Not only is Western Kentucky competing, but the Hilltoppers logged the first Division I win post-COVID stoppage at the USA Intercollegiate.
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Newly elected World Golf Hall of Famer Retief Goosen tees it up for the first time since getting the call, while Ryan Armour defends a title for the first time as the PGA TOUR comes to Mississippi for the 33rd consecutive year. Lucas Glover, fresh from retaining his card via the Web.com Tour Finals, joins Goosen to give the Sanderson Farms Championship two former U.S. Open winners. The roster also includes former FedExCup champion Bill Haas, trying to lock down full TOUR status as he plays out a medical extension. FIELD NOTES: Sungjae Im, fourth at the Safeway Open after winning the Web.com Tour earnings title, tees it up in a short turnaround after playing THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES in his native South Korea. Im, Armour and J.J. Spaun are the only entrants to take on the trans-Pacific turnaround. … Jhonattan Vegas, unable to compete on the Asia Swing while dealing with passport issues in his native Venezuela, resumes his season in Mississippi. He tied for 53rd at the Safeway Open. … With the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking qualified for the WGC-HSBC Champions in China, Dylan Frittelli (No. 73) is the highest ranked player in the field. … Im and Glover are among 49 graduates in the field from the Web.com Tour Regular Season or Finals. The only absentee: Finals money leader Denny McCarthy. … Dicky Pride is set to make his 20th start in Mississippi, extending his own longevity mark. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 300 points. STORYLINES: Mississippi has become a haven for first-time winners, with five of the past seven champions making it their first. Armour’s victory followed Cody Gribble (2016), Peter Malnati (2015), Nick Taylor (‘14) and Chris Kirk (‘11). … In all, 11 players have made the Sanderson Farms Championship their first PGA TOUR triumph. … Haas, who missed a chunk of the spring after injuries in a fatal auto accident near the Genesis Open, has two starts left to earn 68 FedExCup points that would lock up full TOUR privileges for 2018-19. A top-10 finish in Napa earned him an extra start. … Goosen tees it up for the first time since a missed cut at the Wyndham Championship in August. He’s seeking his first top-10 finish since the FedEx St. Jude Classic last June. … U.S. entrants have won 21 of the past 23 editions in Mississippi, including 13 of the past 14. Canada’s Nick Taylor won in 2014, snapping a run of 10 straight U.S. winners, and England’s Luke Donald captured the 2002 edition. COURSE: Country Club of Jackson, 7,421 yards, par 72. Utilizing the Dogwood and Azalea nines from a 27-hole complex built by Dick Wilson in 1962, CCJ now enjoys its fifth year as Sanderson Farms host. Six Mississippi State Amateurs have been contested at CCJ, most recently in 2015, and the Southern Junior Amateur made an appearance in 2014. The club, which dates back to 2014, also played a key role in Mississippi history as a 1962 raid on the Carnival Ball turned up gallons of illegal liquor and prompted legislators to end the state’s prohibition. 72-HOLE RECORD: 263, Dan Halldorson (1986 at Hattiesburg GC). CC of Jackson record: 268, Cody Gribble (2016). 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Keith Clearwater (2nd round, 1996 at Annandale GC). CC of Jackson record: 62, Roberto Castro (1st round, 2015). LAST YEAR: Armour finally captured that elusive first PGA TOUR victory, pulling away with a 4-under-par 68 for a five-shot triumph. The 41-year-old Ohio native was the only man to break 70 all four days, opening with a 66 and carding nothing worse than a 68 for the entire week. A third-round 67 opened a five-shot gap heading into the final day, and six birdies kept any challengers at bay. Victory came in Armour’s 105th career TOUR start, dating back to 2007, and he had just four top-10 finishes during that decade. It also came just a month after regaining his card via the Web.com Tour Finals, where a runner-up showing at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship secured his status. Chesson Hadley led the chase pack, his second top-three finish of the new season after earning his card back via the Web.com Tour Finals. Jonathan Randolph, from nearby Brandon, Mississippi, was third after a closing 67. HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Sunday, 2:30-5:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). PGA TOUR LIVE: None. RADIO: Thursday-Friday, noon-5:30 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-5:30 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Steve Stricker had a premonition this might happen. It was early in the week, and he and Phil Mickelson were taking on Zach Johnson and Will Zalatoris in a nine-hole match in advance of the 103rd PGA Championship at Kiawah. “Let me just say, Phil did a lot of talking,” Stricker said. “So when Phil does a lot of talking, that means that usually he’s playing well, and him and I beat up on Zach and Will a little bit.” Mickelson is still making plenty of noise halfway through this windswept PGA, which he led after the morning wave after a second-round 69. After starting on the back nine and making the turn at even par, he heated up on his inward nine for the second straight day with a 5-under 31. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Nine Things to Know: Kiawah Island | Once again, 17 provides best theater at Kiawah “I think he has the bit between his teeth,” said Padraig Harrington (73, even par), who played the first 36 holes with Mickelson and Jason Day (75, 5 over). “I think he believes he can do it in these conditions, just like myself. I think myself, Phil would find it easier to compete on this style of golf course in these conditions in a major tournament all the time. “You can be patient in these courses,” he continued, “and obviously you’ve got to make a few birdies, but it suits somebody who is a player, somebody who is thinking.” Mickelson will turn 51 next month, and while he’s dropped to 115th in the world, 168th in the FedExCup, he’s shown some signs of life. He looked like the Phil of old as he shot a first-round 64 to take the lead at the Wells Fargo Championship two weeks ago. But he looked, well, just plain old