Brooks Koepka fired a 6-under 65 in the first round on a day many players went low. Denny McCarthy leads the field at 8-under.
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The Masters Tournament at Augusta National will be postponed due to coronavirus concerns.
OWINGS MILLS, Md. – FedExCup hopefuls Jon Rahm and Jordan Spieth have revealed their friendships with the most decorated Olympic athlete of all-time in Michael Phelps has been a difference maker in their careers, particularly their mental game. Phelps – the greatest swimmer in Olympic history with 28 medals in the pool, 23 of them gold – has turned his attention to athlete mental health since his retirement from the sport in 2016, revealing his own battles with depression and suicidal thoughts after the 2012 Olympics. The Baltimore native was at the BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club in his hometown on Wednesday for the pro-am, paired with Spieth on the eve of the second FedExCup Playoffs event. And it was a great lift for former FedExCup champion Spieth after a roller coaster 79 to close last week’s Playoff opener at Liberty National that included back-to-back triple bogeys at the turn and left him in 73rd place. Despite the stumbles in New Jersey Spieth is in the midst of a resurgent season and is already certain of a place in the TOUR Championship at East Lake next week as he currently sits seventh in the FedExCup standings. But it is his first trip back since being runner up in the season long race in 2017, after which he suffered a lengthy win drought. That’s where his Phelps connection began to grow. “I pick his brain on the mental side of things now. He’s getting very involved in mental health, and it’s been something that I’ve actually worked on a lot in the last few years,” Spieth revealed at Caves Valley. “And that’s been a space that probably should be talked about more within athletes, their experiences across different sports, too. I’ve been really fortunate that he’s lent an ear and also bounced ideas off me. “(We have talked about) his passion to his preparation and what goes into his recovery… and without getting into details that are competitive advantages, I think he’s been a fantastic kind of friend. To have a golf lover be the most decorated Olympian of all time, it’s really good for our sport, and it’s even better that I’m able to access it.” But Spieth isn’t the only top PGA TOUR player getting great guidance from Phelps. Jon Rahm – who sits second in the FedExCup behind last week’s winner Tony Finau – has also benefitted. The Spanish star is looking to cap of the season with his first FedExCup after claiming his first major championship at the U.S. Open in June. “He’s been very open to my questions. Any time I have a question about anything, he would respond,” Rahm said. “He’s a great guy. He’s gone through a lot, and as an athlete he’s somebody to look up to very easily. “When you’re the greatest Olympian of all time, you definitely have a couple tricks up your sleeve, a couple good moments of wisdom in that sense… I’m not going to disclose too much on what I’ve asked him golf-wise, but he has helped me a lot. He has texted me every once in a while when I’m doing good or bad.” Rahm revealed Phelps was a big help after the recent birth of his first son Kepa, which came in the lead up to the Masters in April. Phelps had experienced a similar scenario with his own child being born during training in 2016. “He knows how hard it is to be there and then right after that, gone, I have to go train, and not see him. He did help me out with that,” Rahm added. “That’s not an easy feeling. It wasn’t the easiest thing to do, even if it’s the Masters. I really did not want to leave that room, but he helped me out with that.”
