Who’s going to win the British Open?

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Reigning FedExCup champion Justin Thomas came to the defense Wednesday of his friend and fellow Kentuckian J.B. Holmes. Thomas, off the past two weeks since his last start in Hawaii, was watching on TV as Holmes deliberated over his second shot at the par-5 18th hole in Sunday’s final round at the Farmers Insurance Open. The wind was gusting at Torrey Pines, and Holmes strategized for four minutes and 10 seconds before deciding to lay up. The lengthy wait agitated fans around the 18th green and set off slow-play debates. But Thomas was having none of it. Both Thomas and Holmes are in the field at this week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open. “I have J.B.’s back all day on that situation,â€� said Thomas, who shares a coach with Holmes in Matt Killen. “It bothered me, and I hate it [bothering] him. I went up to him yesterday and told him it was a great week, first off. It was a great tournament for him. “But I have a hard time saying I wouldn’t do anything differently than he did. If you put me in 18 fairway and I need an eagle to win the golf tournament, or to have a chance to win the golf tournament, I mean, I knew the exact position he was in, and I would do the same thing.â€� Two shots behind playing partners Alex Noren and Ryan Palmer – with eventual champion Jason Day already in the clubhouse after finishing up his round — Holmes had 235 yards to carry the water. The wind had been tricky all day, and he found himself between a 5-wood and a 3-wood. He also lost track of time during the deliberations with his caddie, he told Golf Channel’s Tim Rosaforte. “If I messed him up, I apologize,â€� Holmes said of Noren, who needed a birdie at 18 to win the tournament but hit his second shot through a tunnel behind the green and could not get up and down. He settled for par before eventually losing a six-hole playoff to Day that extended to Monday. “He still made a good swing,â€� Holmes told Rosaforte about Noren’s second shot. “He smacked it.â€� “I don’t understand what all the big hoopla is about,â€� Holmes added. “I was just trying to give myself the best chance to win the tournament. I didn’t want to mess anybody up.â€� Asked afterwards if the wait affected his shot, Noren replied: “Not necessarily. … Just probably made me switch clubs.â€� Noren opted for 3-wood after contemplating a hybrid, but in retrospect said he probably should have laid up. The Holmes situation was the most visible slow-down of a slow day. At the par-3 third hole, C.T. Pan fell victim to the stiff breeze and twice hit his tee shot over the cliff behind the green, leading to a back-up in the field. Thomas said he would support efforts to speed up play, even to the point of players being dealt penalty strokes. “I think we should do it,â€� he said. “We’ve got to do something about the pace of play.â€� As for the specific situation with Holmes, though, he sees extenuating circumstances. He says he and Holmes have similar trajectories, and so he could imagine himself in the same situation. “I get it,â€� Thomas said. “Four minutes and 10 seconds is a long time, but nobody behind him, last hole, you need a three to win the golf tournament, you need to take as long as you can. “I mean obviously, there’s a point, you’re not going to sit there 10 minutes,â€� he added. “But it’s like, look: If I’m going to wait for the right wind, I’m going to wait for the right wind. I need to make a 3 here. And then people saying, ‘I can’t believe he wanted that long and laid it up into the rough.’ It’s like, do you think he was trying to lay it up into the rough? I mean, I think the bigger deal—and J.B., he’s gotten a lot better, and he’s trying to get a lot better with his pace of play — but it’s just the fact of the previous 17 holes.â€� Holmes told Rosaforte that while he was once too slow, he has improved. “I don’t get timed more than anybody else,â€� Holmes pointed out. Holmes eventually finished solo fourth at Torrey Pines, his best result since a solo third at the 2016 Open Championship. He comes to TPC Scottsdale as a two-time champion (2006, ’08). Said Thomas: “I hate it for him, how much he’s getting bashed and ridiculed.â€� 

