Taylor tops Hoffman in playoff for Phoenix crown

The final chance to make it into the FedExCup Playoffs is here as players tee it up at the Wyndham Championship and position themselves in the top 125. The past two winners of THE PLAYERS Championship Si Woo Kim and Webb Simpson tee it up alongside Sergio Garcia as Henrik Stenson tries to successfully defend his title. He will do so against a strong field that includes the 2012 and 2014 FedExCup champions, Brandt Snedeker and Billy Horschel respectively, Hideki Matsuyama and 2017 Masters winner Sergio Garcia. Facebook Watch will offer streaming coverage of this weekend’s action from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET on Saturday and Sunday. Here’s everything you need to know for Round 1: Round 1 leaderboard Round 1 tee times HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN (ALL TIMES ET) PGA TOUR LIVE: 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. TELEVISION: 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. (Golf Channel) RADIO: 12 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. (PGA TOUR RADIO on Sirius XM or at PGATOUR.COM) NOTABLE GROUPINGS 7:40 a.m.: Bill Horschel, Brandt Snedeker, Hideki Matsuyama 7:50 a.m.: Webb Simpson, Si Woo Kim, Sergio Garcia 12:40 p.m.: Daniel Berger, Jason Dufner, Bill Haas 12:50 p.m.: Henrik Stenson, Jhonattan Vegas, Ryan Moore MUST-READS Featured Groups TOUR Insider: Grading bold predictions Saving the best for last: Top performances to reach the FedExCup Playoffs Power Rankings

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The TOUR returns to TPC San Antonio for this weeks' Valero Texas Open, where the trademark Texas winds and trouble off the fairways make this a week where solid ball-striking is a necessity. RELATED: Full tee times Jordan Spieth is here as he seeks to take the next step in his comeback and re-enter the winner's circle. Another Texan, Scottie Scheffler, and Matt Kuchar arrive after strong showings in Austin. They'll all be on PGA TOUR LIVE, along with Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, Tony Finau and defending champ Corey Conners. To get you prepared for this week's Featured Groups, we assembled our writers for a quick roundtable. PGA TOUR LIVE will begin at 8:15 a.m. Eastern on Thursday and Friday. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 4-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 1-3:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3:30-6 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 1-2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2:30-6 p.m. (NBC). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 8:15 a.m.- 7 p.m. (Featured Groups). Saturday, 8:15 a.m.-3:30 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3:30 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes). Sunday, 8:15 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (Featured Groups), 2:30 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 1-7 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 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 EARLY THURSDAY Gary Woodland, Rickie Fowler, Scottie Scheffler Tee times: 8:58 a.m. Thursday/1:53 p.m. Friday – Scheffler is coming off his runner-up finish in Austin. At what point does the pressure to get that first win start to mount for the reigning Rookie of the Year? SEAN MARTIN: He missed opportunities at Nos. 12-14 to cut into Billy Horschel's lead, hitting two balls in the water and missing a 4-footer. He ranked 17th in Thursday scoring average last season and fourth on Fridays but 63rd on Sundays. Scheffler may be one of those guys, a la David Duval, who took some lumps before breaking out. MORFIT: We were just talking about him in a meeting, and he's a 2019 Korn Ferry Tour graduate (he won twice that year). When you put it that way, it doesn't seem like he's been out there very long. I don't see the pressure mounting at all. Feels like he'll win very soon. EVERILL: It's already there. But he can handle it. I think it's like a young Jason Day – who did win early but then struggled for a while to close after that (going winless from 2010-14). Scheffler might have a bunch more close calls before getting it done but bottom line – he will get it done. And some. Jordan Spieth, Ryan Palmer, Corey Conners Tee times: 9:09 a.m. Thursday/2:04 p.m. Friday – Is Jordan Spieth the man to beat this week AND next? SEAN MARTIN: TPC San Antonio doesn't feel like a great fit for him but he also has talked about his love for hilly courses and the athleticism it brings out. He finished second here in 2015. Maybe getting back to Augusta National, the place where he's most comfortable, is what he needs but I would still rank DJ, JT, Xander and Rahm ahead of him next week. CAMERON MORFIT: I'm definitely putting Spieth on my fantasy team this week and next, but I would agree he's not THE favorite for the Masters. He absolutely loves the course, and I'm sure it'll be his best chance to win since Waste Management earlier this year, but it's hard to win any week on TOUR, let alone a major. And it's been a long, long time since 2017. BEN EVERILL: No and no. Can he win both weeks? Absolutely. Would that be awesome? Undoubtedly. But am I ready to hand him favoritism? No way. Spieth is no doubt making huge strides but making the Round of 16 at Match Play doesn't tell us too much. I walked with his match against Matthew Wolff and there were as many gremlins as great shots. I can't wait until he's all the way back - I'm just not sure he's quite there yet. Prove me wrong Jordan! EARLY FRIDAY Tony Finau, Cameron Champ, Joel Dahmen Tee times: 1:53 p.m. Thursday/8:58 a.m. Friday – Dahmen wasn't shy about sharing his plans to celebrate last week's win. Can the straight-hitting Dahmen keep up with the long knockers in his group? MARTIN: His fellow members at Mesa Country Club are enjoying themselves but Dahmen is too shrewd to let this opportunity slip by. He rose to 61st in the world ranking and 59th in the FedExCup. He knows that some big opportunities await if he can ride the momentum. Ranking 24th on TOUR in driving accuracy is helpful at TPC San Antonio where Kevin Na showed us how much trouble lurks off the fairway. MORFIT: We're reminded every week, or almost every week that isn't the U.S. Open at Winged Foot, that distance isn't everything. I like him plenty at TPC San Antonio. The guys who do well at Valero, like Charley Hoffman, are not giants off the tee. EVERILL: Players often get a knock-on effect from victories and continue to roll on but forgive me for thinking the emotion and travel and everything involved in his victory might make backing up hard. I do expect Dahmen to continue to play well - I just think this week might be tough. I hope he's still on cloud nine though. Phil Mickelson, Matt Kuchar, Hideki Matsuyama Tee times: 2:04 p.m. Thursday/9:09 a.m. Friday – Which member of this group ends his winless drought first? Does he do it this year? SEAN MARTIN: Matsuyama is the easy answer. Mickelson doesn't rank better than 110th in any of the four Strokes Gained categories. Kuchar has just one top-10 in stroke play since the start of last season. Matsuyama, meanwhile, has still made seven consecutive TOUR Championships even though he hasn't won since 2017. I think we may need to wait until next year to see Matsuyama win again, though. MORFIT: Kuchar is a Pete Dye specialist; I'm looking for him to win or come very close at the RBC Heritage in two weeks. Something seems to have clicked with him in a big way considering how he'd been playing leading into Austin. I agree, though, that Matsuyama seems to have found something, too, given the way he beat Patrick Cantlay at the WGC-Dell Tech Match Play. EVERILL: Matsuyama. And if by this year we mean calendar 2021 year and not 2021 TOUR season then I think the answer is yes. But there is a further asterisk to apply. If the Asian events are once again moved out of Asia or not held at all for whatever reason I reserve the right to change my answer. I see Hideki winning in Japan - either at the Olympics or THE ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP.

