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Cantlay, Rahm Vie for Player of Year

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH – (Staff and wire service report) – Newly crowned PGA Tour/FedExCup champion Patrick Cantlay of the United States and World No. 1 ranked Jon Rahm of Spain lead a group of five players nominated for 2020-21 PGA Tour Player of the Year honors. Bryson DeChambeau, Harris English and Collin Morikawa are also nominated for the Jack Nicklaus Award.

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Garrick Higgo and Will Zalatoris are the two nominees for PGA Tour Rookie of the Year honors, also known as the Arnold Palmer Award.

Winners are determined by PGA Tour player voting. Players who competed in at least 15 official FedExCup events during the 2020-21 season are eligible to vote through September 10th with the announcement forthcoming.

Cantlay Wins TOUR Championship

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ATLANTA – FedExCup leader Patrick Cantlay hit a five-foot, eleven inch putt on No. 16 to go two strokes ahead of Spain’s Jon Rahm, bogeyed No. 17 to make it interesting and then birdied his final hole with a six-inch tap-in to win the TOUR Championship and its $15 million first place prize for the FedEx Cup.

For the third season, the TOUR Championship was weighted by the FedExCup “starting strokes” system, with the format crowning a single champion. Patrick Cantlay, the player with the lowest score in relation to par combined with his FedExCup Starting Strokes edge of (-10), won the TOUR Championship and the FedExCup – wire-to-wire. Cantlay becomes the third player in FedExCup history to rank No. 1 in the FedExCup entering the TOUR Championship and go on to win. He also became the first player to win four or more times in a season since Justin Thomas in 2016-17.

Rahm carded his 15th Top-10 this season, the most by any player in a season since 2015-16 and Kevin Na played his final 57 holes without a bogey en route to best FedExCup finish of his career.

Joaquin Niemann (29th at (+4) played as a single in the final round, teed-off first and shot a 2-over (72) in 1 hour, 53 minutes.

TOUR Championship Leaderboard:

Final-Round Leaderboard

1 Patrick Cantlay – (Started -10) – 67-66-67-69 (-11) – (-21)

2 Jon Rahm – (Started -6) – 65-65-68-68 (-14) – (-20)

3 Kevin Na – (Started -2) – 66-67-66-67 (-14) – (-16)

4 Justin Thomas – (Started -4) – 67-67-65-70 (-11) – (-15)

Final Leaderboard: (link)

Cantlay Leads at TOUR Championship

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TOUR Championship – FedExCup Playoffs Finale Today

ATLANTA – FedExCup leader Patrick Cantlay (-20) will take his third career 54-hole lead/co-lead after posting a third-round (67) while Jon Rahm seeks to become the second consecutive FedExCup champion to win while ranked No. 1 in the world.

Cantlay recorded six birdies on the day, good for a two-shot lead entering Sunday’s final round. He had reached 21-under for the week with a birdie on the par-4 10th to assume a four-shot lead before bogeys on 11, 14 and 16 cut it to one shot as he birdied the 18th hole to finish at 20-under.

Justin Thomas recorded his only bogey of the day with a three-putt on the par-5 18th for a third-round (65), matching Saturday’s low round. He’s in third place, five back.

Sungjae Im has now carded 493 total birdies for the 2020-21 PGA TOUR season, tying the all-time record since 1980.

Brooks Koepka withdrew after 12 holes with a left wrist injury

Rahm and Cantlay will be paired together today for the 21st time in their careers.

TOUR Championship Leaderboard After 54 Holes:

1 Patrick Cantlay (Started -10) 67-66-67 (-10) -20

2 Jon Rahm (Started-6) 65-65-68 (-12) -18

3 Justin Thomas (Started -4) 67-67-65 (-11) -15

4 Kevin Na (Started -2) 66-67-66 (-11) -13

PGA TOUR Championship: First Look

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Preview – TOUR Championship First Look

COURSE: East Lake Golf Club – (Atlanta, Georgia)

ARCHITECT: Tom Bendelow

YARDS/PAR: 7,346 yards/Par 70

PRIZE Money/FedEx Champ/First Place Winnings: $60,000,000/$15,000,000

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Dustin Johnson

PAST RESULTS: (link)

PAST FedEx Cup CHAMPIONS: (link)

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @Playofffinale

OFFICIAL SITE: (TOUR Championship)

TV COVERAGE: Thursday, September 2 and Friday, September 3: Coverage from 1:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT) on Golf Channel.

On Saturday, September 4, Round 3 coverage 1:00pm to 2:30pm (EDT) on Golf Channel. NBC Sports takes over from 2:30pm to 7:00pm (EDT). On Sunday, September 5: Golf Channel opens final round coverage 12:00pm to 1:30pm (EDT) and NBC wraps it up from 1:30pm to 6:00pm (EDT).

