Jason Day offers peek at TaylorMade’s yet-to-be-released P760 irons

SILVIS, Ill. – It’s been nearly two years since Jhonattan Vegas became the first Venezuelan to play in the Presidents Cup, unleashing fiery fist pumps and providing one of the few highlights for the International Team with a singles victory over Jordan Spieth at Liberty National.  He desperately wants to get back for the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne, Dec. 12-15, and while he came into the John Deere Classic at 26th in the International standings, he stands to make a big move in the right direction. Vegas shot a second-round 62 that left him with a three-shot lead after the morning wave at TPC Deere Run on Friday.  “I had such a tremendous time there playing in that Presidents Cup that I definitely want to play in this one,â€� said Vegas, who hit nine of 14 fairways, and 16 greens in regulation. “Especially playing for Ernie, such a big guy for us Internationals, and it would be amazing to be a part of it. I’ve got to step it up these next few weeks and hopefully give myself a chance.â€� Vegas’ career-best FedExCup finish is 23rd, in 2017, so at 70th in this year’s standings, it isn’t as if he’s fallen off the map. You might recall he made one of the most amazing putts of the year, a double-breaking, coast-to-coast job on the iconic 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass, as he finished T3 at THE PLAYERS Championship. He finished T8 at the Wells Fargo Championship.  No, it’s just that Vegas, 34, has felt slightly off with his ball-striking all year and couldn’t figure out what was wrong. That is, until he was on the range after his opening round here and made a slight adjustment in his posture over the ball. Something clicked. Related: Tee times | Wolff back to work after win | Projected FedExCup standings He brought it to the course Friday, and it continued to work like magic.  “Probably the best I’ve felt all year, to be honest,â€� he said after taking just 26 putts for nine birdies and no bogeys. “I mean, I hit the ball extremely well, kind of what I’ve been struggling with a little bit the past few months. … I’m glad that stuff is back.â€� Vegas made over 117 feet of putts and was first in Strokes Gained: Putting. His 62 was two shy of his career low, a second-round 60 at the 2016 Barbasol Championship. Not bad, considering he hasn’t played the Deere since 2015 (T44). He tied for third at TPC Deere Run in 2014.  The Deere is the last chance for those not yet in the field at The Open Championship next week, and as it stands now Vegas would nab the final spot on offer. With two more good rounds, he would also solidify his position in the race for the FedExCup, which will take on added significance this year. Vegas’ wife, Hildegard, is due with the couple’s second child, a son, during the week of The Northern Trust, the first event of the Playoffs. “I told Ru (Ruben Yorio), my caddie, that it’s been a long time since I’ve felt this good,â€� Vegas said. “I’ve been working really hard the whole year to kind of feel good with my ball-striking, and found something yesterday on the range, and it was so good to carry it through to today, and it paid off, so hopefully we can continue that the next two days.â€�

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The PGA TOUR uses a standardized system for determining event fields, based off the current season’s Priority Ranking while also including additional exemption and qualifying categories. Field sizes can vary by event, as can the number of event-specific exemptions. Fully exempt PGA TOUR members are guaranteed entry into all full-field events, with various conditional categories subject to periodic reshuffles based upon FedExCup Points accrued throughout the season. Categories with ‘reshuffle’ notation indicate that a reshuffle period has occurred. How the field qualified for Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard as of 2/25/2022: Check here for updates. Former Winners of the Bay Hill Invitational Bryson DeChambeau Tyrrell Hatton Marc Leishman Rory McIlroy Winner of Masters Tournament (five-year exemption) Sergio Garcia Hideki Matsuyama Patrick Reed Winner of THE PLAYERS Championship (five-year exemption) Si Woo Kim Winner of U.S. Open Championship (five-year exemption) Jon Rahm Gary Woodland Winner – WGC Event -Dell Technologies Match Play (2019 & 2021) Billy Horschel Kevin Kisner Winners of The Genesis Invitational (2020-2022) Max Homa Adam Scott Winner – Tournament Winner in the Past Year Sam Burns Cameron Champ Cam Davis Lucas Glover Talor Gooch Lucas Herbert Garrick Higgo Tom Hoge Viktor Hovland Sungjae Im Matt Jones Jason Kokrak K.H. Lee Luke List Seamus Power Scottie Scheffler Hudson Swafford Erik van Rooyen Member of most recent European Ryder Cup team Paul Casey Matt Fitzpatrick Tommy Fleetwood Ian Poulter Lee Westwood Winner – Prior Year U.S. Amateur Championship James Piot Winner of Arnold Palmer Award from Prior Season(Rookie of the Year) Will Zalatoris World Golf Ranking Top 50 Kevin Na Thomas Pieters Matthew Wolff Russell Henley Corey Conners Justin Rose Cameron Tringale * Sponsor’s exemption (Korn Ferry Tour Finals) Paul Barjon Stephan Jaeger Sponsor’s exemption (members not otherwise exempt) Doug Ghim Padraig Harrington Anirban Lahiri Graeme McDowell Sean O’Hair Brandt Snedeker Henrik Stenson Danny Willett Sponsor’s exemption (unrestricted) Sam Bennett Nicolai Hojgaard Charles Howell III Zach Johnson Takumi Kanaya Min Woo Lee John Pak Davis Thompson Top 70 on prior season’s FedExCup Keegan Bradley Carlos Ortiz Aaron Wise Charl Schwartzel Sebastián Muñoz Branden Grace Maverick McNealy Robert Streb Chris Kirk Patton Kizzire Kevin Streelman Keith Mitchell Top 70 on current season’s FedExCup Cameron Young Lanto Griffin Denny McCarthy Danny Lee Sahith Theegala Brendan Steele Kevin Tway Troy Merritt Andrew Putnam Nick Watney J.J. Spaun Scott Stallings Hayden Buckley Taylor Moore C.T. Pan Beau Hossler Patrick Rodgers Aaron Rai Michael Thompson Taylor Pendrith Peter Malnati Adam Long Lee Hodges Adam Schenk PGA Section Champ/Player of the Year Greg Koch Below 70th position from Current FedExCup Points List Vince Whaley Jason Day Rickie Fowler Brendon Todd Pat Perez Alex Smalley Christiaan Bezuidenhout Henrik Norlander Martin Laird Chez Reavie Matt Wallace Rory Sabbatini Greyson Sigg Sam Ryder Davis Riley Dylan Frittelli Sepp Straka Adam Svensson Nick Taylor * = If all prior year Korn Ferry Tour graduates are eligible for event, exemptions become unrestricted # = Latest medical extension information can be found here. $ = Category breakdown can be found here.

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