Rory Sabbatini now playing for Slovakia

Brooks Koepka goes for the three-peat. Tiger Woods returns to the site of his masterpiece performance. Phil Mickelson attempts to complete the career Grand Slam. There are plenty of storylines for next week’s U.S. Open at arguably the world’s most scenic course. Six hundred FedExCup points are available for the winner, as well. Here’s a look at some of the tee times we’ll have an eye on at Pebble Beach (note: FedExCup ranking in parentheses; (a) – amateur; all times ET). Jon Rahm (12): The winner of this season’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans (with Ryan Palmer) has three top-10s in majors in his career. His best U.S. Open finish was T23 in 2016, his last event as an amateur. Marc Leishman (11): The CIMB Classic champion has five top-10s in majors but none at the U.S. Open. Rory McIlroy (4): The reigning PLAYERS champion and 2016 FedExCup champion also won the U.S. Open in 2011. Thursday tee time: 10:51 a.m. off No. 10. Friday tee time: 4:36 p.m. off No. 1. Si Woo Kim (39): The 2017 PLAYERS champion has four top-10s this season. Rickie Fowler (8): The 2015 PLAYERS champion also won this year’s Waste Management Phoenix Open. He was runner-up at the 2014 U.S. Open. Jason Day (36): His 12 PGA TOUR victories include the 2016 PLAYERS and 2015 PGA Championship. He is a two-time U.S. Open runner-up. Thursday tee time: 11:02 a.m. off No. 1. Friday tee time: 4:47 p.m. off No. 10. Justin Thomas (14): The 2017 FedExCup champion has two top-3 finishes this season but is still seeking his first win since last year’s World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. Kevin Kisner (19): Kisner picked up his first World Golf Championship at this year’s Dell Technologies Match Play. Kisner and Thomas were teammates on the 2017 Presidents Cup. Bryson DeChambeau (27): The five-time PGA TOUR winner also was the 2015 U.S. Amateur champion. Thursday tee time: 11:02 a.m. off No. 10. Friday tee time: 4:47 p.m. off No. 1. Dustin Johnson (5): Not only has he won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am two times, but he was the 54-hole leader at the 2010 U.S. Open. He shot a final-round 82, but got his U.S. Open title six years later. Phil Mickelson (24): He picked up his record-tying fifth AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am victory earlier this year. Now he’s trying to complete the Career Grand Slam by winning the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. He finished T4 at the 2010 U.S. Open. Graeme McDowell (53): The 2010 U.S. Open champion won earlier this year at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship. Thursday tee time: 11:13 a.m. off No. 10. Friday tee time: 4:58 p.m. off No. 1. Francesco Molinari (22): The reigning champion of The Open won earlier this year with a final-round 64 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. Viktor Hovland (a): Hovland won last year’s U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach, and was the fifth-ranked player in college golf this season. Brooks Koepka (2): He’s won the past two U.S. Opens and PGA Championships. He also won this season’s CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES. Thursday tee time: 4:47 p.m. off No. 1. Friday tee time: 11:02 a.m. off No. 10. Webb Simpson (42): The 2018 PLAYERS champion also won the 2012 U.S. Open in Northern California, at the Olympic Club. Adam Scott (15): The former PLAYERS champion has two runners-up this season, at the Farmers Insurance Open and Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. Matt Kuchar (1): He leads the FedExCup standings after two wins this season. He also popularized the arm-lock putting method on the PGA TOUR that Simpson employs and Scott used earlier this year. Kuchar is the 2012 PLAYERS champion. Thursday tee time: 4:47 p.m. off No. 10.  