How to watch Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open, Round 1: Featured Groups, live scores, tee times, TV times

With the holiday season in the rearview, the 2019-20 PGA TOUR season gets going again next week at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii. Thirty-four golfers will tee it up at the winners’ only event at the re-imagined Kapalua Resort, led by last year’s winner Xander Schauffele. FIELD NOTES: There are 15 first-time winners making their debut at the Sentry Tournament of Champions including: Corey Conners, Tyler Duncan, Dylan Frittelli, Lanto Griffin, Max Homa, Sung Kang, Nate Lashley, Adam Long, Keith Mitchell, Collin Morikawa, Sebastian Munoz, Joaquin Niemann, J.T. Poston, Martin Trainer, and Matthew Wolff … Justin Thomas (2017), Patrick Reed (2015) and Dustin Johnson (2013, 2018) join Schauffele as past champions in the field … Chez Reavie returns to the Sentry Tournament of Champions for the first time in 11 years. He won the RBC Canadian Open in 2008 but didn’t win again on the PGA TOUR until the 2019 Travelers Championship. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points COURSE: Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort, 7,518 yards, par 73. The course was one of the first Ben Crenshaw/Bill Coore designs (opened in 1991) and the pair as since gone on to become one of the most iconic duos in golf course architecture. Coore and Crenshaw undertook an “expansive� renovation of the course in 2019. STORYLINES: Seven members of the victorious US team at the Presidents Cup will start their 2020’s in Hawaii including Patrick Cantlay, Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas, and Gary Woodland …  Woodland is 2019’s lone major champion in the field … A quick start to the calendar year is paramount to a long run through the FedExCup playoffs – the last three winners at the Sentry Tournament of Champions went on to finish in the top 5 of the FedExCup standings (Schauffele finished 2nd, while Johnson and Thomas both won the FedExCup) … Schauffele has a chance to become the first golfer since Geoff Ogilvy (2009-10) to win the Sentry in back-to-back years … Jon Rahm plays his first event as a married man and looks to build off his success in Hawaii – he finished runner-up in his debut two seasons ago, and T8 in 2019 … Johnson and Fowler are playing their first PGA TOUR events since the 2019 TOUR Championship in August … Johnson underwent knee surgery this fall but went 2-2 at the Presidents Cup. 72-HOLE RECORD: 261, Ernie Els (2003) 18-HOLE RECORD: 62, K.J. Choi (3rd round, 2003), Graeme McDowell (4th round, 2011), Jason Day (4th round, 2015), Chris Kirk (4th round, 2015), Xander Schauffele (4th round, 2019). LAST TIME: Xander Schauffele teed off Sunday a year ago at the Sentry Tournament of Champions feeling like he had nothing to lose – and he played that way all day. Schauffele tied the course record at Kapalua with a Sunday 11-under 62 to top Gary Woodland by one shot. Past champions Justin Thomas (third) and Dustin Johnson (T4) were nipping at his heels all day, but Schauffele – who started the round with a bogey – was too much on Sunday. He went out in 31 and fired a matching 31 on the inward nine holes, including birding four of his final five holes to win. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 6 p.m.-10 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 4 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC), 6 p.m.-8 p.m. (Golf Channel). Sunday, 6 p.m.-10 p.m. (Golf Channel) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 4 p.m.-10 p.m. ET. Saturday, 3 p.m.-8 p.m. ET. Sunday, 5 p.m.- 10 p.m. ET (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).

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NASSAU, Bahamas — Bubba Watson ends the year at No. 12 in the Presidents Cup standings, and his mission is to be at Royal Melbourne one year from now. But not necessarily as a player. Watson was asked during the Hero World Challenge what would make a good 2019, and he didn’t hesitate. “I have been bugging Mr. Tiger Woods about being a vice captain for Australia,” Watson said. “I would love the honor of doing that again. The reason why is I feel like I can service. For me personally, I have more enjoyment serving 12 guys than playing.” He has experience in that role. Watson was No. 9 in the Ryder Cup standings, when he was left off the team. Davis Love III wound up bringing him to Hazeltine as another vice captain, and Watson thrived in his role. Watson, whose 12 victories on the PGA TOUR include two Masters and two World Golf Championships, has played on only two Presidents Cup teams (5-3-2 record), compared with four Ryder Cup teams. “I always bug Tiger,” Watson said. “He says, `You need to be playing.’ I said, `Look, man, we’ve never won a Ryder Cup with me playing, but we’ve won when I wasn’t playing. So me and you need to be captain and vice captains.’ That’s our joke. I’ve told him, `Listen, I’ll do anything to help you if you want me. If you don’t, that’s fine.'”

