Red-hot Scheffler wins Match Play, rises to No. 1

It’s the final official event of the year, bringing the calendar to a close at the picturesque Sea Island Resort in St. Simons Island, Georgia. Tony Finau, who’s scheduled to return to Sea Island for the first time since 2014, leads the field. There are plenty of locals looking to win on their home turf, as well, as Sea Island is a popular gathering spot for some of the TOUR’s top players. FIELD NOTES: Finau, a two-time winner on TOUR last season, is the highest-ranked golfer in the field… Six of the top 40 in the world are teeing it up, with Brian Harman, Sepp Straka, Tom Hoge, 2015 RSM Classic winner Kevin Kisner and FedExCup leader Seamus Power, winner of the recent Butterfield Bermuda Championship, joining Finau. Qualifiers for last season’s TOUR Championship who are in the field are Straka, Finau, Hoge, Harman, J.T. Poston, Sahith Theegala and Scott Stallings… Recent RSM winners in the field include Kisner, two-time RSM winner Robert Streb, Chris Kirk, Austin Cook, Tyler Duncan, and Mackenzie Hughes, who won the Sanderson Farms Championship this fall… Tournament host Davis Love III will tee it up alongside fellow major champs in Webb Simpson, Francesco Molinari, Justin Rose, Stewart Cink, Jason Dufner, Zach Johnson, and Jason Day… Nick Hardy and Zac Blair are teeing it up on major medical extensions… Sponsor exemptions include four-time TOUR winner Aaron Baddeley, Camilo Villegas, Chris Gotterup, Jacob Bridgeman, Notre Dame’s Palmer Jackson and Georgia alum Spencer Ralston. Bridgeman (No. 2) and Gotterup (No. 7) were members of this year’s class in PGA TOUR University presented by Velocity Global. Gotterup, the 2022 NCAA Player of the Year, recently finished T3 at the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament, while Bridgeman finished T45 to earn conditional status. Jackson earned his spot in the field by winning the prestigious Jones Cup at nearby Ocean Forest Golf Club. Past champions of that amateur event include Justin Thomas, Corey Conners and PGA TOUR rookie Davis Thompson. Jackson is No. 20 in the PGA TOUR University Velocity Global Ranking. Baddeley has Monday qualified for two events this season, including a T6 finish at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. Villegas was a Captain’s Assistant at this year’s Presidents Cup. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points. COURSE: Sea Island Resort (Seaside), 7,005 yards, par 70; Sea Island Resort (Plantation), 7,060 yards, par 72. Tournament Davis Love III and his brother Mark re-worked the Plantation Course – inspired by the traditional profile of Walter Travis’ 1928 original – in 2019 with plenty of classic design features. Tom Fazio, meanwhile, redid the Seaside Course – a links-style layout adjacent to the ocean – in 1999. STORYLINES: Four of the last six editions of The RSM Classic have gone into a playoff, including three in a row from 2018-2020… Sea Island has been a haven for first-time TOUR winners but not so much for local residents. There are lots in the field this year, per usual, but none have won the event. While Kevin Kisner captured the title in 2015, he was actually living in Sea Island only because his South Carolina home was being renovated… If there is one golfer to look at continuing the first-timer-trend at Sea Island, look to Taylor Montgomery, who hasn’t missed a cut this fall (with finishes of 3-T9-T15-T13-T10)… Webb Simpson is hoping to finally take this tournament across the finish line. He finished inside the top 10, again, last season – the fifth time he’s done that, including two playoff losses… This is the last official PGA TOUR event on the calendar until the Sentry Tournament of Champions the first week of January. 72-HOLE RECORD: 260, Kevin Kisner (2015), Talor Gooch (2021) 18-HOLE RECORD: 60, Tommy Gainey (4th round, 2012), Sebastian Munoz (1st round, 2021), Tyler McCumber (4th round, 2021) LAST TIME: Talor Gooch fired a final-round 64 to win by three over 2016 RSM champ Mackenzie Hughes for his maiden TOUR title. Gooch made three birdies in four holes after making the turn on Sunday and no one else could get close as the tournament reached its conclusion. Gooch had a three-shot lead to start the day and was locked in early, making birdies of just five and nine feet on Nos. 2 and 4 to start his final round. Gooch’s 22-under 260 matched the tournament record set by Kevin Kisner in 2014, while he became the seventh golfer in the 12-year history of the tournament to make The RSM Classic his first TOUR victory. Hughes shot a tidy 8-under 62 to finish solo second, while Sebastian Munoz, who earlier in the week shot a course record-tying 60, finished third. Tyler McCumber, who shot a 60 of his own in the final round, finished tied for fourth alongside three other golfers. HOW TO FOLLOW: Television: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-3 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-4 p.m. (Golf Channel) For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR PGA TOUR LIVE: PGA TOUR Live is available exclusively on ESPN+ Main Feed: primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course Marquee Group: new “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group Featured Groups: traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups Featured Holes: a combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes Radio: Thursday-Friday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio)

