What the pros are playing at The Genesis Invitational

OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. - Rory McIlroy has been distracted lately. Now we know why. The two-time FedExCup champion and his wife Erica are about to become parents for the first time with a baby girl due any day now. McIlroy confirmed the news, which had leaked out while he played his third round of the BMW Championship, after signing for a 3-over 73. The 18-time PGA TOUR winner dropped from the 36-hole lead into a tie for sixth, still very much in contention at a tough Olympia Fields, but now three shots back of the lead. Dustin Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama are the only two players under par at one under. They share a two-shot buffer at the top. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Rahm cards 66 despite Rules gaffe "From the get-go my mind has been wandering the last few weeks, and now you guys sort of know the reason why," McIlroy said. "We’re about to be parents very soon, so we’re obviously super excited." "We've been sharing the news with friends and family, obviously, but I didn’t think it was something that I really particularly needed to share out here. It’s a private matter, but we’re really excited and can’t wait for her to get here." The 31-year-old also confirmed that his charge towards a sixth FedExCup Playoff win here in Chicago, or his efforts to become the first three-time and first back-to-back FedExCup champion next week in Atlanta, could end at any moment. "I’m just waiting for a phone call. I was waiting for a phone call last week and it didn’t come, and then Harry (his caddie) has been keeping his phone in his pocket just to make sure, but nothing as of yet," McIlroy said. "(If the call comes) I’m out of here. Yeah, out of here. I’m going to play in many more TOUR Championships and it’s only going to be the birth of your first child once. That trumps anything else." The news helps partially explain McIlroy's dip in form of late. Prior to the COVID-19 shutdown he finished inside the top five of all six of his TOUR events, including winning the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions last fall. Since returning after the break, and in the midst of the joys of a first pregnancy, McIlroy's focus has understandably shifted a little. He has just one top 25 finish - a T11 at the Travelers Championship - in his seven starts. McIlroy was quick to point out the happy news is not solely to blame for the lack of results. "Not so much the first few weeks, but the last couple of weeks, when you’re going out to play and maybe not knowing whether you’re going to finish the round or not, that's a little tough," he explained when asked how distracting it has been during his golf. "It’s definitely not an excuse. I just haven’t played well enough. But again, I keep talking about perspective. If you do play bad, I’ve got some awesome stuff coming up on the horizon, which is really cool, and it makes the bad days a lot easier to handle." McIlroy's play on Saturday could be described more as unlucky then bad. While he was scrappy at times he fought hard in tough, firm and fast conditions and saw a number of crucial putts lip out or burn edges. While a putter change between the first and second round worked well, on Saturday it was different. Having started with a TaylorMade TP Soto, McIlroy has gone back to his TaylorMade Spider X the last two days. In round one he ranked 45th of 69 players in Strokes Gained: Putting (-0.532) but on Friday he was 21st (+0.506). The third round saw him need 35 putts and he was ranked 63rd on the greens (-1.680). "I played okay. I probably didn’t drive it as well as I did the first couple of days, which put me out of position. And then from there, it’s so tough to get it close. I had nine birdies through the first two days and only had two birdies today," McIlroy said. "A lot good putts that caught edges, dived across the front of the hole or maybe a touch firm and caught the top side. I had a couple tentative ones on the front nine, but once I got the speed down a little bit more I felt like I actually putted okay, even though not much dropped." Despite the troubles, McIlroy feels he can still make up the deficit on what shapes to be another tough round on Sunday. "Felt like I hung in there... it was just a shame to bogey the last. It would have been nice to go into tomorrow one closer to the lead, but I think I’m still right in the thick of things. If I can get off to a decent start tomorrow, hopefully I’ll be right there," he said. Provided that is that the call doesn't come.

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Round 4 of the AT&T Byron Nelson takes place Sunday from TPC Craig Ranch. Sebastian Munoz leads after 54-holes at 21-under-par. The winner of the event will pocket 500 FedExCup points. 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-Friday, 4 p.m.-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 1 p.m.–7 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.–6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR PGA TOUR LIVE PGA TOUR Live is available exclusively on ESPN+ • Main Feed: primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course • Marquee Group: new “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group • Featured Groups: traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups • Featured Holes: a combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes FEATURED GROUPS Marquee Group 11:20 AM/ET – Dustin Johnson / Trey Mullinax / Austin Smotherman Featured Groups 10:20 AM/ET – Xander Schauffele / Pat Perez / Justin Lower 11:30 AM/ET – Hideki Matsuyama / Seamus Power / Joohyung Kim Featured Holes: No. 4 (par 3), No. 7 (par 3), No. 15 (par 3), No. 17 (par 3) Sebastian Munoz leads by one at AT&T Byron Nelson Jordan Spieth enjoying success in home state What’s in Jason Day’s bag at the AT&T Byron Nelson? Spieth, Scheffler return to debut TOUR event

