Valero Texas Open, fourth round: Leaderboard, tee times, TV schedule

LAS VEGAS - Francesco Molinari is hoping his first round on the PGA TOUR in nearly seven months goes a little smoother than his first interview. RELATED: Featured Groups for Las Vegas | DeChambeau turns doubters into believers Molinari will make his long awaited return to golf at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas this week, his first hit out since THE PLAYERS Championship was cancelled after one round in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The three-time TOUR winner is the last of the major players around the world to return to competitive golf and when he fronted the TOUR's virtual interview room the Italian caught a proverbial frog in his throat right from the opening question. Thankfully it was nothing a quick drink of water and reset couldn't fix. While the 37-year-old's concern for the global health crisis was a factor in his absence, the main reason the Italian has been off the golf grid so long is a cross Atlantic move from London to Los Angeles. Molinari and his wife and two children have made a permanent shift and the former Open Champion insisted he be a dedicated part of the monumental move. "Obviously feels great after such a long layoff to be back. I didn’t think at THE PLAYERS that it will be so long to get back. I’m just very happy to be here," he said. "I just decided to take some time off to work out a few things with the family. Obviously we moved over here to California during this time, so, yeah, it’s been different. Not something I thought I would do in my career, but in a way it was nice to take a break and stay away for a bit. I definitely feel refreshed and looking forward to being back playing golf." The Molinari's first moved to San Francisco in July and were in fact in the city during the PGA Championship but Molinari declined to play as they continued to try to lockdown a new residence. While Collin Morikawa was making history, Molinari and his kids were at the zoo. Since then they've found a place to call home in Southern California. "It’s worth a shot. I want to try and achieve as many things as possible in let’s say the second part of my career," Molinari said of the motivations for the move which will allow him to play more on the PGA TOUR while still being close to his loved ones. "My wife is supportive of that, and obviously she’s probably the one I guess in the toughest spot because she’s even further away from her family and friends. I’m going to try to make the most of it obviously, and hopefully we can settle in California and be there for a long time." At the end of the 2018 FedExCup season Molinari sat fifth in the world rankings and went on to become the first European to produce a 5-0 record in a Ryder Cup as Europe beat the U.S. in Paris. He'd claimed the Quicken Loans National as well as the Claret Jug at Carnoustie that summer. In 2019 Molinari took out the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by Mastercard and was third at the World Golf Championships - Dell Technologies Match Play sending him to the Masters as one of the hot favorites. For three and a half days he played like it before a mistake on Sunday paved the way for a Tiger Woods win and the end of the golden run Molinari had been on. A double bogey on the par-3 12th on Sunday stripped him of a two-shot lead and he ended up tied fifth. Not a single top-10 has followed and when the break was enforced he had dropped to 28th in the world. Now he's fallen to 73rd thanks to the lengthy layoff but returns to a course in TPC Summerlin where he finished T4 in the 2016-17 season. He expects to get closer to his peak performance by January 2021. "My expectations for this week, to be honest, are quite low. I haven’t played that much golf really in the last few months, so we’ll see what happens here," Molinari said cautiously. "I’ve been playing probably as little golf as ever in my life ... Mentally I’m definitely in a very different spot than I was in February or March. I wasn’t in a great place with my game back then and I was low in confidence … but it was probably in a way a good time for me to take a step away from the game. "I’m more motivated now than I was back then before the break. I'm nowhere near where I want to be long-term physically and technically and mentally, but there is time. There is no rush. It’s going to be a long process. It’s going to be kind of a grind to get back. I know it’s not going to be that easy. But I’m ready for the challenge.”

