Stricker wins Senior Players Championship

KAPALUA, Hawaii — KAPALUA, Hawaii — All it took was one round for the new year to feel like the end of last season on the PGA TOUR. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Viktor Hovland reunited with clubs just in time in Maui Cameron Smith of Australia opened the Sentry Tournament of Champions with a pair of long eagle putts and to offset an early bogey for an 8-under 65 and a one-shot lead at Kapalua. For the rest of the warm, gorgeous afternoon, the focus quickly shifted to the two players golf hasn’t seen in quite some time. Patrick Cantlay, who last competed on Sunday at the Ryder Cup on Sept. 26, seized on the scoring holes and the soft conditions and started running off birdies and one eagle. He had to settle for par on the par-5 18th hole and posted a 7-under 66. Not bad for his first competition in 102 days. Jon Rahm, who was in dire need of a break from a chaotic 16 months of majors and parenthood and COVID-19, was bogey-free and still mildly irritated by the pair of birdie putts he left short on the par 5s. He also had 66. They were the leading contenders for the FedExCup last year, when Cantlay closed with a superb 6-iron for birdie on the final hole and a one-shot win at the TOUR Championship, giving him the $15 million and ultimately PGA TOUR player of the year. They will be paired Friday. “Again,” Cantlay said with a smile. There was plenty of good golf, and attribute that to day in paradise that felt and looked like one. The sun was blazing. A few humpback whales were breaching. The wind was not raging. The Plantation Course was soft from rain. Scoring was simply ideal. Twenty-two players from the 38-man field of PGA TOUR winners broke 70. Justin Thomas, Patrick Reed and Lucas Glover, all at 74, were the only players over par. But while everyone had a holiday break — that meant more fishing than golf for Smith while at his U.S. base in north Florida — Cantlay and Rahm seemed to have been gone forever. It just didn’t look that way. “I still think I’m a little rusty and I saw that in my start,” said Cantlay, who missed the first green and saw his chip run with the grain some 12 feet by the hole. “I got away with a couple of loose swings and one flier on the sixth hole where I was able to make a par, but maybe shouldn’t have.” His shot sailed well over the green, some 40 yards away. He chopped that out to 8 feet for an unlikely par, had a two-putt par from 70 feet, saved par from the rough on the par-3 eighth. He was holding it together. And then really got on a roll on the back nine,” Cantlay said. It started with the 13th hole and a birdie, and while Cantlay missed a good chance at birdie on the 18th that would have tied Smith for the lead, he still played the final six holes in 6-under par. The big shot was a 35-foot eagle putt on No. 15. The most pleasing was a full pitching wedge over the ravine to a front pin on the picturesque 17th. Rahm was a lot cleaner, playing bogey-free. He ran off three straight birdies on the front nine and then got hot, as Cantlay did, on the closing six holes. Rahm finished with a long two-putt birdie in his first round in 83 days. “You can always expect a little bit of rust,” Rahm said. “I took time off, but I wasn’t on the couch doing nothing. I was still working out. I was still practicing as if I was still in the season. I took maybe three weeks off of golf, which were very needed. But even though I was home, I was practicing. “Again, not that I’m surprised that I played good, but it’s really good to come out and start the year off the right way.” Throw Daniel Berger into that category. He joined Cantlay and Rahm just one shot off the lead. Berger, who had to reconfigure a caddie’s clubs to practice earlier in the week when his golf bag was delayed two days, also opened with a 66. Berger also went missing after the Ryder Cup, turning up in the Bahamas with plenty of rust and no lack of belief. He practiced a little bit more in the week before Kapalua, only to show up on Maui with his golf clubs nowhere to be found. He had them two days later — Berger borrowed the clubs of caddie Brett Waldman, and even took the liberty of changing the lies and lofts on the irons — and didn’t miss a beat. His only lapse was a long three-putt that was down the slope but into the grain on the 17th, though he atoned for that with a birdie on the last. Players could reach the 663-yard closing hole with a long iron in fast conditions last year. Berger couldn’t get home with a 3-wood. He was no less pleased and it was hard for anyone to be terribly upset given the location. Never mind that he still isn’t sure which island is Lanai and which is Molokai as he gazes out toward the ocean. “I’m not good with islands. There’s too many of them,” Berger said. “I know we’re in Maui.”

