Matt Kuchar relies on experience at Mayakoba Golf Classic

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The Dallas area’s longtime PGA TOUR stop enters a new era with its move to Trinity Forest Golf Club, as Jordan Spieth hopes a change of venue might produce his first victory in his hometown event. Sergio Garcia, a two-time Nelson champion and now Texas resident, also returns to test the treeless new layout along with Marc Leishman and Matt Kuchar. Billy Horschel is defending champion, coming three weeks after teaming with Scott Piercy to win in New Orleans. FIELD NOTES: Hideki Matsuyama tees it up for the first time at the Byron Nelson, marking just his second start in Texas other than the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. He also played Colonial in 2014. … In all, Trinity Forest welcomes five of the top 25 in the world rankings to its coming-out party. … Chilean teen Joaquin Niemann is set for his third professional start. The last time he teed it up in Texas, he was sixth at the Valero Texas Open. … Maverick McNealy, also a former world No. 1 amateur, takes his first sponsor exemption since the West Coast Swing. He’s coming off a third-place finish at the Web.com Tour’s United Leasing & Finance Championship. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points. STORYLINES: The curiosity factor is high for Trinity Forest, once a landfill in Dallas’ southwest quadrant that was renovated by the renowned Ben Crenshaw/Bill Coore design tandem. It’s a dramatic change from its former home at TPC Four Seasons, with native grasses and push-up greens as dominant features. … Spieth, winless since last year’s Open Championship despite four top-3 finishes, again seeks his first Nelson win. His best finish remains a share of 16th as a 16-year-old in 2010; he missed the cut last year. … Garcia sets out again to join Sam Snead and Tom Watson as the only three-time winners of the event. … Horschel’s victory made it 12 of the final 18 winners at TPC Four Seasons to shoot all four rounds in the 60s. What will Trinity Forest bring? … The top 60 in the world rankings after Sunday’s conclusion receive automatic berths into next month’s U.S. Open. Charles Howell III is among those trying to break into the club at No. 61. COURSE: Trinity Forest Golf Club, 7,380 yards, par 71. Built over 160 acres of sand-capped landfill in Dallas’ southwest quadrant, Trinity Forest begins the tournament’s new chapter after leaving the northern suburbs. The name’s something of a misnomer, as there’s not a tree on the layout – resembling more of a windswept rolling meadow that gives off a links feel. Most striking is a double green serving Nos. 3 and 11, one of the largest in North America at roughly 35,000 square feet. Opened in 2016, Trinity Forest also is home to the SMU golf teams. 72-HOLE RECORD: 259, Steven Bowditch (2015 at TPC Four Seasons). Note: Rory Sabbatini’s 19-under-par 261 in 2009 is the lowest against par; Bowditch was 18-under after heavy rain turned TPC Four Seasons into a par-69 layout for the final three rounds. 18-HOLE RECORD: 60, Arron Oberholser (2nd round, 2006 at Cottonwood Valley GC), Keegan Bradley (1st round, 2013 at TPC Four Seasons). LAST YEAR: Horschel dispatched Jason Day in a playoff to end a 2 ½-year winless drought, secured when Day stunningly missed a 4-foot par putt on the first extra hole. Horschel, Day and James Hahn battled down the back nine at TPC Four Seasons, with Hahn briefly taking the lead until dropping back with three consecutive bogeys. Horschel’s 59-foot birdie at No. 14 brought him even with Day, only to see the Aussie chip in at No. 15 to regain the lead. Horschel pulled even again with a birdie at No. 16, and they parred out until Horschel birdied the playoff hole. Horschel’s fourth PGA TOUR victory might have been his most unexpected, having missed four straight cuts before arriving. It also was his most emotional, with news a day later that wife Brittany had just celebrated one year of sobriety after seeking help for alcoholism. HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 4-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. (featured groups), 4-7 p.m. (featured holes). Saturday-Sunday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. (featured groups). RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 1-7 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).

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GREENSBORO, N.C. – Josh Teater started the week off by throwing out the first pitch on Monday at the Greensboro Grasshoppers game. He has skills, too. The ball caught the right corner of home plate for a strike. “They let me go out to the rubber, which you usually don’t see,â€� Teater said. “Brought back some old memories from the baseball days.â€� “He definitely threw some heat,â€� the Grasshoppers posted with the video of the pitch on Facebook. On Thursday, Teater was still wearing the cap he got at the game when he shot 64 in the first round of the Wyndham Championship. The round of 6 under left him just two strokes off the lead. There’s a lot at stake at Sedgefield Country Club this week, to be sure. Teater, who came into the week ranked 165th in the FedExCup, likely needs a finish of solo third or better to make the Playoffs and secure his PGA TOUR card for the 2019-20 season. He’s been playing better of late, though, with a tie for sixth at the Barbasol Championship in his hometown of Lexington, Kentucky, two weeks ago, where he shot 21 under on a course not unlike Sedgefield where you have to go low. He also shared 13th at last week’s Barracuda Championship. In fact, Teater has made the cut on seven of his last eight starts – after missing 10 of his first 15 starts through the AT&T Byron Nelson. The upswing started when he parlayed a sponsor’s exemption into a tie for 17th at the Charles Schwab Challenge that was his best of the year until the last two weeks. “Just trying to keep being patient,â€� Teater said. “I think after Byron Nelson I was kind of at a low point, like what am I going to do, and since then I’ve turned it around in a considerable way. Colonial was a huge tournament for me getting an exemption and playing well. “Yeah, just trying to not make too much of it, you know. These hot summer days, not staying out here practicing for two and three hours, going and getting off my feet and relaxing and trying to be fresh.â€� Teater, a big Kentucky fan who played collegiately at Morehead State, opened with three straight birdies on Thursday and ended up with a 30 on the front nine. He was resilient on the back nine, following a double bogey on the 14th with a 13-foot eagle putt at the next. “That’s probably the hardest hole, 14,â€� Teater said. “I mean, no reason for me not to make a bogey there, I just three-putted from the front fringe. “But we had a nice little break there, got to sit in one of the nice comfortable Wyndham chairs and kind of get it out of my mind. Obviously, a little bounce back.â€� Teater finished his round off with a flourish when he holed a bunker shot at No. 18 for a final birdie. Teater, who was a fully-exempt TOUR member from 2010-14, got his card back through the Korn Ferry Tour for this season. He needs to finish 150th or better in the FedExCup to be conditionally exempt and inside the top 125 to secure full playing privileges. This week, the 40-year-old Teater isn’t worrying about the numbers. He’s just trying to play his best golf and stay patient. “It’s the hardest part of the game,â€� Teater said. “We’re all capable of winning every week and rarely do we do it. I’ve been out here almost 10 years and haven’t done it, so it would be a good time for it.â€�

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