Golf: Thomas, Fowler and Varner tied for lead at Phoenix Open

Round 1 of the Valero Texas Open takes place Thursday from TPC San Antonio. It’s the 100th anniversary of the event, and big names such as Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth are in the field. Spieth is also the defending champion. His win at last season’s Valero Texas Open marked his first victory on TOUR since 2017. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action, including Featured Groups for PGA TOUR LIVE and newly expanded and extended coverage on ESPN+. Click here for more details. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 4 p.m.-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 1 p.m.-3:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3:30 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 1 p.m.-2 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 1 p.m.–7 p.m. ET. Saturday, 3 p.m.–6 p.m. Sunday, 1 p.m.–6 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+ • Main Feed: primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course • Marquee Group: new “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group • Featured Groups: traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups • Featured Holes: a combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes FEATURED GROUPS THURSDAY Marquee Group Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Matt Kuchar Featured Groups Bryson DeChambeau, Gary Woodland, Luke List Rickie Fowler, Ryan Palmer, Ryan Brehm Featured Holes: No. 3 (par 3), No. 7 (par 3), No. 13 (par 3), No. 16 (par 3) ESPN+ BONUS COVERAGE Jordan Spieth, Corey Conners, Charley Hoffman Hideki Matsuyama, Hudson Swafford, Chad Rame Abraham Ancer, Tony Finau, Brandt Snedeker FRIDAY Marquee Group Jordan Spieth, Corey Conners, Charley Hoffman Featured Groups Hideki Matsuyama, Hudson Swafford, Chad Ramey Abraham Ancer, Tony Finau, Brandt Snedeker Featured Holes: No. 3 (par 3), No. 7 (par 3), No. 13 (par 3), No. 16 (par 3) ESPN+ BONUS COVERAGE Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Matt Kuchar Bryson DeChambeau, Gary Woodland, Luke List Rickie Fowler, Ryan Palmer, Ryan Brehm MUST READS The First Look Power Rankings Expert Picks Top 10 Valero Texas Open events Inside the history of the Valero Texas Open Q&A: Ben Crenshaw

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Matt Kuchar bogeys the 14th and 15th holes but makes three clutch pars coming in for a final-round 69 and a one-shot victory over Danny Lee (65) at the Mayakoba Golf Classic. Welcome to the Monday Finish, where Kuchar, trying to break a win drought of 4 1/2 years, made a crucial two-putt par at the 18th hole to pick up his eighth PGA TOUR victory and go to fifth in the FedExCup. He also broke the tournament record at 22 under. FIVE OBSERVATIONS 1. Kuchar’s seasoning paid off. It would have been easy to get psyched out by his four-shot lead, but after competing all around the world, making Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup teams, earning a bronze medal in the 2016 Olympics, and winning THE PLAYERS Championship among his seven previous TOUR titles, Kuchar was under no illusions. “I know the deal,â€� he said Saturday night. “I can’t just stop making birdies and expect to win.â€� He was right. Had he shot an even-par 71 he would have lost to Lee by one. 2. It was the Year of the Comeback in 2018. Kuchar broke a win drought that went back 4 1/2 years and 116 starts to the 2014 RBC Heritage, and was only the latest player to revive his career. Phil Mickelson, Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Gary Woodland, Kevin Na and Tiger Woods were among those who had gone winless for a year or in some cases much longer before hoisting a trophy again in the 2018 calendar year. “It’s an amazing feeling to win a PGA TOUR event,â€� Kuchar said, echoing an oft-repeated refrain this year. “It’s a hard thing to do.â€� 3. Mayakoba illustrated “horses for coursesâ€� axiom. Past champions Pat Perez (T6), Brian Gay (T41) and Patton Kizzire (T55) all spent time up around the lead before 2008 winner Gay and defending champion Kizzire fell back on the weekend. Perez, who won in 2017, never wavered as he shot 66-67-67-67 to move from 41st to 25th in the FedExCup. 4. Cameron Champ looks like a superstar. The long-hitting Champ didn’t win, thanks largely to unusually poor finishes in his weekend rounds, but at 16-under he still finished T10. And after winning the Sanderson Farms Championship and contending again at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open before falling back with a final-round 73, he looks capable of contending every time he tees it up. “He’s hugely impressive,â€� Kuchar said after playing with Champ in the third round, which Champ ended with a double-bogey to go from four to six back. “It looks like effortless power. He looks like a really consistent, good swinger of the golf club. He’s going to do damage out here. I think he’s going to be kind of the future of the game of golf.â€� 5. Mayakoba could still be punishing. Although there were multiple 62s (Cameron Champ, Round 2; Scott Piercy, Round 4) and plenty of low scores, El Camaleon could still be a beast for those who suffered an off-day or even one bad hole. Freddie Jacobson, coming back from an injury, made a 10 on the way to a 76 in the first round. Jonas Blixt went 63-76 in the second and third rounds, respectively. And last year’s runner-up Rickie Fowler (T16) made plenty of birdies but simply couldn’t keep the bogeys off his card. FIVE INSIGHTS 1. Kuchar was ultra-reliable off the tee, the most critical stat at Mayakoba, to pick up his 99th top-10 finish on the PGA TOUR. He was 45/56 in fairways hit, third best in the field. He was also 57/72 in Greens in Regulation (T9); and averaged 27.8 putts per round (T21). 2. The winner made 26 birdies and four bogeys, and became the fourth player in his 40s to win this calendar year, following Phil Mickelson (World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship, 47), Ian Poulter (Houston Open, 42) and Tiger Woods (TOUR Championship, 42). 3. In his 428th TOUR start, Kuchar set 36-, 54- and 72-hole tournament records, ultimately finishing 22 under. That was also the best four-round total of his career. The victory came in his 116th start since his last TOUR win (2014 RBC Heritage). 4. This was runner-up Danny Lee’s best result since he won the 2015 A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier. It was his second runner-up (T2/2015 TOUR Championship). He hit 39/56 fairways (T16), was 52/72 in Greens in Regulation (T27), and took 26.5 putts per round (T4). 5. J.J. Spaun (66, T3) posted his third straight top-15 finish after a T10 (THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES) and T15 (Shriners Hospitals for Children Open). His solo second at the 2017 The RSM Classic remains his best finish. Richy Werenski (67, T3) enjoyed his best finish in four starts this season, and best since a T2 finish at the Barbasol Championship last season. A playoff loss at the 2017 Barracuda Championship remains his best finish in 63 starts on TOUR.

