The First Look: Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard

AUSTIN, Texas – Bryson DeChambeau battled to a tie with Richard Bland in his long-awaited return from injury, before confirming he may compete in another long drive competition a week after the upcoming Masters. RELATED: Bracket, Scoring | Match recaps from Wednesday | Five matches to watch Thursday at WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play DeChambeau and Bland couldn’t be separated after 18 holes at the World Golf Championships – Dell Technologies Match Play, the first time the big-hitting American has played on the PGA TOUR since missing the cut in January’s Farmers Insurance Open. The eight-time winner was recovering from a fractured hamate bone in his left hand and a torn labrum in his left hip. The 28-year-old could have been staring down a loss against the veteran Englishman but was the beneficiary of a mid-round rule change from TOUR officials that helped preserve his position in the match. DeChambeau was granted free relief from a sprinkler head on the drivable par-4 13th hole at Austin Country Club, despite the fact Belgium’s Thomas Pieters was denied it in the same circumstances earlier in the day. The issue reared up thanks to some unfortunate wind gusts during course set up that saw the red hazard line paint find its way onto the edge of the sprinkler head, effectively making an area that should be outside a penalty area, inside it. When Pieters found himself resting on top of the sprinkler but up against red painted grass in his match against Tom Hoge, he was denied permission to move his ball. While technically a correct call by the official, it was not how the course was intended to play. As a result the incident prompted the rules committee to deliberate quickly and a decision was made to amend the hazard line. But before they could change the paint, DeChambeau’s match reached the 13th hole and he chipped his second shot into the same place. After discussion with officials DeChambeau was afforded relief, tied the hole, and officials repainted as they left the green. “Two wrongs don’t make a right. To make the correction before Bryson’s match got there was important,” Chief Referee Gary Young explained. “There was nothing we could do to fix the Thomas Pieters situation. It was over with. But just to get it right was important. The decision had already been made prior to his ball getting there. We had discussed it. We were in the process of getting the paint to the location, and the call came from the official.” Had this been a stroke play event the change would not have been able to have been made but as DeChambeau’s ruling had no effect on Pieters’ match, or any others on the course, the adjustment could be made. Pieters lost the 13th hole to Hoge to reduce his lead to two holes and was visibly upset with the decision. Thankfully, despite losing the 14th as well, he was able to rally and close out a 2-up win. “One of the rules officials come up and he clarified it to me that Thomas didn’t get relief but they changed it because it just wasn’t right and apparently, they can do that in match play,” DeChambeau said post-match. “So, I felt really bad for him, but lucky break for me.” DeChambeau gave himself a pass mark in his return despite being far from his best. He missed his title defense at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and THE PLAYERS Championship during his hiatus and only began practicing five days prior. “I was very cautious, there were a lot of drives out there that felt really bad because it’s not going places I want it to go. (That’s) just because I’m not confident with how my wrists are moving through it,” DeChambeau said. “That will get ironed out over time, a little bit of nerves, calming that down, and playing golf again. I started touching a club last Friday and six weeks off is not an easy task to come back and play against the best in the world. “(The injuries) are fine… as of right now it’s holding up well and I pray it holds up the whole way.” If his body does hold up through this tournament, next week’s Valero Texas Open, and then the Masters, DeChambeau floated a return to the Professional Long Drivers Association’s next event at Hobe Sound in Florida on April 14-16. DeChambeau made it through to the final eight in the World Championships in Mesquite, Nevada last year and hopes to continue his quest for even more power, speed and distance. “If I’m progressing positively and not overdoing it every day and having these micro progressions and I get to Augusta where I am close to 200mph ball speed again, there is a possibility if nothing gives out, and its structurally stable, that I’ll do that,” DeChambeau said about the Florida competition. “I want to do it, I love it, it’s one of my favorite things to do to help grow the sport a bit. I know this (PGA TOUR) is where my home is, but at the end of the day I want to expand out and try and give people a little bit of a show too.” First up is Thursday’s match against Lee Westwood in Group 9 play, a match he can’t afford to lose if he is to stay alive in the title race.

