Woods v Mickelson showdown confirmed for Thanksgiving in Vegas

LAS VEGAS – Graham DeLaet had been fighting the nerves ahead of his return to the PGA TOUR, so having his alarm go off at 2:45 a.m. by mistake certainly wasn’t the best start. Nor was being five over through four holes. But the Canadian was actually still smiling at TPC Summerlin, even when he sat seven over through 12 holes at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. For DeLaet, this first start back from a lengthy injury layoff was all about finding his feet again. RELATED: Leaderboard | Tee times The 37-year-old had a stem cell injection and a second microdiscectomy surgery – the same surgery Tiger Woods had before spinal fusion – on his injured back during his time away from professional golf. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever make it back. That fresh perspective allowed him to reel off three birdies in a row in the closing stretch to scratch out a 4-over 75 in his first competitive PGA TOUR round in 714 days. “I was over-par early but it didn’t even matter… I was out there having fun. I’m back on the PGA TOUR again,� DeLaet said. “The back held up pretty well. Obviously I’m not happy with the score but I’m happy to be back. It was just nerves. I felt like I was really gripping the putter tight early. I wasn’t really letting it go… and not really trusting it. It’s been so long. You can play all the little money games with your buddies at home but it’s a little different on this stage.� On a few occasions, DeLaet needed to stretch out between shots as he adjusts to how his body reacts under the pressure of the PGA TOUR. He is playing on a major medical exemption where he has 24 starts to earn 266 FedExCup points to secure his TOUR card for the 2020-21 season. It’s an achievable goal, given it requires he average around a 45th place finish in all 24 starts. But the heady days of 2013, where he was a part of Nick Price’s International Presidents Cup team and finished eighth in the FedExCup, seem a distant memory. To return to those heights, he will have to do so while continuing to manage some pain. He says he won’t hit the range after rounds like he did in the past. “I don’t think I’ll ever be 100%. I’m going to have to play through a little bit of pain. It’s more tightness than pain,� DeLaet explained. “On nine, I went to step into that shot and I got a little twinge or whatever, but it went away in five seconds. It doesn’t really hurt to swing the golf club, it’s more about being on my feet and the pain and the achiness and the tightness that comes with it. The actual golf swing doesn’t bother me that much.� DeLaet plans to play the Houston Open, the Bermuda Championship and the Mayakoba Golf Classic to close out his fall schedule. “That’s all my body will let me… (although) I’m more optimistic now after today’s round,� he said. “It was such an unknown the last couple weeks so I’m optimistic that I’ll get three or four events in this fall and even if I don’t get a massive amount of FedExCup points at least I’ll get back in the rhythm and the flow… just showing up on Monday and practicing and the routine.�

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Rickie Fowler is returning from an oblique injury at the BMW Championship, with his eyes on qualifying for the Tour Championship.

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DUBLIN, Ohio – Collin Morikawa and Patrick Cantlay will look to double down on their success at Muirfield Village. The two former winners here are tied atop the leaderboard, three clear of their nearest competitors, entering the final round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. Morikawa’s 6-under 66 and Cantlay’s 4-under 68 on Saturday left the pair tied at 12 under par. They’ve had success at Muirfield Village, but their position atop the leaderboard is still a surprise. Defending Memorial champion Jon Rahm had seemingly built a six-shot lead after shooting 63, but then was forced to withdraw from the tournament after testing positive for COVID-19. South African Branden Grace (67) and Texan Scottie Scheffler (69) are 9 under and tied for third. Max Homa is in fifth place at 6 under after shooting 72. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Rahm withdraws from the Memorial Tournament after testing positive for COVID-19 Morikawa produced eight birdies and just two bogeys on Saturday with a near ace on the par-3 fourth hole the highlight of the round. His shot from 208 yards actually dipped down inside the hole briefly before popping out. Ironically, the same thing happened a year ago at the Workday Charity Open on the same hole. “I want to go see the replay right now. It looked pretty good from my end. It landed a lot closer than I thought, but I don’t know speed-wise how hard it was going in because it was about a foot away from the hole. That would have been really cool, but what are you going to do?” Morikawa said. “Today was really solid. The couple bogeys I had were just kind of poor bogeys. But it’s going to happen out here, especially if you’re missing the fairways. And overall, I was hitting some really quality shots. “I stuck to my game and stuck to the game plan. Out here with these soft greens you can get a little aggressive with wedges and put yourself in bad spots, but I thought I played pretty smart and I’ve got to do that tomorrow.” Cantlay’s round featured five birdies and just a lone bogey. “I thought I played really well. I made a lot of clutch putts on the front and didn’t make as many as I would have liked on the back but closed with a good one. My game’s in a good spot. I hit a lot of solid shots today and played really well. So I’m pretty pleased,” Cantlay said. “I really like this golf course and see the golf course really well, and so all the good memories I have here, it’s just easier to stand up and visualize the shot that I want to hit. It’s nice when you have that feeling around a place like I do here.” Both players are also chasing a second victory of the season with Cantlay winning THE ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP @ SHERWOOD last fall and Morikawa saluting at the World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession. They would be the fourth multiple winner this season, joining Bryson DeChambeau, Stewart Cink and Jason Kokrak. Cantlay is currently 10th in the FedExCup and projects to take over the lead in the standings with a victory while Morikawa sits 23rd and projects inside the Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 should he close the deal on Sunday.

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