Thomas shows he still knows how to win

The United States Golf Association (USGA) today announced tee times for the first two rounds of the 2020 U.S. Open Championship, Thursday (Sept. 17) and Friday (Sept. 18), at 7,477-yard, par-70 Winged Foot Golf Club (West Course), in Mamaroneck, N.Y. The U.S. Open is a 72-hole, stroke-play competition. A field of 144 players will play 18 holes of stroke play on Sept. 17 and 18, after which the field will be reduced to the low 60 scores and ties. Those players making the cut will play 18 holes on Sept. 19 and 20. If there is a tie upon the completion of 72 holes, a two-hole aggregate playoff will immediately follow. If this playoff results in a tie, the tied players will immediately continue to play off hole-by-hole until the winner is determined. RELATED: Nine things to know about Winged Foot | Looking back at wild finish in 2006 | Five Korn Ferry Tour players to watch Thursday, No. 1 / Friday, No. 10 (All times ET) 6:50 a.m. / 12:10 p.m. - Brandon Wu, Scarsdale, N.Y.; Curtis Luck, Australia; Ryan Fox, New Zealand 7:01 a.m. / 12:21 p.m. - Joel Dahmen, Clarkston, Wash.; Rasmus Hojgaard, Denmark; J.T. Poston, Hickory, N.C. 7:12 a.m. / 12:32 p.m. - Chez Reavie, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Sung Kang, Republic of Korea; Kevin Streelman, Wheaton, Ill. 7:23 a.m. / 12:43 p.m. - Jazz Janewattananond, Thailand; Kevin Na, Las Vegas, Nev.; Matt Wallace, England 7:34 a.m. / 12:54 p.m. - Brendon Todd, Watkinsville, Ga.; Harris English, Moultrie, Ga.; (a) Davis Thompson, St. Simons Island, Ga. 7:45 a.m. / 1:05 p.m. - Paul Waring, England; Victor Perez, France; Christiaan Bezuidenhout, South Africa 7:56 a.m. / 1:16 p.m. - Hideki Matsuyama, Japan; Patrick Reed, Houston, Texas; Jordan Spieth, Dallas,Texas 8:07 a.m. / 1:27 p.m. - Collin Morikawa, La Canada Flintridge, Calif.; Justin Thomas, Louisville, Ky.; Tiger Woods, Jupiter, Fla. 8:18 a.m. / 1:38 p.m. - Matt Kuchar, Sea Island, Ga.; Lucas Glover, Jupiter, Fla.; Graeme McDowell, Northern Ireland 8:29 a.m. / 1:49 p.m. - Charles Howell III, Orlando, Fla.; Ryo Ishikawa, Japan; Max Homa, Valencia, Calif. 8:40 a.m. / 2 p.m. - Kurt Kitayama, Chico, Calif.; Robert MacIntyre, Scotland; (a) Sandy Scott, Scotland 8:51 a.m. / 2:11 p.m. - Eddie Pepperell, England; Troy Merritt, Eagle, Idaho; Sami Valimaki, Finland 12:10 p.m. / 6:50 a.m. - Shaun Norris, South Africa; Rory Sabbatini, Slovakia; Chan Kim, Gilbert, Ariz. 12:21 p.m. / 7:01 a.m. - Adam Long, St. Louis, Mo.; (a) Eduard Rousaud, Spain; Mike Lorenzo-Vera, France 12:32 p.m. / 7:12 a.m. - (a) Lukas Michel, Australia; Lucas Herbert, Australia; Matt Jones, Australia 12:43 p.m. / 7:23 a.m. - Ryan Palmer, Colleyville, Texas; Si Woo Kim, Republic of Korea; Rafa Cabrera Bello, Spain 12:54 p.m. / 7:34 a.m. - Joaquin Niemann, Chile; Sungjae Im, Republic of Korea; Cameron Champ, Sacramento, Calif. 1:05 p.m. / 7:45 a.m. - Gary Woodland, Topeka, Kan.; (a) Andy Ogletree, Little Rock, Miss.; Shane Lowry, Republic of Ireland 1:16 p.m. / 7:56 a.m. - Bryson DeChambeau, Clovis, Calif.; Dustin Johnson, Jupiter, Fla.; Tony Finau, Salt Lake City, Utah 1:27 p.m. / 8:07 a.m. - Phil Mickelson, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.; Paul Casey, England; Jon Rahm, Spain 1:38 p.m. / 8:18 a.m. - Rickie Fowler, Murrieta, Calif.; Matthew Wolff, Agoura Hills, Calif.; Viktor Hovland, Norway 1:49 p.m. / 8:29 a.m. - Romain Langasque, France; Davis Riley, Hattiesburg, Miss.; Will Zalatoris, Plano, Texas 2 p.m. / 8:40 a.m. - Matthias Schwab, Austria; (a) Cole Hammer, Houston, Texas; Alex Noren, Sweden 2:11 p.m. / 8:51 a.m. - Connor Syme, Scotland; Paul Barjon, France; Marty Jertson, Phoenix, Ariz. Thursday, No. 10 / Friday, No. 1 (All times ET) 6:50 a.m. / 12:10 p.m. - Daniel Balin, White Plains, N.Y.; Greyson Sigg, Augusta, Ga.; J.C. Ritchie, South Africa 7:01 a.m. / 12:21 p.m. - (a) Ricky Castillo, Yorba Linda, Calif.; Brian Harman, Sea Island, Ga.; Andy Sullivan, England 7:12 a.m. / 12:32 p.m. - Tom Lewis, England; (a) Preston Summerhays, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Jason Kokrak, Hudson, Ohio 7:23 a.m. / 12:43 p.m. - Martin Kaymer, Germany; Jimmy Walker, Boerne, Texas; (a) John Augenstein, Owensboro, Ky. 7:34 a.m. / 12:54 p.m. - Tyler Duncan, Columbus, Ind.; Thomas Detry, Belgium; Erik van Rooyen, South Africa 7:45 a.m. / 1:05 p.m. - Tyrrell Hatton, England; Henrik Stenson, Sweden; Danny Willett, England 7:56 a.m. / 1:16 p.m. - Webb Simpson, Charlotte, N.C.; Sergio Garcia, Spain; Jason Day, Australia 8:07 a.m. / 1:27 