Reigning FedExCup champion Justin Rose will make his first PGA TOUR start of the 2019 calendar year and his first here since 2010 at this week’s 60th playing of the Desert Classic in La Quinta, California. Defending champion Jon Rahm, meanwhile, seeks to become the first back-to-back winner since Johnny Miller (1975-’76). Arnold Palmer won the first Desert Classic in 1960, his first of 62 TOUR titles. He also won for the last time there, in ’73, as the tournament bookended one of the most celebrated careers in the history of the game. The Desert Classic is one of four tournaments played on multiple courses, along with the Farmers Insurance Open, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and The RSM Classic. The Golf Channel will carry primetime coverage starting at 11:30 a.m. ET Thursday and Friday, running until 7 p.m. each day. Watch on Twitter from 11:30 a.m. to approximately 12:30 p.m. PGA TOUR Radio’s coverage is 1-7 p.m. in the first three rounds; 2-7 p.m. for Sunday’s final round. PGA TOUR LIVE also returns for 2019 with expanded coverage. Here’s a look at some of the Featured Groups (current FedExCup ranking in parentheses): THURSDAY Russell Knox (181) – A two-time TOUR winner, Knox is coming off a season in which he was 89th in the FedExCup. He finished T43 at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Jhonattan Vegas (128) – Pride of Venezuela broke through with his first win in the desert way back in 2011, and has since tacked on two more victories, both at the RBC Canadian Open. This will be his first start since he finished T38 at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in November. Round 1 tee time at PGA WEST Stadium Course: 11:40 a.m. ET (8:40 a.m. local) Chesson Hadley (24) – He didn’t play in Hawaii, but in five starts this season he already has a T2 (CIMB Classic) and T7 (Shriners Hospitals for Children Open). Bill Haas (83) – A former FedExCup champion (2011) and Desert Classic winner (2015), Haas is one of four players in the last five years who have won this tournament and gone all the way to the season-ending TOUR Championship at East Lake. Round 1 tee time: 12:10 p.m. ET off 1 at PGA WEST Stadium Course (9:10 a.m. local) Justin Rose (40) – This will mark Rose’s fifth start in the Desert Classic, but his first since 2010, when he missed the cut. As with most other courses on TOUR, though, the Englishman has enjoyed plenty of success here: 3rd in 2007 and T10 in 2006. Zach Johnson (100) – He slipped to 58th in the FedExCup with just two top-10 finishes in 25 starts last season, and is coming off a missed cut at the Sony Open in Hawaii. The good news: He finished T7 not long ago, at The RSM Classic in the fall. Round 1 tee time at La Quinta Country Club: 11:40 a.m. ET (8:40 a.m. local) Phil Mickelson (136) – World Golf Hall of Famer and two-time Desert Classic winner is coming off a season in which he broke a lengthy win drought at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship. Making his 16th start in the desert. Finished T17 at the Safeway Open last fall. Aaron Wise (60) – Rookie of the Year in 2018, when he won the AT&T Byron Nelson, Wise is making his third start in the Desert Classic. He won the NCAA individual title as a freshman at Oregon in 2016, and played the Mackenzie Tour and Web.com Tour before making it to the big TOUR. Round 1 tee time: 12:10 p.m. ET off 1 at La Quinta Country Club (9:10 a.m. local) FRIDAY Charles Howell III (5) – One of the great comeback stories of 2018, when he won The RSM Classic at the outset of the ’18-2019 TOUR season, Howell looks to keep the momentum going after finishing T8 at the Sony Open in Hawaii and T14 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Sean O’Hair (185) – Trying to get back on track after a rough start to the season with three missed cuts in five starts. Round 2 tee time: 11:40 a.m. ET off 1 at PGA WEST Stadium Course (8:40 a.m. local) Brendan Steele (116) – Three-time TOUR winner hasn’t played since a missed cut at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in the fall, but he did finish T14 at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES. Jason Dufner (122) – Has played a robust early schedule with seven starts already, best among them a T21 with a final-round 64 at the Mayakoba Golf Classic last fall. Round 2 tee time: 12:10 p.m. ET off 1 at PGA WEST Stadium Course (9:10 a.m. local) Phil Mickelson/Aaron Wise Round 2 tee time: 11:40 a.m. ET off 10 at PGA WEST Nicklaus Tournament Course (8:40 a.m. local) Justin Rose/Zach Johnson Round 2 tee time: 1:20 p.m. ET off 10 at PGA WEST Nicklaus Tournament Course (10:20 a.m. local).
Click here to read the full article…
