Officialsportsbetting.com Golf Betting Mack Champ Invitational successful in blending diversity with top-notch juniors

Mack Champ Invitational successful in blending diversity with top-notch juniors

Allyn Stephens has competed in numerous American Junior Golf Association events, as well as the national finals of the Drive, Chip and Putt competition at one of the game’s most iconic clubs, Augusta National. Plenty of high school tournaments, too. She even partnered with Michael Allen at the 2019 PURE Insurance Championship, a team competition that pairs First Tee members with PGA TOUR Champions veterans at venerable Pebble Beach, no less. But the Mack Champ Invitational in March was different. Very different. For once on a golf course, Stephens wasn’t in the minority. As the talented teenager looked around Memorial Park Golf Club in her native Houston that week, she saw lots of other Black and brown golfers competing in the inaugural MCI. “It was huge,” Stephens says. “It was so like mind blowing to see so many young people of color playing golf in the same tournament. It’s not normal to see something like that so it was a beautiful sight.” Stephens, who plans to play golf at Texas A&M next year, estimates that before she competed in the Mack Champ Invitational she might have known two or three other Black golfers her age and “they lived in states that were like 2,000 miles away from me.” That changed at historic Memorial Park where 109 golfers from diverse backgrounds gathered for the unique event hosted by the Cameron Champ Foundation. It’s the same course where the PGA TOUR’s best will play this week at the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open. The golfers competing in the MCI represented 26 states, as well as Canada and Costa Rica. Entries for 2022 close on December 1 and already over 170 kids have applied, which is about 50 more than last year. Stephens, who loves watching Rory McIroy, Matt Wolff, Brooks Koepka, Ariya Jutanugarn and Nelly and Jessica Korda play, will be back for the second year. “I basically think it’s insane to see,” says Stephens, who was the only Black golfer competing in the DCP at Augusta National back in 2018. “I honestly didn’t think that there were that many people of color who played golf at that level. So, I mean, it was great.” Mack Champ, who died in 2019 at the age of 78 after battling stomach cancer, would certainly have been happy to hear Stephen’s assessment. His son, Jeff, who is Cameron’s father, says his dad, who learned to play golf while serving in the military, is still “always talking to me” and he knows he would be proud of the way his grandson is giving back. “My dad’s always been that kind of person and our whole family (is, too),” says Jeff Champ, who combed the Internet and social media to find talented minority golfers deserving of invitations to the tournament. “It’s one of those things. So many people help helped us get Cameron to that point to where we have to help the next kids out.” Kids like Stephens, whose family survived the trauma of Hurricane Harvey that left 4 feet of water standing in their two-story house and kept them away from home for months. She started playing golf at the age of 7, then took a 2-year hiatus before getting hooked again when her dad, Joe, who played for the Houston Rockets and is a single digit handicap, put a putting green in the backyard. Stephens joined First Tee-Greater Houston, which has nine chapters, serving more than 1,000 kids, including one at Memorial Park that offers programs four days a week. Her goals now are winning a national championship at Texas A&M, which is where she found out later, Cameron Champ, went to school, and turning pro, although earning her degree in biomedical science is a solid back-up plan. “The whole time really stands out,” Stephens says when asked about the MCI. “I met so many great people. I connected with a lot of people I hadn’t seen in a while. … The whole tournament was a great experience.” Cameron Champ, the three-time PGA TOUR winner who is himself bi-racial, was a hand’s-on host at the MCI. Over the course of the three days, he held a clinic, fielded questions from the kids, signed autographs, posed for pictures and gave out the trophies. The parents listened closely, as well. “It’s really neat because Cam can relate to those kids,” Jeff Champ says. “He was one of those kids at one time. … And one of the biggest things for our family is to share our knowledge. If I just keep everything that we’ve learned to myself, I don’t know what I would do with myself, you know? “So, we have to share our experiences, share the hard work and also explain to these families what we went through to where they understand all the different pieces. And then they have to decide what’s the best situation for their family, because every family is different.” Lee Elder, the first Black golfer to compete in the Masters, was a virtual speaker at the banquet. Cameron Champ made his debut at Augusta National in 2020. “This is just a start for us,” Cameron Champ said that week. “Obviously we want to grow from this year each and every year and make it bigger and better for the kids. It’s all for the kids. “It’s all for their exposure — just giving them, like