One thing in particular unites International team

JACKSON, Miss. – Notes and observations from the final round of the Sanderson Farms Championship at the Country Club of Jackson. LEADING LIGHT Cameron Champ was an amateur this time last year. Now he’s a PGA TOUR winner. Champ, 23, claimed the Sanderson Farms Championship in just his second start as a TOUR member. He birdied five of his final six holes for a four-shot victory over Corey Conners. Champ shot a final-round 68 to finish at 21-under 267, the lowest score in the five editions of the Sanderson Farms at the Country Club of Jackson. And to think he almost didn’t turn pro last fall. He planned to finish his senior season at Texas A&M if he didn’t advance through the second stage of last year’s Web.com Tour Q-School. A third-round 75 left him outside the cut line with one round remaining. He closed in 68, including a birdie at the last, to advance to the final stage with three shots to spare. “It’s pretty unreal,â€� he said. “I can think back to second stage when I kind of almost choked with three holes to go. I made a great putt on 17 to move on to finals.â€� Advancing to Q-School’s final stage guaranteed him Web.com Tour status for 2018. He finished sixth on the money list, including a win at the Utah Championship, to earn his TOUR card. Now he has a guaranteed home on the PGA TOUR. The Sanderson victory comes with an exemption that will last nearly three years, through the end of the 2020-21 season. He also earns spots in THE PLAYERS Championship, the Sentry Tournament of Champions, PGA Championship and the TOUR’s invitational events. Champ’s booming tee shots should play well on the wide, sloping fairways of Kapalua’s Plantation Course. Champ can set his schedule instead of thinking about the reshuffle and keeping his card. He has the early, early lead in the Rookie of the Year race and moves to sixth in the FedExCup standings. He dominated the Country Club of Jackson’s back nine, which features two par-5s (Nos. 11 and 13) and the drivable, par-4 15th hole. He was 16 under on the course’s inward half and didn’t make a bogey. Champ’s trademark driving distance was key to his victory. He finished first in driving distance, averaging 308 yards on all holes and 334 yards on the measured holes. He was second in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, as well. Champ also finished second in Strokes Gained: Putting (+2.27 per round) and ninth in greens hit (55 of 72), despite hitting just 11 in the final round. OBSERVATIONS CANADIAN CHALLENGE: Conners put pressure on Champ for the majority of Sunday’s round. The Canadian caught Champ with a 13-foot birdie putt on the ninth hole and remained tied with him by matching his birdie at the par-3 13th. Conners almost tied Champ again on the 15th hole, but his 7-foot eagle putt on the drivable par-4 burned the edge. Champ birdied the next hole to take a two-shot lead. He carried that advantage to the 18th tee, eventually winning by four after Conners’ three-putt on the final hole. That bogey on the 18th hole was inconsequential. Conners finished two shots ahead of third place for his best finish in 40 PGA TOUR starts. He has conditional status this season after finishing 130th in the FedExCup. He’s 18th in this season’s standings. He can take confidence from his strong play under Sunday pressure, as well. This was the third time he started the final round of a PGA TOUR event in first or second place. He shot a final-round 77 at the Valspar Championship after holding a one-shot lead. He was in second at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship before a final-round 76. CASTRO’S CHARGE: Roberto Castro started Sunday in 19th place. He teed off more than an hour before the final group. He briefly pulled within two shots of the lead after making birdie on eight of his first 11 holes, though. He couldn’t keep up the pace. He bogeyed the 12th hole, then parred the last six. He