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OVERVIEW What a phenomenon Dustin Johnson has become. He’s now up to 19 PGA TOUR titles after another three-win season and if you expect he won’t reach at least 20 in 2019, then we’d love to sell you a bridge. With at least one victory in every full season he’s played on the PGA TOUR, Johnson is a sure-fire contender every time he tees it up. An incredible 10 wins have come in the last three seasons, and he also chalked up his first major, leaving him with one more clear goal … a FedExCup. For 10 straight seasons Johnson has made it through to East Lake but failed to go home with the season-long trophy. He’s had his destiny in his own hands for the last three seasons but has been unable to convert. And so this remains on his radar. He also wants more majors. He might not come out and say things directly. He might make you try to believe he doesn’t really care that much. But don’t be fooled. Johnson wants to win. And he wants to win often. He started last season saying an eight-win season is still an attainable goal despite the last one coming from Tiger Woods in 2006. Lofty hopes ensure his motivation remains high. He also has had to watch as gym partner Brooks Koepka has captured three majors in two years – further motivation. In his last five seasons on TOUR, DJ has ranked sixth, fifth, first, seventh and first in scoring average … incredible stuff. He is far from just a bomber – with his wedge game one of the deadliest in the world to go with his bashing efforts off the tee. Oh – and those who claimed he still can’t putt that well? He was 25th in Strokes Gained: Putting last season. — By Ben Everill Click here to see who else made the Top 30 list. BY THE NUMBERS FEDEXCUP UPDATE Current 2018-19 position: 146th Playoff appearances: 10 TOUR Championship appearances: 10 Best FedExCup result: 2nd in the 2015-16 season SHOTLINK FUN FACT Since the start of the 2015-16 PGA TOUR season, Dustin Johnson has won 16 percent of all his starts (10 of 63) and has finished inside the top 10 in 56 percent of his starts in that span. INSIDER INSIGHTS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Dustin Johnson in 2019. TOUR INSIDER: It is pretty tough to find a weakness in Johnson’s game both statistically and mentally. His worst ranking in the five main Strokes Gained metrics was 33rd last season and he led in two of them. His memory is short – meaning when he does have a bad day, he can let it go quickly and move on without scars. — By Ben Everill FANTASY INSIDER: You don’t need me or my analysis on this one. My only advice would be to remind you to set a lineup with him in it before any deadline. Rips off at least one win per season – that’s harder than he makes it appear – and has totaled 10 in the last three. All that’s missing on the résumé that can be achieved this season is a FedExCup title. The gold medal in the Olympics, should he happen to qualify, will have to wait until 2020. — By Rob Bolton EQUIPMENT INSIDER: DJ was playing a TaylorMade Spider Tour Black for a while, and it seemed to be his answer on the greens. That is no longer. At the tail end of 2018, Dustin was switching between TaylorMade and Scotty Cameron putters, blade and mallet style, insert and no insert, and conventional and cross-handed. Most recently, Dustin was spotted using a TaylorMade Black Copper blade-style putter with a red Surlyn insert, but with his propensity to switch putters on a whim, nothing is certain for 2019. Also, it seemed prior to 2018 that Dustin Johnson would never switch from his Fujikura Speeder 661 Evolution II Tour spec shaft. But ahead of the 2018 U.S. Open, he switched into a Project X HZRDUS Black 85-gram shaft. He’s since switched back to the Speeder, but it’s something to keep an eye on in 2019. — By Andrew Tursky STYLE INSIDER: DJ has elevated his style game over the past two years and it all started with a better understanding of modern fits. His pants feature a slight taper below the knee and are hemmed to just sweep the tops of his shoes. This gives his signature monochromatic kits a smooth and streamlined look. — By Greg Monteforte

