Henry Brown’s golf journey included caddying for Lee Elder at the Masters and much more

Here are nine tidbits from the third round of the 100th PGA Championship gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis plays 7,316 yards to par-70. Know Thy Enemy These were the top-10 selected, plus one, golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf game presented by SERVPRO. Round 2 was completed before 11:00 a.m. Saturday morning before Round 3 tee times began at 11:30 a.m. The cut landed on 140 (E) and for the first time in the history of the majors, +1 did NOT make the weekend. Of the 81 who made the cut they play both weekend rounds as there is no MDF in the major championships. Sunshine and hot temperatures made for ideal scoring conditions for the third round running. 54-Hole Leader After tying the PGA Championship record with 63 in Round 2, Brooks Koepka raced out of the blocks in Round 3. He was cruising with a five-shot lead as he went out in 30 before a pair of bogeys kept the field interested. He eventually signed for 66, tied for the second-best round of the day, and his total of 12 under par will give him a two-shot cushion in Round 4. He’ll look to join Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players to win the U.S. Open and PGA Championship in the same season. Shotgun Rider Australian Adam Scott, as his investors will remind me, only has one top-10 payday this season on the Zoysia fairways at Trinity Forest (T9). He’ll play in the final group after posting the round of the day, 65, with birdies on two of his last three holes. He’s played the final three holes in 4 under the last two rounds and has plenty of experience in big moments. Beware the Injured Golfer Rickie Fowler is dealing with an oblique injury but gutted out 69 and will begin Sunday in the penultimate group with Jon Rahm. He’s three back but sits third in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green. He hasn’t made anything this week but only has five total bogeys on his card. As long as he wakes up feeling well he should be in the fight on the back nine. Rahm-bo Fowler’s playing partner is also three back and is also looking to find answers with the putter on Sunday. Jon Rahm hasn’t squared a bogey in his last 45 holes but he resides in the bottom half of Strokes Gained: Putting. The good news is he’s in the top six in both Tee-to-Green and Approach-the-Green and that doesn’t hurt. He’s chased before this year as he signed for 3 under at Augusta on Sunday for solo fourth. First Time for Everything? Tiger Woods has never won a major championship in come-from-behind fashion but he’ll have a chance to change that Sunday. After back-to-back rounds of 66, Woods is in with a shout as he’ll begin the final round four shots behind Koepka (T6). The key for Woods will be simple in the final round as he’ll have to find some fortune on the back nine. He’s 2 over for the week on the inward nine and hasn’t broken par in three tries. Moving Day Daniel Berger has been battling a wrist injury but admitted before his round it’s go-time. He stepped on the gas after his opening nine of 41 to post 12 under in his last 45 holes. He moved up 21 spots to T15 after 66 in Round 3. … Xander Schauffele is looking to claim his third consecutive top-10 payday in the majors after T6 at Shinnecock Hills and T2 at Carnoustie. His 67 moved him to T15 and like Berger sits just one shot out of the top 10. Moving Day: Wrong Way Dustin Johnson didn’t make a birdie through the first 14 holes and saw the field run right past him as he was 5 over. Birdies on three of the last four holes saw him post 72 (+2) rally to T21 but he was T5 to begin Round 3. … Kevin Kisner played in the final group Saturday for the second year running and the results were similar. His 72 last year saw him maintain his lead but his 72 this time dropped him from second to T12. He finished T7 last year. Study Hall It keeps getting “easier” and that’s hardly a surprise after the weather. Round 2 finished under par at 69.594 while Round 3 was a tick lower at 69.500. … There were three bogey-free rounds in Round 3 as club professional Ben Kern joined Rahm and Berger in this elite club.  … Tony Finau has circled 18 birdies to lead the way but is T57. … Englishman Matt Wallace made a hole-in-one on No. 15 with a 5-iron from 232 yards. … The top four plus ties get into the Masters next year. … Every winner in recent memory has been in the top five entering Sunday.

