Koepka easily bests DeChambeau in ‘The Match’

2021 Sanderson Farms Championship, Round 2 Top 10 win probabilities: 1. Keegan Bradley (1, -13, 33.3%) 2. J.T. Poston (T2, -11, 15.0%) 3. Charley Hoffman (T2, -11, 12.5%) 4. Denny McCarthy (T5, -9, 4.8%) 5. Sergio Garcia (T7, -8, 4.6%) 6. Kristoffer Ventura (T5, -9, 4.5%) 7. Talor Gooch (T7, -8, 2.9%) 8. Corey Conners (T12, -7, 2.3%) 9. MJ Daffue (4, -10, 2.2%) 10. Sebastian Munoz (T12, -7, 2.2%) Top Strokes-Gained Performers from Round 2: Putting: Maverick McNealy +3.5 Around the Green: Scottie Scheffler +2.4 Approach the Green: Kyle Stanley +3.3 Off-the-tee: Charley Hoffman +2.0 Total: Keegan Bradley +6.6 NOTE: These reports are based off the live predictive model run by @DataGolf. The model provides live "Make Cut", "Top 20", "Top 5", and "Win" probabilities every 5 minutes from the opening tee shot to the final putt of every PGA TOUR event. Briefly, the model takes account of the current form of each golfer as well as the difficulty of their remaining holes, and probabilities are calculated from 20K simulations. To follow live finish probabilities throughout the remainder of the Sanderson Farms Championship, or to see how each golfer's probabilities have evolved from the start of the event to the current time, click here for the model's home page.

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HONOLULU – Hideki Matsuyama was wondering how Russell Henley feels sleeping on a lead after the Masters champion surged towards the top in the third round at the Sony Open in Hawaii. But he didn’t expect as honest an answer to come from the American himself. RELATED: Leaderboard | Russell Henley takes two-shot lead into Sunday at Sony Open | The clubs Keita Nakajima is using in Hawaii “It’s tough. I’ve slept on a few leads the last couple years. It’s hard. I struggle to sleep. I’m already not the best sleeper,” Henley admitted after a grinding 3-under 67 left him 18-under at Waialae Country Club, good enough to be two ahead of Matsuyama. “Gosh, my first two wins were my first two years on TOUR and this is my 10th season, so got to remember back a few years for those. But I definitely believe I can do it. But it’s sure hard to do. “I’ve had some tough finishes, tough to swallow. It’s a tough game.” The far from confident appraisal was music to the ears of Matsuyama who started the round six back and finished it just two adrift thanks to a 7-under 63. He will now chase an eighth TOUR win and second this season after his ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP win in the fall. Victory would almost certainly also bring the FedExCup lead. “Putting was my strong point today. Even my missed putts found the hole,” Matsuyama dead panned. “I was lucky today.” He made 121-feet, 4 inches worth on Saturday to rank second in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting, riding a huge wave of support from the Hawaiian faithful. It might not resemble the throngs of fans at his home ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP but it was clear the Japanese star was a favorite amongst the people. He’s hoping they’ll help him to increase Henley’s insomnia on Sunday. “It really helps out,” Matsuyama said of the support. “Whenever there is a big crowd like this it just gives you some extra motivation, and just kind of rode with all their cheers and hopefully tomorrow will be another good day.” The only concern for Matsuyama might have been soreness or an injury as he was seen wincing a few times throughout the round. But he was quick to put any fears to bed. “Nothing major,” he said. “I felt a pull here and there, but nothing serious.” Henley’s concerns might be more founded in fact. He has indeed missed some chances since claiming his third PGA TOUR win at the Houston Open in 2017. It followed his Sony Open triumph in 2013 and Honda Classic win in 2014 but since then the scars have started to form. He’s 1 for 6 when holding the 36-hole lead on TOUR although the lone conversion was his Sony Open win. As for the 54-hole lead – he’s 1 from 5 with that 2013 Waialae win again the only triumph. Three of the failures have come in the last 15 months where he lost the lead on Sunday at THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK, the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines last June and the Wyndham Championship last August. He led by three at Wyndham and faded to T7 and he shared the lead at Torrey but had a three-shot buffer on eventual winner Jon Rahm. Henley had to settle for T13. “Guys are so good out here. You just have to play at such a high level for so long to be in contention. So hopefully I can keep doing that and play well tomorrow, give myself a chance on the back nine,” Henley said. “I don’t really have a specific game plan for this. Doesn’t happen that much. Usually, we’re all just grinding to make the cut and sneak in a top 25. I’m just really trying to stay patient, stay focused on one shot at a time.” Perhaps the fact the pair at the top are trying to deflect pressure from their game could open the door for some other challengers. Veteran and 2019 Sony Open champion Matt Kuchar is one of four players four off the pace, joined by China’s Haotong Li, Ireland’s Seamus Power and Canada’s Adam Svensson. “Russell is playing great; you got Hideki Matsuyama right there. You can count on him playing quality golf as well. I know it’s going to take a low number for me tomorrow,” Kuchar said. “I would love to be able to tell you I’m just going go out and do it. If it were that easy, I would try to do it every day. This course, you’ve got to take what it gives you. If you find the fairway you can be aggressive; if not, you’re trying to make some pars. “I’m going to try to hit the first fairway, hit if close if I hit the first fairway, and go from there.”

