Scoreboard: Can U.S. rally to win Presidents Cup?

Justin Rose has barely had a chance to celebrate his impressive FedExCup victory but once again we are away on the PGA TOUR with a new and exciting schedule and Playoff format ahead of us. Tiger Woods has ensured the anticipation for the new season is palpable with his win at the TOUR Championship, perhaps signaling what could be an epic season of the old versus the new. Woods and his fellow vets trying to take down the ever-replenishing young stars promises to entertain us from week to week. But ultimately just one will win the FedExCup. We’ve already had an excellent start with a heart-warming father-son narrative thanks to Kevin Tway’s win at the Safeway Open… but what else is coming around the corner? Well the start of a new year always offers up the chance to foresee what is to come. Without further ado here are 18 bold – and some not so bold – predictions for the new season. 18. Dustin Johnson will continue his win every season streak. Perhaps the least bold of our predictions given you can count on this like clockwork. In all of his 11 seasons on TOUR Johnson has at least one victory and we expect he pushes that to 12. The significance of the next win is even greater given it will be his 20th on the TOUR and will see him become just the 38th player to get there. All but six of those are in the Hall Of Fame and one of those six is Tiger Woods … a lock to be there. 17. Someone will win in back-to-back starts. Bryson DeChambeau showed how momentum can be very helpful at times when he opened the FedExCup Playoffs with two wins. This season expect someone to win in consecutive starts in the regular season. This might not be from one week to the next, but it will be in consecutive starts for said player. 16. Tiger Woods will get into either of the last two groups on Sunday at a major. We will stop short of predicting Tiger Woods will definitely win a major championship thus creeping closer to Jack Nicklaus’ record 18 but we will say he will have a significant chance to. He has a significant history of success at Augusta National (Masters), Bethpage Black (PGA Championship) and Pebble Beach (U.S. Open) and knows how to play links golf (Open Championship) better than most. The reality is, if Woods is to actually threaten Nicklaus, he needs to add to his 14 this season. 15. Cameron Champ will belt the cover off a golf ball at some point… well maybe not… but he will set all sorts of driving records. We have long become accustomed to big hitters on the PGA TOUR. Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy … and others like Luke List, Trey Mullinax and Kevin Tway continue to wow us with their raw power. But Champ is going to take it to new heights. Already he showed what he is capable of, leading the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee in the season opener. If he can jag a win in the fall we might see the longest drive on TOUR ever at the Sentry Tournament of Champions … 14. Another big name will come off “best player not to have won a majorâ€� list. Think Rickie Fowler, Hideki Matsuyama, Matt Kuchar, Ian Poulter, Paul Casey, Brandt Snedeker … perhaps even Jon Rahm. In recent years we’ve seen the likes of Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia, Justin Thomas, Henrik Stenson, Dustin Johnson and Jason Day come off the list … it is now someone else’s turn. 13. Sungjae Im will replicate recent feats of Xander Schauffele (2016-17) and Keegan Bradley (2011) by winning at least twice in his rookie year. You might not know the young South Korean yet but you will soon. He led the Web.com Tour regular season money list from start to finish thanks to bookending wins and 11 more top-25 finishes in between. Ask around those who played against him and you will uniformly hear that he’s the real deal. Not convinced? Well in his first start this season last week he was just one shot out of a playoff and finished T4. Watch this space. 12. Brooks Koepka will win something that is not a major … and may win another of those also. The PGA TOUR Player of the Year has just four wins in his career … but three of them are major championships. Clearly he knows how to get up for the big ones. This season we expect he will get up multiple times considering he is starting fresh without the terrible wrist injury that held him back early last season. Driven by perceived slights Koepka may have to dive deeper for motivation… because everyone knows how good he is by now. He’s a stone-cold machine inside the ropes. 11. Royal Melbourne will produce a stunning Presidents Cup that comes down to the last two singles matches. The last time the U.S. Team took on the Internationals it was particularly one-sided. And the Americans have a significant history of success in the Presidents Cup. But with the event heading to Australia on a sand belt gem of a course that was the site of the Internationals only win … there is some room for optimism. Coupled with a friendlier qualifying system for the International team we are suggesting that a thrilling finish is in store. Will it be a local Australian player with the chance to create history? 