That’s 82! How Tiger’s brilliance defied his age and body

The PGA TOUR has released the four featured groupings for Thursday-Friday at this week’s Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. Related: PGA TOUR LIVE: Watch Tiger exclusively on Thursday | Tee times | How Jack created a masterpiece | Tiger Woods, Chasing 82 Featured Groups Tiger Woods – Justin Rose – Bryson DeChambeau (WATCH: Exclusively Thursday on PGA TOUR LIVE) Tee times: Round 1 (8:26 a.m. ET, No. 10); Round 2 (1:16 p.m. ET, No. 1) NOTABLE: Five-time Memorial champion Woods (1999, 2000, 2001, 2009, 2012) will play alongside Rose, the 2010 Memorial winner, and defending champion DeChambeau. Woods looks to tie Sam Snead’s record for most PGA TOUR wins (82) at the same event he tied Jack Nicklaus for second place all-time, his last win at Muirfield Village in 2012. In addition to his win in 2010, reigning FedExCup champion Rose also finished runner-up in 2008 and 2015. DeChambeau survived a three-man playoff at the 2018 Memorial to start a stretch of four wins in 12 PGA TOUR starts including each of the first two 2018 FedExCup Playoffs events. Phil Mickelson – Rickie Fowler – Matt Kuchar Tee times: Round 1 (1:16 p.m. ET, No. 1); Round 2 (8:26 p.m. ET, No. 10) NOTABLE: Kuchar, winner of the Memorial in 2013 and the current FedExCup leader, will play with fellow 2018-19 season winners Fowler and Mickelson. Mickelson earned his 44th PGA TOUR victory at the 2019 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and will make his 19th start at the Memorial. Fowler missed his first cut in 22 starts at last week’s Charles Schwab Challenge; he has top-10s in each of his last two starts at Muirfield Village (T2/2017, T8/2018). Kuchar has two wins (Mayakoba Golf Classic, Sony Open in Hawaii) and two runner-up finishes (World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, RBC Heritage) during the 2018-19 season. HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 2:30-6:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 12:30-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, noon-2:15 p.m. (GC), 2:30-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 7:15 a.m.-6 p.m. ET (featured groups). Saturday, 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-6 p.m. (featured holes). Sunday, 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (featured groups), 2:30-6 p.m. (featured holes). International subscribers (via GOLF.tv): Thursday-Friday, 11:15 to 22:00 GMT. Saturday-Sunday, 12:30 to 22:00. RADIO: Thursday-Friday, noon-6:30 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com). Rory McIlroy – Jordan Spieth – Justin Thomas Tee times: Round 1 (8:15 a.m. ET, No. 10); Round 2 (1:05 p.m. ET, No. 1) NOTABLE: Spieth (2015), McIlroy (2016) and Thomas (2017) are all past FedExCup champions. McIlroy’s nine top-10s this season lead the PGA TOUR and are his most in a season since 2014 (12). After entering the PGA Championship without a top-10 finish since the 2018 Open Championship, Spieth has reeled off two in a row, finishing T3 at the PGA and T8 at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Nine-time PGA TOUR winner Thomas is competing for the first time since the Masters Tournament, making his return from a wrist injury. Hideki Matsuyama – Jason Day – Adam Scott Tee times: Round 1 (1:05 p.m. ET, No. 1); Round 2 (8:15 a.m. ET, No. 10) NOTABLE: Matsuyama, Day and Scott were all members of the International Team at the 2013 Presidents Cup held at Muirfield Village; the three rank third (Matsuyama), seventh (Day) and 11th (Scott) in the current International Presidents Cup Team standings. Day, a Columbus, Ohio resident, has five top-10s during the 2018-19 season, highlighted by a T4 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Scott is coming off a T8 finish at the PGA Championship; he has three top-fives in 11 starts at the Memorial. The first of Matusyama’s five PGA TOUR titles came at the Memorial in 2014.

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Laura Davies opened with a 4-under 68 despite finishing with two bogeys Monday, giving her a one-shot lead over Juli Inkster after one round of the Senior LPGA Championship.