“Let’s play two!” was the famous cry of Cubs hall of fame shortstop Ernie Banks. Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, will become the epicenter of the PGA TOUR for the next two weeks as it will host the Workday Charity Open followed by the Memorial Tournament. The John Deere Classic usually takes place this week but has been put on hiatus until 2021. The Workday Charity Open at Muirfield Village Golf Club will feature a field of 157 players and a purse of $6.2 million ($1.116 million/500 FedExCup points for the winner) to kick off the fortnight. Now stretching to 7,456 yards (Par-72), MVGC has added six new fairway bunkers and three new teeing grounds to add to the challenge and deviate from the norm. RELATED: Power Rankings | Sleepers | Expert Picks Tournament Director Dan Sullivan remarked last month that there will be a “clear distinction” between the two events. Tiger Woods has said over the years that these are the fastest greens on TOUR (non-major) but that’s not going to be the case this week. Slower speeds on undulating greens will also bring in new pin placements that will be new to the entire field. This will be the fifth week running that the average green sizes play less than 5,200 square feet and the third week in a row putting on Bent/Poa. While the teeing grounds and pin positions will rotate to alleviate heavy traffic, the course routing and challenge of avoiding 74 bunkers and 13 water hazards remains the same. The rough will be similar in length and species (Bluegrass) as it was last week in Detroit but will be a bit bushier for the 120-man invitational next week. Recent Winners at MVGC 2019: Patrick Cantlay, -19 T11 or better in EVERY SINGLE CATEGORY minus driving distance; missed tying Tom Lehman’s tournament record by a shot as he closed with 64, the low round on Sunday. Weather will be 10-20 degrees warmer this year. Notables: Kevin Streelman (4th) played his final 54 holes 13-under. … Marc Leishman (5th) posted all four rounds in the red. … Hideki Matsuyama, the 2014 champ, signed for 64 on Saturday. … 2017 champ Jason Dufner and Jordan Spieth shared seventh while Bud Cauley, Emiliano Grillo and Billy Horschel rounded out the top 10 (T9). … Only the top eight were 10-under or lower. 2018: Bryson DeChambeau, -15 (not entered) Notables: Byeong-Hun An and Kyle Stanley were the victims of a two-hole playoff. … Cantlay played in the final group and missed the playoff by a shot. … Joaquin Niemann (T6) co-led with Stanley after 36 holes. … Niemann and Matsuyama (T13) opened with 65 to share the 18-hole lead. … 2010 champ Justin Rose (T6) also put all four rounds in the red. … Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas and Patrick Rodgers (T8) rounded out the top 10. … Top 22 players were 10-under or lower. 2017: Jason Dufner, -15 Came from four shots off the lead to win by three over Fowler. … Ball-striking clinic as he led the field in GIR, SG: Tee to Green and SG: Approach. … Set the 36-hole record opening 65-65. … Posted 77 in Round 3 and still won comfortably. Notables: Thomas and Matt Kuchar (T4) nipped Stanley, Bubba Watson and James Hahn (T6) for the last spots in the top five. … Only three players 10-under or better. … Dufner, born in Cleveland, joined Jack Nicklaus as the only Ohio natives to win the event. The following should give you a decent road map on who understands the routing at MVGC. Next week, with the Memorial proper, I’ll dig deeper into the course horses when rough and slick greens return. Key stat leaders Top golfers in each statistic on the 2019-2020 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week. * – Top 10 since 2015 Strokes-Gained: Approach the Green 1 *Marc Leishman 3 Collin Morikawa 5 *Patrick Cantlay 6 *Hideki Matsuyama 7 *Justin Thomas 8 Viktor Hovland 10 *Gary Woodland (T4, 2016) 13 Russell Henley 13 Joel Dahmen 13 *Emiliano Grillo 18 Corey Conners 19 *Joaquin Niemann 20 *Jim Furyk (T5, 2015; 2002 winner) 21 Tom Hoge 22 Matthew NeSmith 23 Cameron Tringale 24 Harold Varner III 25 Russell Knox Putting: Birdie-or-Better Percentage 2 *Patrick Reed (T8, 2016) 4 *Justin Thomas 5 *Patrick Cantlay 11 *Justin Rose 12 *Jordan Spieth 13 Cameron Champ 14 Scottie Scheffler 17 *JB Holmes (T4, 2016) 21 Sebastian Munoz 22 Vaughn Taylor 23 Bronson Burgoon 25 Charley Hoffman Par-4 scoring 4 *Justin Thomas 5 Xander Schauffele 6 *Patrick Cantlay 8 Brandt Snedeker 8 Adam Hadwin 10 *Patrick Reed 10 Joel Dahmen 10 Scottie Scheffler 15 *Bubba Watson 15 Gary Woodland 15 Harry Higgs 15 *Hideki Matsuyama 15 Sungjae Im 25 *Matt Kuchar Ohio Connections Entered Ryan Armour (Ohio State; born in Akron) Jason Day (Westerville resident) Jason Dufner (born in Akron) Jim Herman (University of Cincinnati; born in Cincinnati) Bo Hoag (Ohio State; born in Columbus) Mackenzie Hughes (Kent State University) Jason Kokrak (Xavier University; grew up in Cleveland)
