Why the PGA Tour Champions is welcoming back fans this week

OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. – A week ago, Harold Varner III busted the bubble and made the top 125 advancing to the FedExCup Playoffs. Now he’s projected to do the same thing again with 18 holes left at THE NORTHERN TRUST. The situations seem the same. But they really aren’t. And neither is Varner’s mindset. “Last week was a little different,â€� he said. “My job was on the line. Now that we’re here, we can, not so much attack it but you can kind of let it go.â€� When he started the Wyndham Championship, he was 138th in points. But his tie for 10th – his only top-10 finish thus far this season — moved him to 123rd and secured his PGA TOUR card for next season. Now his goal is to keep advancing in the Playoffs and perhaps make the improbable push for a spot in the TOUR Championship. No player outside the top 70 at the start of the Playoffs has ever made it to East Lake, but Varner is in position to at least take the next step to TPC Boston. His 1-over 71 on Saturday leaves him at 2 under for the tournament and tied for 22nd. He currently is one of four players projected to bust the bubble, moving to 95th if he holds his position. He would reach the Dell Technologies Championship for the second straight year if he handles his business on Sunday. “It’s insane,â€� Varner said. “I have a great opportunity now and I’m just really excited about it.â€� He might even be excited enough to check out the FedExCup rankings on a regular basis. “My rookie year, I looked at it all the time and I played well,â€� Varner said of last season, when he had four top-10 finishes. “This year, I didn’t look at all. Maybe I should start looking at it more often.â€� BUBBLE WATCH Here are the players who are projected to move inside the top 100 that will advance to next week’s Dell Technologies Championship, along with the players who are projected to fall out. QUOTE OF THE DAY Last week I was clearly obsessed with the line but this week I’m trying not to be. Every bite of the cherry you get the more chances you obviously have to get to East Lake. Hopefully tomorrow is not my last bite of cherry. TOP 5 WATCH The Top 5 players entering the TOUR Championship will control their own destiny at East Lake. Here’s a look at how the current top 5 fared Saturday at THE NORTHERN TRUST. 1. Hideki Matsuyama (CUT). Sitting at home after missing the cut. Projected to drop to fourth. 2. Justin Thomas (69). Just couldn’t get anything significant going throughout the day and is 4 under and tied for 10th. Projected to fall to third. 3. Jordan Spieth (64). A 31 on the back nine to streak ahead of the pack and set up a three-shot lead at the top. Projected to first. 4. Dustin Johnson (67). Was leading to start the round but saw Spieth blitz past. Still, he’s alone in second at 9 under. He’ll move into first with a win but projected to second right now. 5. Rickie Fowler (74). Started the day tied for the lead and with big hopes. Then made bogeys on five of his first six holes on Saturday to tumble down the leaderboard. Ended the round at 2 under and tied 22nd. Projects to sixth. FEDEXCUP NOTES Seven players start Sunday projected to be eliminated from where they sit on the leaderboard. Scott Stallings and Ryan Blaum are currently projected to be just a stroke short of the position they need, giving them every chance to gain a stay of execution. It will be a tougher ask for Vaughn Taylor, who currently projects to be eight shots back of what he needs to advance. The new man currently projected inside the top 5 on the FedExCup list is Jon Rahm. Sitting in a tie for third at 7 under, Rahm projects to fifth on the standings. “I try not to think about it too much. I just try to focus on my game like I’ve been doing till now,â€� he said. “Certainly the closer we get to East Lake, I know the pressure is going to pile up and the more important it’s going to be. Hopefully I can get in that top-5 spot going into East Lake and be a little less stressed.â€� Patrick Reed (38 to 15), Justin Rose (32 to 20), Keegan Bradley (46 to 26), and Louis Oosthuizen (35 to 27) are players currently projected to move inside the top 30 of the FedExCup standings. While the Dell Technologies Championship and BMW Championship are still to be played, the top 30 make it to the TOUR Championship.

