Quick look at the Presidents Cup

This week we head to Norton, Massachusetts, and TPC Boston, for the second FedExCup Playoffs event and the inaugural year of Dell Technologies’ title sponsorship. It’s only the second title sponsor (after Deutsche Bank) for this New England tournament that dates back to 2003. Take note: Thrilling comebacks are the norm here, typified most recently by Rory McIlroy, last year’s winner, shooting a final-round 65 to overtake Paul Casey. Arnold Palmer was the original designer for TPC Boston, but Gil Hanse and consultant Brad Faxon re-designed it in 2007. They added “chocolate-drop� mounds and grass bunkers to the 7,342-yard, par-71 layout. The green complex at the par-5 18th hole was redesigned and unveiled in 2012. The importance of the Dell Technologies cannot be overstated. The top 100 players in the FedExCup Playoffs will be cut to the low 70 for the BMW Championship, which, after a one-week break will be held Sept. 14-17. Three winners of the Dell Technologies have gone on to win the FedExCup since the Playoffs began in 2007: Vijay Singh in 2008, Henrik Stenson in 2013, and Rory McIlroy last year. But there’s even more at stake: Boston represents the last chance for players to earn automatic berths on the U.S. and International Presidents Cup teams. Two days after Monday’s final round, the U.S. and International team captains Steve Stricker and Nick Price will make their two captain’s selections.    PGA TOUR LIVE is scheduled to air from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with Featured Groups coverage. The Featured Groups will consist of the top three in the FedExCup standings on Friday, and the fourth-, fifth- and sixth-ranked players Saturday. Similar to last year at this event, the second Featured Group each day will be decided by a Twitter vote. After Featured Groups, coverage will switch to Featured Holes at 3 p.m., the 161-yard, par-3 16th, and the 530-yard, par-5 18th, where many players will attempt to clear the hazard in front of the green with their second shots, then navigate what is arguably the most challenging green on the course.   PGA TOUR LIVE can also be viewed on Twitter from approximately 8:30 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. Friday and Saturday. (Note: All times Eastern; FedExCup ranking in parentheses.) FRIDAY Dustin Johnson (1), Jordan Spieth (2), Justin Thomas (3): With his win over Spieth at THE NORTHERN TRUST at Glen Oaks, Johnson moved his record in sudden-death playoffs to 1-1 and matched Thomas with his fourth victory this season. No. 1 in the FedExCup and Official World Golf Ranking, Johnson has three top-10 finishes at TPC Boston and leads the TOUR in strokes gained: tee-to-green. Spieth, whose playoff record fell to 4-3, leads the TOUR in adjusted scoring and said he was unperturbed by what happened last week, Johnson having won it rather than Spieth losing it. Thomas is coming off a T6 finish at Glen Oaks, where he shot four sub-70 scores. He leads the TOUR in birdie-or-better percentage.       Tee time: 9:15 a.m. off 10 tee   Twitter vote groups: 9:03 a.m. off 10: Brooks Koepka/Daniel Berger/Charley Hoffman 8:51 a.m. off 10: Brian Harman/Pat Perez/Matt Kuchar 9:15 a.m. off 1: Kyle Stanley/Marc Leishman/Jason Dufner 9:03 a.m. off 1: Louis Oosthuizen/Xander Schauffele/Charles Howell III SATURDAY Hideki Matsuyama (4), Jon Rahm (5), Rickie Fowler (6): Matsuyama was on a roll when he shot a final-round 61 to win the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational just a little over three weeks ago. Now, though, he comes to Boston on the heels of a missed cut at THE NORTHERN TRUST. Rahm is trending upward: His T3 at Glen Oaks broke a mini-slump that saw him miss the cut at the U.S. Open, and finish a lackluster T44 at The Open and T28 at the WGC-Bridgestone. Meanwhile, Fowler continues to cruise with five top-10 finishes and two top-25s in his last seven starts worldwide.       Tee time: 9:15 a.m. off 10 tee Twitter vote groups: 9:03 a.m. off 10: Jhonattan Vegas/Kevin Kisner/Paul Casey 8:51 a.m. off 10: Webb Simpson/Kevin Chappell/Adam Hadwin 9:15 a.m. off 1: Russell Henley/Justin Rose/Brendan Steele 9:03 a.m. off 1: Jason Day/Sergio Garcia/Billy Horschel PGA TOUR LIVE is scheduled to air at 8:30 a.m. again Sunday and Monday, giving way to Featured Holes coverage of the fourth hole, a driveable par-4 where players will aim for the front-right corner of the green, plus 16 and 18.