I said, a fun environment and to play against competition their age that are just as good as them. But then also for the ones that have success during the week, there’s also other opportunities for them to play even bigger and better events.” Glenn Weckerlin first met Cameron, Jeff and Mack Champ on the 10th tee at Del Monte Golf Club at the PURE Insurance Championship Impacting The First Tee in 2012. Cameron was the junior in the group and Mack was caddying for him. Weckerlin remembers everyone hitting their tee shots – except Cameron, who strangely held back. “And he said, well, I can’t really hit yet,” Weckerlin recalls. “… He’s a scrawny little kid in high school and, and I’m thinking, the first thought was, he was too nervous to hit. And we said, oh, okay, but don’t worry. We are all going to go out and have fun today and he’s like ‘No. No, you don’t understand. I can’t hit, because they’re still on the green.” Sure enough, Cameron proceeded to drive the green and birdie the first hole. He drove the second, as well, and made eagle. Weckerlin looked at his partner, smiled and said, in understatement, “This is going to be a good day.” But the best part for him was getting to know the Champ family, a friendship that has endured for a decade. After Cameron turned pro and decided to start a foundation, the family asked Weckerlin to serve as its chairman of the board. The organization is dedicated to unlocking the potential in the lives of young people in underserved and underrepresented communities. The MCI, which was in the works before the COVID-19 pandemic and had to be postponed for a year, is one way to help. Cameron remembers playing in a similar event for minority golfers called the Bill Dickey Invitational when he was growing up. “So, when my grandfather passed, we kind of thought, what could we do?” Cameron says. “Could we maybe start our own? It kind of went through our heads and why not? Let’s just try. So, we put it all together and it all the sponsors, volunteers, people around us — close family and friends — all came together, and we got it going.” Weckerlin said the group considered courses on the West coast – Champ is from Sacramento, California – and in Florida. But they settled on Texas, which is centrally located, and then zeroed in on Houston, where the TOUR pro now makes his home. The next piece of the puzzle was finding a golf course. So Weckerlin called Giles Kibbe, who is president of the Astros Golf Foundation, which is the sponsor and beneficiary of this week’s Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open. The Astros Golf Foundation also happened to have funded Tom Doak’s restoration and the overall renovation of Memorial Park, the sprawling municipal gem that hosts more than 60,000 rounds a year. Among the goals was to bring life to the downtown area and create opportunities for inner-city kids. “(I) said, hey, what do you think?” Weckerlin recalls. “This is what we’re trying to do. It seems like it’s really consistent with the whole point of remodeling and renovating Memorial Park to be able to do this sort of thing. “And he said, absolutely, give me the dates. And that was it. It’s one of those things where, you know, sometimes those things could have dragged out forever, but it took two seconds to say, yes, absolutely.” Even better was the reaction Kibbe, who played golf at Lamar University, had when he spent time with Weckerlin at the MCI in March. It wasn’t just the kids competing that drew him in, it was the friendships being developed and the networking among their families with shared goals. “He just shook his head and he said, ‘This is unbelievable,’” Weckerlin recalls. “The energy that’s out here and the parents and the people that are watching. “And so, we got to the last day of the tournament and he said, ‘Are you guys going to do this again?’ And I said, yeah, well, that’s the whole plan. And he said, ‘Well, is there, can we be part of it again?’” There are big plans for 2022, when the tournament will be held March 18-20 at Memorial Park. The junior-am that COVID scuttled earlier this year will finally be a part of the event, pairing a foursome of corporate leaders with one of the MCI kids. Jeff Champ and Weckerlin continue to seek MCI exemptions into other amateur events, as well. The MCI was a start, but everyone knows there is much work to be done. According to National Golf Foundation, only 18 percent of golfers today are non-Caucasian and just 3 percent are Black. And in 2020, only 2 percent of male and female golfers playing in the NCAA were Black. Even so, Weckerlin was filled with pride last summer when he played in the PURE Insurance Championship once again, and there were six juniors in the field who had played in the MCI at Memorial Park in March. He saw them hanging out together, and he saw how people were drawn to them. “And I had a big grin on my face because it just proved, it demonstrated kind of what we wanted out of the Mack Champ Invitational,” Weckerlin says. “We may not produce another Cameron, but if we can have a bunch of kids, show up, play golf, have a bunch of confidence and go on and play another tournament and get to know each other and make lifelong friends, that’s not a bad end result.”