PGA TOUR LIVE STREAMING: Streaming coverage on Thursday and Friday, from 11:00am to 6:00pm (EDT) on PGA Tour Live.

On Saturday, PGA Live coverage runs from 12:00pm Noon to 7:00pm (EDT) and Sunday, PGA Tour Live will stream 11:00am to 6:00pm or conclusion (EDT).

PGA TOUR RADIO COVERAGE: SiriusXM Radio will have live radio coverage of the TOUR Championship with Thursday and Friday broadcasts from 12:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT). Weekend coverage on Sirius XM Radio begins Saturday from 2:00pm to 7:00pm (EDT) and Sunday’s finale from 1:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT) or conclusion. PGA Tour Radio is available on Sirius 208/XM 92).

TOUR Championship/Final of the FedExCup

ATLANTA – The 50-event 2020-21 PGA TOUR Season will conclude at the TOUR Championship, where the FedExCup Champion will be crowned. Patrick Cantlay, the PGA TOUR leader in wins this season (3), enters the TOUR Championship at No. 1 in the FedExCup standings and will begin the tournament at 10-under via FedExCup Starting Strokes.

The FedExCup Starting Strokes system was implented at the 2019 TOUR Championship. That year, No. 1 seed Justin Thomas went on to finish T3, while Rory McIlroy, who began the tournament in fifth place at 5-under came from five strokes back to win. Dustin Johnson entered as the No. 1 seed in 2020 before going on to defeat Thomas and Xander Schauffele by three strokes, becoming just the second No. 1 seed entering TOUR Championship to win the FedExCup.

The players who’ve qualified for the TOUR Championship are eligible for the following tournaments in the 2021-22 season: Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, U.S. Open, Genesis Scottish Open and The Open Championship.

Patrick Reed, who has just recovered from a case of pneumonia (both lungs), is in the field this week at No. 30. He is also playing for possible selection for the USA Ryder Cup team. (Reed to play)

Two players in the field qualified for the TOUR Championship for the first time: Sam Burns and first-year member Erik van Rooyen. Burns earned his first victory on TOUR earlier in the season at the Valspar Championship, while van Rooyen won the Barracuda Championship. 20 players in the field qualified in 2020 and 29 of the 30 players are in the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking, both record-highs for the FedExCup era (van Rooyen, No. 55).

The Basics:

With the limited field of 30 players, TOUR Championship Tee Times Thursday run from 11:40am to 2:00pm (EDT) with players playing in pairs.

Weather: Thursday forecast is for sunny skies and a comfortable 75-degrees. Humidity will be 65% with only a 10% chance of rain (link)

While We’re Young (Ideas) – August 29

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TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – At Christmas time in 1963, the great crooner Andy Williams released “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” a chart-topping, holiday favorite. He sang of parties for hosting, marshmallows for toasting, jingles belling, and caroling out in the snow. The song was written by Edward Pola and George Wyle and they make a bundle every year as its played on Holiday radio stations, in shopping malls and at homes all over the world.

As August turns to September, I might suggest Pola and Wyle pen another version to salute the sports world. Right here, right now, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. Let’s take a look at what we have to look forward to on the 2021-22 sports calendar approaching.

Via ways of streaming consciousness, (not order of preference nor chronology, I give you the menu of sporting events:

  1. Major League Baseball’s regular-season home stretch to the Postseason.
  2. The start of College Football (Illinois 30, Nebraska 22).
  3. The start of NFL Football.
  4. PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs and the Ryder Cup
  5. U.S. Open Tennis.
  6. NHL Training Camp and start of the season.
  7. NBA Training Camp and start of the season.
  8. MLB Playoffs.
  9. World Series.
  10. The start of College Basketball.

There will be some other wonderful sporting events sprinkled in, too. The Boston Marathon will be run on October 11th. The Breeders’ Cup will be run on the first weekend in November. Fans of auto racing and other motor sports will have dates circled on their calendars and local Boston fave, “The Head of the Charles,” will be staged October 22-24. … The Revs and the MLS will be revvin’ and the World Cup contenders will be qualifying. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of other great sporting events all around the world.

Let’s all look forward to the events ahead and when they’re completed we’ll focus on another “Wonderful Time of the Year,” when March Madness leads into the start of Baseball, the NHL and NBA Playoffs.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Let’s get this right out of the way … Just in case you were wondering, the George Wyle mentioned above is the same guy who wrote the theme song to “Gilligan’s Island.” … Whew.

