Rahm claims world No. 1 spot with Memorial win

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – A year ago, Brooks Koepka was at home, sidelined with an injured left wrist, while The Honda Classic was being played just a few miles away. His mood – and his diet – were both going through a dark period. “I was sitting on the couch, probably eating a bunch of food,â€� Koepka recalled. “I wasn’t doing a whole lot. I gained, I think, 15, 20 pounds. I was obviously upset. I just missed competition. It wasn’t fun for me.â€� The wrist injury kept him out for four months and prevented him from playing the Florida Swing in March. He didn’t return until the week before THE PLAYERS Championship in May. Of course, you know how the rest of the season turned out — two major victories and the PGA TOUR Player of the Year award. All’s well that end’s well, perhaps, but those four months of inactivity for a player who was obviously ready to take the next step was tough. “I didn’t watch any golf until Augusta, so I didn’t know what was going on,â€� Koepka said. “You make a lot of friendships, seeing a bunch of people out here, and you just don’t have that. You’re forgotten very quickly. That’s what it taught me.â€� Nobody’s forgetting Koepka now, of course. He’s now starting his heavy stretch, having made just two starts since the calendar flipped to 2019. The most recent was last week at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship, where Koepka finished T-27. He’s among the favorites this week at PGA National, although his track record at this event is not something to celebrate – four starts, one missed cut, his best finish a T-27 in 2016. Before missing last year’s event, he missed the cut the year before. “I haven’t had the best memories here,â€� said Koepka, who was born in West Palm Beach and now lives in Jupiter, just a few miles north of PGA National. “I was going through a bunch of stuff off the golf course two years ago and then last year not being able to play, so I’ve tried to put that all in the past and tried to move on.â€� Despite the results, Koepka insists that PGA National is a course he likes. “I think it suits me really well, especially with the firm greens now. I think I’ve got a good chance.â€� That last sentence seems like an understatement – especially given the fact he’s won four times (three majors and THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES in Korea) since he last played The Honda Classic. “I always had the confidence,â€� Koepka said. “I wasn’t lacking that. I feel like I’m borderline cocky when it comes to that, but everybody out here should expect to win. Everybody out here is borderline confident to cocky. “Everytime you win, you’re going to build confidence, and if you’re on a nice little run like I was, you’re going to have a lot of it, and I feel like I’m still riding high on that. I’ve just been waiting for this Florida Swing for a while.â€�

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The PGA TOUR announced today that Will Zalatoris has been named the 2021 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year as voted by the TOUR’s membership for the 2020-21 season. Zalatoris, 25, is competing in this week’s Fortinet Championship to open his first full season as a member of the PGA TOUR. Zalatoris, who will receive the Arnold Palmer Award for winning PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year, was selected for the honor over Garrick Higgo. “On behalf of the PGA TOUR, my congratulations to Will Zalatoris on being voted the 2021 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year by the TOUR’s membership,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “Will’s success despite not having PGA TOUR membership status at the outset of the 2020-21 season is a testament to not only his ability but also his hard work and attitude.” Zalatoris joined the PGA TOUR as a Special Temporary Member in November and collected 1,296 non-member FedExCup points to earn full-time membership for the 2021-22 season. He recorded eight top-10s and made 21 cuts in 25 starts, highlighted by a runner-up at the 2021 Masters Tournament. The last Special Temporary Member to win PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year was Charles Howell III in 2001. Zalatoris also made 16 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2020 and recorded 10 top-10s, highlighted by a win at the TPC Colorado Championship at Heron Lakes and a runner-up at the Evans Scholars Invitational. He earned a spot in the 2020 U.S. Open via his play on the Korn Ferry Tour after changes to the tournament’s eligibility criteria and finished in a tie for sixth in his first start of the PGA TOUR season. Following the U.S. Open, Zalatoris finished in the top 10 in two of his next three starts (T8/Corales Puntacana Championship, T5/Shriners Children’s Open) and crossed the threshold for Special Temporary Membership with another top-25 result at the Bermuda Championship. Throughout the 2021 portion of the season, Zalatoris went on to play in THE PLAYERS Championship, all four major championships and three World Golf Championships events, with top-10s in three of those eight appearances. His best result of his season came at the 2021 Masters Tournament, where he finished solo-second and was the only player in the field to record four under-par scores. PGA TOUR members who played at least 15 official FedExCup events during the 2020-21 season were eligible to vote.

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Tiger Woods birdied four of his first five holes en route to a third-round 65 — his best score ever at TPC Sawgrass — at the Players Championship.

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