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3rd Round 2-Balls - S. Lowry / L. Glover
Type: 3rd Round 2-Balls - Status: OPEN
Shane Lowry-135
Lucas Glover+115
3rd Round Match-Ups - S. Lowry vs J. Spieth
Type: 3rd Round Match-Ups - Status: OPEN
Shane Lowry-115
Jordan Spieth-105
3rd Round 2-Balls - A. Scott / S. Im
Type: 3rd Round 2-Balls - Status: OPEN
Sungjae Im-155
Adam Scott+130
3rd Round Match-Ups - D. McCarthy vs S. Im
Type: 3rd Round Match-Ups - Status: OPEN
Sungjae Im-115
Denny McCarthy-105
3rd Round Match-Ups - A. Scott vs S. Burns
Type: 3rd Round Match-Ups - Status: OPEN
Sam Burns-130
Adam Scott+110
3rd Round 2-Balls - S. Burns / A. Bhatia
Type: 3rd Round 2-Balls - Status: OPEN
Akshay Bhatia-120
Sam Burns+100
3rd Round 2-Balls - C. Kirk / A. Rai
Type: 3rd Round 2-Balls - Status: OPEN
Aaron Rai-175
Chris Kirk+145
JM Eagle LA Championship
Type: Winner - Status: OPEN
Minjee Lee+500
Ashleigh Buhai+550
Ingrid Lindblad+550
Jeeno Thitikul+900
Nelly Korda+1000
Lauren Coughlin+1200
Miyu Yamashita+1200
Jin Hee Im+1800
Sei Young Kim+1800
Akie Iwai+3000
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3rd Round 2-Balls - R. Hisatsune / T. Detry
Type: 3rd Round 2-Balls - Status: OPEN
Thomas Detry-115
Ryo Hisatsune-105
3rd Round 2-Balls - J. Spieth / D. Berger
Type: 3rd Round 2-Balls - Status: OPEN
Daniel Berger-120
Jordan Spieth+100
3rd Round 2-Balls - D. McCarthy / V. Hovland
Type: 3rd Round 2-Balls - Status: OPEN
Denny McCarthy-115
Viktor Hovland-105
3rd Round Match-Ups - X. Schauffele vs V. Hovland
Type: 3rd Round Match-Ups - Status: OPEN
Xander Schauffele-145
Viktor Hovland+120
3rd Round Score - Collin Morikawa
Type: 3rd Round Score - Status: OPEN
Over 68.5-110
Under 68.5-120
3rd Round Score - Xander Schauffele
Type: 3rd Round Score - Status: OPEN
Over 68.5-125
Under 68.5-105
3rd Round Score - Scottie Scheffler
Type: 3rd Round Score - Status: OPEN
Over 67.5-135
Under 67.5+105
3rd Round Score - Russell Henley
Type: 3rd Round Score - Status: OPEN
Over 68.5-150
Under 68.5+115
3rd Round Score - Tommy Fleetwood
Type: 3rd Round Score - Status: OPEN
Over 68.5-150
Under 68.5+115
3rd Round Score - Justin Thomas
Type: 3rd Round Score - Status: OPEN
Over 68.5-165
Under 68.5+125
3rd Round Score - Si Woo Kim
Type: 3rd Round Score - Status: OPEN
Under 69.5-145
Over 69.5+110
3rd Round Score - Brian Harman
Type: 3rd Round Score - Status: OPEN
Over 69.5+120
Under 69.5-155
3rd Round Score - Patrick Cantlay
Type: 3rd Round Score - Status: OPEN
Over 68.5-150
Under 68.5+115
3rd Round Score - Jason Day
Type: 3rd Round Score - Status: OPEN
Over 69.5+130
Under 69.5-170
3rd Round 2-Balls - X. Schauffele / M. Kuchar
Type: 3rd Round 2-Balls - Status: OPEN
Xander Schauffele-185
Matt Kuchar+150
3rd Round 2-Balls - M. Greyserman / B. Horschel
Type: 3rd Round 2-Balls - Status: OPEN
Billy Horschel-125
Max Greyserman+105
3rd Round 2-Balls - J. Day / S. Jaeger
Type: 3rd Round 2-Balls - Status: OPEN
Jason Day-140
Stephan Jaeger+120
3rd Round Match-Ups - J. Day vs W. Clark
Type: 3rd Round Match-Ups - Status: OPEN
Jason Day-125
Wyndham Clark+105
