How to watch WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, Day 2: PGA TOUR LIVE, ESPN+, live scores, tee times, TV times

SANDWICH, England – Masters champions Hideki Matsuyama and Bubba Watson have withdrawn from the Open Championship at Royal St George’s thanks to COVID-19 related travel complications. Matsuyama, who became the first male player from Japan to win a major championship at April’s Masters Tournament, chose to withdraw due to UK protocols, ensuring he keeps his Olympic dreams alive. Watson, a two-time Masters winner and 12-time PGA TOUR winner, has been identified as a close contact of someone with COVID-19 and as such serves as a risk according to the UK Government protocols. Matsuyama tested positive for the virus prior to the second round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic on July 2 and according to the R&A has been in quarantine since and is currently symptom free, but he has continued to show positive results on PCR tests. “I’m feeling fine but haven’t been able to practice in preparation for The Open. Combining that with the difficult travel to the UK, my team and I have decided it’s best to withdraw to ensure everyone’s safety,” Matsuyama said via statement to the R&A. “I feel badly missing The Open and look forward to playing again at St Andrews next year. I’d like to thank the many golf fans for their continued concern and support as I strive to return to the game I love as soon as possible.” Individuals need a negative test result to enter the UK and any positive result inside the UK could result in a 10–14-day quarantine in the country. Matsuyama will now attempt to be ready for the Olympic golf tournament to be held in Japan starting July 29, where he will represent his home country. A fully vaccinated Watson took to social media to explain his absence at Royal St Georges. U.S. guidelines differ from the UK and while Watson desperately wanted to take his place in the field, the Floridian first and foremost had the health and safety of others on his mind. Taking his place in a 12th Open Championship would prove near impossible under the UK’s strict entrance guidelines. “I am disappointed to announce I will not compete at the Open Championship next week due to having direct exposure to someone who has tested positive for Covid-19. While I am vaccinated and have passed the required pre travel Covid test, not enough time has passed for me to comfortably join the charter flight and risk exposure to the other players and personnel on board,” Watson said. “I appreciate the R&A’s guidance and help navigating UK policy for such situations. Like many of you, I look forward to watching the Open Championship on TV. Since I will be watching from the comfort of my couch I would not mind seeing the field have to deal with a little rain and strong winds! Best of luck to all the players. I look forward to returning to the Open Championship next year.” Americans Harold Varner III and Brendan Steele join the Open Championship field with fellow Americans John Catlin and Adam Long now the first and second alternates.

