Live leaderboard: Round 1 of Genesis Open

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The Sanderson Farms Championship qualifier ended Monday in a 3-for-2 playoff between PGA TOUR veteran Kyle Reifers, Quade Cummins, and Wilson Furr. Cummins, a former standout at the University of Oklahoma, made eagle to clinch the first playoff spot after bogeying the 17th hole of regulation at Deerfield Golf Club in Canton, Mississippi. “The 17th is one of the tougher holes out there, and with how the greens were, you’re going to pay if you’re out of position,” Cummins told PGATOUR.COM after the round. “I was very stressed after that bogey because I knew 5 under had a small chance to qualify. Luckily it held throughout the day to give me a chance in a playoff.” Reifers birdied the fifth hole of the playoff to earn the final spot and while eliminating Furr. Grant Hirschman and Sam Saunders were co-medalists after shooting 65 respectively. Hirschman, a fellow Oklahoma Sooner alumni, shot 6 under on the back nine after a slow start to the day. “I hit really nice on the front nine but just couldn’t get a putt to fall. I made an eagle putt on 10 that changed the momentum of the round, seeing a putt roll in and then get to -3 thru 10. I kept the pedal down on the back nine and stayed aggressive,” Hirschman told PGATOUR.COM. Hirschman is coming off his first full season on the Korn Ferry Tour and is starting to hone his craft as a professional golfer. “I’d say I learned to stick true to my own game and not shy away from that. It’s easy to chase speed or change your game to match what seems right. In reality, what makes me a great golfer is sticking to my own game and game plan week in and week out.” Qualifiers Grant Hirschman (65) Age: 26 College: University of Oklahoma Turned pro: 2018 PGA TOUR starts: 1 Cuts made: 1 PGA TOUR earnings: $14,190 Notes: Hirschman will play his first PGA TOUR event since the 2018 FedEx St. Jude Classic. Played 18 events on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2018, recording a pair of Top 10 finishes including a T4 finish at the Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr. Pepper. Played a full season on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2020-21, finishing in the Top 10 twice and Top 25 five times. Was part of the Oklahoma’s 2017 National Championship team and claimed three victories during his college career. He was 2018 Big 12 individual champion. Ranked 746 in the Official World Golf Rankings. Sam Saunders (65) Age: 34 College: Clemson University Turned pro: 2009 PGA TOUR starts: 156 Cuts made: 72 PGA TOUR earnings: $3,474,499 Notes: Saunders rebounds this week after missing the Fortinet Championship Monday qualifier in a playoff. Has spent five full seasons on the PGA TOUR since 2010. Finished T2 in the 2015 Puerto Rico Open after losing in a playoff. Supports the Arnold and Winnie Palmer Hospital. Ranked 1594 in the Official World Golf Rankings. Quade Cummins (67) Age: 25 College: University of Oklahoma Turned pro: 2020 PGA TOUR starts: 3 Cuts made: 2 Earnings: $15,680 Notes: Will make his fourth career start on the PGA TOUR at the Sanderson Farms Championship. Finished T67 at the 2020 Mayakoba Golf Classic presented by UNIFIN while still an amateur. Finished T58 at the 2021 Fortinet Championship in his first start of the season. Finished the 2021 Mackenzie Tour season with back-to-back Top 10 finishes at the Auburn University Club Invitational and L&J Golf Championship at Jennings Mill Country Club. Won the 2016 Oklahoma Amateur and was a two-time Oklahoma 4A state golf champion (2013 and 2015). Ranked 1243 in the Official World Golf Rankings. Kyle Reifers (67) Age: 37 College: Wake Forest Turned pro: 2006 PGA TOUR starts: 161 Cuts made: 86 PGA TOUR earnings: $4,061,553 Notes: Reifers will make his third PGA TOUR start since 2018. Has played five full seasons on the PGA TOUR since 2006. Has placed in the Top 10 eight times in his career, including a second-place finish in the 2015 Barracuda Championship after losing in a playoff to J.J. Henry. Won the 2006 Chattanooga Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour, defeating 9x PGA TOUR winner Brandt Snedeker in a playoff. Won the 2004 Ohio State Amateur. First car was a Jeep Cherokee. Now drives a Cadillac Escalade. Ranked 633 in the Official World Golf Rankings. Notes Notables who missed qualifying: Jonathan Byrd, Byeong Hun An, Blayne Barber, Erik Compton, Vaughn Taylor, Curtis Luck, Andrew Loupe, Aaron Baddeley, Bo Hoag, Mark Hubbard, Beau Hossler, Austin Eckroat, and Ben Crane. 2021-2022 Monday Qualifier statistics Last event’s qualifier result (Fortinet Championship): Kristoffer Ventura (MC), Justin Suh (T58), Joshua McCarthy (MC), and Michael Kim (MC) Total money earned by Monday qualifiers on TOUR this season: $15,680 Best finish of the 2021-2022 season by a Monday qualifier: Justin Suh (T58, Fortinet Championship) Next Monday qualifier: Shiners Hospitals for Children Open at Boulder Creek Golf Club in Boulder City, Nevada (October 4, 2021)