3rd Round 2-Balls - A. Baddeley / R. Hoey
Type: 3rd Round 2-Balls - Status: OPEN
Rico Hoey-200
Aaron Baddeley+220
Tie+750
3rd Round Six Shooter - J. Day / W. Clark / M. McNealy / B. Harman / SW Kim / K. Bradley
Type: 3rd Round Six Shooter - Status: OPEN
Jason Day+400
Wyndham Clark+400
Brian Harman+425
Maverick McNealy+425
Si Woo Kim+425
Keegan Bradley+450
3rd Round 2-Balls - M. Fitzpatrick / P. Cantlay
Type: 3rd Round 2-Balls - Status: OPEN
Patrick Cantlay-190
Matt Fitzpatrick+155
3rd Round Match-Ups - P. Cantlay vs J. Thomas
Type: 3rd Round Match-Ups - Status: OPEN
Patrick Cantlay-115
Justin Thomas-105
3rd Round Match-Ups - J.T. Poston vs M. Fitzpatrick
Type: 3rd Round Match-Ups - Status: OPEN
J.T. Poston-120
Matt Fitzpatrick+100
3rd Round 2-Balls - B. Martin / C. Ramey
Type: 3rd Round 2-Balls - Status: OPEN
Chad Ramey+100
Ben Martin+110
Tie+750
3rd Round Six Shooter - S. Scheffler / C. Morikawa / P. Cantlay / J. Thomas / R. Henley / T. Fleetwood
Type: 3rd Round Six Shooter - Status: OPEN
Scottie Scheffler+250
Collin Morikawa+375
Patrick Cantlay+450
Justin Thomas+500
Russell Henley+550
Tommy Fleetwood+550
3rd Round Six Shooter - JT Poston / M. Fitzpatrick / A. Novak / M. Hughes / R. Gerard / B. Campbell
Type: 3rd Round Six Shooter - Status: OPEN
JT Poston+350
Matt Fitzpatrick+375
Andrew Novak+425
Mackenzie Hughes+450
Ryan Gerard+450
Brian Campbell+550
3rd Round 2-Balls - S. Valimaki / K. Bradley
Type: 3rd Round 2-Balls - Status: OPEN
Keegan Bradley-140
Sami Valimaki+120
3rd Round Match-Ups - S.W. Kim vs K. Bradley
Type: 3rd Round Match-Ups - Status: OPEN
Si Woo Kim-115
Keegan Bradley-105
3rd Round 2-Balls - H. Hall / A. Tosti
Type: 3rd Round 2-Balls - Status: OPEN
Harry Hall-110
Alejandro Tosti+120
Tie+750
3rd Round 2-Balls - C. Davis / B. Campbell
Type: 3rd Round 2-Balls - Status: OPEN
Brian Campbell-110
Cam Davis-110
3rd Round Match-Ups - R. Gerard vs B. Campbell
Type: 3rd Round Match-Ups - Status: OPEN
Ryan Gerard-120
Brian Campbell+100
3rd Round Match-Ups - K. Vilips vs C. Davis
Type: 3rd Round Match-Ups - Status: OPEN
Cam Davis-130
Karl Vilips+110
3rd Round 2-Balls - S. Power / R. Hoshino
Type: 3rd Round 2-Balls - Status: OPEN
Seamus Power-125
Rikuya Hoshino+135
Tie+750
3rd Round 2-Balls - D. Skinns / Z. Blair
Type: 3rd Round 2-Balls - Status: OPEN
Zac Blair-110
David Skinns+120
Tie+750
3rd Round 2-Balls - K. Vilips / R. Gerard
Type: 3rd Round 2-Balls - Status: OPEN
Ryan Gerard-135
Karl Vilips+115
3rd Round 2-Balls - C. Morikawa / M. McNealy
Type: 3rd Round 2-Balls - Status: OPEN
Collin Morikawa-185
Maverick McNealy+150
3rd Round Match-Ups - M. McNealy vs B. Harman
Type: 3rd Round Match-Ups - Status: OPEN
Brian Harman-110
Maverick McNealy-110
3rd Round Match-Ups - S. Scheffler vs C. Morikawa
Type: 3rd Round Match-Ups - Status: OPEN
Scottie Scheffler-145
Collin Morikawa+120
3rd Round 2-Balls - W. Chandler / M. Wallace
Type: 3rd Round 2-Balls - Status: OPEN
Matt Wallace-185
Will Chandler+210
Tie+750
3rd Round 2-Balls - J.T. Poston / B. Harman
Type: 3rd Round 2-Balls - Status: OPEN
J.T. Poston-115
Brian Harman-105
3rd Round 2-Balls - K. Mitchell / M. NeSmith
