Who will advance? All the scenarios for Friday at Dell-Match Play

Collin Morikawa shook off an early mistake Sunday to close with a 3-under 69 for a three-shot victory in the Workday Championship. Afterward, he paid tribute to Tiger Woods, his golf idol growing up.

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ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – A return to Sea Island may be just what Webb Simpson needs after the worst year of his lengthy career. Playing Thursday on one of his favorite TOUR venues, Simpson shot his lowest round since late July, a first-round 67 that was highlighted by a hole-in-one and has him back in a familiar place, contending at The RSM Classic. Simpson used his trusty 4-hyrbird – a club that’s been in his bag for six years – to ace the par-3 third hole at Sea Island’s Plantation Course. It was his fourth hole-in-one on TOUR. “My target was about 15 feet right of the hole there, so I did pull it, but I did hit it good enough to where I knew it would cover on that line,” Simpson said. “And I do love my hybrids.” Simpson was T6, four shots off Cole Hammer’s lead, after making five birdies, an eagle and two bogeys on a cold day in coastal Georgia. He missed just two fairways and hit 13 greens, the fruit of his work with new instructor Cameron McCormick, who also teaches Jordan Spieth and phenom Tom Kim, who’s won twice on TOUR as a 20-year-old. Simpson is coming off his career-worst finish in the FedExCup (116th) and has a missed cut and T52 in his two fall starts. “I really feel that I’m finally on the right track,” Simpson said. “I’m healthy, I feel like what I’m working on is simple for me and I’m starting to have confidence again. I didn’t have that much confidence last year. It’s hard to create confidence out of nothing.” Simpson’s previous ace came at the 2020 WM Phoenix Open, a tournament he went on to win. Another win later that year at the RBC Heritage remains his most recent on TOUR. It was part of a career renaissance that saw Simpson return to the game’s upper echelon after overcoming his well-documented putting struggles. He won THE PLAYERS in 2018 and twice in the 2020 season to crack the top 10 in the world ranking, make four consecutive TOUR Championship appearances and represent the U.S. in consecutive years in the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup. Sea Island, where Simpson has yet to win after multiple close calls, would be a fitting venue for him to return to the winner’s circle. He has finished in the top 10 in half of his starts in The RSM Classic, including two playoff losses and a third-place finish. His eighth-place finish at last year’s RSM was his lone top-10 of the season. “I learned the game in Wilmington, North Carolina, by the coast and I’ve always loved going to Hilton Head and I’ve always loved going to Sea Island for those reasons,” Simpson said. “I do love both golf courses here. I’d like for it to have been a little warmer, but I do love the wind.” Recently, Simpson has battled the lingering effects of a neck injury and fought some bad habits that crept into his swing after he tried to gain distance. He currently ranks 111th in the world ranking after sitting inside the top 10 as recently as spring 2021. The 2022 campaign was his first on TOUR that he didn’t post multiple top-10s. Simpson cited McCormick’s availability at TOUR events as one reason for the change. They’ve been looking at video from Simpson’s best seasons, in the opening and closing years of the 2010s, to help the self-described feel player get back into similar positions. “I think I’m going to blame myself (because) a couple years there I tried to hit the ball so much farther that I got into a number of bad habits,” Simpson said. “It was hard to see because it happens incrementally over time.” Simpson finished 80th in Strokes Gained: Approach last season, his worst showing since 2010, and was 93rd in Strokes Gained: Putting, ending a run of five consecutive seasons in the top 25 of that metric. He said even though he thought reverting to his older swing could cost him distance, Simpson was willing to make that trade-off. He said the distance gains have persisted, in part because of the strength he added during that process. “Most of this past year I had a two-way miss, where most of my career I’ve had a one-way miss,” Simpson said. “It’s a lot easier to play consistent golf that way. So I mean a day like today, it was a great day but I felt like I left a couple shots out there and that’s what my golf feels like. Whereas last year I feel like if I shot 5 under, it would have probably been I got the most out of it. “I’m optimistic. I feel like — I’m 37, I still have a number of years of good golf in me.”

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Former PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year Sungjae Im will return to defend his maiden TOUR title at The Honda Classic, where he'll be competing against a field that boasts 18 major champions. FIELD NOTES: Joaquin Niemann is the highest-ranked golfer in the FedExCup standings in the field at The Honda Classic. Niemann, part of the International Presidents Cup team in 2019, is looking for his second TOUR win... Some of the most-recent winners at PGA National looking to grab more glory who are returning for 2021 include Keith Mitchell (2019), Rickie Fowler (2017), and Adam Scott (2016)... Padraig Harrington, a two-time Honda Classic winner, is back at PGA National this season on a Sponsor Exemption. Harrington's two wins came a decade apart (2005, 2015)... Martin Kaymer is also playing on a Sponsor Exemption. This will be Kaymer's first non-major start on the PGA TOUR since the Barracuda Championship in August 2020... Other notable names in the field thanks to a Sponsor Exemption include Chase Koepka (brother to Brooks) and Kamaiu Johnson, who is playing his third TOUR event this season after his inspiring story caught the eyes of so many in the golf world... Phil Mickelson will be playing his second week in a row on PGA TOUR after THE PLAYERS Championship. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points COURSE: PGA National (Champion), 7,125 yards, par 70. Jack Nicklaus re-worked the tricky Tom and George Fazio layout in 1990 and 2014 and it has been long ranked as one of the hardest the TOUR plays every year. The Bear Trap (No's 15-17) is a water-soaked stretch that makes for high drama as players look to close out their rounds. PGA National's Champion Course has hosted The Honda Classic every season since 2007 and rewards accuracy over everything else. STORYLINES: Daniel Berger, who won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February, calls the West Palm Beach area home and is looking to lean into those Floridian vibes for more success this week. He finished T4 a year ago and is the highest-ranked golfer in the OWGR in the field... Given how many TOUR pros live in West Palm, the Monday Qualifier (with four spots available) is always one of the most highly-contested of the year... While Americans won The Honda Classic for three years in a row from 2017-2019, 10 of the last 16 Honda Classic winners have been from outside the United States... There has only been one back-to-back winner in Honda Classic history (Jack Nicklaus, 1977-78)... Can Lee Westwood continue his excellent play of late? The 47-year-old was in the final group Sunday at Bay Hill, held the 36-hole lead at THE PLAYERS, and is returning to The Honda Classic after a T4 result in 2020. 72-HOLE RECORD: 264, Justin Leonard (2003 at Mirasol). PGA National record: 267, Camilo Villegas (2010). 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Brian Harman (2nd round, 2012). LAST TIME: PGA National showed its teeth in 2020 with Sungjae Im's 6-under winning total the second highest since the long-time PGA TOUR stop moved to PGA National in 2007. Im, the TOUR's Rookie of the Year the season prior, fired a 4-under 66 Sunday (tied for the round of the day) to win by one over Mackenzie Hughes. Hughes matched Im's final-round 66, but despite three birdies on the back nine Sunday, he was undone by a bogey on the par-4 16th. Im kicked off Sunday with four birdies in his first five holes and finished just as strong, with birdies on two of his final holes. He became the seventh South Korean to win on TOUR. Tommy Fleetwood finished third, while Daniel Berger, Lee Westwood, Brendan Steele, and fellow South Korean Byeong Hun An finished T4. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. (Golf Channel/PGA Tour Live Freeview). Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel). Saturday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel). Sunday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC) PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 7:15 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).

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