The First Look: World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play

Who will win in the Bahamas? Follow the hole-by-role results here.

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MOLINE, Illinois – The 2018 John Deere Classic helped raise a record $13.45 million for 534 local and regional charities, an increase of $1.18 million over the previous year, tournament officials announced Wednesday at John Deere World Headquarters. Tournament officials said each participating charity will receive an 8.2 percent bonus payment on top of the money raised through the Birdies for Charity program – 64 percent more than the tournament guarantee of a five percent bonus. The John Deere Classic now has helped raise a total of $107 million for charity since the tournament began in 1971, with $104.5 million – 98 percent – coming since John Deere assumed the title sponsorship in 1998. “The John Deere Classic is thrilled to announce that the tournament has helped raise $13.45 million for 534 deserving charities in 2018,â€� said tournament director Clair Peterson. “Everyone involved with this charitable mission is proud and very appreciative of the individual donors, companies, and local foundations who made 2018’s charitable total the largest in tournament history.â€� The $13.45 million total works out to $35.88 for each of the Quad Cities’ 375,000 residents, again making the John Deere Classic the No. 1 in per capita contributions on the regular PGA TOUR. Overall, the John Deere Classic ranks among the top three in charitable giving on the PGA TOUR. This year, 2,355 birdies were recorded from Wednesday through Sunday during the John Deere Classic pro-am and tournament rounds at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois. Individuals who pledged a penny per birdie would donate $23.55 to their designated charity or charities. Other individuals, foundations and institutions donate lump sums. John Deere Classic officials on Wednesday also gave away a two-year lease on a Lexus NX – courtesy of Lexus of Quad Cities – to one of two finalists who came closest to guessing the exact number of birdies this year.  Both received a key, and the person whose key started the car won it. The free Lexus NX lease program annually serves as an incentive to potential donors to participate in the Birdies program. Lexus of Quad Cities also provided courtesy cars for John Deere Classic contestants and on-course evacuation vehicles. “Birdies for Charity is extremely grateful that Lexus of Quad Cities has made such a strong commitment to the John Deere Classic and to the hundreds of charities we serve in the Quad Cities and neighboring communities,â€� said Birdies for Charity director Kristy Ketcham-Jackson. “The opportunity for Birdies for Charity donors to win a two-year lease on a Lexus NX adds an extra incentive and an element of fun and excitement to the pledge drive and to tournament week itself.â€� The total amount donated to the charities is the result of a three-pronged fundraising effort: The tournament’s Birdies for Charity program enables individuals, companies, and foundations to pledge to a charity or charities of their choice either a minimum of one cent for each birdie recorded at the tournament from Wednesday-Sunday or in lump sum donations. Because John Deere underwrites the administrative costs of the Birdies program, 100 percent of each Birdies pledge collected goes to the core mission of the designated charities rather than to administrative, operational, or fundraising activities. The Bonus Fund consists of tournament revenues, direct donations, a John Deere Foundation matching grant, as well as proceeds from special events, such as this year’s Lee Brice concert during tournament week. After Wednesday’s announcement, officials distributed checks to charity representatives who attended the event. For the third consecutive year, three lucky charities in attendance received an extra $1,000 each in a blind drawing. Checks will be mailed to charities that did not pick them up in person. Michael Kim, 25, won the 2018 John Deere Classic with a record-setting score of 27-under-par, becoming the 22nd player in tournament history to win his first PGA TOUR event at the Quad Cities event. The John Deere Classic, which includes Birdies for Charity, is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization located in the John Deere Classic tournament offices at 15623 Coaltown Road, East Moline, Illinois.  Since 1971, the tournament has helped raise $107 million for charity.