Type: 3rd Round 2-Balls - Status: OPEN
Keith Mitchell-170
Matt NeSmith+185
Tie+750
3rd Round 2-Balls - S. Scheffler / W. Clark
Type: 3rd Round 2-Balls - Status: OPEN
Scottie Scheffler-260
Wyndham Clark+210
3rd Round 2-Balls - C. Kim / D. Wu
Type: 3rd Round 2-Balls - Status: OPEN
Chan Kim-135
Dylan Wu+150
Tie+750
3rd Round 2-Balls - T. Fleetwood / M. Hughes
Type: 3rd Round 2-Balls - Status: OPEN
Tommy Fleetwood-155
Mackenzie Hughes+130
3rd Round Match-Ups - R. Henley vs T. Fleetwood
Type: 3rd Round Match-Ups - Status: OPEN
Russell Henley-115
Tommy Fleetwood-105
3rd Round Match-Ups - A. Novak vs M. Hughes
Type: 3rd Round Match-Ups - Status: OPEN
Andrew Novak-115
Mackenzie Hughes-105
3rd Round 2-Balls - C. Hoffman / M. Thorbjornsen
Type: 3rd Round 2-Balls - Status: OPEN
Charley Hoffman+105
Michael Thorbjornsen+105
Tie+750
3rd Round 2-Balls - R. Henley / A. Novak
Type: 3rd Round 2-Balls - Status: OPEN
Russell Henley-170
Andrew Novak+145
3rd Round 2-Balls - J. Dahmen / G. Higgo
Type: 3rd Round 2-Balls - Status: OPEN
Joel Dahmen+100
Garrick Higgo+110
Tie+750
3rd Round 2-Balls - J. Thomas / S.W. Kim
Type: 3rd Round 2-Balls - Status: OPEN
Justin Thomas-150
Si Woo Kim+125
3rd Round 2 Balls - N. Korda v M. Katsu
Type: 3rd Round 2 Balls - Status: OPEN
Nelly Korda-190
Minami Katsu+210
Tie+750
3rd Round 2 Balls - J. Thitikul v P. Delacour
Type: 3rd Round 2 Balls - Status: OPEN
Jeeno Thitikul-275
Perrine Delacour+290
Tie+800
3rd Round 2 Balls - A. Lee v P. Anannarukarn
Type: 3rd Round 2 Balls - Status: OPEN
Pajaree Anannarukarn+100
Andrea Lee+110
Tie+750
3rd Round 2 Balls - L. Coughlin v Y. Liu
Type: 3rd Round 2 Balls - Status: OPEN
Lauren Coughlin-190
Yan Liu+210
Tie+750
3rd Round 2 Balls - M. Lee v M. Yamashita
Type: 3rd Round 2 Balls - Status: OPEN
Minjee Lee-105
Miyu Yamashita+115
Tie+750
3rd Round 2 Balls - A. Buhai v I. Lindblad
Type: 3rd Round 2 Balls - Status: OPEN
Ashleigh Buhai+100
Ingrid Lindblad+110
Tie+750
Volvo China Open
Type: Winner - Status: OPEN
Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra+225
Haotong Li+225
Kiradech Aphibarnrat+600
Zecheng Dou+800
Yannik Paul+1100
Jordan Smith+1200
Tapio Pulkkanen+1200
Ashun Wu+6500
Jacob Skov Olesen+6500
Sam Bairstow+6500
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Final Round 2 Ball - E. Smylie v MK Kim
Type: Final Round 2 Ball - Status: OPEN
Minkyu Kim-105
Elvis Smylie+115
Tie+750
Final Round 2 Ball - A. Wu v J. Smith
Type: Final Round 2 Ball - Status: OPEN
Jordan Smith-150
Ashun Wu+165
Tie+750
Final Round 2 Ball - T. Pulkkanen v Z. Dou
Type: Final Round 2 Ball - Status: OPEN
Zecheng Dou-105
Tapio Pulkkanen+115
Tie+750
Final Round 2 Ball - Y. Paul v K. Aphibarnrat
Type: Final Round 2 Ball - Status: OPEN
Kiradech Aphibarnrat+100
Yannik Paul+110
Tie+750
Final Round 2 Ball - H. Li v E. Lopez-Chacarra
Type: Final Round 2 Ball - Status: OPEN
Haotong Li-105
Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra+115
Tie+750
Major Specials 2025
Type: To Win A Major 2025 - Status: OPEN
Scottie Scheffler+160
Bryson DeChambeau+350
Xander Schauffele+350
Ludvig Aberg+400
Collin Morikawa+450
