Zach Johnson, Andrew Landry share 54-hole lead

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Notes and observations from the final round of The RSM Classic at Sea Island Resort’s Seaside Course. LEADING LIGHTS Charles Howell led the entire week at Sea Island Resort, but he still needed a strong finish to earn his third PGA TOUR title. Howell birdied three of his final four holes to tie Patrick Rodgers, then won with a birdie on the second playoff hole. Howell, who started the day with a one-shot lead, converted a 54-hole lead for the first time in his career. He shot 31 on the back nine Sunday to do it. “I thought I had it in me, but I had never seen me do it to prove it to myself,� said Howell, who finished at 19-under 267 (64-64-68-67). “It’s kind of like the guy who thinks he can dunk, bud if you can’t dunk, you just can’t do it. “I thought I had it in me but it took me a bit to actually do it.� This is Howell’s third PGA TOUR win and first since 2007. It came in his 529th start. Only two players needed more starts to reach their third TOUR win. He has 16 runner-up finishes in his career. Howell will start the New Year as the FedExCup leader after winning the RSM and finishing fifth in the CIMB Classic. Howell was already three off the lead when he stood on the third tee. He bogeyed the first hole after driving into a fairway bunker, then made double-bogey with a drive into the hazard right of the second fairway. He thought his chances of winning were over. He started his comeback with birdies at Nos. 5 and 6 to make the turn in 36, then started the back nine with a birdie. Four players — Howell, Rodgers, Webb Simpson and Cameron Champ — shared the lead on the back nine. Rodgers, playing in the third-to-last group, pulled two ahead with birdies on 14 and 15. Howell was able to chase him down, though. It started with a two-putt birdie at the par-5 15th, the day’s easiest hole. Then he holed an 18-footer for birdie on 16 to tie Simpson and Rodgers at 18 under par. Rodgers birdied the 18th hole before Howell hit his 5-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th. “That almost made my putt easier because then I knew, well, you have to make this to have a chance on 18,� Howell said. Howell made that birdie at 17 to tie Rodgers. On 18, Howell dropped to his knees as his 22-foot birdie putt missed by the smallest of margins. He barely missed his 14-footer for birdie on the first playoff hole, as well. One finally went in on the second extra hole. “Golf is a brutal game. The highs of the highs, it comes with a lot of really low lows,� Howell said. “It’s a wonderful lesson to be learned that if you truly believe in what you’re doing, to stay the course.� NOTABLES ON A TEAR Cameron Champ’s impressive fall season concluded with a sixth-place finish at Sea Island. The 23-year-old rookie is now ranked sixth in the FedExCup. His three top-10s are tied with Gary Woodland for most on TOUR. Champ was tied for the lead with nine holes remaining at Sea Island Golf Club, but he could only manage an even-par 35 on the back nine. He reached 17 under par with his birdie on the par-5 15th, but his chances ended with a bogey on the 17th hole. Fourteen of his last 16 rounds have been in the 60s. He’s been in the top 10 after 13 of those rounds. His 117 birdies are the most on TOUR this season and the most ever made in the fall portion of the wraparound schedule. By leading the TOUR in birdies and eagles at the end of the fall, Champ won the Birdies Fore Love competition. He earned $300,000 for charity.  RODGERS’ RUNNER-UP The runner-up was Rodgers’ third in 117 starts. The 26-year-old put up an admirable effort in his quest for his first win. He shot 61-62 on the weekend. His 17-under 123 was the low weekend score by five shots. He shot the day’s low round on both Saturday and Sunday, and almost became the fourth player this decade to win after making the cut on the number. “I fought as hard as I could,� Rodgers said. His round included an 86-foot birdie putt on the par-3 12th, the hardest hole of the day. Had he won, it would have been the longest putt ever made by a winner in the ShotLink era. SO CLOSE Webb Simpson was eight shots back at The RSM’s halfway point. He had to get an I.V. before teeing off Friday because of a stomach bug. He still had a 9-foot birdie putt on 18 to make it a three-way tie atop the leaderboard. He barely missed. “It’s a bummer. We read it really well,� Simpson said. SHOT OF THE DAY CALL OF THE DAY For play-by-play coverage of the fourth round of The RSM Classic, listen at PGATOUR.COM. QUOTABLES I can’t wait to go back to my day job.I want to win here. I’ve had some chances. We’ll be back next year. SUPERLATIVES Lowest round: Rodgers’ 62 was the low round of the day by one shot. Peter Uihlein shot a 63 to finish seventh. Longest putt: Rodgers’ 86-footer for birdie on No. 12 was the longest made putt this week by 26 feet. Longest drive: Uihlein hit the three longest drives of the day. He hit 332-yard tee shots on the eighth and 16th holes and a 331-yard drive on the 18th hole. Hardest hole: The par-3 12th hole played to a 3.06 scoring average. Rodgers’ birdie was one of just six on the 223-yard hole Sunday. Easiest hole: The 541-yard, par-5 15th hole played to a 4.1 average on Sunday. The hole yielded 53 birdies and nine eagles.

