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PGA Tour Sports Desk: CJ Cup

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RIDGELAND, South Carolina – At 8:15am (ET) this morning, 21 of the top 30 golfers in the Official World Golf Rankings will tee-it-up at The CJ Cup in South Carolina. The venue, the Congaree Golf Club, will be the fourth golf course to host the event, the third in the United States. From 2017-to-2019, the event was played at Nine Bridges in South Korea. In the USA, the location was at Shadow Creek (2020) and Summit Club (2021) in Las Vegas.

There are 13 players (second most of tournament) from Korea playing this week, including Sungjae Im and Tom Kim, two frequent residents of the PGA Tour’s leaderboards. The USA has 45 players competing and England – third most this week – has four golfers.

Reigning FedEx Cup and 2021 CJ Cup champion Rory McIlroy is making his debut since winning at the TOUR Championship in August. Jon Rahm of Spain is making his season debut as well. Rahm finished T-5th in the 2021-22 FedEx Cup standings.

Rickie Fowler, who finished as runner-up last weekend at the ZOZO Championship in Japan, now has two Top 10s in three starts this Fall. Fowler finished T-3 in the 2021 CJ Cup as he makes his 300th start on Tour today. Keegan Bradley won the ZOZO last weekend.

The CJ Cup in South Carolina | Tournament Facts

COURSE: Congaree Golf Club, Ridgewood, South Carolina

YARDS/PAR: 7,655 yards/Par 71

ARCHITECT: Tom Fazio (2018)

PRIZE Money – Purse: $10,500,000/$1,890,000

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Rory McIlroy

PAST HISTORY: (link)

PAST RESULTS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 500

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup

PGA Tour Battling vs. LIV Golf

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BOLTON – As the LIV Golf players teed-off in the third and final round shotgun start Sunday in the western suburbs of Boston, the PGA Tour tossed another major hurdle at the players, via a memo leaked to Sports Illustrated and reported by SI and FOX News.

“The Tour cannot enter into a membership agreement with a player when, as here, it reasonably anticipates the player will not perform the material obligations under that agreement,” said the letter to former PGA Tour pros now on the LIV Tour. “Accordingly, your PGA Tour membership cannot and will not be renewed for the 2022-2023 PGA Tour season.”

Taylor Gooch (-12), Joaquin Nieman (-11) and Dustin Johnson (-10) were busy competing for a $4 million/ $2.125 million or $1.5 million first through third prize at The International, a course set in the woods of Worcester County, Massachusetts – about 45 miles from where the PGA Tour used to play the DeutschBank Championship – a round of its FedEx Playoffs – every Labor Day weekend.

The LIV Golf venture joined an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour that was initially filed by select LIV golfers such as Pat Perez, Carlos Oritiz, Abraham Ancer and Jason Kokrak were among the players filing who dropped their lawsuits against the PGA Tour. Outspoken veteran PGA Tour pro Phil Mickelson was among those that first filed suit in August, claiming suspensions from the Tour were aimed at hurting their careers.

Others pro golfers filed temporary restraining orders to compete in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, claiming they qualified for the PGA Tour postseason playoffs prior to joining LIV Golf. A federal judge in California denied that injunction.

Rory McIlroy Wins FedEx Cup (Again)

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ATLANTA – Rory McIlroy wins AGAIN!

McIlroy became the first player to win the FedEx Cup three times as he took the 2022 TOUR Championship for his 22nd career title. Amazingly, McIlroy began the day six strokes back and stormed back on his final 18 holes which marked the largest final-round comeback in TOUR Championship history.

No. 1 seed Scottie Scheffler tied a TOUR record for largest lead lost with 18 holes left to play (6) and became only the second No. 1 seed not to go on to win the FedEx Cup (in fourth year of Starting Strokes format), the other being Justin Thomas in 2019.

South Korea’s Sungjae Im (T-2) recorded the best finish in FedEx Cup history by a player from Asia.

Max Homa (T-5) recorded the best finish among nine first-time participants in the field.

TOUR Championship | Final Leaderboard

Rory Mcllroy -4 67-67-63-66 (-17) -21

Sungjae Im -4 67-65-66-66 (-16) -20

Scottie Scheffler -10 65-66-66-73 (-10) -20

Xander Schauffele -6 66-63-70-69 (-12) -18

Max Homa -2 71-62-66-66 (-15) -17

Justin Thomas -3 67-68-63-68 (-14) -17

Drama Builds at TOUR Championship

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ATLANTA – FedEx Cup leader Scottie Scheffler carded his fifth round of (66) or better in his 10th round at East Lake Golf Club as the No. 1 seed is attempting to win and match each of the last two year’s winners in (Dustin Johnson/2020, Patrick Cantlay/2021)

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However, it will not be an easy run for Scheffler as Xander Schauffele shot (63) for his lowest career round at East Lake Golf Club, highlighted by a closing eagle on the par-5 18th hole. Xander is two back.

