How to watch The Open Championship, Round 1: Live stream, TV times, tee times, scoring

The house lights are flashing to signify that intermission is over. Yes! Intermission is over! What a first half of the FedExCup Playoffs it was. Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas captured victory at THE NORTHERN TRUST and Dell Technologies Championship, respectively, but it’s Jordan Spieth atop the standings with consecutive runner-up finishes. He’s the first non-winner of the first two FedExCup Playoffs events in history to sit No. 1 entering the BMW Championship, a feat even more unfathomable given he started the series third in points. Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest, Illinois, hosts the third leg for the third time. Of this week’s field of 70, 42 competed either in 2013 or in 2015. Twenty-three played in both editions. Two wins and a T6 in his last three starts. Leading the FedExCup Playoffs in scrambling and one-putt percentage. Shared 13th in his first look at Conway Farms in 2015. Leading the FedExCup Playoffs in adjusted scoring thanks to ranking fourth in GIR and third in birdie-or-better percentage. T16 (2013) and T13 (2015) at Conway Farms. The defending champion prevailed at Crooked Stick last year, but he finished T7 at Conway Farms in 2015. Pacing the FedExCup Playoffs in strokes gained: tee-to-green. Connected five top 15s, and then shook off short week at Glen Oaks where the greens befuddled him with a T23 at TPC Boston. T7 at Conway Farms in 2015. Top fives in five consecutive FedExCup Playoffs events. Top 15s in his last six starts of 2017. Seventh on TOUR in adjusted scoring. T23 in Conway Farms debut in 2015. Regularly in the mix all year. Ranks third in the FedExCup Playoffs in strokes gained: off-the-tee and T7 in proximity en route a T20 (Glen Oaks) and T13 (TPC Boston). T4 at 2015 BMW. Slots fifth in points with renewed mindset and T3-T4 opening. Leading the FedExCup Playoffs in strokes gained: putting. Also third in birdie-or-better percentage and T7 in bogey avoidance. Shifted it into a higher gear at Quail Hollow, where he shared runner-up honors. A respective T20 and T6 to begin the FedExCup Playoffs in which he ranks T5 in bogey avoidance. T10s to open the FedExCup Playoffs are first consecutive top 10s since January. Now 17th in points and poised to head to East Lake where he’s been phenomenal. T13 here in 2015. Rested the last two weeks after four straight on the road with no worse than T17 (twice). Top 20s in six of last seven starts worldwide. Tied for 10th at the 2015 BMW. Added a solo third at the Dell Technologies Championship to what has already been a sparkling 2017. Ranks third in greens in regulation during the FedExCup Playoffs. Opened with 61 and went wire-to-wire at Conway Farms in 2015. Not nearly as sharp of late, but enters having logged four straight top 25s, two of which for a top 10. Headed in the wrong direction but has everything to gain at 51st in points, so he’s dangerous. Placed T4 at Conway Farms in 2015, ranking second in par-5 scoring. Debutant is handling the series like a veteran, ranking first in greens hit and bogey avoidance. Also third in scrambling. T10 (Glen Oaks) and T13 (TPC Boston). Didn’t crack the top 20 in either previous appearance at Conway Farms, but he recorded 11 top 20s in 15 starts since the Masters five months ago. Not scoring per his reputation but the components are there. Ranks 16th in the FedExCup Playoffs in proximity and second in scrambling. Runner-up in only appearance here in 2015. Quieted in recent weeks but hardly scuffling with three top 20s in his last four starts. Finished T7 in proximity to the hole while posting a T18 at TPC Boston. The 2013 champ has lost his way again, but it’s not due to poor putting. He’s 28th in strokes gained: putting in the FedExCup Playoffs. T13 here in 2015 as well, so he’s a horse. Coming to life at a great time. Validated a T4 at Sedgefield with a T6 at TPC Boston. Ranked second in strokes gained: putting en route to a T10 at the 2015 BMW Championship. The streaky 35-year-old is fresh off a confidence-building T10 at TPC Boston. It ended a spell without a top 30 at six straight starts. T28 (2013) and T19 (2015) at Conway Farms. Power Rankings: BMW Championship RANK PLAYER COMMENT Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Kevin Kisner and Webb Simpson will be among the notables included in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider. Zach Johnson came from behind to prevail in 2013 and Jason Day cruised to a wire-to-wire title in 2015 at the BMW Championship at Conway Farms, but the Tom Fazio design also is remembered as the site of Jim Furyk’s 59 (with a bogey) in the second round of 2013. Yet, the field averaged 70.811 in its first look as compared to 69.489 in its return. Comparably, the 2015 field missed more fairways (63.72 percent vs. 66.73 percent in 2013), but it stacked up better on average in an array of scoring measurements: • Green in Regulation: 66.26 percent (vs. 62.94 percent in 2013) • Proximity to the Hole: 32 feet, one inch (vs. 33 feet, four inches) • Birdie-or-Better Conversion Percentage: 33.98 percent (vs. 30.24 percent) • Scrambling: 64.02 percent (vs. 59.90 percent) Rain softened Conway Farms in 2015, but not to the extent that anyone would have foreseen such a measurable drop in scoring on the par 35-36=71. So, with little chance of rain until Sunday during this week’s tournament, this year’s scoring average should land in between the two in the books. Daytimes highs in the mid-to-upper 70s are forecast. Mother Nature’s greatest challenge figures to be a moderate wind mid-tournament. Since Conway Farms hosted in 2015, several areas of the course were upgraded, many of which to improve drainage. The only change in overall yardage occurred at the par-5 18th hole, which is now up 10 yards, boosting the aggregate to 7,208 yards. Bentgrass greens are maintained at 