Quick start critical for Team USA on Sunday at Ryder Cup

KAPALUA, Hawaii – If you haven’t already – do yourself a favor and watch the video above of Dustin Johnson playing the 430-yard par-4 12th hole Sunday on his way to victory at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Go on – we will wait. Remember… it’s a par-4. Johnson’s incredible swipe with the driver off the tee that raced down the hill and scooted on the green at great pace appeared like it might run through the putting surface. That is if it didn’t hit the pin as it was tracking perfectly for the hole and looking like a rare albatross. Of course, it would also have been a hole-in-one on a par-4 – a feat not done since Andrew Magee used driver on the 332-yard 17th hole at TPC Scottsdale during the first round of the 2001 Waste Management Phoenix Open. But almost inexplicably the ball pulled up just six inches short of the hole, likely slowed up by a small sun shower that hit the course just moments earlier. Johnson knew he hit the ball well, but the green is out of view given the elevation change. “I could see it until it landed, but I knew it was on a good line. Obviously you have to get a nice bounce. I know exactly where I want it to come down out of the air and it did,â€� Johnson said. “So I knew it was going to be pretty good I just didn’t think I was going to have a tap-in.â€� Incredibly Johnson claims the swing was probably only 90percent – although he admitted it was “flushâ€�. When on course reporter Jim “Bonesâ€� Mackay relayed the news that the ball finished just six inches short Johnson dead-panned that he hit it a little thin. “I was just joking,â€� he laughed afterwards. “I hit it perfect.â€� The tap in eagle – his second on the weekend on the same hole after his hole out wedge from 72 yards on Saturday – increased his margin to seven shots. He would eventually win by eight, his second Sentry Tournament of Champions title and 17th overall PGA TOUR win. OBSERVATIONS RAHMBO REAL DEAL: While Jon Rahm never really contended for the title on Sunday the Spanish sensation continues to climb in the estimation of many. His runner up finish was his fourth on the PGA TOUR and he’s just beginning his second season. The result will push him to third in the world rankings behind only Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth. Clearly he is a super talent who could easily add to his lone PGA TOUR win at any moment. “If I keep playing good, keep working, keep learning about myself, I just need to keep getting better scores without my A game like I have this week,â€� Rahm said of trying to push even higher. “Hopefully I can keep playing good and maybe someday be No.1. If it’s not meant to be, it’s not meant to be, but it’s definitely one of my goals.â€� HIDEKI HEATING UP: This time last season Hideki Matsuyama was one of the hottest players in the world having gone on a worldwide win streak. The results weren’t matched at the end of last year however the hangover from the PGA Championship loss to Justin Thomas appears to be well and truly over. His T4 finish is his second top-5 from three events this season and gives optimism going forward. “What I’m going to take from this week is I really hit some quality iron shots all week long,â€� he said. “I wish I could say the same about my driver and putter. But, again, I’m looking forward to these next two weeks to correct the things that I need to and be ready for my next tournament at Torrey Pines.â€� NEW FEDEXCUP LEADER: Dustin Johnson’s win moved him from 25th to second in the FedExCup standings but we still have a new leader in the season long points race. Pat Perez, courtesy of a T4 finish, will now occupy top spot. Patton Kizzire, the leader coming into the event, has dropped to third. Jon Rahm made the biggest move, jumping from 151st to 18th on the list with his runner up finish. NOTABLES Jordan Spieth – With rounds of 75-66-70-69 the former FedExCup champion finished at 12-under, 12 shots back in ninth place. “Just need some short game and some putting tightening up. Just got to get comfortable with both,â€� he said. Justin Thomas – The defending FedExCup champion and event champion finally had a decent round, closing with an eagle for a 6-under 67. It left him at 4-under and T22. Marc Leishman – The 18 and 36-hole leader bounced back from his third-round collapse (76) with a 6-under 67 to move into a tie for seventh. Brooks Koepka – The U.S. Open champion finished a distant last, revealing a left wrist injury is still bothering his play. QUOTABLES I would imagine. I don’t know, I can’t remember.We’d tie, right?Make a lot more putts, apparently.On this course it’s tough, the way the wind was blowing today. He knocks it to a foot on 12 for eagle, and I’m having to lay up to 130 yards.  SUPERLATIVES Low round: 8-under 65 – Winner Dustin Johnson capped off his 17th PGA TOUR victory with another sublime round featuring seven birdies, an eagle and just one bogey. Longest drive: 430 yards – Dustin Johnson went within six inches, yes inches, of a hole-in-one on the par-4 12th. Incredible. Longest putt: 41 feet, nine inches – Canadian Adam Hadwin made birdie on the par-4 10th. Easiest hole: Par-5 5th – At 4.147 with one eagle, 27 birdies and six pars. Hardest hole: Par-4 1st – At 4.324 it failed to yield a birdie. There were 23 pars and 11 bogeys.  

