Simpson’s 9-under 61 leads A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier

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LA QUINTA, Calif. — Brandon Hagy didn’t find out he was in the field at The American Express until three days before it started. The Californian then left no doubt he belonged. RELATED: Leaderboard | Mickelson the host with the most Hagy took the first-round lead Thursday with an 8-under 64 on the Nicklaus course, staying one shot ahead of South Korea’s Byeong Hun An in the opening tournament of the PGA TOUR’s West Coast Swing. Hagy racked up 10 birdies, including three streaks of three in a row. He capped the round with a calm birdie putt on the 18th. “I felt like I saw the greens really well, and the last couple of days, I felt like I was putting really well,” Hagy said. “Once I started to read them well, I knew if I could just keep doing what I was doing, I’d have a good shot to do something.” Hagy grew up in Westlake Village before his All-America collegiate career in Berkeley. He was added to The American Express field Monday when Jon Rahm withdrew. Rahm later said he incurred a minor injury in the gym, but the Spaniard plans to play at Torrey Pines next week. Hagy might have made it into the field anyway after additional dropouts, but he was still grateful to Rahm, his friend and a collegiate opponent when Rahm played at Arizona State: “I’ll have to send him a gift or something.” An made seven birdies without a bogey in his 65. Max Homa, Martin Laird and Si Woo Kim shot 66. This famed Palm Springs-area tournament long hosted by Bob Hope has undergone significant changes this season due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the idyllic sunshine was familiar to the players who made the trip to the venerable desert event. The long-standing pro-am format has been dropped for a year, although the likes of Landon Donovan and country singer Jake Owen participated in a charity tournament Wednesday. With fewer golfers on the course, the pros are also playing on only two courses instead of the usual three. But the tournament kept its tradition of providing every opportunity for low scores: the once-feared Stadium Course and the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA WEST are among the most generous in the sport, with birdie opportunities abounding. Hagy started with a bogey on the first hole of the Nicklaus course, but then the birdies came in bunches. He birdied six of the seven holes before the turn, and he added three more on the back nine after his second bogey. The 29-year-old’s game is coming into focus after a rough few years for a promising talent. After turning pro in 2017 and recording his first top-10 finish in 2017, Hagy missed the entire 2018 season with a persistent wrist injury, and he played only 13 events in 2019 while struggling with a back injury. After making eight cuts last year, Hagy is back at full health after a solid offseason of preparation. “I’m happy with what I’ve been doing,” Hagy said. “I’m getting to a point now where I know exactly what I need to work on, and to just keep getting the reps.”

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The PGA TOUR has announced the first portion of its 2017-18 schedule, a seven-week stretch through mid-November that features four official domestic and four official international tournaments – including the inaugural THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES in Korea – all of which offer FedExCup points. The season will open October 2-8 with the Safeway Open in Napa, California, before transitioning to Asia for three straight tournaments, starting with the CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, October 9-15. THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, the PGA TOUR’s first-ever official event in Korea, will be held October 16-22 on Jeju Island. Then comes the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, China, October 23-29. That same week of October 23-29, the TOUR also returns to the mainland with the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi. The schedule continues with the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas (October 30-November 5), the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in Playa del Carmen, Mexico (November 6-12), and concludes with The RSM Classic at St. Simons Island, Georgia (November 13-19) before the official season breaks until January. All eight tournaments will be televised by Golf Channel. “We are extremely pleased to announce such an outstanding start to the 2017-18 PGA TOUR season and the race for the FedExCup, including the debut of THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES,â€� said Tyler Dennis, PGA TOUR Chief of Operations. “Since going to the wraparound schedule in 2013, we have seen that a strong performance during this first portion of the season greatly increases a player’s chances to advance into and through the FedExCup Playoffs. Our members will have the opportunity to get off to a strong start with the FedExCup points available at these eight tournaments.â€� Regarding the FedExCup, a strong start has proven to be an important element toward finishing in the top 125 in the points standings and qualifying for the FedExCup Playoffs. In the last two PGA TOUR seasons, all 14 winners of the first seven events have qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs, and eight of those 14 have advanced to the TOUR Championship. This current season, all of the players who were in the top 30 at the end of November remain in the top 125, including 11 in the top 30. While the 2017 portion of the official season concludes with The RSM Classic, three additional, popular events will be held in December: The Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas (November 27-December 3); the QBE Shootout in Naples, Florida (December 4-10); and the PNC Father/Son Challenge in Orlando, Florida (December 11-17). Each of those will be televised by Golf Channel during the first two rounds, with weekend coverage provided by NBC. The remainder of the 2017-18 schedule will be announced at a later date. # – Not PGA TOUR co-sponsored * – Host course

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