Friday tee time: 11:02 a.m. off No. 1. Jordan Spieth (65): He won the 2015 U.S. Open en route to claiming the FedExCup. He hasn’t won since the 2017 Open Championship but his game is trending in the right direction. He has three consecutive top-10s. Spieth also won the 2017 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Justin Rose (10): The reigning FedExCup champion already won once this year on the California coast, at the Farmers Insurance Open. He is the 2013 U.S. Open champion. Tiger Woods (20): He returns to the site of his record-smashing performance in the 2000 U.S. Open. He also was T4 here 10 years later. Woods is a two-time FedExCup champion. He’ll have another opportunity to tie Sam Snead’s PGA TOUR record of 82 victories this week. Thursday tee time: 5:09 p.m. off No. 1 Friday tee time: 11:24 a.m. off No. 10. Here are the full first and second round tee times for the 2019 U.S. Open. (* Denotes 10th Tee Start) FIRST ROUND 9:45 AM Sam Saunders Carlos Ortiz Marcus Fraser 9:45 AM* Luis Gagne (a) Sepp Straka Julian Etulain 9:56 AM Player TBD Erik Van Rooyen Chun An Yu (a) 9:56 AM* Dean Burmester Player TBD Kyounghoon Lee 10:07 AM Ryan Fox Thorbjorn Olesen Player TBD 10:07 AM* Clement Sordet Tom Hoge Adri Arnaus 10:18 AM Scottie Scheffler Matt Parziale (a) Nick Taylor 10:18 AM* Brian Davis Kevin O’Connell (a) Billy Hurley III 10:29 AM Patton Kizzire Jovan Rebula (a) Jason Dufner 10:29 AM* Brendon Todd Luke Donald Mike Weir 10:40 AM Haotong Li Bubba Watson J.B. Holmes 10:40 AM* Kyle Stanley Billy Horschel Danny Willett 10:51 AM Zach Johnson Martin Kaymer Ernie Els 10:51 AM* Jon Rahm Marc Leishman Rory McIlroy 11:02 AM Si Woo Kim Rickie Fowler Jason Day 11:02 AM* Justin Thomas Kevin Kisner Bryson Dechambeau 11:13 AM Shane Lowry Tyrrell Hatton Gary Woodland 11:13 AM* Dustin Johnson Phil Mickelson Graeme McDowell 11:24 AM Cameron Smith Matthew Wallace Xander Schauffele 11:24 AM* Hideki Matsuyama Sergio Garcia Tommy Fleetwood 11:35 AM C.T. Pan Abraham Ancer Brandon Wu (a) 11:35 AM* Jhonattan Vegas Patrick Reed Louis Oosthuizen 11:46 AM Chan Kim Justin Walters Player TBD 11:46 AM* Rob Oppenheim Rhys Enoch Richard Lee 11:57 AM Nick Hardy Noah Norton (a) Andreas Halvorsen 11:57 AM* Andy Pope Ryan Sullivan Matthew Naumec 3:30 PM Rory Sabbatini Sam Horsfield Roberto Castro 3:30 PM* Nathan Lashley Renato Paratore Lee Slattery 3:41 PM Cameron Young (a) Marcus Kinhult Brian Stuard 3:41 PM* Player TBD Collin Morikawa Aaron Wise 3:52 PM Luke Guthrie Joseph Bramlett Charlie Danielson 3:52 PM* Merrick Bremner Chip McDaniel Cody Gribble 4:03 PM Austin Eckroat (a) Alexander Noren Charles Howell III 4:03 PM* Michael Thorbjornsen (a) Chez Reavie David Toms 4:14 PM Thomas Pieters Chesson Hadley Stewart Hagestad (a) 4:14 PM* Rafa Cabrera Bello Kevin Na Keegan Bradley 4:25 PM Paul Casey Patrick Cantlay Lucas Glover 4:25 PM* Jim Furyk Henrik Stenson Brandt Snedeker 4:36 PM Kiradech Aphibarnrat Keith Mitchell Shugo Imahira 4:36 PM* Luke List Lucas Bjerregaard Branden Grace 4:47 PM Francesco Molinari Viktor Hovland (a) Brooks Koepka 4:47 PM* Webb Simpson Adam Scott Matt Kuchar 4:58 PM Tony Finau Jimmy Walker Ian Poulter 4:58 PM* Byeong Hun An Devon Bling (a) Matthew Fitzpatrick 5:09 PM Jordan Spieth Justin Rose Tiger Woods 5:09 PM* Justin Harding Aaron Baddeley Player