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PGA Tour: Pros in Pairs at Zurich Classic

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The Zurich Classic | Tournament Preview

NEW ORLEANS – The Zurich Classic of New Orleans, first played in 1938, has featured its popular two-man team match play format since 2017 and is the only official FedEx Cup event on the PGA Tour schedule that uses a team format.

The field consists of 80 teams (160 players), with each team comprised of two professionals, featuring Four-ball (best ball) during the first and third rounds and Foursomes (alternate shot) during the second and final rounds.

The 2017 Zurich Classic was the first official team event on the PGA Tour since the 1981 Walt Disney World national team championship held at the Magnolia, Palm and Lake Buena Vista courses at Walt Disney World in Florida.

The reigning 2022 PLAYERS Championship winner Cameron Smith and fellow Australian Marc Leishman will return to defend their title. Smith, who won in the inaugural year of the team format (2017) with Jonas Blixt, is the only two-time winner in the team format. Smith leads the Presidents Cup International Team standings, while Leishman is currently No. 12.

Five of the Top-10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking are in the field, but only two of those players are teaming up with world No. 2 Collin Morikawa and partner world No. 5 Viktor Hovland will competing together. They will become the first pair of Top-five players in the OWGR to team up (highest-ranked team since the team format began in 2017, with an average ranking of 3.5).

Spieth Wins for Second Straight Easter

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HARBOUR TOWN – Jordan Spieth defeated Patrick Cantlay in a playoff to win the RBC Heritage, earning his 13th PGA Tour title and first since the 2021 Valero Texas Open. Spieth became the 82nd player to reach 13 wins on the tour and moves to T-72 on the all-time wins list.

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With the victory, Spieth moved to No. 11 in the FedEx Cup standings, his highest position of the season. The playoff was the first in the FedEx Cup era (est. 2007) between two FedEx Cup Champions.

Patrick Cantlay (P2) earns his third top-three finish and fourth top-10 in five starts at the event (T-3/2017, T-7/2018, T-3/2019, MC/2021, P2/2022) while 54-hole leader Harold Varner III (T3) now has three Top-3 results on the PGA Tour, with two coming at the RBC Heritage (T-3/2019 FedEx St. Jude Championship, T-2/2021 RBC Heritage, T-3/2022 RBC Heritage)

Shane Lowry (T-3) has finished in the Top 15 in each of his last five stroke-play events, including a runner-up at The Honda Classic and back-to-back T-3s (Masters Tournament and the RBC).

Cam Davis (T-3) ties his career-low score on the PGA TOUR with a 63, his second instance with the first coming at the 2020 Sanderson Farms Championship.

Defending champion Stewart Cink finished 68th.

RBC Heritage | Final Leaderboard

*Jordan Spieth 69-68-68-66—271 (-13) 5-3

Patrick Cantlay 66-67-70-68—271 (-13) 3-3

Cam Davis 69-73-67-63—272 (-12)

J.T. Poston 68-72-68-64—272 (-12)

Matt Kuchar 68-69-67-68—272 (-12)

Shane Lowry 66-72-65-69—272 (-12)

Sepp Straka 66-71-67-68—272 (-12)

Harold Varner III 67-72-63-70—272 (-12)

Cameron Young 63-73-70-66—272 (-12)

*defeated Patrick Cantlay with a par-4 on the first extra hole (No. 18)

Varner Vaults to Lead at RBC

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HILTON HEAD – Following a bogey-free (63) at the RBC Heritage, Harold Varner III holds the 54-hole lead for the second time of his PGA Tour career, but he is 0-for-1 to date in converting it to a win. Varner will attempt to become the eighth Black player to win on Tour.

Reigning FedEx Cup Champion and 36-hole leader Patrick Cantlay trails by one following a 1-under (70) while Shane Lowry and Erik van Rooyen, both T-2, could become the sixth international winner of the RBC Heritage since 2012.

Of 12 players at 8-under or better, Varner III (1st) and Tommy Fleetwood (T-9) are seeking their first Tour victory.

The last two RBC Heritage champions (Webb Simpson in 2020, Stewart Cink in 2021) each held the 54-hole lead/co-lead but prior to 2020, the event featured seven consecutive come-from-behind winners, with all trailing by at least two strokes going into the final round.

