A look back at Tiger Woods’ 2019 victory and a look ahead to everything you need to know about when and if the 2020 Masters will be played.
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Webb Simpson finally deciphered Augusta National Golf Club during the weekend of last year’s Masters Tournament, turning in a then-career-low 67 in the final round to shoot consecutive rounds under par for the first time in seven appearances. You wouldn’t have known it, however, by the way he began this year’s Masters, putting up middling scores of 72 and 71. Chalk it up to a balky putter, something Simpson managed to solve on Saturday as he worked his way into final-round contention for the first time at Augusta.
The RSM Classic is the final PGA TOUR event of the year, bringing the fall schedule to a close in the idyllic seaside setting of Sea Island Resort in St. Simons Island, Georgia. Robert Streb returns to defend last year’s win, the second of his career and second at Sea Island. He’ll have to fend off a top-notch field to collect The RSM hat trick, including plenty of Sea Island residents who are full of local knowledge and hungry to win in front of a home crowd. FIELD NOTES: Scottie Scheffler hopes his hot play — including a course-record 62 in the second round of the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open and fourth-place finish in the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba — continues at Sea Island… Each of the last six winners of The RSM Classic are returning… Some of the major champs in the field include Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen, Jason Day, Jimmy Walker, and Webb Simpson, who lost in a playoff at Sea Island in 2019. This is Scott’s debut at Sea Island… Fellow major winners and FedExCup champions in the field include Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson… Tournament host Davis Love III will play once again this year after sitting on the sidelines last season due to a neck injury. Love also is the U.S. captain for the 2022 Presidents Cup… Sponsor exemptions including Vaughn Taylor, Camilo Villegas, Ludvig Adberg and Davis Thompson… Villegas was part of a five-man playoff at the 2016 RSM Classic, which Mackenzie Hughes won after play was extended to Monday because of darkness. Villegas also was the first-round leader at last year’s RSM, eventually finishing T6… Aberg, the world’s third-ranked amateur, is a junior at Texas Tech. He recently played the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, where he opened with back-to-back 68s before fading to T51… Thompson is the son of The RSM Classic’s tournament director, Todd Thompson. Davis represented the United States in this year’s Walker Cup and finished second in the PGA TOUR University ranking. He recently finished T39 at Korn Ferry Tour Q-School to earn guaranteed starts for 2022. He also finished T23 in the 2019 RSM while still an amateur… There are a ton of guys in the field who call Sea Island home including U.S. Ryder Cup team member Harris English, Patton Kizzire, J.T. Poston, Keith Mitchell, Hudson Swafford, and Greyson Sigg. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points. COURSE: Sea Island Resort (Seaside), 7,005 yards, par 70; Sea Island Resort (Plantation), 7,060 yards, par 72. Yardage subject to change. Tom Fazio redid the Seaside Course, an oceanside links-style layout, in 1999, while tournament host Davis Love III and his brother Mark redesigned the Plantation Course, which weaves through low-country marshland, for 2019. STORYLINES: The last three RSM Classics have gone into a playoff. In fact, six of the 11 tournaments at Sea Island needed extra holes… Streb became the first two-time winner of The RSM Classic when he won last year. Five of the 10 winners at Sea Island made the tournament their first PGA TOUR victory… This fall has been dominated by international winners, with players from outside the United States winning five of the first seven tournaments of the season… Despite the fact that there are a ton of TOUR pros who call Sea Island home, none have won The RSM Classic… Can Webb Simpson finally win The RSM Classic? The 2018 PLAYERS Champion has had four top-10s at Sea Island, including two playoff losses. 72-HOLE RECORD: 260, Kevin Kisner (2015) 18-HOLE RECORD: 60, Tommy Gainey (4th round, 2012) LAST TIME: Rober Streb won his second PGA TOUR title, six years after he claimed his maiden TOUR victory at Sea Island. Streb took down Kevin Kisner on the second hole of their sudden-death playoff after Streb knocked a wedge to within inches. Streb held the 36- and 54-hole leads and shot a solid 2-under 68 on Sunday. Kisner zipped up the leaderboard with a 7-under 63 – he erased a five-shot deficit by notching five birdies in his first 10 holes Sunday – to finish tied with Streb at 19 under. The breakthrough victory came after nearly a half-decade of struggles for Streb, who had finished outside the top 125 on the FedExCup from 2018 to 2020. Cameron Tringale finished third after a Sunday 62 – the round of the day. Bernd Wiesberger, a member of this year’s European Ryder Cup team, and Andrew Landry rounded out the top five. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-3 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-4 p.m. (Golf Channel). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. (Featured Groups) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).
