PGA Tour action expands to four feeds this week at The American Express. Here is how to watch on ESPN+.
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OVERVIEW It seems every year we expect more from Rickie Fowler. The standards we hold for him are far and above many others but the reality is a body of work that has four PGA TOUR titles — including THE PLAYERS Championship — along with four additional worldwide wins is nothing to sneeze at. We can also judge Fowler away from the course where he is clearly a class above most. Always at the forefront of how to treat fans and charities, Fowler has been nothing but great for the game of golf. So if we are to expect more from Fowler, where will it come from? Consistency? Well, he’s made the FedExCup Playoffs in all nine of his PGA TOUR seasons, with 43rd his worst finish. He’s made the TOUR Championship five times. The majors? Perhaps this is what we crave given Fowler has nine top 10s (13 top 14s) in the majors during his career without a win. He was runner-up last year at the Masters where he’s had four top-12 finishes in the last five seasons … perhaps this will be the year. Now 30, Fowler has hit the meat of his career. He is no longer part of the youth brigade on TOUR. We expect it will kick start another impressive chapter for the former young gun – much like what was seen from Adam Scott. Scott spent his 20s winning tournaments, including the PLAYERS, but when the new decade hit, his intensity lifted and a major win and trip to world no.1 followed. Last season, Fowler was winless on the TOUR (albeit he did win the 2017 Hero World Challenge) but did have two runner-ups and he had to deal with an oblique injury. The fall series provided decent results in Las Vegas (T4) and Mexico (T16) and he was fifth in his title defense in the Bahamas, meaning he hits the new year with some form. — By Ben Everill Click here to see who else made the Top 30 list. BY THE NUMBERS FEDEXCUP UPDATE Current 2018-19 position: 39th Playoff appearances: 9 TOUR Championship appearances: 5 Best FedExCup result: 4th in the 2014-15 season SHOTLINK FUN FACT Rickie Fowler has recorded two rounds of 63 in his last 24 rounds played — after recording two rounds of 63 or better in his first 730 rounds played on the PGA TOUR. INSIDER INSIGHTS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Rickie Fowler in 2019. TOUR INSIDER: Plenty of players would kill for Fowler’s resume but yet still we constantly expect more from this prodigious talent. Now in his 30s, the time has come for a renewed focus on the big events. With comfort in his life, he needs to feel some discomfort with his results and double down on his commitment. We expect he will. — By Ben Everill FANTASY INSIDER: He’s so fine, he blows our minds. Every draft leaguer would salivate if he fell to this position in his or her draft. The knocks are obvious – “only” four PGA TOUR victories and still without a title in a major – but let the mainstream narrative criticize him for that. You know better. You understand that he’s going to antagonize the top of the leaderboard often enough to warrant one plunge after another. His consistently strong record speaks for itself and he’s been bettered in the all-around ranking by only four golfers in the last two completed seasons combined. — By Rob Bolton EQUIPMENT INSIDER: Fowler recently made equipment headlines by putting a game-improvement long iron into play at the 2018 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, where he finished T4. The 4-iron is Cobra’s new King F9 Speedback iron, made for maximum forgiveness and distance. Fowler says he uses the iron as a weapon off the tee. As for the rest of his irons, Fowler employs a custom set of King MB Forged irons with tungsten weights added to the sole and toe of the club; his custom irons are so popular that Cobra recently released a retail version of the irons in a mixed set of CB/MB irons. Fowler also has switched into the new King F9 Speedback driver; he plays it at 43.5 inches, with a Graphite Design Tour AD-IZ shaft. — By Andrew Tursky STYLE INSIDER: Nobody can shake up the golf fashion scene quite like Fowler. He has the unique ability to go outside the box with fresh and creative looks while also possessing the thoughtfulness to respect the traditions of the game. He continues to use his style and modern take on golf apparel to bring a new generation of players to the fairways. At this point, we should expect the unexpected from Fowler. Let’s sit back and enjoy his fashion statements in the new year. — By Greg Monteforte