TAKE A SHOT: Taking a good shot took on another meaning for the National Basketball Association this week when the NBA issued a pair of memorandums, one dropped in the lap of the Associated Press on Friday. The league notified its teams that all team personnel who will be near players and NBA game officials must be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus this season. A day later, the NBA and its referees agreed on a vaccination pact with an addendum to add any possible “booster” shots to be recommended in the future. … This agreement was a win-win,” the Refs’ Union said in a statement. “It will support the NBA’s objective of creating a safer on-court environment and continuity of play while protecting the health and well-being of the referees.” … The NBA-NBRA agreement noted, “that all referees must be fully vaccinated unless they have a religious or medical exemption. The referees have also agreed to take any recommended boosters. Any referee who does not get vaccinated and is not exempt will be ineligible to work games.”

Subscribe to While We’re Young (Ideas) via Substack to get the full notebook delivered every weekend.

Note: While We’re Young Will NOT publish on Labor Day weekend.

“Patty Ice” Wins at the BMW

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OWINGS MILLS – Patrick Cantlay made a 17’6” putt for birdie on the sixth extra hole to defeat Bryson DeChambeau and win his fifth PGA Tour title. In doing so, Cantlay overtook the No. 1 spot in the FedExCup rankings. Cantlay became the first three-time winner of the 2020-21 season and first 54-hole leader/co-leader to convert for the win since Phil Mickelson at the PGA Championship, a span of 15 events

DeChambeau moved from No. 8 to No. 3 in the FedExCup rankings with his eighth Top-10 finish of the season.

The BMW Championship marked the fourth consecutive week to feature a playoff and 14th of the season.

In his first FedExCup Playoffs start, Erik van Rooyen (5th) closed with a bogey-free 7-under 65 to earn a berth into the Tour Championship; played his final 69 holes without a bogey.

Notes:

• Sergio Garcia’s T-6 finish results in his first TOUR Championship start since 2017

• Players who moved into Top 30: Erik van Rooyen, Sergio Garcia

• Players who moved outside Top 30: Charley Hoffman, Max Homa

BMW Final Leaderboard:

Patrick Cantlay 66-63-66-66—261 (-27)*

Bryson DeChambeau 68-60-67-66—261 (-27)

Sungjae Im 67-65-66-67—265 (-23)

Rory McIlroy 64-70-65-67—266 (-22)

Erik van Rooyen 67-68-67-65—267 (-21)

*won with a birdie on the sixth hole of sudden death

DeChambeau and Cantlay Share Lead

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OWINGS MILLS – Tournament leaders Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Cantlay will play together in the final group in a final round for the second time in their careers. They previously played together in the final grouping in the final round of the 2018 Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, which DeChambeau won; each has won the Memorial Tournament (Dechambeau in 2018, and Cantlay in 2019 and 2021)

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21-under par equals the second-lowest 54-hole score to par in a FedExCup Playoffs event.

After rounds of (64)-(66), World No. 1 and defending BMW champion Jon Rahm posts a 2-under 70 and sits five shots off the lead. The six-time PGA Tour winner has never successfully defended a tourney title.

Three of the four players who qualified for their first BMW Championship are inside the Top 12: Sam Burns (T-4), Erik van Rooyen (T-10), K.H. Lee (T-12); Other: Cam Davis (T-22)

• Current projections of player(s) to move into Top 30: Sergio Garcia

• Current projections of player(s) to move outside Top 30: Max Homa

Leaderboard After 54 Holes:

Bryson DeChambeau 68-60-67—195 (-21)

Patrick Cantlay 66-63-66—195 (-21)

Sungjae Im 67-65-66—198 (-18)

Rory McIlroy 64-70-65—199 (-17)

Abraham Ancer 66-67-66—199 (-17)

Sam Burns 64-70-65—199 (-17)

Sergio Garcia 65-67-67—199 (-17)

DeChambeau Cards a 60 to Lead BMW

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The BMW Championship/FedExCup Playoffs

OWINGS MILLS – Bryson DeChambeau missed a 6-foot, 3-inch birdie putt on the final hole and posted a career-low 12-under (60) for the round. Prior to missing the putt on No. 18, he was 13-for-13 inside 10 feet (including 3-for-3 from 4-8 feet) during the round.

Currently at (+11.135) when play was suspended, Patrick Cantlay would set the record for lowest Strokes Gained: Putting through the first two rounds of a PGA Tour event in the ShotLink era (2003-present)

Sergio Garcia, who entered the week No. 44 in the FedExCup, is bogey-free through two rounds for the third time in his Tour career.

Friday play was suspended due to a dangerous weather situation at 4:32pm (EDT) and resumed at 6:18pm (EDT) – (1 hour, 46 minutes). Play was suspended due to darkness at 7:40pm (EDT), with 15 players yet to complete their round.

The second round resumed at 8:30am (EDT) this morning.

The third round, consisting of threesomes off split tees, will tee-off from approximately 10:40am to 12:50pm (EDT) today.

