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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)

First Round at The PLAYERS

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By TERRY LYONS

PONTE VEDRA BEACH – The 2021 FedEx Cup champion, Patrick Cantlay, has finished in the Top Five in each of his last two starts and is the only player to do so at the last two designated events (The Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational). That stated, Cantlay missed the cut in each of the last three PLAYERS Championships and has not finished better than T22 (2017).

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World No. 6 Xander Schauffele, who won three times on TOUR during the 2021-22 season, finished T2 at the 2018 PLAYERS Championship but has missed the cut in each of his three appearances since.

Max Homa, one of two players with multiple titles on TOUR this season (along with Jon Rahm), is making his third start at THE PLAYERS and is coming off a T-13 in 2022.

The 2021 PLAYERS Championship winner, Justin Thomas, holds a scoring average of 70.48 at THE PLAYERS, the lowest of any player with a minimum of 15 rounds played on record (1983-present). With a win, Thomas would become the seventh player to win multiple titles at THE PLAYERS and first to accomplish the feat since Tiger Woods in 2013. Thomas is the only player that won on the PGA TOUR in each season from 2015-16 through 2021-22 and can extend his streak to eight seasons with a win at THE PLAYERS.

Most PLAYERS Championship wins (*not held at TPC Sawgrass)

  • 3 Jack Nicklaus 1974*, 1976*, 1978*
  • 2 Tiger Woods 2001, 2013
  • 2 Davis Love III 1992, 2003
  • 2 Hal Sutton 1983, 2000
  • 2 Steve Elkington 1991, 1997
  • 2 Fred Couples 1984, 1996

World No. 1

For the fourth time in the last five weeks, the No. 2 and No. 3 players are contending for the No. 1 position in the Official World Golf Ranking. Both Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, who have previously held the World No. 1 position this season, have a chance to return to No. 1.

Recent World No. 1 Timeline

  • March 27, 2022 Scottie Scheffler won WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, moved to No. 1
  • October 23, 2022 (30 weeks later) Rory McIlroy won THE CJ CUP, moved to No. 1
  • February 12, 2023 (16 weeks later) Scottie Scheffler won the WM Phoenix Open, moved to No. 1
  • February 19, 2023 (1 week later) Jon Rahm won The Genesis Invitational, moved to No. 1

The PLAYERS | Tournament Facts

COURSE: TPC Sawgrass – THE PLAYERS Stadium Course, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL

YARDS/PAR: 7,256 yards/Par 72

ARCHITECTS: Pete Dye

PRIZE Money – Purse: $25,000,000 with Winner: $4,500,000

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Cameron Smith

PAST RESULTS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 600

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @THEPLAYERSChamp

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

The PLAYERS | The Basics

The Tee Times at TPC Sawgrass will run from 6:50am (ET) to 1:51pm (ET).

Weather: Today’s forecast is for mostly sunny skies and temperatures hovering around 72 degrees. There’s only a 2% chance of rain and winds will blow at 12 mph. There’s a 75% chance of rain on Friday while the weekend forecast looks good.

Tournament Web Site: (link)

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)

PGA Tour: The Genesis

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By TERRY LYONS

PACIFIC PALISADES – The Genesis Invitational is the 16th event of the 2022-23 PGA Tour Season and third designated event, featuring 23 of the top 25 players in the Official World Golf Ranking (39 of top 50), the Top 30 players in the FedEx Cup standings and all 13 players that have won on Tour this season. The field was expanded from the original size of 120 players to 130 to include all players defined as eligible in the tournament regulations. This is the second week in a row that the field has been expanded due to the strength of the field, with the WM Phoenix Open expanded from 132 to 134.

That stated, the field has been reduced to 129 because of several player WDs, including Maverick McNealy (full listing below).

Purse of $20m and 550 FedEx Cup points are on the line

Tournament host and 82-time PGA Tour winner Tiger Woods is making his first start on Tour since the 2022 Open Championship and first in a non-major since the 2020 ZOZO Championship. Woods’ opening tee shot in the first round will take place 844 days since his last competitive round in a non-major (October 25, 2020).

With a victory, Woods would break a tie with Sam Snead for most wins in PGA Tour history. Woods has not finished in the Top-10 on Tour since the 2020 Farmers Insurance Open (T-9) and his most recent victory, his 82nd, came at the 2019 ZOZO.

