Is some of the ’08 magic still left for Tiger?

There will be plenty of star power this week as THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT will welcome a handful of Ryder Cup stars to the limited field. The Summit Club – another of Las Vegas’ top-tier tracks – will host after last year’s event at Shadow Creek. Jason Kokrak, who captured his first TOUR title in nine years in 2020, then went on to win again later last season, returns to defend. FIELD NOTES: The European and American Ryder Cup teams will be well represented at The Summit Club… Europeans Tommy Fleetwood, Ian Poulter, Tyrrell Hatton (who finished tied for third last season at THE CJ CUP), Viktor Hovland, Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, Shane Lowry and Paul Casey will play, as will Americans Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele, Tony Finau, Harris English, Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa and Brooks Koepka… Koepka won the event in 2018 while Thomas is a two-time winner… The field is limited to the top 60 from the prior season’s FedExCup points list plus sponsor exemptions… Those exemptions went to Rickie Fowler, Adam Scott, Gary Woodland, Jason Day, Justin Rose and international stars Minkyu Kim and Rasmus Hojgaard. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points. COURSE: The Summit Club, par 72, 7,431 yards. Designed by Tom Fazio, the layout is nestled between the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area and the Las Vegas Strip. Golfers get an unobstructed view of the Strip from the tee on No. 6 – one of a handful of scoreable holes on the front side. The course isn’t a typical desert layout, and in fact it will play more like a lush parkland course with a desert background that features strong bunkering and signature Tom Fazio green complexes. STORYLINES: Jason Day returns to THE CJ CUP after withdrawing in the final round a year ago. Day was in the mix through 54 holes but hurt his neck during warm-up and pulled out after just two holes… Collin Morikawa is a member of The Summit Club and has shot a 62 at the course. The Ryder Cup rookie went 3-0-1 at Whistling Straits and is looking to continue that momentum at home… Along with Morikawa, Adam Scott, Charley Hoffman (both went to UNLV) and Maverick McNealy (lives in Las Vegas) are a handful of golfers with Vegas connections… This is the second TOUR event in a row in Las Vegas after the Shriners Children’s Open at TPC Summerlin… Justin Thomas won two of the three CJ CUPs in South Korea and looks to carry his momentum from Asia to the United States with his new caddie – Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay – on the bag. 72-HOLE RECORD: 267, Brooks Koepka (2018) | At The Summit Club (N/A) 18-HOLE RECORD: 62, Ryan Palmer (Fourth round, 2018) | At The Summit Club (N/A) LAST TIME: Jason Kokrak shot 8-under 64 – the round of the week – to capture THE CJ CUP at Las Vegas’ Shadow Creek by two shots. It was Kokrak’s first PGA TOUR title, coming after nine years and 233 starts on TOUR. Xander Schauffele birdied three of his opening five holes, but Kokrak birdied five of his opening eight. When Schauffele couldn’t get up and down from greenside rough on 16 – and Kokrak did from a greenside bunker – it opened up enough separation between the two for Kokrak to get one hand on the trophy. He added a birdie on the 72nd hole to lock it up. Tyrrell Hatton and Russell Henley tied for third. Talor Gooch rounded out the top five. HOW TO FOLLOW: Television: Thursday-Sunday, 5 p.m.-8 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 10:15 a.m.-8 p.m. (Featured Groups). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-8 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 3 p.m.-8 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).

Click here to read the full article…

MADRID — Jon Rahm shot a 5-under 67 Sunday to win the Spanish Open with overnight leader Paul Dunne two strokes behind. The fourth-ranked Rahm had six birdies in his final round to end the Centro Nacional de Golf tournament on 20-under 268. The 23-year-old Spaniard earned his third European Tour win a week after finishing fourth at the Masters Tournament in Augusta. “When I made the decision to come straight from Augusta it wouldn’t be to just show up and walk around, I wanted to win this tournament,” Rahm said. It was Rahm’s first professional win at home. Dunne (71) entered the final round with a one-shot lead over Nacho Elvira (71) but three bogeys ruined his chances of a second tour win. Elvira finished third at three shots behind Rahm. George Coetzee was a shot further back in fourth after a 63.