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Drew Nesbitt led the way at open qualifying for this week’s Wells Fargo Championship, carding 6-under 64 on Monday at Cattail Creek CC in Glenwood, Maryland, to secure a tee time Thursday at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm outside Washington, D.C. This year’s Wells Fargo Championship has relocated to TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm from its typical Quail Hollow Club site in Charlotte, as Quail Hollow will host this year’s Presidents Cup. Also advancing into this week’s field were Norman Xiong (65), Nicholas Thompson (66) and David Lingmerth (68). Lingmerth advanced via a 4-for-1 playoff against Steve Marino, Brett Stegmaier and Lee Detmer. For all scores from the Wells Fargo Championship qualifier, click here. Here’s a capsule look at the four Wells Fargo Championship qualifiers … DREW NESBITT (64) Age: 27 Hometown: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Alma mater: N/A PGA TOUR starts: 4 Cuts made: 1 Best PGA TOUR finish: 83rd; 2019 The Honda Classic Notes: Has competed on PGA TOUR Latinoamerica since 2018, making 19 cuts in 25 starts, highlighted by a victory at the 2019 Mexico Open (60 Abierto Mexicano de Golf) as well as two-runner up finishes in the 2020-21 season. Finished No. 7 on 2020-21 PGA TOUR Latinoamerica Order of Merit to earn conditional Korn Ferry Tour status in 2022; has yet to make a career Korn Ferry Tour start … Gained social media fame by going shirtless to hit a shot from the water at the 2019 Honda Classic, en route to saving par … Grew up playing hockey in winter and golf in summer … Turned pro at age 18, moving from Canada to Florida to compete on mini-tour circuits … Became the first player on PGA TOUR Latinoamerica history to record a sub-60 score, carding a second-round 59 at the 2018 Brazil Open (65 JHSF Aberto do Brasil). NORMAN XIONG (65) Age: 23 Hometown: San Diego, California (born in Guam) Alma mater: University of Oregon PGA TOUR starts: 10 Cuts made: 2 Best PGA TOUR finish: T26; 2018 Sanderson Farms Championship Notes: Will make his first PGA TOUR start since the 2021 3M Open, into which he also Monday qualified … Monday qualified into this year’s LECOM Suncoast Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour, where he channeled his inner Nesbitt and went shirtless to hit a shot from the water … As a sophomore at Oregon in 2017-18, received both the Fred Haskins Award as nation’s most outstanding collegiate golfer and the Jack Nicklaus Award as top NCAA Division I men’s collegiate golfer … Set an Oregon record with six wins in a season (2017-18), in which he recorded a 69.05 stroke average … Represented United States in 2017 Walker Cup and Palmer Cup … Goes by the nickname “Panda.” NICHOLAS THOMPSON (66) Age: 39 Hometown: Plantation, Florida Alma mater: Georgia Tech PGA TOUR starts: 228 Cuts made: 114 Best PGA TOUR finish: T2; 2008 Ginn sur Mer Classic Notes: Has played seven full TOUR seasons, most recently in 2014-15. Career-best FedExCup showing is No. 41 in 2008, a season in which he recorded 11 top-25s in 36 starts … Has made 188 career Korn Ferry Tour starts, highlighted by a victory at the 2007 HSBC New Zealand PGA Championship … Was a three-time all-ACC player at Georgia Tech and represented United States on 2005 Walker Cup team … Siblings Curtis (PGA TOUR) and Lexi (LPGA) also play professional golf. DAVID LINGMERTH (68; advanced via 4-for-1 playoff) Age: 34 Hometown: Tranas, Sweden Alma mater: University of Arkansas PGA TOUR starts: 188 Cuts made: 107 Best PGA TOUR finish: Win; 2015 the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday Notes: Returns to comfortable turf outside Washington D.C., as Lingmerth won the Korn Ferry Tour’s 2012 Neediest Kids Championship at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm, finishing 8-under total across a chilly, windy October week … Played six consecutive full PGA TOUR seasons from 2013 to 2017-18, highlighted by a No. 37 finish on the 2014-15 FedExCup, with 10 top-25 finishes in 28 starts including his playoff victory at Muirfield Village … Avid hockey fan; Washington Capitals (NHL) are his favorite pro team.

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