Poulter shares lead in Houston, keeps Masters hopes alive

• FIELD: See the entrants for the event • COURSE: The Club at Nine Bridges, 7,196 yards, par 72. Located on Jeju Island, a resort destination just south of the Korean mainland, Nine Bridges opened in 2001 and is the only Korean course ranked among the world’s top 100. Designers Ronald Fream and David Dale deftly incorporated the layout into rolling pineland beneath Mount Halla, a dormant volcano that formed Jeju Island. The club was one of the first Asian venues on the LPGA schedule, with Se Ri Pak capturing the first tournament in 2002. Nine Bridges also is the longtime host of the biannual World Club Championship, where champions from top-level clubs around the world gather to contest a global title. The course actually features eight bridges – the ninth is metaphorical as a link from the club to members and guests. • FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points. • CHARITY: The CJ Welfare Foundation and CJ Culture Foundation, supporting a wide range of projects from aiding retirees to fostering up-and-coming young artists and athletes. Among the initiatives is the “Silver Deliveryâ€� project, which gives part-time delivery jobs to retired seniors and resulted in CJ’s recognition by Fortune magazine among 56 companies “changing the world.â€� A new joint effort with UNESCO aims to expand education among girls in underdeveloped nations. • FIELD WATCH: Justin Thomas, making the second start of his FedExCup defense, and THE PLAYERS titleholder Si Woo Kim headline a limited field of 78 players set to tee it up in the CJ Cup’s debut. … TOUR Championship winner Xander Schauffele is one of 17 entrants who were at East Lake last month by virtue of making the top 30 in last season’s FedExCup points race. … The event has attracted 10 of the top 30 players in the world rankings, with No. 4 Thomas and No. 9 Jason Day heading up that list. … Kim, Day and Adam Scott are among 10 members of the International squad that competed in the Presidents Cup at Liberty National. Thomas is one of three U.S. Team members, joined by Daniel Berger and Patrick Reed. … Thomas and World Golf Hall of Famer Ernie Els are among 10 major championship winners coming to Nine Bridges. • 72-HOLE RECORD: Debut event. • 18-HOLE RECORD: Debut event. • STORYLINES: The PGA TOUR expands its Asian outreach with its first standard event in South Korea, creating a three-week swing on that continent. The CJ Cup arrives just two years after a successful Presidents Cup near Seoul, where the International team nearly upended the favored Americans. … K.J. Choi, winner of eight TOUR titles, and Kim are among 16 Korean pros seeking to give the event a homegrown winner in its very first edition. The list also includes former U.S. Amateur champion Byeong Hun An and three-time European Tour winner Jeunghun Wang. … Also among the Korean faction is Sangmoon Bae, who tees it up for the third time since returning from mandatory military service in his homeland. He has missed the cut in both starts of his fledgling comeback, including the Safeway Open two weeks ago. • SHORT CHIPS: Two CJ Cup entrants have won debut events in the TOUR’s not-too-distant past – Scott (Dell Technologies Championship, 2003) and Choi (The National, 2007). … A total of 21 players will make their third start in as many events of the new 2017-18 season. Emiliano Grillo is playing a fourth consecutive week when you factor in the Presidents Cup. … Nine Bridges wound up serving as LPGA host for four years, with Korean pros winning all four editions. After Pak won the inaugural crown, Grace Park made it one of her six LPGA titles. • TELEVISION: Wednesday-Saturday, 10 p.m. – 2 a.m. ET (Golf Channel). • PGA TOUR LIVE: None. • RADIO: None.