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Bookend moments 15 years apart stand as testimony to the incomparable pro golf landscape into which Ernie Els was born. Already a major champion, Els on Oct. 17, 1996 turned 27 and was seemingly on his way to the top of the golf mountain when three days later, 20-year-old Tiger Woods won his first PGA TOUR tournament, the Las Vegas Invitational. Els’ world and that of every other professional golfer, would never be the same again. Left bookend: The big South African was asked to measure his predicament in the summer of 2000 when he finished second to Woods at the U.S. Open, then second to him at the Open Championship. He had been beaten by a whopping 15 at Pebble and a hefty eight at the Old Course, deficits that had one writer telling Els that Woods had broken a record that belonged to Old Tom Morris for more than 100 years. “Old Tom Morris?� Els said with emphatic indignation. “Old Tom Morris? If you put Old Tom Morris with Tiger, Tiger would probably beat him by 80 shots right now.� Right bookend: The Woods’ legend had been cemented – 79 PGA TOUR wins, 14 majors – only things were spiraling badly for him in February of 2015. He had missed the cut at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and withdrawn from the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego, and both Woods’ health and frame of mind seemed fragile. At Pebble Beach the next week, Els shook his head and expressed compassion for his friend and rival. It had been a great rivalry, a reporter opined, only Els stopped, smiled, shook his head, and respectfully edited that comment. “He kicked my ass for 15 years,� he laughed. The sheer volume of numbers in Woods’ favor – 14 majors to Els’ 4; 683 weeks as No. 1 to Els’ 9 – would support that consensus. But the greater truth is, Els was a formidable foe, arguably the second-best player on the world stage during his prime. In fact, he won three majors during the Woods’ era and got the better of his younger rival a number of times. Els digested that, nodded approvingly, and said: “I take great pride in that.� Conceding that their grandest head-to-head matchup was the unforgettable stalemate of a playoff at the 2003 Presidents Cup, here’s a look at five other memorable tournaments where the ending involved each of these two icons: 1998 Bay Hill Invitational — Els had a six-shot lead over a trio of players, one of whom was Woods, who liked the fact that he was in his first final-round pairing with the South African. But Woods started bogey, bogey, bogey and Els’ day was that much easier. With a 73, Els won by four, while Woods crashed with a 77 and finished T-13. 1998 Johnnie Walker Classic — Els was trying to hold off Nick Faldo in the final round in Thailand, hardly worried about Woods, who was eight back. But Woods shot 65 and waited two hours for Els to finish. A bogey at 17 put Els one back, then he birdied 18 to tie. Woods’ 14-foot birdie roll on the second playoff hole left the ecstatic Thais in a frenzy. 1999 Nissan Open — Els and Woods were tied through 54, two shots behind third-round leader Ted Tryba. But Els seized control in the middle of the final round with five birdies in eight holes. Even with bogeys at 16 and 18, Els shot 68 to beat Woods by two. 2000 Mercedes Championship — They’re still buzzing on Maui about this one. Tied at 14 under to start the final round, Woods and Els were still tied playing the 18th hole. There, Woods unleashed a brilliant second to 12 feet at the par-5 that measured around 600 yards. Els’ shot was even better as he hit it inside of Woods. Each made his eagle putt. Back to 18 for the first playoff, Woods and Els again hit the green and this time had matching two-putt birdies. Second time around, again at 18, Woods drained a 40-foot birdie putt to win, leaving Els crushed, but with a priceless perspective. “I think he’s a legend in the making,� he said. “He’s probably going to be bigger than Elvis.� 2006 Dubai Desert Classic — Els was two behind Woods, the co-leader, through 54 holes but came home in 67 to get into the clubhouse at 19 under. Woods birdied the 17th and 18th to tie Els, then won on the first playoff hole with a par.

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