Woods has 14 starts at The Genesis Invitational, the most of any tournament in his career without a victory. He made his PGA Tour debut at the event in 1992 as a 16-year-old amateur (MC) and most recently competed in 2020 (68th).

Tiger Woods’ most starts in a PGA Tour event without a victory:

  • 14 The Genesis Invitational
  • 11 FedEx St. Jude Championship (formerly The Barclays)
  • 5 The Honda Classic

Genesis Invitational | Tournament Facts

COURSE: Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades

YARDS/PAR: 7,322 yards/Par 71

ARCHITECTS: G.C.Thomas, Jr.\ W.P. Bell

PRIZE Money – Purse: $20,000,000/$3,600,000

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Joaquin Niemann

PAST RESULTS: (link)

PAST CHAMPIONS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 550

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @thegenesisinv

PGA Tour: WM Phoenix Open Preview

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SCOTTSDALE – The WM Phoenix Open is the 15th event of the 2022-23 PGA Tour season and second designated event, featuring 22 of the Top 25 players in the Official World Golf Ranking (37 of top 50), nine of the Top 10 players in the FedEx Cup standings (all but Justin Rose) and 11 of the 12 players that have won on Tour this season (all but Rose).

The field was expanded from the original size of 132 players to 134 to include the entire Top 125 category of the priority ranking. The last man in the field is Kelly Kraft, who finished No. 125 in the 2021-22 FedExCup Playoffs and Eligibility Points List.

Defending champion Scottie Scheffler earned his first career PGA Tour victory at the 2022 WM Phoenix Open and went on to win the Jack Nicklaus Award as PGA Tour Player of the Year. Scheffler is the reigning champion of four PGA Tour events over the next nine weeks (WM Phoenix Open, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, Masters Tournament) and won those titles in a span of six starts during the 2021-22 season. Scheffler’s scoring average at the WM Phoenix Open is 67.80, tied with Xander Schauffele for the second-lowest among any player (minimum of 10 rounds) since the event moved to TPC Scottsdale in 1987.

Rory McIlroy is making his second start of the season and first since winning THE CJ Cup in South Carolina. The last player to win each of his first two starts of the season was Tiger Woods in 2008.

McIlroy has won in each of his last two starts on the PGA Tour (2022 Tour Championship, 2022 CJ Cup in South Carolina). The last player to win in three consecutive starts was the LIV’s Dustin Johnson in 2016-17. McIlroy accomplished the feat during the 2013-14 season.

Waste Management Phoenix Open | Tournament Facts

COURSE: TPC Scottsdale, Arizona (Stadium Course)

YARDS/PAR: 7,261 yards/Par 71

ARCHITECTS: Tom Weiskopf \ Jay Morrish

PRIZE Money – Purse: $20,000,000/$3,600,000

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Scottie Scheffler

PAST RESULTS: (link)

PAST CHAMPIONS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 500

A Sunday Without Pro Golf?

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La JOLLA – It’s certainly a bit strange not having a golf tournament to watch on a winter Sunday afternoon, especially when it brings the pristine weather of San Diego, California. That is the case today as the Farmer’s Insurance Open is in the books and Max Homa enjoys the spoils after he came from five strokes back to win his sixth PGA Tour title and fourth in his native state California. Homa’s last five wins have been in come-from-behind fashion.

Keegan Bradley (2nd) became the first player on Tour this season to record a win and runner-up.

After holding at least a share of the lead each of the first three rounds, Sam Ryder faded and finished T-4 while FedEx Cup leader Jon Rahm (T-7) earned his fourth Top-10 in four starts to begin the 2023 portion of the PGA Tour season.

Defending champion Luke List finished T-25. The last player to win consecutive Farmers Insurance Open tournaments was Tiger Woods (2005-08).

Farmer’s Insurance Open | Final Leaderboard

Max Homa 68-70-71-66—275 (-13) NC-SC

Keegan Bradley 70-73-68-66—277 (-11) SC-NC

Collin Morikawa 67-72-70-69—278 (-10) NC-SC

Sahith Theegala 66-72-71-70—279 (-9) NC-SC

Sungjae Im 68-74-67-70—279 (-9) SC-NC

Sam Ryder 64-68-72-75—279 (-9) NC-SC

Full Leaderboard: (link)