 

Leaderboard:

Bryson DeChambeau 68-60—128 (-16)

Patrick Cantlay 66-63—129 (-15)

Jon Rahm 64- (-15 thru 15 holes)

Sungjae Im 67-65—132 (-12)

Sergio Garcia 65-67—132 (-12)

Rahm, McIlroy & Burns Lead at BMW

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OWINGS MILLS – World No. 1 and defending BMW Championship winner Jon Rahm holds a share of the 18-hole lead for the second consecutive week while 2012 BMW Championship winner Rory McIlroy tied his lowest score of the season with a (64) same as R-4/Waste Management Phoenix Open).

In his BMW Championship debut, Sam Burns posted a (64) for the fourth time in his last eight rounds on the PGA Tour.

The top 30 players in the FedExCup at the conclusion of the BMW Championship will advance to the season-ending Tour Championship

• Current projections of players to move into Top 30: Sergio Garcia, Keegan Bradley

• Current projections of players to move outside Top 30: Charley Hoffman, Max Homa

The Top 70 PGA Tour pros in the current FedExCup standings are eligible for the BMW Championship.; After this weekend, the Top 30 will advance to the TOUR Championship, where the FedExCup Champion will be crowned.

Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Maryland is the ninth different venue to host the BMW Championship since the inception of the FedExCup in 2007.

Be sure to see: PGA Tour Brunch

Leaderboard After 18 Holes

Jon Rahm 64 (-8)

Rory McIlroy 64 (-8)

Sam Burns 64 (-8)

Sergio Garcia 65 (-7)

PGA Tour Rolls Into BMW Championship

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Preview – The BMW Championship

COURSE: Caves Valley Golf Club – (Owings Mills, MD)

ARCHITECT: Tom Fazio

YARDS/PAR: 7,542 yards/Par 72

PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: $9,500,000/$1,710,000

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Jon Rahm (2020)

PAST RESULTS: (link)

PAST CHAMPIONS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points / Winner: 2,000

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @BMWChamps

OFFICIAL SITE: (BMW Championship)

TV COVERAGE: Thursday, August 26 and Friday, August 27: Coverage from 3:00pm to 7:00pm (EDT) on Golf Channel.

On Saturday, August 28, Round 3 coverage 12:00pm Noon to 3:00pm (EDT) on Golf Channel. NBC Sports takes over from 3:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT). On Sunday, August 29: Golf Channel opens final round coverage 12:00pm to 2:00pm (EDT) and NBC wraps it up from 2:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT).

PGA TOUR LIVE STREAMING: Streaming coverage on Thursday and Friday, from 10:00am to 7:00pm (EDT) on PGA Tour Live. Twitter coverage from 10:00am-11:45am (EDT) on Thursday and Friday.

On Saturday and Sunday, PGA Tour Live will stream 8:00am to 6:00pm (EDT). Twitter will stream 8:00am-9:15am (EDT) on Saturday and Sunday.

PGA TOUR RADIO COVERAGE: SiriusXM Radio will have live radio coverage of the The BMW Championship with Thursday and Friday broadcasts from 1:00pm to 7:00pm (EDT). Weekend coverage on Sirius XM Radio begins at 1:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT) or conclusion on Sunday. PGA Tour Radio is available on Sirius 208/XM 92)

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

The BMW Championship/FedExCup Playoffs

OWINGS MILLS – The Top 70 PGA Tour pros in the current FedExCup standings are eligible for the BMW Championship, and after this weekend, the Top 30 will advance to the TOUR Championship, where the FedExCup Champion will be crowned. Since the points structure changed in 2009, an average of 2.83 players per year enter the BMW Championship outside the Top 30 and go on to qualify for the TOUR Championship, including two in 2020 (Joaquin Niemann, Mackenzie Hughes).

With his win at THE NORTHERN TRUST, Tony Finau moved to No. 1 in the FedExCup standings for the first time in his PGA Tour career. Since the points structure changed prior to the 2009 season, two players occupying the No. 1 position in the standings entering the BMW Championship have gone on to win the FedExCup: Henrik Stenson (2014) and Dustin Johnson (2020).

Jon Rahm will attempt to defend his 2020 BMW Championship title at a new venue, just outside Baltimore, Maryland instead of its usual Chicago destination. Rahm enters the week at No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking and No. 2 in the FedExCup standings. Rahm defeated Dustin Johnson in a playoff in 2020 to win the BMW Championship and finished third at last week’s THE NORTHERN TRUST after holding at least a share of the lead through 18, 36 and 54 holes.

Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Maryland is the ninth different venue to host the BMW Championship since the inception of the FedExCup in 2007.

The Basics:

With the limited field of 70, Tournament Tee Times begin a bit later than usual, starting Thursday at 9:40am and going to 2:05pm (EDT).

Weather: Morning thunderstorms are on the radar with a 40% chance of rain throughout the day. Temps 81-degrees+ with humidity 73% and winds at 6 mph. (link)