Xander Schauffele wins 2017 Rookie of the Year

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Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele and Gary Woodland, who hold a combined 18 PGA TOUR titles including six major victories, have committed to play in THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK from October 15-18. Koepka, who won THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES in 2018 which vaulted him to World No. 1 for the first time in his career, will make a return to competition at the US$9.75 million showpiece after taking an eight-week break to recuperate from injury. He will be joined at Shadow Creek by fellow major winners, Morikawa, who secured his first major title at the PGA Championship in August, and Woodland, the 2019 U.S. Open winner and runner-up at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES in 2018. Schauffele, who has finished in the top-3 of the FedExCup standings in three of the past four seasons, will make his third appearance at THE CJ CUP. Koepka, a seven-time PGA TOUR winner and holder of four major titles, has not played since the Wyndham Championship on August 14. He qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs but withdrew from THE NORTHERN TRUST, the first of three Playoffs events. During the 2019-20 Season, he featured in 13 tournaments and enjoyed two top-10s, including a tie for second place at the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. "I'm excited to get back out there at next week's THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK. It's been a challenging but productive two months of rehabbing my injury. Looking forward to starting the new season in Vegas! As a past champion, I commend everyone at THE CJ CUP for moving forward with the tournament during this difficult time," said Koepka. Morikawa has quickly emerged as one of the PGA TOUR's rising stars. After enjoying a standout amateur career at University of California, Berkeley, the 23-year-old turned professional in 2019 and needed only six starts to secure his breakthrough on the PGA TOUR by winning the Barracuda Championship. In July, Morikawa claimed a playoff victory over Justin Thomas at the Workday Charity Open before lifting his maiden major title at the PGA Championship. Since becoming the 2017 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year following a two-win season, Schauffele, 26, has quickly established himself as one of the leading stars on TOUR with four career victories to date. During the 2019-20 Season, he enjoyed seven top-10s, including three runner-up finishes from 18 starts and missed only one cut. He lost in two playoffs at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions and Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii and finished T2 at the FedExCup Playoffs Finale, the TOUR Championship. The 36-year-old Woodland notched six top-10s during the 2019-20 Season with a best finish of T3 at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES in Korea last October where he shot weekend rounds of 65 and 66. The four-time PGA TOUR winner tasted major success with a three-stroke triumph at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach last year. The latest commitments strengthen a star-studded line-up at THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK, with reigning FedExCup champion Dustin Johnson, World No. 2 Jon Rahm, 18-time PGA TOUR winner Rory McIlroy and defending CJ CUP champion Justin Thomas already committed to the tournament, which was moved from Korea to the United States for this year only. Other marquee names in the field include Tommy Fleetwood, Rickie Fowler, Ian Poulter, Justin Rose and Jordan Spieth who each accepted sponsor exemptions. THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK will once again feature a 78-man field comprising of the highest ranked player of Korean nationality from the Asian Tour Order of Merit, up to five players designated by the Korean PGA and the top-3 available players of Korean nationality from the Official World Golf Ranking as part of CJ Group's vision to support the development of professional golf in Korea. The remainder of the field will be made up of the leading players from the 2019-20 FedExCup points list and sponsor exemptions. The CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK will be broadcast on Golf Channel October 15-18 from 5pm to 8pm (ET) and on both JTBC Golf and JTBC Golf & Sports channels in Korea October 16-19 from 3am to 9am KST. Shadow Creek, built in 1989 by renowned golf architect Tom Fazio, played host to The Match: Tiger vs Phil in 2018, which was a winner-takes-all shootout between PGA TOUR legends Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. The exclusive course, owned by MGM Resorts International, is available only to guests of the company's properties.

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Harold Varner III … All you ever needed to know about his spirit was realized in the wake of a closing 81 at the PGA Championship where he settled for a share of 36th place but admitted enjoying just being on the scene for the experience. In the context of the opportunity lost, it didn’t hurt that his 2019-20 card was locked up months ago. Currently 85th in points, his most recent of eight top 25s this season was a T21 at the Travelers Championship where he ranked seventh strokes gained: putting and fifth in scrambling. Amid a heater en route to a solo sixth at last year’s JDC, he missed on only three of 71 attempts inside 10 feet. Vaughn Taylor … Continues to flourish at 43 years of age. He’s 6-for-6 with three top 20s since the Wells Fargo Championship. Finished fourth three weeks ago at TPC River Highlands where he paced the field in proximity to the hole and ranked second in putting: birdies-or-better. Sits T9 on TOUR in proximity, fifth in strokes gained: putting, fifth in red numbers (49) and T4 in sub-70s (T37). And since his debut at TPC Deere Run in 2004, he’s 8-for-12 with four top 20s. His scoring average in his last eight loops around the track is 68.125. J.T. Poston … Still having trouble finding the handle in final rounds, but the third-year talent out of Western Carolina University puts himself in position often enough that he’s bound to connect at some point. His most recent bit of unfinished business stung him in his last start at the Rocket Mortgage Classic two weeks ago. After sitting alone in second place through 54 holes, he stumbled home in 73 to finish T11. In his two previous appearances at TPC Deere Run, he’s beaten par in each of the first three rounds but closed with 73 both times. One of these days, something he throws against the wall is going to stick and it might as well be a spot where he keeps coming back for more. Dominic Bozzelli … Because he’s navigating just his third season on the PGA TOUR, the 28-year-old can’t be labeled as a horse for a course just yet, but TPC Deere Run is first in line if he reaches the stable. Both of his appearances resulted in top 25s and his scoring average in those eight rounds is 68.00. The only other event at which he’s recorded multiple top 25s (of seven others in all) is the Desert Classic where he has a pair of fifth-place finishes. And why not? The correlation between the two events is a shootout and he can roll it with the best of ’em. Currently ninth on TOUR in strokes gained: putting and 12th in putting: birdies-or better. Dylan Frittelli … The 29-year-old has been feeling the heat all season. While 153rd in the FedExCup and under pressure to secure conditional status as a safety net for next season, there have been rumblings of late that he’s ready to pop. After a T46 in Detroit, he sat T9 entering the final round in Minnesota, only to plummet to another T46 with a Sunday 73 due to a tee-to-green game that abandoned him. Yet, he ranked 13th in strokes gained: tee-to-green for the week and he’s 41st on TOUR in the stat this season. So, he might be close and he has the bonus of being able to tap into the experience of a pair of European Tour victories just two years ago. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions.

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