How to watch the PGA Tour’s The Players on ESPN+

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NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. –  We’ve already witnessed one former anchorer have a career resurgence. Now Keegan Bradley is trying to follow in his footsteps. Webb Simpson qualified for last season’s TOUR Championship after a two-year absence from East Lake, then won this year’s THE PLAYERS Championship for his first victory in more than four years. Bradley is in position for his first TOUR Championship berth in five years after a strong start to the BMW Championship. He opened with rounds of 66-64 at Aronimink and is in third place, just three shots behind leader Xander Schauffele. “The opportunity is right in front of me. I have to go take it,â€� Bradley said. “That’s what’s great about the FedExCup Playoffs.â€� He is projected to leap from 52nd to 28th in the FedExCup standings if he can maintain his position on the leaderboard. The PGA TOUR’s projections estimate that he needs a fifth-place finish to advance to East Lake for the first time in five years. Bradley made it to the TOUR Championship in each of his first three seasons (2011-13) but hasn’t been back since. He hasn’t won since the 2012 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. Bradley, who has four top-10s this season, is still an elite ball-striker. He leads the TOUR in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green. The putter often determines his fate, though. He’s 186th in Strokes Gained: Putting this season. He’s had multiple opportunities in the Playoffs to leap up the FedExCup standings. After shooting 62 in the third round at Ridgewood, Bradley played alongside Bryson DeChambeau in THE NORTHERN TRUST’s final group. Bradley fired 78 on Sunday to drop into 34th place, though. Last week, in his native Massachusetts, he shot 67-69 to sit in the top 10 at the halfway point of the Dell Technologies Championship. He didn’t break par in either of the final two rounds, though, and fell to 49th. “I’m excited for the opportunity again. I put myself here now the last couple of weeks, it’s time to go out and play well,â€� he said. Bradley ranks 10th in both Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green and Strokes Gained: Putting this week. He holed a 38-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole in the first round and sank four putts from outside 10 feet today. “This course rewards good ball striking,â€� he said. “That’s what I’ve been doing all year. I mix in some good putting and here I am 10 under. That’s the key.â€� BIG NAMES ON THE BUBBLE Jordan Spieth may need a good weekend if he wants to avoid missing the TOUR Championship for the first time in his career. Spieth, the 2015 FedExCup champion, is 32nd in the projected standings. He’s fallen five spots since the start of the week because of a poor start at Aronimink. While he watched playing partners Tiger Woods (62-70) and Rickie Fowler (65-65) go low, Spieth has struggled with his putting. Spieth shot 67-71 and is tied for 48th place. Spieth is 95 points behind No. 30 Gary Woodland in the projected FedExCup standings. He was 0 for 3 on putts from 5-10 feet on Friday, losing 2.75 strokes on the greens in the BMW’s second round. This was his third-worst performance in Strokes Gained: Putting of the season. In 10 rounds spanning from the weekend of the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational through THE NORTHERN TRUST, Spieth gained strokes with his putting nine times. He’s had a negative Strokes Gained: Putting in four of his past six rounds, though. Spieth made three birdies Friday, but also had two bogeys and a double. He played Nos. 11 and 12 in 3 over after pulling his tee shot left of the fairway on both par-4s. Marc Leishman was fourth in the FedExCup standings when he arrived at East Lake on the heels of last year’s win in the BMW Championship. Now he’s on the dreaded 31st position in the standings. He’s in 62nd place in the 69-man BMW field after shooting even par over the first 36 holes. He shot 74 on Thursday and opened Friday’s round with nine consecutive pars. He shot 31 on his final nine holes, though. Five of the top six names on the leaderboard were behind Leishman in the FedExCup standings at the start of the week, so he will move up if any of them slide down the leaderboard on the weekend. Leishman is just 16 points behind Woodland in the projected standings. MOVING