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OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. - For 15 holes of the opening round at the BMW Championship Tiger Woods was grinding it out at a tough Olympia Fields and was in position to push towards the high finish he needs to continue his FedExCup season. But then the wheels came off. Woods, the 2007 and 2009 FedExCup winner, finished his opening round with three straight bogeys to sign for a 3-over 73, dropping back to a tie for 35th. He's now six shots off Hideki Matsuyama's lead, and four back of the projected finish he needs to advance to East Lake where the final 30 will fight it out for the FedExCup. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Matsuyama leads BMW Championship "Not the way I wanted to finish, but the golf course is playing difficult for sure," was all Woods could muster to say post round. Starting on the 10th Woods dropped a shot on his second hole of the round when he overcooked a short wedge shot that rolled over the back of the green. But he made up for it with a 28-foot birdie putt three holes later. A sloppy three-putt bogey on the par-3 16th, his seventh, was rubbed out by a birdie on the par-4 second and Woods appeared set to contend as winds started to rise. But a pulled approach on the seventh, another three-putt on the eighth and a wayward drive on the ninth into a bunker all conspired to see the 82-time winner tumble down the leaderboard. Woods started the tournament in 57th spot on the FedExCup and currently projects 56th, well back of the top 30 spot he desires. Duncan do it... Tyler Duncan was born in nearby Indiana, went to college at Purdue, but it is his caddie that is the secret weapon this week. Zach Guthrie was part of five Big Ten Championships during six years as the Assistant Men's Golf Coach at the University of Illinois and as such has a pretty decent handle on Olympia Fields. "I do feel comfortable here. It feels a lot like a summer round that I grew up playing. It’s hot, it’s windy, it’s kind of what you get around here. My caddie, he coached at Illinois when I was in school, so he’s been around here a bunch, and he’s from Illinois. We both feel pretty good here," Duncan said after a 2-under 68 has him sitting second on the leaderboard. Duncan comes into the BMW Championship in 32nd spot in the FedExCup thanks mainly to his win at the RSM Classic. He's now projected to eighth as he looks to secure a first ever TOUR Championship berth. "It was awesome. It was a grind. I drove it well and scrambled well, and those were the two biggest factors that I thought you were going to need to perform well at to have success this week." Bubble boys start solid... Tony Finau and Billy Horschel sit in 29th and 30th spot respectively leading into this week's BMW Championship as they look to hold on to a place in the final 30 and a start at East Lake. Both took impressive first steps in the opening round, shooting even par 70s to sit in a tie for fourth. A total of 10 players sit there with them meaning their projections are just 25 and 26 at the moment, but good enough to be thinking survival. "My putter saved me on quite a few holes. Man, the golf course is playing tough right now. You’ve got to hit the fairways and it doesn’t end there. You’ve got to hit the greens and it doesn’t end there with the wind and the amount of slope on these greens and the speed. It keeps you on your heels it seems like all day," Finau said. "I was happy to just finish at even par after the first round." Moving in, moving out... With three rounds to play three players project to move inside the top 30 which in turn would knock three out. Tyler Duncan (2nd) projects from 32nd to eighth, MacKenzie Hughes (3rd) projects from 36th to 19th and Mark Hubbard (T4) projects from 34th to 29th. Currently Cameron Champ (T65) projects to drop from 25th to 32nd, Cameron Smith (T51) from 26th to 33rd and Kevin Streelman (T60) from 28th to 34th. Webb Simpson, the only top 70 player not in the field, currently projects to drop from third to fourth spot.

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There are 23 rookies on the PGA TOUR in 2017-18. This feature provides a subjective ranking updated weekly. The Rookie of the Year is voted by PGA TOUR members who make at least 15 starts. SNAPSHOT: The first doubleheader of the 2017-18 didn’t deliver any fireworks for the rookie class, but it could be one of those moments in time to which a couple of guys might reference later as a launch pad for the season. The World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions has been contributing to the FedExCup since the first wraparound season in 2013-14, but no rookies qualified for the first two editions. In the last three, 12 have competed at Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai, none faring better than Peter Uihlein on Sunday. His T5 is the first top 10 among rookies. That set includes non-members who were officially designated as rookies later in the same season. Contested concurrently at the Country Club of Jackson in Mississippi, the Sanderson Farms Championship crowned the first breakthrough champion of the season in Ryan Armour. He was a PGA TOUR rookie in 2007 when Brandt Snedeker captured the Rookie of the Year award. Twenty rookies at the first additional event of the season were paced by Ben Silverman. He tied for seventh, 10 strokes back of the winner. It’s the worst low-rookie result in the tournament since it was slotted into the fall portion of the schedule in 2015. Conrad Shindler was one of five to share the lead with an opening 66, but he scored 75-75-73 the rest of the way and finished T59. In his first-ever TOUR-sanctioned start, non-member Scott Strohmeyer was one of three to tie for fourth place at the SFC. With the equivalent of 68.333 FedExCup points in his bank, he’ll head to this week’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open atop the ranking for non-members who have yet to exhaust rookie eligibility. Daisuke Kataoka, who placed T15 at the WGC-HSBC, slots second on the list with 55.200 points.* – In the field at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions as of Oct. 22. LOW ROOKIE — WGC-HSBC Champions: Peter Uihlein (T5). Second time (T10, CIMB). LOW ROOKIE — Sanderson Farms: Ben Silverman (T7). First Time. CAREER-BEST FINISHES (AND TIES) — WGC-HSBC Champions: None. CAREER-BEST FINISHES (AND TIES) — Sanderson Farms: Ben Silverman (T7), Tom Lovelady (T18), Talor Gooch (T30), Ethan Tracy (T30), Adam Schenk (T43), Conrad Shindler (T59). * – In the field at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open as of Oct. 29. Through the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions and Sanderson Farms Championship NOTE: A player’s rookie season (“Rookie Year”) is defined as the season in which he becomes a PGA TOUR member (including Special Temporary Members) and plays in 10 or more events as a member or finishes in the Top 125 on the Official FedExCup Points List, the Top 125 on the Official PGA TOUR Money List or qualifies as a Top 125 – Nonmember, whichever occurs first. Further, for purposes of this definition, a new member (including Special Temporary Members) shall not be eligible for the PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year if he has previously played in more than seven (7) Official PGA TOUR Money events as a professional in any prior season.

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