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OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. – News and notes from the third round of THE NORTHERN TRUST, with Jordan Spieth leading Dustin Johnson by three shots after a 6-under 64. Click here for more from Glen Oaks. SPIETH FLIPS THE SWITCH If Jordan Spieth wins Sunday, part of the credit will be a missed 12-foot birdie putt he had in the middle of his second round Friday. Spieth said the missed putt on the ninth green flipped the switch on understanding the speed of Glen Oaks’ greens. He turned to caddie Michael Greller and said, “I just haven’t hit them hard enough on this front nine. I just need to dial in the speed.� Since then, Spieth has played 27 holes. He’s made 14 birdies. He’s gone from 1 under and on the fringes of contention to now being the leader at 12 under and primed for his 12th PGA TOUR win. Making the proper speed adjustment, Spieth made five straight birdies in that second round, starting with an 11-footer on the 10th hole. “From there,� he said, “I started to fill it up.� He continued his hot putting Saturday, with four birdies on the front and four more on the back. So far, he’s made nearly 327 feet of putts in the first three rounds (only Kevin Tway and D.A. Points have made more). After the first round, Spieth ranked 99th in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting. Now he ranks seventh. We should be used to this flip-the-switch ability on the greens from Spieth. It happened at The Open Championship in the final round. It’s not necessarily the way Spieth wants to approach things. He’d much rather have a hot putter for 72 holes. He told Greller as much before Saturday’s round. “I wish I was a lot more neutral with my putting,� Spieth said. “But the fact that I’m able to flip that switch mentally … is advantageous. It’s certainly an advantage I feel I have, that I can do. “But you know, I need to hold steady. I’ve still missed some putts inside of five (feet) this week, quite a few of them, and on afternoon poa annua, it’s likely to happen again.� For now, though, the switch is in the “on� position. If it stays that way Sunday, everybody else is playing for second. REMEMBER EAST LAKE Last year, Kevin Chappell led the TOUR Championship by two shots with two holes to play. But he suffered a bogey at the 17th hole, dropped into a three-man playoff and eventually saw Rory McIlroy win the tournament – and the FedExCup title. Chappell clearly hasn’t forgotten. He calls it unfinished business. “I want to put myself in the exact same situation I was in 350 days ago on the 71st tee on Sunday and we’ll see what happens,� Chappell said. He entered this week 30th in FedExCup points, which makes him the bubble boy for East Lake. Thanks to a 6-under 64 – matching Jordan Spieth for low round of the day – Chappell is tied for eighth at 5 under and leaving no doubt that he wants a shot at redemption. If he keeps playing well, he also may get his first opportunity to represent the U.S. since turning pro. Chappell is projected to move to 10th in Presidents Cup points. If he stays there after next week’s Dell Technologies Championship, he would earn one of the automatic berths for Team USA at Liberty National. For now, his focus is on the FedExCup Playoffs. “Team events are always a result of achieving your individual goals,� Chappell said. “… It’s sort of icing on the cake. If you look at it that way, I’ve never had the icing on the cake, so I look forward to that.� CALL OF THE DAY JUST MOVE CLOSER Paul Casey was with his swing coach Peter Kostis on the range Saturday morning. “You’re standing too far away from the golf ball,� Kostis said. Responded Casey: “After I hit it or before I hit it?� That might have prompted a chuckle, but the simple fix was an effective one. Casey moved an inch closer to the ball, steepened his shoulder plane, and struck it solid for 18 holes. He missed just three fairways and four greens, returning with a 4-under 66 that leaves him tied for third at 7 under. “Wonderful stuff,� Casey said. “… I’ve clearly got two guys ahead of me who are tough. But I’m in a great position. So I’d like to go out there tomorrow and tear it up and maybe do something better than I did today and we’ll see what happens.� QUOTE OF THE DAY Let’s be honest here. I’d rather have a three-shot lead. But it’s not that bad coming from three shots back, either, because that can change in one hole. ODDS AND ENDS Keegan Bradley said he played Glen Oaks a handful of times during his college days at St. John’s. “But I played it before they took all the trees down,� he said. “I don’t really remember many of the holes.� Still, he looks quite comfortable here, shooting a bogey-free 4-under 66 that left him in solo seventh at 6 under … Don’t expect a lot of fireworks from the leaders on the front nine Sunday. Most of the scoring holes are on the back. Tony Finau is 3 over on the front and 4 under on the back. “To me, the three hardest holes on the course are 1, 4 and 8. They all have length. The first hole is ridiculous. That’s just a par 5. If you make a 4 there, you feel like it’s a birdie.� Spieth is 2 under on the front and 10 under on the back. “It’s a difficult nine for somebody to go 4- or 5-under on, no matter how hot they get,� Spieth said of the front. “Then you get to a bunch of wedge holes and you can start really controlling your score from there.� … Tough day for Rickie Fowler, who was one of the 36-hole co-leaders but started with five bogeys in his first six holes. He eventually shot 74 to fall to 2 under and into a tie for 22nd. … Just 20 attempts have been made to drive the green at the short par-4 11th, which played to 297 yards Sunday. Finau has made three of those attempts and is surprised more of the longer hitters haven’t gone for it. But he understands why. “It has nothing to do with distance,� he said. “A lot of guys can get there. If anything, if you roll through the green and into that back bunker, that’s not a good spot.� Said Chappell: “It’s probably not the most enticing drivable hole we’ve seen on TOUR.�  

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