Observations after Tiger Woods’ return at Torrey Pines

The PGA TOUR’s lone match-play event returns to Austin Country Club with a 64-player field divided into 16 groups of four for round-robin play. Billy Horschel is back to defend his title. He beat Scottie Scheffler 2 and 1 in last year’s final. FIELD NOTES: Sixty-four of the world’s top 69 players are set it to tee it up… The field includes eight-time TOUR winner Bryson DeChambeau, who has been sidelined with a wrist injury since he missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open in late January… Five of the top five players in the OWGR are in the field, including Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland, Patrick Cantlay, and Scottie Scheffler. Since his runner-up result in 2021, Scheffler has shone for the U.S. Ryder Cup team and won twice on TOUR… Eleven players are set to make their Match Play debuts, including TOUR winners Sam Burns, Seamus Power, Lucas Herbert, and Tom Hoge… Sepp Straka, who won The Honda Classic for his maiden TOUR title, was the last golfer to earn a spot in the field… Those who qualified for the event and are not playing in Austin include Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama, Harris English, Phil Mickelson, and THE PLAYERS Championship winner Cameron Smith… Recent WGC-Match Play winners in the field include Horschel, Kevin Kisner, Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 550 FedExCup points. COURSE: Austin Country Club, par 71, 7,108 yards (yardage subject to change). The Pete Dye design has yielded different kinds of winners, from long-bombers Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson to short-game wizards like Kevin Kisner. This is the sixth year Austin CC has hosted. With roots dating to 1899, the course is believed to be the oldest in Texas; it was relocated twice before landing on its current location. The course features two distinct nines. The front showcases some of the Texas hill country, while the back is more in the lowlands beside Lake Austin – a scenic backdrop as the matches reach their conclusion. STORYLINES: Final seeds will be determined based on the OWGR released on March 22… The field will be divided into 16 four-player groups with the top 16 players being the top player in each group. The remaining players will be picked randomly. Points are awarded based on the following results: 1 point to the winner of a match, 0 to the loser, and 0.5 for a halved match. After group play, the format turns to single elimination… After injury prevented him from defending his title at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, DeChambeau – who lives in Dallas, only a three-hour drive away – is back in action… The last No.1 seed to win it all was Dustin Johnson, who defeated another No.1 (Jon Rahm) in 2017. Jason Day was a No.2 seed when he won in 2016, while Rory McIlroy was another No.1 seed when he won in 2015… The rankings of the last three winners have been 32-48-35… Tiger Woods is the only one to successfully defend his title. Woods won in both 2003 and 2004. There have been some other close calls, though: Paul Casey finished runner-up two years in a row (2009, 2010), while Hunter Mahan won in 2012 and was runner-up in 2013. Jason Day won in 2014 and 2016. LARGEST MARGIN OF VICTORY: 9 & 8, Tiger Woods def. Stephen Ames (1st round, 2006 at La Costa Resort & Spa). LONGEST MATCH: 26 holes, Mike Weir def. Loren Roberts (1st round, 2003 at La Costa), Scott Verplank def. Lee Westwood (1st round, 2006 at La Costa) LAST TIME: Billy Horschel defeated Scottie Scheffler in the championship match 2 and 1. It marked Horschel’s sixth TOUR title and came after he failed to get past the round of 16 in his past four starts at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. Matt Kuchar defeated Victor Perez 2 and 1 in the consolation match. For the first time since group play was introduced in 2015 the semifinals did not include a seed from the top 16. Horschel also defeated Kevin Streelman, Tommy Fleetwood, and Perez on his way to capturing the title. Jon Rahm, Fleetwood, Sergio Garcia, and Brian Harman were the other quarterfinalists. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Wednesday-Friday, 2 p.m.-8 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-7 p.m. (NBC) Radio: Wednesday-Saturday, 2 p.m.-8 p.m. ET. Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR PGA TOUR LIVE PGA TOUR Live is available exclusively on ESPN+ • Main Feed: primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course • Marquee Group: new “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group • Featured Groups: traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups • Featured Holes: a combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes

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Capital One’s The Match: Champions for Charity takes place on Sunday, May 24 from Medalist Golf Club. It will feature Tiger Woods and former NFL QB Peyton Manning vs. Phil Mickelson and current NFL QB Tom Brady. The event will benefit COVID-19 relief efforts. HOW TO FOLLOW � Sunday, May 24. Live coverage begins at 2 p.m. ET � Television Broadcast: TNT, TBS, truTV and HLN � Format: Four-Ball (Best Ball) format on the front nine and a Modified Alternate Shot format on the back nine, where each participant will tee off and then the team will play alternate shot from the selected drive. The unique combination of formats is aimed to provide an entertaining mix of strategy, team collaboration and consequence to nearly every shot. As part of the competitive play, there will also be a set of on-course challenges to raise additional charitable funds.

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A week ago, a Saudi-backed league to rival the PGA Tour was gaining momentum. Then Phil Mickelson’s thoughts became public, and everything unraveled in an instant.

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