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DUBLIN, Ohio — The Captains Club announced that World Golf Hall of Famer Hale Irwin, a winner of three U.S. Open championships, has been selected as the Honoree for the 2018 Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. Irwin, who celebrated his 72nd birthday last week, is a two-time winner of the Memorial Tournament, in 1983 and ’85, making him one of just six multiple winners in tournament history. Also being honored posthumously in 2018 will be two-time major champion Jock Hutchison and Willie Turnesa, widely considered one of the game’s finest amateur golfers. “I’ve always simply accepted the game for what it’s given me and never assumed anything, so I feel very honored,â€� Irwin said. “The whole fact that Jack established this tournament to recognize some of golf’s notable figures means everything. Jack and Barbara are very near and dear to me. I have a hard time putting myself in that category with the greats of the past, so I am absolutely delighted.â€� Irwin was born on June 3, 1945, in Joplin, Missouri, but it was in Baxter Springs, Kansas, where Hale and his father spent countless hours on the sand greens at their local municipal golf course. He took up the game at age 4, and it was the work on those sand greens that helped Hale break 70 for the first time at age 14. The Irwin family relocated to Boulder, Colo., where Hale began to star at the prep level in golf, football and baseball. Hale led Boulder High School to a state title in football as their quarterback his senior year, earning him a scholarship to the University of Colorado. Irwin was a two-sport athlete at Colorado, excelling in golf and football. He graduated in 1967 and decided to pursue a golf career, turning professional a year later. He won his first PGA TOUR event at the 1971 Sea Pines Heritage Classic at Harbour Town Golf Links, the first golf course to be designed by Memorial Tournament founder and host Jack Nicklaus. During his illustrious career, Irwin won three U.S. Opens and 20 PGA TOUR events in all. He played on five U.S. Ryder Cup teams, captained the 1994 U.S. Presidents Cup team, and won a record 45 times on the PGA TOUR Champions to become the most decorated player in the history of senior golf. The leader in career earnings on the PGA TOUR Champions with more than $26 million, Irwin’s success in U.S. Golf Association events carried over to his senior golf career. He won two U.S. Senior Open titles and seven senior majors overall. Irwin’s record in the U.S. Open also cements his spot among golf’s legends. With 11 years between his second and third titles, he ties Julius Boros for the longest span between victories. He is the last winner who received a special exemption (1990), and that same year, he became the last winner to birdie the 72nd hole to force a playoff. His victory at age 45 years and 15 days also makes him the oldest U.S. Open champion. Only Willie Anderson, Bob Jones, Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus have more U.S. Open victories. “Hale was truly one of the great golfers and athletes we ever had playing on the PGA TOUR,â€� Nicklaus said. “He was a terrific golfer. He always had tremendous integrity. He’s been a terrific family man. Hale has always been one of the purest strikers of the golf ball. You knew when you got to a difficult golf course that Hale Irwin was going to be there somewhere. He was probably the best senior player we’ve ever had on the PGA TOUR Champions.â€� Jock Hutchison Jack Fowler “Jockâ€� Hutchison was born in St Andrews, Scotland, in 1884, where he was trained as a caddie. He immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s, and became a PGA professional in 1919 and a U.S. citizen in 1920. He won the PGA Championship in 1920, and the following year he traveled back to St. Andrews and won the Open Championship, becoming the first U.S.-based player to win the Claret Jug. Hutchison had been playing — and setting records on the Old Course at St. Andrews — with the grooved clubs he had been working on, and the R&A’s Rules of Golf Committee banned such ribbed clubs six days after his historic Open victory. Hutchison competed in 99 PGA TOUR events from 1916-1961 and collected 14 titles. He also won the inaugural Senior PGA Championship in 1937, which was held at Augusta National Golf Club. He won it again a decade later. Augusta National recognized the quality of Hutchison’s career when they made him one of the first two honorary starters of the Masters, along with Fred McLeod. Hutchison served in that role from 1963-73. Hutchison died on Sept. 27, 1977, and was inducted posthumously into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011. Willie Turnesa William P. “Willieâ€� Turnesa was born Jan. 20, 1914, and lived most of his life in Elmsford, New York. Willie was the youngest of the famous golfing Turnesa brothers. Three of the seven Turnesa brothers were top touring pros in the 1930s and ’40s, and Willie, the only brother who did not turn pro, was considered by many to be the best amateur golfer after Bob Jones. Turnesa won the U.S. Amateur championship in 1938 and 1948 and the British Amateur championship in 1947, and he was runner-up in the British Am in 1949. He was a member of three winning Walker Cup teams, in 1947, ’49 and ’51, and also served as captain of the 1951 squad. Willie served as president of both the Metropolitan and New York State Golf Associations in the mid-1950s. At that time, he also co-founded what is now known as the Westchester Golf Association Caddie Scholarship Fund, which has awarded millions of dollars to college-bound students. The Turnesa brothers were once called “the greatest family dynasty in golf history.â€� Turnesa died on June 16, 2001, in Sleepy Hollow, New York.

