Rose closes in on Race to Dubai title

Showing no effects from a rules controversy a day earlier, Patrick Reed pulled away for a five-shot victory Sunday in the Farmers Insurance Open.

Click here to read the full article…

BRADENTON, Fla. — Webb Simpson ran off three straight late birdies for a share of the lead Thursday in the WGC-Workday Championship at Concession. Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau ran up some big numbers. RELATED: Leaderboard | Finau and Rahm pair up again at WGC-Workday Championship Simpson matched Matthew Fitzpatrick with a 6-under 66 at The Concession in the World Golf Championships event moved from Mexico City to Florida because of COVID-19 circumstances. Simpson’s finishing stretch included a wedge to 2 feet, a 30-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole and a two-putt birdie from about 40 feet on the par-5 17th. Fitzpatrick, who contended last week at Riviera, played bogey-free on the Jack Nicklaus design that had never been used for a PGA TOUR event. “Very pleased with the start,” Simpson said. “I worked on a couple things last week with putting alignment and with my driver and I saw good things from that today. You always want to see it first round back, but it doesn’t always happen that way, so I was happy to see like tough tee shots with trouble, really stepping up and making good swings. “And made a lot of putts today,” he added, “so that was a good feeling.” Johnson had his first Sunday round over par in a year when he shot 72 last week while in contention. The start at this World Golf Championship was even worse. He drove left into the trees on the 18th hole as he was making the turn, had to pitch out sideways, came up short and then failed to get up-and-down to take double bogey. He made another double bogey on No. 5 with a tee shot into the water. Johnson wasn’t alone in his struggles. DeChambeau also shot a 77, with his big trouble coming on the 16th. After a tee shot into the water, he went right of the fairway, came up short of the green and took three shots to get down for a triple bogey. Bubba Watson had a 77, while Matthew Wolff shot an 83 and withdrew. Brooks Koepka was a stroke out of the lead at 67 with Billy Horschel, Sergio Garcia and Kevin Kisner, who is playing for the first time since the Sony Open in Hawaii because his wife had their third child. “If you’re on, you’re going to have chances. You’re going to be really good with the tee ball or you’re going to have chances with your iron play,” Horschel said. “If you’re off with your ball-striking and you miss in some tough spots, you can look pretty silly.” Jon Rahm bogeyed the final hole late in the afternoon for a 68. Tony Finau, coming off a playoff loss to Max Homa last week at Riviera, also was at 68 with defending champion Patrick Reed, Wade Ormsby, Sungjae Im and Cameron Smith. Rory McIlroy had three bogeys in a 69. “I think with any new course it’s just a matter of getting comfortable with visuals and lines off tees, and then I think we’re all sort of learning the golf course a little bit as we go along,” McIlroy said. “Most TOUR events we go to, we basically know where the four pin positions are going to be and we can practice to those. “I think tee-to-green it’s pretty simple,” he said. “But then around the greens, I think it’s one of these places, the more you play it, the more you’ll just feel comfortable with it.” Justin Thomas one-putted his last four holes — three birdies and one par — to salvage a 73 after he had dropped four shots in a three-hole stretch on his first nine. The par was a 10-footer on the par-5 seventh after it took him two shots to get out of a fairway bunker. Homa, coming off the hometown win in Los Angeles, also had a 73. Patrick Cantlay, who leads the FedExCup, withdrew before the start of the round with stomach and dehydration issues.

Click here to read the full article…

OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. – The FedExCup Playoffs will be a major determining factor in the votes of most PGA TOUR players as they contemplate their Player of the Year choice. Adding another layer of excitement to an already stacked four weeks of golf, the performance of those on the shortlist for Player of the Year will strengthen their pedigree with an impressive run in the postseason. And of course, others not yet in the full consciousness of the voters could yet leap out and surprise. “I don’t think you can even have the conversation until after East Lake to be fair,â€� former U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy said. “These Playoffs are very important for Player of the Year.â€� While Justin Thomas, with wins at the PGA Championship, the CIMB Classic, Sentry Tournament of Champions and the Sony Open in Hawaii leads the contenders, he’s not a clear-cut choice just yet. He does have the bonus of shooting a 59 in Hawaii and a 63 at the U.S. Open. Jordan Spieth won The Open Championship, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Travelers Championship. He’s snapping at the heels of his friend. “The Playoffs are very important, this year. It’s a close race right now. I think it’s between four guys, in my opinion,â€� Spieth, who was the 2015 FedExCup champion and Player of the Year, said. “It’s a tremendous honor, having been there, it’s the MVP. You’re the MVP of the league. When you put it that way, it’s something that you want really badly. “So it’s a fight and it’s something that is keeping me going out and grinding at the end of a really good season.â€� Spieth admitted he felt slightly behind in the race but felt winning the FedExCup “would probably take care of it.â€� Thomas likes being the current favorite but adds, “I’d much rather hear you say that four events later than probably now.â€� While these two are the main contenders – ruling out others might be dangerous. Hideki Matsuyama – who enters the FedExCup Playoffs as the top seed – has won the World Golf Championships – HSBC Champions, the Waste Management Phoenix Open and the World Golf Championships – Bridgestone Invitational. While he is without a major it is important to note he has three runner-up finishes, one of which was the U.S. Open. He finished inside the top 14 of all four majors and missed just one of 18 cuts all year. “You say those guys, but if Dustin Johnson wins the next four weeks, there’s only one Player of the Year. It not even close,â€� Ogilvy adds. “To be fair, if anybody wins the next four events, they are in the conversation.â€� Johnson, the No. 4 in the FedExCup and world No. 1, is almost the forgotten man of the season. This is despite winning the Genesis Open, World Golf Championships – Mexico Championship and World Golf Championships – Dell Match Play in consecutive starts earlier in the year. “I’m just fine flying under the radar. That’s all right,â€� Johnson grinned as he begins his Playoffs push. The 2016 U.S. Open champion certainly hasn’t given up hope of being crowned the season-long champ and Player of the Year. “I’m looking for a really good finish to the year. Obviously at the end, I’d like to be the FedExCup champion. That’s a goal of mine right now. We’ve got four big tournaments coming up, and so I need to play well in all four.â€� Canvassing other players, who are the voters for the award, and you get a similar sentiment to Ogilvy. U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka doesn’t feel like he’s in the running now, but hopes to get some people thinking over the next month. “You win three times in the Playoffs and win the FedExCup — I would certainly say that changes some things,â€� Koepka said. “It is probably narrowed down to two or three guys and I don’t think I’m one of them but then again if you pop off a couple big wins in the Playoffs then the story changes.â€� Bryson DeChambeau, a winner at the John Deere Classic, jokingly asked if he could be Player of the Year if he won all four Playoffs events. It’s not as funny as it seems. If he did, that would be five wins on the season, more than anyone else. “The majors definitely mean a lot but it is who has been consistent over the course of the year and the FedExCup Playoffs are part of that,â€� DeChambeau said. Jason Day, who won five times in 2015 but lost out on the vote to Spieth — also a five-time winner — will be looking at the raw numbers when casting his ballot. “At the end of the day whoever wins the most usually is going to be Player of the Year,â€� he said. “If they have the same amount of wins but one wins the FedExCup, well of course, that’s going to sway the vote.â€� It’s certainly a fun side note to keep an eye on as we get underway at THE NORTHERN TRUST this week.

Click here to read the full article…