Sabbatini/Tway win QBE Shootout

Scottie Scheffler has been re-writing golf’s record books for the last four months. At the Waste Management Phoenix Open, Scheffler went from arguably the best player without a TOUR win to an unquestionable force. Then he officially became the best player (period) on the planet after his win at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, which vaulted him atop the Official World Golf Ranking. His gap of just 42 days between his first PGA TOUR or DP World Tour victory and ascending to No. 1 was by far the shortest in the 36-year history of the OWGR. And only Tiger Woods (21) and Jordan Spieth (77) needed fewer starts as a professional than Scheffler’s 92 to reach No. 1. At the Masters, Scheffler became the first player since Arnold Palmer in 1960 to leave Augusta with four or more wins that PGA TOUR season, including the Green Jacket. His win came in his very first start as the world No. 1, mirroring what Ian Woosnam did at Augusta National in 1991. And at the Charles Schwab Challenge two weeks ago, Scheffler showed he’s not close to done with this incredible heater. If not for Sam Burns’ heroics, Scheffler would have become the first player since Bobby Locke in 1947 to get each of his first five PGA TOUR victories in the same season. Scheffler is positioned to create even more history as the season reaches its apex. He returns to action this week at the RBC Canadian Open, his first career appearance in this storied event. And he does so with sizable leads in both the FedExCup and world ranking. Top of the Standings Scheffler’s enormous FedExCup lead of 1,041 points is easily the largest by any player at this point in the season under the current format, which started in 2009. The second-largest lead any player has had in the season points race as the TOUR left the Memorial Tournament was in 2015, when Jordan Spieth led by 624. With most TOUR events awarding 500 points to the winner, even an additional two wins by Burns – who ranks second in the FedExCup with three wins this season – could not be enough to catch his good friend. It’s a testament to Scheffler’s win in some big events, including a major (the Masters, which awards 600 points), a World Golf Championship (the Dell Technologies Match Play, which awards 550) and an elevated invitational (the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, which also is worth 550 FedExCup points). Scheffler also has two runners-up this season. With 3,142 points this season, Scheffler already has amassed the third-highest Regular Season points total since the current system began 13 years ago. In all but two years, the sum he already has in his pocket would be enough to lead the standings entering the FedExCup Playoffs. The only exceptions are 2009 (Tiger Woods, 3,431 points) and 2015 (Jordan Spieth, 4,169 points). Scheffler has averaged about 203 points per start since the beginning of February. If he maintains that pace and plays four more tournaments (in addition to this week) before the Playoffs begin, it would be entirely possible that Scheffler breaks Spieth’s record for the most Regular Season points accumulated under the current system. Emphatic No. 1 Scheffler also leads the Official World Golf Ranking with an average of 10.15 points per start, about 2.49 points ahead of world No. 2 Jon Rahm. That lead is more than twice the size of what Rahm’s lead was as No. 1 over Collin Morikawa (9.80 to 8.75) in the first ranking of 2022. A year ago today, Dustin Johnson held the top spot, but his margin over Justin Thomas was just 1.79 average points. Scheffler is assured of holding the top spot entering next week’s U.S. Open, regardless of what happens this week in Canada. Any time the topic of large leads atop the OWGR comes up, it’s impossible to not look back at some of the astronomical gaps Tiger Woods put between himself and the rest of the sport in his prime. After winning the 2008 U.S. Open, Woods had an average of 21.54 points per start – more than double world No. 2 Phil Mickelson (who had a very strong number of 10.21 – a higher average than Scheffler holds this week). In November 2000, Woods played in the Johnnie Walker Classic, a tournament in Thailand that was co-sanctioned by the DP World and Asian Tours. Despite winning that week, Woods’ average points number actually went down, from 28.64 to 28.47. His lead that week over world No. 2 Ernie Els was about 17 points. So while Scheffler is enjoying a healthy gap between himself and number two right now, it’s nowhere near the halcyon days of peak Woods. How Scheffler Made His Leap The biggest statistical jump for Scheffler this season over last has come from his approach play. Scheffler has gone from an above-average iron player on the PGA TOUR last season to an elite one in 2022. Last year, Scheffler averaged about 0.15 Strokes Gained: Approach per round, good for a respectable ranking of 83rd among qualified players. This season, that number has more-than-quadrupled to 0.69 per round, good for 13th-best on TOUR. If you are into more traditional statistics, take a look at his rate of hitting greens in regulation. In each of Scheffler’s first two full seasons on TOUR, he ranked 43rd and 45th in greens in regulation. This season, he’s second-best on TOUR at 71.6%, a clip that trails only Rahm (72.3%). Scheffler has also made a similar statistical improvement on the greens. Last season, he was right around average with his putter, with 0.02 Strokes Gained: Putting per round. He’s jumped from 107th in that metric to 26th this season – and ranked a strong 14th in the statistic the week of his victory at Augusta National. One interesting thing one can glean from analyzing Scheffler’s putting this season is that it actually has distinct room for improvement, too: from 4-8 feet away, he’s making significantly less putts (65.2%) than the PGA TOUR average (69.0%). For the competition, that’s quite a frightening thought.