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LAS VEGAS – Jack Trent makes sure you know he’s not stalking Adam Scott. Sure, like Scott, he’s an Australian from the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. Sure, he followed in Scott’s footsteps by playing at the same home course, attending the same school as a kid, and ending up at the same college as the 13-time PGA TOUR winner. Sure, he used to study YouTube videos of Scott’s swing religiously as a youngster and try to replicate the smooth rhythmic moves. And sure he tried to build his golf game, and his demeanor, around his idol. “I’m not a stalker, I swear,â€� the 20-year-old laughed after meeting Scott inside the ropes at TPC Summerlin in the lead up to the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. You see, Trent and Scott having something else in common this week: they’ll both be making their tournament debut. Amazingly, Scott has never played the tournament despite his cameo time at University of Nevada-Las Vegas in the 1999 and 2000 college seasons before he turned pro. Trent, now a junior at UNLV, won the Southern Highlands Collegiate tournament earlier this year to earn a sponsor invite into the field where he will make his PGA TOUR debut. Clearly, Trent was already excited about the prospect of playing on the big stage when, during a gym workout last week, his phone rang. A strange number popped up he didn’t know. He contemplated not answering but then pushed the green button. “Hi. It’s Adam Scott. Is that Jack?â€� Trent heard. “How would you like to play a practice round together at the tournament?â€� After the initial shock wore off, Trent agreed and the pair officially met on Tuesday at TPC Summerlin. “I met him in the lunchroom and it wasn’t like real,â€� a wide-eyed Trent said. “It was pretty cool. I asked for his signature when I was 10 years old, so to be in this position right now feels a little surreal. “He’s really cool and chill and it felt natural. Felt like I had already met him before. We have a few things in common which helps with conversations. I felt really comfortable out there.â€� To be fair it’s more than a few things in common. In fact, Trent’s mother Louise – who proudly watched the entire practice round – recalled countless moments of her young son trying to emulate Scott. Louise even has photos where those who see them – without prompting – speak of how his mannerisms can mirror Scott’s. “When I was a junior we tried to model my swing a little bit off Adam Scott,â€� Trent admits. “Obviously, I have my own identity with it but he does have the prettiest swing in the world so you try to take a few things off it and build it off that. It is probably the best canvass to start off with.â€� Trent took down none other than Cole Hammer, the Texan who has already been at the top of the world amateur rankings, in a playoff to earn his place this week. While those in Nevada who follow junior and college golf weren’t overly surprised with the result, plenty of others were. Especially back in Australia. Truthfully, Trent’s success caught those down under by surprise. But they can be forgiven. Having seen the talent in their son, Trent’s parents packed the family up and moved to Las Vegas when he was 15, a year after he skipped school to watch Scott claim the first Masters title for Australia. The idea was to immerse him in the American high school and college golf system, and as a result Trent was not on the Golf Australia radar as much as others. He came to prominence when he made the final 32 at this year’s U.S. Amateur and an Australian flag popped up on the scoreboards next to his name. Trent would put down his residence in Las Vegas and his country in entry forms but invariably the stars and stripes would be shown next to his name. He tried writing “Las Vegas, Australiaâ€� as his town and was even announced that way at some events, but it wasn’t until this year’s U.S. Amateur at Pinehurst where he made a more formal request of the USGA, and it was granted. “I have always been an under-the-radar type guy but you can only do that for so long if you want to be out here. I am ready to try to elevate my game to the next level,â€� Trent says. “My goals this week are to have four really solid rounds. I think that would be a great week for me. I have a lot of family and friends coming out so I am going to try to soak it up as much as I can.â€� One man who thinks he can do it is Scott. When he heard of Trent and their similarities, he knew the right thing to do was to reach out. And truth be told, given Trent has played many more rounds at TPC Summerlin than Scott, the elder Aussie also learned a few things. “I have stayed in touch with UNLV golf since I left even though I haven’t been back to Vegas very much,â€� Scott said. “Jack’s only 20 years old and if I think back a little bit about all the opportunities UNLV opened for me here in the United States, well here it is doing the same thing for Jack. “Hopefully he is in for a good week. He obviously knows what he’s doing out here on the course. He’s a big strong kid and he has got all the tools and he has years and years ahead of him for his game to mature. There is no reason why he can’t have a good four days out here.â€� It wasn’t long after Scott left UNLV that he became a permanent member on the PGA TOUR, and at 24 he won THE PLAYERS for his second victory. No one is putting that sort or pressure on Trent. But given all the other similarities, keep an eye on the 2023 field at TPC Sawgrass.

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