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Fitzpatrick Takes RBC in Playoff

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By TERRY LYONS

HILTON HEAD – Reigning U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick defeated defending champion Jordan Spieth in a multi-hole playoff to win the RBC Heritage at Harbor Town.

The playoff between Fitzpatrick and Spieth was the first on Tour featuring multiple players that had previously won a major championship since the 2020 Sentry Tournament of Champions (Justin Thomas* def. Patrick Reed* and Xander Schauffele). Spieth became the first defending champion to lose in a playoff since Schauffele at that same tournament.

Spieth now has 18 runner-up finishes on Tour since the start of the 2013 season, four more than any other player in that span.

Fitzpatrick is the third player from England to win on Tour this season, tying the most in a single season on record (1983-present).

RBC Heritage | Final Leaderboard

P-1 Matt Fitzpatrick 66 70 63 68 267 (-17) 1-0

P-2 Jordan Spieth 68 67 66 66 267 (-17) 5-4

3 Patrick Cantlay 69 65 66 68 268 (-16)

4 Xander Schauffele 67 66 70 66 269 (-15)

T-5 Sahith Theegala 70 68 67 65 270 (-14)

T-5 Hayden Buckley 69 68 66 67 270 (-14)

PGA Tour: Final Round at RBC

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By TERRY LYONS

HILTON HEAD – As the final round begins today, 15 players, including four major championship winners, are within four strokes of the lead. The 2022 U.S. Open champion – Matt Fitzpatrick – holds the 54-hole lead/co-lead on Tour for the third time while seeking his second win on the circuit.

The RBC’s 2022 runner-up Patrick Cantlay is seeking to become the first player to win a tournament one year after losing it in a playoff since 2008 while defending champion Jordan Spieth trails by two in bid to successfully defend on the Tour for the first time in 12 attempts.

Six-time PGA Tour winner and 36-hole leader Jimmy Walker sits three back in search of his first pro title since the 2016 PGA Championship.

Mark Hubbard, Tommy Fleetwood and Hayden Buckley are players among the Top 15 on the leaderboard without a PGA Tour victory.

Currently T-4 in his RBC tournament debut, World No. 2 Scottie Schefflerwould move into the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking with a victory this week regardless of where current No. 1 Jon Rahm finishes today.

RBC Heritage Leaderboard After 54 Holes

Matt Fitzpatrick 66-70-63—199 (-14)

Patrick Cantlay 69-65-66—200 (-13)

Jordan Spieth 68-67-66—201 (-12)

Five players 202 (-11)

PGA Tour Heads to Harbor Town

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By TERRY LYONS

HILTON HEAD – The RBC Heritage tees-it-up this morning and features a strong field including seven of the Top 10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking and 38 of the Top 50). As the Tour turns towards the warmer weather months, 28 of the top 30 players in the FedEx Cup standings and 19 of the 20 players that have won on Tour this season are playing the old school Harbor Town golf course.

World No. 2 and reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year Scottie Scheffler is making his tournament debut. Scheffler has eight Top-10s in 11 starts this season, including four as the defending champion in a nine-week stretch. Scheffler successfully defended his title during the first opportunity (WM Phoenix Open), then finished T-4 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and fourth at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. He concluded his fourth title defense attempt with a T-10 at last week’s Masters Tournament.

World No. 4 Patrick Cantlay has only finished outside the Top 10 once in five starts at the RBC Heritage (T-3/2017, T-7/2018, T-3/2019, MC/2021, P-2/2022). Cantlay, the 2021 FedEx Cup Champion, fell to 2015 FedEx Cup Champion Jordan Spieth on the first extra hole (No. 18) of the 2022 RBC Heritage, marking the first playoff in the FedExCup era (est. 2007) between two FedExCup champs. The last player to win a tournament a season after losing it in a playoff was Ryuji Imada at the 2008 AT&T Classic (Zach Johnson def. Imada in 2007).

Preview | The RBC

COURSE: Harbor Town Golf Links, Hilton Head, South Carolina

ARCHITECT: Pete Dye

YARDS/PAR: 7,213 yards/Par 71

PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: $20,000,000/$3,600,000

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Jordan Spieth

PAST RESULTS: (link)

PAST CHAMPIONS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 500

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @RBC_Heritage #PLAIDNATION

The 2023 Masters Tournament Preview

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By TERRY LYONS

AUGUSTA – The 2023 Masters Tournament is the first major championship of the 2023 pro golf season and second event that offers 600 FedEx Cup points to the winner. In 2022, Scottie Scheffler earned his first career major championship title and fourth win of the 2021-22 season with a three-stroke victory over Rory McIlroy. Scheffler went on to win the Jack Nicklaus Award as PGA TOUR Player of the Year while McIlroy captured his third career FedEx Cup title. They enter this year’s Masters as the two highest-ranked players in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Scheffler has two wins this season, including THE PLAYERS Championship.

