PGA Tour Brunch

PGA Tour: Fall Swing Begins

September 11, 2024 by PGA Tour Brunch

NAPA – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The eight-event FedEx Cup Fall slate tees off with this week’s Procore Championship at Silverado Resort in Northern California.

Formerly the Fortinet Championship, the event begins the race to secure PGA Tour cards and status for next season for the majority of the field. There is a smattering of marquee names in the field, and our golf experts preview the event while providing their favorite prop picks and best bets to win this week.

PROCORE CHAMPIONSHIP
Location: Napa, Calif., Sept. 12-15
Course: Silverado Resort, North Course (Par 72, 7,123 Yards)
Purse: $6M (Winner: $1.08M)
Defending Champion: Sahith Theegala
FedEx Cup Leader: Scottie Scheffler

HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday: 6-9 p.m. ET; Friday-Saturday: 6:30-9:30; Sunday: 6-9 p.m. (All times Golf Channel)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday: 10 a.m.-6 p.m., 6:30-9:30 p.m. ET; Friday: 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
X: @ProcoreChamp

PROP PICKS
–Luke Clanton To Make Cut (-360 at DraftKings): The potential payout isn’t great, especially when considering Clanton is still an amateur. But he’s not your typical amateur on tour, either. Clanton has made six previous starts on tour this year, missing only one cut while posting three top-10s and making the weekend at the U.S. Open. The top-ranked amateur in the world, Clanton should fare well against a relatively soft field.

–Wyndham Clark & Corey Conners Both to Finish Top 20 (+185 at FanDuel): Both are in this week’s field in part to stay sharp for the Presidents Cup. Clark finished 38th here two years ago while Conners missed the cut. But they’re also two of the top three pre-tournament favorites and both enter the week in solid form of late.

–Min Woo Lee Top Oceania Player (-200 at DraftKings): It has been a difficult first full year on tour for Lee, who enters with two missed cuts in his past three stroke-play events. He did make the first round of the playoffs, finishing T22 at the FedEx St. Jude, and tied for second at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. He’s also going against modest competition in this prop pitting him against Aaron Baddeley (+360), Tim Wilkinson (+1000) and Jeffrey Guan (+1000).

2024 Prop Picks Record: 43-50-1

BEST BETS
–Theegala (+1200 at DraftKings) is defending his maiden title on tour, having won by two shots over S.H. Kim. He leads the field with 9 percent of the total bets and 13 percent of the money backing him to win.
–Wyndham Clark (+1200) has six top-15s in his past seven starts, including a T8 at the Tour Championship. He is second with 6 and 10 percent of the action, respectively.
–Corey Conners (+1400) is coming off a T22 at the BMW Championship in his most recent start and is one of the most accomplished players in the field.
–Maverick McNealy (+2000) played less than two hours away at Stanford. He missed the cut here two years ago but does have a decent track record on the West Coast and is third in the field with 8 percent of the money backing him to win his first PGA Tour event.
–Max Homa (+2200) hasn’t posted a top-10 since May, but is a two-time event champion (2021-22) and finished seventh last year. The California native has been backed by 7 percent of the money.

NOTES
–The FedEx Cup Fall schedule finalizes the top 125 players who will retain exempt status for 2025. Nos. 126-150 after the fall will retain conditional status. Players who finished Nos. 51-70 in the FedEx Cup have secured their tour cards, but are competing for spots in the first two signature events after the season-opening The Sentry.
–Theegala will defend his title, but at No. 3 in the FedEx Cup he has already secured his exempt status into all signature events in 2025.
–Top-ranked amateur Luke Clanton is in the field on a sponsor exemption. He has already posted three top-10 finishes in six PGA Tour events this year. Other sponsor exemptions include Neal Shipley, the low amateur at this year’s U.S. Open, along with Wenyi Ding, the fourth-ranked amateur in the world.

–Field Level Media

PGA Tour ’24 Concludes at TOUR Championship

August 29, 2024 by PGA Tour Brunch

ATLANTA – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The 2024 FedEx Cup season comes to a dramatic conclusion with this week’s Tour Championship at the redesigned East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.

