Tiger and Phil gearing up for ‘Match’ sequels

Hideki Matsuyama chases his third consecutive Waste Management Phoenix Open title, with 131 other players determined to stand in his way this week. Among those are Matsuyama’s playing partners Rickie Fowler and Webb Simpson, who know quite well the difficulties of trying to beat the young Japanese star at TPC Scottsdale. Tee times are set for the first two rounds, and golf fans can follow the action on a variety of platforms, including PGA TOUR LIVE. Broadcasts on the live stream will begin at 9:15 a.m. ET each day with featured groups, and then transition to featured hole coverage at 3 p.m. ET. Featured holes consist of the raucous par-3 16th as well as the par-4 17th. Saturday and Sunday coverage on PGA TOUR LIVE begins at 11:30 a.m. ET. PGA TOUR Radio’s coverage is 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET for the first two rounds, 2-7 p.m. ET on Saturday and 1-6 p.m. ET on Sunday. Golf Channel will carry live coverage for the first two rounds, with CBS carrying the bulk of the weekend coverage. Here’s a look at the featured groups for the two days (current FedExCup ranking in parentheses):  Rickie Fowler (19), Hideki Matsuyama (32), Webb Simpson (55). Let’s see – Matsuyama beat Fowler in a playoff to win at TPC Scottsdale in 2016. Then last year, Matsuyama beat Simpson in a playoff to successfully defend his title. Maybe Fowler and Simpson will relish the opportunity to gain a little revenge. Tee times: Rd. 1 – 9:47 a.m. (7:47 a.m. local) off 10th tee; Rd. 2 – 2:02 p.m. ET (12:02 p.m. local) off 1st tee Jon Rahm (2), Xander Schauffele (42), Phil Mickelson (46). Mickelson graduated from nearby Arizona State in 1992 with a psychology degree. Rahm graduated from ASU in 2016 with a communications degree. And Schauffele graduated in 2015 with a social sciences degree (but not from ASU; he went to San Diego State). Why do we have a feeling there will be lots of trash talk and mind games in this group? Tee times: Rd. 1 – 9:56 a.m. (7:56 a.m. local) off 10th tee; Rd. 2 – 2:11 p.m. ET (12:11 p.m. local) off 1st tee Charley Hoffman (129), Matt Kuchar (144), Bubba Watson (193). Shocking to think about — if the regular season ended today, none of these three would qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs. Combined, they’ve made eight starts this season, with the best finish a T18 by Hoffman (a Waste Management ambassador) in Vegas last fall. Fortunately, they have a few more opportunities to get inside that top 125 in the standings — specifically, about seven months. So no need to panic … yet. Tee times: Rd. 1 – 2:02 p.m. ET (12:02 p.m. local) off 1st tee; Rd. 2 – 9:47 a.m. ET (7:47 a.m. local) off 10th tee Patton Kizzire (1), Justin Thomas (7), Jordan Spieth (88). The last two FedExCup champs along with the current FedExCup leader. Kizzire has two wins in his last eight starts. Thomas and Spieth have two wins in their last 13 combined starts. Not sure how significant that is; just food for thought. Tee times: Rd. 1 – 2:11 p.m. ET (12:11 p.m. local) off 1st tee; Rd. 2 – 9:56 a.m. ET (7:56 a.m. local) off 10th tee

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During Round 2 of the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, Tiger Woods made the crowd roar when he holed out for eagle from 95 yards on the par-5 11th hole. He finished Friday at 5 under for the tournament. Can he capitalize on a strong round and make a move on the weekend?

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