Winner’s Bag: Si Woo Kim, The American Express

PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Jim Furyk took Tuesday off, mainly just to breathe and assess what lies ahead of him. After all, what was shaping up to be a relatively quiet month for him has transformed into a golf version of full-on March Madness. Amazing what doors that quality play can wedge open. For Furyk, who began this season playing out of the No. 126-150 category (he was 141st) from the 2017-18 FedExCup standings list, a tie for ninth at the Honda Classic earned him a start near home in Ponte Vedra Beach at THE PLAYERS Championship last week, and now the dominoes are tumbling. At PLAYERS, Furyk responded with one of his best runs in years, his birdie-par-birdie finish and 5-under 67 eventually leaving him just one shot shy of Rory McIlroy’s winning score, preventing Furyk from collecting his 18th PGA TOUR triumph.  So there was no trophy, but finishing second against the strongest field in golf had its perks. Furyk rose 47 spots in the FedExCup standings, to 24th. So now he is in next week’s World Golf Championships-Dell Match Play, another tournament he thought he’d be watching this season. Good play this week at Valspar or next week at Match Play could propel him into the Masters, a tournament he has missed two of the last three seasons. So much for this schedule stretch being the quietest of the season for him. “Now, with the additions of the PLAYERS and the addition of Match Play, I’ve kind of got more events than I know what to do with,â€� Furyk said Wednesday upon his arrival at Innisbrook’s Copperhead Course, which he ranks among his five favorites on the PGA TOUR. “So it’s a great problem to have and I hope that it continues, because it would mean I could possibly get into Augusta or I could possibly get in the U.S. Open, or get in more events.” “I’m kind of on a wait-and-see-what-happens. And again, that’s my fault. It used to be if I was playing really well and I was top 10 in the world and I could kind of make my schedule at the start of the year and stick to it, and it was good. But you earn that by playing well. So I’m in this situation because I didn’t play as well as I wanted.â€�  This is the first season that Furyk has felt fully healthy since 2015, having had wrist surgery in 2016 and been slowed by a bad shoulder last season. With his wife, Tabitha, and teen-age children watching near the 18th green at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on Sunday, Furyk sank a 3-foot birdie putt and soon had tears welled in his eyes, filled with the pride that he’d hit some great shots when it counted most.  The fierce competitor burning inside Furyk still was ticked off that he hadn’t won, something the soon-to-be 49-year-old hasn’t done since 2015. But drawing inspiration from watching players such as Raymond Floyd and pal Davis Love III win after 50, he said he’ll keep his head down and continue to play hard, not getting caught up in what he needs to do to take the next step. That method worked for him at Honda, where a solid weekend opened the door to better opportunities, and he is wise to keep to the plan.  That’s why, after participating in a corporate outing on Monday, he took Tuesday to himself and didn’t make the drive to Palm Harbor until Wednesday morning. He wants to stay mentally fresh. Furyk has accomplished a great deal on TOUR – 17 victories and more than $70 million in earnings, and the Match Play will mark his 600th start – but he says there is more work to be done.  “I want to get back in the same mind frame that I was in at Pebble Beach, at L.A., at Honda, at THE PLAYERS, where I kind of felt like there was a world of opportunity for me and really wasn’t worried about the consequences,â€� Furyk said. “And if I can keep doing that, I think I can keep playing well.â€� 

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Rickie Fowler is in and the injured Brooks Koepka is out for the U.S. Team at next month’s Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne in Australia.  The U.S. will still be favored, but by how much? Here are six burning questions spinning off Wednesday’s announcement by U.S. Captain Tiger Woods. 1. How will this impact the Americans? Hard to say, because while the team loses swagger, it gains something, too. Koepka, 29, is a feared competitor who lives for the big moment, racking up six PGA TOUR wins, among them four major titles, in the last three seasons alone. As even Fowler said in accepting his new role, replacing the No. 1 player in the world is, in a sense, impossible.  