Only the Top 30 in the standings qualified for the third and final leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, but how many players have a legitimate shot of hoisting the trophy and claiming the $25 million bonus check come Sunday? World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler arrived in Atlanta as the top seed and owning a two-stroke lead for the third consecutive year, but he has yet to go on to win a FedEx Cup title.

TOUR Championship
Location: Atlanta, Aug. 29-Sept. 1
Course: East Lake Golf Club (Par 71, 7,490 Yards)
Purse: $100M (Winner: $25M)
Defending Champion: Viktor Hovland
FedEx Cup Leader: Scottie Scheffler

HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: 1-6 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday: 1-2:30 p.m. (GC), 2:30-7 p.m. (NBC); Sunday: Noon-1:30 p.m. (GC), 1:30-6 p.m. (NBC)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday: 11:15 a.m.-6 p.m. ET; Saturday: Noon-7 p.m.; Sunday: 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
X: @TOURChamp

PGA Tour: Castle Pines at 8,130 Yds This Week for BMW Championship

August 21, 2024 by PGA Tour Brunch

Golf Glance provides weekly news and storylines from each of the major North American golf tours.

LAST TOURNAMENT: Wyndham Championship (Aaron Rai)
THIS WEEK: BMW Championship, Castle Rock, Colo., Aug. 22-25
Course: Castle Pines Golf Club (Par 72, 8,130 Yards)
Purse: $20M (Winner: $4M)
Defending Champion: Viktor Hovland
FedEx Cup Leader: Scottie Scheffler

HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday: 3-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday: 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (NBC); Sunday: 12-2 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2-6 p.m. (NBC)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday: 10:15 a.m.-7 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday: 9 a.m.-6 p.m.

X: @BMWChamps

NOTES: The Top 50 in the standings after the first leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs qualified for this week’s event. The top 30 after the BMW Championship will advance to the Tour Championship. All players in this week’s field have qualified for each of the eight signature events next year along with The Players Championship. Jake Knapp, Mackenzie Hughes and Tom Kim were bumped from inside the top 50 last week. Denny McCarthy currently occupies the No. 30 spot, just two points ahead of Tommy Fleetwood and nine ahead of Chris Kirk. … The BMW returns to Colorado for the first time since 2014, and Castle Pines is playing host to a PGA Tour event for the first time since 2006. The course is 6,200 feet above sea level and is the longest course in PGA Tour history. It was also the venue for The International from 1986-2006, having since undergone a full renovation that included new bunkers, rebuilt tees and greens and renovated water features.

BEST BETS: Scottie Scheffler (+300 at DraftKings) enters the BMW Championship leading the standings for the third consecutive year. He has won four signature events, the Masters, The Players and the Olympic gold medal in 2024. … Xander Schauffele (+550) shot a closing 63 on Sunday to tie for second last week, following a win at The Open and a T9 at the Olympics. … Rory McIlroy (+1200) tied for 68th last week and missed The Open cut but is also the only three-time winner of the FedEx Cup and finished fourth here in 2023. … Collin Morikawa (+1400) has 12 consecutive top-25 finishes worldwide as he seeks his first win since last fall. … Viktor Hovland (+1800) has had an uneven season, but the defending champion is coming off a T2 last week. … Hideki Matsuyama (+1800) vaulted to third in the standings with last week’s win that came on the heels of a bronze medal.

NEXT TOURNAMENT: Tour Championship, Atlanta, Aug. 29-Sept. 1

Cantlay Shoots for BMW

August 20, 2024 by PGA Tour Brunch

DENVER – The BMW Championship is currently the only leg of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs that rotates venues each year. Patrick Cantlay has shown he can bag BMW wins no matter which course is up for its turn.

But the 2024 edition of the tournament presents an entirely different challenge: an 8,130-yard track at Castle Pines Golf Club in the thin air of Colorado.

Cantlay, the 2021 and 2022 champion at the BMW, and the rest of the 50-player field will need to prepare for the unusual distances their shots travel at altitude, plus the other trials that come with this course layout.

“It’s a longer walk, I’ll tell you that,” Cantlay said Tuesday. “There’s going to be some tired caddies at the end of this week with the uphill and the downhill and the 8,100 yards. The ball is going farther, but we’ve got to walk all that way.”

