On the verge of attempting the greatest feat in golf, Jordan Spieth explained why his future is so bright and why he doesn’t feel pressure

The PGA TOUR announced today the four featured groupings for Thursday-Friday at the Workday Charity Open, to be contested at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. The Workday Charity Open is a one-year, full-field FedExCup event contested at Muirfield Village Golf Club the week immediately preceding the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. Thanks to title sponsor Workday, and the support of Muirfield Village Golf Club and the Memorial Tournament host, Jack Nicklaus, the tournament fills the week vacated by the cancellation of the John Deere Classic, which will return to the PGA TOUR schedule in 2021. Full groupings and starting times for the first two rounds of the Workday Charity Open will be released officially at approximately noon ET on Tuesday, July 7. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday 6:45 a.m.-6 p.m. (featured groups), Saturday-Sunday 7:00 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups). Saturday-Sunday 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (featured holes). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). FEATURED GROUPS Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka, Jason Day • Thomas, No. 2 in the FedExCup standings, has two top-10s since the season resumed (T10/Charles Schwab Challenge, T8/RBC Heritage) • Koepka is making his first start since withdrawing before the start of the Travelers Championship out of an abundance of caution following his caddie testing positive for COVID-19. • Day, who resides just outside of Columbus, has made one cut in four starts since the season resumed (T46/Travelers Championship) Patrick Cantlay, Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth • Cantlay, who will be defending his Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide title next week at Muirfield Village, has not missed a cut in 15 starts since the 2019 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, tied for the longest active streak on TOUR (Tyrrell Hatton, Paul Casey) • In his most recent start, Mickelson held the 36-hole lead at the Travelers Championship before finishing T24, his first start since turning 50 on June 16 • Spieth enters the week No. 95 in the FedExCup standings; since 2009, he is one of only two players to stand outside the top 50 with six weeks remaining and finish the Regular Season inside the Wyndham Rewards Top 10, accomplishing the feat in 2013 Patrick Reed, Matthew Wolff, Rickie Fowler • Reed has one win (World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship) and one runner-up (Sentry Tournament of Champions) in 12 starts on the season • Wolff held a three-stroke lead heading into the final round of last week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic before finishing second to Bryson DeChambeau • Fowler enters the week No. 84 in the FedExCup standings and has never finished the season worse than 43rd in his career (2010-present) Viktor Hovland, Jon Rahm, Gary Woodland • Hovland has finished in the top 25 at each of the four events since the season resumed (T23/Charles Schwab Challenge, T21/RBC Heritage, T11/Travelers Championship, T12/Rocket Mortgage Classic) • Rahm is currently No. 24 in the FedExCup standings and qualified for the TOUR Championship in each of his first three seasons on TOUR • With five top-10s in 11 starts, Woodland enters the week No. 38 in the FedExCup standings