One week following a T-3 at The Masters Tournament, Shane Lowry (T-2) at (-10) is in search of his third Tour victory (2015 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, 2019 Open Championship). He has two Top-10 finishes in four starts at the RBC Heritage.

RBC Heritage Leaderboard | After 54 Holes

Harold Varner III 67-72-63—202 (-11)

Shane Lowry 66-72-65—203 (-10)

Erik van Rooyen 69-67-67—203 (-10)

Patrick Cantlay 66-67-70—203 (-10

Cantlay Takes Lead at RBC Heritage

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The RBC Heritage | Third Round 

HILTON HEAD – Reigning FedEx Cup Champion Patrick Cantlay holds 36-hole lead/co-lead at the RBC Heritage and for the eighth time on Tour. He’s 1-for-7 in cashing in for the win to date.

Of 13 players at 5-under or better, Cameron Tringale, Cameron Young, and Mito Pereira are seeking their first PGA Tour win.

Following 15 bogey-free rounds Thursday, the most in any single round at Harbour Town Golf Links since 2003, only two were recorded in Round-2 on Friday, as Matthew NeSmith, and Cameron Tringale accomplished the task.

Defending champion and three-time RBC Heritage winner Stewart Cinkadvanced to the weekend for the 18th time in his 23rd appearance

Competing on a Major Medical Extension in his first PGA TOUR start since the 2019 Shriners Children’s Open, Morgan Hoffmann missed the cut by one stroke. Other notables to also miss by a stroke: Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson and Kevin Kisner.

Brandon Hagy WD during the second round with a back injury.

RBC Heritage Leaderboard | After 36 Holes

Patrick Cantlay 66-67—133 (-9)

Robert Streb 68-67—135 (-7)

Cameron Tringale 69-67—136 (-6)

Aaron Wise 68-68—136 (-6)

Erik van Rooyen 69-67—136 (-6)

Cameron Young 63-73—136 (-6)

Joel Dahmen 69-67—136 (-6)

PGA Rookie Smith Leads RBC Heritage

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The RBC Heritage | Second Round | April 15

HILTON HEAD – PGA Tour rookie Cameron Young opened with a bogey-free (63), the lowest first-round score of his Tour career and one stroke shy of his low in any round. Young holds a two-stroke lead, the first lead/co-lead of his PGA Tour career after any round.

Joaquin Niemann has now been T-3 or better after 18 holes five times this season, the most of any player while defending champion and three-time RBC Heritage winner Stewart Cink is T-10. The last player to successfully defend title at the event was Boo Weekley in 2008. Both PGA Tour members from Chile are T-3 or better with Niemann in 2nd at (-6) and rookie Mito Pereira among a group of seven players T-3 at (-5).

Competing on a Major Medical Extension in his first PGA Tour start since the 2019 Shriners Children’s Open, Morgan Hoffmann carded an even-par (71), and is T-71.

Corey Conners is T-3 after posting a (-5) including a hole-in-one (No. 7, 187 yards), his fourth on Tour since the start of the 2019-20 season. He has the most aces on Tour in that stretch with second-most honors going to Martin Laird.

Conners’ holes-in-one have come at the 2020 BMW Championship, 2021 Masters Tournament, 2021 Wells Fargo Championship and 2022 RBC Heritage.

Shane Lowry (T-3) at (-5) has finished in the Top 15 in each of his last four stroke-play starts on TOUR (2nd/The Honda Classic, T-13/The PLAYERS, T-12/Valspar Championship, and T-3/Masters Tournament).

Webb Simpson finished his round with five straight birdies but is six shots off the lead – at a T-32 logjam at (69) after 18 holes.

Reigning FedEx Cup Champion Patrick Cantlay (T-3) at (-5) opened with a (66), snapping a streak of seven consecutive scores in the 70s. Cantlay opened the season with four consecutive Top-10s but has not finished T-10 or better in four starts since losing to Scottie Scheffler in a playoff at the WM Phoenix Open.

Zach Johnson WD during the first round due to illness.

 

RBC Heritage Leaderboard | After 18 Holes

Cameron Young 63 (-8)

Joaquin Niemann 65 (-6)

Seven players 66 (-5)

Will It Be Another First-Timer at RBC?