12-and-a-half feet on the Stimpmeter. The longest rough is allowed to grow three-and-a-half inches. Those who advanced to the BMW Championship are not only chasing one of 30 berths into the TOUR Championship but also a carte-blanche schedule in 2017-18. In additions to exemptions already secured for finishing inside the top 70 of the FedExCup standings, the top 30 are granted exemptions into each of the first three majors in 2018 as well as spots in the first two World Golf Championships (HSBC, Mexico). The Confidence Factor on Tuesday will focus on specific statistics to identify would-be contenders as well as list all results of golfers in the field who competed at Conway Farms in 2013 and/or 2015. ROB BOLTON’S WRITING SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Columnist Rob Bolton will be filing his usual staples leading up to this week’s event. Look for the following columns this week. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Reshuffle, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, The Confidence Factor, Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done THURSDAY: Ownership Percentages in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf and One & Done presented by SERVPRO * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO, which also publishes on Tuesdays.

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Welcome to the new-look FedExCup Playoffs. With three tournaments instead of four, the rush to keep advancing should be Fast and Furious (speaking of which, check out the PGA TOUR’s tie-in with the just-released Hobbs & Shaw movie). Liberty National is the venue for this week’s THE NORTHERN TRUST, which means the Statue of Liberty will get plenty of air time … but probably not as much as Tiger Woods, the only two-time FedExCup champ. The Flyover The signature hole at Liberty National is the shortest on the course, the 150-yard par-3 14th. The views are what makes it so – the green is next to the water, and the Manhattan skyline and Statue of Liberty seem just an arm’s length away. As for the hole itself? It played to a stroke average of 2.949 and is the best bet for an ace this week (K.J. Choi and Greg Chalmers had aces in 2013). Landing Zone The 325-yard 16th is a drivable par 4; no surprise that it was the easiest par 4 here in 2013, playing to a stroke average of 3.810. Of the 390 tee shots struck that week, 155 attempted to drive the green, with 17 of those successful (Ryan Palmer made three attempts and was successful twice). The set-up was actually shorter on the weekend, with the hole playing to 289 yards in the third round and 299 in the final round. Wind coming in from the left and water on the right can pose issues. Here’s a look at where all tee shots landed in 2013. Weather Check Forecast by TOUR meteorologist Wade Stettner: “There is a slight risk for an isolated shower or thunderstorm on Thursday, then expect dry conditions from Friday through Sunday as high pressure settles across the area. Temperatures will be in the upper 80s on Wednesday and Thursday with slightly cooler temperatures expected this weekend.â€� For the latest weather news from Jersey City, New Jersey, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. Sound Check Last year, I said I was a man on a mission, and I’m still a man on a mission trying to make that team. By The Numbers: Special FedExCup edition 8 – Rookies in this year’s FedExCup Playoffs: Cameron Champ, Wyndham Clark, Sungjae Im, K.H. Lee, Adam Long, Collin Morikawa, Sepp Straka and Matthew Wolff. 9 – Players who have qualified for all 13 FedExCup Playoffs: Charley Hoffman, Charles Howell III, Matt Kuchar, Phil Mickelson, Ryan Moore, Justin Rose, Adam Scott, Brandt Snedeker and Bubba Watson. Of those nine players, only Mickelson has made it to the BMW Championship in each of the previous 12 seasons. 12 – Non-rookies qualifying for their first FedExCup Playoffs: Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Sam Burns, Corey Conners, Dylan Frittelli, Talor Gooch, Max Homa, Nate Lashley, Denny McCarthy, Sebastian Munoz, Joaquin Niemann, Adam Schenk and Roger Sloan. Please note that Burns is not playing due to injury. Scattershots DEFENDING CHAMP: A year ago, Bryson DeChambeau won the first two FedExCup Playoffs events – THE NORTHERN TRUST at Ridgewood and the Dell Technologies Championship at TPC Boston. He’s not defending on either course this time, with Liberty National as this week’s host and TPC Boston not hosting until next year’s Playoffs opener. DeChambeau said he was glad to see TPC Boston included in THE NORTHERN TRUST rotation. “To have us on the rotation for years to come is something that was necessary,â€� he said. “That golf course is amazing. Obviously I’m biased because I won it, but I do enjoy it.â€� TOP 70: The reduction to three Playoffs events starting this season has created the largest elimination in Playoffs history, with 55 players being eliminated this week as the field size is reduced from 125 to 70 for next week’s BMW Championship. Based on projections, roughly nine of the top 70 spots have yet to be solidified. That would be fairly consistent with previous Playoffs. Since 2009, 73 players have entered THE NORTHERN TRUST outside the top 70 and moved inside that number. But just 11 players have been outside the top 100 and played their way inside the top 70 … including the 2009 winner at Liberty National, Heath Slocum, who moved from 124 to 3. WELCOME BACK: Of the 125 players qualifying for the Playoffs this season, Michael Thompson had the longest absence between appearances. He last qualified in 2014, missed the cut in the Playoffs opener and finished 117th in points. Meanwhile, Matt Every, Matt Jones and Carlos Ortiz are returning to the Playoffs for the first time since 2015, while Jim Furyk (the 2010 FedExCup champ), Cameron Tringale, Aaron Baddeley, Graeme McDowell and Peter Malnati are back for the first time since 2016.

