What to watch for this week at WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play

ATLANTA — The crowd at East Lake was larger and louder than it has been in five years, which was the last time Tiger Woods was at the TOUR Championship. It was no coincidence. Woods played one of his best rounds of the year in his return to the FedExCup finale and caused the biggest cheer of a sun-baked Thursday afternoon by making an eagle putt from just over 25 feet on the par-5 18th for a 5-under 65 and a share of the lead with Rickie Fowler. It was the second time in as many FedExCup Playoff events that Woods was tied for the 18-hole lead. He shot a 62 at Aronimink in the opening round of the BMW Championship two weeks ago on a rain-soaked course that allowed just about everyone to go low. This felt even better on a dry, tougher East Lake course. “This was by far better than the 62 at Aronimink,” Woods said. “Conditions were soft there. This, it’s hard to get the ball closer. If you drive the ball in the rough, you know you can’t get the ball close. You just can’t control it.” Fowler, who missed two Playoff events recovering from an injury to his right oblique, putted for birdie on all but two holes for his 65 as he tries to avoid ending the season without winning. Justin Rose, in his debut as the No. 1 player in the world, got up-and-down from the bunker for birdie on the 18th for a 66 and was tied with Gary Woodland. Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy, all of whom will be in France next week for the Ryder Cup, were another shot behind. Woods already considers this a successful year just by making into the 30-man field at East Lake for the FedExCup finale, where everyone has a mathematical shot at capturing the $10 million bonus. He started the season in January after a fourth back surgery that limited him to only 16 PGA TOUR events in the previous four seasons. “To be able to play golf again and to earn my way back to this level is something that I was hoping I would do at the beginning of the year, but I didn’t know,” Woods said. “And I’ve done it?” What would winning mean in this comeback? “It would enhance the year,” he said. Woods still has 54 holes remaining. Two weeks ago, he went from a share of the first-round lead to five shots behind on a course where attacking flags on soft greens was the only option for low scoring. This was more about precision, and Woods felt in total control. He opened with a three-putt bogey from 25 feet, and he twice ran birdie attempts farther beyond the hole than he would have liked. But after making birdie putts from 25 feet on No. 5 and from 15 feet on No. 6, he figured out the speed of the greens and was on his way. “I hit so many quality shots all day, whether it was tee-to-green or it was putts,” Woods said. “I didn’t really mishit a single shot today. The only shot I can honestly say that I necked pretty bad was the tee shot at 17. Hit a 3-wood there, and with an iron, I probably would have shanked it. But ended up in the fairway and made par.” Woods will play in the final group Friday with Fowler, who has seen plenty of him at home in Florida in the months before Woods returned to golf. He had finished his round and was doing interviews when he heard the head-turning roar of Woods making eagle. They will be teammates next week at the Ryder Cup. Fowler has other objectives at East Lake. “The biggest win for him is just staying healthy and being out here all year consistently,” Fowler said. “Definitely happy for him. It’s obviously great for our sport. It’s great to have him as part of the team next week. We hope he continues to play well. I just want to play a little bit better and beat him.” Sixteen players in the 30-man field broke par on a hot afternoon with only a light breeze, and Thursday was all about staying in the game, especially as it relates to the chase for the FedExCup. Bryson DeChambeau, the No. 1 seed after the points were reset, had to birdie two of the last three holes for a 71. For someone like Woods or Fowler to win the FedExCup, they would need the top five seeds to falter. Rose and Thomas didn’t go along with that with strong opening rounds. Finau overcame a pair of early bogeys for his 67. The key for Woods could be Friday. Only once this year, at the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook, has he stayed consistently in the thick of it all tournament. He figures to have plenty of support. Houses along the side streets outside East Lake, and even one funeral home, offered parking and their yards were packed. It hasn’t been like that in several years. “I hadn’t played this tournament in five years, and some of the people said they haven’t been out here in five years,” Woods said. “That’s kind of nice that they’re coming out and supporting this event and supporting me, as well.”