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The Ryder Cup is finally here. After days of pomp and circumstance, the matches get underway from France at 8:10 a.m. local time Friday. The United States brought the Cup with it across the Atlantic after a dominant victory two years ago at Hazeltine. The visitors will have to buck a trend if they want to take the trophy back home, though. The U.S. hasn’t won on foreign soil since 1993. It’s also been a quarter-century since the U.S. scored back-to-back wins in the Ryder Cup. This young American team arrives in France on a three-year winning streak that dates back to the 2015 Presidents Cup. The U.S. team beat those three opponents by a whopping 51.5-36.5 margin. The U.S. will have its hands full with the home team, though. Le Golf National is an annual stop on the European Tour, giving Team Europe a marked home-course advantage. The last two French Opens at Le Golf National were won by members of this year’s team. The course emphasizes accuracy over distance, negating the United States’ power advantage. All of those statistics and history go out the window once Friday’s morning Four-Balls session gets underway, though. Pairings/matchups: Friday morning Four-Balls session Brooks Koepka-Tony Finau (USA) vs. Justin Rose-Jon Rahm (Europe), 2:10 a.m. ET The FedExCup champion will square off against the likely PGA TOUR Player of the Year in the opening match of the Ryder Cup. They’ll each be joined by a rookie in this Four-Ball match. Rose and Rahm rank second and third on TOUR in birdie average, respectively. Koepka and Finau both rank in the top 11 of that statistic, as well. Brooks Koepka FedExCup ranking: 9 Ryder Cup record: 3-1-0 Four-Balls: 1-1-0 Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 9th Strokes Gained: Approach: 93rd Strokes Gained: Putting: 113th Tony Finau FedExCup ranking: 6 Rookie Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 19th Strokes Gained: Approach: 24th Strokes Gained: Putting: 65th Justin Rose FedExCup: 1 Ryder Cup Record: 11-6-2 Four-Balls: 4-3-0 Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 14th Strokes Gained: Approach: 29th Strokes Gained: Putting: 17th Jon Rahm FedExCup: 23 Rookie Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 3rd Strokes Gained: Approach: 80th Strokes Gained: Putting: 135th Dustin Johnson-Rickie Fowler (USA) vs. Rory McIlroy-Thorbjorn Olesen (Europe), 2:25 a.m. ET Johnson leads the PGA TOUR in birdie average (4.7). The No. 1 player in the world ranking heads a strong team that is looking to turn around its fortunes in this format. Johnson and Fowler are a combined 2-5-2 in this format. McIlroy will be responsible to take pressure off Olesen, the only rookie in this match. Dustin Johnson FedExCup ranking: 4 Ryder Cup record: 6-5-0 Four-Balls: 2-4-0 Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 1st Strokes Gained: Approach: 5th Strokes Gained: Putting: 30th Rickie Fowler FedExCup ranking: 17 Ryder Cup record: 2-4-5 Four-Balls: 0-1-2 Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 52nd Strokes Gained: Approach: 30th Strokes Gained: Putting: 40th Rory McIlroy FedExCup: 13 Ryder Cup Record: 9-6-4 Four-Balls: 3-2-2 Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 6th Strokes Gained: Approach: 50th Strokes Gained: Putting: 85th Thorbjorn Olesen FedExCup: NR Rookie Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: +0.13 Strokes Gained: Approach: +0.35 Strokes Gained: Putting: +0.33 * – didn’t play enough rounds to be ranked in PGA TOUR statistics Jordan Spieth-Justin Thomas (USA) vs. Paul Casey-Tyrrell Hatton (Europe), 2:40 a.m. ET The good friends first represented the United States in France when they were 14. Now they’re doing it at the Ryder Cup. Thomas will have the comfort of making his Ryder Cup debut with Spieth by his side. Thomas performed admirably in his first professional team competition, going 3-1 at last year’s Presidents Cup. The European side also features one veteran, Casey, and a rookie in Hatton. Jordan Spieth FedExCup: 31 Ryder Cup Record: 4-3-2 Four-Balls: 3-1-0 Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 54th Strokes Gained: Approach: 26th Strokes Gained: Putting: 136th Justin Thomas FedExCup: 7 Rookie Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 30th Strokes Gained: Approach: 3rd Strokes Gained: Putting: 44th Paul Casey FedExCup: 25 Ryder Cup Record: 3-2-4 Four-Balls: 1-0-3 Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 77th Strokes Gained: Approach: 13th Strokes Gained: Putting: 89th Tyrrell Hatton FedExCup: 54 Rookie Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 73rd Strokes Gained: Approach: 77th Strokes Gained: Putting: 47th Patrick Reed-Tiger Woods (USA) vs. Francesco Molinari-Tommy Fleetwood (Europe), 2:55 a.m. ET They both wear red and black. They’re both Masters champions. And they will carry the anchor for the United States team in the opening session. The Ryder Cup brings out Reed’s best. Now he gets to play alongside his idol, who is coming off a win in the TOUR Championship. They’ll face a European side that has had much success at Le Golf National. Fleetwood won the 2017 French Open here, while Molinari has twice been a runner-up at Le Golf National. Patrick Reed FedExCup: 22 Ryder Cup Record: 6-1-2 Four-Balls: 3-1-0 Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 107th Strokes Gained: Approach: 84th Strokes Gained: Putting: 76th Tiger Woods FedExCup: 2 Ryder Cup Record: 13-17-3 Four-Balls: 5-8-0 Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 104th Strokes Gained: Approach: 1st Strokes Gained: Putting: 39th Francesco Molinari FedExCup: 17 Ryder Cup Record: 0-3-2 Four-Balls: 0-1-1 Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 7th Strokes Gained: Approach: 12th Strokes Gained: Putting: 181st Tommy Fleetwood FedExCup: 19 Rookie Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 17th Strokes Gained: Approach: 49th Strokes Gained: Putting: 50th

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