Jon Rahm+450
Brooks Koepka+700
Justin Thomas+700
Viktor Hovland+700
Hideki Matsuyama+800
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PGA Championship 2025
Type: Winner - Status: OPEN
Rory McIlroy+500
Scottie Scheffler+500
Bryson DeChambeau+1400
Ludvig Aberg+1400
Xander Schauffele+1400
Jon Rahm+1800
Collin Morikawa+2000
Brooks Koepka+2500
Justin Thomas+2500
Viktor Hovland+2500
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US Open 2025
Type: Winner - Status: OPEN
Rory McIlroy+500
Scottie Scheffler+500
Bryson DeChambeau+1200
Xander Schauffele+1200
Jon Rahm+1400
Ludvig Aberg+1400
Collin Morikawa+1600
Brooks Koepka+1800
Viktor Hovland+2000
Justin Thomas+2500
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The Open 2025
Type: Winner - Status: OPEN
Rory McIlroy+500
Scottie Scheffler+550
Xander Schauffele+1100
Ludvig Aberg+1400
Collin Morikawa+1600
Jon Rahm+1600
Bryson DeChambeau+2000
Shane Lowry+2500
Tommy Fleetwood+2500
Tyrrell Hatton+2500
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Ryder Cup 2025
Type: Winner - Status: OPEN
USA-150
Europe+140
Tie+1200

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Justin Thomas leads McIlroy, Poulter at World Golf Championship-Bridgestone InvitationalJustin Thomas leads McIlroy, Poulter at World Golf Championship-Bridgestone Invitational

AKRON, Ohio – It was almost a year ago that Justin Thomas won his first major. After shooting a 67 in the third round of the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone South, he takes a three-shot lead into Sunday in a tournament that’s starting to take on a major championship hue. “I just think this golf course in general kind of has a major championship feel,â€� said Thomas, who hit 9 of 14 fairways, 13 of 18 greens and a tidy 28 putts. “This place could host a major in a heartbeat if it all worked out.â€� With sun baking fairways and greens, the field averaged 70.197 on Firestone on Saturday, the first time players have averaged over par this week. And the big names right behind Thomas only added to the major-worthy vibe: Rory McIlroy (67) and Ian Poulter (70) are three back. Jason Day (69) is just four behind. “The course is drying up a lot,â€� said Poulter, 42, who admitted he was surprised by the transformation. Thomas, 25, and McIlroy, 29, who have 22 PGA TOUR victories between them, have each won the FedExCup and held the No. 1 world ranking. Day is also a former world No. 1. Day and Thomas will be going for their third win this season; McIlroy is aiming for his second. “I finished second way too many times this year—and third, whatever,â€� said McIlroy, who won the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard in March. “… I’ll need a good round, I’m still a few behind, but yeah, I’m getting a little sick of the second places.â€� Day has unfinished business here. He had the lead with three holes to play but bogeyed 15 and double-bogeyed 16 to open the door for winner Dustin Johnson in ’16. The Australian’s 69 on Saturday was in spite of some erratic play off the tee, as he hit just four fairways. “I’ll just tidy that up for tomorrow,â€� Day said. “I think I know what I need to do. I’m going to go to the range and kind of work on it a little bit.