Hudson Swafford back in winner's circle after two years of ‘struggle'

The Wells Fargo Championship offers plenty of notable names to watch this week at Quail Hollow, including two-time champion Rory McIlroy and a past champ who’s making his long-awaited return to this event — Tiger Woods. Both are former FedExCup winners. In fact, there are five FedExCup winners in the 156-player field, including reigning champ Justin Thomas, who’s also the current FedExCup standings leader. This week’s event offers players the last chance to grab a spot in next week’s THE PLAYERS Championship. Players who are not yet eligible can secure a place at TPC Sawgrass by either winning the Wells Fargo Championship or moving inside the top 10 of the FedExCup standings after the completion of play Sunday. PGA TOUR LIVE will offer live streaming coverage of the first two rounds on Thursday and Friday starting with Featured Groups at 7 a.m. ET. Weekend coverage begins at 3 p.m. ET. Golf Channel’s coverage begins at 2 p.m. ET for the first two rounds and 1 p.m. ET on the weekend, with CBS carrying weekend coverage starting at 3 p.m. PGA TOUR Radio’s coverage begins at Noon ET for the first two rounds and 1 p.m. ET on the weekend. Here’s a look at the Featured Groups this week at Quail Hollow, with current FedExCup position in parentheses: Justin Thomas (1), Rickie Fowler (17), Brian Harman (18) — Thomas, who could move to world No. 1 this week, is making his return to Quail Hollow after winning the PGA Championship there last year. Fowler also knows what it’s like to win at Quail Hollow — he won the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship. Harman is the defending champ, having birdied the last two holes to beat Dustin Johnson and Pat Perez by a stroke at Eagle Point Golf Club.  Tee Times: Thursday 12:40 p.m. ET, Friday 7:30 a.m. ET (off No. 10) Patrick Reed (5), Tiger Woods (53), Brooks Koepka (108) — Woods, making his first start in this event since 2012, won the 2007 Wells Fargo — it’s his only PGA TOUR win in nine career starts in the state of North Carolina. This will be his seventh start of the season as he continues his comeback after a year-long absence. The 14-time major winner will be joined by two reigning major champs in Koepka (2017 U.S. Open) and Reed (2018 Masters). Reed’s best result in five previous Wells Fargo appearances is a T-12 last year; Koepka is making his first start in this event.  Tee Times: Thursday 12:50 p.m. ET, Friday 7:40 a.m. ET (off No. 10) Phil Mickelson (4), Jason Day (16), Daniel Berger (70) — The Wells Fargo Championship is one of eight PGA TOUR events in which Mickelson has made 10 or more starts without a win. On the flip side, he’s made the cut in each of his 14 previous starts, the most consecutive cuts made by a player in this event, and also has nine top-10 finishes. Jason Day is making his first Wells Fargo start since 2012; since his last start, he’s won 10 times on TOUR. Berger’s best result in three previous starts is a T-17 two years ago.  Tee Times: Thursday 7:40 a.m. ET (off No. 10), Friday 12:50 p.m. ET Paul Casey (14), Rory McIlroy (32), James Hahn (40) — McIlroy, who won at Quail Hollow in 2010 and 2015, is the only multiple winner of this event; the 2010 win was his first on the PGA TOUR. Hahn also is a past winner at Quail Hollow, having won two years ago. Casey (Valspar Championship) and McIlroy (Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard) won during the Florida swing earlier this season.  Tee Times: Thursday 7:30 a.m. ET (off No. 10), Friday 12:40 p.m. ET

Click here to read the full article…

One can only wonder what their walk-up music might have been after PGA TOUR superstars Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson revealed they were planning a potential partnership at the 2020 Zurich Classic of New Orleans before the tournament was officially canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. RELATED: McIlroy, Johnson, Fowler, Wolff headline TaylorMade Driving Relief to benefit COVID-19 relief efforts | Live golf is finally on the horizon | Seminole Golf Club is ready for its close-up Thankfully we will see two-time FedExCup champion and current world No. 1 McIlroy and 20-time PGA TOUR winner Johnson team up on May 17 for TaylorMade Driving Relief – a $3 million charity skins match against Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff – to raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts. But it turns out we may have had the opportunity to see the incredible power duo earlier had the pandemic not claimed the one team event on the PGA TOUR regular season calendar. Speaking to Mike Tirico on NBC Sports, the pair admitted the partnership was one they had discussed before their upcoming match at Seminole Golf Club sees the return of live golf. “I’m happy Rory is my teammate for sure,â€� Johnson said. “We’ve played a lot of golf together and we even talked about playing at the New Orleans tournament. I think we will be a good team.â€� McIlroy, who had finished inside the top 5 in 10 of his last 11 worldwide starts with two wins before the pandemic, confirmed it was a serious consideration. “It was funny, DJ rang me up the week after THE PLAYERS Championship when he was out on his boat and he said, ‘Hey, if the New Orleans tournament happens, would you want to be partners?’â€� McIlroy said. “And I was like, ‘Yeah sure. I’m not sure if it is going to happen but if it does, yeah, that would be fun.’ We didn’t get a chance to do it there, but we’re getting the chance to do it at Seminole in a couple weeks’ time and that’s going to be fun.â€� No word yet as to if they might revisit the pairing for the 2021 Zurich Classic of New Orleans at TPC Louisiana but should they play well at Seminole, it is one partnership that shouldn’t be discounted. In the three previous iterations of the tournament in its team format, some glamour pairings have included Justin Rose-Henrik Stenson, Patrick Reed-Patrick Cantlay, Jason Day-Adam Scott and Sergio Garcia-Tommy Fleetwood. But a McIlroy-Johnson combo could be the most formidable yet. First up though, they must get past Fowler and Wolff at Seminole, an enticing team in its own right. As such, practice schedules will be amped up. “I’m excited to play again. I’ve hit balls twice since THE PLAYERS for about an hour as they closed down the courses here in Palm Beach,â€� Johnson admitted. “But they did reopen last week … and I was actually very surprised at how well I hit it. “For me it’s the little things around the greens like chipping and putting … that’s what takes a little bit longer to get your touch back. But full swing wise … sometimes a break actually helps me because I forget all the bad thoughts I had before I stopped playing.â€� McIlroy joked he’d have his partners back after a couple of good practice rounds last weekend. “I’m pretty encouraged. Sometimes you pick it up and it takes you a couple of days to find the middle of the clubface but thankfully this wasn’t one of those times,â€� McIlroy said. “So hopefully DJ can take some comfort in that and know that his partner is in pretty good form.â€� As for that walk-up song … might we suggest “All I Do Is Winâ€� by DJ Khaled.

Click here to read the full article…

Click here to read the full article…