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Bubba Watson, fresh off a PGA TOUR-best third victory this season, will try to keep the momentum going at his adopted second home as he joins fellow Greenbrier property owner Phil Mickelson atop the marquee at the famed West Virginia resort next week at A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier. Outgoing champion Xander Schauffele also faces a title defense against such threats as THE PLAYERS Championship titleholder Webb Simpson and Kevin Kisner, who lost a Greenbrier playoff to Danny Lee two years ago. FIELD WATCH With Mickelson, Simpson and Kisner among the late additions, the field features five of the top 12 in the FedExCup points chase, and seven of the top 35 in the current world rankings. Chase Seiffert, who parlayed a Monday qualifying berth into a share of ninth at the Travelers Championship, gets a second bite by virtue of his top-10 finish. He was a Florida State teammate of U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka. All seven former winners are in the lineup, seeking to become the first to stamp his name a second time. Former Oregon standout Norman Xiong, winner of the Haskins Award for college excellence, tees it up in his first TOUR event as a pro. Sam O’Dell, fresh off his fourth West Virginia Amateur title, is in on an exemption along with former Marshall golfer Davey Jude. FEDEXCUP Winner receives 500 points. STORYLINES Watson, whose Travelers Championship title came from six shots off the pace, hopes to carry the momentum into the West Virginia mountains. Though 14 of his 16 rounds at The Old White TPC have been in the 60s, he’s still seeking his first top-10 finish. Mickelson tees it up for the fifth time at The Greenbrier, though last year was the first time he got to play the weekend. Robert Streb tries again after runner-up finishes in each of the past two editions. He was one shot behind Schauffele last year and part of the four-man playoff won by Lee in 2016. No 54-hole leader at The Greenbrier has managed to close out the final day. Three of the seven winners have come from at least four shots back – Jonas Blixt (2013), Ted Potter Jr. (2012) and Stuart Appleby (2010). Up to four berths to the Open Championship are available for players among the top 12 not already booked for Carnoustie. After Sunday, just one berth will be left for the John Deere Classic’s top non-qualified finisher among the top 5. COURSE The Old White TPC, 7,286 yards, par 70. Now in its second century of use, Charles Blair Macdonald’s 1914 design lives on after a restoration that followed West Virginia’s massive floods two years ago. Several holes were inspired by renowned layouts in Macdonald’s native Scotland, particularly No.8’s sloped “redan� green that resembles the 15th at North Berwick. Also, No. 13 recalls Prestwick’s “Alps� hole and the 15th imitates “Eden� at St. Andrews. The Old White’s 18th was the setting for Sam Snead’s final hole-in-one in 1995. The PGA TOUR arrived in 2011, promptly making noise as Appleby’s closing 59 propelled him to the first Greenbrier Classic title. The course is one of five layouts at the resort, named for the Old White Hotel that stood on the property for more than six decades. 72-HOLE RECORD 258, Stuart Appleby (2010). 18-HOLE RECORD 59, Stuart Appleby (4th round, 2010). LAST YEAR Schauffele emerged from a daylong battle with Streb and Sebastian Munoz to notch his first career victory, striping a wedge to 3 feet at The Old White’s par-3 finisher for the deciding birdie. Three weeks after gaining notice with a tie for fifth at the U.S. Open, the California rookie used a closing 67 to wipe out a three-shot deficit. Playing one pair ahead of his rivals, Schauffele’s tee shot at No. 18 drew a roar noticeable on the 17th green, where both Streb and Munoz missed birdie attempts. The duo also failed to birdie the 18th, leaving Schauffele one shot clear of Streb (69) and two ahead of Munoz (72) and Jamie Lovemark (69). Not only did Schauffele become the seventh come-from-behind winner at The Greenbrier in as many editions, it was the fourth time the tournament had been captured by a rookie. HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 3:30-6:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE:Thursday-Friday, 7 a.m.-3:30 p.m. (featured groups), 3:30-6:30 p.m. (featured holes). RADIO: Thursday-Friday, noon-6:30 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).

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