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The U.S. Team has won the 14th Presidents Cup, clinching the title by reaching 15.5 points on Sunday at Quail Hollow Club. PRESIDENTS CUP: Scoring The U.S. improves to 12-1-1 all-time in the biennial competition, remaining undefeated on American soil at 8-0-0. The U.S. Team entered Sunday Singles with an 11-7 advantage over the International Team, and the United States weathered an early opposing surge with consistent play across the lineup. Here’s a match-by-match breakdown of Sunday’s 12 Singles matches at Quail Hollow Club. SUNDAY SINGLES MATCH 19 Si Woo Kim (Intl.) def. Justin Thomas (U.S.), 1-up This first match got tense on the back nine, with the normally stoic Kim showing some fire as he won the 14th (par) and 16th (birdie) holes and “shushed” the partisan crowd with a nice par putt at 15. Thomas, who led most of the match, hit his approach close for birdie at 17 to tie; both players had good birdie looks at 18. Kim putted first and made from 10 feet. Thomas, just inside, missed his putt left. Thomas had a strong week (4-1-0) but fell to 0-3 in Presidents Cup Singles. QUOTES: “I’ve never (felt) like pressure, even when I won THE PLAYERS Championship. It was a really hard match. … My goal was playing 18 holes. I kept the pressure on him.” – Si Woo Kim Score at match’s conclusion: U.S. Team 12, International Team 8 Player records this week: Thomas (4-1-0), Si Woo Kim (3-1-0) MATCH 20 Jordan Spieth (U.S.) def. Cameron Davis (Intl.), 4 and 3 Spieth, the most seasoned U.S. player, came into Sunday having never won in Presidents Cup/Ryder Cup Singles play, holding a record of 0-6-1. He lost his first two holes, but he got going with the putter, birdied Nos. 4 and 5 and was tied after nine. Spieth would run away by winning six of the last seven holes. Not only did he get his Singles victory, but Spieth became only the sixth player in Presidents Cup history to finish 5-0-0. QUOTES: “I had a great back nine … I rattled off three straight birdies (starting at 11) and then just kept trying to hit greens. It feels really good. I was more nervous than I probably should have been today, just because I wanted to get that monkey off my back.” – Jordan Spieth Score at match’s conclusion: U.S. Team 12, International Team 7 Player records this week: Spieth (5-0-0), Davis (2-3-0). MATCH 21 Sam Burns (U.S.) tied Hideki Matsuyama (Intl.) Another close match near the top of the lineup, with Burns, a rookie on the U.S. Team, and Matsuyama, an International Team veteran, heading to the 18th hole tied. Matsuyama hit a drive down the left side that struck a marshal and caromed left into the rough, a terrible break. From 182 yards, he hit his approach just over the green. Burns piped a drive, and hit his approach to 24 feet. Matsuyama’s long curling chip hit the flagstick and stayed out. Burns, playing the 18th hole for the fourth time, watched his birdie putt to win drift off right. Burns played much better on the week than his record would show. QUOTES: “He just blew the lid off this place.” NBC’s Paul Azinger after Burns made birdie from 48 feet at the 10th hole Score at match’s conclusion: U.S. Team 13.5, International Team 8.5 Player records this week: Burns (0-3-2), Matsuyama (1-3-1) MATCH 22 Patrick Cantlay (U.S.) def. Adam Scott (Intl.), 3 and 2 Cantlay came out a determined man after he and partner Xander Schauffele lost their afternoon Four-ball match on Saturday. He birdied the second, third and won the fourth with a par when Scott putted off the green. There was some beautiful golf in this match at times. Scott, the oldest man of the match at 42, stiffed his approach at the ninth with Cantlay’s ball sitting just 2 feet from the hole. Cantlay simply left Scott with few openings in a tactical victory. Score at match’s conclusion: U.S. Team 13, International Team 8 Player records this week: Cantlay (3-1-0), Scott (2-3-0) MATCH 23 Sebastian Munoz (Intl.) def. Scottie Scheffler (U.S.) 2 and 1 Scheffler, the world No. 