Click here to read the full article…

AUSTIN, Texas — In a showdown that turned sloppy, Patrick Reed nearly holed a wedge to seize control and finished off Jordan Spieth with a 40-foot birdie putt from behind the 17th green to advance to the weekend of the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. The 2-and-1 victory sent Spieth home in search of his game with the Masters just two weeks away. Spieth hit his opening tee shot onto the range and out-of-bounds. He hit into a hazard on each of the next two holes. And when he finally caught Reed with consecutive shots to tap-in range, he missed two key putts inside 6 feet. “I don’t think it would have been that tough to beat me today,” Spieth said. Reed was tough enough, twirling a wedge in his hands as it cut into the wind and grazed the front edge of the cup on the 13th hole for a 2-up lead to take command of the match. Spieth, who three-putted for the third time on No. 15 to fall 3 down, stayed alive with an 8-foot birdie putt on the 16th and looked as though he might have a chance to go the distance when Reed’s putt was racing toward the cup at the 17th. The cup got in the way, and all Spieth could do was smile. “Just happened to be the perfect line,” Reed said. “Thank God, because that thing was moving.” And now Reed is moving along into the single-elimination phase of the weekend, four matches away from another World Golf Championship. Spieth is headed to the Houston Open without a top 10 in his last seven tournaments. “I’m human and I’m realistic that based on the way the year’s gone … it’s been kind of a trying time for me, especially on and round the greens,” Spieth said. “Stuff I took for granted in setup and pace control and all that kind of stuff … has been a little bit more difficult. And I’ve been trying to figure out how to get back to that level, and I’ve been trying different things.” Spieth, the No. 4 seed, wasn’t the only player leaving early. Justin Thomas (No. 2) and Sergio Garcia (No. 7) were the only top-10 seeds to advance to the fourth round. Thomas had the easiest time, a 7-and-5 victory over Francesco Molinari. And with defending champion Dustin Johnson already eliminated, Thomas can go to No. 1 in the world if he wins this week. But there’s a long way to go. Asked how he felt going into the weekend, Thomas replied, “The same as the other 16 guys. We all start at the same place.” Paul Casey might have had the toughest day: He lost twice. Casey only had to halve his match to advance for the third time in four years. He lost to Matt Fitzpatrick, and even then had a chance to win his group if the other match was halved. Instead, Kyle Stanley made an 8-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to win, and then he beat Casey on the second hole of a playoff. Tyrrell Hatton also was forced into a playoff, and he beat Brendan Steele on the first extra hole. Rory McIlroy still had a chance until he lost to Brian Harman. Phil Mickelson was eliminated when Charles Howell III, who beat Lefty on Wednesday, completed a 3-0 mark in group play by beating Satoshi Kodaira. Howell and Ian Poulter, who swept his matches when Kevin Chappell conceded at the turn with a back injury, still have a chance to earn a spot in the Masters by getting into the top 50 at the end of the week. They both need to win at least one more match. The tightest match was Alex Noren and Tony Finau, one of four matches between players who had not lost all week. Finau won three straight holes on the back nine to take a 1-up lead, only to lose the 14th with a bogey. With the match all square, Noren made a 10-foot birdie at the 17th to go 1 up, and then holed a 15-foot par putt on the final hole to avoid going to a playoff with Finau. Noren now has won seven of his last eight matches in his event, his only loss coming to Johnson in the quarterfinals last year. In other groups: — Garcia won on the 17th hole against Xander Schauffele and won his group for the first time since it switched to pool play in 2014. He also becomes the home favorite from living part-time in Austin, where his wife gave birth to their first child last week. — Si Woo Kim outlasted Webb Simpson on the 18th hole to advance. — Matt Kuchar made a hole-in-one in a 6-and-4 victory over Ross Fisher to advance to the weekend for the second time in three years. — Bubba Watson birdied his last two holes to earn a halve against Julian Suri and avoid a playoff. Watson next faces Harman, a match of Georgia lefties. — Louis Oosthuizen beat Jason Day with two clutch putts, and then won the group with a 12-foot par putt in a playoff to beat Jason Dufner. This is the third time in four years that Oosthuizen has reached the weekend.

Click here to read the full article…