when he turned pro after a dominant win at the NCAA Championship. He finished third in his third PGA TOUR start as a pro. Few players can match Howell’s fascination with the game, though. He recently was investigating the discrepancy between his two launch monitors, calling the two manufacturers for answers. His college roommate, Web.com Tour player Edward Loar, remembers Howell leaving the house on Saturday to practice while his teammates watched college football. He could be found at Bodyworks, the Stillwater gym where the Oklahoma State team trained, on Friday nights. The Cowboys’ coach, Mike Holder, gave the team 100 practice balls for the year. Players had to run for every lost ball. “The only thing that would interrupt Charles is that we had to shag our own balls,â€� Loar said. “He was just getting warmed up and he had to go shag. Most guys would just hit wedges because they didn’t want to walk that far or were afraid to lose them.â€� Howell said he’d work in finance if he wasn’t a golfer. He’s enthralled with data. His analytical nature can be his biggest downfall – “I’ve often thought one of my flaws is I enjoy practicing and preparing more than playing,â€� he said – but also the source of solace in the long years between wins. “I always go back to, okay, how do I improve, how do I get better, what do I need to work on,â€� Howell said. “That’s the part I really, really enjoy.â€� And that’s what means the most to Howell after his long-awaited win. “The things that I’ve been working on and practicing held up. In the playoff, I was able to hit nice drives off that tee in a left-to-right crosswind,â€� he said. “I was able to hit a nice 8-iron on 17 in regulation to make birdie. “That bit means more to me than beating somebody.â€� Howell did that Sunday. More importantly, he learned something about himself. Winning was worth the wait.

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