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Twelve two-person teams will compete in a fun and unique format at the Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida, which also hosts the LPGA’s season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. Matt Kuchar and Harris English will look to defend their title from 2020, which they won in record fashion. FIELD NOTES AND STORYLINES: Matt Kuchar and Harris English will be paired together once again as the duo looks to win a record fourth QBE Shootout. This is the seventh time they will partner… One of last year’s second-place squads – Harold Varner III and Ryan Palmer – are looking to climb one spot higher on the leaderboard… Reigning PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year Will Zalatoris was a last-minute field addition after Steve Stricker withdrew. He will be paired with Sean O’Hair, who has won this event twice… LPGA superstar Lexi Thompson will once again be teeing it up alongside the men. This year she’s paired with Bubba Watson. Thompson finished eighth in the 2021 CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon (she won the tournament in 2018)… Countrymen Jason Day and Marc Leishman will carry the flag for Australia. Day won this event in 2014 with Cameron Tringale. Leishman had success in another team event this year, winning the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with Cameron Smith… Sam Burns, a winner this fall on the PGA TOUR, will join forces with former FedExCup champ Billy Horschel. They paired at this year’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans, finishing fourth… Speaking of countrymen getting together: European Ryder Cup stalwarts Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter are grouped together for the second time… Kevin Kisner will return for his fifth start at the QBE Shootout but this time with a rookie partner, Max Homa… Two Georgia Bulldogs and Sea Island, Georgia, residents, Brian Harman and Hudson Swafford, will be playing together for the first time. Harman won this event in 2018 with another Sea Island resident, Patton Kizzire… K.H. Lee will make his QBE Shootout debut after winning on TOUR for the first time this season (AT&T Byrson Nelson). He’ll be paired with former FedExCup winner Brandt Snedeker… Corey Conners will be Graeme McDowell’s seventh partner at the QBE Shootout. McDowell has finished second at the QBE Shootout three times. FEDEXCUP: No FedExCup points will be awarded at the QBE Shootout, but its field does boast two former FedExCup champions (Horschel and Snedeker), while Sam Burns is second on the current FedExCup standings. COURSE: Tiburon Golf Club, par 72, 7,382 yards (yardage subject to change). This marks the fifth year the Naples, Fla.-club will play host to the QBE Shootout. The layout also plays host to the season finale on the LPGA (won this year by Jin Young Ko, who finished at 23-under 265 en route to capturing Player of the Year honors). The course boasts plenty of interesting waste areas, water, and demands a creative short game if you happen to miss the green on your approach shots. 72-HOLE RECORD: 179, Matt Kuchar/Harris English (2020) 18-HOLE RECORD: 55, Ryan Palmer/Harold Varner III (First round, 2019), Jason Day/Cameron Tringale (First round, 2014), Greg Norman/Steve Elkington (Third round, 2005), Peter Jacobsen/John Cook (Third round, 1998), Greg Norman/Nick Price (Third round, 1993). LAST TIME: Matt Kuchar and Harris English captured their third QBE Shootout after a spectacular display of shot-making and scoring. The pair finished at 37-under for the three-round event and won by nine shots over Rory Sabbatini and Kevin Tway – both tournament records. Their 37-under 179 broke the mark of 34 under they set in 2013. Kuchar and English were two shots back of the lead after the opening-round scramble, but were five shots better than any other team after an 11-under 61 in the modified alternate shot second round. They had a five-stroke advantage through 36 holes and closed with a 60 in Sunday’s better-ball format. Sabbatini and Tway were tied for second with Lanto Griffin and Mackenzie Hughes (a first-time squad) and Kevin Na and Sean O’Hair. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Friday, 12 p.m.-4 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-5 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 12 p.m.-2 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2 p.m.-4 p.m. (NBC).

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It was the calm before the storm that came after a mega storm. Returning to Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club Saturday after almost 10-inches of rain saturated the area on Friday and caused the postponement of the second round, Tiger Woods calmly took control at a quiet ZOZO Championship.  RELATED: Leaderboard | Tiger chases Snead’s record | Monday finish determined for ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP His second straight 6-under 64 pushed the 43-year-old to 12 under par through 36 holes, good enough for a two-shot lead over current U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland. Woods is of course now well and truly on track to join Sam Snead with a record-tying 82nd PGA TOUR win, a fact that will send returning spectators into a frenzy of epic proportions. The odds may be in his favor when you take into account the fact Woods has turned 38 of 49 halfway leads/co-leads to victory and on the 33 occasions he was an outright leader, 28 of them ended with wins. It is incredible considering this is his first tournament of the new 2019-20 season after a nine-week break that included knee surgery. While the two-time FedExCup champion is accustomed to feeding off huge galleries that create roars at every turn, it was a far different vibe on this occasion. Safety concerns after the previous days deluge meant PGA TOUR officials kept spectators off the grounds for the second round leaving an eerie silence around the golf course. Just days after thousands were 20-deep at seemingly every turn the place was a virtual ghost town save for the diehard fans who climbed trees and peered through fences just for a glimpse of their hero. Woods played as if the crowds were still there. As if on auto pilot he still waved after his seven birdies and provided a little showmanship when walking in some putts. When he encountered those people in the trees behind the fences he couldn’t help but flash them his trademark grin. “I made a couple putts today and I went to put my hand up and I’m like, don’t put your hand up, there’s no one clapping, so just move on about your business and just go ahead and keep trying to plug my way up the board, and I was able to do that,â€� Woods admitted. “I’m surprised that I was able to score as well as I have; usually that takes a little bit of time. But this golf course is a little bit on the softer side. I’ve been able to strike my irons pretty well this week so far and that’s been nice. “I left a lot of my approach shots below the hole and I was able to be pretty aggressive, and the greens are a little bit slower than they were yesterday. I had a good feel on the putting green, which was nice. Hit a lot of putts from below the hole and making sure that I put a lot of right hand into it and released it and it felt good all day.â€� The third round is scheduled to begin at 6:30 a.m. local time Sunday (5:30 p.m. ET Saturday) with Woods in the last group at 8:30 a.m. (7:30 p.m. ET) along with Woodland and Keegan Bradley (four back). The crowds will be allowed back in and are expected to be at capacity. The players will not be regrouped after the round and will continue into the fourth round, playing until darkness before the tournament will then conclude on Monday morning. The prospect of extra holes in one day will put more pressure on Woods recently repaired knee and his surgically fused back. It’s a different kind of storm he needs to weather … fatigue and stiffness. At one point during the round there was a long wait on the par-5 14th hole forcing some precautionary stretching and ultimately the addition of a vest. All part of the management needed in his game these days. “It’s just going to be a long day,â€� Woods said of Sunday. “Eat a lot of food tonight and then tomorrow, same thing, make sure that I eat enough and feel good about my warm‑up session. “I felt like I hit it a little bit better today … that’s nice going into a long day like tomorrow because it’s going to be a bit of a test physically and mentally to play for, what, up to 10 hours. Hopefully I can play well and get myself right there.â€�

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