â€� How far back is too far? At last year’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Hideki Matsuyama went into the final round two shots behind Zach Johnson and Thomas Pieters but shot 61 to win by five. In light of that, it might be wise to keep an eye on Marc Leishman (67) and Kyle Stanley (70), each 9 under and five back, and even Rickie Fowler (65, low round of the day) or Jon Rahm (68), six off the lead. “I don’t think I’m too far back,â€� Leishman said.   Thomas is five for seven at converting a 54-hole lead or co-lead into a victory. After capturing the FedExCup in 2017, he is still adjusting to new expectations and up-and-down results. No one has gone back-to-back since the inception of the FedExCup in 2007, and he got off to a strong start in his title defense. He won THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES in his second start of the season, and The Honda Classic in February. He is second only to Dustin Johnson in the FedExCup. This summer, though, has been up and down. Thomas missed the cut at The Open Championship (69-77), finished T25 at the U.S. Open, and was T56 at the Travelers Championship.    “It feels like I haven’t won in forever,â€� he said earlier this week. After winning the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow a year ago, he is used to playing well this time of year, and used to tough courses. Firestone, which yielded a first-round 62 to Poulter, showed its teeth Saturday, when drier, harder greens prompted a mid-round confab between Thomas and his caddie, Jimmy Johnson, as they walked toward the fifth tee. “It was like, ‘Hey, we can’t just kind of, ‘See pin, hit pin’ anymore,â€� Thomas said. “‘We need to focus where we’re landing it, we need to be a lot more cognizant of that.’â€� With more hot, sunny weather in the forecast, there may be more of the same Sunday. As for playing with McIlroy, Thomas said he was looking forward to it. The two practiced together some back home in Jupiter, Fla., last week, but this will be different. “I’m sure we’ll chat here and there between shots,â€� Thomas said, “but he’s out there doing his thing and I’m out here doing mine.â€� Thomas is second in the FedExCup, McIlroy 24th, Poulter 34th. With so much of the focus on the young superstars, Poulter, who will join Day in the penultimate twosome, could sneak in and take his second TOUR title this year. Two of his three TOUR wins came at WGCs, at the 2010 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and the 2012 WGC-HSBC Champions. “Three out of four would be amazing,â€� Poulter said. “I’m going to need some inspiration from Thursday, going clean (bogey-free), not making any mistakes and just having fun. I’m in a great position; I’m enjoying my golf.â€� With a leaderboard topped by Thomas, McIlroy, Poulter and Day; Fowler and Rahm lurking not far behind; and Firestone keeping them on their toes, we’re certainly enjoying watching it.