TBD 5:20 PM Daniel Berger Matthew Jones Kodai Ichihara 5:20 PM* Ollie Schniederjans Mikumu Horikawa Anirban Lahiri 5:31 PM Matthieu Pavon Chandler Eaton (a) Callum Tarren 5:31 PM* Daniel Hillier (a) Alex Prugh Zac Blair 5:42 PM Eric Dietrich Guillermo Pereira Brett Drewitt 5:42 PM* Hayden Shieh Spencer Tibbits (a) Connor Arendell SECOND ROUND 9:45 AM Nathan Lashley Renato Paratore Lee Slattery 9:45 AM* Rory Sabbatini Sam Horsfield Roberto Castro 9:56 AM Player TBD Collin Morikawa Aaron Wise 9:56 AM* Cameron Young (a) Marcus Kinhult Brian Stuard 10:07 AM Merrick Bremner Chip McDaniel Cody Gribble 10:07 AM* Luke Guthrie Joseph Bramlett Charlie Danielson 10:18 AM Michael Thorbjornsen (a) Chez Reavie David Toms 10:18 AM* Austin Eckroat (a) Alexander Noren Charles Howell III 10:29 AM Rafa Cabrera Bello Kevin Na Keegan Bradley 10:29 AM* Thomas Pieters Chesson Hadley Stewart Hagestad (a) 10:40 AM Jim Furyk Henrik Stenson Brandt Snedeker 10:40 AM* Paul Casey Patrick Cantlay Lucas Glover 10:51 AM Luke List Lucas Bjerregaard Branden Grace 10:51 AM* Kiradech Aphibarnrat Keith Mitchell Shugo Imahira 11:02 AM Webb Simpson Adam Scott Matt Kuchar 11:02 AM* Francesco Molinari Viktor Hovland (a) Brooks Koepka 11:13 AM Byeong Hun An Devon Bling (a) Matthew Fitzpatrick 11:13 AM* Tony Finau Jimmy Walker Ian Poulter 11:24 AM Justin Harding Aaron Baddeley Player TBD 11:24 AM* Jordan Spieth Justin Rose Tiger Woods 11:35 AM Ollie Schniederjans Mikumu Horikawa Anirban Lahiri 11:35 AM* Daniel Berger Matthew Jones Kodai Ichihara 11:46 AM Daniel Hillier (a) Alex Prugh Zac Blair 11:46 AM* Matthieu Pavon Chandler Eaton (a) Callum Tarren 11:57 AM Hayden Shieh Spencer Tibbits (a) Connor Arendell 11:57 AM* Eric Dietrich Guillermo Pereira Brett Drewitt 3:30 PM Luis Gagne (a) Sepp Straka Julian Etulain 3:30 PM* Sam Saunders Carlos Ortiz Marcus Fraser 3:41 PM Dean Burmester Player TBD Kyounghoon Lee 3:41 PM* Player TBD Erik Van Rooyen Chun An Yu (a) 3:52 PM Clement Sordet Tom Hoge Adri Arnaus 3:52 PM* Ryan Fox Thorbjorn Olesen Player TBD 4:03 PM Brian Davis Kevin O’Connell (a) Billy Hurley III 4:03 PM* Scottie Scheffler Matt Parziale (a) Nick Taylor 4:14 PM Brendon Todd Luke Donald Mike Weir 4:14 PM* Patton Kizzire Jovan Rebula (a) Jason Dufner 4:25 PM Kyle Stanley Billy Horschel Danny Willett 4:25 PM* Haotong Li Bubba Watson J.B. Holmes 4:36 PM Jon Rahm Marc Leishman Rory McIlroy 4:36 PM* Zach Johnson Martin Kaymer Ernie Els 4:47 PM Justin Thomas Kevin Kisner Bryson Dechambeau 4:47 PM* Si Woo Kim Rickie Fowler Jason Day 4:58 PM Dustin Johnson Phil Mickelson Graeme McDowell 4:58 PM* Shane Lowry Tyrrell Hatton Gary Woodland 5:09 PM Hideki Matsuyama Sergio Garcia Tommy Fleetwood 5:09 PM* Cameron Smith Matthew Wallace Xander Schauffele 5:20 PM Jhonattan Vegas Patrick Reed Louis Oosthuizen 5:20 PM* C.T. Pan Abraham Ancer Brandon Wu (a) 5:31 PM Rob Oppenheim Rhys Enoch Richard Lee 5:31 PM* Chan Kim Justin Walters Player TBD 5:42 PM Andy Pope Ryan Sullivan Matthew Naumec 5:42 PM* Nick Hardy Noah Norton (a) Andreas Halvorsen

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Truth be told, Ben An figured “Jokerâ€� would probably win the Oscar for Best Picture on Sunday night. After all, a non-English-language film like “Parasiteâ€� had never claimed the top prize at the Academy Awards. But as the Korean film kept racking up those coveted gold statuettes, An and his wife Jamie, who were watching the telecast from their Orlando home, got more and more excited. Best Original Screenplay came first. Then, Best International Feature Film. When Boog Joon-ho beat out the