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Scheffler Masters Augusta (Again)

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AUGUSTA – In professional golf, there’s Scottie Scheffler, and then there’s everybody else.

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The No. 1 player in the world won his second Masters in three years on Sunday in Augusta, Ga., by firing a final-round 68 to finish the week at 11-under 271.

Six of Scheffler’s seven birdies came over his final 11 holes at Augusta National as he pulled away for a four-stroke win over Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg, who posted a 69. Collin Morikawa struggled to a 74, tying Englishman Tommy Fleetwood (69) and Max Homa (73) for third at 4 under.

It marks Scheffler’s second major victory and his 10th win on the PGA Tour in the past 26 months. He has won three tournaments in his last four starts

After a short birdie putt at No. 3, Scheffler suffered bogeys at Nos. 4 and 7 to drop to 6 under with Morikawa, whom he led by one after 54 holes. Aberg and Homa soon joined them for a four-way share of the lead, but Scheffler and Morikawa each birdied the par-5 eighth to sneak ahead to 7 under.

But after Scheffler’s approach at No. 9 spun back and narrowly missed the cup, setting up a birdie, each of his three competitors carded a double bogey to drop down the board. First was Morikawa, who failed to get out of a greenside bunker on his third shot at No. 9 before two-putting.

Aberg’s misstep came at the par-4 11th, where his approach landed well short of the green and hit the water. And Homa went backwards at the par-3 12th after his tee shot over the green bounced into bushes and forced him to take an unplayable lie.

Scheffler made it three birdies in a row at No. 10, absorbed a missed par putt at No. 11 and rebounded with consecutive birdies at Nos. 13 and 14. The latter was the final nail in the coffin, as his approach shot landed on the green’s back ridge and slowly rolled to 2 feet of the cup.

–Field Level Media

’24 Masters Preview

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AUGUSTA – (PGATourBrunch) – The 2024 Masters Tournament is the first major championship of the ‘24 professional golf season. Scottie Scheffler enters the Masters as the No. 1 player in the FedEx Cup standings and No. 1 on the Official World Golf Ranking for the second time in the last three years. Scheffler has two victories this season, winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and THE PLAYERS Championship in consecutive weeks.

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This is the third consecutive year that Scheffler is entering the Masters with multiple wins on TOUR since January 1, the longest such streak since Tiger Woods did so from 2005-2008 (four straight). Scheffler is the only multiple winner on TOUR this season has finished in the top 10 in seven of his eight starts this season, the most of any player on TOUR. He led the TOUR in that category with 17 last season.

The Big News: Living Legend and 82-time PGA TOUR winner and five-time Masters Tournament champion Tiger Woods is making his second start of the season and first since The Genesis Invitational, where he withdrew during the second round due to illness.

Woods made the cut at the 2023 Masters and withdrew during the third round due to injury. He tied Gary Player and Fred Couples for most consecutive starts making the cut at the Masters with 23, and would break the tie with a made cut in 2024. With a win, Woods would break a tie with Sam Snead for most PGA TOUR wins in history and tie Jack Nicklaus for most wins at the Masters (6). This is Woods’ seventh start on TOUR since his February 2021 car accident and third at the Masters. He has three WDs in the previous six starts (2022 PGA Championship, 2023 Masters Tournament, 2024 Genesis Invitational), with his best result in that span coming at the 2023 Genesis Invitational (T45).

There are 89 players in the field, including 20 players making their tournament debut. Among the 20 first-timers in the field, 16 are PGA TOUR members and four are amateurs. Two of the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking are making their first start at the Masters Tournament: No. 4 Wyndham Clark and No. 9 Ludvig Åberg.

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Clark, who earned his first major title at the 2023 U.S. Open, has won three times on TOUR in the last 12 months, most recently winning the 2024 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He is making his ninth career start in a major (3 PGA Championship, three U.S. Open, two Open Championship). Åberg, who turned professional in June of 2023 and joined the PGA TOUR as the No. 1 player in the 2023 PGA TOUR University Ranking, is making his first career start in a major.

In 19 starts on TOUR since turning professional, Åberg has recorded a win (2023 RSM Classic) and six additional Top-10s, including a runner-up to Clark at the 2024 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He has finished in the top 25 in each of his last six starts.