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Because of the format, a Power Rankings for any match-play event should be consumed almost entirely as a straightforward preview replete with details about the host course, notable history among the qualifiers, trends and other nuggets to get you set for the tournament. As always, you’ve come to the right place for all of that. But, oh, them vagaries. The “v-word” is a staple at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play Championship. While cliché and certainly overused, it’s still not inaccurate to preface expectations accordingly. With three rounds of pool play to determine the round of 16 that advance into the traditional knockout portion, anything can happen and always does. This is why you’re encouraged to continue to adhere to the breadth of daily coverage at PGATOUR.com for every match will be previewed and recapped. The first 16 golfers ranked below are who I have surviving pool play. Their position reflects logical reasoning based on the four golfers I have emerging from each of the sub-brackets as semifinalists. For example, because Bubba Watson is slotted fourth (or lowest among the semifinalists), Francesco Molinari is ranked fifth (or highest among the quarterfinalists) because they would meet in the quarters. Similarly, No. 8 Justin Thomas (lowest among the quarterfinalists) would meet No. 9 Jim Furyk (highest of the eight who wouldn’t advance from the round of 16). Golfers sitting 17-64 are slotted subjectively. Power Rankings Continued 17. Louis Oosthuizen 18. Cameron Smith 19. Phil Mickelson 20. Bryson DeChambeau (first-timer) 21. Jason Day 22. Rafa Cabrera Bello 23. Marc Leishman 24. Thorbjørn Olesen 25. Gary Woodland 26. Matthew Fitzpatrick 27. Webb Simpson 28. Tiger Woods 29. Keith Mitchell (first-timer) 30. Byeong Hun An 31. Charles Howell III 32. Henrik Stenson 33. Brandt Snedeker 34. Hideki Matsuyama 35. Billy Horschel 36. Si Woo Kim 37. Tyrrell Hatton 38. Kevin Kisner 39. Matt Kuchar 40. Keegan Bradley 41. Tony Finau 42. HaoTong Li 43. Eddie Pepperell (first-timer) 44. Chez Reavie 45. Branden Grace 46. Matt Wallace (first-timer) 47. Russell Knox 48. Lee Westwood 49. Jordan Spieth 50. Alex Noren 51. Aaron Wise (first-timer) 52. Andrew Putnam (first-timer) 53. Shane Lowry 54. Abraham Ancer (first-timer) 55. Emiliano Grillo 56. J.B. Holmes 57. Patrick Reed 58. Satoshi Kodaira 59. Tom Lewis (first-timer) 60. Kevin Na 61. Luke List 62. Lucas Bjerregaard (first-timer) 63. Kyle Stanley 64. Justin Harding (first-timer) The pursuit of the Walter Hagen Cup will begin on Wednesday, thus giving the Match Play the earliest start of any PGA TOUR event all season. Every golfer will face every other golfer in his opening pool of four for one match each on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Overall records in pool play determine who advances to the knockout competition on the weekend. More on this below. For the fourth consecutive year, Austin Country Club provides the scenic backdrop. Big swingers Jason Day (2016), Dustin Johnson (2017) and Bubba Watson (2018) have prevailed in the Texas capital, but given how much of today’s elite talent brings the muscle, it’s not surprising. Yet, length off the tee is a bonus at Austin CC. It’s a par 71 that tips at just 7,108 yards. Two-inch bermuda rough isn’t overseeded, so the course is eminently playable through the green. Although the tee at the par-4 15th hole was enlarged and trees near four greens were removed to enhance growth in those areas, there weren’t any influential changes to the course since last year. Overseeded TifEagle bermuda greens have been prepped to touch 12 feet on the Stimpmeter. If there was an average on the PGA TOUR, that’d be it. The 10 first-time participants will be contributing to the bank of data that has slowly revealed why the highest seeds perform the best. It’s one vagary that doesn’t need validation. In three editions since Austin CC has hosted, 18 of the 48 pool-play survivors were seeded 1-16. Twelve were seeded 17-32. Nine advanced from each of the other two layers. Only 21 of the 48 pool-play survivors opened 3-0-0, including Day and Johnson en route to their victory. Another 13 went 2-0-1 to advance, including Watson last year. A dozen who moved on went 2-1-0, while two managed to survive with a record of 1-0-2. No golfer has survived pool play in all three editions that Austin CC hosted. During his title defense, DJ was the only golfer in last year’s field with the chance to turn that trick, and he was the No. 1 seed, but he lost all three of his pool-play matches. Parts of the field of 64 are going to face a little of everything that Mother Nature has to offer in Austin. After a benign first two days with daytime highs in the 70s, the threat of rain enters the picture. As the temperature rises to maybe 80 degrees on Friday, the precipitation could linger into Sunday when jackets will be commonplace with a high that might not reach 65 degrees. And, of course, wind will play a bit part until the weekend when it turns around and blows out of a northerly direction. In addition to receiving 550 FedExCup points and $1.745 million, the winner will be eligible for PGA TOUR membership through at least 2021-22. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings (Corales) TUESDAY*: Power Rankings (Match Play), Fantasy Insider, One & Done (Match Play) WEDNESDAY: One & Done (Corales) THURSDAY: Champions One & Done * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesdays.

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