10. Tony Finau will win, maybe even multiple times. Doesn’t sound that bold? Well while it is true Finau had a sensational season last year the reality is he still only has one victory to his name and it came in Puerto Rico in 2016. Finau had 11 top-10s last season, including three runner ups, but if he is to really cement himself at the next level trophies need to materialize. For the record, we think he will win and it would not be a surprise if it was on the biggest stages. 9. Jordan Spieth will bounce back with a multiple win season. Wow. We didn’t see last season coming for Spieth. Five wins in 2015. Two in 2016. Three in 2017. But none last year for the former FedExCup champion who didn’t qualify for the TOUR Championship for the first time in his career. He spent a large chunk of the year at the back end for Strokes Gained: Putting stats but towards the end there were some moments of light. This, and just his competitive nature, has us predicting a bounce back year. Spieth will not only win, he will do it more than once, and rejoin those at the top echelon. 8. The US Presidents Cup team will not include Phil Mickelson on the playing roster – ending his streak of all U.S teams since 1994 – but captain Tiger Woods will earn a spot. There has yet to be a Presidents Cup without Mickelson playing but Royal Melbourne will be the first. With 48-year-old Mickelson cutting back his playing schedule and with his far from stellar efforts in Paris recently the veteran will join the team where he can do the most damage. The assistant captain room. And with Woods set to push his way into his own team, Mickelson’s value off the course will be even higher. Woods is set to become the first playing captain in forever, unless he passes the role over. 7. The FedExCup finale, under the new format, will be decided with an eagle on the final hole Sunday. We have a while to wait before we get to the season finale at East Lake where it becomes a winner take all for the $15 million FedExCup prize. The strokes advantage should provide a seriously thrilling dimension to the contest. Can someone make up 10 strokes over the four days? They’ll have to play aggressive and exciting golf that’s for sure. And it is in this vain we predict the 18th hole at East Lake, a reachable par-5, is going to create super drama. Someone is going to eagle the hole Sunday to secure the cash. 6. Moli-Wood will continue their rise. European fans will never forget the heroics of the pair at the Ryder Cup. Chances are they will never pay for drinks again on that side of the Atlantic. We expect the confidence will spawn further. Tommy Fleetwood will win his first PGA TOUR event and Francesco Molinari will be a serial contender wherever he tees it up before adding a third TOUR win to his name. 5. For the first time ever there will be three sub-60 rounds in the one season. In the last three seasons on the PGA TOUR we’ve seen three rounds of 59 and a round of 58. The trend to low numbers is out there enough that just having a sub 60 round is not that uncommon. In 2017 we had two, coming in consecutive weeks. So in order to be bold… there will be three in this season alone! The talent gets better and better and deeper and deeper every year and the best players are playing at new tournaments often. Open the floodgates! 4. Jason Day will reemerge as a major championship threat and will win the US Open at Pebble Beach. Plenty of players are looking at the major venues this season and licking their lips and the former world No. 1 Day is no exception. He’s contended at the Masters a few times, he enjoyed Bethpage Black when the FedExCup Playoffs was there in the past and he’s always played well at Pebble Beach. He will return to his excellent record at the U.S. Open which reads five top-10s from his first six starts before he has missed the last two cuts at the event. 3. The PLAYERS Championship will be decided in a playoff that includes at least one world top 10 player. The PLAYERS Championship returns to a March date with the new schedule and as such brings a few unknowns to the exact conditions the guys will play under. Not since Rickie Fowler outlasted Sergio Garcia and Kevin Kisner in 2015 have we seen the excitement of extra holes on the Stadium course but this season the exhilaration will return. Not only will we get bonus golf … but it will have at least one player from the world top 10. Currently this means the likes of Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Justin Rose, Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy … Watching them in the 3-hole aggregate across the intense finishing holes will be epic. 2. Justin Thomas will win the Wyndham Rewards Regular Season Race Thomas, the FedExCup champion in 2017, will set himself up for another great chance at it by winning the regular season points race. This year the top 10 finishers in the regular season pick up an extra bonus and we think that Thomas will be the man to lead the way into the Playoffs. 1. Tiger Woods will break Sam Snead’s all-time win record A year ago the bold prediction regarding Woods was that he’d play regularly on TOUR again… now we are prepared to take that up quite a few notches. With his win at the TOUR Championship recently taking his win total to 80 on the PGA TOUR he now has Sam Snead’s all time win record of 82 firmly in his sights. Overtaking it this season would mean Woods needs three wins – a bold suggestion indeed – but one thing you should never do is write off a champion. So instead let’s champion a historic season. 