At No. 5 in the Official World Golf Ranking, Xander Schauffele is the highest-ranked player that has not won a major. Schauffele has six top-10s on TOUR this season, the second-most of any player (7, Scottie Scheffler).

Schauffele has 19 Top 25s in majors since joining the PGA TOUR at the start of the 2016-17 season, the most of any player in that span.

Akshay Bhatia defeated Denny McCarthy in a playoff to win last week’s Valero Texas Open, earning the final spot in the Masters. The last player to win a major after winning on TOUR the week prior was Rory McIlroy in 2014 (WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, PGA Championship) and the last to do so at the Masters was Phil Mickelson in 2006 (BellSouth Classic).

McCarthy is also making his tournament debut. The last player to lose in a playoff on TOUR and win the following week was Patrick Cantlay, who lost in a playoff at the 2022 RBC Heritage and then won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with partner Xander Schauffele.

The last player to lose in a playoff on TOUR and win a major the following week was Jordan Spieth in 2015 (lost in a playoff at the Texas Children’s Houston Open and won the Masters the following week).

2021 Masters Tournament winner Hideki Matsuyama has finished T12 or better in each of his last four starts, including a win at The Genesis Invitational. Matsuyama is one of only two players, along with World No. 1 and FedEx Cup leader Scottie Scheffler, that has finished in the top 20 in each of the last four years at the Masters.

2023 Open Championship winner Brian Harman is making his sixth start at the Masters (best result: T12/2021) and first as a major champion. The last player to win consecutive majors was Jordan Spieth, who won the Masters and the U.S. Open in 2015. The last reigning Open Championship winner to win the Masters was Tiger Woods in 2001.

Stephan Jaeger won the Texas Children’s Houston Open in his most recent start, earning his first PGA TOUR title in his 135th start. In the first 128 starts, Jaeger’s best finish was solo-fifth at the 2022 Rocket Mortgage Classic. But, in his last seven, he has recorded three finishes of T3 or better (T3/Farmers Insurance Open, T3/Mexico Open at Vidanta, Won/Texas Children’s Houston Open). He is making his fifth career start in a major and first at the Masters.

TOUR rookie Nick Dunlap is making his third career start in a major (MC/2022 U.S. Open, MC/2023 U.S. Open) and first at the Masters. Dunlap won The American Express in January, becoming the first amateur to win on TOUR since Phil Mickelson in 1991.

PGA Tour: Houston Open

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HOUSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The PGA Tour shifts from its Florida Swing to Texas for this week’s Texas Children’s Houston Open, which begins today at Memorial Park Golf Course.

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World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler seeks his third consecutive victory against a solid field. Our golf experts preview the event and provide their favorite prop picks along with best bets to win this week.

TEXAS CHILDREN’S OPEN
Location: Houston, March 28-31
Course: Memorial Park Golf Course (Par 70, 7,435 yards)
Purse: $9.1M (Winner: $1.638M)
Defending Champion: Tony Finau (2022)
FedEx Cup Leader: Scottie Scheffler

HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday, 4-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday, 1-3:30 p.m. (GC), 3:30-6 p.m. (NBC); Sunday, 1-2:30 p.m. (GC), 2:30-6 p.m. (NBC)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday, 8:15 a.m.-7 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
X: @TXHouOpen

PROP PICKS
–The Field vs. Scottie Scheffler (-400 at BetMGM): There is little question that Scheffler is the best — and hottest — golfer on the planet. There’s also a good reason why it has been seven years since anyone has won three consecutive starts on tour — it’s really hard to do. It’s certainly not the strongest field of the year, but there is enough talent lurking around Memorial Park to believe Scheffler will have a difficult time making it three straight ahead of the Masters.

–Si Woo Kim to Beat Tony Finau (-110 at DraftKings): Kim is coming off a T6 at the Players in his most recent start and has a pair of other top-15 results in his past five starts overall. Finau is the defending champion, but that came in the Fall of 2022 on a much firmer golf course. He believes his hard work off the course will translate into quality results soon, but his recent track record includes a missed cut last week after a T45 at the Players.

