Leaderboard: First round of 2019 U.S. Open

We head south of the border for this week’s PGA TOUR stop to see just who can keep their focus on work rather than relaxation in the gorgeous Playa Del Carmen region of Mexico. Perhaps the key to success at El Camaleon Golf Club is balancing the two to perfection, much like defending champion Pat Perez was able to do last year. Perez played sensational golf on the course and enjoyed the beauty of the region off it on his way to a great win. It started a career renaissance, which has also seen him win this season in Malaysia before his arrival ensuring he is the FedExCup leader up to this point. But he has some big stars standing in his way this time. Rickie Fowler is making his tournament and season debut. Patrick Reed, Charley Hoffman, Kevin Chappell, Si Woo Kim, Emiliano Grillo, Jhonattan Vegas and Anirban Lahiri all featured in the recent Presidents Cup and now find themselves in the Mexico field. There are five locals in the field: Abraham Ancer, Roberto Diaz, Carlos Ortiz, Jose de Jesus Rodriguez and Oscar Fraustro – who will all try to salute in front of the vocal home fans. Here are the featured groups. Playa Del Carmen falls in the same time zone as the East Coast. All tee times are Eastern Time. Rickie Fowler, Emiliano Grillo, Chesson Hadley: Fowler is making his debut on the season and in this event and will be hoping to start with a bang having already given up ground to plenty of his competitors. Grillo has already played three times this season and while he has made every cut he’s so fa failed to get things really going like he’d expect. Perhaps this is his week. The same could be said for Hadley who has been inside the top 5 the last three tournaments in a row. Is this the time he gets to the top? Tee times: Thursday 7:30 a.m. (ET) off 10 tee; Friday 12:00 p.m. off 1st tee Jhonattan Vegas, Kevin Chappell, Patrick Reed: An all Presidents Cup group this trio could certainly produce some fireworks. Expect Vegas and Reed to hunt aggressive looks at birdie while Chappell’s steady sublime ball-striking will ensure he’s not lacking chances. Vegas and Chappelll were winners last season… can they do it again? And will Reed return to glory? Tee times: Thursday 7:40 a.m. (ET) off 10 tee; Friday 12:10 p.m. off 1st tee Bryson DeChambeau, Si Woo Kim, Zach Johnson: DeChambeau is burning to get back out on course after making a run last week in Las Vegas only to fold late while Kim showed signs at the Presidents Cup that his PLAYERS championship victory was no flash in the pan. He’s looking to establish himself amongst the games super elite this season. Johnson comes in as understated as always. The two-time major champion is happy to let the others get the limelight – he will do his talking on the course. Tee times: Thursday 12:00 p.m. (ET) off 1st tee; Friday 7:30 a.m. off 10th tee Pat Perez, Charley Hoffman, Graeme McDowell: The last three champions of the event line up together. Perez comes in not only as the defending champion but also the FedExCup leader this season after his win at the CIMB Classic. He is the man with a target on his back. Chasing him down is Hoffman, who has good karma going for him after donating all his winnings from last week ($98,600) to the victims of the Las Vegas shooting. McDowell showed some sneaky form last week, coming home strong for a top-10… can he recapture his best at a happy hunting ground? Tee times: Thursday 12:10 p.m. (ET) off 1st tee; Friday 7:34 a.m. off 10th tee

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MEDINAH, Ill. – By Sunday night, two-thirds of this year’s Presidents Cup participants will be identified. The top eight spots on the U.S. and International teams after this week’s BMW Championship will be locked in for Royal Melbourne in December. The four Captain’s Picks from Tiger Woods and Ernie Els will be announced after the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in early November. Although some players on both teams have guaranteed a trip to Australia, there is still uncertainty with the final few automatic spots. Here’s a look at the possibilities for each team heading into Thursday’s first round at Medinah. UNITED STATES CURRENT TOP 8: Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, Matt Kuchar, Webb Simpson, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Cantlay A win this week at the BMW Championship is worth 1,100 Presidents Cup points. The formula for arriving at that number? Presidents Cup points in the FedExCup Playoffs events are weighted the same in points as World Golf Championships events, with the points doubled for this year’s Playoffs. Cantlay currently has 5,268 points, so that means anybody behind him with 4,168 points or better can catch him with a victory. Thus, No. 9 Gary Woodland (4,912), No. 10 Tony Finau (4,872), No. 11 Rickie Fowler (4,547) and No. 12 Patrick Reed (4,413) remain alive going into Medinah. Oh, and No. 13th on that list? U.S. Captain Tiger Woods, who cannot move inside the top eight with a win. Of course, he could enhance his argument for being a playing captain as a pick. But that’s for