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The top 70 qualifiers for the second event of the FedExCup Playoffs have advanced to the BMW Championship at Wilmington CC. Keegan Bradley leads the tournament by one stroke after an opening round 64 on Thursday. It’s the first time the PGA TOUR has held an event in Delaware. Scottie Scheffler, who entered the Playoffs at No. 1 in the FedExCup, is coming off a missed cut, just his fourth of the season. Will Zalatoris grabbed the No. 1 spot after his dramatic win at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis at last week’s FedExCup Playoffs opener. Defending BMW and FedExCup champ Patrick Cantlay is in the field, as is Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Tony Finau, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland, Sam Burns, Xander Schauffele, Hideki Matsuyama and Adam Scott. The winner will earn 2,000 FedExCup points. Tommy Fleetwood is skipping the event, and Cameron Smith withdrew earlier in the week with a hip injury. There is no cut this week. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action, including Featured Groups for PGA TOUR LIVE and newly expanded and extended coverage on ESPN+. Click here for more details. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW (All times ET) Television: Friday, 3 p.m.-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 12 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 12 p.m.-2 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC) Radio: Friday, 1 p.m.–7 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR PGA TOUR LIVE FEATURED GROUPS Marquee Group Scottie Scheffler, Will Zalatoris Featured Groups Jon Rahm, Hideki Matsuyama Rory McIlroy, Sepp Straka Featured Holes: No. 2 (par 3), No. 7 (par 3), No. 13 (par 3), No. 15 (par 3) MUST READS FedExCup update: Adam Scott on track to burst bubble again Rory McIlroy keeps chin up despite momentum stealing triple 70 one-liners for each player at BMW Championship

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SILVIS, Ill. – It’s been nearly two years since Jhonattan Vegas became the first Venezuelan to play in the Presidents Cup, unleashing fiery fist pumps and providing one of the few highlights for the International Team with a singles victory over Jordan Spieth at Liberty National.  He desperately wants to get back for the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne, Dec. 12-15, and while he came into the John Deere Classic at 26th in the International standings, he stands to make a big move in the right direction. Vegas shot a second-round 62 that left him with a three-shot lead after the morning wave at TPC Deere Run on Friday.  “I had such a tremendous time there playing in that Presidents Cup that I definitely want to play in this one,â€� said Vegas, who hit nine of 14 fairways, and 16 greens in regulation. “Especially playing for Ernie, such a big guy for us Internationals, and it would be amazing to be a part of it. I’ve got to step it up these next few weeks and hopefully give myself a chance.â€� Vegas’ career-best FedExCup finish is 23rd, in 2017, so at 70th in this year’s standings, it isn’t as if he’s fallen off the map. You might recall he made one of the most amazing putts of the year, a double-breaking, coast-to-coast job on the iconic 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass, as he finished T3 at THE PLAYERS Championship. He finished T8 at the Wells Fargo Championship.  No, it’s just that Vegas, 34, has felt slightly off with his ball-striking all year and couldn’t figure out what was wrong. That is, until he was on the range after his opening round here and made a slight adjustment in his posture over the ball. Something clicked. Related: Tee times | Wolff back to work after win | Projected FedExCup standings He brought it to the course Friday, and it continued to work like magic.  “Probably the best I’ve felt all year, to be honest,â€� he said after taking just 26 putts for nine birdies and no bogeys. “I mean, I hit the ball extremely well, kind of what I’ve been struggling with a little bit the past few months. … I’m glad that stuff is back.â€� Vegas made over 117 feet of putts and was first in Strokes Gained: Putting. His 62 was two shy of his career low, a second-round 60 at the 2016 Barbasol Championship. Not bad, considering he hasn’t played the Deere since 2015 (T44). He tied for third at TPC Deere Run in 2014.  The Deere is the last chance for those not yet in the field at The Open Championship next week, and as it stands now Vegas would nab the final spot on offer. With two more good rounds, he would also solidify his position in the race for the FedExCup, which will take on added significance this year. Vegas’ wife, Hildegard, is due with the couple’s second child, a son, during the week of The Northern Trust, the first event of the Playoffs. “I told Ru (Ruben Yorio), my caddie, that it’s been a long time since I’ve felt this good,â€� Vegas said. “I’ve been working really hard the whole year to kind of feel good with my ball-striking, and found something yesterday on the range, and it was so good to carry it through to today, and it paid off, so hopefully we can continue that the next two days.â€�

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