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LOS ANGELES — Joaquin Niemann had an idea how Riviera was playing Thursday when he saw no one from the morning draw posting better than a 5-under 66. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Riviera Romance – Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and stars start hot in LA He hit the ball so well in The Genesis Invitational that he didn’t even bother paying attention to anyone else. When his round ended, Niemann had an 8-under 63 to match the lowest score for the opening round at Riviera and build a three-shot lead. “Sometime I think about a score,” he said. “Today I was hitting it so good, I had fun just getting into the shot. I didn’t really think of the score. But then on 18 I was thinking about. I wanted to make birdie so bad. I wanted to to make one more.” Niemann is the ninth player to open with a 63 at Riviera, a list that starts with Charlie Sifford in 1969 and was done most recently by J.B. Holmes in 2019. Four of the previous eight players to start with 63 went on to win. “You always work to have these kind of days. You always know that you’re never going to have these days four days in a row. It’s a good way to start,” Niemann said. “I know it’s going to be different days during the week, so I’ve got to be ready for everything and have the best attitude for it.” Jordan Spieth had seven birdies and joined a group at 66 that included WM Phoenix Open winner Scottie Scheffler and Max Homa, who had one of several big moments on the first tee. It started with Tiger Woods, the tournament host to went from being a 15-time major champion to the starter on the first tee. He wanted to introduce Aaron Beverly, who received the Charlie Sifford exemption to play in the elite field. The tournament is celebrating the 100-year anniversary of the year Sifford — the first Black golfer to win on the PGA TOUR — was born. For Homa, it was a new experience on a familiar course. He grew up in Southern California and Riviera was the PGA TOUR event he often attended. He had to fight back tears when he won last year. And he was a little nervous going to the tee and knowing he would be introduced as the defending champion. “It was cool. I got a nice ovation,” Homa said. “And playing with two great guys, two of the best players of all time, added to that a little bit. But it was fun. I’ve been on this tee a million times watching and playing now, and to get to hear that was pretty special.” He played with Dustin Johnson and Adam Scott, past winners at Riviera. Johnson has gone more than a year since his last win at the Saudi International, and it doesn’t appear that’s going to change. On the 10th hole, he went from fairway bunker to the back slope of greenside bunker, chipped it to a flatter lie, left the next one in the sand and made double bogey. He opened with a 73. Collin Morikawa, another LA kid, and Justin Thomas were among those at 67. Even in ideal conditions — pleasant sunshine, very little wind — all but Niemann were held in check. Half the field broke par. That included Jon Rahm, the No. 1 player in the world, even if he had reason to believe his 69 felt much worse. He was second in the field to Niemann in the statistical category that measures play from tee to green. Only four players had a worse time puting. Rahm raised his arms in mock triumph when he made a 4-foot birdie on the par-4 eighth, his 17th hole of the round. It was the second-longest putt he made all day. The longest was on the next hole, when he made a 5-footer for par. The tournament now has Woods as the host and has been awarded elevated status, meaning it has a $12 million purse and the winner gets a three-year exemption. Add that to Riviera and all its reverence, and it’s not a surprise all 10 of the top 10 in the world are playing, along with 19 of the top 25 in the world ranking. That doesn’t guarantee big-time winners. Woods, even in his best years, never won at Riviera. For someone like Spieth, it would be extra special given the location. “If I could pick one non-major (or) PLAYERS Championship to win on the PGA TOUR, it would be here,” Spieth said. “I love Riviera. I think it’s arguably … it’s in the conversation as the best golf course in the world.” Spieth has one big win at Riviera, part of the Texas team that won the NCAA title in 2012. He looked as though he had a chance to take it lower than 66 until losing a little momentum with a pair of bogeys. Scheffler is coming of his first win last week in the WM Phoenix Open, and he was more tired than usual, which is a good problem to have. His round turned on the par-5 opening hole with a 7-iron to 2 feet for eagle, and he closed out his round with an approach to 4 feet on the ninth.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. – Golfer Kevin Kisner and his wife Brittany have been recognized with the annual Augusta University President’s Award for outstanding philanthropic support to the Children’s Hospital of Georgia. President Brooks A. Keel, PhD, announced the news May 5 during the President’s Spring Celebration. “One of my greatest honors as president of Augusta University is to present the President’s Award to those who have made a remarkable impact on our institution,” Keel said. “It takes a leadership gift from people in our community like Kevin and Brittany Kisner to truly make a difference in what we do here. The Kisners are not just giving money, they are helping us build a dedicated program in pediatric development and behavioral health that will serve children and impact them for their lifetimes.” Since the Kisners could not attend the spring celebration, President Keel presented them with the award earlier in the week when the couple visited the Health Sciences campus to present a $1 million check to Children’s Hospital of Georgia, Augusta’s only children’s hospital. “I’ve always wanted to give back once I reached a platform such that I could give back,” said Kevin Kisner, an Aiken native and professional golfer who has earned four PGA Tour victories and 45 Top 10 finishes. “Everyone can give something, and we hope we inspire others to give,” said Brittany Kisner, co-founder and board chair of the Kevin & Brittany Kisner Foundation. Brittany Kisner said she first noticed a need for more pediatric development and behavioral health services at Children’s Hospital of Georgia several years ago when she worked there as a speech pathologist. Health experts report that the pandemic has intensified this need. The Kisners presented a $50,000 gift to Children’s Hospital in December 2020 to help start a part-time clinic for children with these health challenges. A year later in November 2021, the Kisners pledged $5.3 million to help establish and name a center for pediatric development, behavioral health and wellness. Their $1 million gift this week was the first installment of this substantial commitment. “We felt like we started so small in what we were able to do, but through personal giving and giving of the foundation, and then going out to other donors and asking them to give to this endowment, it is unbelievable that we can reach a point where we could receive an award like this,” Brittany Kisner said. “To be thought of by the president that we’ve done enough to get an award with his name on it – that’s pretty spectacular,” Kevin Kisner said.

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