a later time. Reed – fresh off his victory at THE NORTHERN TRUST — or Fowler each have to win for any hope of a top-8 spot. A solo second doesn’t give either one enough points to catch Cantlay. Finau or Woodland each need a third-place or better finish. So who’s vulnerable among the American players inside the top 8? According to our projections, Koepka, Johnson and Thomas can rest easy. Even if they are pushed down the standings, there are no scenarios in which they fall out of the top eight. For Kuchar and Simpson, the odds are in their favor, but it remains mathematically possible for each one to finish outside the top eight. Simpson, DeChambeau and Cantlay are in the danger zone. Enough scenarios are in play this week to prevent them from feeling comfortable. It would behoove each one to have a solid performance at Medinah while keeping one eye on the leaderboard in case something spectacular is required. INTERNATIONAL CURRENT TOP 8: Marc Leishman, Louis Oosthuizen, Adam Scott, Hideki Matsuyama, Abraham Ancer, Haotong Li, Cameron Smith, C.T. Pan Outlining exactly what needs to be done in order to secure a spot for Els’ team is a bit tricky, given that it’s based on Official Golf World Ranking points and involves tournaments (including their strengths of field) on three different tours. So please take the following information as our best-guess information (our Aussie staff writer Ben Everill is pretty spot-on about these things) but realize nothing is definitive. Leishman, Oosthuizen, Scott, Matsuyama and Ancer, the top five in the standings, have separated themselves from the pack and can be considered locks. Ancer made the big leap from 10th to fifth with his runner-up finish Sunday at THE NORTHERN TRUST and will become the first player to represent Mexico at the Presidents Cup. “That’s huge,â€� Ancer said Sunday. “I get a little bit of goosebumps right now just talking about it.â€� Li, Smith and Pan – each seeking his first Presidents Cup appearance — are all within six points of each other in the final three spots. Li and Smith are not in action this week; Li is not a TOUR member and Smith is not inside the top 70 players in FedExCup points who advanced to Medinah. So they will be unable to improve on their ranking totals. Pan is on the bubble and in the BMW Championship field this week, so he controls his own fate. He knows it’s a big opportunity to guarantee his spot for Royal Melbourne. In his threesome for the first two rounds this week is Tiger Woods. It’ll be the first time he’s played with Woods. I know it’s going to be crazy playing with Tiger,â€� said Pan, who at 37th in FedExCup points and needs a big week also to move inside the top 30 for East Lake. “… It will be wild.  So I’m just looking forward to enjoying it and making the best out of it.â€� And as for the pressure of playing for a Presidents Cup spot? “All you can do is let good golf take care of everything,â€� Pan said. “I’ve been trying very hard out there and trying to finish strong every single round, last week or last two months, and definitely put me in a really good spot here, and I’m just very grateful and thankful for the opportunity. At least I have a shot.â€� It’s the next three players closest to the bubble who make things really intriguing, since each one is playing a different event. Jason Day, having fallen from seventh to ninth in International points at Liberty National, is in the BMW Championship field. While the Aussie seems almost certain to be a captain’s pick if he doesn’t earn a spot on merit, Day would obviously prefer moving back into the top 8. It likely requires him to finish 19th or better this week. Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond, 10th in points, is the highest-ranked OWGR player (56th) in this week’s field at the Sarawak Championship on the Asian Tour. A win there would net him 14 ranking points, good enough to surpass the current totals of Smith and Pan. South Africa’s Justin Harding, 11th in points, is the highest-ranked OWGR player (53rd) in this week’s Korn Ferry Tour event, the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. A win there is worth 16 points; that would barely be good enough to surpass Pan’s current total. Pan will earn points this week if he finishes inside the top 60 in the 70-man field, so Harding faces the toughest task. Still, it’s not inconceivable that if Day, Janewattananond and Harding each win their respective events this week, all three could move inside the top eight. Meanwhile, there are a few wildcards still in play. South Korean Sungjae Im could be a factor with a top-3 finish in Chicago. Countrymen Sung Kang, Si Woo Kim and Ben An likely need a win or solo second. Canadians Corey Conners and Adam Hadwin, along with Argentina’s Emilio Grillo and South Africa’s Dylan Fritelli, could also make an impact by winning at Medinah. After all, Ancer showed last week that a big result in the Playoffs can have huge Presidents Cup implications. Chile’s Joaquin Niemann is 70th in FedExCup points and thus the last player in the field at Medinah; he could conceivable move into the top 8 with a win.

