The walk-up music for each of the world’s top golfers

LAS VEGAS — Mito Pereira of Chile led a parade of players from the International Team at the Presidents Cup in the Shriners Children’s Open on Friday, making birdie on half of his holes for an 8-under 63 that gave him a one-shot lead. Pereira took care of the par 5s at the TPC Summerlin and putted for birdie on every hole except the par-4 12th, where he had to save par from a bunker left of the green. His one lapse was on the seventh hole toward the end of his round when he ran a 20-foot birdie putt some 6 feet by the cup and three-putted for bogey. Pereira was at 12-under 130, one shot ahead of Robby Shelton, who birdied the par-5 ninth on his final hole for a 63. Right behind were 20-year-old Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim, top performers for the International Team in their own right two weeks ago at Quail Hollow. Another shot back was Cam Davis of Australia, who also had a solid debut in the Presidents Cup. Perhaps it was no accident. The International Team was outmanned and yet they gave the mighty Americans a brief scare on the final day before another U.S. Team victory. Pereira said it was a case of captain Trevor Immelman reminding them each night they were great players who could win. “I think Trevor did a really good job with us, encouraging us how good we are, how good we play golf,” Pereira said. “So I think we carry that over here. Right now we’re just playing really good.” Also in the mix were two other International Team players, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and defending champion Sungjae Im, who were five behind. One of the American stars isn’t faring too badly. Patrick Cantlay continued to give himself great looks at birdie, no small task on a TPC Summerlin course that was renovated with new grass on the fairways and greens. That takes time to settle, meaning the greens are hard and it’s tough to get it close. Cantlay had to settle for another 67, leaving him in the group four behind. Cantlay, the No. 4 player in the world with two wins this year, has a victory and two runner-up finishes in his four appearances at the TPC Summerlin. Asked if he was freaked out making a bogey given the good scoring, Cantlay replied, “I don’t get freaked out by much.” Pereira is riding high from his confidence gained at the Presidents Cup. Further in his mind is May, when the Chilean was on the cusp of winning the PGA Championship. He had a one-shot lead playing the 18th at Southern Hills when he drove into a stream, missed the green and made double bogey to miss the playoff by one shot. It was a crushing loss, though it got him into the top 50 for the other majors and led to him playing in the Presidents Cup. He still thinks about it from time to time, “but it’s just way over there in the past.” “I’m just trying to get my first win here,” he said. Si Woo Kim had the best and worst of the back nine at Summerlin. He chipped from the back of the green on the par-4 12th into the water on his way to a triple bogey. On the reachable par-4 15th, he holed a bunker shot for eagle. It added up to a 68, and he’s a big part of the picture on the weekend. So is Tom Kim, who won two months ago for his first PGA TOUR victory. He had a 67 despite not making birdie on any of the par 5s and going through the scorable stretch on the back with nothing better than par. “I just got really mellow,” Tom Kim said. “I just didn’t make any birdies and closed out with 10 pars in a row. It was pretty boring after nine, but I hung in there and I kept myself in it. I think that was the biggest thing.”

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Martin Laird … Quite safe at 55th in the FedExCup standings, the Wyndham Championship rolls around at a good time as he could use a reversal of fortune after missing consecutive cuts at the Scottish Open, The Open Championship and the PGA Championship. The Scot doesn’t present as a horse for a course often, but he does at Sedgefield where he hasn’t missed a cut in six tries. He’s registered two top 15s and a scoring average of 68.04. Robert Streb … The 30-year-old was in danger of losing his card until a runner-up finish at The Greenbrier Classic in early July. He added a T22 at the PGA Championship where his greenside touch was on display. He ranked eighth in strokes gained: around-the-green at Quail Hollow and sits T29 in the stat for the season on the PGA TOUR. It’s the linchpin that has him 58th in adjusted scoring despite pedestrian ball-striking and putting metrics. He’s 3-for-3 at Sedgefield with a T18 in 2014 and a scoring average of 68.17. Kevin Streelman … Perfect in four previous visits but this is his first in five years, so consider the statue of limitations for converging trends having expired even though he’s survived his last seven consecutive cuts dating back to THE PLAYERS. The streak included a run of four straight top 20s. Off since a T44 at the John Deere Classic where he ranked T2 in par-5 scoring and fulfilled his profile as a ball-striker in finishing 12th in strokes gained: tee-to-green. Currently 46th on TOUR in the stat and T22 in ball-striking. John Huh … At 117th in the FedExCup standings and nearly 40 points inside the top 125, he likely doesn’t have to worry about falling outside, but it has to be reassuring for him to go into the finale of the PGA TOUR season without a stumble in five previous appearances at Sedgefield. He opened his ledger here with top 20s in 2012 and 2013, the latter featuring a career-low 62. His scoring average in 20 competitive rounds is 68.40. Uninspiring statistically save to his slot at 11th in scrambling. Brandon Hagy … After months inside and outside the bubble, the first-time PGA TOUR member locked up his job for 2017-18 with a T5 at the RBC Canadian Open. His calling card is muscle off the tee, but he ranked fourth in strokes gained: putting that week. With the primary objective achieved, a T18 at the Barracuda Championship followed. Ranks 24th in birdie-or-better percentage and T7 in par-5 scoring.

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Round 3 of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans takes place Saturday. The two-man team event features plenty of stars, including defending champions Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action, including Featured Groups for PGA TOUR LIVE. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 3:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS) PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups); Friday, 9:15 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups); Saturday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes); Sunday, 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 1 p.m.-6:30 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-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 Tyrrell Hatton/Danny Willett & David Hearn/Zack Sucher (tee times) Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay & Michael Kim/Brandon Hagy (tee times) MUST READS Two teams share 36-hole lead McDowell holes brilliant ace Rose, Stenson combine well in ‘tricky format’ Smith entrusts mullet cut to Leishman How the format works Champ, Finau react to Chauvin verdict More on the line than long drives for Champ, Finau CALL OF THE DAY

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