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA – The PGA TOUR today unveiled a revamped tournament schedule for next season, providing an exciting change for players and fans as they are able to engage in – and better follow – a cadence of events highlighted by significant championships every month and culminating with the FedExCup Playoffs in August. Highlights from the new 46-tournament schedule: · The FedExCup Playoffs will feature three events, instead of four: THE NORTHERN TRUST, August 5-11 (125-player field); the BMW Championship, August 12-18 (70 players); and the TOUR Championship August 19-25 (30 players). TPC Boston will continue as a Playoffs site every other year, rotating with the New York City area as host of THE NORTHERN TRUST starting in 2020.   · As previously announced, two new tournaments have been added, though now the dates have been confirmed: the Rocket Mortgage Classic June 24-30, the first PGA TOUR tournament to be held in the city of Detroit; and the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities July 1-7, which becomes the first PGA TOUR Champions tournament to transition to the PGA TOUR. · Per last week’s announcement, the RBC Canadian Open is moving from its traditional spot in late July to June 3-9, leading into the U.S. Open. Hamilton Golf & Country Club in Hamilton, Ontario, will host the event for the first time since 2012. · The Puerto Rico Open returns to the schedule following its cancellation this year due to the devastation of Hurricane Maria. Puerto Rico is slotted for February 18-24, the same week as the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship. · As previously announced, THE PLAYERS Championship moves from May to March (11-17) and the PGA Championship moves from August to May (13-19). · Also announced previously is the final World Golf Championships event of the season, until now staged in Akron, Ohio, will be held July 22-28 at TPC Southwind in Memphis as the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational (replacing the FedEx St. Jude Classic). · The Houston Open and A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier are moving to the fall and will be played next as part of the 2019-20 schedule. “We are extremely pleased with the way the schedule has come together, particularly with the number of changes that were involved and the strength of the partnerships required to achieve this new look,� said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “It’s been our stated objective for several years to create better sequencing of our tournaments that golf fans around the world can engage in from start to finish. And by concluding at the end of August, the FedExCup Playoffs no longer have the challenge of sharing the stage with college and professional football. This will enhance the visibility of the FedExCup Playoffs and overall fan engagement with the PGA TOUR and the game as a whole.� Monahan credited FedEx, umbrella sponsor of the FedExCup, title sponsors and host organizations for their crucial role with the revamped schedule. “Beginning with our 10-year extension with FedEx last May and continuing with many recent, long-term title sponsor commitments, as well as new sponsors and host organizations joining the PGA TOUR, our key constituents have validated our vision and the direction for our future,� he said. “Our thanks to these tremendous partners for their flexibility and support during this process. We feel strongly that together, we have created a schedule that will heighten interest in all tournaments while further elevating the FedExCup Playoffs.� The season also features venue rotations for several tournaments, including the first two FedExCup Playoffs events. THE NORTHERN TRUST returns to Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey, where it was last held in 2013, while the BMW Championship returns to Medinah Country Club near Chicago for the first time since 1966. The three rotating major championships add historical notes to the schedule. Coinciding with the PGA Championship’s first May dates since 1949 will be its debut at Bethpage Black on New York’s Long Island. The Open Championship, meanwhile, will be held at Royal Portrush July 15-21, marking its return to Northern Ireland after nearly 70 years. And the U.S. Open (June 10-16), last held at Pebble Beach Golf Links in 2010, returns next year when the club celebrates its 100th anniversary.

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The final event of the PGA TOUR Regular Season continues Saturday at the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club. Players are looking to improve their places in the standings before the FedExCup Playoffs begin. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action, including Featured Groups for PGA TOUR LIVE. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday 7 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups). Saturday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes). Sunday, 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (Featured Holes). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, 1 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). TOURCast: Get shot-by-shot info in real time with shot tracks and video with TOURCast. TOUR Pulse: Get the PGA TOUR app to utilize TOUR Pulse, which provides users the ability to experience a mix of content, such as video highlights, written hole summaries and stat graphics on every player after every hole they complete. FEATURED GROUPS C.T. Pan, Russell Knox (Tee times) Adam Scott, Nate Lashley (Tee times) MUST READS Henley maintains lead Teater reps local minor league team Insider: Higgs no sideshow act, winner in the waiting Who is poised to move into FedExCup Playoffs? Webb Simpson continues passion for junior golf Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 ends at Wyndham Championship CALL OF THE DAY

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