Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year nominees

Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler and defending champion Justin Thomas – all of whom live minutes from PGA National Resort & Spa – top the marquee at The Honda Classic, which kicks off the PGA TOUR’s revamped Sunshine State schedule. Luke List, who lost a playoff to Thomas a year ago, is back as he continues to pursue his first TOUR victory. Several Europeans are playing The Honda before making the trip to TPC Sawgrass in two weeks, including Alex Noren, who finished one shot out of last year’s Honda playoff, and former PLAYERS champions Sergio Garcia and Martin Kaymer. FIELD NOTES: Two-time Honda champion Padraig Harrington is slated for his first start of 2019 after being sidelined the past 2 1/2 months with a broken bone in his wrist. … PGA National is slated to welcome 12 of the top 30 in the current FedExCup standings. … Denmark’s Lucas Bjerregaard tees it up for the first time in a regular TOUR event and first on U.S. soil since the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay. He also played the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No.2. … At least a dozen Honda entrants keep a home within 45 minutes of PGA National. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points. STORYLINES: Thomas, who owns three top-3 finishes since the calendar turned to 2019, seeks to become just the second back-to-back winner in the Honda’s 48-year history. Jack Nicklaus pulled it off in 1977-78 at Inverrary, but nobody since. … Koepka returns home for his first start on U.S. soil since the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January. The reigning PGA TOUR Player of the Year grew up in West Palm Beach, but hasn’t finished better than 26th in four Honda starts. … Fowler, the 2017 Honda champion, arrives just four weeks removed from his victory at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. He missed the cut in his title defense last year. … Since last year’s playoff loss, List has notched a trio of top-5 finishes. … In 12 events since The Honda arrived at PGA National, the “Bear Trap� trio of Nos. 15-17 has eaten participants to a tune of 3,571 shots over par. All three were among the TOUR’s 10 toughest holes last year, with the par-3 17th outranked only by two at the U.S. Open. COURSE: PGA National Resort & Spa (Champion), 7,125 yards, par 70. Annually one of the most demanding layouts on the PGA TOUR schedule, the Champion Course stood No. 2 last year even when held up against major venues. Only Shinnecock Hills (U.S. Open) proved tougher in 2018. Even though the original George & Tom Fazio layout hosted a Ryder Cup (1983) and PGA Championship (1987), Jack Nicklaus was brought in for a 1990 remake that introduced golfers to the daunting “Bear Trap� stretch of two often windblown par-3s flanking the stout par-4 16th. The course also staged 19 Senior PGA Championships through 2000, going on tournament hiatus until the Honda arrived in 2007. For those visiting South Florida, must-play courses include Trump National Doral GC (Doral, Fla.) and Crandon Golf at Key Biscayne (Key Biscayne, Fla.). Book your reservations via TeeOff.com. 72-HOLE RECORD: 264, Justin Leonard (2003 at Mirasol). PGA National record: 267, Camilo Villegas (2010). 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Brian Harman (2nd round, 2012). LAST YEAR: Thomas knocked a wedge stiff on the 18th hole to force a playoff with List. Thomas reached the par-5 18th in two shots in the playoff, two-putting for birdie for the victory. Thomas was there to congratulate Fowler when he won in 2017, and Fowler returned to PGA National to return the favor last year. … A closing 2-under 68 lifted Thomas alongside List (69) after four rounds, though it didn’t come without a few tense moments three holes from the finish. … Both Thomas and List birdied No.18 to end regulation, but List pushed his drive on the replay and was forced to lay up out of the rough. Thomas hit the green in two for a stress-free birdie that capped his eighth career victory. HOW TO FOLLOW   TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 2-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (GC); 3-6 p.m. (NBC). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 7 a.m.-6 p.m. ET (featured groups). Saturday-Sunday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-6 p.m. (featured holes). International subscribers (via GOLF.tv): Thursday-Friday, 12:00 to 23:00 GMT. Saturday-Sunday, 14:00 to 23:00. RADIO: Thursday-Friday, noon-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).

Click here to read the full article…

HONOLULU — The easygoing vibe in Hawaii is a perfect fit for Matt Kuchar, who spends as much as a month at a time on the islands when his schedule allows. The Sony Open in Hawaii is more about work than play, and he’s having just as much fun. Kuchar ran off four birdies in five holes to start his second round Friday, handled the par 5s at Waialae again and finished with another round of 7-under 63 to take a one-shot lead over Andrew Putnam. “To shoot 7 under back-to-back is unexpected, but awfully excited,” Kuchar said with the same smile he wears for most any occasion. Kuchar was at 14-under 126, matching the lowest 36-hole score of his PGA TOUR career. He also had a 126 in Las Vegas in 2008. Putnam, playing in the afternoon, had a bogey-free 65 and was one shot behind. Chez Reavie (65) and Stewart Cink (62) were four behind. Jordan Spieth had a short week after a long break from golf. In his 2019 debut, Spieth had a 66 and missed the cut by one shot. Needing to birdie the last four holes to qualify for the weekend, Spieth ran off two birdies, missed a 10-foot birdie putt and then narrowly missed chipping in for eagle. “I loved the fight,” Spieth said. “I feel like I was trying to win the tournament trying to make the cut, which is not something I want to get used to.” He returns in two weeks at Torrey Pines. No one had a more memorable round than Reavie. He holed out for eagle three times from the fairway — a sand wedge from 101 yards on No. 10 at the start of his round; a 9-iron from 149 yards on No. 16, and a gap wedge from 135 yards on No. 6. The PGA TOUR only began keeping hole-by-hole records in 1983, and no one had ever made three eagles in one round on par 4s since then. Reavie didn’t think all that much about it until he piped a drive on No. 8 and hit a wedge that covered the flag. “It was on a good line, and that was the only time it crossed my mind — `Wow, could we make another one?'” he said. “The other two, I just hit the shot I was trying to see and it was going at the hole. Never expected it to go in. It’s always a surprise when it disappears.” So odd was this round that Reavie made more eagles than birdies, and the one shot that made him think the ball might go in the hole led to a par. “Apparently, I need to go buy a lottery ticket today,” Reavie said. That would be a good idea, except Hawaii doesn’t have a lottery. For now, he has to figure out how to make up four shots on Kuchar. Cink made nine birdies in his round of 62. Marc Leishman (64) and Ted Potter Jr. (65) were at 9-under 131. Kuchar sometimes comes to Hawaii with his wife and two kids even when he’s not playing golf. He has been to five of the islands, and plans to stay another few weeks after the Sony Open. He likes it better when he can play a few tournaments. He became eligible for the winners-only field at Kapalua last week by winning at another beach resort — Mayakoba — last year, opening with rounds of 64-64, the kind of start he has enjoyed at Waialae. Clearly, the 40-year-old is in a better spot than when he had gone more than three years without winning and was left off the Ryder Cup team for the first time in 10 years. He felt as though he was grinding too hard, and that’s not a trait he wears well. DIVOTS: Keith Mitchell had a hole-in-one on the seventh hole with an 8-iron from 176 yards. … Of the five players over 50 in the field, Steve Stricker and Davis Love III made the cut. Stricker holed a 55-foot eagle putt on his last hole to make it on the number.

Click here to read the full article…

Golf’s regular season is over. Here are the 125 players who advanced to FedEx Cup playoffs.

Click here to read the full article…