The course is set to become the longest in PGA Tour history, the result of golfers’ driving distance combined with the unique environmental circumstances in the Rocky Mountains. The BMW hasn’t been played in Colorado since 2014.

Castle Pines is 6,200 feet above sea level.

“I think the altitude, with all the help we have with the TrackMans and the devices, it’s pretty easy to see how far it’s going,” Cantlay said. “We learn new golf courses all the time, so I don’t think it’ll be too big of a change or too difficult.”

Cantlay had a memorable playoff win at the 2021 BMW Championship over Bryson DeChambeau. They both torched the course, Caves Valley in Maryland, for a 27-under final score. Cantlay went on to win the 2021 FedEx Cup and defended his BMW title the next year at Wilmington (Del.) Country Club.

The World No. 9 said he doesn’t know why he’s found particular success winning an event that changes scenery each year. He cited his history of playing well in the warm weather of August.

“This tournament in general is played on bentgrass greens, which I tend to putt well, and I’ve had some events, some BMW events where I’ve putted well, so this week is no different,” Cantlay added.

Cantlay hasn’t won on tour since that 2022 BMW. He enters the week ranked ninth in FedEx Cup points, guaranteed to make it to the tour’s season finale, the Tour Championship, next week for a chance at a second FedEx Cup title.

“I feel good about my game,” Cantlay said. “I’d say my results have been going in the right direction the last few months. Had a poor first round last week, but other than that, I played really well the last three days. So carry some of that momentum into this week.”

–Field Level Media

PGA Tour: Vegas Has Hot Hand

July 27, 2024 by PGA Tour Brunch

BLAINE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas birdied six of the final eight holes for an 8-under-par 63 to surge into the lead after three rounds of the 3M Open on Saturday in the Twin Cities of Minnesota.

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Matt Kuchar’s eagle on No. 18 gave him 63 and a temporary share of first place before Vegas, who’s at 16-under 197, birdied the last hole.

Vegas, who hasn’t won on the PGA Tour in seven years, had three birdies in a four-hole stretch to pull into a share of the lead after No. 14 and kept the momentum going.

Kuchar, who hasn’t won in more than five years and is aiming for his 10th career victory on the tour, will be contending in the final round at TPC Twin Cities. He nearly aced the par-3 17th before his final-hole eagle came with a short chip from in front of the green, with the ball bouncing a couple of times before clanking against the pin and dropping into the cup.

Maverick McNealy also shot 63 to move to 14 under, while Patrick Fishburn (63) and Sahith Theegala (66) share fourth place at 12 under.

Canada’s Adam Svensson (66), Matt NeSmith (70) and Australia’s Cam Davis (65) are tied for sixth at 11 under. Among Svensson’s highlights was sinking a shot from a sand trap for a birdie on the par-3 eighth

Canadian Taylor Pendrith, who led after the second round by two strokes, tumbled with a 2-over 73. He had a five-hole stretch at 5 over, ending with a double-bogey 6 at No. 11, though he made it through the last seven holes at 1 under. He’s tied for ninth at 10 under.

Fishburn emerged atop the leaderboard among early finishers before others caught up.

Pan, Rai Lead at John Deere Classic

July 6, 2024 by PGA Tour Brunch

SILVIS – C.T. Pan currently shares his first 36-hole lead/co-lead on TOUR with Aaron Rai. For Pan, it’s his second lead after any round (R3/2023 RBC Canadian Open) when he finished T3.

Pan’s econd-round (63) fell one-stroke shy of his career-best (62/R4/2023 CJ CUP Byron Nelson/finished 4th) as he seeks his second all-time PGA TOUR victory in his 193rd start on TOUR. Pan won the 2019 RBC Heritage.

Rai shares his second-consecutive 36-hole lead/co-lead on TOUR this season as he held a share of 36-hole lead at last week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic and finished a career-high T2.

Rai also held a share of the 36-hole lead with partner David Lipsky at the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans (finished T23).

Rai’s (128) marks career-best opening 36-hole score on TOUR with the previous best as a (131) at the 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic, a week ago.