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Webb Simpson tees it up for the first time since his runaway at THE PLAYERS Championship, joining favorite son Jordan Spieth to headline a strong roster as the PGA TOUR makes its 73rd visit to venerable Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. Jon Rahm and Justin Rose also are in the field, choosing Colonial over the European Tour’s BMW PGA Championship, while Rickie Fowler gives the tournament four of the top 10 in the current world rankings. Kevin Kisner is defending champion. FIELD NOTES Rose tees it up at Colonial for the first time since 2009, telling reporters he chose the event to fulfill a TOUR regulation requiring members to play one stop they haven’t visited in the past four years. U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka makes his third start since returning from a wrist injury. He tied for 11th at THE PLAYERS Championship. In all, the Colonial field features 13 of the top 30 in the rankings. Keith Clearwater, the 1987 champion, is set to make his 30th start at Colonial. That’ll move him within three of Ben Crenshaw’s all-time record. Chilean teen Joaquin Niemann, making his fourth professional start, tops a wealth of young talent also on display. Niemann placed sixth in his pro debut at the Valero Texas Open. The list of young guns also features Sam Burns – already a winner on the Web.com Tour – and former No.1 amateur Maverick McNealy. FEDEXCUP Winner receives 500 points. STORYLINES Spieth, whose 2016 title stands as his only win in his home state, remains in search of his first win since last year’s sizzling Open Championship finish. Though his closing 64 at the Masters is one of five scores of 66 or better since late March, he also has three cards of 74 or higher. Ryan Palmer, a Colonial member, owns four top-15 finishes in the past six years, including a share of third in 2016. He also tied for fifth in 2012 and ‘14. Kisner seeks to join Ben Hogan as the only man to record back-to-back wins at Colonial. Hogan did it twice – 1946-47 and 1952-53. Eight of the past nine winners have done so in come-from-behind fashion, with Spieth the lone exception. Barring a late WD, Matt Kuchar, Peter Uihlein and Jhonattan Vegas will be the only players to tee it up in all five Texas stops this year. It’s the 15th anniversary of Annika Sorenstam’s historic entry, becoming the first woman to tee up in a PGA TOUR event since World War II. The Invitational returns next year with a new title sponsor in Charles Schwab investments, a longtime sponsor of the PGA TOUR Champions season race. COURSE Colonial Country Club, 7,209 yards, par 70. A staple on the PGA TOUR schedule since 1946, only Augusta National has served a longer uninterrupted tenure as host. The 1936 Perry Maxwell/John Bredemus design is a timeless shotmaker’s layout, challenging golfers with tight fairways and several doglegs. It also was the first Texas club to install bentgrass greens. Colonial welcomed the U.S. Open in 1941 – the first Open contested south of the Mason-Dixon Line – and the TOUR settled in five years later. Colonial also staged the second edition of THE PLAYERS in 1975, along with the 1991 U.S. Women’s Open. 72-HOLE RECORD 259, Zach Johnson (2010). 18-HOLE RECORD 61, Keith Clearwater (2nd round, 1993), Lee Janzen (4th round, 1993), Greg Kraft (3rd round, 1999), Kenny Perry (3rd round, 2003), Justin Leonard (4th round, 2003), Chad Campbell (3rd round, 2004). LAST YEAR Kisner captured his second PGA TOUR victory, capping a 4-under-par 66 with a clutch par save to hold off Sunday challenges from Spieth, Rahm and Sean O’Hair. Three straight birdies to start Colonial’s back nine moved Kisner to the front, adding another at No.15 for a two-shot advantage before a bogey at the par-3 16th. Spieth’s challenge went wayward off the tee at No.18, and Rahm’s 10-foot try for a closing birdie just skirted the hole. Kisner’s approach at the 18th rolled off the back of the green, but he putted up the slope to 5 feet and converted the par save as Spieth stood on a chair to see the finish. Kisner’s victory followed runner-up weekends earlier in the spring at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Zurich Classic. HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 4-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. (featured groups), 4-7 p.m. (featured holes). RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 1-7 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).

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