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AUGUSTA, Ga. — They started the week sharing an unexpected — and then highly discussed and over-analyzed — nine-hole practice round. They’ll finish seeking positive vibes and updating course notebooks. The one thing Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson won’t do Sunday afternoon at the Masters is slip on another Green Jacket. Their performances in the first three rounds will leave them as curious bystanders when the back-nine drama heats up at Augusta National. Woods, the four-time Masters champ, will start the final round at 4 over after shooting an even-par 72 on Saturday. Three-time winner Mickelson, at 7 over after a 2-over 74, will tee off even earlier in the morning. He may be done before the final group tees off. Given that Woods was the betting favorite entering this week and Mickelson was riding huge momentum after his recent World Golf Championships win in Mexico, being non-factors is definitely surprising. And disappointing. “I don’t have it,” Mickelson said. “It’s frustrating being out there. But it’s still Augusta. I’m trying to make due. But it’s just frustrating to be out there playing when you know you don’t have a chance.” Woods said his goal now is to finish at even par, maybe even in red numbers. He’ll need to shoot a 68 on Sunday to avoid finishing over par for just the third time since his last Masters win in 2005. “I wish this week would’ve been a little bit better,” Woods said. “Hopefully tomorrow I can shoot something, get me to even par or even in the red. I think that will be a good goal tomorrow and hopefully I can get it done.” What Woods hasn’t been able to do is figure out his faulty iron play. Distance control has been an issue, especially in the second round when he hit several approaches over the green. He’s found places this week at Augusta National that he’s never previously visited. As a result, he hasn’t given himself many makeable birdie putts, the strain on his putter leaving him mostly in a defensive posture. Woods called his iron play “scratchy this week” — lthough he finally hit the 12th green on Saturday after finding Rae’s Creek the first two days. “I just haven’t gotten it done,” Woods said. “I feel like I’m driving it better than I have all year, but I’m not capitalizing on it. And when I did miss, I missed in the wrong spots. My swing’s just off with my irons just at the wrong time.” As a result, he also has failed to take advantage of the four pars at Augusta National, the holes he’s eaten up in his 20 previous visits. Woods had entered this week a cumulative 150 under on the par 5s, but he’s just 1 under on those holes through three rounds. “I’m hitting so many good putts; they’re just not going in,” Woods said. “But I’m not hitting it close enough. I’m not getting up there and not taking advantage of the par 5s. Consequently, a good round is even par.” As for Mickelson, his week was summed up by his second shot on the opening hole Saturday. After his tee shot sailed into the trees down the right side, his ball rested on the pine straw. He tried to hit from under some branches but failed to connect on his first swing. “I hit the trunk on the downswing and just whiffed it,” Mickelson explained. “And punched out and made triple. I’ve made a lot of triples lately.” In fact, he’s suffered a triple bogey in each of the last two rounds — it’s the sixth time in any major he’s had two triples in a week. Three of those have been at the Masters (2012, 2014 and this week). A bogey on the ensuing hole had Mickelson reeling, but he managed to shoot 2 under for the final 16 holes. In the process, he picked up a few tips on the course. “It’s Augusta; you always learn some things,” Mickelson said. “I was taking some notes — there were some new pins there. So I’m kind of doing preparation for next year, I guess.” At least Mickelson won’t go away empty-handed this week. Thanks to his eagle at the par-5 eighth — set up by a driver off the deck to 9 feet — he is assured of a pair of crystal glasses awarded for any eagle at the Masters. “Every now and then I’ll hit a shot like that and it makes it fun,” Mickelson said of his second shot. “The nice thing is I’ll get some crystal out of it. It wasn’t a total loss.”

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The ball-striking was better but the score was higher. There’s a one-word explanation for that phenomenon. “Golf. It’s a funny game,â€� Rory McIlroy said after his second-round 70 at the Wells Fargo Championship. McIlroy’s record is unmatched at Quail Hollow, and that continued Thursday with a 66 that gave him the first-round lead. Considering his success here – he’s the only two-time champion here, and has twice set the course record – the stage seemed set for a runaway win. McIlroy is third in the FedExCup thanks to one of the most consistent stretches of his career. He finished in the top 10 in seven consecutive events to start the year, including a win at THE PLAYERS Championship. On Friday, he fell down the leaderboard instead. He shot a higher score despite improved play off the tee. McIlroy gained nearly two more strokes with his tee shots than he did in the first round. He also hit one more green Friday. Related: Tee times | Dufner, Homa prove there’s light at the end of the tunnel | Day makes dream come true for young fan | Harsh lessons can pay big dividends on the PGA TOUR “I stood up here (Thursday) night talking about how I got the most out of it yesterday, and today was the complete opposite,â€� McIlroy said. “I turned a 66 into a 70.â€� McIlroy made some slight swing fixes in the three weeks between the Masters and Wells Fargo Championship. He said he was still getting accustomed to the changes, especially with the longest club in his bag. Another day helped those modifications become further ingrained. “I was a little more comfortable with it today,â€� he said after missing just four fairways Friday. Short putts, and a tough finish, kept him from holding onto the lead. He’ll start the weekend in the top 10, but also five strokes behind 36-hole leader Jason Dufner. McIlroy was 4 under for the day until playing his last two holes in 3 over. McIlroy double-bogeyed the short eighth hole after driving into a fairway bunker. He missed a 9-foot putt to bogey his last hole. It was one of three putts from inside 10 feet that he missed Friday, including a 4-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole. “I’m still right there going into the weekend,â€� McIlroy said. “I just need to try and shake off that bad finish and get off to a good start tomorrow.â€�

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