Three players have successfully defended a title at the Masters Tournament: Jack Nicklaus (1966), Nick Faldo (1990) and Tiger Woods (2002). Scheffler is 1-for-3 in title defenses on Tour this season, with a victory at the WM Phoenix Open and Top-5 finishes at the Arnold Palmer Invitational (T4) and WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play (4th).

The only player to win THE PLAYERS and the Masters in the same year is Tiger Woods in 2001. Woods is also the last player to successfully defend multiple titles in the same season, doing so four times in 2007.

The Masters 2023 | Special Discount | Best offer of the PGA Tour Season

Preview | The Masters

COURSE: Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia

ARCHITECT: Dr. Alister MacKenzie and Bobby Jones Jr.; Perry Maxwell in 1937

YARDS/PAR: 7,475 yards/Par 72

2023 PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: At least $15,000,000/$2,700,000

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Scottie Scheffler

PAST RESULTS: (link)

PAST CHAMPIONS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 600

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @The Masters

TV COVERAGE: Special coverage of the Par Three Tournament today from 12:00 Noon (ET) on The Masters site. ESPN will provide tournament preview coverage 3:00pm to 5:00pm (ET).

Tournament Info and How to Watch/Stream The Masters: (NBC Boston)

How to Watch Par 3: In case of changes, visit: (Masters.com)

The Basics:

Tournament site: The Masters

The Masters –  Tee Times start Thursday at 8:00am (ET) and go to 2:00pm (ET).

Weather: Thursday’s forecast is for cloudy skies. Temperatures range from 67-to-84 degrees with a 17% chance of rain. Winds at 8mph. Weekend forecast is calling for rain with a 64% chance of rain on Friday, a 96% chance on Saturday and 79% chance on Sunday.

Notes:

Three-time FedEx Cup Champion Rory McIlroy will try to become the sixth player to complete the career Grand Slam with a win, joining Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen. McIlroy was the only player to finish in the Top 10 at all four Majors in 2022 (2nd/Masters, 8th/PGA Championship, T-5/U.S. Open, 3rd/The Open).

2015 Masters winner Jordan Spieth holds the lowest scoring average of any player in tournament history (min. 25 rounds) at an average of 70.71 (Others: Second-lowest: Tiger Woods, 71.05). Spieth also holds the tournament records for low opening 36-hole score (130, 2015) and low opening 54-hole score (200, 2015; tied with Dustin Johnson, 2020). Spieth has three top-10s on the season, highlighted by a T3 at the Valspar Championship.

Six players have six or more PGA TOUR wins in the last five seasons, including Patrick Cantlay (seven wins in that span) and Max Homa (six) are the only two among the group that have not won a Major championship in their careers. At No. 4 (Cantlay) and No. 5 (Homa) in the Official World Golf Ranking, they are also the two highest-ranked players in the world without a win in a major. Cantlay has made six starts at the Masters and earned low-amateur honors in 2012 (T47) while Homa is making his fourth appearance after making the cut for the first time in 2022 (T48).

Although they went to great lengths to avoid controversy during Masters Week, the LIV Golf tour and the PGA Tour managed to make some waves when Augusta National decided against inviting former multi-time Majors winner and Masters runner-up Greg Norman to the tournament. Norman is currently serving as Commissioner of LIV Golf. (link)

The PLAYERS to Scottie Scheffler

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By TERRY LYONS

PONTE VEDRA BEACH – Reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year Scottie Scheffler won The PLAYERS Championship, earning his sixth career PGA Tour title overall and second of the season. All six of Scheffler’s victories have come in his last 27 starts.

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Scheffler returned to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking with the victory as he became the ninth player to win The PLAYERS and the Masters Tournament and only the third to hold both titles at the same time, joining Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.

Tyrrell Hatton (2nd) birdied the final five holes and tied the back-nine scoring record at TPC Sawgrass (29).

Tom Hoge (T-3) became the first player to record a (78) or higher in the first round of a PGA Tour event and finish in the Top Five since Jose Maria Olazabal at the 2007 PLAYERS Championship.

The PLAYERS | Final Leaderboard

Scottie Scheffler 68-69-65-69—271 (-17)

Tyrrell Hatton 72-71-68-65—276 (-12)

Viktor Hovland 69-71-70-68—278 (-10)

Tom Hoge 78-68-62-70—278 (-10)

Hideki Matsuyama 74-70-67-68—279 (-9)

It’s The PLAYERS Game

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By TERRY LYONS

PONTE VEDRA BEACH – Red hot Scottie Scheffler holds his seventh career 54-hole lead/co-lead on Tour with a (65). His career low at The PLAYERS provided him with a two shot lead going into today’s final round.