FedExCup points leader Bryson DeChambeau headlines the 30-man field that will determine the season champion, as the FedExCup Playoffs once again wrap at Atlanta’s historic East Lake Golf Club. Justin Rose, Tony Finau, Dustin Johnson and defending champion Justin Thomas round out the five players who can lay claim to the $10 million end-of-season bonus simply by winning the TOUR Championship. For everyone else, a little – or a lot – of assistance is required. FIELD NOTES Tiger Woods returns to postseason finale for the first time since 2013, when Henrik Stenson’s victory at East Lake allowed him to leapfrog Woods to the top of the standings. Woods will begin this week at No. 20. … Phil Mickelson is set for his 20th TOUR Championship start, extending his own record. He’ll also become the first man to reach 45 FedExCup Playoffs starts. … Jordan Spieth wound up 31st in FedExCup points, one below the cutoff. … Aaron Wise, winner of the AT&T Byron Nelson in May, is the only rookie to reach the final playoff stop this season. FEDEXCUP Winner receives 2,000 points. STORYLINES DeChambeau, who won both The Northern Trust and Dell Technologies Championship to start the Playoffs, seeks to become the first since Woods in 2009 to win from the No. 1 seed entering East Lake. If not, he’ll join McIlroy (2012) and Jason Day (2015) to win two of the first three Playoffs events but not the big prize. … The annual East Lake points reset gives everyone a mathematical shot at taking the crown. For No. 30 Patton Kizzire to win, though, DeChambeau would have to place in the bottom two at East Lake. … No. 5 Thomas, No. 9 Billy Horschel and No. 17 McIlroy have a chance to join Woods as the only two-time winner of the FedExCup crown. … Woods also can become the FedExCup’s first three-time winner, though he’ll need a win at East Lake, DeChambeau to finish no better than a share of 15th and other help. … BMW Championship winner Keegan Bradley stands No. 6, joining McIlroy (2016) as the only men to win one of the first three Playoffs stops but still needing help at East Lake to win the overall title. COURSE East Lake Golf Club, 7,385 yards, par 70. A Tom Bendelow design when it opened in 1908 as the Atlanta Athletic Club’s original home, the course got an overhaul just five years later by Donald Ross. It’s best known as the place where Bobby Jones learned the game, shooting 80 by age 11 and later stamping his name in history by completing the 1930 Grand Slam. East Lake welcomed the 1950 U.S. Women’s Amateur and 1963 Ryder Cup before a decaying neighborhood sent members moving to the northern suburbs. The AAC itself followed in 1967, leaving East Lake in the hands of 25 members opposed to the move. The club managed to hold on for a quarter-century before a 1993 project was launched to restore the club as a tribute to Jones. The TOUR Championship came to East Lake for the first time in 1998, becoming the annual host in 2004. For those visiting the Atlanta area, must-play courses include Bear’s Best Atlanta (Suwanee, Ga.), the Fazio Course at Barnsley Resort (Adairsville, Ga.) and Heritage Golf Links (Tucker, Ga.). Explore your options at TeeOff.com. 72-HOLE RECORD 257, Tiger Woods (2007). 18-HOLE RECORD 60, Zach Johnson (3rd round, 2007). LAST YEAR The TOUR Championship saw just its third split ceremony of the FedExCup era, with Thomas taking the $10 million season prize despite rookie Xander Schauffele winning the tournament. Thomas finished second on the leaderboard, carding birdies on two of his final three holes to finish off a 4-under 66. But that left him one stroke behind Schauffele, whose 68 was good enough to become the first rookie to win the season finale. It was his second win of the season, joining his win at the Military Tribute at The Greenbrier triumph in June. Thomas’ runner-up placement made him an easy winner of the points race, finishing 660 points ahead of No. 2 Jordan Spieth. East Lake’s closing ceremony had not crowned two winners since 2009, when Mickelson captured the tournament but Woods walked away with top FedExCup spoils. HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 1-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 12:30-2:30 p.m. (GC), 2:30-6:30 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, noon-1:30 p.m. (GC), 1:30-6 p.m. (NBC). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. (featured groups), 1-6 p.m. (featured holes). Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (featured holes). Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (featured holes). RADIO: Thursday-Friday, noon-6 p.m.; Saturday, 1-6:30 p.m.; Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).
