Schwab Cup to finish Monday after 6 playoff holes

Sepp Straka birdied the final three holes to card a 64 and grab a one-stroke lead at the Web.com Tour Championship. The top 25 earners get PGA Tour cards for ’19.

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Hideki Matsuyama wanted his own slice of history. While the golfing world was riding Tiger Woods home towards a record tying 82nd win on the PGA TOUR at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP Matsuyama was trying to play spoiler in his home country. The local star was the only player with a legitimate chance to take down Woods in the TOUR’s first official event in Japan when they returned to complete the final round on Monday. RELATED: Final leaderboard | WATCH: Matsuyama’s journey to the PGA TOUR Playing in the group ahead he started three back of Woods with just six holes to play, making it a tough ask. He mustered one birdie but the five-time PGA TOUR winner certainly had plenty more chances. Not converting them meant he would have to settle being second fiddle. “Six holes to play this morning, I was only able to have just one birdie… no chance with that,â€� Matsuyama would lament afterwards. “I needed at least three or four. But it was good week. If I can keep the golf like this, I will be back in good condition.â€� Woods had his lead cut to two quickly after the restart when he started with a bogey. A pivotal moment came shortly after on the par-5 14th. Matsuyama had given himself a three-foot look at birdie to bring the gap to just one shot but pushed his putt ever so slightly and it lipped out. Not long after when Woods was on the same green, he drained a much longer birdie try to once again set up a three-shot lead. Matsuyama bounced back with a birdie on the 16th hole to get within two again, a gap that was still there as they came to the final hole when his birdie effort on the 17th slid by the edge. “I wish I made that. The 17th birdie putt was hard to read, but I stroked it good with confidence. Just missed it by like one ball,â€� he said. The 27-year-old knew he probably needed an eagle on the par-5 to be a real threat but leaked his drive into a fairway bunker. He didn’t give up though and attempted a huge cut shot with a 3-wood from the sand. Despite making good contact the ball didn’t quite bend enough to the right and ended up in a greenside bunker. “It is rare that you have to hit 3-woods in that situation,â€� he said. Facing the likelihood of needing to hole out to provide some pressure Matsuyama caught too much ball and sent the ball flying over the pin, eventually settling for par and ultimately a runner up finish. “I could not help that because I was aiming at a tight spot,â€� he explained of his wild eagle try from the sand. “So I have to go over that kind of technique… I found something that I have to work on I guess.â€� Woods paid tribute to the fight put up by his nearest rival. “Hideki made it tight. It was a lot closer than what people probably thought,â€� Woods said after his win. “I saw Hideki stuff one in there (on 14) and if he makes … I delayed my second shot to make sure that I knew what he did. He ended up missing the putt, so then my layup became a little easier and I ended up making birdie after a nice little teach from Keegan’s putt. “At 15, I thought this was going to be the tournament. If I’m able to make this putt, I figure the tournament’s over. I didn’t. Hideki birdies 16 and next thing you know it’s a ballgame coming up the last.â€� Matsuyama, who was third at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES a week prior, moved to ninth in the FedExCup standings.

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IRVING, Texas – The PGA TOUR returns to Texas this week for the AT&T Byron Nelson, which is being played for the last time at the TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas, the tournament’s host course since 1983. Next year, the event will move to its new home at Trinity Forest Golf Club near downtown Dallas. “Celebrating our 35-year partnership with the Irving community and the Four Seasons is the big theme of this year’s tournament,” said Tim Costello, 2017 AT&T Byron Nelson Tournament Chair. “The best part of our longtime partnership is the impact it’s had on our community, helping raise more than $150 million for Momentous Institute, impacting over 100,000 lives.” The celebration includes a strong field, with four of the world’s top six players – No. 1 Dustin Johnson, No. 4 Jason Day, No. 5 Sergio Garcia and No. 6 Jordan Spieth, the local resident. Garcia not only is the defending champion, but a two-time winner of this event (he also won in 2004). This will be the first time Garcia’s fans in Dallas will have a chance to watch him as the reigning Masters champ. PGA TOUR LIVE will have 42 hours of live coverage during the four-day event. Coverage of the first two rounds will be from 8 a.m. ET to 7 p.m. ET, while the final two rounds will be 8 a.m. ET to 6 p.m. ET, with a mixture of morning Featured Groups and afternoon Featured Holes (the par-4 14th and the par-3 17th). The broadcast also will be available on Twitter from 8 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. ET on Thursday and Friday. Here’s a look at the Featured Groups (current FedExCup ranking in parentheses): Thursday Brooks Koepka (14), Jason Dufner (57), Ian Poulter (58). Dufner won here in 2012, draining a 23-1/2 foot putt on the final hole. Koepka lost in a playoff to Garcia last year. Poulter is making the most of his recent exempt status change, coming off a tie for second at THE PLAYERS Championship that elevated him 117 spots in the world rankings. Tee time: 8:40 a.m. ET. Jordan Spieth (7), Brandt Snedeker (43), Matt Kuchar (52). Spieth’s best result in his hometown event remains his first one, when he finished tied for 16th as a 16-year-old, having entered the final round in contention to win. Kuchar generally plays well here; his solo third last year was his third-top-10 finish in his last six starts at TPC Four Seasons. Snedeker’s tie for sixth last year was his best here. Tee time: 8:50 a.m. ET. Friday Dustin Johnson (1), Louis Oosthuizen (32), Cody Gribble (47). While Johnson, the FedExCup points leader, hasn’t won in his last two starts after reeling off three straight wins, he’s still playing well, as he tied for 12th last week at TPC Sawgrass. He’s also played well at TPC Four Seasons, with six straight top-20 finishes, including four top 10s. Oosthuizen was in contention last week at THE PLAYERS, finishing tied for second. Gribble, another Dallas native, is making his second start here. Tee time: 8:40 a.m. ET. Sergio Garcia (13), Patrick Reed (84), Jason Day (106). Garcia and Day are past winners of the AT&T Byron Nelson; Day won his first TOUR event here in 2010 and followed with two more top-10s. He’s making his first start here since 2013. The Texas-born Reed is also playing here for the first time since 2013. Garcia is the only multiple winner of this event in which both wins were at TPC Four Seasons. Tee time: 8:50 a.m. ET.

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