Tiger 6 back of leaders after Players first round

Editor’s note: The PGA of America, which owns and operates the PGA Championship, controls all digital streaming and broadcast rights to this event. PGA TOUR LIVE coverage will resume next week at the Charles Schwab Challenge Round 4 of the PGA Championship takes place Sunday from legendary Southern Hills. Here’s how to follow the action. Mito Pereira holds three-shot lead over Matthew Fitzpatrick and Will Zalatoris. Leaderboard Tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-8 p.m. ET (ESPN). Saturday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. ET (ESPN), 2 p.m.-7 p.m. (CBS) Bonus: Thursday: ESPN+ broadcast 8 a.m.-2 p.m., 8 p.m.-finish. Featured Groups: 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Featured Holes: 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Joe Buck/Michael Collins ESPN broadcast 1 p.m.-2 p.m.. Joe Buck/Michael Collins ESPN2 broadcast: 2 p.m.-5 p.m. Friday: ESPN+ broadcast 8 a.m.-2 p.m., 8 p.m.-finish. Featured Holes: 8:15 a.m.-7 p.m. Featured Groups: 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Joe Buck/Michael Collins ESPN broadcast: 1 p.m.-2 p.m. Joe Buck/Michael Collins ESPN2 broadcast: 2 p.m.-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday: ESPN+ broadcast 8 a.m.-10 a.m. Featured Groups: 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Joe Buck/Michael Collins ESPN broadcast: 9 a.m.-10 a.m. Joe Buck/Michael Collins ESPN+ broadcast: 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Featured Holes: 12 p.m.-7 p.m. For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR MUST READS Matt Fitzpatrick switches 4-irons before PGA’s third round Five Things to Know: Mito Pereira Will Zalatoris’ return to Southern Hills could lead to major breakthrough Tiger Woods grinds to make cut, won’t give up on miracle win at PGA Championship After fighting his swing, Justin Thomas finds himself atop PGA Championship World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler among those to miss cut at PGA Championship Sand proving to be a trap at PGA Championship Webb Simpson’s iron switch paying off at PGA Inside John Daly’s wild equipment setup at the PGA Nine Things to Know: Southern Hills Inside Tiger Woods’ 10 best rounds in majors

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CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) — Xander Schauffele won the Travelers Championship with a three-stroke swing on the final hole Sunday, hitting to 3 feet for birdie after rookie Sahith Theegala took two shots to get out of a bunker and made a double bogey in the group ahead. RELATED: What’s in Schauffele’s bag? A stroke ahead entering the day, Schauffele finished with a 2-under 68 at TPC River Highlands to beat Theegala and J.T. Poston by two strokes. The Olympic champion had a 19-under 261 total. “My mind was telling me to hit a good drive and then use your sand wedge or lob wedge in there and make birdie,” Schauffele said. “To sit there and watch what happened was a bit of a shock, obviously. I really had to try and focus on the task at hand.” Theegala shot a 67, and Poston had a 64. Schauffele won for the sixth time on the PGA TOUR and the second this season after teaming with Patrick Cantlay to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in April. Theegala was lurking near the top of the leaderboard all day and grabbed a share of the lead on 15, driving the green on the par-4 hole and making a 4-foot birdie putt. He overtook Schauffele with an 11-footer for birdie on 17, pumping his fist. But the former Pepperdine star hit his tee shot on 18 left and into the front lip of a fairway bunker. He needed two tries to get out the bunker. “Somehow my body just, I just straight bladed it,” he said. “I had room there. I don’t know how it looked, but I had room there. Just didn’t think I would let myself blade it. But I guess the moment was — and then from there it’s, like, got to try and make 5 now.” His 12-foot bogey putt lipped out, and he fell to his knees in agony. “I did everything I thought I had to do and it just happened to be everything bad culminated on one hole,” he said. “I did so much good.” Theegala was trying to become just the second rookie to win this season, joining Chad Ramey, who won in the Dominican Republic. The 2020 Travelers was his first professional start, but he missed the cut. Schauffele, meanwhile was consistent, with two birdies and a bogey on the front before mirroring that score on the back. He had a chance to tie Theegala on the 17th, but missed a 27-footer. Amateur Michael Thorbjornsen, from nearby Wellesley, Massachusetts, was fourth at 15 under after a 66. The Stanford star was looking to become the first amateur to win on the PGA TOUR since Phil Mickelson it in 1991. He shot a 31 on the front nine, including an eagle on No. 6 after putting a 261-yard approach a foot from the hole. He finished with a 66. “I felt really good and comfortable out there, then near the end had a couple of hiccups, which happens sometimes,” said Thorbjornsen, who added that he plans to return to college in the fall. “I don’t think I was too nervous, just a couple of miss-executions.” The previous best finish by an amateur at the Connecticut tournament came in 1966, when Tim Grant finished tied for sixth place at the nearby Wethersfield Country Club in what was then known as the Insurance City Open. Poston, who was the co-leader after shooting a first-round 62, started the day tied for seventh place, nine strokes back. He put up a bogey-free 64, finishing with his sixth birdie of the day. “I putted well, drove it well, hit my irons good,” he said Patrick Cantlay began the day just a stroke behind his good friend Schauffele. But last year’s FedExCup champion, who had a combined four bogeys in the first three rounds, shot five of them on the front nine on Sunday. He finished with a 76 and in a tie for 13th at 10 under. Luke List, who shot a 65 on Sunday to finish at 9-under had the shot of the day, opening his round with 119-yard approach on No. 1 that took a short bounce into the hole for an eagle. Rory McIlroy, who shot an opening-round 62, also finished at 9 under with a 67 on Sunday. This was his fourth straight tournament for the No. 2-ranked player in the world, who said he won’t play again before the Open Championship at St. Andrews next month. Morgan Hoffmann, who is fighting facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, finished at 2 over in his third and final tournament of the year on a three-event medical exemption. The 32-year-old, who took several years off from the TOUR to focus on his health, shot a 71 Sunday, ending his morning with a birdie after hitting his approach at 18 less than 2 feet from the pin. Hoffman, a New Jersey native now living in Costa Rica, said he’s hoping to get a few sponsor’s exemptions this summer and is cherishing the golf while trying to inspire others by staying healthy. “I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing, cleansing monthly, eating nourishing food and working out hard and keep gaining muscle and in the meantime I’m building a wellness center (in Costa Rica) to help other people do the same,” he said.

