QBE Shootout, Third round: Leaderboard, tee times, TV schedule

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – History does not favor Si Woo Kim this week. No champion of THE PLAYERS Championship has successfully defended in the 44 years of the tournament. The best result by a defending champ are the T-5s posted by Jack Nicklaus (1977), Tom Kite (1990) and Hal Sutton (2001). More to the point, the defending champ rarely finds himself in contention, and is more apt to miss the cut. Since Sutton’s result, the last 16 results by the defending PLAYERS champ includes four missed cuts, a WD, a DNP and just one top-10 finish – by Adam Scott, who tied for eighth in 2005. A year ago, Jason Day tied for 60th after shooting a final-round 80. Meanwhile, Kim became the youngest champ in PLAYERS history, winning by three strokes. It was an unexpected victory – and Kim continued to produce the unexpected Thursday. His 5-under 67 is the lowest opening score by a defending champ since the tournament moved to TPC Sawgrass in 1982. Had he not stumbled down the stretch with bogeys in two of his last three holes, he would’ve been the first-round leader. “I played great,� said the 22-year-old Korean, who began his round off the 10th tee and was a bogey-free 7 under for his first 14 holes. “… I liked the score in the first round, but I can hit it better.� Day arrived at TPC Sawgrass in 2017 still dealing with issues involving his mother’s battle with cancer. It did not leave him in the proper frame of mind to defend, but he also acknowledged that it’s difficult to defend in a tournament that produces the best field of the season. “This tournament is heightened,� he said. “The level of it just goes up every single year. I think it gets closer and closer to a major championship feel every single year that we play, and I feel like a lot of the guys think that it’s a major championship.� And just like a major, there are few successful defenses. The last one came at the Open Championship in 2008 when Padraig Harrington won at Royal Birkdale. Since the end of World War II, a total of 289 majors have been played – and the defending champ has won just 14 times, a success rate of less than 5 percent. Of course, that’s still better than the zero percent for defending PLAYERS champ. Asked after his round Thursday about what it would mean to be the first player to achieve that feat, Kim replied, “I feel like it would be dreaming, but that’s too hard. This is just the first round. I’m going to keep working hard.� Probably a wise move. Not only is he battling the best field in golf, he’s battling history. Notables Bubba Watson has made 10 starts at TPC Sawgrass. His best result was a T-37 in 2013. But his opening 68 – which ties for his lowest score in his last 21 rounds here – has him on personal-best pace. “Every time I come here, I’m just trying to beat 37,� Watson said. “I’m no good around this place. It’s very difficult for me because of the sights off the tee, some of the trees. It makes me fear hitting shots that I want to hit.� On Thursday he hit a respectable 10 fairways and 13 greens. Rule, Britannia? The English group of Justin Rose (68), Tommy Fleetwood (69) and Ian Poulter (70) combined for 9 under. Neither Poulter nor Rose, the two veterans, could ever remember playing in an all-English threesome at a PGA TOUR event. “I was alerted by the TOUR maybe last week some time that they were thinking about that group,� Rose said. “It was exciting to hear it.� It’ll be even more exciting if at least one of them can remain in contention Sunday, especially since no Englishman has ever won THE PLAYERS. Webb Simpson was among the attendees for a dinner local resident Jim Furyk hosted at his house Wednesday night for Ryder Cup hopefuls. Simpson is 23rd in the U.S. standings, but his 6-under 66 no doubt caught the captain’s attention. “I’ve still got a lot of work to do to get on the team, but it was nice to be there,� Simpson said. Jordan Spieth opened bogey-bogey-eagle-double en route to a 3-over 75. It wasn’t as bad it looked, though. During one three-hole stretch, he said he “lost three strokes with a total of 6 feet in the landing zone� and added that other than two bad swings, he “played good golf and just didn’t get rewarded for it.� Brooks Koepka, who recently returned to action after missing most of this year with an injured left wrist, re-aggravated the problem when he stopped in mid-swing during a practice session Wednesday in order to avoid a cart driver who had accidentally driven in front of him 15 yards away. “It’s the first time my strength actually backfired, to be strong enough to actually stop it,� said Koepka, who was hitting 3-iron stingers to practice for shots needed at the 18th hole. “He would’ve been dead. It was perfect timing.� Koepka iced the wrist overnight, then shot a bogey-free 2-under 70. Quotables My cut-to-top-6 ratio is pretty good.It’s hard not to have a smile on your face when you shoot 5 under at this place.I really don’t think I have anything to work on this afternoon. I think it’s time to go to the beach with the kids.