Min Woo Lee, currently trailing Scheffler but in the final pairing today, seeks to become the third player in tournament history to make The PLAYERS their first career Tour title.

Having missed five consecutive cuts entering the week, Cam Davis birdied Nos. 17 and 18 and sits solo third at 206 (-10).

Tom Hoge set a new course record at The PLAYERS Stadium Course with a 10-under (62).

Aaron Rai aced the par-3 17th hole, marking the first PLAYERS Championship with multiple aces at No. 17.

Third-round scoring average of 69.573 marks the lowest scoring average in any round in the history of The PLAYERS.

The PLAYERS | 54-Hole Leaderboard

Scottie Scheffler 68-69-65—202 (-14)

Min Woo Lee 68-70-66—204 (-12)

Cam Davis 69-70-67—206 (-10)

Tommy Fleetwood 72-70-65—207 (-9)

Aaron Rai 73-69-65—207 (-9)

Chad Ramey 64-75-68—207 (-9)

Christiaan Bezuidenhout 68-70-69—207 (-9)

PGA Tour: The PLAYERS Preview

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By TERRY LYONS

PONTE VEDRA BEACH – THE PLAYERS Championship is the first of five events during the 2023 season offering 600 FedExCup points to the winner. It joins the four major championships. The field this weekend includes 44 of the Top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking and 29 of the Top 30 players in the FedExCup standings.

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This is the 49th playing of THE PLAYERS Championship and 41st since the tournament moved to TPC Sawgrass in 1982. The purse is $25 million and the winner’s share of $4.5 million are the largest in PGA TOUR history.

With three wins this season (Sentry Tournament of Champions, The American Express, The Genesis Invitational), Jon Rahm currently holds the No. 1 position in both the FedExCup standings and the Official World Golf Ranking. He is the third player (fourth instance) to enter THE PLAYERS as the FedExCup leader and World No. 1 (second consecutive year competing at THE PLAYERS as World No. 1). Rahm has one Top-10 (T-9/2021) and has not missed the cut in five previous starts at THE PLAYERS.

Reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year Scottie Scheffler is making his third start at THE PLAYERS Championship (MC/2021, T-55/2022). Scheffler successfully defended his title at the WM Phoenix Open in February and finished T-4 in his second attempt to do so at last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational. Scheffler will also be the defending champion at two tournaments in the four weeks following THE PLAYERS (WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, Masters Tournament). Scheffler leads the PGA TOUR in Greens in Regulation Percentage (73.61%).

The 2019 winner and reigning FedExCup Champion Rory McIlroy finished runner-up at last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, his second Top-Two result in four starts this season (Won/THE CJ CUP in South Carolina). McIlroy made his tournament debut in 2009 (MC), which was his eighth career start on the Tour, and has four Top-10s in 12 starts at the event.

PGA Tour: Rahm Leads After 18 Holes

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ORLANDO – Spain’s Jon Rahm closed his round eagle-birdie-birdie to take the 18-hole lead/co-lead for the 11th time on the PGA Tour. When holding the first round led, he’s converted three of 10 on the season, winning the 2018 American Express, the 2022 Mexico Open and the 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions). Rahm is seeking his fourth title in his seventh start this season.

Chris Kirk won The Honda Classic last week and seeks to become the first player to win in back-to-back weeks since Tony Finau (2022 3M Open, 2022 Rocket Mortgage Classic).

Defending champion Scottie Scheffler sits T-5 at 4-under (67).

Arnold Palmer Leaderboard | After 18 Holes

Jon Rahm 65 (-7)

Chris Kirk 67 (-5)

Cameron Young 67 (-5)

Kurt Kitayama 67 (-5)

Eight players 68 (-4)

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The 2022 winner and reigning PGA TOUR Player of the Year Scottie Scheffler is making his second of four starts as the defending champion in a nine-week stretch, and successfully defended his title during the first opportunity (WM Phoenix Open). The last player to successfully defend multiple titles in a season was Tiger Woods, who did so four times in 2007 (Farmers Insurance Open, PGA Championship, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, WGC-CA Championship).

The 2018 winner and reigning FedExCup Champion Rory McIlroy is making his ninth consecutive start at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and has finished worse than T13 just once (T27/2016). McIlroy’s Scoring Average of 70.31 at the event is the second-lowest of any player on record (1983-present) with a minimum of 20 rounds played, behind only eight-time champion Tiger Woods(69.97). McIlroy has been the first-round leader/co-leader each of the last two years at the event. The last player to hold the 18-hole lead/co-lead at the same tournament three years in a row was Tiger Woods at the Deutsche Bank Championship in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Chris Kirk won The Honda Classic Sunday, earning his fifth PGA TOUR title and first since the 2015 Charles Schwab Challenge. Kirk is one of two players with top-10s in each of the last two years at the Arnold Palmer Invitationalpresented by Mastercard (T-8/2021, T-5/2022), along with Matt Fitzpatrick.