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NORTON, Mass. – The first time Justin Rose played a competitive round at TPC Boston, he shot 63. That was 15 years ago and he was not yet a TOUR member. He was playing on a sponsor’s exemption extended by then-tournament director Jay Monahan, now the PGA TOUR Commissioner. Rose, then 23-years old, eventually finished solo third and earned his TOUR card without having to go through Q-school. Since then, he’s played more than 300 TOUR events, won nine times – including a major and two WGC events – and also won an Olympic gold medal. It’s been a stellar career. But he’s never been able to match that 63 – although he came close Friday with a bogey-free 6-under 65 to take the first-round lead at the Dell Technologies Championship. “This golf course has been changed and manipulated a lot through the years,â€� said Rose after his 45th career round at TPC Boston. “I think the first couple of years I played really well and enjoyed it. Then obviously significant changes through the years. I guess the last few years things have settled a little bit again. “So I played better when it was pre-redesign. I probably had more success.â€� Indeed. Besides his solo third in 2003, he tied for fourth in 2006. But since the debut of the FedExCup Playoffs the following year and the course’s redesign by Gil Hanse, Rose’s only top-10 finish came last year with a tie for 10th. Perhaps he’s finally starting to solve it. He certainly solved the tricky wind conditions better than anybody else, and his bogey-free round was one of just two on the day (Abraham Ancer had the other in shooting 66). Of course, it helps that he’s an established world-class golfer, ranked sixth in FedExCup points and fourth in the world. Even so, TPC Boston – at least the latest version — may always seem liked a mystery to him. “I’ve had some mixed results here,â€� said Rose, who turned his first missed cut of the season at last week’s FedExCup Playoffs opener into a six-day visit back home. “I’ve had some great weeks and I’ve had some poor weeks here. It’s a course I never really know exactly what to expect. “But it’s a fun golf course.â€� It was fun 15 years ago when he first saw it. Maybe it will be even more fun for him the rest of this week. KEEGAN HANDLING HOMETOWN PRESSURE Keegan Bradley desperately wants to give his New England fans a winning performance. Unfortunately, he’s never really come close at TPC Boston. In six previous appearances at the Dell Technologies Championship, his best finish is a tie for 13th in 2012. That was the year he shot 63 in the third round. Alas, that only moved him within 13 shots of the leader. Two years later, he opened with a 65, leaving him in solo second … and then he gradually dropped down the leaderboard to finish tied for 16th. Yes, the Vermont native – who’s also an unabashed Boston sports fan — gets tons of support here. That also comes with tons of pressure. Now, though, he thinks he can properly channel that pressure. An opening 4-under 67, which leaves him just two shots behind leader Justin Rose, suggests this might be the year. “I’ve learned to love coming here,â€� Bradley said. “It used to be a very tough week for me. I put so much pressure on myself. But I’ve learned to go with it.â€� He’s also learning how to let go of disappointment. A week ago, his third-round 62 at THE NORTHERN TRUST moved him into solo second after 54 holes. A day later, in the final group with eventual winner Bryson DeChambeau, he suffered a free-fall, his 7-over 78 leaving him tied for 34th. Considering he hasn’t won a PGA TOUR event in six years and has just one top-3 finish in his last 119 starts, it was a bitter finish. But by the middle of this week, he was over it. “It was tough, because I felt like that was my day to kind of tell everybody that maybe I was back here and I was here to stay,â€� Bradley said. “I may have put too much pressure on myself. But it’s nice to come right back out and play quickly.â€� Will he keep riding the momentum – and successfully manage the expectations – for the final three rounds this week? Bradley certainly hopes so, but it’ll be difficult not to let his mind wander. “I would love to give the fans and my family who don’t get to come to a lot of tournaments see me compete and do well, maybe win,â€� he said. “That would be incredible. So always in the back of my mind, I think how amazing that would be. How cool that would be. “And that’s something that I’ll have to be aware of this week.â€� NOTABLES DJ’S GUARANTEE … In eight career starts at TPC Boston, Dustin Johnson has three top-10 finishes. He’s only held the lead once in 32 rounds here, and has only been inside the top-5 once entering the final round. His promise: That all changes this year. “I don’t understand why I haven’t had more success here because I like the golf course,â€� he said after an opening 68. “I feel like it sets up well for me. And I’m going to have success this year.â€� OFF THE BOTTOM OF THE SHOE … Marc Leishman’s approach into the par-4 sixth was sailing long right and heading into trouble – until it bounced off the bottom of the shoe of a fan who had stumbled and fallen backwards while trying to get out of the way. The ball ricocheted onto the green, and Leishman capitalized on the break by rolling in the birdie putt from 56 feet, 11 inches. “First time that’s ever happened to me,â€� said Leishman, who shot a 68. “It’s nice when it does happen … Hopefully I don’t need those kind of breaks later in the week.â€� Click here for the video of the shoe shot. TURF TALK … A week ago, Chris Kirk tied for last among all players who made the cut at THE NORTHERN TRUST. This week, he’s off to a great start with a 4-under 67. The difference, he said, is his ability to read the greens at TPC Boston after struggling last week at Ridgewood. And why is that? “I suck on poa annua,â€� Kirk said. He said other than a solo second in the 2013 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, his track record is horrible on poa annua greens. “I wish I somehow had any clue what I did that week,â€� he said. “I’m still using the same putter right now that I used that week.â€� Bentgrass greens, like at TPC Boston, and bermudagrass greens are no problem. “At least I feel good on two out of the three surfaces we play,â€� Kirk said. FEELING FRESH … Beau Hossler played six straight weeks earlier this season. He had another stretch of five straight weeks. But this week is just his third start in the last six weeks. “I feel really fresh, where a lot of players probably don’t right now,â€� Hossler said after his 67. “I would say my game isn’t exactly where I want it to be. But as far as mentally, I feel totally rested and prepared to compete.â€� Hossler’s fast start is no surprise – the rookie is fifth on TOUR in first-round scoring average. BANG-BANG FINISHES … Russell Knox was plodding along and coming off an unfortunate bogey on the 12th hole after finding the middle of the fairway. After that? Three birdies and an eagle hole-out at the par-4 15th to shoot 66 and share second place. “The round was just good in four holes,â€� Knox said. “It was nice. I haven’t hd one of those bang-bang runs in a while.â€� … Abraham Ancer also had one of those runs to finish his bogey-free 66, making four birdies in his last six holes. “Some putts didn’t go in on the front nine and I just stayed patient and made some coming in,â€� Ancer said. QUOTABLES They might be taking an early weekend. Should be in school studying.I’ve learned more about my game this year than any other season, no doubt. SHOT OF THE DAY

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Words can tell the story of Pebble Beach as it enters its 100th year. But photos do a better job.

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