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The RBC Heritage | First Round Preview – April 14

HILTON HEAD – Will we see yet another first-time winner at this week’s RBC Heritage join a growing list of PGA Tour players securing their first wins on the circuit?

Nine players have earned their first PGA Tour victory this season, including seven in the last 11 weeks. Most recently, J.J. Spaun won the Valero Texas Open, winning on Tour for the first time in his 147th career start.

Over the years, 14 players have earned their maiden PGA Tour victory at RBC Heritage, including: Hale Irwin (1971), Graham Marsh (1977), Doug Tewell (1980), Nick Faldo (1984), Davis Love III (1987), Glen Day (1999), Jose Coceres (2001), Peter Lonard (2005), Aaron Baddeley (2006), Boo Weekley (2007), Branden Grace (2016), Wesley Bryan (2017), Satoshi Kodaira (2018), and C.T. Pan (2019).

There are 97 PGA Tour past winners scheduled to compete this week at Harbor Town, tied for second-most in an event this season (109/The PLAYERS). highlighted by six players with double-digit wins on Tour: Dustin Johnson (24), Davis Love III (21), Jim Furyk (17), Justin Thomas (14), Zach Johnson (12) and Jordan Spieth (12).

Eight-time PGA Tour winner Stewart Cink is back in Hilton Head to defend his RBC Heritage title. With his win in 2021, Cink earned his third title at the RBC Heritage, 21 years and 2 days since his first victory in the event (2000).

Multiple Wins at RBC Heritage (* in the field this week):

Win, Player, Years won

5 Davis Love III* 1987, 1991, 1992, 1998, 2003

3 Stewart Cink* 2000, 2004, 2021

3 Hale Irwin 1971, 1973, 1994

From The Masters to the RBC is always an easy trip that stacks the talent pool at Harbor Town. This year, 42 of the 90 players in the Masters Tournament field made the trip from Augusta to Hilton Head, including seven players who finished in the Top-10 last week: Shane Lowry (T-3), Cameron Smith (T-3), Collin Morikawa (5th), Corey Conners (T-6), Justin Thomas(T-8), Sungjae Im (T-8), Charl Schwartzel (T-10).

RBC Heritage | Tournament Facts;

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

ARCHITECT: Pete Dye

YARDS/PAR: 7,191 yards/Par 71

PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: $8,000,000/$1,440,000

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Stewart Cink

PAST RESULTS: (link)

PAST CHAMPIONS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 500

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @RBC_Heritage

“Green Hot” Scheffler Takes The Masters

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AUGUSTA – FedEx Cup leader and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler won the 2022 Masters Tournament, earning his first major championship title and fourth career PGA Tour victory. Amazingly, all four wins have come in his last six starts.

Scheffler became the first player to win four times in a six-start stretch on the PGA Tour since Jason Day in 2015 and the sixth player to win in his first PGA TOUR start as World No. 1 and sixth World No. 1 to win the Masters

Paying tribute to Augusta National, 82-time PGA Tour winner and five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods finished 47th in his first start on the PGA Tour since the 2020 Masters. He said he was “grateful” to be able to compete after suffering leg injuries in a terrible car accident sidelined him all this time. Woods walked with a noticeable limp on Saturday and Sunday and posted his highest scores ever at The Masters.

Players to win the Masters Tournament as World No. 1:

  • Scottie Scheffler, 2022
  • Dustin Johnson, 2020
  • Tiger Woods, 2002 and 2001
  • Fred Couples, 1992
  • Ian Woosnam, 1991

Scheffler Leads By Three at Augusta

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AUGUSTA – FedExCup leader and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler holds a three-stroke lead over PLAYERS Championship winner Cameron Smith entering the final round of the Masters Tournament today. Both players in the final pairing (Scheffler and Smith) are in the Top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking and Top five in the FedEx Cup standings. Both have won multiple times on the Tour this season.

There have been 15 PGA Tour events played in the calendar year 2022. Scheffler and Smith have combined to win five or one-third of the Tour events.

Scheffler has three wins in his last five starts on Tour. Five players have won the Masters after entering the week No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking and five players have won on Tour in their first start as World No. 1.

