Round 3 review: The Masters

While Justin Rose chased the lowest round in TOUR history and Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas dueled down the stretch of a prestigious national championship, PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan appeared on CBS’ Sunday broadcast of the RBC Canadian Open to answer questions about the recent suspensions of a group of players and to reiterate his optimism about the future of the PGA TOUR. Commissioner Monahan addressed the first event of the LIV Golf Invitational Series, which was played earlier this week, but the difference between that “exhibition,” as Monahan called it, and what was occurring in the final round of the RBC Canadian Open provided the perfect contrast to illustrate the strength of the PGA TOUR. “Why do they need us so badly?” Commissioner Monahan asked, referring to players who wanted to compete in the Saudi-backed series and still have an option to play some events on the PGA TOUR. “Those players have chosen to play in a series of exhibition matches against the same players over and over again. You look at that versus what we see here today, and that’s why they need us so badly. You have true, pure competition with the best players in the world here at the RBC Canadian Open with millions of fans watching. “And in this game, it’s pure and true competition that creates the profile of the world’s greatest players and that’s why they need us. That’s what we do. But we aren’t going to allow players to free ride off our loyal members, the best players in the world.” Monahan said questions about how the major championships and Official World Golf Ranking would treat the new series would need to be answered by those respective organizations and that his focus is on the TOUR’s membership and the full TOUR schedule. The makeup of the TOUR’s membership – which features young, talented, established players from across the globe – is one reason the Commissioner said he is bullish on his organization’s future. The top 20 players in the world ranking represent nine different countries on four continents. The FedExCup is shaping up to be a race between two 25-year-olds experiencing breakout seasons, Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns, with stars like THE PLAYERS champion Cameron Smith and former FedExCup champions Patrick Cantlay, Thomas and McIlroy in the mix. “Life is all about meaning and purpose and we are an organization with meaning and purpose,” Commissioner Monahan said. “The best players in the world make wonderful things happen on this platform day in and day out, week in and week out.” The LIV Golf Invitational Series features players with guaranteed contracts playing in 54-hole, no cut events, trading large paychecks for compelling competition. The funding of that circuit has drawn criticism, including from a group of 9/11 survivors and families who lost loved ones in the tragedy. While the Commissioner did not directly address those criticisms, he did ask, “Have you ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA TOUR?” Being aligned with the TOUR means being aligned with an organization that will undergo unprecedented growth in the next decade and continue to make an impact in each community it visits, he emphasized. “This organization is going to continue to evolve … and we are going to continue to advocate for and grow this game in the right way and continue to make meaningful contributions as an organization,” Commissioner Monahan said. “I couldn’t be more excited about the future, the future we all have together.”

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TENERIFE, Spain (AP) – Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen set a course record with a 9-under 62 Thursday to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the Tenerife Open.

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NAPA, Calif. — Max Homa moved into position to defend his title at the Fortinet Championship, shooting a 5-under 67 on Friday to share the early 36-hole lead with Danny Willett at the PGA TOUR’s season opener. Homa, a two-time winner last season and a captain’s pick for next week’s Presidents Cup, had an eagle, four birdies and a bogey — his first of the week — for a two-day total of 12-under 132 at Silverado Resort & Spa. “The course fits my eyes,” Homa said. “I hit a lot of wedges today and I’ve been hitting the wedges really well, so when I get a lot of wedges from fairways like these, I feel like I can attack the pins.” The four-time PGA TOUR winner played collegiately at California. “I’ve got a great support system here,” said Homa, who won the 2013 NCAA individual title. “I’ve got friends and family up here and a bunch of, you know, people who appreciate I went to school up here.” Willett, winless in the United States since his triumph at the Masters in 2016, shot a bogey-free 64. Willett has eight titles on the DP World Tour, most recently last October at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland. He had eight birdies in his second round and is bogey-free for the week. “You know, the rough is hit and miss and with the greens being firm as they are. To go bogey-free is really good,” said Willett, who has only six top-10 finishes on the PGA TOUR since winning his lone major. “The field game is pretty sharp, the short game’s pretty sharp.” First-round leader Justin Lower was two shots back after a 71. His best finish in 28 previous PGA TOUR events dating to 2013 was a tie for eighth. “It’s always hard to follow up a very low round with another good round or even lower,” Lower said. “But I will take one under today. Could it have been better? Yes, but it definitely could have been worse as well.” Jason Day, Harris English, Charley Hoffman and Webb Simpson were among the players who missed the cut.

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