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The final round of the Wyndham Championship takes place today with Si Woo Kim leading Rob Oppenheim and Doc Redman. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action from Sedgefield Country Club. Round 4 leaderboard Round 4 tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, 12:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2:30 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday 7 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups). Saturday, 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes). Sunday, 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (Featured Groups), 2:30 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). FEATURED GROUPS Sergio Garcia, Russell Knox 8:00 a.m. ET (No. 1 tee) Jordan Spieth, Ben Martin 8:20 a.m. ET (No. 1 tee) MUST READS Kim leads after 54 holes Round 3 update: FedExCup Playoffs, Wyndham Rewards Simpson, Tesori forge special bond off course CALL OF THE DAY

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Presidents Cup combatants Xander Schauffele and Marc Leishman have seen immediate dividends from the new Callaway Mavrik driver as the company launches its new metalwoods and irons line. We first saw four-time PGA TOUR winner Schauffele with the new driver at the Presidents Cup in December and then again at the Sentry Tournament of Champions to kick off 2020. Schauffele garnered three points for the U.S. Team (3-2) at Royal Melbourne, including a very important Singles take down of International team veteran and on course leader Adam Scott. He then produced an impressive week in Maui, almost defending his title before falling in a playoff to Justin Thomas. “Equipment-wise, I’d say I’ve made the right decisions. I had a lead going into Sunday, which is what my team and I always work on, and the new equipment seems to be sliding in the bag perfectly,â€� Schauffele said in Kapalua. Leishman was part of 11 players in the field at the Sony Open in Hawaii to adopt the new driver that has taken the companies work with artificial intelligence or machine learning to a whole new level. The result was his best Strokes Gained: Off the Tee result over a tournament since June 2017. Leishman gained 1.1 strokes a round off the tee at Waialae Country Club (+4.394 for the week) to rank second in the field. He hit 73percent of his fairways, his highest driving accuracy percentage in a year. “This was the easiest driver fit I’ve ever had,â€� four-time TOUR winning Leishman said of suiting up to go to the Mavrik. “I think the new Mavrik driver will suit me a little better than the Epic Flash and I’m definitely feeling very confident with it. Obviously time will tell if I can keep up the improvement in my stats but the early signs are very good, especially on a tough driving course like Waialae.â€� Having debuted their supercomputer efforts last year with the Epic Flash driver, Callaway has beefed up the capabilities of their machine friend and create a specific face architecture for all three new driver heads in their lineup. The Mavrik, Mavrik Max and Mavrik Sub Zero. The new Flash Face SS20 design is thinner and features a more robust face structure that maximizes peak ball speed out of the center but minimizes the variation of ball speed around the face as well. For the first time Callaway is using FS2S titanium in a club face, an exotic material they say is remarkably strong and a full six grams lighter than traditional materials. The Jailbreak and a T2C Triaxial Carbon Crown technology return. Jailbreak features two internal bars behind the face that connect the sole and crown to promote faster ball speed and the T2C triaxial carbon crown is significantly lighter than a titanium crown, allowing engineers to redistribute additional weight to raise MOI and forgiveness. A.I. was used to optimize the internal structure and position of numerous ribs to create a more satisfying sound and feel. The Mavrik has the new Cyclone Aero shape to promote faster head speed. It is shallower from front to back, with a