Future is bright for Houston Open with Memorial Park move

Suddenly thrust into the spotlight after leader Jon Rahm tests positive for COVID-19 and WDs, Patrick Cantlay and Collin Morikawa battle all day before each signing for a 71 to force extra holes. When Cantlay saves par from 12 feet and Morikawa misses from 6, it’s over. Meanwhile, Jimmy Walker cards a final-round 65 to finish T6 for his first top-10 since 2018. Here are five stories you may have missed from the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. 1. Patrick Cantlay is FedExCup No. 1 After getting guidance from Jack Nicklaus himself, Patrick Cantlay won the Memorial for the first time in 2019. He shot a final-round 64 that day, and afterward said Nicklaus had instructed him to relax and have fun, soak it all in, enjoy the moment with the fans. This time, Cantlay had to scratch out a 1-under 71 and was back to game-face mode. “Yeah, my natural disposition is pretty stoic, and so I’m pretty deadpan a lot, but that’s not necessarily an accurate reflection of how I feel on the inside,” he said. “I do think it’s good advice for me to enjoy it more and really enjoy the moment and show that I am enjoying the moment, and so I try to do a little more of that. “But in general,” he added after his second win this season (ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP @ SHERWOOD), which moved him up to No. 1 in the FedExCup. “I feel most myself when I’m just locked in and really focused and kind of in work mode.” For more on Cantlay, click here. 2. It was opposite day for Collin Morikawa Collin Morikawa is usually one of the PGA TOUR’s most dynamic and reliable ball-strikers from tee to green, but his putting runs hot and cold. That wasn’t the case on Sunday, when he admitted he “couldn’t really hit a green for my life.” Instead, Morikawa had one of the best scrambling days of his life, making more than 109 feet of putts. “I was hitting my shots that I wanted,” he said, “and we were a little off calculating, a little off with just luck, and sometimes that happens, but to get into a playoff to make the putts I needed to make, just to keep myself in it, I’m proud of myself and it’s crazy. It’s crazy what a game it is. “I didn’t feel like I really ever played this game where I’m missing every green, chipping, making 10-footers,” he added. “I like it the other way where I hit it a lot closer.” 3. Scottie Scheffler keeps knocking on door Although he couldn’t fully recover from bogeys at the par-4 sixth and ninth holes, plus a failure to birdie the par-5 11th, Scottie Scheffler, 24, keeps knocking on the door for his first win. After a T8 at the PGA Championship and solo 3rd at the Memorial he will be among the dark horses at the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines South in two weeks. “I feel good about where my game is,” he said after making bogey at Muirfield Village’s tough 18th hole to miss the playoff by two. “Few things I need to clean up, but overall, it was a solid week.” 4. Jimmy Walker feeling better after long slump After starting Sunday in a tie for 38th place, Jimmy Walker, 42, shot the day’s low round, a bogey-free, 7-under 65 to finish T6, seven shots back. It was his first top-10 finish since a T6 at the 2018 AT&T Byron Nelson, and he admitted he had been feeling discouraged. “You got to believe that hard work pays off,” he said. “Sometimes it doesn’t, and it hasn’t been for me, but maybe it’s just taken longer than I would have liked. And today was definitely a step. “It really shows a lot of maybe light at the end of the tunnel,” Walker continued, “especially for a place that I never played well at.” 5. Rickie Fowler rolling heading into U.S. Open sectional With a T8 at the PGA Championship and a final-round 70 and T11 at the Memorial, Rickie Fowler is finally seeing some results from his rebuilt game under John Tillery. He’d have fared even better at Jack’s place were it not for a third-round 75. “Heading the right way,” Fowler said. He’s even starting to putt better, at long last. Now he’ll head into the 36-hole U.S. Open sectional on Monday with hopes of making into the field at Torrey Pines South next week. “Just go get some good food tonight, get some good sleep, rest up,” he said. “It will be a long day. Hopefully we can dodge some rain and storms in the afternoon.” 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. The competition will conclude prior to the FedExCup PLAYOFFS where the top 10 FedExCup points leaders will be recognized and awarded as the most elite in golf. Week after week, shot after shot, each event matters more than ever before. Who will finish in the Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10? Click here to follow the weekly action.

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HOW THEY QUALIFIED Team Winner – QBE Shootout Previous Year Harris English Matt Kuchar Top-12 players on Prior Season’s FedExCup points Kevin Kisner Russell Henley Pat Perez Daniel Berger Tony Finau Charley Hoffman Kyle Stanley Brian Harman Kevin Chappell Gary Woodland Jason Dufner Brendan Steele Sponsors Exemptions – Unrestricted Keegan Bradley Billy Horschel Zach Johnson Shane Lowry Graeme McDowell Sean O’Hair Brandt Snedeker Steve Stricker Lexi Thompson Bubba Watson

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