Jon Rahm added a (63) of his own in search of his fourth Top-5 finish in the FedEx Cup in six seasons.

Max Homa’s (62) marked the lowest round at the TOUR Championship since 2007.

TOUR Championship | Leaderboard After 36 Holes

1 Scottie Scheffler -10 65-66 (-9) -19

2 Xander Schauffele -6 66-63 (-11) -17

3 Jon Rahm -3 67-63 (-10) -13

T-4 Patrick Cantlay -8 70-66 (-4) -12

T-4 Sungjae Im -4 67-65 (-8) -12

Scheffler Leads at TOUR Championship

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ATLANTA – FedExCup leader Scottie Scheffler leads by five strokes, tying the largest lead after any round since the “Starting Strokes” concept was implemented in 2019 (5/Dustin Johnson/2020/R-3).

The No. 1 seed has gone on to win each of the last two years (Dustin Johnson/2020, Patrick Cantlay/2021).

Xander Schauffele has been inside the Top 10 of the leaderboard at the TOUR Championship in 18 of 21 rounds.

U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick (3rd/-9) leads contingent of nine first-time participants with bogey-free 64, tied for low round of the day, with the other being Joaquin Niemann.

2021 FedEx Cup Champion Patrick Cantlay, who started the day at -8, eagled the par-5 18th hole for even-par (70). No player has ever won back-to-back FedExCup titles, something Cantlay is trying to do this weekend.

Second-round Tee Times run from 11:35am to 1:55pm (ET) today.

TOUR Championship | Leaderboard After 18 Holes

1 Scottie Scheffler -10 65 (-5) -15

2 Xander Schauffele -6 66 (-4) -10

3 Matt Fitzpatrick -3 64 (-6) -9

T4 Joaquin Niemann -2 64 (-6) -8

T4 Patrick Cantlay -8 70 (E) -8

TOUR Championship: Preview

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ATLANTA – Sports fans sometimes complain that “the regular season doesn’t matter.” That can not be said of the PGA Tour season as the regular season efforts of Scottie Scheffler will start his TOUR Championship at (-10) in comparison to the likes of K.H. Lee, J.T. Poston, Sahith Theegala, Adam Scott, and Aaron Wise who will all begin their pursuit of the FedEx Cup at (even) par when the players tee-off (tomorrow) Thursday, August 24 at East Lake Golf Club.

Yes, the 47-event 2021-22 PGA TOUR Season will conclude at the TOUR Championship this weekend, where the FedEx Cup Champion will be crowned. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, the Tour leader in wins this season with four, enters the TOUR Championship at No. 1 in the FedEx Cup standings and will begin the tournament at 10-under via FedEx Cup Starting Strokes. Scheffler is making his third consecutive appearance in the TOUR Championship, finishing No. 5 in 2019-20 and No. 22 in 2020-21. Scheffler, who won his first major championship title earlier this season at the Masters Tournament, looks to become the second player to win the Masters and the FedEx Cup in the same season (Jordan Spieth, 2014-15).

If he wins the 2022 FedEx Cup, Rory McIlroy would become the first player to win the FedEx Cup three times. When McIlroy won his second title in 2019, he joined Tiger Woods as the only two players to win the season-long race twice.

Xander Schauffele, who enters the weekend at No. 3 in the FedEx Cup standings, has advanced to the TOUR Championship in all six seasons on the Tour. Schauffele won the TOUR Championship as a rookie and has finished in the top 10 in all five starts, tied with Justin Thomas for the longest active streak on Tour.

Sam Burns is making his second consecutive appearance at the TOUR Championship, finishing 18th in 2021. Burns is one of four players who has three or more victories this season, collecting titles at the Sanderson Farms Championship, Valspar Championship and Charles Schwab Challenge (others with 3+ victories: Scottie Scheffler/4, Cameron Smith/3, Xander Schauffele/3).

Cameron Smith has three wins this season, including THE PLAYERS Championship and The Open Championship. Smith withdrew prior to the start of last week’s BMW Championship and fell from No. 3 to No. 5 in the FedEx Cup standings. With a win, Smith would become the second player to win THE PLAYERS Championship and the FedEx Cup in the same season, joining McIlroy (2018-19), and the first to win The Open and the FedEx Cup in the same season.

Scott Stallings finished runner-up at last week’s BMW Championship to move to No. 12 in the FedEx Cup standings and qualify for the TOUR Championship for the first time in his 12-year PGA TOUR career. Stallings has a career-high seven Top-10s this season (five in last nine starts).