Click here to read the full article…

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Tiger Woods has never come from behind to win a major. Then again, he’d never won a tournament with a fused back before last fall, when he won the TOUR Championship for his 80th PGA TOUR victory. Perhaps there’s a first time for everything, including threesomes on Masters Sunday to preempt the terrible weather in the forecast. “I’m just making sure that I stayed in double digits,â€� Woods said of his thought process in the third round, when he was in near-total command and signed for a 5-under 67. At 11-under par (double digits), he’s tied with Tony Finau and two back of Francesco Molinari, arguably the hottest player in golf over the last 12 months. RELATED: Leaderboard | Tee times | Weather forces Sunday changes to tee times, broadcast | Roundtable: Will Tiger win his fifth green jacket? | Tales of Tiger’s equipment They will play in the same group Sunday as the field tees off early from both tees in an attempt to avoid forecasted thunderstorms. Woods is attempting to win a major for the first time since the 2008 U.S. Open; a victory Sunday would mark his fifth Masters, one behind Jack Nicklaus, and 15th major overall, three behind Nicklaus. He’s never won a major coming from behind, but in the four Masters that he’s reached 11 under or better through 54 holes, he’s won all four. “It will be interesting to see if the wind comes up like the forecast,â€� he said. “Fifteen, 20 miles an hour around this golf course is going to be testy.â€� Woods hit nine of 14 fairways, tied for his best this week, and 16 of 18 greens. He took 30 putts, and overcame a slow start in which he went 1 over for his first five holes. He gave himself a talking to as he walked to the sixth tee. “Just be patient,â€� he said he told himself. “Very simple. The golf course is certainly gettable, a lot of scores going out there. … Let the round build. We’ve got a long way to go.â€� Finau, Webb Simpson (9 under, four back) and Patrick Cantlay (6 under) all shot 64s. On a day when the celebrities on the grounds included Alex Rodriguez and John Isner, the players at the 83rd Masters gave them plenty to watch. Woods kick-started his round with three straight birdies on holes 6-8, and added three more on Nos. 13, 15 and 16. “I drove it well and hit my irons well,â€� he said. “I made some putts. Like I said, I just let the round just kind of build. And I don’t need to go after every single flag. Just put the ball in the correct spots so I can have gettable looks and gettable putts.â€� Now he’ll try to finish it off nearly 11 years since he last tasted major championship glory, with the instant-classic U.S. Open victory over Rocco Mediate at Torrey Pines. Will that ancient history help him? Woods isn’t leaning on it; he’s hoping to learn from more recent history. He shot a final-round 64 to finish second to Brooks Koepka at the most recent major, the PGA Championship. And at The Open Championship the month before that, Woods shot a final-round 71 to finish T6 when paired with eventual champion Molinari. “It’s been a while since I’ve been in contention here,â€� he said. “But then again, (being in the mix to win) the last two majors counts for something.â€� Tiger hole-by-hole (Round 3) ROUND 3 STATS: 9 of 14 fairways hit, 16 of 18 greens in regulation, 30 putts (no three-putts) 18 (par 4, 465 yards): Smashes 294-yard drive into the fairway, leaving only 164 yards to the pin at the uphill finishing hole. Slight pull on approach shot, ball winds up 35 feet left of pin. Two putts and he’s got a closing par for a third-round 67. Poulter shoots 68 and has still never shot lower than Woods in the six times they’ve played together on TOUR. Woods is just a shot behind Molinari, who is still back on the course. (Overall: 11 under) 17 (par 4, 440 yards): Finds short grass yet again with 294-yard drive, eighth hit fairway in 13 chances. Has had good control today. With 154 yards remaining, hits one of his few mediocre shots today, his ball winding up 43 feet short of the pin. Has fallen into a tie for second with Molinari getting to 12 behind him, and a two-putt par leaves him one back. (Overall: 11 under)  16 (par 3, 160 yards): Not a very gettable pin placement, four paces from the right edge, but that doesn’t dissuade Woods. His tee shot hits and sticks just inside seven feet from of the hole, giving himself a prime opportunity to roll in another birdie to tie for the lead. He converts to tie Finau and Molinari for the lead. (Overall: 11 under)  15 (par 5, 530 yards): Hits another fairway with 311-yard drive, but down the left side. Will he be blocked out? No, it turns out. With a clear look at the green, slightly overcooks second shot, ball ending up on