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Monday FinishMonday Finish

Welcome to the Monday Finish where we salute one win drought being broken and commiserate with another one that just got a little longer and more heartbreaking. Here’s five observations from the Quicken Loans National where Kyle Stanley outlasted Charles Howell III in a sudden death playoff after both men made a Sunday charge. 1. When Kyle Stanley opened his Sunday with a bogey you’d be hard pressed to believe he would be the man holding the trophy at the end of the day. While he’d fashioned a nice little season thus far with four top-10s including a T4 at THE PLAYERS and T6 at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Stanley had been out of the winner’s circle for over five years. When he claimed the 2012 Waste Management Phoenix Open he looked set to be a young star but it did not work out that way. Sharing tine on the web.com Tour came soon after and he’d been without a top-10 on TOUR for two years before this season. But he was able to beat out some nerves down the stretch, finding five birdies and then most notably making a clutch up and down for par on the 17th hole Sunday. He was clearly emotional after his journey back. 2. The youth brigade rolls on. Stanley, at 29, makes it 20 wins this season for players in their 20s. Golf used to be about biding your time in your 20s, learning the ropes (unless your name was Tiger Woods) and gaining the experience necessary to surge ahead in your 30s – the prime years. 20 is well and truly the new 30. There is no fear amongst the youth on the TOUR. They see each other win and are fired up to replicate. It’s great to see such depth… the future of the game is certainly bright. 3. It was interesting to see TPC Potomac take over as the toughest test (in relation to par) this season. The winning score of 7-under becomes the highest winning mark of the season and just the second in single digits under par after Sergio Garcia’s 9-under at the Masters. Just two weeks after the usually brutal U.S. Open was won at 16-under we saw a return to pars being crucial. Just 25 players ended the week under par with super hard greens and tight driving lines and tough rough a real feature. 4. Charles Howell III now has 294 starts since his last win at the 2007 Genesis Open. He has had 47 top-10s in that span and has banked $18,917,871.60. On this occasion, he was returning from a nine-week injury layoff (rib) and appeared set for the drought breaking win when he rolled in an eagle on the drivable par-4 14th hole. But his last hole birdie look just slid by and when his par attempt on the first hole of sudden death on the same green did the same Stanley shut the door on him. Of course his relative success means the situation is not too heartbreaking – but you still have to feel for him. Particularly as this Augusta born 28-year-old hasn’t played the Masters since 2012, and would have booked a return with a win. 5. Howell III did however book a place at the upcoming Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on July 20-23. It will be his first time back since 2012. As the first PGA TOUR event of the Open Qualifying Series, the Quicken Loans determined Open Championship berths for the top four players finishing in the top 12 who weren’t otherwise exempt. Winner Stanley and Howell III were joined by Scotland’s Martin Laird and Sung Kang, who got the nod out of an eight-way tie for fifth thanks to his superior world ranking. The hard luck story was certainly Spencer Levin. He could have booked a spot if his eight-foot par putt on 18 had of gone down. Instead it horseshoed out dramatically for a costly bogey. Levin will get another chance at next week’s Greenbrier Classic. FIVE INSIGHTS 1. Kyle Stanley moved from 38th to 14th in the FedExCup standings, ranking inside the top-15 in the standings for the 24th week in his career. This marked the first time Stanley has ranked inside the top-15 of the FedExCup standings since week #28 of the 2012 PGA TOUR season. Stanley finished 31st that year, narrowly missing the TOUR Championship. He has yet to make it to Atlanta in his career. 2. Stanley becomes the fifth player to rank first in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and go on to win this season. He outperformed the field by +1.467 strokes per round. Stanley gained strokes on 43 of 56 tee shots this week. Stanley’s SG: Off-the-Tee performance was his third best performance in an event of his career and the second best by a winner on TOUR this season behind Justin Thomas at the Sony Open. The winner ranked tied third in Driving Accuracy hitting 71.4% of his fairways compared to the field average of 56.8%. Stanley led the field for Greens in Regulation for the fourth time in his career and the second time in his last three events on TOUR. Stanley has hit 157 of 216 GIR’s (72.7%) in his last three starts. 3. Stanley was able to overcome an average putting performance to win. He ranked 52nd in Strokes Gained: Putting losing -0.276 strokes per round to the field. It marks just the second time this season a player has lost strokes in SG: Putting and gone on to win (Jason Dufner – the Memorial). 4. Rickie Fowler’s nine birdies in the final round represented a career high, and his T3 finish was his seventh top-10 finish of the season, including his win at The Honda Classic. It was also his third top-five finish in his last four starts. 5. Reigning U.S. Amateur champion Curtis Luck finished in an eight-way tie for fifth, marking his first top-10 finish in six professional starts on TOUR. It gets him into next week’s Greenbrier Classic. Now with 112 Non-Member points Luck is chasing 319 points to score special temporary membership but more likely now sits on the cusp of getting a start in the web.com Tour playoffs later this season. He needs to beat the 200th ranked player in the FedExCup to get a start. He currently would be ranked 170th with seven weeks left. Top Three Videos 1. How would you react if your military father showed up on the 18th green with Rickie Fowler? 2. Martin Laird looked stuffed after a wayward drive on the 14th. But you should never give up … 3. Keegan Bradley with the walk off eagle. He literally walks off!

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