J.T. Poston is making his first start in the TOUR Championship. Poston was No. 112 in the FedEx Cup standings after the U.S. Open and earned a runner-up (Travelers Championship) and a win (John Deere Classic) the following two weeks, becoming the only player outside the Top 75 after the U.S. Open to qualify for the TOUR Championship.

Will Zalatoris withdrew from the tournament due to a back injury. As a result of his WD, if all 29 players finish 72 holes, Zalatoris will finish 30th in the FedEx Cup, receiving $500,000 in FedExCup bonus money.

Starting Strokes for the remaining 29 players are unaffected.

The Way They’ll Start at TOUR Championship

  1. Scottie Scheffler -10
  2. Patrick Cantlay -8
  3. Xander Schauffele -6
  4. Sam Burns -5
  5. Cameron Smith -4
  6. Rory McIlroy -4
  7. Tony Finau -4
  8. Sepp Straka -4
  9. Sungjae Im -4
  10. Jon Rahm -3
  11. Scott Stallings -3
  12. Justin Thomas -3
  13. Cameron Young -3
  14. Matt Fitzpatrick -3
  15. Max Homa -2
  16. Hideki Matsuyama -2
  17. Jordan Spieth -2
  18. Joaquin Niemann -2
  19. Viktor Hovland -2
  20. Collin Morikawa -1
  21. Billy Horschel -1
  22. Tom Hoge -1
  23. Corey Conners -1
  24. Brian Harman -1
  25. K.H. Lee Even
  26. J.T. Poston Even
  27. Sahith Theegala Even
  28. Adam Scott Even
  29. Aaron Wise Even

Adam Scott Tops Busy Leaders at BMW

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WILMINGTON – Fourteen-time PGA Tour winner Adam Scott holds a one-stroke lead after the second round of the BMW Championship, his 17th 36-hole lead/co-lead on the PGA Tour.

Three Masters Tournament winners that’ve been or currently are ranked No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking are T-2 or better: Scott (1st), Scottie Scheffler (T-2) and Jordan Spieth (T-2). Scott and Spieth rank Nos. 3 and 4 in career PGA Tour wins among players that qualified for the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

PGA Tour rookie Cameron Young (T-2) has five runner-up finishes this season and is the highest-ranked player in the Official World Golf Ranking without a win.

BMW Leaderboard | After 36 Holes

Adam Scott 65-69—134 (-8)

Scottie Scheffler 68-67—135 (-7)

Cameron Young 67-68—135 (-7)

Corey Conners 68-67—135 (-7)

Jordan Spieth 68-67—135 (-7)

Full Leaderboard: (link)

Bradley Leads BMW After 18 Holes

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WILMINGTON – The 2018 BMW Championship winner, Keegan Bradley,tied his career-low nine-hole score (29) and holds one-stroke lead after 18 holes of the 2022 version of the tournament.

After playing his way into the BMW Championship via a T-5 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, Adam Scott is projected to move from No. 45 to No. 13 if he keeps up his pace. Scott hasn’t qualified for the TOUR Championship since 2019.

Harold Varner III and Shane Lowry, both T-3, seek their first TOUR Championship start and are slated for the Top 30.

Defending FedEx Cup Champion and 2021 BMW Championship winner Patrick Cantlay opens with 68 (T-13). No player has successfully defended his BMW Championship title since the tournament became a FedEx Cup Playoffs event in 2007.

BMW Leaderboard | After 18 Holes

Keegan Bradley 64 (-7)

Adam Scott 65 (-6)

Harold Varner III 66 (-5)

Shane Lowry 66 (-5)

Justin Thomas 66 (-5)

FedEx Cup Playoffs Continue at BMW

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WILMINGTON – The BMW Championship, the second event of the FedExCup Playoffs, will determine the 30 players who will qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs finale, the TOUR Championship. The BMW Championship is the oldest non-major on the PGA Tour schedule, dating back to 1899. The Wilmington Country Club is playing host, marking the PGA Tour’s first-ever event in the state of Delaware and the 10th different venue to host the BMW Championship since the inception of the FedEx Cup in 2007.

Defending FedEx Cup Champion and 2021 BMW Championship winner Patrick Cantlay sits at No. 7 in the FedExCup standings. Cantlay seeks to become the first player to defend his BMW Championship title since the tournament became a FedEx Cup Playoffs event in 2007. If Cantlay goes on to win the FedEx Cup title, he would be the first to win the season-long race in backto-back years and third player to win it multiple times (Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy). There have been four occasions where a player has won the BMW Championship en route to capturing the FedExCup: Tiger Woods(2007, 2009), Billy Horschel (2014) and Patrick Cantlay (2021).