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BROOKLINE, Mass. – The U.S. Open is the most democratic of championships, leaving plenty of space in its field for the dreamers who try to qualify. It also has a reputation as the most difficult major, known for its long rough and firm greens. MJ Daffue saw both sides of the U.S. Open’s identity Friday. The 33-year-old who’s spent most of his career on the mini-tours spent most of the day atop the U.S. Open leaderboard, ahead of players like Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Scottie Scheffler. That was before Daffue’s difficult finish, when several trips to the penal sand traps that dot The Country Club’s landscape led to a back-nine 40. Still, Daffue signed for a second-round 72 and sits 1 under par at the halfway point. This year’s U.S. Open – at one of the USGA’s five founding clubs – is proving to be a traditional test, so anyone in red numbers is still in contention, and that includes Daffue, who has battled depression and near-bankruptcy to reach this moment. Daffue is the sort of relatively anonymous player that the U.S. Open prides itself on giving an opportunity to. So, who is he? He’s a 33-year-old South African who once sold wine for the label owned by a two-time U.S. Open winner, Retief Goosen, as he chased Monday qualifiers and mini-tour events before securing guaranteed starts on the Korn Ferry Tour for this season. Several times, Daffue nearly depleted his bank account to fund entry fees and travel. He’s battled bouts of depression brought on by bipolar disorder, which he has learned to manage more effectively through better understanding its effects. He has dealt with severe loss, his future mother-in-law suddenly passing away in 2013 after a tragic accident where she tripped on a curb and was struck by a car. After so many nightmares, Friday was a dream for Daffue. He captured the golf world’s imagination as he built a three-stroke lead midway through his second round at The Country Club outside Boston. Even after his difficult finish, he was just two back of clubhouse leaders Scheffler and Nick Hardy after the morning wave. Daffue is ranked 296th in the world, has played just 13 PGA TOUR events and has never won an event that’s recognized in the Official World Golf Ranking, but he isn’t sure he sees himself as an underdog. His strong play on the Korn Ferry Tour this season – he has three top-three finishes – means he’s already clinched his PGA TOUR card for next season, so perhaps Friday was just a sneak preview of the better days to come. He’ll gladly embrace the underdog label, though, and the fan support that comes with it, especially on the course that produced Francis Ouimet’s surprise victory more than a century ago. Daffue says he’ll embrace the narrative, in the same way he strives to embrace the inevitable ups and downs of one’s life, whether good or bad. “Leading the U.S. Open, not a lot of people can say it,” Daffue said. “It was awesome. It hasn’t really sunk in yet, but as a kid … I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it. “Saying you led the U.S. Open, it’s an unbelievable feeling. … Glad to entertain some people while I was out there.” A dose of that entertainment came on the par-5 14th hole. After pulling his tee shot well left of the fairway, Daffue found his ball on the carpet of a hospitality tent. Rather than taking relief, he deemed it best to play the ball as it lay. From 287 yards, his cleanly struck 4-wood settled in the left rough, 20 yards from the hole. He proceeded to make bogey, but the score will take a backseat to a lighthearted moment from a memorable morning. “I had an option to drop it, but it would’ve been in the thick rough,” explained Daffue. “I don’t think from there I would have been able to get it on the second fairway, and I didn’t want to hit a 7-iron to a blind target. But I had a 4-wood in the bag, and the lie on it is so good on the hospitality. “It’s got a little bit of spring in it, so even if you hit a little bit behind it, the club will bounce, and it will actually bounce into the ball.” Daffue’s connection with Goosen spans beyond wine sales. Daffue’s dad knew Goosen’s brother, which led to an 11-year-old Daffue playing a round of golf with Goosen in January 2001, just five months before Goosen captured his first major title at Southern Hills. “My dad gave me a call. ‘Listen, I’m going to come get you from school, and we’re going to play a round of golf,’” Daffue remembers. “I was like, ‘What in the world?’ I still remember it as if it happened right now, standing behind him on the first tee. He shot 64 that day.” The two remain close to this day; both live in the United States (Daffue in Houston, Goosen in Orlando) and they’ll get together to chat wine, grilling, boating and sometimes golf. “One time I asked him, I said, ‘Hey, how do you do so well under pressure in U.S. Opens?’” Daffue said. “He said, ‘I’ve just done it a few times.’ It makes a lot of sense, actually. The more you do it, the more you get used to it.” As Daffue ascended the leaderboard Friday morning at Brookline, Goosen was following along. “He’s done a lot of Monday qualifiers and has always been under financial stress,” Goosen said via text Friday. “So one thing he can handle is pressure. This week can change it all.” Entering the season, Daffue wasn’t sure he would attempt U.S. Open qualifying. As he was pursuing his first PGA TOUR card, he didn’t want to skip a Korn Ferry Tour event, even for a major, and lose the opportunity to earn valuable points. Daffue clinched his TOUR card in May, however, which gave him the freedom to attempt Final Qualifying. He shot 7 under for 36 holes in Springfield, Ohio, to punch his ticket to Brookline. In recent years, Daffue has worked to transition his preferred shot shape from a low cut to a high draw, modeling the likes of his good friend Andrew Landry, who also spent a few years without Korn Ferry Tour status before making a surprise appearance on a U.S. Open leaderboard. Landry was a PGA TOUR rookie and ranked outside the top 600 in the world when he played in the final group of the 2016 U.S. Open. Landry shot a final-round 78 and finished 15th but has gone on to become a two-time TOUR winner. Daffue’s U.S. Open story is far from its conclusion. “Underdog stories, I don’t know. Am I an underdog?” Daffue laughed at the podium early Friday afternoon. “You know, we’ll see this weekend. “I don’t think my goal is to win this week. My goal is just to be the best I can be, and if the best I can be and the best I can play is good enough for that, then I’ve achieved what I wanted to achieve.” He has overcome much to reach this point. What’s another two days at Brookline?

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