Langer on verge of 10th senior major

The PGA TOUR enters the second week of its holiday hiatus, but you won’t find any in the stacked field at this week’s Hero World Challenge easing off the throttle. After the pandemic canceled the 2020 edition of the annual stop at Albany in The Bahamas, an intimate gathering reconvenes with the same no-cut, stroke-play competition over 72 holes, purse of $3.5 million and full-field distribution of Official World Golf Ranking points. And, oh yeah, Tiger Woods remains the host. The only change pertains to the permanent increase in the size of the field. For details on that, how Albany played in 2019 and other nuggets, scroll past the projection for all 20 participants. For the first time in its 21-year history, a record 20 golfers will be chasing victory and its $1-million prize. Accommodations were ratified to add the winners of the most recent edition of THE PLAYERS Championship and a third sponsor exemption inside the top 50 of the OWGR on Sept. 6. They join winners of all majors since the previous edition of the Hero World Challenge, the other two sponsor exemptions and the defending champion. To fill the field, the OWGR on Sept. 6 was used in order of position. Albany is in its sixth consecutive edition as the host. It’s a par 72 with five par 3s and five par 5s. In its first five spins, it surrendered a scoring average south of 70 just once. That occurred in 2017 when the field of 18 landed at 70.333 and despite Rickie Fowler’s course-record 61 to seal a four-stroke victory. In 2019, the scoring average was 69.792. Henrik Stenson prevailed by at 18-under 270. He was the only golfer that week to sign for four rounds in the 60s. With sand, water and wind helping to defend scoring, course management and a plan of attack on the par 5s is the way to go on Albany, which stretches to 7,309 yards. Stenson played the par 5s in 4.60 with one eagle, eight birdies and nine pars against two bogeys. Considering only par breakers across the rest of the course’s 52 holes over four rounds, he circled another eagle (at the par-4 14th hole in the opening round) and 11 birdies. Therefore, he converted 42.86% of his 21 par breakers on 27.78 percent of the holes played. Moderate winds at worst are forecast, so the talented field will have its way with Albany once again. There’s a threat of passing showers on Saturday, but the bermudagrass greens should touch 12 feet on the Stimpmeter for which they’re prepped. What rough there is stands just an inch and a half. NOTE: PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf will resume with the Sentry Tournament of Champions on Jan. 6-9.

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The United States Golf Association (USGA) today announced tee times for the first two rounds of the 2020 U.S. Open Championship, Thursday (Sept. 17) and Friday (Sept. 18), at 7,477-yard, par-70 Winged Foot Golf Club (West Course), in Mamaroneck, N.Y. The U.S. Open is a 72-hole, stroke-play competition. A field of 144 players will play 18 holes of stroke play on Sept. 17 and 18, after which the field will be reduced to the low 60 scores and ties. Those players making the cut will play 18 holes on Sept. 19 and 20. If there is a tie upon the completion of 72 holes, a two-hole aggregate playoff will immediately follow. If this playoff results in a tie, the tied players will immediately continue to play off hole-by-hole until the winner is determined. RELATED: Nine things to know about Winged Foot | Looking back at wild finish in 2006 | Five Korn Ferry Tour players to watch Thursday, No. 1 / Friday, No. 10 (All times ET) 6:50 a.m. / 12:10 p.m. - Brandon Wu, Scarsdale, N.Y.; Curtis Luck, Australia; Ryan Fox, New Zealand 7:01 a.m. / 12:21 p.m. - Joel Dahmen, Clarkston, Wash.; Rasmus Hojgaard, Denmark; J.T. Poston, Hickory, N.C. 7:12 a.m. / 12:32 p.m. - Chez Reavie, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Sung Kang, Republic of Korea; Kevin Streelman, Wheaton, Ill. 7:23 a.m. / 12:43 p.m. - Jazz Janewattananond, Thailand; Kevin Na, Las Vegas, Nev.; Matt Wallace, England 7:34 a.m. / 12:54 p.m. - Brendon Todd, Watkinsville, Ga.; Harris English, Moultrie, Ga.; (a) Davis Thompson, St. Simons Island, Ga. 7:45 a.m. / 1:05 p.m. - Paul Waring, England; Victor Perez, France; Christiaan Bezuidenhout, South Africa 7:56 a.m. / 1:16 p.m. - Hideki Matsuyama, Japan; Patrick Reed, Houston, Texas; Jordan Spieth, Dallas,Texas 8:07 a.m. / 1:27 p.m. - Collin Morikawa, La Canada Flintridge, Calif.; Justin Thomas, Louisville, Ky.; Tiger Woods, Jupiter, Fla. 8:18 a.m. / 1:38 p.m. - Matt Kuchar, Sea Island, Ga.; Lucas Glover, Jupiter, Fla.; Graeme McDowell, Northern Ireland 8:29 a.m. / 1:49 p.m. - Charles Howell III, Orlando, Fla.; Ryo Ishikawa, Japan; Max Homa, Valencia, Calif. 