Korean stars fly flag far from home

After going 3-0-1 at the Presidents Cup at Liberty National, 42-time PGA TOUR winner Phil Mickelson returns to wine country and the Silverado Resort and Spa after a T8 finish there a year ago. Mickelson headlines a field that also includes first-timer Zach Johnson and recent TOUR Championship contenders Tony Finau, Adam Hadwin and Webb Simpson. Others in the field at the 7,166-yard, par-72 North Course at Silverado Resort and Spa include Emiliano Grillo, the Safeway champion two years ago who is coming off his Presidents Cup debut at Liberty National; Kevin Na; Ryan Moore; Sangmoon Bae; and Sam Saunders. Arnold Palmer’s grandson, Saunders shot a 59 in the Web.com Tour Championship last week, while two-time TOUR winner Bae is coming off his mandatory two-year hitch in the South Korean military. Silverado was the estate of a Civil War general and later a U.S. Senator before Robert Trent Jones, Jr., built two courses there in the 1960s. It was the home of the old Kaiser International on the PGA TOUR for 13 years starting in 1968, and hosted The Transamerica on the PGA TOUR Champions from 1989-2002. Johnny Miller bought the resort in 2010 and made upgrades to both courses. The winner gets 500 FedExCup points. Jonas Blixt, Sangmoon Bae and Emiliano Grillo: This trio of global up-and-comers and past Safeway Open champions includes three-time TOUR winner Blixt, 33, a Swede who won the tournament in 2012 (and with Cameron Smith captured the Zurich Classic of New Orleans last season); Bae, the 2015 champion, who is returning from military service in South Korea; and Argentina’s Grillo, the 2016 champ, who like Mickelson played in the Presidents Cup at Liberty last week. Tee times: 3:30 p.m. ET off No. 1 on Thursday and 10:40 a.m. ET off 10 on Friday.   Phil Mickelson, Webb Simpson and Bryson DeChambeau: Mickelson, 47, is still seeking his first TOUR win since 2013, but things are looking up: He looked as vital as ever as he went 3-0-1 at the Presidents Cup at Liberty National. Simpson didn’t win last season, either, but was consistent as he finished 17th in the FedExCup standings. DeChambeau is coming off a wild summer in which he won the John Deere Classic and jetted off to The Open Championship as a result. Tee times: 3:40 p.m. ET off No. 1 on Thursday and 10:50 a.m. ET off No. 10 on Friday.   Cody Gribble, Mackenzie Hughes and Chris Stroud: Three first-time winners from 2016-17 PGA TOUR season, one of whom, Canada’s Hughes, came within a whisker of making captain Nick Price’s International Team at the Presidents Cup. Stroud, 35, had a summer in which he broke through at the Barracuda Championship and then added a T9 at the PGA Championship. (The Houstonian has lately been throwing himself into Hurricane Harvey relief.) Gribble, 27, looks to get back to the player who won the Sanderson Farms Championship. Tee times: 10:40 a.m. ET off No. 10 on Thursday and 3:30 p.m. ET off No. 1 on Friday.   Brendan Steele, Chesson Hadley and Zach Johnson: Defending champion Steele parlayed his early win last season into a deep run in the FedExCup Playoffs, getting all the way to the BMW Championship. Meanwhile, Web.com Tour Regular Season/Finals money-leader Chesson Hadley is coming off a victory at the Albertsons Boise Open and looking to make a splash in his return to the PGA TOUR, while two-time major winner Zach Johnson will be making his much-anticipated debut at Silverado North. Tee times: 10:50 a.m. ET off No. 10 on Thursday and 3:40 p.m. ET off No. 1 on Friday.

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Here’s a quick look at what each player in the field at East Lake will need to do to claim the FedExCup. The trophy, and its $10 million prize, will be awarded at the conclusion of the TOUR Championship. * = A possible tie for the FedExCup that would result in a sudden death playoff

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DP World Tour pro Ricardo Gouveia is making his second career PGA TOUR start at this week’s Barbasol Championship. He jumped to an early lead with an opening-round, 8-under 64 at Keene Trace GC in Kentucky. As part of the PGA TOUR/DP World Tour strategic alliance and joint venture, Gouveia was awarded a spot at the Barbasol Championship based on his position on the DP World Tour Rankings; he currently stands No. 126 on the Race to Dubai. The Portugal native played collegiately at the University of Central Florida and also represented his home country at the 2016 Olympic Men’s Golf Competition. He made his PGA TOUR debut at the 2016 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard in his college town of Orlando. Gouveia made nine birdies in Thursday’s opening round of the Barbasol Championship against one bogey, punctuating his round with a 15-foot birdie at the par-4 18th hole. Here’s Five Things to Know about Ricardo Gouveia. 1. He’s a five-time winner on the Challenge Tour. The Challenge Tour is the DP World Tour’s equivalent of the Korn Ferry Tour, providing a direct path to the DP World Tour for top finishers on the season-long standings. Gouveia has thrived at this level with five career wins, including two victories in 2021, the Italian Challenge and Made in Esbjerg Challenge. He also finished No. 1 on the 2015 Challenge Tour Rankings, winning twice and earning his DP World Tour card. He also finished No. 2 on the 2021 Challenge Tour Rankings to earn back his DP World Tour card. 2. He has featured top-100 in the world and played in the Olympics. After a dominant season on the 2015 Challenge Tour with two wins, three runners-up and two third-place finishes, Gouveia finished the year at No. 83 on the Official World Golf Ranking. He went 3-for-3 in made cuts to begin the 2016 DP World Tour season, including a T7 at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, moving to a career-high No. 77 on the Official World Golf Ranking. By way of his world ranking, he qualified for the 2016 Olympic Men’s Golf Competition in Rio, golf’s first Olympics inclusion since 1904. 3. He moved to the United States to play college golf. Gouveia began his collegiate career at Division II Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, earning NCAA Division II Ping All-America First Team honors and earning the Phil Mickelson Award as most outstanding freshman in Division II golf. He transferred to the University of Central Florida for his sophomore season and maintained success, earning All-America honorable mention honors with 20 rounds of par or better and also being named the Conference USA Newcomer of the Year. He earned runner-up honors at the NCAA Tempe Regional as a junior, and he was named to the American Athletic All-Conference Team as a senior before turning pro. 4. He was pushed to succeed by his college teammates. Gouveia spent three years at UCF alongside Greg Eason, who has competed on the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA TOUR Canada in addition to time as a caddie. The duo enjoyed the offbeat side of college life. Gouveia recalls a time when Eason needed to dry his underwear and had no clear option – so he decided to microwave it. Eason would write motivational quotes on the bathroom walls, and Gouveia credits Eason as an instrumental source of motivation as he refined his game for the professional level. “Every day, he pushed me harder,” said Gouveia of Eason, “and I have to thank him for that.” 5. He has a big opportunity this weekend in Kentucky. Multiple scenarios are in play as Gouveia assumes the spotlight this week at the Barbasol Championship. A victory at Keene Trace would award him a two-year exemption on the PGA TOUR, plus the remainder of this season. Additionally, if Gouveia earns enough non-member FedExCup Points to equal or surpass No. 200 on the final FedExCup standings, he will receive a spot in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, a three-event series in August and September with 25 PGA TOUR cards awarded. The top-200 threshold is currently 78 points, the equivalent of a solo fourth-place finish or better at the Barbasol Championship.

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