legendary Martin Scorsese and the quirky Quentin Tarantino, among others, for Best Director, An pulled out his phone to take pictures of the winner on the TV screen, which he gleefully posted on his Instagram account. “Chills,â€� the 28-year-old from Seoul wrote. Related: TOUR pros: My first time with Tiger | Tiny Westlake’s big impact | Special week for APGA Tour After Joaquin Phoenix picked up the Oscar for Best Actor and Renee Zellweger won for Best Actress, it was time for Best Picture. An was beyond thrilled when “Parasiteâ€� made history. “I thought maybe, but …â€� the former U.S. Amateur champ posted with another screen shot, this time of the film’s entire entourage celebrating on the Dolby Theater stage, adding “#doyouknowparasiteâ€� at the bottom. The magnitude of the movie’s win – heralded with the headline “Can you believe that ‘Parasite’ won the Academy best picture?â€� in South Korea’s largest newspaper — was not lost on An. “I think it’s a big step forward because no one has, no one’s done this before,â€� An said in a telephone interview on Tuesday. “And that’s why we were so high in Korea and we’re so surprised about this. It’s like, it’s like winning a major; it was the first Asian to win a major — that kind of feeling.â€� Sungjae Im, who is from Jeju, South Korea, is in Los Angeles this week to play in The Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club, located about 20 miles from the theater where the Academy Awards was held. Like An, he’s seen the movie, which he called “very creative.â€� “The plot is about one family conning another wealthier family to survive and it’s brilliant,â€� Im said through a translator on Tuesday. “It’s very different from other movies I’ve watched.â€� The 21-year-old Im, who, like An, was one of Ernie Els’ picks for the International Team at last year’s Presidents Cup, says the film’s success on Sunday night was “phenomenal. “As a Korean-language movie, it must’ve been so difficult to win all those awards, but for them to win four is absolutely amazing,â€� he says. “It made me really proud to be Korean.â€� While he says “Parasiteâ€� is his new favorite movie, An says his taste in film generally runs more toward those in the Marvel universe. He was a big “Batmanâ€� fan as a kid, and more recently has enjoyed the “Iron Manâ€� series. But An was drawn toward “Parasite,â€� which he has seen twice – first on his computer and again on the plane heading to Australia to join Im at their Presidents Cup debut. Central to the satire on class discrimination in the movie are the two very different Korean families and how their lives intertwine. “I’d say it gives you a lot of things to think about because it’s strong,â€� he says. “This is mostly talking about the rich and poor and tells you about how they made it. It’s hard to describe. It’s a very well-made movie because every scene means something. “And I tried to look at it online because when you, watch it for a first time, you don’t get 100 percent of what a director is trying to tell you. So, I tried to search it online to see what all the scenes mean, and what the picture says. … “I’ve totally spent probably equal times to the movie time, like online, just finding out what they all mean all together.â€� But as much as he enjoyed following the success of “Parasiteâ€� – from the Cannes Film Festival, where it was the first Korean film to win the top prize, the Palme d’Or, to Sunday’s Oscars — don’t expect An to join the staff of Rotten Tomatoes anytime soon. “My job is to play golf, not be a critic,â€� he says with a chuckle.