8:40 a.m. / 2 p.m. - Kurt Kitayama, Chico, Calif.; Robert MacIntyre, Scotland; (a) Sandy Scott, Scotland 8:51 a.m. / 2:11 p.m. - Eddie Pepperell, England; Troy Merritt, Eagle, Idaho; Sami Valimaki, Finland 12:10 p.m. / 6:50 a.m. - Shaun Norris, South Africa; Rory Sabbatini, Slovakia; Chan Kim, Gilbert, Ariz. 12:21 p.m. / 7:01 a.m. - Adam Long, St. Louis, Mo.; (a) Eduard Rousaud, Spain; Mike Lorenzo-Vera, France 12:32 p.m. / 7:12 a.m. - (a) Lukas Michel, Australia; Lucas Herbert, Australia; Matt Jones, Australia 12:43 p.m. / 7:23 a.m. - Ryan Palmer, Colleyville, Texas; Si Woo Kim, Republic of Korea; Rafa Cabrera Bello, Spain 12:54 p.m. / 7:34 a.m. - Joaquin Niemann, Chile; Sungjae Im, Republic of Korea; Cameron Champ, Sacramento, Calif. 1:05 p.m. / 7:45 a.m. - Gary Woodland, Topeka, Kan.; (a) Andy Ogletree, Little Rock, Miss.; Shane Lowry, Republic of Ireland 1:16 p.m. / 7:56 a.m. - Bryson DeChambeau, Clovis, Calif.; Dustin Johnson, Jupiter, Fla.; Tony Finau, Salt Lake City, Utah 1:27 p.m. / 8:07 a.m. - Phil Mickelson, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.; Paul Casey, England; Jon Rahm, Spain 1:38 p.m. / 8:18 a.m. - Rickie Fowler, Murrieta, Calif.; Matthew Wolff, Agoura Hills, Calif.; Viktor Hovland, Norway 1:49 p.m. / 8:29 a.m. - Romain Langasque, France; Davis Riley, Hattiesburg, Miss.; Will Zalatoris, Plano, Texas 2 p.m. / 8:40 a.m. - Matthias Schwab, Austria; (a) Cole Hammer, Houston, Texas; Alex Noren, Sweden 2:11 p.m. / 8:51 a.m. - Connor Syme, Scotland; Paul Barjon, France; Marty Jertson, Phoenix, Ariz. Thursday, No. 10 / Friday, No. 1 (All times ET) 6:50 a.m. / 12:10 p.m. - Daniel Balin, White Plains, N.Y.; Greyson Sigg, Augusta, Ga.; J.C. Ritchie, South Africa 7:01 a.m. / 12:21 p.m. - (a) Ricky Castillo, Yorba Linda, Calif.; Brian Harman, Sea Island, Ga.; Andy Sullivan, England 7:12 a.m. / 12:32 p.m. - Tom Lewis, England; (a) Preston Summerhays, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Jason Kokrak, Hudson, Ohio 7:23 a.m. / 12:43 p.m. - Martin Kaymer, Germany; Jimmy Walker, Boerne, Texas; (a) John Augenstein, Owensboro, Ky. 7:34 a.m. / 12:54 p.m. - Tyler Duncan, Columbus, Ind.; Thomas Detry, Belgium; Erik van Rooyen, South Africa 7:45 a.m. / 1:05 p.m. - Tyrrell Hatton, England; Henrik Stenson, Sweden; Danny Willett, England 7:56 a.m. / 1:16 p.m. - Webb Simpson, Charlotte, N.C.; Sergio Garcia, Spain; Jason Day, Australia 8:07 a.m. / 1:27 p.m. - Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland; Adam Scott, Australia; Justin Rose, England 8:18 a.m. / 1:38 p.m. - Ian Poulter, England; Patrick Cantlay, Jupiter, Fla.; Steve Stricker, Madison, Wis. 8:29 a.m. / 1:49 p.m. - Adam Hadwin, Canada; Mackenzie Hughes, Canada; Corey Conners, Canada 8:40 a.m. / 2 p.m. - Sebastian Munoz, Colombia; (a) Chun An Yu, Chinese Taipei; Justin Harding, South Africa 8:51 a.m. / 2:11 p.m. - Scott Hend, Australia; Dan McCarthy, Syracuse, N.Y.; Ryan Vermeer, Omaha, Neb. 12:10 p.m. / 6:50 a.m. - Richy Werenski, West Palm Beach, Fla.; Taylor Pendrith, Canada; Renato Paratore, Italy 12:21 p.m. / 7:01 a.m. - Jim Herman, Palm City, Fla.; (a) John Pak, Scotch Plains, N.J.; Thomas Pieters, Belgium 12:32 p.m. / 7:12 a.m. - Michael Thompson, Sea Island, Ga.; Andrew Putnam, University Place, Wash.; Chesson Hadley, Raleigh, N.C. 12:43 p.m. / 7:23 a.m. - Bernd Wiesberger, Austria; Marc Leishman, Australia; Cameron Smith, Australia 12:54 p.m. / 7:34 a.m. - Lee Westwood, England; (a) James Sugrue, Republic of Ireland; Bubba Watson, Bagdad, Fla. 1:05 p.m. / 7:45 a.m. - Matt Fitzpatrick, England; Daniel Berger, Jupiter, Fla.; Branden Grace, South Africa 1:16 p.m. / 7:56 a.m. - Tommy