Those five players to win in their first start as World No. 1, including one at the Masters are:

  • Dustin Johnson, 2017 WGC-Mexico Championship
  • Adam Scott, 2014 Charles Schwab Challenge
  • Vijay Singh, 2004 RBC Canadian Open
  • David Duval, 1999 BellSouth Classic
  • Ian Woosnam, 1991 Masters Tournament

Fan favorite, 82-time PGA Tour winner and five-time Masters Tournament champion Tiger Woods recorded a third-round (78), his highest score in 93 career rounds at Augusta National.

The Masters announced this year’s purse with a record $15,000,000 up for grabs and $2,700,000 going to the winner.

 

Leaderboard | Going into Final Round

Scottie Scheffler 69-67-71—207 (-9)

Cameron Smith 68-74-68—210 (-6)

Sungjae Im 67-74-71—212 (-4)

Shane Lowry 73-68-73—214 (-2)

Charl Schwartzel 72-69-73—214 (-2)

Full Leaderboard: (link)

Moving Day at The Masters

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AUGUSTA – FedEx Cup leader and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler holds a five-stroke lead after the second round of the Masters Tournament, tying the largest 36-hole lead in tournament history for the sixth instance. Scheffler is the first player to lead by five strokes or more after the second round of a major championship since Brooks Koepka at the 2019 PGA Championship. Scheffler has won three times in his last five starts on Tour.

To no surprise, 82-time PGA Tour winner and five-time Masters Tournament champion Tiger Woods enters the third round tied for a respectable 19th place and made his 22nd consecutive cut at the Masters, one shy of the tournament record held by Fred Couples and Gary Player.

Defending champion Hideki Matsuyama enters the third round T2; last player to successfully defend title at the Masters was Woods in 2002.

Notables to miss the cut: Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka, Xander Schauffele, and Bryson DeChambeau.

Louis Oosthuizen withdrew from the tournament, joining Paul Casey in the WDs.

Leaderboard | After 36 Holes

Scottie Scheffler 69-67—136 (-8)

Charl Schwartzel 72-69—141 (-3)

Sungjae Im 67-74—141 (-3)

Shane Lowry 73-68—141 (-3)

Hideki Matsuyama 72-69—141 (-3)

Wind Blowing at Augusta

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AUGUSTA – Windy conditions at Augusta National will be a major factor today as the second round of The Masters gets underway with 8:00am (ET) tee-times. Although the forecast is for sunny skies and temperatures ranging from a chilly 49-degrees for first tee times but warming to 66-degrees by 5:00pm (ET), winds will blow at 3 mph in the morning and build to 21 mph by 5:00pm (ET).

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To say the least, shot making and putting will be an adventure today, especially for the later afternoon groups. That will include Tiger Woods, Louis Oosthuizen and Joaquin Niemann who tee-off at 1:41pm (ET). Niemann, yesterday, shot three-under (69) and is two shots off the leader, Sungjae Im who carded five-under (67).

Woods, an 82-time PGA Tour winner and five-time Masters Tournament champion, opened with a 1-under (71) and is T-10 in his first competitive round since the final round of the 2020 Masters (508 days ago).

Defending champion Hideki Matsuyama is T-19 after shooting even-par 70. The last player to successfully defend his Masters title was Tiger Woods in 2002.

Cameron Smith (2nd) and Scottie Scheffler (T-3), both winners in their most recent starts on the Tour, are within two strokes of the lead. The last player to win on the PGA Tour and win a major in his next start was Jordan Spieth, at the 2017 Travelers Championship In Hartford and the Open Championship in Britain.

Scheffler, who has three wins in his last five starts, is making his first start as World No. 1 (also No. 1 in the FedEx Cup standings). Four of the six players at T-3 or better have won on Tour this season, combining for seven wins (3/Scheffler, 2/Smith, 1/Sungjae Im, and 1/Joaquin Niemann).

Two past champions are tied for third place: Dustin Johnson (2020) and Danny Willett (2016).

Leaderboard | After 18 Holes

Sungjae Im 67 (-5)

Cameron Smith 68 (-4)

Danny Willett 69 (-3)

Joaquin Niemann 69 (-3)

Scottie Scheffler 69 (-3)

Dustin Johnson 69 (-3)

Full Leaderboard: (link)

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