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SAN ANTONIO — Camilo Villegas chipped in twice to highlight a nine-birdie round that earned him an 8-under 64 and the first-round lead at the Valero Texas Open on Thursday. RELATED: Leaderboard | Cut prediction: Valero Texas Open Sung Kang, a 33-year-old South Korean, is two shots back with Cameron Tringale after each had a 66 at TPC San Antonio’s Oaks Course. Jordan Spieth, whose struggles the past three years appear to be subsiding after four top-10 finishes the past two months, is three back (67) with Seung-Yul Noh and Hideki Matsuyama. Phil Mickelson dropped to 15 shots back when he had a 10 on the 18th hole — he took two penalty shots and another three strokes trying to get away from a greenside stream — and ended with a 79. Villegas won the TOUR Championship in 2008 and the Wyndham Championship in 2014, but has endured injury and then the death of his 22-month-old daughter last year. His two top-10 finishes this year include a tie for eighth at the Honda Classic. “Sometimes it goes your way, and sometimes it doesn’t,” Villegas said. “The last few years I’ve been up and down with many things. We keep showing up and the results start showing up.” He bogeyed his opening hole Thursday and birdied six of seven holes in the middle of his round. That streak included putts of 23 and 20 feet and a chip-in from the fringe at his 13th hole. He finished up when he holed out from about 45 yards away to the side of the green. “Some days the hole is a little bit big,” Villegas said. “On (the last hole), I got really lucky. I hit a chip that was probably going off the green, and it hits the pin and goes in.” Kang, the 2019 Byron Nelson champ, got his round rolling with an eagle on his 11th hole. He hit the green in two on the par 5 from 292 yards and made a 30-foot eagle. “I played great today, but I didn’t start off very good,” Kang said. “I struggled a little bit with a new driver from the start, but I found a way to hit it on the back nine so started driving a lot better.” Kang birdied three of his last four, including his finishing hole with a 22-foot birdie. Spieth birdied three of his opening five holes. Looking for his first win since the 2017 Open Championship, he had steadily dropped in the world rankings until he hit No. 92 in January after missing the cut in five of eight starts. “Overall with the score, I certainly would have signed up for 5 under starting out,” Spieth said. “I felt like I played some really nice golf on our front nine. I didn’t quite hit it as good as I have been, but certainly the short game came through. I mean, 5 under around this track is a good score. I’d take four more of them.” Five of Spieth’s seven birdies came before he made the turn. For the day, three of his birdie putts came from longer than 15 feet, including a 21-footer at his second hole. “Overall, just chipped and putted really well, which was the difference-maker today,” he said. He used a putter from the fringe while 16 feet away for birdie at his second-to-last hole. He made up for hitting into the bunker on the right off the tee, but he couldn’t recover on his 18th. He pushed another tee shot right and hit a provisional. But he found his tee shot near trees, punched it out near the green, yet failed to get up and down and settled for his second bogey. “It just got a little bit off there today off the tee on contact,” Spieth said. “The rest of the swing, I mean, I feel like I’m swinging the same and out in front of it and putting a good move on it.” Spieth has used the Texas Open to bolster his game in the past. In 2015, he finished second after four straight birdies late. Two weeks later, he won his first major at the Masters and in June won the U.S. Open. In February, Spieth had a share of the lead after a third-round 61 at Phoenix and he led by two shots going into the final day at Pebble Beach. Last month at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard in Florida, he was two shots out of the lead heading into the final day and finished tied for fourth. Scottie Scheffler, a Dallas native and former Texas Longhorns standout like Spieth, shared opening-round 68s with Tom Hoge and Sebastian Munoz. Scheffler was runner-up last week in Austin at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. He made up for a bogey on his 17th with an 11-foot birdie putt at his last. “I made a few silly mistakes here and there, kind of two sloppy bogeys, but other than that, I felt like I played really solid,” Scheffler said. “I was pretty frustrated bogeying a par 5 there towards the end of the round, so having a nice bounce back will give me some momentum and make me rest a little easier.” In addition to Mickelson’s final-hole struggles, he had a three-putt inside nine feet and on the next hole missed from less than four feet. Abraham Ancer was tied with Spieth at 4 under early in his second nine, but a triple-bogey and bogey finish put an even-par 72 on his card.

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