Fowler, though, is an experienced talent and the prototypical team player. He thrives on the rah-rah spirit and camaraderie of these occasions, whether Presidents Cup, Ryder Cup, Walker Cup or even Canon Cup, an East vs. West American Junior Golf Association event. He’s all-in, and as Woods alluded to in announcing the move, he is a popular teammate. All of which is to say that by adding Fowler, 30, the U.S. Team’s chemistry will change, but its potency may not. He went 3-0-1 at the 2017 Presidents Cup. 2. Will Rickie be rusty? If so, it would certainly be understandable. No doubt, Fowler is coming off a strong season. After a handful of heartbreaking near-misses he finally won the Waste Management Phoenix Open, collected six top-10 finishes in all, and reached the season-ending TOUR Championship for the fifth straight time. But he has not played this fall, so we haven’t seen him hit a shot in nearly three months. He got married, and was scheduled to open his 2020 PGA TOUR season at last week’s Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico but was forced to withdraw beforehand with an intestinal bug. He is set to play in the no-cut Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas the week before the Presidents Cup, which theoretically would give him time to knock the rust off. But enough time? We’ll see. 3. What’s Fowler’s history Down Under? In a word, solid.  He lost on the third hole of a playoff to fellow American Mark Anderson (also now on TOUR) at the 2009 Australian Master of the Amateurs, but not before the two matched birdies on each of the first two playoff holes. Anderson finally won with an eagle.  Fowler also finished T2 with partner Jimmy Walker at the 2016 World Cup. The Master of the Amateurs was played at Yarra Yarra Golf Course, the World Cup at Kingston Heath Golf Club. Both are Melbourne sandbelt courses, and plenty comparable to Royal Melbourne, whose architect, Dr. Alister MacKenzie, also designed Augusta National. For the record, Fowler does well at Augusta, too, with five top-12 finishes, including a runner-up in 2018, in his last six starts there. Add it all up and he’s a great fit for Royal Melbourne.   4. How will Tiger juggle the partnerships? Fowler will almost certainly partner with friend Justin Thomas, with whom he earned two wins (over Charl Schwartzel/Hideki Matsuyama and Branden Grace/Louis Oosthuizen) and a halve (against Grace/Oosthuizen) at the ’17 Presidents Cup at New Jersey’s Liberty National. And what about the guys who would have partnered Koepka? He has traditionally been paired with long hitters, specifically Dustin Johnson. They went 2-0-0 together at Liberty National. And Koepka and Tony Finau provided one of the few U.S. highlights at the 2018 Ryder Cup in France as they beat the formidable European team of Justin Rose and Jon Rahm.  The question now is whom Johnson and Finau will play with. The obvious answer is each other, but that might be too easy. Johnson could easily wind up with Woods, as they teamed up to go 1-1-0 at the 2011 Presidents Cup, or Matt Kuchar, with whom Johnson halved a match that week. Jordan Spieth, with whom Johnson went 2-1-0 at the 2015 Presidents Cup, didn’t make the team.   5. Should we be worried about Brooks’ health? Possibly, but it’s still too early to say how this will affect the career of one of the most potent American players to come along in decades. Koepka’s status had been in doubt for the last month, since he withdrew from THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, where he was the defending champion, after reinjuring the knee slipping on wet concrete while shooting a second-round 75. What’s troubling is he’d been playing only his second event since receiving stem cell treatment on the knee Aug. 25. He said the knee bothered him for the latter part of last season despite the fact that he won three times, including a successful title defense at the PGA Championship. As the example of Woods reminds, the left knee assumes an extraordinary burden during the swing. And as the example of Woods reminds, it can come back strong. 6. Who else might have replaced Koepka?  Kevin Na was an option, as was Brendon Todd, who has two wins in his last two starts and will go for a third straight at this week’s The RSM Classic. Woods is not one to leap to conclusions. Realistically, though, it had to be Fowler, the straight-chalk choice.  For starters, Fowler finished 11th in the final U.S. Presidents Cup standings, barely missing an automatic spot. (The top eight qualified.) And in going with himself, Finau, Patrick Reed and Gary Woodland for his captain’s picks, Woods had already selected four of the first five players outside the top eight. Fowler was the fifth. What’s more, in announcing his picks, Woods clearly had Fowler lined up, as Rickie was the only odd man out who was mentioned by name. “Rickie has played on a couple Presidents Cup teams,� Woods said in choosing Fowler on Wednesday. “He was someone seriously considered for a pick, and is well-respected and liked by his teammates.  “I know he’s going to do a great job for us,� Woods added.