p.m. - Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland; Adam Scott, Australia; Justin Rose, England 8:18 a.m. / 1:38 p.m. - Ian Poulter, England; Patrick Cantlay, Jupiter, Fla.; Steve Stricker, Madison, Wis. 8:29 a.m. / 1:49 p.m. - Adam Hadwin, Canada; Mackenzie Hughes, Canada; Corey Conners, Canada 8:40 a.m. / 2 p.m. - Sebastian Munoz, Colombia; (a) Chun An Yu, Chinese Taipei; Justin Harding, South Africa 8:51 a.m. / 2:11 p.m. - Scott Hend, Australia; Dan McCarthy, Syracuse, N.Y.; Ryan Vermeer, Omaha, Neb. 12:10 p.m. / 6:50 a.m. - Richy Werenski, West Palm Beach, Fla.; Taylor Pendrith, Canada; Renato Paratore, Italy 12:21 p.m. / 7:01 a.m. - Jim Herman, Palm City, Fla.; (a) John Pak, Scotch Plains, N.J.; Thomas Pieters, Belgium 12:32 p.m. / 7:12 a.m. - Michael Thompson, Sea Island, Ga.; Andrew Putnam, University Place, Wash.; Chesson Hadley, Raleigh, N.C. 12:43 p.m. / 7:23 a.m. - Bernd Wiesberger, Austria; Marc Leishman, Australia; Cameron Smith, Australia 12:54 p.m. / 7:34 a.m. - Lee Westwood, England; (a) James Sugrue, Republic of Ireland; Bubba Watson, Bagdad, Fla. 1:05 p.m. / 7:45 a.m. - Matt Fitzpatrick, England; Daniel Berger, Jupiter, Fla.; Branden Grace, South Africa 1:16 p.m. / 7:56 a.m. - Tommy Fleetwood, England; Kevin Kisner, Aiken, S.C.; Abraham Ancer, Mexico 1:27 p.m. / 8:07 a.m. - Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa; Zach Johnson, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Keegan Bradley, Woodstock, Vt. 1:38 p.m. / 8:18 a.m. - Billy Horschel, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.; Xander Schauffele, San Diego, Calif.; Brandt Snedeker, Nashville, Tenn. 1:49 p.m. / 8:29 a.m. - Shugo Imahira, Japan; Byeong Hun An, Republic of Korea; (a) Takumi Kanaya, Japan 2 p.m. / 8:40 a.m. - Danny Lee, New Zealand; Mark Hubbard, Denver, Colo.; Lanto Griffin, Blacksburg, Va. 2:11 p.m. / 8:51 a.m. - Stephan Jaeger, Germany; Lee Hodges, Elkmont, Ala.; Adrian Otaegui, Spain

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ST. LOUIS – Tiger Woods was 3 over par through two holes at the 100th PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club on Thursday, but battled back to shoot an even-par 70. He was five behind the early first-round leader, Rickie Fowler, and feeling good about turning a potentially terrible day into a not-so-bad one. “It kept me in the golf tournament,â€� said Woods, who started on the back nine. “I could have easily gone the other way, being 3 over through two. A lot of things could happen. Not a lot of them were positive, but I hung in there and turned it around.â€� After being sidelined for years by various ailments, including four back surgeries, Woods is in the midst of a comeback season that has seen plenty of highs. At the Valspar Championship in just his fourth start this season, he shot four under-par rounds for the first time since THE NORTHERN TRUST in 2013. At The Open Championship at Carnoustie last month, he briefly seized the lead before struggling on the back nine and ultimately finishing T6. The top-10 finish nudged him into the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking and got him into last week’s World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone South, where he’d won eight times. He got into contention but shot 73-73 on the weekend to finish T31. Woods was not at his best again at Bellerive on Thursday. Of his 118-yard approach over water at the 11th hole, he said, “I stuck it in the ground,â€� coming up some 12 yards short on the way to a double-bogey 6. Still, he minimized the damage by making three birdies and no bogeys over his last 10 holes. He hit 9 of 14 fairways and 11 of 18 greens, and took 27 putts. “This is a long run,â€� he said, pleased to still be within five of the early first-round leader, Rickie Fowler. “These are marathons. These are four long days. They’re slow rounds.â€� Woods had the same score as playing partner Rory McIlroy (70) and was one behind the third member of the group, Justin Thomas (69), the defending PGA champion who is coming off a victory at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational last weekend. Being grouped with two stars from the next wave had Woods in a reflective mind, and he recounted a story about playing with Jack Nicklaus at the 2000 PGA at Valhalla, which he had told at the PGA Champions Dinner here earlier this week.   “Jack at Valhalla, 18 years ago, that was his last PGA, and he was telling me the story that he played with Gene Sarazen in his last PGA,â€� Woods said. “It’s interesting what this game of golf can do, how we can basically last for so many different generations. “… The reason I was telling the story is because J.T. invited me to speak a little on behalf of himself and PGA of America, and J.T. was 7-years old when we were at Valhalla, and he was in the clubhouse when I made that putt on 18. So, kind of trying to tie in Gene Sarazen, Jack, and little J.T. there, and now he’s PGA champion for the last year, 17 years later. So, it’s pretty neat.â€�

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With very little going on in terms of live sports, it stands to reason that the PGA TOUR has attracted new fans in the first two weeks after emerging from the three-month hiatus. Come Sunday, a few have to be wondering if only plaid jackets are awarded to the winners. Just like last week’s Charles Schwab Challenge, this week’s RBC Heritage was relocated to an unfamiliar month due to the pandemic. In recent history, it’s served as the exhale in the week after the Masters in April. This year, it not only is contested for the first time in June, it also assumes the original slot traditionally occupied by the U.S. Open and will finish on Father’s Day. As of midday Monday, the 153-man field at Harbour Town Golf Links includes 117 who competed at Colonial Country Club last week. For what it faces on the par 71 stretching just 7,099 yards, scroll past the projected contenders. POWER RANKINGS: RBC HERITAGE Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Hideki Matsuyama and defending champion C.T. Pan will be among the notables reviewed in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider. In response to playing time missed as a result of the hiatus, 12 more spots were opened at the RBC Heritage. Customarily, it’s an invitational with 132 golfers, but even with the expansion to 144, the field is nine stronger than rescheduled. This is because all automatic qualifiers are allowed entry regardless of reserved space. Harbour Town will give the robust gathering all it wants. At just 3,700 square feet on average, greens are among the smallest everyone in the field will see all year. The biggest difference between April and June is that the putting surfaces no longer need to be overseeded. This will give the TifEagle bermudagrass planted in advance of the 2016 edition of the tournament the opportunity to really shine. Due to work done to reconfigure cart paths and trim trees, some fairways are wider, but finding the shortest grass off the tee isn’t necessarily the premium at Harbour Town. Not unlike the tee-to-green objective at Augusta National, placement for approach shots is key. That favors the thinking man and course management. Short of finding spot on the dartboards, including on each of the par 5s, shot-shaping under and around overhanging trees accentuates the challenge dimensionally. If the greens were larger, the approach game would have even greater value, but Harbour Town caters to the small ball. As all worthy courses yield so as to prove fairness, there have been exceptions, but the champion likely will have scrambled well, which is to say that he’s putted well. C.T. Pan slotted below the field average in fairways hit last year, and he was right at the field average in greens in regulation, but he was tidiest with his short game, slotting second in putts per GIR. He did hit it tight (seventh in proximity to the holes), but he also made the most of his modest opportunities by ranking fifth in par-breaker conversion percentage with the putter. He finished at 12-under 272 as the field averaged 71.170 for the week. The contingent that has played Harbour Town in April likely will feel more humidity this week. Daytime temperatures will climb into the 80s. A passing shower can’t be ruled out and wind probably won’t factor into club selection until Sunday, if at all. Incidentally, the last four who emerged victorious at the RBC Heritage were first-timers on the PGA TOUR. Wesley Bryan (2017) and Satoshi Kodaira (2018) were tournament debutants. The active streak matches the Barracuda Championship for runner-up honors behind the Sanderson Farms Championship where Sebastián Muñoz became the sixth consecutive first-time winner last fall. If you’re interested in more history of the RBC Heritage, please check out the all-time Power Rankings that published during the original week of this season’s edition. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider * – 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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