Arnold Palmer‘s Bay Hill Club & Lodge was the most difficult course on the PGA Tour during the 2021-22 season among non-majors, playing to an average of 1.886 over par.

Most difficult courses on the PGA TOUR in 2021-22

  • +2.507 The Country Club U.S. Open
  • +2.458 Southern Hills Country Club PGA Championship
  • +1.951 Augusta National Golf Club Masters Tournament
  • +1.886 Bay Hill Club & Lodge Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard

Arnold Palmer Invitational | Tournament Facts

COURSE: Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Orlando, Florida

YARDS/PAR: 7,466 yards/Par 72

ARCHITECTS: Dick Wilson\Joe Lee

PRIZE Money – Purse: $20,000,000 with Winner: $3,600,000

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Scottie Scheffler

PAST RESULTS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 550

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @APInv and @PuertoRicoOpen

PGA Tour Brunch: Final at The Honda

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PALM BEACH GARDENS – In search of his fifth career PGA Tour title and first since 2015, Chris Kirk birdied final two holes of the day to claim his sixth 54-hole lead/co-lead on Tour. He is two-for-five in converting to a title.

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Florida resident and PGA Tour rookie Eric Cole posted a second straight 4-under (66) and sits solo-second at 11-under (199) while 36-hole leader, Justin Suh, seeks to become the fourth player in the last five years to make The Honda Classic a maiden Tour title.

The 2022 Honda Classic runner-up, Shane Lowry, seeks his third career Tour title and first since the 2019 Open Championship. He is playing despite the unexpected death of his Uncle back in Ireland.

The Honda Classic has served as the first career Tour title for three of the last four winners (Keith Mitchell/2019, Sungjae Im/2020, Sepp Straka/2022).

Ryan Gerard sits (T-8) at (-7). He birded No. 18 to post a 1-over (71) in his second PGA Tour start (2022 U.S. Open/MC). The last Open Qualifier to finish in the Top 10 was Aaron Baddeley, 2022 Butterfield Bermuda Championship (T6), while the last Open Qualifier to finish in the Top Five was Doc Redman, 2019 Rocket Mortgage Classic (2nd).

The last Open Qualifier to win was Corey Conners, at the 2019 Valero Texas Open.

Defending champion Sepp Straka sits (T-8) at (-7). He birdied his first four holes en route to a 4-under (66) in his bid to become the first to successfully defend a Honda Classic title since Jack Nicklaus in 1978.

*This final round will most likely be the final round of Honda’s association and sponsorship of the event. Honda has partnered with the PGA Tour for 42 years.

Honda Classic | Third Round Leaderboard

Chris Kirk 69-62-66—197 (-13)

Eric Cole 67-66-66—199 (-11)

Justin Suh 66-64-70—200 (-10)

Shane Lowry 68-68-65—201 (-9)

Ben Taylor 67-65-69—201 (-9)

 

PGA Tour: Honda Shaping Up

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Note: Play was suspended due to darkness at 6:27pm (ET) Friday evening with only two players yet to complete their round. Those players will be back in position at 6:50am with the third round consisting of threesomes off one tee from approximately 7:30am – 12:30pm (ET) today.

The Cut: 78 players are currently guaranteed to make the cut, which came at 1-over (141). The two players who did not finish their round, Brett Drewitt and Pierceson Coody, are at 1-over and need a par or better on their final hole to make the cut.

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By TERRY LYONS

PALM BEACH GARDENS – Following his best-ever round (64) and best opening 36-hole score (130) on the PGA Tour, Justin Suh holds a one-stroke lead over Chris Kirk at The Honda Classic as moving day begins today with two golfers still to complete their second round.

Suh is the first player with seven straight (3s) on his scorecard since the event moved to PGA National in 2007. Suh played Nos. 5-11 in 5-under. He holds a second-round lead/co-lead for the second time on the PGA Tour. The other was the 2021 Corales Puntacana Championship when he finished (T-28).

As darkness fell on Friday, Kirk equalled his career-low round on the Tour, shooting a blazing (62) while Ryan Gerard trails by two shots in bid to become the first Open Qualifier to win on Tour since 2019.

First round leaders struggled as the PGA National course toughed up Friday. Current positions of the three first-round co-leaders: Carson Young (T-10, second-round 70), Joseph Bramlett (T-28, 73), Billy Horschel (T-28, 73).

Defending champion Sepp Straka (T-22) at (-3) trails by seven strokes in bid to become the first repeat winner of The Honda Classic since Jack Nicklaus in 1977-78.

Partial Second Round Leaderboard

Justin Suh 66-64—130 (-10)

Chris Kirk 69-62—131 (-9)

Ryan Gerard 69-63—132 (-8)

Ben Taylor 67-65—132 (-8)