flatter crown, and a sole design that sweeps upward dramatically in the rear to create a markedly higher trailing edge. This helps decrease drag for increased clubhead speed. The head’s internal and external weighting includes a single, fixed 5g weight positioned at the sole’s back-center, to promote mid-level spin and a moderate draw bias. It has a 460cc head available in 9, 10.5 and 12 degrees. The Mavrik Sub Zero is a slightly smaller 450cc head that brings a combination of low spin and high MOI. The head features two interchangeable screws in the front and back, 14g and 2g, to promote changes to launch angle and spin-rate. It has a neutral ball flight bias and the lie angle is slightly flatter compared to the Standard and Max models. It is available in 9 and 10.5 degrees. The Mavrik Max is a more forgiving face with two interchangeable weights, 14g and 2g, to help change launch and spin. Off center hits can still bring distance while a distinct draw-bias weighting is implemented to help decrease a slice. It is available in 9, 10.5 and 12 degrees. Callaway’s Mavrik drivers retail for $449 and will be available Jan. 23. The new fairway woods also come in Mavrik, Mavrik Sub Zero and Mavrik Max. Callaway incorporated their A.I. designed Flash Face to work specifically with the size, shape and CG location of each head, promoting optimum speed and spin. Using C300 maraging steel the company has achieved high ball speeds that extend well across the face. A.I. also contributed to an enhanced Face Cup, which is engineered to provide speed across the face and Jailbreak Technology promotes more distance at every impact location by utilizing two internal bars that connect the crown and the sole. The standard Mavrik has a large and expansive hitting area for a high launch and a flat trajectory. The Sub Zero model has a tighter leading edge engineered to create more workability. The Max head has a lowered leading edge for better performance on shots that are hit lower on the face. All models feature interchangeable weighting to fine tune shot shape. The weighting system provides golfers with options to optimize launch angles, spin rates, and bias settings. And every club features high performance shaft options from UST, Project X and Aldila, along with premium Golf Pride grips. Callaway’s Mavrik Fairway Woods retail for $299 and will be available Jan. 23. Lastly the new Mavrik hybrids and irons have also been developed with the help of machine learning for the first time. Callaway say they’ve set a new standard for distance and performance with supercomputer help in these areas also. The hybrids come with Face Cup and Jailbreak technology and as with the fairway woods use A.I. to develop a different face design for every loft, promoting an optimal combination of speed, launch angle, and spin rate in each one. The result is easy launch, high flight, long carry and soft landing. The irons also feature a new Flash Face Cup and A.I. inspired separate face architecture for every loft. The differing faces bring a boost in ball speed and increased spin robustness off of every club in the set. Ball speed is further enhanced by the 360 Face Cup that flexes and releases at impact on center and off-center hits. A Tungsten Energy Core (precisely positioned custom tungsten weights in each iron to optimize launch and trajectory) allows Callaway to strengthen the lofts while still maintaining player preferred trajectories, spin rates, and land angles. Over one million urethane microspheres are strategically placed into each clubhead to absorb unwanted vibration while maximizing COR. The long iron faces are designed for launch and speed, while the mid-iron faces are engineered for speed and spin consistency. The short iron faces are optimized for spin and precision to promote pinpoint shot-making. Callaway’s Mavrik Hybrids retail for $249 while the 7-piece Standard and Max irons retail at $799 for steel and $899 for graphite and the 7-piece Pro irons are $899 in steel. All will be available Feb. 6.

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