after that, failing to break 75 as he spiraled down the board into 69th place. Harrington said that he first met Mickelson at the 1991 Walker Cup at Portmarnock Golf Club. Three decades later, Mickelson has won 44 times on the PGA TOUR, including five majors, but with only two wins in the last seven years, he admits his mental game has fallen off. “I’m working on it,” he said. “I’m just making more and more progress just by trying to elongate my focus. I might try to play 36, 45 holes in a day and try to focus on each shot so that when I go out and play 18, it doesn’t feel like it’s that much. I might try to elongate the time that I end up meditating, but I’m trying to use my mind like a muscle and just expand it because as I’ve gotten older, it’s been more difficult for me to maintain a sharp focus, a good visualization and see the shot. “Physically I feel like I’m able to perform and hit the shots that I’ve hit throughout my career,” he added. Occasionally using a 2-wood that he deploys as a fairway finder, Mickelson hit 11 of 14 fairways in the second round. That’s uncannily accurate, for him, and allows him to shine with his irons, the strength of his game. He said he and his caddie/brother Tim have been spot-on with their yardages – Mickelson hit 12 greens in regulation – and was No. 1 in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green as the afternoon wave began. He took a tidy 27 putts for the second straight day. It was his ability to avoid the big miss, though, that stood out. Mickelson, whose best this season is a T21 at the Masters, came into this week 199th in driving accuracy. He admittedly strives to be average in that category, but there’s nothing average about him finding the short grass only 50% of the time. “Yeah, there were no foul balls,” Day said, when asked what he saw from Mickelson the first two days. “Usually with Phil you can get some pretty wide ones, and he kept it straight out in front of him. And his iron play was pretty tight. There was a lot of quality iron shots into the greens.” The only real danger Mickelson got into was as the group was put on the clock for slow play. After he came up just short of the green at the par-3 eighth, microphones picked him up saying he was rushing because he was afraid of getting dinged for a bad time. Alas, he was not, and got up and down for par. After converting from 22 1/2 feet at the ninth for his final birdie of the day, and doing his media hits, he went back out to the practice putting green. He found something in his stroke at the turn, he said, which led to those five late birdies (2, 4, 5, 7, 9). Yes, he’s logged some serious miles on TOUR. Yes, Harrington joked that his caddie, Ronan Flood, asked who Mickelson played in singles in the 1991 Ryder Cup at Kiawah. (Mickelson wasn’t on those teams yet.) But yes, Phil Mickelson has the bit in his teeth. “He’s not here to make the cut,” Harrington said. “He’s not here to finish – even 15th would be a disappointment. You know what? Even second would be a disappointment for Phil.” He will plot his way around a dastardly Pete Dye design. He will confront players half his age. He will take on himself in an epic battle between the Phil of old and just-plain-old Phil. Which one will win the weekend? That we’re all meditating on that is the surprise of the week.
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – THE PLAYERS Championship is the signature event on the PGA TOUR, and golf fans will plenty of options to follow all the action this week on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. PGA TOUR LIVE Available on PGATL.com and PGA TOUR apps, PGA TOUR LIVE will provide live streaming coverage not only on competition days but also key events leading up to Thursday’s first round. TUESDAY: Live coverage of the Military Appreciation Ceremony and Sam Hunt concert, 6-8 p.m. ET WEDNESDAY: Live PLAYERS preview show from Noon-2 p.m. ET will include a live broadcast from the Stadium Course, as well as player interviews at the range, expert analysis of the field and course, and an overview of the additions and renovations to the course, as well as a look at the new practice facility, Nickelodeon’s presence at the Kid Zone and other fan-centric features. THURSDAY/FRIDAY: Featured Groups coverage starting at 7:30 a.m. ET, and Featured Hole coverage of the par-3 17th and renovated par-4 12th starting at 9 a.m. ET. Coverage scheduled until 7 p.m. ET. SATURDAY/SUNDAY: Featured Groups coverage starting at 8:30 a.m. ET, and Featured Hole coverage of the par-3 17th and renovated par-4 12th starting at Noon ET. Coverage scheduled until 7 p.m. ET. TWITTER Featured group coverage on the PGA TOUR’s official Twitter account, @PGATOUR, will be available for the first two rounds. THURSDAY/FRIDAY: Live coverage from 7:30 a.m. to approximately 9 a.m. ET of two Featured Groups through their first two holes. LIVE VR/360 VIDEO Fans will have the unique perspective of virtual reality and 360-degree video coverage of the island-green 17th hole during all four rounds. The live VR experience can be viewed on Samsung Gear VR headsets on a global basis through the PGA TOUR VR Live app available on the Oculus store. For fans without the headset, a 360 video streak will be available exclusively on Twitter and Periscope @PGATOUR, using any smartphone. (For more information on this exciting feature, click here) THURSDAY/FRIDAY: Live 17th hole coverage from 9 a.m.-7 p.m. ET SATURDAY/SUNDAY: Live 17th hole coverage from Noon-7 p.m. ET PGA TOUR EXPERIENCE on DIRECTV For the first time at THE PLAYERS Championship, DIRECTV will offer fans four distinct channels of coverage – the GOLF/NBC Simulcast, Featured Group, Launch Pad and SHOTLink. THURSDAY/FRIDAY: 1 p.m. – 7 p.m. ET SATURDAY/SUNDAY: 2 p.m. – 7 p.m. ET TELEVISION NBC will broadcast THE PLAYERS Championship for the 30th year and will offer 22 hours of live tournament coverage on NBC and Golf Channel during the four rounds of competition, with limited commercial interruptions. THURSDAY/FRIDAY: Coverage on Golf Channel will be from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET SATURDAY/SUNDAY: Coverage on NBC will be from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET. RADIO PGA TOUR Radio’s live audio coverage is available on XM 92/Sirius 208 and free online at PGATOUR.COM. THURSDAY/FRIDAY: Noon – 7 p.m. ET SATURDAY-SUNDAY: 1 p.m. – 7 p.m. ET
