Na takes 1-shot Colonial lead with 90-foot chip

Will Brooks Koepka successfully defend his title? Or will somebody else claim the $2 million bonus? The second season of the Wyndham Rewards Top 10 race begins with this week’s season-opening event, A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier. The top 10 players in the FedExCup standings after the final event of the regular season, the Wyndham Championship, will receive bonuses out of the $10 million total pool. Related: WYNDHAM REWARDS TOP 10: How it works, standings, more Koepka claimed first place last season to enter the FedExCup Playoffs as the top seed. Eventual FedExCup champ Rory McIlroy finished second, followed by Matt Kuchar, Xander Schauffele, Gary Woodland, Patrick Cantlay, Dustin Johnson, Paul Casey, Webb Simpson and Jon Rahm in the 10th spot. We asked our PGATOUR.COM writers for their predictions for the 2019-20 season – the winner, the top 10 lock, and a surprise choice. Here are their responses: WHO WILL WIN? MIKE McALLISTER (Managing Editor): Justin Thomas. He finished second in regular-season points in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons before dropping to 17th last season while battling a nagging wrist injury. He showed in the Playoffs that he’s back to full strength. SEAN MARTIN (Senior Editor): Rory McIlroy. He’s coming off the most consistent season of his career, and there’s no reason to think he won’t have a strong follow-up to his FedExCup victory. BEN EVERILL (Staff Writer): Brooks Koepka. The sting of defeat to Rory in the FedExCup finale will fuel another regular-season rise for Brooks, leaving him as the winner of the first two Wyndham Rewards titles.  CAMERON MORFIT (Staff Writer): Rory McIlroy. Upon winning the FedExCup, McIlroy said it was a season in which he easily could have won more. I agree. It was almost a fluke that he didn’t, and I think that little edge, that little swagger that comes from being the only other multiple FedExCup winner besides Tiger, puts him over the top as your year two Wyndham Rewards winner.  TOP 10 LOCK? McALLISTER: Dustin Johnson. Yes, I’m aware he’s having off-season knee surgery. And yes, I’m assuming he’ll make a quick recovery. He’s finished in the regular-season top 10 in the last six seasons. I fully expect him to make it seven straight. MARTIN: Justin Thomas. A wrist injury and some of the worst putting of his career didn’t prevent him from finishing third in this season’s FedExCup Playoffs. He’s won nine times over the past three seasons, and I think he’s primed for another big season. EVERILL: Rory McIlroy. There’s no way McIlroy is going backwards in my eyes after his season. So that means he’ll either be second again or beat out my above choice, Brooks.  MORFIT: Brooks Koepka. It was no accident that Koepka was the inaugural Wyndham Rewards winner. He’s so good from tee to green, thrives on the big stage, and is a great putter, besides. There’s no way he won’t make the top 10.  SURPRISE TOP 10 PICK? McALLISTER: Sungjae Im. Don’t know if it would be a huge surprise, given that he was 23rd in points in his rookie season last year. Once again, he’ll likely play more events than anybody else (and thus, gives himself more opportunities for points). Unlike last season, I expect him to win at least one tournament this time. That should push him inside the top 10. MARTIN: Viktor Hovland. He’s a machine, and as a rookie playing out of the Korn Ferry Tour category, he’ll have inspiration to play a lot early. EVERILL: Cameron Smith. After a few seasons of peaks and valleys, the young Australian will finally figure out a way to play solid all season long. He will springboard into 2020 off the back of a great Presidents Cup performance.  MORFIT: Matthew Wolff. This guy is only going to get more comfortable and more dangerous as he gets used to playing the TOUR. And he’s already plenty dangerous.

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NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. — Brittany Lincicome walked off the 18th green after her first PGA TOUR event to applause before stopping on the way to the clubhouse to sign autographs and acknowledge spectators’ warm wishes. The LPGA Tour player made sure to savor every moment of a historic weekend she wished could have lasted longer. “I would’ve liked to have shot better (Thursday),” said Lincicome, who missed the cut at the Barbasol Championship after shooting a 1-under 71 on Saturday. She failed in her bid to become the first female player since 1945 to make the cut in a PGA TOUR event. “Obviously, today was a pretty nice day, so I guess ending with today’s round is a good way to leave.” Meanwhile, the crowd atop the leaderboard includes one of Lincicome’s playing partners. Robert Streb, six-time PGA TOUR winner Hunter Mahan, Tom Lovelady and Troy Merritt shared the lead at 18 under after a busy day in which much of the field had to complete the rain-delayed first round before starting the second. Merritt tied the course with a first-round 62 on Thursday. “I just tried to keep pace today,” Streb said after shooting 63 with nine birdies. “Obviously, the scores were very low, you get to place the ball and the greens are holding. Everybody’s making a bunch of birdies and I’m just trying to keep up and have a chance tomorrow.” Sam Ryder — who played with Lincicome — and Blayne Barber each shot 63, and Billy Horschel had a 69 to stand within a stroke of the lead. Richy Werenski and Cameron Percy were two behind, J.T. Poston was 15 under, and four more — including Hall of Famer Davis Love III — were within reach at 14 under. Attention before that focused on how Lincicome would finish with her chance of making golf history out of reach. The eight-time LPGA Tour winner with two major titles was the first woman since Michelle Wie in 2008 to play in a PGA TOUR event. Lincicome had sought to join Babe Zaharias (1945) as the only women to make the cut. Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam and Suzy Whaley have also played in PGA TOUR events. Lincicome faced a huge hurdle after an opening 78 left her near the bottom of the field. She had six birdies in Saturday’s rain-delayed second round at Champions Trace at Keene Trace Golf Club, highlighted by an eagle-3 at 17. “I thought I hit it a little short,” Lincicome added. “I thought it was going to spin back a little bit on me. Then when it landed I was like, OK, it’s on top and then it rolled back and I was like, `Oh, my gosh.’ The highlight of my week.” Lincicome also had consecutive birdies on the sixth, seventh and eighth holes before another on No. 10. But her round included six bogeys, including three on the final four holes, and she finished at 5 over 149. Playing partner Conrad Shindler, who made the cut along with Ryder, described playing with Lincicome as “a pleasure, a treat.” Despite her roller-coaster performance, he felt her approach was consistent. “She does the same thing every shot,” he said. “She just knows where it’s going to go. Each day, she gained confidence.” Her goal now is applying lessons learned from playing with the men back to the LPGA Tour. Lincicome couldn’t immediately say whether she would return to play this event, but seemed eager for LPGA Tour and PGA TOUR players to be on the same course in some form. That remains to be seen, but Lincicome definitely appreciated this opportunity with her PGA TOUR counterparts. Even without the history. “Just being inside the ropes with the guys, hitting on the range, on the putting green, it’s just a cool feeling,” she said. “I feel like I’m at home here. The guys just made me feel so comfortable.”