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ORLANDO - The strict constructionist would say Tiger Woods and 11-year-old son Charlie are in a six-way tie for sixth, four off the lead, after shooting a 10-under-par 62 in the first round of their debut at the PNC Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club. Matt Kuchar and his son, Cameron, 13, lead the 20-team field after shooting a 14-under 58. But how does one measure enjoyment? Because by that metric Charlie, who played from the most forward tees, may just be winning. With Team Woods playing alongside Team Thomas - Justin a sort of big brother figure to the uber-competitive Charlie, and Justin's father Mike a longtime PGA professional and Charlie's occasional coach - fun was going to be baked into the PNC regardless. RELATED: Full leaderboard Saturday, which brought warmer temperatures, did not disappoint, and what happened at the dogleg-left, par-4 13th hole said it all. With Team Thomas having hit, Charlie, way ahead, uncorked a gem. He walked down the fairway without looking back, and Tiger shrugged and walked off the way-back tee without bothering to hit. How could he top that? Some PNC employees and friends laughed, and Charlie spun around. "Like that?" he said. He marched toward his ball, which had settled short of a greenside bunker, but made a detour to Mike's ball, which had not drawn enough and found the right fairway bunker. Justin was the first to that ball and bent down to check the lie. "Charlie left you a note," he said. They read it. "Draw hole," Mike said. He and Justin laughed. "Payback is hell," Mike said. The punch line: Mike had been playing in the group ahead of Charlie in the pro-am earlier in the week and when Charlie hit it through everything and into the trees. Mike tore off a piece of paper, wrote Draw hole and placed it under Charlie's ball. "In typical Woods fashion," Justin said, "he kept the piece of paper, and when my dad hit it in the bunker, he took that same exact piece of paper and put it right behind his ball. It was a little bit of karma. It's just special. The kid's a gamer, he's a grinder. He's competitive. "But he's just so young," Thomas added, checking himself. Indeed, such is Charlie's game, such are his Tiger-like mannerisms, that it's all too easy to get carried away. "This is the first tournament that I've played in that Tiger Woods is playing in that he's not the star of the show," Padraig Harrington said. "He should note that himself. And that's amongst the players and the pros, because we're all goin' down that range and everybody's stopping to watch Charlie. Move out of the way, Tiger. Let us see. It's incredible the buzz it's created." And for good reason. Charlie eagled the par-5 fifth hole on his own ball. He hit his approach to a foot or two at the par-4 16th hole. Tiger didn't even bother to tee off on holes 13, 14 or 18. In a scramble format, with Charlie already in perfect position, why bother? "I knew he was going to wow a lot of people," said Thomas, who with Mike also shot 62. Added Tiger, "I've seen this all along. Probably not a lot of people have, but a lot of the shots he's hit I've seen back home at the Medalist this entire year, this entire pandemic. He's hit these shots. The (nine-hole) junior events he's played in he's hit a lot of these. It's just a matter of stringing these out for three and a half hours, which is a totally different deal." When Charlie walked in his birdie putt at the ninth hole, Woods said, it wasn't anything he hadn't seen before. "He did," he said when asked if Charlie had carried him. "He hit just some of the most incredible golf shots." He paused, then got back on message. The important thing, he said, was that Charlie is enjoying it. He's doing that in part by applying the needle like his dad. When Thomas double-crossed his tee shot on the first hole, Charlie said, "I thought you were trying to cut it." Thomas laughed about the exchange, and said he and Woods spoke mid-round about how much they were pulling for their respective partners, a powerless position their own parents have known all too well. Mike played from tees that made the course feel a little long, Justin said. Charlie, though, seemed to settle into his first televised competitive round like a warm bath. "I was pulling for him," Justin said. "I wanted every shot he hit to be the best one that he hit that day. It was a perfect balance of everything; it was competitive, it was joyful, it was memorable, and we had a little banter in there as well."

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