finished T5 after a final-round 65. It was his best finish since the 2016 BMW Championship, when he finished third to qualify for the TOUR Championship. Castro, who graduated from the Web.com Tour in 2018, hopes another strong start to the season can result in his third trip to the TOUR Championship in his hometown of Atlanta. He’s 61st in this season’s standings. EAGLE HAS LANDED: Dylan Meyer is a first-year professional out of the University of Illinois. D.J. Trahan is a PGA TOUR veteran with two victories. They both parlayed sponsor exemptions into top-10 finishes at the Sanderson Farms Championship. They finished T7 at 13-under 275 to earn starts in next week’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Meyer’s final-round 69 included an eagle on the par-5 11th hole. Meyer will have Web.com Tour status in 2019 after qualifying for the Web.com Tour Finals via his play on the PGA TOUR. He made the cut in five of seven starts as a pro, including a T17 at the Quicken Loans National and T20 at the U.S. Open. Trahan, who played in the final group alongside Champ and Conners, fired a final-round 71. It’s his first top-10 since the 2015 Sanderson Farms. QUOTABLE It doesn’t matter if you play good or bad. You go back to a little kid and they really don’t care.It really does help a lot just to get a little confidence going into the holidays and a few points. SUPERLATIVES Low round: Carlos Ortiz shot a final-round 64 to jump 16 spots on the leaderboard and finish in a tie for third. It was the best finish in 64 PGA TOUR starts for the 2014 Web.com Tour Player of the Year. Longest drive: Wyndham Clark hit a 369-yard drive on the sixth hole. He made par on the hole in his final-round 73. Clark, a Web.com Tour grad, finished T54. Longest putt: Brady Schnell made a 50-foot putt in his final-round 69. He finished T45. Hardest hole: The 209-yard, par-3 seventh hole played to a 3.3 scoring average, yielding just five birdies. Champ made one of the 19 bogeys there in the final round. Easiest hole: The 534-yard, par-5 third hole played to a 4.33 scoring average. There were six birdies and 38 eagles on the hole, compared to just two bogeys. CALL OF THE DAY  For play-by-play coverage of the PGA TOUR, listen here. SHOT OF THE DAY

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The biggest Round 2 showdown in our Mythical World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play tournament? Gotta be world No. 1 Rory McIlroy vs. defending champ Kevin Kisner, who’s been near-unbeatable in the last two years at Austin Country Club. There are plenty of other intriguing matchups on this day, including a couple of top-5 seeds suffering upsets. To review, our Mythical event is the just-for-fun exercise we’re conducting this week in lieu of the real tournament, which was among the events canceled by the PGA TOUR in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The TOUR conducted a draw to produce a bracket, and now our 10 experts are voting for the winner of each match. We released the Round 1 results on Wednesday (click here) and now the results of the 32 matches that would’ve been played in Thursday’s Round 2. The 16 Group Stage winners will be determined on Friday, then we’ll vote for single-elimination matches this weekend to crown the Mythical champion on Sunday. The voting rules are simple: Each expert was asked to pick a match winner, and the golfer with the majority of votes is the match winner. In the case of an equal split of votes, the match is considered tied. Our 10 expert voters include: GolfBet’s Jason Sobel from The Action Network; GolfTV’s Jamie Kennedy; Tom Alter and Jim McCabe from PGA TOUR Communications; Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton; PGATOUR.COM writers Ben Everill, Sean Martin, Mike McAllister and Cameron Morfit; and a combined vote from the TOUR’s ShotLink team. Here are the experts’ picks for Round 2 (each player’s seed is in parentheses). GROUP 1 Rory McIlroy (1) vs. Kevin Kisner (36): 8 votes for McIlroy, 2 votes for Kisner. McILROY wins. Why we picked McIlroy: “McIlroy ranks second in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, Kisner has gone from 39th in 2017 to 129th this season in this category.