IN/OUT After the second round of the BMW Championship, the following players are projected to move into the top 30 in the FedExCup standings and qualify for the season-ending TOUR Championship. Xander Schauffele (1st): From 41st to 6th Alex Noren (T3): From 50th to 25th Keegan Bradley (T3): From 52nd to 28th These are the players projected to fall out of the top 30. Marc Leishman (T62): From 22nd to 31st Jordan Spieth (T48): From 27th to 32nd Emiliano Grillo (T38): From 29th to 33rd BIGGEST MOVERS Biggest moves made in the projected FedExCup standings after the second round of the BMW Championship. Up 35 spots: Xander Schauffele (From 41 to 6) Up 25 spots: Alex Noren (From 50 to 25) Up 24 spots: Keegan Bradley (From 52 to 28) BUBBLE BOYS Gary Woodland, winner of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, started this week clinging to the final berth in the TOUR Championship. After opening with consecutive 66s, Woodland still holds onto the 30th spot in the projected standings. He is in 12th place, five shots behind leader Xander Schauffele. Woodland is 16 points ahead of No. 31 Marc Leishman in the projected standings. TOP 5 WATCH The top five players in FedExCup points after the BMW Championship will control their own destiny entering the TOUR Championship. A win at East Lake would guarantee any of the top five the FedExCup title. Here’s how the current Top Five fared Friday: 1. Bryson DeChambeau (still 1st): After winning the first two events of the FedExCup Playoffs, DeChambeau is guaranteed to take the top spot into East Lake. He is in 38th place after shooting 67-70 in the first two rounds at Aronimink. 2. Dustin Johnson (now 5th): Johnson, winner of three events this season, is clinging to the fifth and final spot in the projected standings. He moved up one spot in the projected standings after shooting 68 on Friday. He is in 48th place at Aronimink, though. 3. Justin Rose (now 2nd): Rose, who won the 2010 Quicken Loans National at Aronimink, played like someone with good memories at this week’s venue. He shot 63 to move into second place, just two shots behind Schauffele. 4. Tony Finau (still 4th): Finau jumped 18 spots on the leaderboard with a 6-under 64 on Friday. He is 8 under par. 5. Justin Thomas (now 3rd): The reigning FedExCup champion has a good chance to remain in the top 5 entering East Lake after getting off to a solid start at Aronimink. He followed Thursday’s 64 with a 67. He’s in seventh place, four shots off the lead.

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Justin Thomas grew up in Kentucky, went to college in Alabama and now lives in Florida, but Malaysia is where it all began for the reigning FedExCup champion. The CIMB Classic is where Thomas picked up his first PGA TOUR win. And his second. Now he’s trying to accomplish the rare three-peat on the PGA TOUR. “It would be an unbelievable achievement,â€� said Thomas, who chose a comfortable setting for the first start of his FedExCup defense. Thomas is 49-under par in eight rounds at TPC Kuala Lumpur, an average of 6.1-under par per round. His scoring average here is 65.9 and he set the course record with a second-round 61 in his 2015 victory. He’s under par in all eight rounds at the CIMB, including seven rounds of 68 or lower. The exception is a third-round 71 last year that taught him a valuable lesson. Thomas had cruised to a two-shot lead after the first two rounds of his title defense but struggled Saturday, playing the first 13 holes in 4 over par. He made birdie on the final five holes, though, to remain in contention. A final-round 64 gave him a three-shot win over Hideki Matsuyama. “The only reason that I won this golf tournament last year was because of my finish on Saturday,â€� Thomas said earlier this week. “If I birdie one of those last five, I’m eight back going into Sunday and I have no chance to win that tournament. … I was just patient and just kind of stayed in the moment and just tried to keep playing and pressing on. Those birdies were the reason I won.