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How the field qualified for the Farmers Insurance Open as of 1/17/2020: Check here for updates. Winner – PGA/U.S. Open Championship Jason Day Jordan Spieth Jimmy Walker Gary Woodland Winner – THE PLAYERS Championship Rickie Fowler Rory McIlroy Winner – The Masters Patrick Reed Tiger Woods Winner – The Open Championship Francesco Molinari Winner – TOUR Championship (2017 & 2018) Xander Schauffele Winner – World Golf Championships Event Hideki Matsuyama Phil Mickelson Justin Rose Bubba Watson Winners of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard & the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide (Last 3 Years) Jason Dufner Marc Leishman Tournament Winner in Past Two Seasons Keegan Bradley Cameron Champ Austin Cook Dylan Frittelli Brice Garnett Lanto Griffin Jim Herman J.B. Holmes Max Homa Billy Horschel Charles Howell III Sung Kang Patton Kizzire Russell Knox Satoshi Kodaira Troy Merritt Keith Mitchell Collin Morikawa Sebastián Muñoz Joaquin Niemann Ryan Palmer Cheng Tsung Pan Pat Perez Ted Potter, Jr. Jon Rahm Cameron Smith Brandt Snedeker Brendan Steele Martin Trainer Kevin Tway Matthew Wolff Career Money Exemption K.J. Choi Steve Stricker Sponsors Exemptions – Members not otherwise exempt Harris English Hunter Mahan Sponsors Exemptions – Unrestricted Stewart Cink Isaiah Salinda Justin Suh Brandon Wu PGA Club Professional Champion – 6 Events Alexander Beach PGA Section Champion\Player of the Year Michael Block Top 125 on Prior Season’s FedExCup Points List Tony Finau Jason Kokrak Sungjae Im Lucas Glover Rory Sabbatini Harold Varner III Byeong Hun An Joel Dahmen Wyndham Clark Emiliano Grillo Adam Schenk Danny Lee Kevin Streelman Jhonattan Vegas Charley Hoffman Chesson Hadley Matt Every Michael Thompson Matt Jones Luke List Roger Sloan Sam Burns Bud Cauley Nick Watney Mackenzie Hughes J.J. Spaun Talor Gooch Chris Stroud Kyle Stanley Patrick Rodgers Cameron Tringale Sam Ryder Kyoung-Hoon Lee Scott Stallings Denny McCarthy Scott Brown Carlos Ortiz Sepp Straka Aaron Baddeley Peter Malnati Martin Laird Top 125 (Prior Season Nonmember) Doc Redman Lucas Bjerregaard Major Medical Extension Bronson Burgoon Kevin Stadler Graham DeLaet Ben Martin Jamie Lovemark Grayson Murray John Huh Seung-Yul Noh Brandon Hagy Trey Mullinax Leading Points Winner from Korn Ferry Tour & KFT Finals Scottie Scheffler Top Finishers from Korn Ferry Tour Prior Season (reordered) Scott Harrington Tom Hoge Harry Higgs Xinjun Zhang Robby Shelton Zac Blair Richy Werenski Cameron Percy Fabián Gómez Henrik Norlander D.J. Trahan Hank Lebioda Robert Streb Maverick McNealy Beau Hossler Bo Hoag Matthew NeSmith Rob Oppenheim Kramer Hickok Joseph Bramlett Rafael Campos Chase Seiffert Mark Anderson Kristoffer Ventura Rhein Gibson Ben Taylor Tyler McCumber Chris Baker Michael Gligic Tim Wilkinson Sebastian Cappelen Doug Ghim Cameron Davis Ryan Brehm Michael Gellerman Nelson Ledesma Anirban Lahiri Vincent Whaley Vince Covello

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The holiday season is about togetherness – the more, the merrier – so it only makes sense that the last two tournaments of the calendar year hosted by the PGA TOUR are team formats. Next week’s PNC Championship associated with the PGA TOUR Champions connects generations. It’s fitting that it’s the last stop before everyone celebrates the holidays in earnest. There won’t be a Power Rankings for it, but the entire field of 12 two-person teams at this week’s QBE Shootout is slotted below. As it has since taking over as host of the three-day competition in 2001, Tiburón Golf Club’s Gold Course in Naples, Florida, is the stage. Details of it, the format, and more can be found below. POWER RANKINGS: QBE SHOOTOUT For two of the competitors in the field – Nelly Korda and Lexi Thompson – the Gold Course at Tiburón is exceptionally familiar, for it’s also the annual host of the LPGA’s CME Group Tour Championship. It was contested just three weeks ago. Save nine holes borrowed from the Black Course in 2014, only the Gold has hosted the QBE Shootout throughout the Tiburón’s tenure. The Gold is a stock par 72 that can tip at 7,382 yards, but it’s all about the format in an event like this. Length off the tee will matter only in retrospect if it’s paid off, for there is a reason why this is dubbed a Shootout with a capital S. Nothing has changed concerning the sequence of the scoring for every round. Friday’s opener is a traditional scramble. There will be 18-hole totals in the mid-to-high 50s. Last year’s highest R1 score was 62. The second round will played as modified alternate shot. Everyone hits a tee ball on every hole, but only one ball is used to complete each hole. There was one 62 and one 71 in this format last year, but all of the others ranged from 64 to 69. Sunday’s conclusion is better ball for which the lower of the scores among teammates goes on the card. There was one 68 in this format last year, but all of the others ranged from 60 to 65. The tournament record is 37-under 179. That was authored by the dynastic duo of Harris English and Matt Kuchar in 2020. Their margin of victory of nine strokes that week also is the largest in tournament history. They make up one of just two teams in this week’s field that has partnered together before. This week’s winning combo will share $950,000 of a record purse of $3.8 million. Spectacular weather is forecast. Daytime temps probably will creep into the low 80s and mostly blue skies will be accompanied by light winds. NOTE: PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf will resume with the Sentry Tournament of Champions on Jan. 5-8.

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