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is making his third appearance in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, advancing to the TOUR Championship in each of his first two seasons on Tour (No. 5 in 2019-20, No. 22 in 2020-21) with Top-25 finishes in both BMW Championship starts (T20/2020, T22/2021). Scheffler has won four times this season, including the Masters Tournament, and looks to become the second player to win the Masters and the FedEx Cup in the same season (Jordan Spieth, 2014-15).

Eight rookies have advanced to the BMW Championship: Joohyung Kim, Taylor Moore, Taylor Pendrith, Mito Pereira, Davis Riley, Alex Smalley, Sahith Theegala and Cameron Young, with four of the eight sitting inside the top 30 in the FedExCup standings: Young (13), Kim (25), Riley (26) and Theegala (27).

There has not been a season in the FedEx Cup era in which more than two rookies qualified for the TOUR Championship (seasons with 2: 2015-16, 2016-17, 2019-20). Two rookies have won this season (Chad Ramey/Corales Puntacana Championship, Joohyung Kim/Wyndham Championship).

BMW Championship | Tournament Facts

COURSE: Wilmington Country Club, Wilmington, Delaware

YARDS/PAR: 7,534 yards/Par 71

ARCHITECTS: Robert Trent Jones, Sr. (1959)/Andrew Green (2021)

PRIZE Money – Purse: $15,000,000/$2,700,000

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Patrick Cantlay

PAST RESULTS: (link)

PAST CHAMPIONS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 2,000

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @FedExChamp @BMWChamps

TV COVERAGE: The first two rounds (today and August 19) are scheduled for coverage from 3:00pm to 7:00pm (ET) on Golf Channel. On Saturday, coverage is set for 12:00pm to 3:00pm (ET) on Golf Channel and 3:00 to 6:00pm (ET) on NBC. On Sunday, Golf Channel will be covering from 12 Noon to 2:00pm (ET) and NBC from 2:00pm to 6:00pm (ET).

PGA TOUR LIVE STREAMING: ESPN+ Live streaming coverage will run from 9:00am to 7:00pm (ET) today and Friday. Weekend streaming on ESPN+ PGA TOUR Live from 7:30am to 6:00pm (ET).

PGA TOUR RADIO COVERAGE: SiriusXM Radio will have live coverage of the BMW begins at 1:00pm to 7:00pm (ET) today and Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, coverage will air 1:00pm to 6:00pm (or completion of event). PGA Tour Radio is available on Sirius 208/XM 92 or online via PGATourCom.

How to Watch: In case of changes, visit: (PGATourCom)

Zalatoris Wins his First at FedEx St. Jude

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MEMPHIS – Will Zalatoris won his first career PGA Tour title in his 56th Tour start at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. In doing so, Zalatoris became the first player since Camilo Villegas at the 2008 BMW Championship to make a FedEx Cup Playoffs event his maiden Tour title.

Sunday’s playoff marked the eighth playoff this season and the first since the Charles Schwab Challenge. It was the fifth playoff at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in the FedExCup era (2007-present). Most recently, Tony Finau defeated Cameron Smith in a playoff at Liberty National Golf Club in 2021.

In his first playoff on Tour, Sepp Straka finished as runner-up but made his fourth Top-10 of the season, moving to No. 8 in the FedEx Cup overall standings. He has never made it past the first FedEx Cup Playoffs event in three previous seasons.

Four players who entered the week outside of the Top 70 moved inside the cut to qualify for this week’s BMW Championship. They are: Lucas Glover(T-3), Adam Scott (T-5), Andrew Putnam (T-5) and Wyndham Clark (T-28).

Of players who made cut, Brendon Todd finished 67th to move outside the Top 70.

Prior to the start of the final round, Cameron Smith (T13) was assessed a two-stroke penalty for a breach of Rule 14.7 (playing ball from the wrong place) on hole No. 4 during the third round as he was operating under Rule 17.1 (when ball is in penalty area). Smith’s score was adjusted from 199 (-11) to 201 (-9). Smith finished T-13 in his first start since winning The Open Championship.

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An instant classic. @WillZalatoris vs. @seppstraka Every shot from the third and deciding playoff hole @FedExChamp

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FedEx St. Jude Championship | Final Leaderboard

*Will Zalatoris 71-63-65-66—265 (-15)

Sepp Straka 64-66-68-67—265 (-15)

Lucas Glover 65-68-69-66—268 (-12)

Brian Harman 66-66-69-67—268 (-12)

Seven players at -11

*Defeated Sepp Straka on the third playoff hole (par-3 No.11) with a bogey-4

Full Leaderboard: (link)