Koepka the man to beat at the U.S. Open

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - Let's try this again. For the second straight Sunday on the PGA TOUR, Lee Westwood (68, 13 under) and Bryson DeChambeau (67, 11 under) will make up the last group on the last day at THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass. "Really looking forward to it," said Westwood, who made nine straight pars to start his third round but made four back-nine birdies. "I enjoy playing with him. I enjoy his company and his caddie's company. It's like round two, the rematch." RELATED: Full leaderboard | Inside THE PLAYERS’ greatest comeback | 20-year anniversary of ‘Better Than Most’ Westwood, 47, will be vying for what he said would be the biggest victory of his career, one that has seen him rack up 42 worldwide victories - including two TOUR wins - but no majors. DeChambeau, 27, would be the first FedExCup leader to win here since Tiger Woods (2013). The final twosome will have plenty of accomplished players behind them. A resurgent Justin Thomas (64) and first-timer Dough Ghim (68) are at 10 under, just three back, while Paul Casey (67) - who made the cut here for just the fifth time in 13 starts - Jon Rahm (67) and Brian Harman (69) are also right in the thick of it at 9 under, four behind. It's the Westwood-DeChambeau reprisal, though, that has people talking. Westwood went into the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard last Sunday with a one-shot lead over DeChambeau, who wound up beating him by a shot. This time the leader Westwood, who will turn 48 next month and would be the second oldest PLAYERS Champion (Fred Funk, 2005), will take a two-shot cushion into Sunday. "Well, in junior golf," DeChambeau said, when asked when he'd last gone head-to-head with the same player in two consecutive tournaments. "That’s about it. But it was the same couple guys." In the ShotLink era (2003) the only other time the same two players have gone head-to-head in the final group in two straight stroke-play events on TOUR was when Adam Scott and Vijay Singh battled for the 2006 TOUR Championship and '07 Sentry Tournament of Champions. Asked what stands out about Westwood after playing with him a week ago, DeChambeau, who ranks eighth in Strokes Gained: Approach The Green through three rounds, didn't hesitate to cite Westwood's girlfriend and caddie, fitness instructor Helen Storey. "She’s keeping him steady and level-headed," he said, "and she’s a rock. Keeps his mind focused on the right things, and she’s been awesome for him. That’s one of his secret weapons, I think." Westwood elaborated. "Yeah, I think at my stage of my career, there’s not a lot a caddie can tell me," he said, "but obviously Helen gets me in a fantastic mood out there, and psychologically she can help me and say the things that I need to hear. She helps me in that aspect an immeasurable amount." As for what impresses him about DeChambeau, Westwood mentioned versatility. Bay Hill, he said, is a different sort of course, allowing a player to "open up the shoulders" and hit the long ball. The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, where hazards lurk seemingly everywhere? Not so much. "Credit to Bryson," said Westwood, who is one for six in converting 54-hole leads/co-leads into victories on TOUR. "You wouldn't association this golf course with his style of game." Not that the Stadium Course is a bad fit, he clarified. It's just not as good a fit as Bay Hill. "But he's up there," Westwood said. "It just shows he can adapt his game." Westwood is seeking to win in his 15th start at THE PLAYERS, which would match the most starts by a first-time winner in tournament history (Tom Kite, 1989; Funk, '05). DeChambeau is seeking to become the fourth to win the week immediately preceding a victory at THE PLAYERS, and first since Woods in 2001. "Definitely not a two-horse race," said Westwood, who had five top-10 finishes in 14 starts here coming into this week. "And this golf course is one of the hardest to front-run on, as well." One hazard neither Westwood nor DeChambeau will encounter Sunday: a lack of familiarity with their playing partner.