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PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. – On Friday, Justin Thomas played 30 holes at the Genesis Open in cold, rainy weather. On Saturday, the first dry day of the week at Riviera, he completed just eight holes despite continuous play from sunrise to sunset. On Sunday, for the third consecutive day, he’ll wake up around 4:30 a.m. local time. At 5:45 a.m., he’ll start his warm-up routine (“That’s weird to say,� he mused). Then at 6:45 a.m., he’ll resume play with an approach shot into the par-4 third. He faces the task of finishing 34 holes, and the weather could be challenging. It’ll be in the 40s in the early morning, then a 40 percent chance of showers before noon. But it will all be worth it if Thomas, seeking the 10th win of his PGA TOUR career, can seal the deal at Riviera. At 13 under, the former FedExCup champion has a one-shot lead over playing partner Adam Scott, with Patrick Rodgers and J.B. Holmes another shot back. “I think I’ve seen briefly the forecast is pretty difficult,� Thomas said, “so I’m going to need to be patient because I’m playing so many holes. But long day and stay in it emotionally and stay patient [and] see what we can do.� It’ll be a longer-than-usual day for all 76 players who made the cut. No one has completed the third round, which did not start until mid-Saturday afternoon as the seven-hour delay to start the tournament on Thursday continues to play havoc with the playing schedule. In essence, the Genesis Open is just past the halfway point even though the final day (hopefully) has arrived. Play will resume at 6:45 a.m., and there will be no repairing after the third round as the TOUR tries to avoid a second consecutive Monday finish. Last week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was won by Phil Mickelson on Monday as he and runner-up Paul Casey played two holes to finish their rounds. For some players such as Thomas, it was a limited-action Saturday – up early to complete the second round, then a long rest before teeing off to start the third round. For others, it was a long, full day – an entire second round, followed by a partial third. Rodgers, for instance, played 20 holes. He shoot a 4-under 67, fueled by a chip-in eagle from 131 yards on the par-4 seventh, then played two holes to start his third round, including an eagle at the par-5 opening hole. He’s now one of Thomas’ primary chasers on Sunday. Thomas also eagled the opening hole late Saturday with a putt just inside 13 feet, moving him one clear of Scott, who in 2005 won at Riviera albeit in a shortened 36-hole event that is not recognized as an official TOUR win. That won’t be an issue if he can catch Thomas. “There’s so much golf to play,� said Scott, whose only bogey through 38 holes played was a three-putt on the 17th hole in the second round. “… I’m happy with what I did out there. I’m not really influencing what [Thomas] does at this point in the tourney. It feels like it’s late in the tourney, but it’s only halfway.� Still, he’s glad to be paired with Thomas for both the third and final rounds. “Yeah, that’s good if I’m keeping up with him or ahead of him,� Scott said. “… It’s a big day, a lot of golf. It’s a great day to get your rhythm early and make a move. There’s a lot of guys up there at the moment … if it’s Justin or I, then you can kind of separate and hopefully by the middle of the final round you’ve taken a whole bunch of guys out of the equation.� One of those guys definitely in the equation is Tiger Woods, who was just one shot above the cut line after the second round but vaulted into a tie for 14th with a birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie start (off the 10th tee) in the third round. “I’ve got some work to do,� said Woods, who hopes to get up-and-down to save par at the 17th once play resumes. Among the notables ahead of Woods on the leaderboard are Rory McIlroy (8 under); last week’s runner-up Casey (8 under); three-time Genesis Open champ Bubba Watson (7 under); Jordan Spieth (7 under); and world No. 6 player Jon Rahm (7 under). With lots of golf left to play and hopes of completing the tournament on Sunday, it should make for an interesting – and challenging – day. “Going to be a marathon,� Thomas said.

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