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Tiger Woods makes his first start of the calendar year – and takes his first crack at breaking the PGA TOUR’s all-time victories record — at a place where he’s had plenty of success. Woods is a seven-time winner of the Farmers Insurance Open. He also won the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. His eight victories at this course perched on the cliffs above the Pacific Ocean match his PGA TOUR record for most wins at one site. He has also won eight times at Bay Hill Club & Lodge, which hosts the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, and Firestone Golf Club, the former site of the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Woods also is making his first official start since winning a record-tying 82nd title at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP and being a victorious player-captain at The Presidents Cup. He’ll need to top a world-class field if he wants to break the record he shares with Sam Snead. FIELD NOTES: Defending champion Justin Rose will make his first start of the calendar year. He last teed it up on the PGA TOUR at the WGC-HSBC Champions in November, finishing T28. Rose is coming off a second-place finish Sunday at the Singapore Open, where he finished three strokes behind Matt Kuchar. … Reigning FedExCup champion Rory McIlroy tees it up on TOUR first the first time since winning the WGC-HSBC Champions. He finished T3-1 in the two tournaments he played in the fall and took a six-week break over the holidays, returning to Northern Ireland. He is sixth in the FedExCup standings as he seeks to become the first three-time winner of the season-long competition.… Two-time Farmers Insurance Open winner Jason Day will make his return to the TOUR after having to withdraw from the Presidents Cup due to injury after receiving a captain’s pick… Rose, Day, and Woods are three of the eight past champions in the field including Brandt Snedeker, Scott Stallings, Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson, and world No. 3 Jon Rahm. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points. COURSE: Torrey Pines GC (South), 7,698 yards, par 72. A longtime PGA TOUR venue, the South Course at Torrey Pines received an upgrade from Rees Jones in 2001 to help secure the 2008 U.S. Open. The South Course recently underwent another renovation to prepare for next year’s U.S. Open. The North Course (7,258/72) also will be used for the first two rounds. STORYLINES: Tiger Woods will be seeking a record-setting 83rd PGA TOUR victory at a course where he’s been winning since his junior days. … Some California connections at Torrey Pines next week include Xander Schauffele, who is from La Jolla and was in attendance when Woods sank his famous birdie putt on the 72nd hole of the 2008 U.S. Open. … Rickie Fowler, from Murrieta, has two top-10s at the Farmers Insurance Open but also has four missed cuts in 10 starts. … And of course, Phil Mickelson – who has won this tournament three times and was born in San Diego –  will be playing his second event in a row after playing and hosting last week’s The American Express… Justin Rose looks to become the event’s fourth back-to-back champion. He’d join Woods, Mickelson, and J.C. Snead if he could manage to lift the trophy again… Rose was the first winner since Ben Crane in 2010 to start the week on the North Course. Winners from 2011-2018 all started on the South Course. 72-HOLE RECORD: 266, George Burns (1987), Tiger Woods (1999). 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Mark Brooks (2nd round, 1990) and Brandt Snedeker (1st round, 2007) at Torrey Pines North, predating the Weiskopf redesign. South course record: 62, Tiger Woods (3rd round, 1999). Redesigned North record: 62, Jon Rahm (1st round, 2019). LAST TIME: Despite a record-setting first round by past champion Jon Rahm, he couldn’t keep the momentum going through Sunday and Justin Rose took the title, finishing at 21 under for the week. He got off to a tough start Sunday, bogeying three of his first five holes, but he was 5 under for his final 12. But Rose eventually topped Adam Scott by two shots for his 10th PGA TOUR win. Hideki Matsuyama and Talor Gooch finished T3, while Rory McIlroy finished T5 alongside two past Farmers Insurance Open champions – Rahm and Jason Day. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 3-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 1-2:45 p.m. ET (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. ET (CBS). Sunday, 1-2:45 p.m. ET (Golf Channel), 3-6:30 p.m. ET (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: (Featured Groups, Featured Holes) Thursday-Friday 12 p.m. – 7 p.m. ET. Saturday, 10:30 a.m.- 6 p.m. ET. Sunday, 11:15 a.m.-6:30 p.m. ET. Radio: Thursday-Friday, 1 p.m.-7 p.m. ET. Saturday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. ET. Sunday, 1 p.m.-6:30 p.m. ET (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).

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