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Webb Simpson has already etched his name into THE PLAYERS Championship record book. He’s tied the course record, as well as the 36-hole and 54-hole scoring records, in this week’s impressive performance. Now he has a couple more records within reach. Greg Norman shot the lowest 72-hole score in PLAYERS history in 1994. Simpson needs to shoot 67 on Sunday to tie Norman’s winning score of 24-under 264. Steve Elkington had the largest winning margin in tournament history when he won the 1997 PLAYERS by seven shots. Simpson takes a seven-shot lead into Sunday’s final round after shooting 68 to reach 19-under 197. Danny Lee (70) is in second place. Dustin Johnson, the World No. 1, is the only other player staring at a single-digit deficit. “I feel like I’m playing good, solid golf, but … I’ve holed out a few times from off the green and made some long putts,� Simpson said. “To get that score, you have to do that.� Simpson leads the field in both Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green (+5.37) and Strokes Gained: Putting (+9.77). His third hole-out came Saturday at the par-5 11th, where he holed a 33-yard bunker shot for eagle. It was his second eagle of the week. He’s also made 20 birdies. No one has ever lost a seven-shot lead on the PGA TOUR. Seven players have lost six-shot leads. Johnson did it earlier this season at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. If there is a course where such a deficit could be overcome, it may be the penal Stadium Course, especially with its water-lined finishing holes. Alex Cejka holds the record for largest 54-hole lead in PLAYERS history, but he didn’t walk away with the Waterford crystal trophy after shooting a final-round 79. Fortunately for Simpson, some of the hardest hole locations have already been used this week. But the course will play firm and fast and the late tee time means he’ll likely have to deal with afternoon breezes. “On Sunday, you’ve got to give the course a little more respect,� Simpson said. That’s true, but Simpson commands respect for his record-setting performance thus far this week. STARS SHOOT LOW SCORES Tiger Woods teed off at 9 a.m. on Saturday. Jordan Spieth teed off 40 minutes earlier. Both ended the day in the top 10. After making the cut on the number, they took advantage of calmer morning conditions to shoot Saturday’s low scores (65). Both players will start the final round at 8 under par, 11 shots behind Simpson. Woods, who hit 15 greens Saturday and gained 2.3 strokes with his approach play, said better iron play helped him birdie eight of his first 12 holes. Woods didn’t make a birdie on the final six holes, though, and bogeyed the 14th. Still, the 65 was his lowest career round at THE PLAYERS Championship. (Click here to read more about Woods’ round) “I felt I had better control of hitting it right-to-left and left-to-right,� said Woods, who’s playing his first PLAYERS since 2015. “I was able to shape the golf ball both ways and started to control it a little bit better today.� Spieth attributed his success to a strong performance with the putter, the club that has frustrated him most this year. Spieth needed just 24 putts Saturday and made all 18 of his attempts from inside 15 feet. He was 10-for-10 from 3-7 feet and made both his attempts from 7-10 feet. “Sometimes this game can kind of tear you down and make you think some of the best parts of your game are some of the worst of your game, when really it’s so close,� said Spieth, who finished fourth in his PLAYERS debut but had missed the cut at the previous three PLAYERS. NOTABLES Johnson may be the world’s top-ranked player, but his position through 54 holes could be a bit of a surprise. He has never finished in the top 10 at TPC Sawgrass, but he will start the final round in third place after shooting 69 on Saturday. Last year’s T12 was his first top 25 in nine starts at TPC Sawgrass. He shared the first-round lead this year after shooting his career-low round at the Stadium Course, a 6-under 66. He is fifth in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee this week and 12th in Strokes Gained: Putting. After winning last week’s Wells Fargo Championship, Jason Day is in fourth place at THE PLAYERS Championship. The 2016 champion shot 71 on Saturday and sits at 9-under 207. FedExCup leader Justin Thomas shot 68 to move up to 33rd place at 5-under 211. QUOTABLES It’s a hard golf course to press on.You just have to keep doing what you are doing. Every par, every birdie, every hole is one step closer to the finish line.If you take Webb out of the equation, the golf course is playing about like it always does. SHOT OF THE DAY CALL OF THE DAY SUPERLATIVES Low round: 7-under 65 by Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth. Longest drive: 359 yards. Dustin Johnson on the Par-5 9th and Ryan Palmer on the Par-4 5th. Longest putt: 72-feet, eight inches. MacKenzie Hughes impressed playing partner Tiger Woods with a birdie bomb on the par-3 8th hole. Toughest hole: Par-4 14th played to 4.488with just one birdie all day. Easiest hole: Par-5 16th averaged 4.500 with an eagle, 43 birdies and just five bogeys. New Records: Webb Simpson tied Greg Norman for best 54-hole score at 19-under 197. He also holds largest 54-hole lead in PLAYERS history.

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