Villegas’ 9 birdies fuel 1st-round 64; up 2 shots

Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. – Following Sunday’s conclusion of the TOUR Championship and the FedExCup Playoffs, nominees for PGA TOUR Player of the Year and PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year were finalized by the PGA TOUR Player Directors and members of the Player Advisory Council (PAC). The nominees for the Jack Nicklaus Award as the PGA TOUR Player of the Year are (alphabetically) Dustin Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas. The nominees for PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year are Wesley Bryan, Patrick Cantlay, Mackenzie Hughes, Grayson Murray and Xander Schauffele. The Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year awards are determined by a member vote, with PGA TOUR members who played in at least 15 official money events during the 2016-17 season eligible to vote. The voting will close on Monday, October 2, with the winners to be announced that week. Player of the Year nominees Dustin Johnson, 33 Jupiter, Florida (Coastal Carolina University) • Entered 20 events with victories (4) at the Genesis Open, World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship, World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play and THE NORTHERN TRUST. • Finished fourth in the FedExCup. • Finished seventh in Adjusted Scoring Average (69.549). • Finished the season with eight top-10 finishes among 17 made cuts. Hideki Matsuyama, 25 Sendai, Japan (Tohoku Fukushi University) • Entered 22 events with victories (3) at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions, Waste Management Phoenix Open and World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational • Finished eighth in the FedExCup. • Finished 10th in Adjusted Scoring Average (69.624). • Recorded a total of seven top-10 finishes among 20 made cuts. Jordan Spieth, 24 Dallas, Texas (University of Texas) • Entered 23 events with victories (3) at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Travelers Championship and The Open Championship. • Finished second in the FedExCup. • Finished first in Adjusted Scoring Average (68.846) to earn the Byron Nelson Award. • Recorded 12 top-10 finishes (tied with Justin Thomas for most this season) among 20 made cuts. • Top-10 finishes in all four FedExCup Playoffs events in 2017: THE NORTHERN TRUST (P2), Dell Technologies Championship (2), BMW Championship (T7), TOUR Championship (T7). Justin Thomas, 24 Jupiter, Florida (University of Alabama) • Entered 25 events with victories (5) at the CIMB Classic, Sentry Tournament of Champions, Sony Open in Hawaii, PGA Championship and Dell Technologies Championship. • Winner of the 2017 FedExCup. • Finished first on Official Money List to earn the Arnold Palmer Award with $9,921,560. • Finished third in Adjusted Scoring Average (69.359). • Recorded 12 top-10 finishes (tied with Jordan Spieth for most this season) among 19 made cuts. • Became just the fourth player since 1960 to capture five wins, including a major, in a season before the age of 25 (Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth). Rookie of the Year nominees Wesley Bryan, 27 Augusta, Georgia (University of South Carolina) • Entered 28 events with one victory at the RBC Heritage. • Finished 41st in the FedExCup. • Finished 113th in Adjusted Scoring Average (71.062). • Recorded a total of five top-10 finishes with 19 made cuts. • 2016 graduate of the Web.com Tour. Patrick Cantlay, 25 Jupiter, Florida (UCLA) • Entered 13 events with a season-best runner-up finish at the Valspar Championship. • Finished 29th in the FedExCup. • One of two rookies to qualify for the season-ending TOUR Championship in 2017. • Finished 15th in Adjusted Scoring Average (69.971). • Recorded a total of four top-10 finishes with 13 made cuts. Mackenzie Hughes, 26 Charlotte, North Carolina (Kent State University) • Entered 31 events with one victory at The RSM Classic. • Finished 36th in the FedExCup. • Finished T109th in Adjusted Scoring Average (71.044). • Recorded a total of two top-10 finishes among 22 made cuts. • 2016 graduate of the Web.com Tour. Grayson Murray, 23 Raleigh, North Carolina (Arizona State University) • Entered 30 events with one victory at the Barbacoa Championship. • Finished 66th in the FedExCup. • Finished 114th in Adjusted Scoring Average (71.064). • Recorded a total of two top-10 finishes among 18 made cuts. • 2016 graduate of the Web.com Tour. Xander Schauffele, 23 San Diego, California (San Diego State University) • Entered 28 events with wins (2) at The Greenbrier Classic and TOUR Championship; first-ever rookie to win the TOUR Championship. • Finished third in the FedExCup. • One of two rookies to qualify for the season-ending TOUR Championship in 2017. • Finished 27th in Adjusted Scoring Average (70.163). • Recorded a total of four top-10 finishes among 20 made cuts. • 2016 graduate of the Web.com Tour.  

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The U.S. Open, especially at Winged Foot, is not supposed to be easy. It’s not supposed to be hard. It’s supposed to be impossible. On Thursday, it wasn’t. Will that change, or is the USGA softening?

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The PGA TOUR’s first full-field event of 2022 takes place this week at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Round 1 gets underway Thursday from Waialae Country Club. The deep field includes Cameron Smith, who won last week at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, Webb Simpson, Hideki Matsuyama, Sungjae Im, Marc Leishman, Corey Conners and Kevin Kisner. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action, including Featured Groups for PGA TOUR LIVE and newly expanded and extended coverage on ESPN+. Click here for more details. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Saturday, 7 p.m.-10:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Sunday, 6 p.m.-10 p.m. (Golf Channel). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-7 p.m. ET (Featured Groups), 7 p.m.-10:30 p.m. (Featured Holes). Saturday, 4 p.m.-7 p.m. (Featured Groups), 7 p.m.-10:30 p.m. (Featured Holes). Sunday, 4 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups), 6 p.m.-10 p.m. (Featured Holes). PGA TOUR LIVE is available exclusively on ESPN+ Radio: Thursday-Saturday, 5 p.m.-10:30 p.m. ET. Sunday, 5 p.m.-10 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) FEATURED GROUPS Kevin Na, Cam Smith, Talor Gooch (Tee times) Marc Leishman, Sungjae Im, Matt Jones (Tee times) Hideki Matsuyama, Kevin Kisner, Webb Simpson (Tee times) Abraham Ancer, Billy Horschel, Harris English (Tee times) MUST READS The First Look Power Rankings Expert Picks Five things to know about Waialae Country Club

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