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GERMANTOWN, Tenn. – It took three balls in the water and the worst putting round of Scottie Scheffler’s professional career for the top spot in the FedExCup to finally be up for grabs. RELATED: Leaderboard | Projected FedExCup standings Scheffler had put the the number one spot out of reach with his incredible stretch in the first half of the year. He’s led the TOUR’s season-long points race since winning four times in six starts, including the Masters, and most of those weeks he’s had a margin so large that it would take his closest pursuer multiple events to chase him down. The elevated points in the Playoffs, however, mean that we could have a new FedExCup leader for the first time since March, though it’s far from a certainty because of Scheffler’s success earlier this season. He missed the cut in the Playoffs opener, the FedEx St. Jude Championship, by just a single shot despite his struggles on the greens and finding some of the penalty areas that make TPC Southwind the annual site of the most water balls on TOUR. “Anytime you lose five strokes on the greens and still give yourself a chance to make the cut is pretty good,” Scheffler said Friday after signing for a 68, “because five shots is a lot.” It was Scheffler’s fourth missed cut of the season, matching his number of wins. He is still projected to hold the top spot in the FedExCup, however, because he entered the Playoffs with a 1,221-point lead over Cameron Smith. “I was practicing really hard at home, was playing really well and just showed up and had my worst putting day ever,” Scheffler said. “Golf kind of smacks you in the face sometimes.” Scheffler started his week by hitting his approach on TPC Southwind’s 10th hole to 4 feet. He missed the birdie putt, however. It was the start of a trend. He missed a 9-footer for birdie on the next hole, as well. Then he played the next three holes in 4 over, hitting two approach shots into the water. He made three birdies and no bogeys the rest of the way to salvage a 71 despite losing 4.6 strokes on the greens. He missed six putts inside 10 feet in the opening round, including three within 5 feet. Friday started promisingly with birdies on two of his first three holes, and he was still 1 under when he hit his approach to No. 9 into the lake fronting the green. Birdies at 14 and 15 pulled him within one of the cut line, but he missed an 8-foot birdie putt on 16 and 20-footers on the final two holes. Only 15 players arrived at TPC Southwind within 2,000 FedExCup points of Scheffler, the number of points awarded for a win this week. Six players who could pass Scheffler are inside the top 20 on the leaderboard, and within five shots of J.J. Spaun’s lead entering the weekend. Smith and Tony Finau are both three back and in a tie for fifth place. Finau is looking for his third consecutive win, while Smith is looking to add the FedExCup to his wins at THE PLAYERS and The Open. Sam Burns, Justin Thomas, Will Zalatoris and Matt Fitzpatrick are all five back and in a tie for 17th. Zalatoris’ 63 matched Friday’s low round. Only two of the 15 players who could pass Scheffler, No. 6 Rory McIlroy and 15th-ranked Jordan Spieth, missed the cut (Hideki Matsuyama, who’s 11th in the FedExCup, withdrew before the tournament began with a neck injury). McIlroy bogeyed his 18th hole Friday to also miss the cut by one. Spieth shot 74 on Friday and finished six outside of the cut line. Five winners in the FedExCup’s 15-year history failed to earn a point in the Playoffs opener. Justin Rose (2018), Jordan Spieth (2015) and Billy Horschel (2014) missed the cut. Jim Furyk was disqualified from the first Playoffs event in 2010 for missing his pro-am tee time after his cell phone lost power overnight and his alarm didn’t go off. Tiger Woods won the inaugural FedExCup after choosing to not play the first Playoffs event. NOTES: Anirban Lahiri missed the cut by one but is clinging to the 70th spot in the projected standings after entering the week at No. 63 in the standings. TOUR rookie Alex Smalley is in a similar position, sitting two ahead of Lahiri in the standings after also missing the cut by one. … The seasons are over for players who entered the week outside the top 70 in the FedExCup and missed the cut. Those players include Matthew NeSmith, who entered the week at No. 72; Nick Watney (No. 111); Puerto Rico Open champion Ryan Brehm (No. 117); former PLAYERS champion Webb Simpson (No. 122); former FedExCup champion Justin Rose (No. 94) and Stewart Cink (No. 115), who won twice last year. BMW BUBBLE WATCH Here are the players projected to move inside the top 70 of the FedExCup after the second round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship and advance to next week’s BMW Championship at Wilmington (Del.) Country Club: PROJCTED IN Adam Scott (No. 77, projected to 53): He’s T9 at 7-under 133 after making birdie on his final two holes Friday. A good finish not only would get him in the BMW but would clinch his Presidents Cup spot and keep Captain Trevor Immelman from needing to use a Captain’s Pick on him. Scott currently holds the eighth and final spot in the International Team standings; the top eight after the BMW qualify for the team. Ryan Palmer (No. 110, projected to 56): The veteran is seeking his 11th BMW appearance in the last 14 years. He is just three off the lead after shooting 65-67. Wyndham Clark (No. 79, projected to 62): Birdied his final three holes Friday to shoot second straight 67. He sits at 6 under as he seeks his first BMW start in three years. Andrew Putnam (No. 87, projected to 67): Former runner-up at TPC Southwind (2018 FedEx St. Jude Classic) is seeking first BMW start since 2019. PROJECTED OUT Cam Davis (No. 66, projected to 71): Got up-and-down on his final hole of the day to make the cut on the number and keep his BMW hopes alive. Brendon Todd (No. 68, projected to 72): Made three bogeys in his first six holes Friday, but played his last 12 holes in 4 under to make the cut and keep his Playoffs hopes alive. John Huh (No. 67, projected to 74): The runner-up at last week’s Wyndham Championship withdrew with a lower-back injury after shooting 40 on his first nine holes Friday. Lanto Griffin (No. 69, projected to 78): He is not in the field after having back surgery earlier this year.

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