â€� – ShotLink team Gary Woodland (18) vs. Sung Kang (52): 7 votes for Woodland, 3 votes for Kang. WOODLAND wins. Why I picked Woodland: “Woodland made it to the finals in this event, losing to Rory McIlroy at TPC Harding Park in 2015, and simply has too much firepower for Kang.â€� – Cameron Morfit Group standings: McIlroy 2-0, Kisner 1-1, Woodland 1-1, Kang 0-2 GROUP 2 Jon Rahm (2) vs. Chez Reavie (37): 10 votes for Rahm, 0 votes for Reavie. RAHM wins. Why I picked Rahm: “At Whisper Rock, maybe I’d go with Chez, but Austin CC fits Rahm nicely.â€� – Jim McCabe Bernd Wiesberger (26) vs. Tom Lewis (59): 7 votes for Wiesberger, 3 votes for Lewis. WIESBERGER wins. Why I picked Wiesberger: “Since coming back from injury, Wiesberger has been on a tear. His all-round game is elite and while Lewis is extremely streaky, he won’t hang this time.â€� – Jamie Kennedy Group standings: Rahm 2-0, Wiesberger 2-0, Reavie 0-2, Lewis 0-2 GROUP 3 Brooks Koepka (3) vs. Collin Morikawa (44): 7 votes for Morikawa, 3 votes for Koepka. MORIKAWA wins. Why I picked Morikawa: “Koepka’s fought injury and rust and hasn’t been able to find his footing this season. Meanwhile, Morikawa is the TOUR’s Steady Eddie.â€� – Sean Martin Abraham Ancer (29) vs. Shaun Norris (60): 10 votes for Ancer, 0 votes for Norris. ANCER wins. Why I picked Ancer: “Stirring victory sets up pivotal match in Round 3 with Brooks Koepka.â€�- Jim McCabe Group standings: Morikawa 2-0, Koepka 1-1, Ancer 1-1, Norris 0-2 GROUP 4 Justin Thomas (4) vs. Erik van Rooyen (42): 8 votes for Thomas, 2 votes for van Rooyen. THOMAS wins. Why I picked Thomas: “Van Rooyen can shred on guitar, but Thomas is the chalk pick here.â€� – Sean Martin Paul Casey (24) vs. Viktor Hovland (57): 6 votes for Hovland, 4 votes for Casey. HOVLAND wins. Why I picked Hovland: “You know I mean business when I expect a first-timer — who just happens to flash the newest, best smile in the game — to take down my man crush.â€� – Rob Bolton Group standings: Thomas 2-0, Casey 1-1, Hovland 1-1, van Rooyen 0-2 GROUP 5 Dustin Johnson (5) vs. Cameron Smith (35): 6 votes for Smith, 4 votes for Johnson. SMITH wins. Why I picked Smith: “Smith has always been a match play stud waiting to burst forth. Coming from 3 down to beat Thomas in the Presidents Cup Singles shows his competitive fire in this format.â€� – Ben Everill Hideki Matsuyama (22) vs. Keegan Bradley (62): 10 votes for Matsuyama, 0 votes for Bradley. MATSUYAMA wins. Why I picked Matsuyama: “If there’s a bugaboo in Matsuyama’s game, it’s that he isn’t a terrific putter, but in match play, his tremendous ball-striking can overcome a lack of red numbers, which was the case in this one.â€� – Jason Sobel Group standings: Matsuyama 2-0, Johnson 1-1, Smith 1-1, Bradley 0-2 GROUP 6 Adam Scott (6) vs. Shugo Imahira (41): 10 votes for Scott, 0 votes for Imahira. SCOTT wins. Why I picked Scott: “Scott’s match play record is one that has irked him over the years, but he’s riding high confidence after his win at The Genesis Invitational earlier this season.â€� – Ben Everill Lee Westwood (31) vs. Jordan Spieth (56): 6 votes for Westwood, 4 votes for Spieth. WESTWOOD wins. Why I picked Westwood: “Westwood has been playing with nothing to lose recently, just enjoying the back-nine of his career and competing with a smile on his face. It’s amazing how much that can free up a guy, as he was still smiling when this one was over.â€� – Jason Sobel Group standings: Scott 2-0, Westwood 2-0, Imahira 0-2, Spieth 0-2 GROUP 7 Patrick Reed (7) vs. Rafa Cabrera Bello (46): 6 votes for Reed, 4 votes for Cabrera Bello. REED wins. Why I picked Reed: “Despite how it looks at first glance, this is a virtual coin flip, but Reed’s consistently strong form since relying on feel mid-2019 just might propel him to victory in his home state.