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SILVAS, Ill. – Steve Wheatcroft is so far back in the FedExCup (209th), he tries not to think about it. He’s so far down the Official World Golf Ranking (927), he almost needs a comma. And yet there was Wheatcroft, 40, reeling off six straight birdies to finish his opening-round 62, which was good enough for the early lead at the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run. “I wanted to just go to the first tee and start the second round,� Wheatcroft said. He was one shot clear of Michael Kim, while Nick Taylor and Johnson Wagner were two off the lead after posting 64s. Scott Brown (65) was alone in fifth after the morning wave. Early starters had the best of all worlds: a soft course, and almost no wind. Wheatcroft and his playing partners, Keith Mitchell (67) and Patrick Rodgers (66), shot a combined 18 under par. “The greens for the morning guys were absolutely perfect,� Mitchell said. If there was a theme to the first round, it was this: Better get moving. It’s crunch time with just six weeks (and eight tournaments) remaining until the start of the FedExCup Playoffs, and the players at the top of the Deere leaderboard have considerable work to do to crack the top 125. Wagner, who made over 131 feet of putts Thursday, is 144th. Taylor is 128th. Kim, who had an outside shot at 59 but went 1 over for his last three holes, is 161st. No one, though, was a bigger surprise than Wheatcroft, whose bogey-free round saw him make nearly 111 feet of putts. He strafed his irons, leaving himself with birdie putts of six feet or less on holes 13-15 to start his closing kick. Another key, he said, was the driver head he had installed Wednesday, a Callaway with a slight draw bias to help him stop losing his shots right. He’d only hit the new club on the range before Thursday, when he hit 12 of 14 fairways. So far, so good. “I’m 40 years old; I’m realistic about where I’m at in my career at this point,� Wheatcroft said. “I’m well back in the FedExCup, I’ve got a long ways to go.� Does he have his passport in case he wins and gets a late ticket to The Open Championship? Yes, but he always travels with it. The Open, he added, was the last thing on his mind. “It’s been a brutal year, to be honest with you,� said Wheatcroft, whose best finish this season is a T28 at the Corales Punta Cana Resort & Club Championship. “It’s probably the worst year I’ve had so far, but I don’t feel like I’m playing the worst golf of my career. I actually feel like I’m playing some good golf, I’m just not getting the results out of it. “It’s a weird thing to say; until you go through it, it’s kind of hard to explain,� he added. “But, you know, I feel like it’s close; 62 didn’t surprise me. Maybe a little bit with the new driver going it into play, but it was rock-solid today and the rest of the game was there.� OBSERVATIONS RODGERS BACK IN THE FRAY. Patrick Rodgers tied for 15th in his first crack at the Deere in 2013. He was runner-up to Bryson DeChambeau a year ago, and shot 66 Thursday. None of which is surprising, given his affinity for the course. The only thing that doesn’t compute with Rodgers, 26, is that he’s still trying to break through on TOUR after a gilded career at Stanford in which he won 11 times in three years, tying the all-time mark set by Tiger Woods (in two), and set the career scoring record (70.32). Does Rodgers feel he has unfinished business at TPC Deere Run? Well, yes. “I’m definitely reminded with all the billboards around town having Bryson’s face instead of mine,� he said. “… I’d be lying if I said it didn’t play a factor. I’m still without a win. I think this is a great venue for me.  I think I have a great chance every time I tee it up here, and I’m looking forward to getting myself in that position again.�   NOTABLES ZACH JOHNSON – The 2012 winner and tournament ambassador, Iowa’s favorite golfing son got off to a rocky start with bogeys at three of his first seven holes, but rebounded for a 69. STEVE STRICKER – Searching for his 13th PGA TOUR victory at age 51, three-time Deere champion Stricker made 13 pars and never got much going during an opening 70. KELLY KRAFT – The runner-up to Kevin Na at A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier last week, Kraft kept up his solid play with an opening 66. QUOTABLES See if I can kidnap him for tomorrow.I’m reminded with all the billboards around town having Bryson’s face instead of mine. I feel like I played better than 5 under today.

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SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda – Of the few things in golf that cannot be debated, the ageless adage that “it’s an outdoor game” remains at the top of a very short list. RELATED: Full leaderboard | ‘Brutal’ conditions lead to wild day Acceptance of that has, in turn, always opened the door to reminders that Mother Nature is in charge, that “rub of the green” needs to be part of the process, and that you are defenseless against the unpredictable ways of weather. Fair enough, all of that, but here’s a disclaimer: You can take measures to be proactive against extreme weather and that’s why Nick Watney was among a steady parade of players who offered good cheer to the PGA TOUR rules and competitions folks. “I think they did a really nice job of setting the course up to where it was playable with this much wind,” said Watney, who teed off at 8:08 in the fourth pairing at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course and competed when the weather was at its worst. Wind blew steadily at about 25 m.p.h. and gusted up to 35-to-40, rain came down at various points, sometimes in sheets, and the word every rules official dreads – oscillating – was very much in play. Ricky Barnes certainly was thinking about that. After all, he has played at Pebble Beach and St. Andrews when play came to a halt, despite brilliant sunshine, because balls were moving on the green. Yet with wind blowing hats off players’ heads and efforts to even hold an umbrella proving futile, officials never had to blow the air horn. Credit the decision to keep green speeds to “around 10,” said PGA Tour rules official John Mutch, who got here Sunday and has seen a series of accurate forecasts. “I didn’t have a ball move,” said Barnes. “It was difficult, but it was playable.” The decision to make one of the shorter courses on the PGA TOUR (Port Royal is 6,828 yards) even shorter focused on the demanding par 3s. Yardage was trimmed from each (Nos. 3, 8, 13, 16) and when Watney talked of “shots that are scary” at Port Royal, he circled 16. There, both tee and green hang out over the ocean. “Playing that hole at 235 with that sort of wind in your chops, that wouldn’t have been right,” said Mutch, who set it up at 165. Ditto No. 13, which was 195 yards downhill into wind, but not the 235 it could have been. “But they still gave you all you wanted,” said Mutch, and the numbers supported him. The 13th and 16th played over par and were ranked third- and second-most difficult. Which isn’t to say that Port Royal won’t grow a little bit overnight and into the weekend. “Friday, it will be a little more sporty,” said Mutch. “We have a better forecast.”

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