1, came in fired up after going winless (0-2-1) in three team matches, but he faced a formidable foe. Munoz, from Colombia, was 2-down through seven, but kept punching. He won holes 8-10, then holed a bunker shot for eagle at the short 11th. Scheffler would answer, holing a curling downhill putt from 62 feet to keep from going 2-down. Munoz had a 1-up lead when the players traded birdies at 15 and 16. A poor tee shot by Scheffler at 17 cost him, his bogey clinching the match for Munoz. QUOTES: “It was tough. I really had to focus. It’s probably one of the best things I’ve ever achieved in my life, playing this week, holding him off two times this week. I threw everything at him, and luckily we got the win.” – Sebastian Munoz Score at match’s conclusion: U.S. Team 13.5, International Team 9.5 Player records this week: Scheffler 0-3-1, Munoz 2-0-1 MATCH 24 Tony Finau (U.S.) def. Taylor Pendrith (Intl.), 3 and 1 Finau clinched at least a half-point for the U.S. side when he birdied the 16th hole against the long-hitting Canadian rookie, then secured a full point at the par-4 17th when he made his seventh birdie of the round. Pendrith, winless on the week, led from the sixth hole through the 11th, but did not win a hole after 11. Finau won five of the final nine holes of the match. QUOTE: “I fought as hard as I think I’ve ever fought in a match. We know what’s on the line here this week, and it just adds that little intensity. I needed every bit of it. I played really nicely. I had to if I was going to beat Taylor today.” – Tony Finau Score at match’s conclusion: U.S. Team 14.5, International Team 9.5 Player records this week: Finau (3-1-0), Pendrith (0-4-0). MATCH 25 Xander Schauffele (U.S.) def. Corey Conners (Intl.), 1-up The man who won gold at the 2020 Olympics now owns a clinching point at the Presidents Cup, too. Schauffele was struggling mightily on the back nine, tugging his tee shot into the water at the par-3 14th and then driving his ball into the left-side creek at 15, but he showed lots of fight. He hit an incredible third shot from 218 yards after his drop and saved his 4 at 15 to regain a 1-up lead. Schauffele was 1-up with two to play and cold-shanked his approach at the par-4 17th with Conners sitting on the green in two. Conners, who had a rough week, three-putted to allow Schauffele to tie the hole with bogey. A scrambling par at 18 sealed his 1-up victory and the cup for the U.S.. QUOTES: “This is a really strange feeling. Man, we were struggling out there, and I’m really happy there are no pictures on the scorecard. I had all the boys pulling for me. I knew it was going to be close. Corey just let me in, and I was able to take advantage of it.” – Xander Schauffele Score at match’s conclusion: U.S. Team 15.5, International Team 9.5 Player records this week: Schauffele (3-1-0), Conners (0-4-0) MATCH 26 Sungjae Im (Intl.) def. Cameron Young (U.S.), 1-up Young had a nightmare start. Im came out with three pars and was 3-up on the fourth tee. But Young, one of six U.S. rookies, can go on some incredible stretches of golf, and he worked his way back into the match. When he birdied the par-4 15th, Young owned the lead. Im, an incredible ballstriker, was tough all week, and he would birdie the last two holes – making from 22 feet at 18 – to turn around the deficit and pull out a hard-earned point. Score at match’s conclusion: U.S. Team 15.5, International Team 11.5 Player records this week: Young (1-2-1), Im (2-2-1) MATCH 27 K.H. Lee (Intl.) def. Billy Horschel (U.S.), 3 and 1 In a battle of two Presidents Cup first-timers, the South Korean Lee steadily built a 3-up advantage through 11 holes, and he held off the fiery Florida Gator with just one hole surrendered the rest of the way – Horschel’s birdie at No. 13. Lee two-putted for birdie at the par-5 16th to match Horschel’s up-and-down from a greenside bunker, and the reigning back-to-back AT&T Byron Nelson champion was conceded the match while facing a 21-foot birdie try on No. 17, as Horschel faced 43 feet for par. Score at match’s conclusion: U.S. Team 15.5, International Team 10.5 Player records this week: Lee (2-1-0), Horschel (1-2-0) MATCH 29 Collin Morikawa (U.S.) def. Mito Pereira (Intl.), 3 and 2 Score at match’s conclusion: U.S. Team 16.5, International Team 11.5