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Brooks Koepka goes for the three-peat. Tiger Woods returns to the site of his masterpiece performance. Phil Mickelson attempts to complete the career Grand Slam. There are plenty of storylines for next week’s U.S. Open at arguably the world’s most scenic course. Six hundred FedExCup points are available for the winner, as well. Here’s a look at some of the tee times we’ll have an eye on at Pebble Beach (note: FedExCup ranking in parentheses; (a) – amateur; all times ET). Jon Rahm (12): The winner of this season’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans (with Ryan Palmer) has three top-10s in majors in his career. His best U.S. Open finish was T23 in 2016, his last event as an amateur. Marc Leishman (11): The CIMB Classic champion has five top-10s in majors but none at the U.S. Open. Rory McIlroy (4): The reigning PLAYERS champion and 2016 FedExCup champion also won the U.S. Open in 2011. Thursday tee time: 10:51 a.m. off No. 10. Friday tee time: 4:36 p.m. off No. 1. Si Woo Kim (39): The 2017 PLAYERS champion has four top-10s this season. Rickie Fowler (8): The 2015 PLAYERS champion also won this year’s Waste Management Phoenix Open. He was runner-up at the 2014 U.S. Open. Jason Day (36): His 12 PGA TOUR victories include the 2016 PLAYERS and 2015 PGA Championship. He is a two-time U.S. Open runner-up. Thursday tee time: 11:02 a.m. off No. 1. Friday tee time: 4:47 p.m. off No. 10. Justin Thomas (14): The 2017 FedExCup champion has two top-3 finishes this season but is still seeking his first win since last year’s World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. Kevin Kisner (19): Kisner picked up his first World Golf Championship at this year’s Dell Technologies Match Play. Kisner and Thomas were teammates on the 2017 Presidents Cup. Bryson DeChambeau (27): The five-time PGA TOUR winner also was the 2015 U.S. Amateur champion. Thursday tee time: 11:02 a.m. off No. 10. Friday tee time: 4:47 p.m. off No. 1. Dustin Johnson (5): Not only has he won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am two times, but he was the 54-hole leader at the 2010 U.S. Open. He shot a final-round 82, but got his U.S. Open title six years later. Phil Mickelson (24): He picked up his record-tying fifth AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am victory earlier this year. Now he’s trying to complete the Career Grand Slam by winning the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. He finished T4 at the 2010 U.S. Open. Graeme McDowell (53): The 2010 U.S. Open champion won earlier this year at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship. Thursday tee time: 11:13 a.m. off No. 10. Friday tee time: 4:58 p.m. off No. 1. Francesco Molinari (22): The reigning champion of The Open won earlier this year with a final-round 64 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. Viktor Hovland (a): Hovland won last year’s U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach, and was the fifth-ranked player in college golf this season. Brooks Koepka (2): He’s won the past two U.S. Opens and PGA Championships. He also won this season’s CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES. Thursday tee time: 4:47 p.m. off No. 1. Friday tee time: 11:02 a.m. off No. 10. Webb Simpson (42): The 2018 PLAYERS champion also won the 2012 U.S. Open in Northern California, at the Olympic Club. Adam Scott (15): The former PLAYERS champion has two runners-up this season, at the Farmers Insurance Open and Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. Matt Kuchar (1): He leads the FedExCup standings after two wins this season. He also popularized the arm-lock putting method on the PGA TOUR that Simpson employs and Scott used earlier this year. Kuchar is the 2012 PLAYERS champion. Thursday tee time: 4:47 p.m. off No. 10.  