â€� – Rob Bolton Matthew Fitzpatrick (25) vs. Andrew Putnam (63): 9 votes for Fitzpatrick, 1 vote for Putnam. FITZPATRICK wins. Why I picked Fitzpatrick: “Fitzpatrick’s in fine form, with six top-10s in his last 11 worldwide starts. Meanwhile, Putnam’s missed the cut in his last three PGA TOUR starts.â€� – Mike McAllister Group standings: Reed 2-0, Cabrera Bello 1-1, Fitzpatrick 1-1, Putnam 0-2 GROUP 8 Patrick Cantlay (8) vs. Sergio Garcia (38): 9 votes for Cantlay, 1 vote for Garcia. CANTLAY wins. Why I picked Cantlay: “Cantlay is 29th in the FedExCup (seventh in the world) and does everything well, while Garcia is 179th in the FedExCup, recently turned 40, and has been quiet since winning the 2017 Masters.â€� – Cameron Morfit Tyrrell Hatton (21) vs. Adam Hadwin (55): 5 votes for Hatton, 5 votes for Hadwin. TIED. Why I picked Hadwin: “Still dealing with the API hangover — a figurative one (we think) — Hatton struggled with the ever-steady Hadwin, who simply didn’t have any unforced errors in this match.â€� – Jason Sobel Group standings: Cantlay 2-0, Hatton 1-0-1, Hadwin 0-1-1, Garcia 0-2 GROUP 9 Webb Simpson (9) vs. Scottie Scheffler (45): 7 votes for Simpson, 3 votes for Scheffler. SIMPSON wins. Why I picked Simpson: “Webb Simpson is on a roll. Hitting fairways and making putts always works in match play.â€� – Tom Alter Rickie Fowler (27) vs. Lucas Herbert (64): 7 votes for Fowler, 3 votes for Herbert. FOWLER wins. Why I picked Fowler: “After dismal start to his season, this is a massive week for him.â€� – Jim McCabe Group standings: Simpson 2-0, Scheffler 1-1, Fowler 1-1, Herbert 0-2 GROUP 10 Tommy Fleetwood (10) vs. Christiaan Bezuidenhout (47): 7 votes for Fleetwood, 3 votes for Bezuidenhout. FLEETWOOD wins. Why I picked Fleetwood: “There was some thought that Bezuidenhout could be this year’s Bjerregaard — an impossible-to-spell non-PGA TOUR member who makes his mark in match play. Perhaps he still will, but Fleetwood’s talent was too much to overcome here.â€� – Jason Sobel Francesco Molinari (28) vs. Byeong Hun An (50): 8 votes for An, 2 votes for Molinari. AN wins. Why I picked An: “Sadly, Francesco has been a shell of his best lately and still has some injury concerns while An has the Presidents Cup experience to draw from.â€� – Ben Everill Group standings: Fleetwood 2-0, Bezuidenhout 1-1, An 1-1, Molinari 0-2 GROUP 11 Tiger Woods (11) vs. Victor Perez (40): 8 votes for Woods, 2 votes for Perez. WOODS wins. Why we picked Woods: “Tiger’s one of the best iron players ever, not to mention his 18 WGC wins, including three times in this event. Oh, and did we mention he’s been PGA TOUR Player of the Year 11 times, most of any player?â€� – ShotLink team Kevin Na (30) vs. Phil Mickelson (61): 10 votes for Na, 0 votes for Mickelson. NA wins. Why I picked Na: “Na makes tons of putts. That’s tough to beat.â€� – Tom Alter Group standings: Woods 2-0, Na 2-0, Perez 0-2, Mickelson 0-2 GROUP 12 Xander Schauffele (12) vs. Danny Willett (33): 8 votes for Schauffele, 2 votes for Willett. SCHAUFFELE wins. Why I picked Schauffele: “Danny Willett’s comeback story has been nice to see, but Schauffele is the clear favorite here.â€� – Sean Martin Shane Lowry (20) vs. Jason Day (51): 6 votes for Day, 4 votes for Lowry. DAY wins. Why I picked Day: “A two-time winner in this unique format, Jason Day is too much for almost anybody in match play.â€� – Tom Alter Group standings: Schauffele 2-0, Lowry 1-1, Day 1-1, Willett 0-2 GROUP 13 Bryson DeChambeau (13) vs. Jazz Janewattananond (39): 9 votes for DeChambeau, 1 vote for Janewattananond. DeCHAMBEAU wins. Why I picked DeChambeau: “Just gotta love Bryson’s form right now (and I’m not just talking about the added muscle to his frame),â€� – Mike McAllister. Henrik Stenson (32) vs Ian Poulter (58): 6 votes for Poulter, 4 votes for Stenson. POULTER wins. Why I picked Poulter: “Putting prevails here. Stenson has potential to dominate tee-to-green but Poulter’s edge comes on the greens and this gives him the edge in this match-up.