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All past winners of the Corales Puntacana Championship – including both from when the event was played on the Korn Ferry Tour – are back in paradise for another crack at the trophy. Joel Dahmen returns to defend his breakthrough PGA TOUR title. FIELD NOTES: Danish twins Rasmus and Nicolai Hojgaard will tee it up together for the first time on the PGA TOUR… Field also includes major winners Graeme McDowell (Corales champ in 2019), Jimmy Walker, and Danny Willett, as well as 2011 FedExCup winner Bill Haas… Each of the past winners at Corales (including Dominic Bozzelli and Nate Lashley, when the event was part of the Korn Ferry Tour) is back… Dahmen looks to become the first repeat winner… Rafael Campos of nearby Puerto Rico will be buoyed by local fan support… The Monday qualifier has already taken place, and Michael Balcar, Brian Davis, Bryson Nimmer and past Korn Ferry Tour winner Rick Lamb earned the four spots… Victor Perez, who finished fourth at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play in 2021, played opposite Corales, is one of the sponsor exemptions. Other sponsor exemptions include former Presidents Cup International Team member Haotong Li and four-time DP World Tour winner Rafa Cabrera Bello. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 300 FedExCup points. COURSE: Corales Golf Course, par 72, 7,670 yards. Opened in 2010 and designed by Tom Fazio, it’s a beast. The course is open off the tee, but with difficult green complexes and challenging wind. The Devil’s Elbow – the closing three-hole stretch at Corales – features a forced carry of the Bay of Corales on 18. The course has six oceanside holes and plenty of natural beauty – cliffs, bays, ocean coves, inland lakes, and quarries. STORYLINES: The Hojgaard brothers are the second set of twins to play a PGA TOUR event. Derek and Daryl Fathauer played the 2007 Ginn sur Mer Classic (in Florida) together. Both Nicolai and Rasmus are DP World Tour winners… Last season golfers had to battle the elements, and it was the first time in its iteration as a TOUR event that the winner did not shoot the magic number at Corales: 18-under 270. The forecast is for breezy but sunny, which means a low winning total may be back in play… Since becoming a TOUR event, there have been two first-time winners and two veteran winners… The 7,670-yard layout is one of the longest courses on TOUR. 72-HOLE RECORD: 264, Dominic Bozzelli (2016 Korn Ferry Tour). As PGA TOUR event: 270, Brice Garnett (2018), Graeme McDowell (2019), Hudson Swafford (2020). 18-HOLE RECORD: 62, Stephan Jaeger (2nd round, 2016 Korn Ferry Tour), Scott Harrington (2nd round, 2016 Korn Ferry Tour), Alexandre Rocha (3rd round, 2016 Korn Ferry Tour). As PGA TOUR event: 63, Brice Garnett (1st round, 2018), Chip McDaniel (4th round, 2019) LAST TIME: Dahmen broke through for his first TOUR title by one over Sam Ryder and Rafael Campos. Campos had a long birdie try on the 72nd hole to tie but it lipped out. Dahmen’s 2-under 70 on Sunday was enough to hold off a hard-charging Ryder, who shot 5-under 67 in the final round. Dahmen won despite two bogeys on his back nine, and nerves. The 33-year-old’s first TOUR title came in his 111th TOUR start as he became a fan favorite. McDowell, the 2019 winner, tied for fourth, with Michael Gligic, while 2020 winner Hudson Swafford tied for sixth with Emiliano Grillo, whose 7-under 65 on Saturday was the round of the week. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 2 p.m.-5 p.m. (Golf Channel) For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Coming back from a 15-week hiatus due to left wrist surgery, Brooks Koepka wasn’t sure how much rust he’d need to knock off when he made his return to the course at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Based on how he’s performed over the last month, even Kopeka admitted he’s surprised how quickly he’s managed to get back into contention. “I didn’t expect that,” Koepka said. “You feel like coming back after an injury you’ve got to take some time, two or three weeks to kind of get back into it. Basically came out to TOUR right away. I feel like it healed nicely.” Despite missing the cut with teammate Marc Turnesa in New Orleans, Koepka has improved his finish in the last three starts, including a runner-up finish at the Forth Worth Invitational, where he closed with 63 for the second straight start. Returning to a place where he owns a T2 and T3 in his last three starts, Koepka hasn’t skipped a beat in Memphis, opening with 66 on Thursday to begin one shot off the lead at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. Koepka strung together four straight birdies in the middle of the round but suffered an untimely three-putt bogey with three holes to play that left him with mixed emotions regarding the round. “I didn’t really play that great, but scored a lot better that I played,” he said. “It was kind of a weird round. Played good for a little bit of a stretch and then kind of sloppy. But 4 under, I’ll take it.” Koepka credited the 66 to a strong round with the putter that saw him make over 100 feet worth of putts and gain nearly two shots on the field (plus 1.990) in the strokes gained: putting category. With just three rounds left before his U.S. Open title defense, it would be understandable if Koepka was already looking ahead to Shinnecock. But that isn’t the case. His sights are firmly set on TPC Southwind and finding a way to secure his third TOUR title. “I’m not looking forward towards next week,” said Koepka. “There’s nothing better than winning a golf tournament going into a major. I feel like I’m playing well enough to do that, so just keep doing what I’m doing.” NOTABLES Seamus Power was born in Waterford, Ireland, but has a connection to the state of Tennessee. It was at East Tennesee State University that Power played his collegiate golf. Even though ETSU is roughly a nine-hour drive from TPC Southwind, Power noted the bermuda grass made him feel at home. He follwed last season’s T27 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic by grabbing the solo lead with a 65. “It’s a great start. I played here last year and it kind of suits my eye, so I kind of feel good going out,” Power said.  Save for a bogey on the par-4 5th, Phil Mickelson closed out his round without any major issues, despite missing the last four fairways. In typical Mickelson fashion, he managed to get up-and-down on three of the four holes while adding a birdie on the 8th to shoot 66. “I was able to finish the round off even though I didn’t quite have it there at the end,” he said.  Seamus Power holds a one-shot lead after Round 1, but he has crowded pack right behind him. A whopping eleven players shot 66 on Thursday, good enough for a share of T2 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. The list of pursuers includes Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Wesley Bryan and Steve Stricker. The last wire-to-wire winner in Memphis was Ben Crane in 2015.  Steve Stricker and Mackenzie Hughes punched their tickets to the U.S. Open on Monday, getting through 36 holes of sectional qualifying at Ridgeway Country Club and Colonial Country Club. On Thursday, the pair opened with 66 and currently sit one behind Seamus Power. For Stricker, it’s the seventh time in eight starts this season he’s opened with a sub-70 round.  With one foot in the water, Dustin Johnson chipped in from 40 feet off the green on the par-3 12th for birdie. It was the lone highlight of a relatively quiet round for Johnson, who shot 67 with a double bogey on the 9th hole. “I felt like I played well, just didn’t really make any putts, but gave myself a lot of chances and I’m really confident in my game right now,” Johnson said.  QUOTABLES We don’t believe in humidity in Idaho, so this is a little bit different for me.That’s obviously nice but there’s no prizes given out after Round 1.I still feel like I should play out here and I belong out here and that’s my mentality and I’m trying to stick with that. SUPERLATIVES Low round: Seamus Power’s 5-under 65. Longest drive: Zecheng Dou with a 360-yard drive on the 3rd hole. Longest putt: Johan Kok with a putt of 86 feet, 6 inches for birdie on the 17th hole. Hardest hole: The 485-yard par-4 5th, which played to a stroke average of 4.244, with just 15 birdies on Thursday. Easiest hole: The 530-yard par-5 16th, which played to a stroke average of 4.609, with 4 eagles and 68 birdies on Thursday. Greens in regulation: Andrew Putnam hit 17 greens and shot 67. CALL OF THE DAY For play-by-play coverage of Round 2 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, listen at PGATOUR.COM. SHOT OF THE DAY

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