Friday tee time: 11:02 a.m. off No. 1. Jordan Spieth (65): He won the 2015 U.S. Open en route to claiming the FedExCup. He hasn’t won since the 2017 Open Championship but his game is trending in the right direction. He has three consecutive top-10s. Spieth also won the 2017 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Justin Rose (10): The reigning FedExCup champion already won once this year on the California coast, at the Farmers Insurance Open. He is the 2013 U.S. Open champion. Tiger Woods (20): He returns to the site of his record-smashing performance in the 2000 U.S. Open. He also was T4 here 10 years later. Woods is a two-time FedExCup champion. He’ll have another opportunity to tie Sam Snead’s PGA TOUR record of 82 victories this week. Thursday tee time: 5:09 p.m. off No. 1 Friday tee time: 11:24 a.m. off No. 10. Here are the full first and second round tee times for the 2019 U.S. Open. (* Denotes 10th Tee Start) FIRST ROUND 9:45 AM Sam Saunders Carlos Ortiz Marcus Fraser 9:45 AM* Luis Gagne (a) Sepp Straka Julian Etulain 9:56 AM Player TBD Erik Van Rooyen Chun An Yu (a) 9:56 AM* Dean Burmester Player TBD Kyounghoon Lee 10:07 AM Ryan Fox Thorbjorn Olesen Player TBD 10:07 AM* Clement Sordet Tom Hoge Adri Arnaus 10:18 AM Scottie Scheffler Matt Parziale (a) Nick Taylor 10:18 AM* Brian Davis Kevin O’Connell (a) Billy Hurley III 10:29 AM Patton Kizzire Jovan Rebula (a) Jason Dufner 10:29 AM* Brendon Todd Luke Donald Mike Weir 10:40 AM Haotong Li Bubba Watson J.B. Holmes 10:40 AM* Kyle Stanley Billy Horschel Danny Willett 10:51 AM Zach Johnson Martin Kaymer Ernie Els 10:51 AM* Jon Rahm Marc Leishman Rory McIlroy 11:02 AM Si Woo Kim Rickie Fowler Jason Day 11:02 AM* Justin Thomas Kevin Kisner Bryson Dechambeau 11:13 AM Shane Lowry Tyrrell Hatton Gary Woodland 11:13 AM* Dustin Johnson Phil Mickelson Graeme McDowell 11:24 AM Cameron Smith Matthew Wallace Xander Schauffele 11:24 AM* Hideki Matsuyama Sergio Garcia Tommy Fleetwood 11:35 AM C.T. Pan Abraham Ancer Brandon Wu (a) 11:35 AM* Jhonattan Vegas Patrick Reed Louis Oosthuizen 11:46 AM Chan Kim Justin Walters Player TBD 11:46 AM* Rob Oppenheim Rhys Enoch Richard Lee 11:57 AM Nick Hardy Noah Norton (a) Andreas Halvorsen 11:57 AM* Andy Pope Ryan Sullivan Matthew Naumec 3:30 PM Rory Sabbatini Sam Horsfield Roberto Castro 3:30 PM* Nathan Lashley Renato Paratore Lee Slattery 3:41 PM Cameron Young (a) Marcus Kinhult Brian Stuard 3:41 PM* Player TBD Collin Morikawa Aaron Wise 3:52 PM Luke Guthrie Joseph Bramlett Charlie Danielson 3:52 PM* Merrick Bremner Chip McDaniel Cody Gribble 4:03 PM Austin Eckroat (a) Alexander Noren Charles Howell III 4:03 PM* Michael Thorbjornsen (a) Chez Reavie David Toms 4:14 PM Thomas Pieters Chesson Hadley Stewart Hagestad (a) 4:14 PM* Rafa Cabrera Bello Kevin Na Keegan Bradley 4:25 PM Paul Casey Patrick Cantlay Lucas Glover 4:25 PM* Jim Furyk Henrik Stenson Brandt Snedeker 4:36 PM Kiradech Aphibarnrat Keith Mitchell Shugo Imahira 4:36 PM* Luke