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jordan Spieth capped off a perfect week at the Presidents Cup and the U.S. Team made it nine straight victories against the International Team. The International Team showed plenty of fight. They just don’t have a cup to show for it. That stays squarely in the hands of a U.S. Team that was coming off a record romp over Europe in the Ryder Cup last year. Max Homa rallied from 3 down by winning four straight holes and then holding off Tom Kim for a 1-up victory that gave Homa a 4-0 week in his Presidents Cup debut. Xander Schauffele delivered the clinching point when he made a 6-foot par putt on the 18th hole for a 1-up victory over Corey Conners. That off an hourlong celebration to wait only for the result. The final score was 17.5-12.5, not quite the rout it was at Liberty National in 2017 the last time the Americans played before the home crowd. Unlike the Ryder Cup, which attracts thousands of flag-waving European fans, the International Team doesn’t have a fan base to unite behind a continental flag or even a tour. U.S. Captain Davis Love III paid tribute to Trevor Immelman for his efforts. This was a mismatch. The International Team still made a game of it, and at one point the matches were tight enough that a shocker at Quail Hollow was still possible. But they needed everything to go right, and it didn’t. “Trevor and his team did an incredible job of rising to the occasion,” Love said. Love had all 12 players ranked among the top 25 in the world ranking, and just like last year at Whistling Straits in the Presidents Cup, most of them played like it. “We really don’t have to do much,” Love said. “All we have to do is not mess it up.” Conners and Taylor Pendrith, the only Canadians on the team, were the only players who failed to contribute a point. Conners three-putted from 25 feet on the 17th with a chance to square the match, and he hit into a bunker from the fairway on the 18th. Spieth made putts from all over Quail Hollow for a 4-and-3 win over Cameron Davis that kept the International Team — in need of their greatest Sunday singles performance — from gaining any early momentum. Spieth became only the sixth player to win all five matches in the Presidents Cup, winning all four of his team matches with Justin Thomas. Spieth, a three-time major champion and former No. 1 player in the world, first qualified for U.S. teams when he was 20. But he had never won a singles match — 0-3 in the Presidents Cup, 0-3-1 in the Ryder Cup. And then he fell 2 down after two holes before turning it around in a big way. “I was more nervous than I should have been because I wanted to get that monkey off my back,” Spieth said. “When you get off early on a Sunday, they’re looking for red on the board. And it feels good to provide it.” Thomas was trying to join him, but he lost to Si Woo Kim in a match that came down to 10-foot birdie putts on the last hole. No matter. When Patrick Cantlay whipped Adam Scott, and Tony Finau rallied from 2 down to beat Pendrith, the outcome was as inevitable as it usually is. The Americans improved to 12-1-1 in a series that began in 1994. Their only loss was at Royal Melbourne in 1998, and there was a tie in South Africa in 2003. The International Team fell behind 8-2 after the opening two days with a team that featured eight rookies. One of those rookies, Sebastian Munoz of Colombia, took out world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and went unbeaten for the week at 2-0-1. Another was 20-year-old Tom Kim, the fresh face of these matches, who gave the Internationals hope on Saturday night with a performance as big as his personality. Over four days, the Americans were too strong and too deep. The next stop for the Presidents Cup is Royal Montreal in 2024. For the majority of this U.S. Team, it takes more momentum into the Ryder Cup in Rome next year. The Americans have not won a Ryder Cup away from home since 1993.

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How it works: Each week, our experts from PGATOUR.COM will make their selections in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf. Each lineup consists of four starters and two bench players that can be rotated after each round. Adding to the challenge is that every golfer can be used only three times per each of four Segments. The first fantasy golf game to utilize live ShotLink data, PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf allows you to see scores update live during competition. Aside from the experts below, Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton breaks down the field at this year’s Wyndham Championship in his edition of the Power Rankings. For more fantasy, check out Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers and Reshuffle. THINK YOU’RE BETTER THAN OUR EXPERTS? The PGA TOUR Experts league is once again open to the public. You can play our free fantasy game and see how you measure up against our experts below. Joining the league is simple. Just click here to sign up or log in. Once you create your team, click the “Leagues” tab and search for “PGA TOUR Experts.” After that? Pick your players and start talking smack. Want to represent the fans against our experts? SEASON SEGMENT

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