â€� – Jamie Kennedy Group standings: DeChambeau 2-0, Stenson 1-1, Poulter 1-1, Janewattananond 0-2 GROUP 14 Justin Rose (14) vs. Matt Wallace (43): 5 votes for Rose, 5 votes for Wallace. TIED. Why I picked Rose: “Two English players, two players battling their game somewhat early in 2020. Ask me in a couple of years and I’ll take Wallace but for now, Rose wins this.â€� – Jamie Kennedy Sungjae Im (23) vs. Bubba Watson (53): 8 votes for Im, 2 votes for Watson. IM wins. Why I picked Im: “Bubba’s a wild card – he could get on a roll and run to the title, as he did in 2018. But I like Im’s steadiness.â€� – Mike McAllister Group standings: Im 2-0, Watson 1-1, Rose 0-1-1, Wallace 0-1-1 GROUP 15 Marc Leishman (15) vs. Billy Horschel (34): 8 votes for Leishman, 2 votes for Horschel. LEISHMAN wins. Why we picked Leishman: “Currently seventh in the FEC standings and three consecutive trips to East Lake, not to mention on pace for his best season on TOUR.â€� – ShotLink team Matt Kuchar (17) vs. Graeme McDowell (49): 6 votes for Kuchar, 4 votes for McDowell. KUCHAR wins. Why I picked Kuchar: “GMac can be a tough out in match play, but Kuchar has too much good mojo in this event – he won it all in 2013 and was runner-up to Kevin Kisner last year.â€� – Cameron Morfit Group standings: Leishman 2-0, Kuchar 2-0, Horschel 0-2, McDowell 0-2 GROUP 16 Tony Finau (16) vs. Brandt Snedeker (48): 5 votes for Finau, 5 votes for Snedeker. TIED Why I picked Snedeker: “After seeing Finau’s dance vid with his wife, I’d like to use a Mulligan.â€� – Rob Bolton Louis Oosthuizen (19) vs. Brendon Todd (54): 8 votes for Oosthuizen 2 votes for Todd. OOSTHUIZEN wins. Why I picked Oosthuizen: “Todd may have been the man last fall, but Louis has match play acumen that cannot be denied.â€� – Ben Everill Group standings: Finau 1-0-1, Oosthuizen 1-0-1, Snedeker 0-0-2, Todd 0-2

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AUGUSTA, Ga. - Jon Rahm warned us that he could leave next week's Masters at any moment. He wasn't going to miss the birth of his first child, even if it meant withdrawing from the year's first major. Now he won't have to worry about that scenario. Instead, he'll arrive at Augusta National as a new father. Rahm's wife, Kelley, gave birth to a son early Saturday. Kepa Cahill Rahm was born at 12:15 a.m. on Saturday. "Momma Kelley is doing great and recovering. Kepa is also in great health. Without a doubt the greatest day of my life!" Rahm wrote on Instagram. Rahm called Kepa, who weighed in at 7 pounds, 2 ounces and was 20.5 inches long at birth, a "big boy from Basque country." Rahm, 26, is ranked 12th in the FedExCup and and third in the world ranking. He and defending champion Dustin Johnson are the only players to finish in the top 10 in each of the past three Masters. Rahm said at last week's World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play that Kelley was due between April 10-12, a range that fell from the Masters' third round through the Monday after. "All I can say is if anybody’s thinking of a betting on me on the Masters, maybe think about it twice because there’s a chance I have to just turn around and leave that week," Rahm said in Austin. "I’ve said it before; if I have to leave any event, I’ll leave. Being a father is much more important than any golf event would ever be, so that’s my head right now." Rahm's situation evoked memories of Phil Mickelson, who finished second in the 1999 U.S. Open while awaiting the birth of his first child. He said he would leave as soon as his beeper sounded but his wife, Amy, didn't give birth until the following day. Rahm won't have to worry about such a situation. He'll be able to compete at Augusta National with a clear mind.

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