List Lucas Bjerregaard Branden Grace 4:47 PM Francesco Molinari Viktor Hovland (a) Brooks Koepka 4:47 PM* Webb Simpson Adam Scott Matt Kuchar 4:58 PM Tony Finau Jimmy Walker Ian Poulter 4:58 PM* Byeong Hun An Devon Bling (a) Matthew Fitzpatrick 5:09 PM Jordan Spieth Justin Rose Tiger Woods 5:09 PM* Justin Harding Aaron Baddeley Player TBD 5:20 PM Daniel Berger Matthew Jones Kodai Ichihara 5:20 PM* Ollie Schniederjans Mikumu Horikawa Anirban Lahiri 5:31 PM Matthieu Pavon Chandler Eaton (a) Callum Tarren 5:31 PM* Daniel Hillier (a) Alex Prugh Zac Blair 5:42 PM Eric Dietrich Guillermo Pereira Brett Drewitt 5:42 PM* Hayden Shieh Spencer Tibbits (a) Connor Arendell SECOND ROUND 9:45 AM Nathan Lashley Renato Paratore Lee Slattery 9:45 AM* Rory Sabbatini Sam Horsfield Roberto Castro 9:56 AM Player TBD Collin Morikawa Aaron Wise 9:56 AM* Cameron Young (a) Marcus Kinhult Brian Stuard 10:07 AM Merrick Bremner Chip McDaniel Cody Gribble 10:07 AM* Luke Guthrie Joseph Bramlett Charlie Danielson 10:18 AM Michael Thorbjornsen (a) Chez Reavie David Toms 10:18 AM* Austin Eckroat (a) Alexander Noren Charles Howell III 10:29 AM Rafa Cabrera Bello Kevin Na Keegan Bradley 10:29 AM* Thomas Pieters Chesson Hadley Stewart Hagestad (a) 10:40 AM Jim Furyk Henrik Stenson Brandt Snedeker 10:40 AM* Paul Casey Patrick Cantlay Lucas Glover 10:51 AM Luke List Lucas Bjerregaard Branden Grace 10:51 AM* Kiradech Aphibarnrat Keith Mitchell Shugo Imahira 11:02 AM Webb Simpson Adam Scott Matt Kuchar 11:02 AM* Francesco Molinari Viktor Hovland (a) Brooks Koepka 11:13 AM Byeong Hun An Devon Bling (a) Matthew Fitzpatrick 11:13 AM* Tony Finau Jimmy Walker Ian Poulter 11:24 AM Justin Harding Aaron Baddeley Player TBD 11:24 AM* Jordan Spieth Justin Rose Tiger Woods 11:35 AM Ollie Schniederjans Mikumu Horikawa Anirban Lahiri 11:35 AM* Daniel Berger Matthew Jones Kodai Ichihara 11:46 AM Daniel Hillier (a) Alex Prugh Zac Blair 11:46 AM* Matthieu Pavon Chandler Eaton (a) Callum Tarren 11:57 AM Hayden Shieh Spencer Tibbits (a) Connor Arendell 11:57 AM* Eric Dietrich Guillermo Pereira Brett Drewitt 3:30 PM Luis Gagne (a) Sepp Straka Julian Etulain 3:30 PM* Sam Saunders Carlos Ortiz Marcus Fraser 3:41 PM Dean Burmester Player TBD Kyounghoon Lee 3:41 PM* Player TBD Erik Van Rooyen Chun An Yu (a) 3:52 PM Clement Sordet Tom Hoge Adri Arnaus 3:52 PM* Ryan Fox Thorbjorn Olesen Player TBD 4:03 PM Brian Davis Kevin O’Connell (a) Billy Hurley III 4:03 PM* Scottie Scheffler Matt Parziale (a) Nick Taylor 4:14 PM Brendon Todd Luke Donald Mike Weir 4:14 PM* Patton Kizzire Jovan Rebula (a) Jason Dufner 4:25 PM Kyle Stanley Billy Horschel Danny Willett 4:25 PM* Haotong Li Bubba Watson J.B. Holmes 4:36 PM Jon Rahm Marc Leishman Rory McIlroy 4:36 PM* Zach Johnson Martin Kaymer Ernie Els 4:47 PM Justin Thomas Kevin Kisner Bryson Dechambeau 4:47 PM* Si Woo Kim Rickie Fowler Jason Day 4:58 PM Dustin Johnson Phil Mickelson Graeme McDowell 4:58 PM* Shane Lowry Tyrrell Hatton Gary Woodland 5:09 PM Hideki Matsuyama Sergio Garcia Tommy Fleetwood 5:09 PM* Cameron Smith Matthew Wallace Xander Schauffele 5:20 PM Jhonattan Vegas Patrick Reed Louis Oosthuizen 5:20 PM* C.T. Pan Abraham Ancer Brandon Wu (a) 5:31 PM Rob Oppenheim Rhys Enoch Richard Lee 5:31 PM* Chan Kim Justin Walters Player TBD 5:42 PM Andy Pope Ryan Sullivan Matthew Naumec 5:42 PM* Nick Hardy Noah Norton (a) Andreas Halvorsen

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