Making his first start at the event since 2015, two-time John Deere Classic champion Jordan Spieth (T47/-6) was in danger of a MTC but rallied to card 4-under (67) and sits eight shots back after 36-holes.

The cutline advanced 76 professionals and one amateur at 5-under (137) from a field of 155 professionals and one amateur.

Jimmy Stanger withdrew prior to his second round due to an elbow injury.

John Deere Classic | Leaderboard After 36 Holes

T1 C.T. Pan 65 63 128 (-14)

T1 Aaron Rai 65 63 128 (-14)

3 Harry Hall 63 66 129 (-13)

T4 Six players 130 (-12)

Full Leaderboard: (link)

PGA Tour: Springer Shoots 59

July 5, 2024 by PGA Tour Brunch

SILVIS – Hayden Springer had some fireworks for the crowds at the John Deere Classic. His opening round was highlighted by eight birdies and two eagles during his tournament debut, as the PGA TOUR rookie signed for a 12-under (59). He’s the 13th different player (14 times) to shoot a sub-60 round on the PGA TOUR. Jim Furyk is the only player with 58 and 59.

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Springer’s round included: Hitting 10-of-14 fairways, 14-of-18 greens in regulation and 21 total putts (sank 112’ 6” of putts).

His career-low round on TOUR came in his 19th start. His previous best was an 8-under (64) during R1/2024 American Express.

Finland’s Sami Valimaki carded a 10-under (61) in his first John Deere Classic start, good for solo-second. His PGA TOUR stint comes after earning exempt status to the gig by way of the Top 10 in the 2023 DP World Tour Eligibility Ranking category, seeks a second Top 10 of the season after finishing second at the Mexico Open at Vidanta.

Following last week’s T6 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, Eric Cole (3rd/-9) is making his third John Deere Classic start (MC/2021, T42/2023). His opening round (62) fell a stroke shy of his career-best (61/R3/2023 RSM Classic).

The 2013 and 2015 John Deere Classic champion Jordan Spieth sits T90 after an opening-round 2-under (69). In successful rounds on his way to winning, Spieth opened with a 1-under (70) in 2013 and even-par (71) in 2015.

John Deere Classic | Leaderboard After 18 Holes

1 Hayden Springer 59 (-12)

2 Sami Valimaki 61 (-10)

3 Eric Cole 62 (-9)

T4 Four players 63 (-8)

PGA Tour: John Deere Classic

July 3, 2024 by PGA Tour Brunch

SILVIS – The John Deere Classic is the 30th event of the FedEx Cup regular season. Only five weeks remain until the start of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. There are 119 players in the field who competed last week at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, including ten who finished in the Top 10 (Aaron Rai/T2, Davis Thompson/T2, Eric Cole/T6, Rico Hoey/T6, Luke Clanton/T10, Nick Dunlap/T10, J.J. Spaun/T10, Hayden Springer/T10, Sam Stevens/T10, Dylan Wu/T10).

The John Deere Classic is part of The Open Qualifying Series (OQS) and two spots will be available to qualify for the 152nd Open at Royal Troon.

Defending champion and World No. 24 Sepp Straka captured his second career TOUR title in 2023 following a final-round (62). Straka carded a 1-over (73) to sit T133 after the opening round last year, the lowest position for a PGA TOUR winner since 1983. Straka will attempt to become the first repeat winner at the John Deere Classic since Steve Stricker won three in a row from 2009-11.

The 2012 champion Zach Johnson will make his 22nd career start at the John Deere Classic, four more than any player on TOUR since 2002 (Jonathan Byrd, 18). Including his win, Johnson owns seven career Top-five finishes at TPC Deere Run. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa native has made 15 consecutive cuts at the John Deere Classic (most recent MC: 2007) and enters the week tied with D.A. Weibring‘s for most total made cuts in tournament history (18). Johnson has recorded seven top-10s at the event, highlighted by a win in 2012 and runner-up finishes in 2009, 2013 and 2014.