the apron behind the green. Beautiful touch on his third shot as chip cozies up to two feet from the pin. Another birdie to pull to within just a shot of the lead, tied with Molinari and Schauffele. (Overall: 10 under) 14 (par 4, 440 yards): Woods hits his fifth fairway (of 10 chances) so far today, this time dialing back and settling for a 283-yard tee shot. Approach from 165 yards not a good one, though, coming up 37 feet short. Although he has made birdies here each of the first two days, Woods has little chance of that and two-putts for par. Up ahead of him, Finau has signed for a 64 and finished at 11 under. Woods still two back. (Overall: 9 under) 13 (par 5, 510 yards): Nearly turns easiest hole on the course into a disaster as hooks tee shot into trees, only to get a good break as the ball kicks out and remains playable. Hits a low, 160-yard hook around the trees, then skips his 69-yard third shot to six feet past the pin. Birdie putt catches the left edge. This could have been a bad hole, but it turns into a huge help as he moves back to just two behind Finau. (Overall: 9 under) 12 (par 3, 146 yards): With Finau getting to 11 under ahead of him, Woods is now three behind. Wedge shot flies a bit too far, settling 18 feet behind the pin. Overcast skies have given way to warm sunshine as Woods walks across Hogan Bridge, over Rae’s Creek. He’s been good from this range this week, but leaves birdie try just a few inches short. Easy par. (Overall: 8 under)  11 (par 4, 505 yards): Loses 341-yard tee shot right, but tells ball to go even farther right as it’s in the air. Takes nature walk amid the Georgia pines, temporarily losing sight of caddie Joe LaCava, and discovers he’s gotten his wish: The ball has come to rest in a clearing 156 yards from the pin. Hits a fine approach shot out of the trees to 33 feet behind the hole. Two-putt par. (Overall: 8 under)    10 (par 4, 495 yards): Hits 3-wood off tee and shapes perfectly for downhill, right-to-left fairway. Ball stops 303 yards away, leaving 187-yard approach. With Tony Finau first to reach 10 under well ahead, Woods is two back. Hits approach shot to fat of the green, leaving 23-foot birdie attempt. Birdie try burns the top edge of the cup and rolls two feet past. Taps in for par. (Overall: 8 under)   FRONT 9 STATS: 4 of 7 fairways hit, 7 of 9 greens in regulation, 15 putts 9 (par 4, 495 yards): First bad shot of the day, a wild right miss off the tee, comes on a hole where he’s historically struggled to hit the fairway. From pine straw hits a bullet that winds up 35 yards short of the green. Gets out of trouble, though, with a pitch to three feet below the hole. Makes it for a par to shoot 2-under 34 on the front nine. Still one back. (Overall: 8 under)   8 (par 5, 570 yards): Splits fairway with a 314-yard beauty, leaving just 265 yards to the back pin location. Second shot, too, is on target, traveling 266 yards and settling just 11 feet from the pin. Primed to make his fourth career eagle on the eighth, Woods, alas, misses and taps in for his third straight birdie. He’s back to just one off the lead, as he was to start the day. The other good news is it’s his first red number on the hole after a par Thursday and bogey Friday. (Overall: 8 under) 7 (par 4, 450 yards): Phil Mickelson, playing up ahead, used a long iron here, but after first birdie of the day Woods swings driver and 309-yard tee shot splits the fairway. Still chomping on that gum (like Phil), still fighting course to a draw on these difficult first seven holes. Hits 147-yard approach shot to mere inches from the pin for a tap-in birdie, his second in a row. Now in red numbers on the day. (Overall: 7 under) 6 (par 3, 180 yards): With many others going low on moving day, Woods seems to be stuck in neutral. His tee shot soars over the pin but too long, leaving himself an 18-footer for birdie. Woods led the field in putting from outside 20 feet the first two days (5/15), and coaxes his left-to-right birdie effort into the cup for his first birdie of the day. He’s back to even on the day. (Overall: 6 under) 5 (par 4, 495 yards): The hardest hole on the course, which he’s bogeyed each of the first two days, Woods gets in trouble immediately, pulling his 293-yard drive into the yawning left bunker. With a huge lip in front of him he has no choice but to lay up with a lofted iron, his ball coming down 87 yards short of the green. Third shot winds up 21 feet short of pin, and he misses par try. Taps in for third bogey here in three days. He’s now four back of Finau. (Overall: 5 under)    4 (par 3, 227 yards): Playing partner Ian Poulter has never beat Woods in the five times they’ve played together on the PGA TOUR. With both having started with three straight pars, both hit solid tee