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One good way to measure the mood of the country is to watch what ads pop up on Facebook’s Words With Friends (Scrabble) app. There are spots for survival gear, facemasks, home-workout subscriptions. And, lately, the Dinsler Practice Net ($99.95) to catch your stay-at-home tee shots. Be it in densely populated New York, where an executive order closed most courses, or New Jersey, where courses, parks and boardwalks are shut down, or even Florida, where courses remain mostly open, stay-at-home golf has never been hotter. “You’re really seeing an eagerness to play, and people are figuring out where and when they can do that,� said Rodney Chamblee, Merchant of Accessories at PGA TOUR Superstore. “Hitting nets, chipping nets, hitting mats, putting mats. People who are staying at home, wanting to hit balls, stay flexible – we’ve seen an uptick in practice and/or training aids.� That could mean something as simple as a putting matt with automatic ball return ($39.99 on pgatoursuperstore.com), or a training aid like the SuperSpeed Training Sticks ($199.99), which help players improve swing speed like weighted bats for ballplayers. The Orange Whip ($119.99), a flexible golf shaft with an orange ball at the end of it that helps players feel and generate tempo and flexibility, is also selling well. The answer to where exactly people are using these things is a four-letter word: H-O-M-E. Tiger Woods, broadcaster Jim Nantz, and short-game guru Dave Pelz have some of the most elaborate home practice areas on earth, but they were built pre-pandemic. For the rest of us, like Scott Jones of Fleming Island, Florida – near TPC Sawgrass, home of THE PLAYERS Championship – the COVID-19 crisis has inspired a flurry of architectural creativity. Jones, whose dog is named Rory McIlroy, can still avail himself of open courses near him but built an elaborate backyard course with an assortment of mats and nets, plus a launch monitor. “As a golfer,� he told Jacksonville television station Fox 30 Action Sports Jax, “I can hit all 14 clubs in the bag.� Lexi Thompson of the LPGA lives in Palm Beach County, one of three “hot spot� counties in Florida where officials have closed courses; on social media, she posted a photo of her garage/hitting area. Others have shared videos of themselves chipping in the back yard and/or showing off. Golf Digest published two lists of “the best quarantine-themed golf trick shots we’ve seen.� All of which has added up to a rare bit of good news for retailers. For retrieving balls hit in a park or other open space, some of PGA TOUR Superstore’s online buyers are even going back to the shag bag ($19.99). A shag tube is just $12.99. The National Golf Foundation has kept close tabs on the coronavirus pandemic and how it’s impacting the industry. It also measures pent-up demand and estimated 43% of golfers are practicing at home more than ever, adding, for emphasis, “About 1 in 5 say they’re doing this a lot more than usual. Might be a good time to get into the window-replacement business.� Last week was a better one for course availability, the NGF reported Monday, as 58 percent of U.S. courses were open for play, up from 49 the week before. Although golf operations were cleared to resume in Minnesota and Wisconsin, with “pockets of play� opening back up in California, plus a ruling in New York allowing for play at private clubs, the Northeast remains largely shut down. Just 3 percent of courses are open in Nevada. The itch to play, though, isn’t going away so easily. Said Chamblee, “Titleist has always had a promotion, a stock-up program at beginning of the season, mid-March to mid-April. The customer buys three dozen ProV1s and gets the fourth free, and gets them personalized. That’s always been a very strong promotion for us, and I’ve noticed we’ve had an increase over historicals; there’s a pent-up demand, people are eager to get out there and play. As soon as they can, they’ll be ready to go.�

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