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida and DENVER – Velocity Global has partnered with the PGA TOUR and GOLF Channel to become the presenting sponsor of PGA TOUR University, the PGA TOUR announced Tuesday. Additionally, Velocity Global, which delivers a global work platform for employers to grow compliant distributed workforces in 185 countries and all 50 United States, has been named the Official Global Workforce Solutions Platform of the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions as part of the multi-year agreement. Entering its second season, PGA TOUR University presented by Velocity Global rewards elite college players with access to Tours operated under the PGA TOUR umbrella, while upholding the principles and virtues of collegiate athletics. At the end of each college golf season, the top 15 players in the final Velocity Global Ranking earn status on the Korn Ferry Tour or a PGA TOUR international tour. The Class of 2022 Ranking will be finalized May 30 following the conclusion of stroke play at the NCAA D-I Men’s National Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. “We’re excited to welcome Velocity Global to the PGA TOUR family as the first-ever presenting sponsor of PGA TOUR University,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “Velocity Global shares our passion in supporting the top collegiate golfers on their journey to the professional game, and we look forward to their partnership in growing PGA TOUR University together.” As the Official Global Workforce Solutions Platform and Official Professional Employer Organization of the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions, Velocity Global will have a presence in programming throughout PGA TOUR media properties, align with PGA TOUR players and host customers at PGA TOUR events. “This partnership highlights access to opportunity. The Velocity Global Ranking identifies the top players in college golf and rewards them with access to the Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA TOUR’s international network of competition, just as we make global work accessible to employers and talent,” said Ben Wright, Velocity Global Founder and CEO. “We’re proud to partner with the PGA TOUR to open doors for these players and support the game’s future stars, as Velocity Global supports the future of work.” Billy Horschel, a six-time PGA TOUR winner and the 2014 FedExCup champion, is a global brand ambassador for Velocity Global and an avid supporter of college golf. During his four-year career at the University of Florida, Horschel was a two-time SEC Player of the Year and a four-time All-American. “Velocity Global is the perfect match to present the top college players in the world of golf because it is the company that drives how work gets done for the next generation,” said Horschel. “They cheer for hard work and success, and that’s exactly what the PGA TOUR University presented by Velocity Global does. It creates access to global opportunities for these players to compete right away which is so important for their development as pros. I look forward to competing against these guys really soon.” In addition to being the presenting sponsor of PGA TOUR University, the agreement also includes a partnership with GOLF Channel. PGA TOUR University and the Velocity Global Ranking will be featured each Wednesday on Golf Today and within weekly live tournament coverage, as well as across GOLF Channel and PGA TOUR digital platforms throughout the season. GOLF Channel’s first college tournament broadcast of the season is next week’s Maridoe Collegiate Invitational (September 13-15). Additionally, GOLF Channel will collaborate with Velocity Global to highlight a new PGA TOUR University charity program to be announced at a future date. “As the television home of college golf, we’re excited to continue the growth and development of PGA TOUR University alongside our partners at the PGA TOUR,” said Tom Knapp, EVP, Partnerships and Programming, NBC Sports. “The addition of an international partner like Velocity Global enhances our ability to cultivate this important platform, and ensure the top collegiate players will be showcased on GOLF Channel as they progress toward competing throughout the professional ranks and ultimately on the PGA TOUR.” The PGA TOUR University Class of 2021 made their marks in their first summers as professionals. Arizona State’s Kevin Yu finished 4th in the 2021 Velocity Global Ranking, and he posted five top-25s and two top-five finishes in eight starts on the Korn Ferry Tour. On the Forme Tour, Arizona’s Trevor Werbylo and SMU’s Mac Meissner both have wins after finishing 9th and 8th, respectively, in last year’s Velocity Global Ranking. With one event remaining this season, Werbylo leads the Order of Merit and Meissner is fifth, and both players are in position to be promoted to the Korn Ferry Tour next season.

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