Fleetwood, England; Kevin Kisner, Aiken, S.C.; Abraham Ancer, Mexico 1:27 p.m. / 8:07 a.m. - Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa; Zach Johnson, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Keegan Bradley, Woodstock, Vt. 1:38 p.m. / 8:18 a.m. - Billy Horschel, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.; Xander Schauffele, San Diego, Calif.; Brandt Snedeker, Nashville, Tenn. 1:49 p.m. / 8:29 a.m. - Shugo Imahira, Japan; Byeong Hun An, Republic of Korea; (a) Takumi Kanaya, Japan 2 p.m. / 8:40 a.m. - Danny Lee, New Zealand; Mark Hubbard, Denver, Colo.; Lanto Griffin, Blacksburg, Va. 2:11 p.m. / 8:51 a.m. - Stephan Jaeger, Germany; Lee Hodges, Elkmont, Ala.; Adrian Otaegui, Spain

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RENO, Nev. — Collin Morikawa birdied his last three holes Sunday to win the Barracuda Championship, making him the second player this summer to go from college to a PGA TOUR winner. Morikawa, who graduated from Cal last month, closed with seven birdies against no bogeys in the modified Stableford scoring system, giving him 14 points in the final round at Montreaux Golf and Club. He finished with 47 points for a three-point victory over Troy Merritt, who had the lead on the back nine until the 22-year-old Morikawa made his final charge. Merritt had a chance to win on the par-5 18th with an eagle, but his chip raced 12 feet by the hole and he missed the birdie putt. He finished with seven points in the round. Robert Streb, tied for the lead after a birdie on No. 10, finished with eight pars and tied for third with John Chin. Morikawa joins Matthew Wolff of Oklahoma State as players who have gone straight from college to their first PGA TOUR victory. Wolff won the 3M Open in Minnesota three weeks ago, making an eagle putt on the final hole to beat Morikawa. “It was something really special to finally get the win,” Morikawa said. He was doing everything right leading up to his big moment at Montreaux. He has made the cut in all six of his starts since his May 18 graduation, including his tie for 35th in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. After his runner-up to Wolff in Minnesota, he tied for fourth in the John Deere Classic and then won the Barracuda Championship. His 14 points translate to a 65, meaning Morikawa has an average final round of 66.83, his worst Sunday score a 69 in the U.S. Open. While he was already assured of a PGA TOUR card for next year with his good results, the victory gives him membership immediately, with his points retroactive. Morikawa is at No. 46 in the FedExCup. He earned $630,000, giving him $1,672,904 since graduating college just over two months ago. The victory does not get him into the Masters, however, because the Barracuda Championship was held opposite a World Golf Championships event. Morikawa began his move after having to settle for par — no points — on the par-5 13th, leaving him three points behind Merritt who was in the fairway behind him. Morikawa holed an 8-foot birdie putt on the 14th, and his best shot was on the par-3 16th, when he went at a back pin with a high cut into the breeze to 10 feet on the fringe and made the birdie putt. His biggest shot was on the next hole when he holed a 30-foot birdie putt with enough pace that it might have gone some 6 feet by the hole. That set him up for the closing hole, where his 4-iron came up short of the green with a front pin, and he used putter to roll it to 2 feet for a tap-in birdie. “It felt good to make that putt, but obviously I had one more hole to play,” Morikawa said. “There was a lot of points on the board left, and I knew I had business to do on 18. And I hit three good shots and was able to tap in for birdie.” Merritt trailed for the first time on the back nine when Morikawa made his birdie on the 16th. He answered with a 30-foot birdie from the fringe on the 16th, and he saved par with a 5-foot putt on the 17th to stay one point behind. Morikawa’s final birdie meant Merritt had to make eagle (worth 5 points) to win. A birdie is worth two points and would not be enough. His approach came up short, and his chip stayed left of the hole.

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