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TRUCKEE, Calif. — Chez Reavie holed a long chip shot for eagle on the par-5 sixth hole and took a three-point lead Friday in the Barracuda Championship. Reavie had a 19-point round in the modified Stableford scoring system event at Tahoe Mountain Club, getting five points for the eagle and 14 for seven birdies. A point is deducted for bogey and three taken away for double bogey or worse. “It’s actually 2 1/2 birdies, so if you can make an eagle, you can kind of leapfrog guys on the leaderboard,” Reavie said. “I hit an OK tee shot kind of up the right side, so I had a little further in. Had to hit a 5-wood, so I kind of favored toward the right bunker side, and I just missed the bunker and had to chip across the green and was fortunate to knock it in.” Reavie played the back nine first in his morning round, making four birdies. He added birdies on Nos. 3 and 4, had the eagle on No. 6 and birdied No. 8 to take a 28-point total into the weekend in the event co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour. He’s the only bogey-free player after 36 holes. “I think really having control of the golf ball out here really helps you,” Reavie said. “You’ve got to be in the fairway. Once you get in the rough, with the greens being firm, you can’t really be aggressive with your irons, so you have to drive the ball in the fairway.” The 40-year-old from Mesa, Arizona, has two PGA TOUR victories, taking the 2008 RBC Canadian Open and the 2019 Travelers Championship. Mark Hubbard, tied for the first-round lead with Charley Hoffman with 13 points, was tied for second with Henrik Norlander at 25 points. Hubbard had a 12-point round, and Norlander a 14-pointer. The 33-year-old Hubbard is winless on the PGA TOUR. He was third last week in Kentucky in the Barbasol Championship, the first of two straight U.S. events co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour. “It was tough early, man, with the cold and the elevation,” Hubbard said. “It’s hard to know how far the ball is going, and it seemed like every pin on our front nine, the back nine, was front with water short, so you couldn’t really play with it. So it was just tough to get the ball close early. Once it heated up and started going another 10 percent, I started making some birdies.” Norlander had seven birdies in a bogey-free round. The 35-year-old Swede, also winless on the PGA TOUR, made a weekend cut for only the third time in his last 16 starts. He had missed five straight cuts. “I’m very pleased,” Norlander said. “It’s, first of all, nice to not make travel arrangements on Friday afternoon. I’ve been sort of used to that lately. Just a lot better attitude this week. ”There’s a lot of bad voices in there, I’m not going to lie. But I think the key for me is to like accept that and then move from there. When I get bad, I try to avoid those voices, but they’re there.” Kevin Tway had 21 points. He birdied the first five holes in a 15-point day. Maverick McNealy and Martin Trainer followed at 19. Hoffman had 15 after a two-point day.

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The PGA Championship heads to Kiawah Island for a second time, with Collin Morikawa looking to defend his first major and Rory McIlroy seeking to recapture the magic that led to an eight-shot win here in 2012. Storylines abound, as Jordan Spieth will be attempting to complete the career Grand Slam and Bryson DeChambeau will bring his big drives to the longest venue in major championship history. FIELD NOTES: Two-time FedExCup champion Rory McIlroy arrives on a winning note, claiming the Wells Fargo Championship in his last start. McIlroy’s eight-shot win here in 2012 is the largest winning margin in PGA Championship history and came a year after he won the U.S. Open by the same margin… The reigning FedExCup champion Dustin Johnson along with current FedExCup leader, Bryson DeChambeau, lead one of the strongest fields in golf teeing it up at the second major of the year. Johnson had to WD from the event preceding the PGA, the AT&T Byron Nelson, beause of knee pain… After returning home to a hero’s welcome after his Masters win, Hideki Matsuyama returned to the TOUR at the AT&T Byron Nelson, where he made the cut… There will be 20 PGA of America club pros in the event, who all qualified in various ways… Brooks Koepka missed the cut in Texas at his first start since the Masters after returning from injury, however, Koepka – a two-time PGA winner – has never missed the cut in eight attempts at the PGA… Collin Morikawa already beat a world-class field once this year, having won the WGC-Workday Championship in February, and now he’s looking to do it again as he defends his title from 2020. He and Tiger Woods are the only players to win a major and World Golf Championship before turning 25… Justin Thomas is hoping to add to his major championship trophy case with another Wanamaker, after winning the PGA in 2017. Thomas, who won THE PLAYERS earlier this year – his 14th TOUR title – has never missed the cut at the PGA. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 600 FedExCup points. COURSE: The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort, par 72, 7,876 yards. The Pete and Alice Dye design has been stretched to more than 7,800 yards, making it the longest major championship venue in history (the previous mark was Erin Hills which, for the 2017 U.S. Open measured 7,741 yards). It’s also 200 more yards than when Kiawah hosted the PGA in 2012. Six holes will play over 500 yards. The course, which also hosted the 1991 Ryder Cup, is set alongside the Atlantic Ocean (it boasts the “most seaside holes in the Northern Hemisphere”) and wind certainly will play a factor. STORYLINES: Jordan Spieth’s game is trending in the right direction heading to the PGA. Spieth, a winner already on TOUR this season, is looking for the career Grand Slam once again at the PGA, the lone major that has eluded him in his career thus far. This is Spieth’s fifth crack at trying to win the Grand Slam… Americans have won five straight PGA Championships and seven of the last 10 (with Rory McIlroy being the exception twice)… McIlroy along with Keegan Bradley, Ian Poulter, Justin Rose, and Steve Stricker are golfers who finished inside the top 10 in 2012 who are back in the field at the Ocean Course in 2021… Rickie Fowler and John Catlin were extended special exemptions for this year’s PGA. Fowler didn’t play in the Masters (for the first time since 2010) and he’s not teed it up at a major since last year… Dustin Johnson was teary-eyed after winning the Masters near his childhood hometown of Columbia, South Carolina. Can he win a major in his home state this time? 72-HOLE RECORD: 264, Brooks Koepka (2018 at Bellerive CC) 18-HOLE RECORD: 63, Bruce Crampton (2nd round, 1975 at Firestone CC), Raymond Floyd (1st round, 1982 at Southern Hills), Gary Player (2nd round, 1984 at Shoal Creek), Michael Bradley (1st round, 1993 at Inverness), Vijay Singh (2nd round, 1993 at Inverness), Brad Faxon (4th round, 1995 at Riviera CC), José María Olazábal (3rd round, 2000 at Valhalla), Mark O’Meara (2nd round, 2001 at Atlanta AC), Thomas Bjorn (3rd round, 2005 at Baltusrol), Tiger Woods (2nd round, 2007 at Southern Hills), Steve Stricker (1st round, 2011 at Atlanta AC), Jason Dufner (2nd round, 2013 at Oak Hill), Hiroshi Iwata (2nd round, 2015 at Whistling Straits), Robert Streb (2nd round, 2016 at Baltusrol), Brooks Koepka (2nd round, 2018 at Bellerive; 1st round, 2019 at Bethpage Black), Charl Schwartzel (2nd round, 2018 at Bellerive). LAST TIME: Having been originally scheduled May 14-17, the 2020 PGA Championship was moved to August 6-9 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was the first major played in over a year. By week’s end, it was Collin Morikawa who had won his first major title. Morikawa had won on the PGA TOUR earlier in the year (his second TOUR title) and his final-round 64 – highlighted by one of the shots of the year, a driver on the par-4 16th that ended up just 7 feet from the hole – saw him jump to the top of the leaderboard. He starting Sunday two shots back of Dustin Johnson’s lead. Morikawa’s Sunday 64 was tied for the low round of the week, and his 129 on the weekend set a new PGA Championship record. Johnson ended up T2 alongside Paul Casey, while Matthew Wolff, Bryson DeChambeau, Scottie Scheffler, Tony Finau, and Jason Day finished T4. HOW TO FOLLOW (All times ET) Television: Thursday-Friday, 7 a.m.-1 p.m. (ESPN+), 1 p.m.-7 p.m. (ESPN). Saturday-Sunday, 8 a.m.-10 a.m. (ESPN+), 10 a.m.-1 p.m. (ESPN), 1 p.m.-7 p.m. (CBS) Bonus: Thursday-Friday, Featured Group #1, 7 a.m.-7 p.m. (ESPN+), Thursday-Friday, Featured Group #2, #3, #4, 8 a.m.- 7 p.m. (ESPN+). Saturday-Sunday, Featured Group #1, #2, 8 a.m.-7 p.m. (ESPN+), Featured Group #3, #4, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. (ESPN+). Radio: Thursday – Sunday, 1 p.m.-7 p.m. ET (on SiriusXM 208, XM 92. Not available on PGA TOUR Digital platforms).

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