â€� Last year’s CIMB Classic was the first of his five wins last season. He preached patience after several of those victories, including the PGA Championship, where he also fought his swing during the third round but managed to keep himself in contention. Thomas admits that he’s tired as he tries to tear up TPC Kuala Lumpur for a third consecutive year. He clinched the FedExCup with a runner-up finish at the TOUR Championship, then went 3-0-1 in his Presidents Cup debut. Last week, he accepted the Jack Nicklaus Award (PGA TOUR Player of the Year) before flying to Asia. “I had all of four days to reflect on (the season),â€� Thomas said. In 2015, he set the tournament scoring record with a 26-under 262, rebounding from a double-bogey at the par-4 14th, where he chunked his approach shot into the water, with birdies on the next three holes. He finished one shot ahead of Adam Scott. Now Thomas will try to become the first player to three-peat since Steve Stricker at the John Deere Classic (2009-2011). Stricker was Thomas’ captain at this year’s Presidents Cup. Thomas’ caddie, Jimmy Johnson, was Stricker’s longtime. “I’m hoping that he is the reason for the three-peat and we can get some good vibes through him,â€� Thomas said. THREE PLAYERS TO PONDER 1. Justin Thomas: The FedExCup champion returns to the site of his first two TOUR victories. He’s 49-under par in eight rounds at TPC Kuala Lumpur with a scoring average of 65.9. 2. Brendan Steele: The Safeway Open champion and FedExCup leader finished third here in 2016. He has three consecutive top-30 finishes at this event (T25-T3-T26). 3. Gavin Green: The 23-year-old is Malaysia’s rising star. He has finished 2nd and 1st in his past two starts on the Asian Tour to lead that circuit’s money list. THE LANDING ZONE The 459-yard, par-4 13th is the toughest hole at TPC Kuala Lumpur, playing to a 4.163 scoring average last year. It was one of just six holes at TPC Kuala Lumpur with an over-par scoring average last year. The hole is uphill, and the elevated green is protected by three bunkers. It was the second-hardest green to hit last year, with only 57 percent of players reaching the putting surface in two shots. Fewer than half the field hit the green in last year’s final round. WEATHER CHECK Hot and humid conditions are forecast throughout the week, with highs around 90 degrees. Scattered showers and thunderstorms will likely develop each afternoon into the evening hours. Conditions should quiet down during the evenings as the temperature decreases. Slightly drier air will decrease the chance of thunderstorms over the weekend. Click here for the latest weather conditions from Kuala Lumpur. SOUND CHECK My dad’s half French, half German. My mom’s Taiwanese, grew up in Japan. It’s cool that golf has allowed me to start here in Malaysia, then Korea, then China. I’m just excited to start the year off kind of on a different foot. SHORT SHOTS 1. Justin Thomas finally revealed his goals for last season after winning the FedExCup. They were listed out in his Notes app on his iPhone. Xander Schauffele – after a rookie season that exceeded even his wildest expectations – was asked if he had created a similar list for the upcoming season. “I still have to come up with a sheet of goals. I was supposed to do it before I left to come here but I didn’t get that paper turned in to my team, so I’m slacking on that part,â€� said Schauffele, who finished third in the FedExCup after winning The Greenbrier Classic and TOUR Championship. He was the first rookie since the inception of the FedExCup to win the TOUR Championship, and was an easy pick for Rookie of the Year. “I think I’m going to try and do something kind of like what JT did, more of a stats approach to goals,â€� Schauffele said. “Obviously winning big tournaments and stuff like that is what we all want to do, but I think if I can kind of focus on small, nitty gritty things in my game, it will pay off.â€� 2. The top 10 players on the Asian Tour Order of Merit are exempt into this week’s field. Players from all around the globe qualified for the CIMB off of the Asian Tour. Here’s a look at the players who qualified behind Green, the local favorite: Scott Hend (Australia), David Lipsky (USA), SSP Chawrasia (India), Poom Saksansin (Thailand), Phachara Khongwatmai (Thailand), Jazz Janewattananond (Thailand), Prayad Marksaeng (Thailand), Juvic Pagunsan (Philippines), Richard T. Lee (Canada). 3. The International Team has SHOWN up for the first international event of the PGA TOUR season. Seven of the 10 members of the International Team from the recent Presidents Cup are in the field this week: Branden Grace, Charl Schwartzel, Emiliano Grillo, Adam Hadwin, Si Woo Kim, Anirban Lahiri and Jhonattan Vegas. Thomas is the lone player from the U.S. squad at TPC Kuala Lumpur.

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