The John Deere Classic | Tournament Facts

COURSE: TPC Deere Run, Silvis, Illinois

YARDS/PAR: 7,289 yards/Par 71

ARCHITECTS: D.A. Weibring and Chris Gray

PRIZE Money – Purse/Winner’s Share: $8,000,000/$1,400,000

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Sepp Straka

PAST RESULTS: (link)

OVERVIEW: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 500

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @JDCLASSIC @JohnDeere

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

John Deere | The Basics

The Tee Times at the John Deere on Thursday begin at 7:45am (ET) and continue to 3:17pm (ET).

Weather: – Thursday will come along with mostly sunny skies but humidity high in the mid 70s% with a 24% chance of rain. Winds blowing at 16 mph.

World No. 1 Scheffler Wins Again

June 23, 2024 by Digital Sports Desk

CROMWELL – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler won the first playoff hole with a par to capture the Travelers Championship on Sunday at TPC River Highlands, defeating South Korea’s Tom Kim.

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Scheffler and Kim finished at 22-under-par 258, two strokes clear of other contenders.

Scheffler won for the sixth time on the PGA Tour this year, all since the beginning of March. He prevailed for the second time in three weeks, capturing the Memorial Tournament prior to last week’s struggles at the U.S. Open.

Scheffler shot 5-under (65) in the final round, but Kim’s 66 with a 10-foot birdie putt on the last hole forced the extra golf. On the last hole of regulation, Scheffler left his approach on the left fringe and two-putted from there. Kim’s approach shot was within a couple of inches of the hole before rolling back before he converted the must-make putt to extend the tournament.

The duo played No. 18 again in the playoff, with Kim’s approach short and in a bunker. After blasting out, he couldn’t roll in a long par putt.

Tom Hoge (62) and Sungjae Im (66) shared third place at 20 under.

Cameron Young, who shot 59 on Saturday, was off to a brilliant start with birdies on the first four holes in the final round and it looked like he might rise to the top. But he began the back side at 2 over through three holes, with a bogey on No. 10 and a double bogey at No. 12 before ending up with 66.

Young tied for ninth at 17 under with Shane Lowry of Ireland (67), Brian Harman (62) and Wyndham Clark (63).

Austria’s Sepp Straka had the day’s best score at 61, putting him at 12 under and tied for 23rd.

–Field Level Media

Tom Kim Holds Lead at Travelers

June 22, 2024 by PGA Tour Brunch

CROMWELL – Tom Kim (62-65) at (-13) leads a group of players on the star-studded leaderboard by two strokes at the 2024 Travelers Championship in the suburbs of Hartford, Connecticut. The event is the last of the PGA Tour’s elevated “Signature” tournaments and pays out a purse of $20 million with $3.6m going to the winner. It is the 28th of 36 tournaments of the FedEx Cup regular season.

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Kim celebrated his 22nd birthday by posting his career low 36-hole score on the PGA TOUR (127) and holds his second 36-hole lead/colead on TOUR. He is 1-for-1 to date converting the halfway-point lead to victory (2022 Wyndham Championship).

Kim is seeking his fourth PGA TOUR win in his 63rd start (2022 Wyndham Championship, 2022 Shriners Children’s Open, 2023 Shriners Children’s Open) and owns two Asian Tour wins (2019 Panasonic Open India, 2022 Singapore International).

He finished T38 in 2023 in his one prior appearance at the Travelers Championship.

World No. 1 and FedEx Cup leader Scottie Scheffler (T2/-11) pulled within two strokes of the lead following a 6-under (64). Scheffler has improved in each of his four prior starts at the Travelers Championship (MC/2020; T47/2021; T13/2022; T4/2023) and is in search of his sixth win of the season and fourth in a Signature Event (Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, RBC Heritage, the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday). Of course, wins at The Masters and PLAYERS were his “other” two wins this year.

Collin Morikawa (T2/-11) cards 36-hole total of (129), which is second only to the 125 he posted at the 2023 TOUR Championship when he went on to finish T6 (FedExCup Starting Strokes). He is making fourth appearance at this event (T36/2019; MC/2020; MC/2023).

In his tournament debut, Akshay Bhatia (T2/-11) posted a career-best 36-hole score on the PGA TOUR (129). His previous best: (131) 2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship/T20).