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Here are nine tidbits from the final round of the Sony Open at Waialae Country Club (par 70, 7,044 yards) in Honolulu that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Be looking for the Emergency 9 shortly after the close of play of each round of the tournament. Nobody Beats the Kizz Patton Kizzire held off James Hahn over six playoff holes to win for the second time on TOUR this season. His first win involved fending off Rickie Fowler at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba. Now, he adds a six-hole playoff to his resume less than two months later. His recipe for success this week included painting the top 10 in SG: Approach the Green, SG: Putting and bogey avoidance. He circled 22 birdies, T4 on the week. The 31-year old from Tuscaloosa is an Auburn grad but I’m guessing he’s still having a very good year. This is his second win and fourth top 10 in seven events in the new season. Hahn Solo James Hahn’s 62 on Sunday was two better than the next best and secured his place in the epic playoff on 17-under-par 263. Hahn continued his excellent record at Waialae as he posted his sixth consecutive payday and his first podium finish. Of his 24 rounds on this track 20 are in red figures including in 15 of his last 16. He torched the par four holes to the tune of 13-under and that never hurts at this event! I can understand if gamers were skeptical entering the week as his low round in three events during the fall was just 68. Sandwiched Between Chalk this up as a great learning experience for Tom Hoge. Most guys holding the 54-hole lead for the first time rarely go on to win. Hoge had the lead at 18-under after a birdie on No. 12. His double on No. 16 knocked him out of the lead and he eventually finished solo third, his best finish on TOUR. Hoge has never finished better than No. 132 in the FEC standings but he’s picked up his second top 10 in his first six attempts of the 2017-18 season. Charlotte’s Webb His 63 on Saturday was the lowest of the day and his 65 on Sunday moved him up five more spots to T4. Simpson finished last year with a flurry as he finished T20 or better in six of his last seven events. He might have added another in The RSM Classic but he withdrew to be by his dying father’s side. He’s picked back up where he left off with his fourth top 10 in his last eight starts. The Life of Brian Brian Stuard played 31 events last season and made just 16 cuts. None of those weekends resulted in a top 10 and only four went for top 25’s. He’s exempt this year as he’s the last Zurich champion that didn’t have a partner. He’s found new life in the new season as he’s now made the cut in all six events he’s played and half of those have gone for top 10’s. This is also his third top 10 in his last five starts at Waialae. Gamers love when recent and course form merges! Hawaii 5-0 Technically it is Hawaii 5-6, as in 56-under-par in his last four trips for Gary Woodland. After MC in his first two trips he’s fired off T-3, T-13 and T-6 last year with all 12 rounds at par or better. He added four more rounds in the red this week and his 64 on Sunday leapfrogged him 14 spots to T7. He co-led the field in birdies with 24, tied with fellow T7 finisher Ollie Schniederjans.  Kelly Green I’m usually ageist in fantasy golf but all rules have exceptions and Jerry Kelly at Waialae qualifies. His final round 66 moved him up to T14, his 13th top 25 in 21 career events. This is his WORST finish, when making the cut, in his last four trips. Not bad for 51 years young! Favorite Sons Defending champion Justin Thomas posted four rounds of 68 or lower and finished T14. Strangely he only made 15 birdies on the week but he did add two eagles. The last repeat champion will still be Ernie Els in 2003-2004. I didn’t see anything from the Bones-Thomas pairing that would suggest anything but business as usual moving forward. Jordan Spieth’s pair of 66’s on the weekend saw him cash T18. The backdoor wasn’t as cracked as much as gamers hoped and it was Spieth’s putter, strangely, that let him down. He ranked 58th in SG: Putting but he was first in GIR. I know which one of these two is easier to fix and it rhymes with cutting… Study Hall Wesley Bryan didn’t stick a driver in his bag this week and isn’t going to in the foreseeable future. He finished T32 and posted all four rounds at par or better…No magic Marc Leishman Sunday this week as the Aussie could only muster 68 and finished T47…Charles Howell, III never fired this week (T29) but he’s still never missed the cut at Waialae in 17 starts…Jason Dufner continues to have better results with the putter. He finished T18 for the week and 18th in SG: Putting…I hid Brian Harman down here as I have written about him the last three days. Fantasy players who had him this week will be disappointed that he didn’t close the deal. I’ll point out I was one of them but I’m not upset he didn’t win. Winning is really difficult out here and if he continues to rack up top 10’s, I’ll be able to live with my decisions! Have some perspective, folks! Only one guy can win each week!

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