The First Look: The Honda Classic

The top 100 players in the FedExCup standings will qualify for the Dell Technologies Championship — the second leg of the FedExCup Playoffs. Track the latest movement here: Projected FedExCup standings. • COURSE: TPC Boston, 7,342 yards, par 71. Carved into the New England countryside about midway between Boston and Rhode Island, the original 2002 layout carried Arnold Palmer’s stamp before a thorough remodel just five years later. Gil Hanse and consultant Brad Faxon introduced “chocolate-dropâ€� mounds and grass bunkers to give the course more of a regional feel. The Dell Technologies Championship has been engrained in the Labor Day calendar since 2003, using the holiday to offer up the PGA TOUR’s only scheduled Monday finish. • FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 2,000 points. • CHARITY: The Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, Boys & Girls Clubs of Dorchester and MassGeneral Hospital for Children are the tournament’s new primary beneficiaries, selected with a mission of improved health, wellness, and academic achievement. Six other charity partners include The Red Sox Foundation and Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund. • FIELD WATCH: Rory McIlroy, the reigning FedExCup king, defends in Boston against a lineup currently at 97 entrants. Among them: PGA TOUR Season points leader Hideki Matsuyama and new PGA Championship titleholder Justin Thomas. … Masters champion Sergio Garcia jumps into the fray after sitting out the Playoffs opener for the third consecutive year. He began the postseason at No. 22 on the points list, still on track to make the finale at East Lake. … Adam Scott, now a father of two after welcoming a son this week, was a late addition after initial indications he’d sit out the first two events. He entered the Playoffs at No. 66, with little wiggle room to get into the BMW Championship. … Brandt Snedeker and Scott Piercy are qualified for Boston, but have shut down their seasons with injuries. • 72-HOLE RECORD: 262, Vijay Singh (2008), Charley Hoffman (2010), Henrik Stenson (2013). • 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Vijay Singh (3rd round, 2006), Mike Weir (1st round, 2008). • LAST YEAR: McIlroy made up a six-shot deficit on the final day, firing a 6-under 65 to chase down a faltering Paul Casey for his 20th victory worldwide and first on U.S. soil in nearly 16 months. McIlroy played his first three holes of the week in 4 over, but followed his opening 71 with rounds of 67-66-65 that left him with a two-stroke triumph. He moved in front for good with a 20-foot birdie at TPC Boston’s 12th hole, then left no doubt with a 3-wood approach into the wind at No. 18 that set up a birdie from a bunker. Casey began the day with a three-shot lead, but closed with a 73 in his bid for a first PGA TOUR victory since 2009. Three weeks later, McIlroy won again at East Lake to take the FedExCup. • STORYLINES: While there’s always a shakeup atop the FedExCup standings after the first Playoffs event, Matsuyama’s missed cut at THE NORTHERN TRUST virtually assures a change at No. 1. Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and Jhonattan Vegas all were tied for the lead after 36 holes at Glen Oaks Club. … Jon Rahm, down to No. 6 in points after once topping the chart, entered the Playoffs without a top-10 finish on U.S. soil since May. … The FedExCup bubble now moves to the top 70 in points for the BMW Championship. A year ago, Billy Hurley III and David Hearn were among six who extended their seasons after coming to Boston outside the cut line. • SHORT CHIPS: Two of the past four winners at TPC Boston have gone on to win the FedExCup, with McIlroy’s feat preceded by 2013 champion Henrik Stenson. … McIlroy’s triumph also made it seven consecutive winners at TPC Boston who have come from behind on the final day. Just one of the past 10 champions, in fact, have closed out a 54-hole lead. … Phil Mickelson is set to become the first man to make 40 starts in the FedExCup Playoffs. Bubba Watson will join him if he can move into the top 100 in points. … Scott, Patrick Reed, Ryan Moore and Jason Kokrak all posted top-10 finishes at each of last year’s first two Playoff events. That matched the total for the previous three postseasons. • TELEVISION: Friday, 2:30-6:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 3-6:30 p.m. (GC). Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (NBC). Monday, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (GC), 1:30-6 p.m. (NBC). • PGA TOUR LIVE: Friday-Saturday, 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-6:30 p.m. (featured holes). Sunday-Monday, 8:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (featured holes). • RADIO: Friday-Saturday, noon-7 p.m.; Sunday-Monday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.COM).

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Ever since the consecutive doubleheaders in mid-July, it’s been a whirlwind of action on the PGA TOUR. From those four events in a fortnight to the run-up to the FedExCup Playoffs to the series itself to the determination of the final set of new members via the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, and then with the 2022-23 season starting before the special week to focus on the Presidents Cup, the routing has been rigorous. RELATED: Play Pick ‘Em Live | The First Look Now it’s time to exhale. Where better than in the embraceable tempo of the South to reconnect with a steady cadence that will take the TOUR all the way to the holiday break. The first in the eight-week groove is the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi. A field of 144 is assembling at the Country Club of Jackson. For what it expects, how the final leaderboard should be determined and more, continue reading beneath the ranking. POWER RANKINGS: SANDERSON FARMS CHAMPIONSHIP Seamus Power, Sepp Straka, Chris Kirk and Christiaan Bezuidenhout will be among the notables reviewed in Draws and Fades. Contributing to the familiar feels of routine is the arrival of autumn that, of course, includes the SEC digging into league play on the gridiron. College football’s strongest conference is well-represented on the PGA TOUR for all the reasons, so it’s of little surprise that it boasts the defending champion of the Sanderson Farms Championship, Sam Burns. The LSU product set the course tournament record on the CC of Jackson at 22-under 266 last year. Sensibly, the field’s scoring average of 69.870 also was a new low in its eight years as host. With no changes to the stock par 72 and absolutely perfect weather forecast, both marks are within reach this week. The tallest rough is trimmed to 2½ inches and the bermuda greens are prepped to measure 13 feet on the Stimpmeter. At 7,461 yards, CC of Jackson can stretch but it’s always rewarded all skill sets. It’s lengthened in time but consider that Ryan Armour prevailed only five years ago when the track was just 40 yards shorter. Cameron Champ took the title the following year. You don’t need to dive into the data to confirm that positioning those two winners at opposite ends of the spectrum in distance off the tee is correct. Calling cards are calling cards, and that includes the fair and consistent test in the Mississippi capital. Indeed, muscle matters, but precision on approach almost always elevates into the top priority in a shootout. Case in point, Burns co-led the field in greens in regulation (63 of 72) en route to his victory. He also paced it in Stroked Gained: Off-the-Tee and SG: Tee-to-Green. And he needed every bit of that dominance because he surrendered two strokes on the greens across four rounds. It was proof that not all shootouts are putting contests. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.com’s Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Draws & Fades WEDNESDAY: Pick ’Em Preview SUNDAY: Medical Extensions, Qualifiers, Reshuffle * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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