shots, Woods some 15 feet left of the pin. He narrowly misses his slight left-to-right birdie putt on the high side for his fourth straight par. With Tony Finau reaching 9 under ahead of him, Woods has gone from one behind to start the day to three behind. (Overall: 6 under)  3 (par 4, 350 yards): Driver down the right side of the fairway leaves a difficult angle to the left pin, with the green running away from him. Sure enough, pitch shot lands around the pin, but does not stop until it cozies up to the left fringe. Birdie effort breaks hard right and in front of the cup, leaving a tap-in par, his third straight par to begin the round. (Overall: 6 under) 2 (par 5, 575 yards): Woods, who hit just 7/14 fairways yesterday, misses fractionally to the right off the tee. Although he calls for the ball to move just one yard to the left, it bounds into the bunker, ruling out going for the green in two. He takes a mighty lash from 261 yards just to get the ball over the front lip, and leaves himself a 148-yard third shot. A conservative approach to well right of the left pin sets up a routine two-putt par. (Overall: 6 under) 1 (par 4, 445 yards): Woods shows up in a lavender mock T and gray slacks. He has had his issues with the opening hole at Augusta National, but splits the fairway with his drive but leaves his approach shot well short. (A common play amongst his fellow competitors on this hole today.) Putting uphill to the back pin location, he guns his first effort three feet past the pin, but makes the come-backer for a par. (Overall: 6 under) Pre-round notes TIGER’S PUTTING: Through the first two rounds, Tiger has been great from long range … and horrible from short range. From outside 20 feet, Tiger ranks first in the field, making 5 of 15 attempts for a rate of 33.33%. No other player in the field has made more than three putts from that distance. From inside 5 feet, however, Tiger has missed three of his 29 putts, leaving his conversion rate at 89.66%. Among the 65 players who made that cut, the only player with a worse percentage is amateur Alvaro Ortiz at 89.29%. From 5-10 feet, though, Ortiz leads the field, making all eight of his attempts. Woods has missed four of his eight attempts (50%). Just 12 players have lower percentage rates than Tiger from that distance. FAMILIAR PAIRING: Tiger is paired with Englishman Ian Poulter for the third round at the Masters for the second consecutive year. Both were well off the pace when they played together a year ago, with Tiger shooting an even-par 72 to end the round tied for 40th, while Poulter shot a 74 to drop into a tie for 50th at that point. Saturday will be the sixth round that Woods and Poulter have been in the same group at a PGA TOUR event. The first time was at THE PLAYERS Championship in 2010 when they were in the same threesome for the first two rounds. The last time was at THE NORTHERN TRUST during last season’s FedExCup Playoffs. Four times, Woods has shot the better score, and the other time they recorded the same score. RECENT SATURDAYS AT AUGUSTA: When Tiger won his last green jacket in 2005, he shot a 7-under 65 that moved him from six shots behind to three strokes ahead. That 65 tied for his lowest round in his Masters career – in fact, both of his 65s at Augusta National have happened in the third round. In his 10 starts since 2005, Tiger has shot in the 60s just twice in the third round, a 68 in 2008 and another 68 in 2015.

Click here to read the full article…

How the field qualified for the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational as of 7/19/2019: Member of last named U.S. Ryder Cup team Bryson DeChambeau Tony Finau Dustin Johnson Brooks Koepka Phil Mickelson Patrick Reed Webb Simpson Jordan Spieth Justin Thomas Bubba Watson Member of last named European Ryder Cup team Paul Casey Tommy Fleetwood Sergio Garcia Tyrrell Hatton Rory McIlroy Alex Noren Thorbjorn Olesen Ian Poutler Jon Rahm Justin Rose Henrik Stenson Top 50 players – World Golf Ranking (through 7/23) Patrick Cantlay Xander Schauffele Gary Woodland Matt Kuchar Adam Scott Jason Day27 Louis Oosthuizen Matt Wallace Marc Leishman Chez Reavie Kevin Kisner Hideki Matsuyama Matthew Fitzpatrick Keegan Bradley Kevin Na Shane Lowry Rafa Cabrera Bello Eddie Pepperell Billy Horschel Cameron Smith Brandt Snedeker Haotong Li Andrew Putnam Jim Furyk Cheng Tsung Pan Justin Harding Tournament Winners – 115+ points WGR strength of field Lucas Bjerregaard Corey Conners J.B. Holmes Max Homa Kodai Ichihara Sung Kang Nate Lashley Adam Long Keith Mitchell Aaron Rai Kevin Tway Danny Willett Matthew Wolff Winner – Japan Golf Tour Mikumu Horikawa Shugo Imahira Winner – South Africa Tour Philip Eriksson Winner – Asian Tour Poom Saksansin

Click here to read the full article…