Scheffler repeats at Phoenix Open, back to No. 1

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Tiger Woods won’t be at the Masters, not after an awful car crash left him with significant leg injuries. But golf’s first major is coming soon, back in its traditional spot in April filled with intriguing storylines.

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NAPLES, Fla. — The teams of Bryson DeChambeau-Kevin Na, Brian Harman-Patton Kizzire and Emiliano Grillo-Graeme McDowell shot 13-under 59 in scramble play Friday to share the first-round lead in the QBE Shootout. Harman-Kizzire and Grillo-McDowell birdied the final three holes at Tiburon Golf Club, and DeChambeau and Na eagled the par-5 14th. LPGA Tour player Lexi Thompson and Tony Finau were two strokes back at 61 with Charley Hoffman-Gary Woodland and Charles Howell III-Luke List. Defending champions Steve Stricker and Sean’ O’Hair shot 62. The teams will play modified alternate shot Saturday, and close with better ball Sunday. NOTES Patton Kizzire/Brian Harman (59/-13)  First-time QBE Shootout team combined in the Scramble format for a 13-under 59  Birdies came at Nos. 1-4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16-18  While Kizzire is making his firs QBE Shootout Start, Harman is making his second (w/ Pat Perez in 2017/T3)  On the strength of PGA TOUR wins at the 2017 Mayakoba Golf Classic and 2018 Sony Open in Hawaii, Kizzire finished the 2017-18 season ranked 30th in the FedExCup standings  Harman amassed a career-best eight top-10 finishes in 2017-18, good for a 48th-place finish in the FedExCup standings  In four starts this season, Kizzire’s best showing is T15 in his adopted hometown of Sea Island, GA at The RSM Classic. Harman, a Saint Simon’s Island, GA resident, also secured his best finish in four starts at The RSM Classic (T32) The first-round lead/co-lead at the QBE Shootout has held up 15 times. The last 18-hole leaders/co-leaders to hold on for the win were Stricker and O’Hair last season. Graeme McDowell/Emiliano Grillo (59/-13)  Birdies came at Nos. 2, 4, 6-10, 13, 14, 16-18. They got the round started with an eagle-3 at No. 1. Their lone bogey came at the par-3 fifth hole  McDowell is making his seventh start in the QBE Shootout, with runner-up finishes in 2017 (Shane Lowry) and 2010 (Darren Clarke). Grillo is making his first start in the QBE Shootout In five starts this season on the PGA TOUR, Grillo has collected three top-15 finishes, highlighted by a T2 at the CIMB Classic  In his most recent start this season on TOUR, McDowell finished T11 at The RSM Classic Bryson DeChambeau/Kevin Na (59/-13)  The team made birdies at Nos. 1, 3, 5-8, 11, 13, and 15-17. They made an eagle-3 at No. 14 to play their last six holes in 6-under par  DeChambeau is making his second start in the QBE Shootout, having finished T11 in 2016 with Lexi Thompson. Na is making his first start in the event  DeChambeau comes to this week’s QBE Shootout on the heels of a 2017-18 PGA TOUR Season in which he claimed three wins among nine top-10 finishes. He finished third in the FedExCup standings. In his only start this season, he won the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, his fifth TOUR title.  Among four top-10 finishes in the 2017-18 season for Na was his second PGA TOUR crown, winning A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier. He finished the season ranked 26th in the FedExCup standings. So far this season, his best finish in four starts is T19 at the CIMB Classic. Tony Finau/Lexi Thompson (61/-11)  Paired again this year with Tony Finau, Lexi Thompson is just the second woman to compete in the QBE Shootout. Annika Sorenstam teamed with Fred Couples in 2006 Following last year’s T4 finish, the pair made birdies at Nos. 1-4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14 and 17  Last month, Thompson claimed her 10th LPGA title, by four strokes, at the CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon Golf Club (Gold Course)  Following a sixth-place finish in last year’s FedExCup on the strength of 11 top-10 finishes, Finau’s best showing in three TOUR starts this season is a playoff loss at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. Most recently, he finished second at the unofficial Hero World Challenge and presently sits at No. 9 in the Official World Golf Ranking Sean O’Hair/Steve Stricker (62/-10)  En route to a 10-under 62, the defending champions made birdies at Nos. 1, 6, 8, 9, 13, 14, 17 and 18. Stricker holed his second shot from the fairway at No. 10 for an eagle-2  With a 15-under 57 in round one last year, Stricker and O’Hair led by a stroke over Keegan Bradley and Brendan Steele  With a win this week, Stricker and O’Hair would become the third team to successfully defend their QBE Shootout title; Brad Faxon/Scott McCarron (2000, 2001) and Jeff Sluman/Hank Kuehne (2003, 2004) Miscellaneous Notes  Founded by World Golf Hall of Fame Member Greg Norman in 1989, this week’s QBE Shootout marks the 30th playing of the event.  Tiburon Golf Club at The Ritz-Carlton Resort in Naples, Fla. has now been home to the QBE Shootout for 18 consecutive years (2001).  The 12 two-person teams were selected on the following criteria:  Defending champions  The top 12 available players from the 2017-18 FedExCup points list  10 special exemptions (a minimum of four come from the top 40 on the PGA TOUR career money list)  Competitors in the 2018 QBE Shootout have combined for 110 victories (100 on the PGA TOUR and 10 by Lexi Thompson on the LPGA).  Ten of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking are in this week’s QBE Shootout, highlighted by Bryson DeChambeau at No. 5. Players making their first start in the QBE Shootout: Cameron Champ (with Kevin Kisner), Kevin Na (with Bryson DeChambeau), Andrew Landry (with Luke Donald), Emiliano Grillo (with Graeme McDowell), Luke List (with Charles Howell III), Patton Kizzire (with Brian Harman) and Harold Varner III (with Bubba Watson).  Two former FedExCup champions are among the 24-player field: Brandt Snedeker (2012) and Billy Horschel (2014). Paired together, the team opened with a 9-under 63.  Horschel celebrated his 32nd birthday Friday, while Snedeker will celebrate his 38th birthday Saturday. Luke Donald, in this week’s field with Andrew Landry, also celebrated a birthday Friday (41st).

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