Langer, 67, shoots age to take Schwab Cup lead

Tiger making his first career start in Mexico. Phil making his 600th career PGA TOUR start. Bryson making his first World Golf Championships start. Players practicing in shorts for the first time. Lots of firsts at Club de Golf Chapultepec – which, by the way, is first on the PGA TOUR in elevation, with 7,835 feet at its highest. The thin air should do wonders for those driving distance averages. THE FLYOVER At 388 yards, the uphill par-4 18th is too long to be drivable, even in the thin air. But Bubba Watson came close last season with a 348-yard drive in the final round to set up his birdie. Most players will go the safe route, especially with trees surrounding the tee to create a tight window. LANDING ZONE  The par-4 eighth ranked as the most difficult hole last season, yielding just 15 birdies over the four rounds with a stroke average of 4.277. It’s easy to understand why – at 525 yards on the scorecard, it was the second longest par-4 hole on the PGA TOUR last season (the 17th at the Plantation Course at Kapalua is 549 yards). In last year’s final round, the tee was moved back an additional five yards, with the stroke average increasing to 4.422. Here is where all tee shots landed last year. WEATHER CHECK From PGA TOUR meteorologist Wade Stettner: “Sunny skies are forecast for Thursday with partly cloudy skies on Friday. The weather pattern will change this weekend and there will be a chance for scattered showers and thunderstorms in the mountains on Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Rain is not expected at the golf course, but there could be thunder and lightning in the mountains just west of the golf course during the late afternoon hours (mainly after 4pm).â€� For the latest weather news from Mexico City, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK It’s a cool little golf course. It’s all right in front of you, there’s nothing tricky to it. You can play the course a lot of different ways. BY THE NUMBERS  2.1 – Percentage of PGA TOUR winners since 2000 who were 47 years old or older when they won (18 of 856). Phil Mickelson’s name is the most recent on that list after his win at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am two weeks ago. 58.82 – Percentage of drivers over 300 yards last season at Club de Golf Chapultepac. That’s the highest percentage at any golf course on TOUR last season. 120 – Number of hole-outs at the WGC-Mexico Championship in the last two years. Six of those hole-outs belong to Jordan Spieth, the most of any player. 233 – Length of hole-out by Justin Thomas two years ago at the 13th hole. It’s the longest of Thomas’ three hole-outs from 100-plus yards on this course. SCATTERSHOTS  Tiger in the WGCs: Given that he’s won a record 18 World Golf Championships events, it’s no surprise that Tiger Woods’ name is attached to many other WGC superlatives, such as: most times leading/co-leading after any stroke-play round (39, next closest is Dustin Johnson at 10); most under par (256 under, next closest is DJ at 129 under) and most rounds under par (84, next closest is Sergio Garcia at 82). WGC Slam: The only thing Tiger Woods hasn’t done is win all four World Golf Championships events (he’s been shut out at the WGC-HSBC Champions in two starts). Dustin Johnson has five career WGC wins and is the only player with a victory at each event. In 2017, he won back-to-back WGC events – the first one in Mexico, followed by the Dell Technologies Match Play. High altitude: The lowest elevation at Club de Golf Chapultepac is 7,603 feet; the highest is 7,835 feet. That makes it the highest course currently played on the PGA TOUR, and thus players must take that into account with their club selection. But length off the tee, says Justin Rose, isn’t necessarily the most important thing this week. “I think it favors a high ball hitter really, whether it be a long hitter,â€� Rose said. “If the ball’s in the air longer, it’s going further. So guys who can launch the ball higher making the most of the available altitude to give them that extra distance.â€�

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida and TOKYO – PGA TOUR and ZOZO Inc. officials today announced that the 2021 ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP will be played as scheduled, October 21-24, at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in Chiba, Japan. In 2019, the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP was launched as Japan’s first official PGA TOUR event, with Tiger Woods securing a three-shot victory over Hideki Matsuyama en route to tying the all-time record of 82 TOUR victories held by Sam Snead. The 2020 event was played at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California, after being relocated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Patrick Cantlay secured a one-shot win over Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas for the first of four victories during a breakout 2020-21 PGA TOUR season in which he won the FedExCup. “After moving the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP to the U.S. last year, we are excited to return to Japan this October. This decision is timely as it coincides perfectly with the game’s continued growth and increased participation in Japan following Hideki Matsuyama’s historic triumph at the Masters Tournament in April,” said PGA TOUR Executive Vice President, International, Ty Votaw. “We sincerely thank ZOZO for its terrific partnership with the PGA TOUR and for its strong commitment and dedication to stage the event again in Japan. The TOUR would also like to acknowledge the Japanese government for its guidance in enabling the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP to be held in Japan.” Tournament officials will continue to work closely with the Japanese government to come up with a health, safety and prevention plan which will allow golfers to travel into Japan and compete in the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP. All aspects of the tournament, including a decision on whether spectators will be allowed on site, will be made in due course following close consultation with the Japanese government, local prefectural and city governments. “We are honored to announce that we will be welcoming the PGA TOUR stars back to Japan and we are confident our tournament will showcase world-class golf once again. We would like to express our gratitude to Chiba Prefecture, Inzai City, and all other related parties for their cooperation. We believe that our mission is to deliver excitement and hope to the athletes and fans by providing safe and secure tournament management so that they can truly enjoy themselves. As the title sponsor of the long-established and prestigious PGA TOUR’s ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, we will continue to spread the power of the sport of golf, which is loved beyond generations, genders and nationalities, as well as working towards realizing our corporate philosophy, “Inspire the world. Deliver joy every day,” said ZOZO Inc. President/CEO, Kotaro Sawada. This year’s ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, which will offer a US$9.95 million purse, will be comprised of 78 players including the leading players from the 2020-2021 FedExCup, players designated by the Japan Golf Tour Organization, the top finishers of the Bridgestone Open and sponsor exemptions. The tournament will be broadcast to 216 countries and regions around the world. In Japan, TV Asahi will broadcast the event live on their terrestrial, BS and CS channels throughout the four-day tournament, while GOLFTV powered by PGA TOUR will provide coverage on its digital platform. As in previous years, part of the tournament’s proceeds will be donated to charitable causes. As a full FedExCup tournament, the winner of the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP will earn 500 FedExCup points and will be fully exempt through the PGA TOUR’s 2023-24 Season. The event will be co-sanctioned once again with the Japan Golf Tour Organization. For more information on the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, please visit ZOZOCHAMPIONSHIP.com.

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Round 2 of the Bermuda Championship takes place today. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action. Round 2 leaderboard Round 2 tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 12:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 1:30-4:30pm ET, Sunday, 12:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). PGA TOUR LIVE: None Radio: Thursday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. ET. Sunday, 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). NOTABLE PAIRINGS (ALL TIMES EASTERN) Lanto Griffin, Aaron Wise, Davis Love III Round 2: 12:48 p.m. ET (No. 1) Sangmoon Bae, Patrick Rodgers, Mark Hubbard Round 2: 12:59 p.m. ET (No. 10) Fred Funk, Sam Ryder, Doc Redman Round 2: 12:59 p.m. ET (No. 1) MUST READS Power Rankings Expert Picks The First Look: News and notes What to expect during the fall schedule Sign-up and play Fantasy Golf CALL OF THE DAY

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