–Wyndham Clark Top 10 (+130 at BetMGM): The only player better than Clark in each of his past two starts has been Scheffler, and he also won at Pebble Beach earlier this year. A career-best fourth in the world rankings, Clark is in excellent form and knows Memorial Park well from his T16 in the Fall of ’22.

2024 Prop Picks Record: 18-17-1

BEST BETS
–Scottie Scheffler (+275 at BetMGM) is trying to become the first player to win three consecutive events on tour since Dustin Johnson in 2017. He has a T2 and a T9 in Houston the past two seasons. He opened at +300, but those odds have shortened slightly with Scheffler third in both total bets (7.0 percent) and money (19.5 percent) backing him to win this week.
–Wyndham Clark (+1200) has finished runner-up to Scheffler in each of his past two events. He’s the second biggest liability at BetMGM, where Clark is second with 18 percent of the money supporting him to win. A caution flkag, as Clark is battling an injured back, suffered Monday when he was lifting weights.
–Sahith Theegala (+1600) is a Spring, Texas resident and has consecutive top-10s entering the week. Those factors have contributed to Theegala being the book’s biggest liability as he leads the field with 19.5 percent of the total money backing him since opening at +2200.
–Will Zalatoris (+1800) makes his tournament debut while coming off consecutive top-5s in his past two starts. He’s the third biggest liability at the book this week.
–Tony Finau (+2500) won by four shots in 2022 but has a lone top-10 in eight starts this season.

NOTES
–The event returns to a spring date after being contested in the fall each of the past four seasons. It was not played in the 2023 calendar year.
–This is the fourth playing at Memorial Park, which first hosted the tournament in 2020.
–The top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking after this event will qualify for the Masters if not already exempt. The highest-ranked players in this week’s field who are not yet exempt are No. 57 Tom Hoge, No. 63 Mackenzie Hughes and No. 66 Alex Noren.
–Padraig Harrington, who won on the Champions Tour last week, is in the field on a sponsor exemption.

–Field Level Media

The PLAYERS: Crowded at Top of Leaderboard After Round 1

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH – (Staff and Wire Service Report) -World No. 2 Rory McIlroy and No. 6 Xander Schauffele shared the lead at 7-under par as the morning wave of the first round of The Players Championship was wrapping up Thursday.

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Both took advantage of soft greens and light winds to card opening 65s at TPC Sawgrass, although they did it in distinctly different fashions.

McIlroy recorded 10 birdies, the most he has recorded in 41 career rounds at TPC Sawgrass. The Northern Irishman reached 8 under through 15 holes before finding the water left with his drive on the par-4 seventh hole, going on to record a double bogey.

McIlroy made up one of the strokes with a birdie on his final hole of the day at the par-5 ninth. Along with the 10 birdies and the double, he had a lone bogey and just six pars on his scorecard while finding the water twice.

“Much, much improved on the approach play today, which was nice to see,” McIlroy told reporters, adding that he chose to “grind” on the range rather than taking Monday off following a final-round 76 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. “I needed to clean up the technique a little bit, needed to clean up some things. Honestly, just needed to put the time in.”

Schauffele’s bogey-less card was mundane by contrast with seven birdies and 11 pars. He was happy to be playing in the morning, with the wind starting to pick up as the afternoon wave teed off.

“I wouldn’t want to re-hit a few of those shots today, I can tell you that much,” Schauffele said. “I definitely need to clean it up.”

Canada’s Nick Taylor recorded six birdies in a bogey-free round to finish one stroke in back of McIlroy and Schauffele.

Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg, who entered the Top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time this week, eagled two of the four par-5s en route to a 5-under 67 in his first round at The Players. He added a pair of birdies against a lone bogey.

New Zealand’s Ryan Fox hit the first hole-in-one of the week, recording just the 14th ace in the history of the event at the famed par-3 17th hole.

McIlroy downplayed what appeared to be a disagreement with playing partner Jordan Spieth about where McIlroy’s drive crossed into the water.

“I think Jordan was just trying to make sure that I was doing the right thing,” McIlroy said when asked if Spieth’s actions were needless. “I was pretty sure that my ball had crossed where I was sort of dropping it. It’s so hard, right, because there was no TV evidence. I was adamant. But I think, again, he was just trying to make sure that I was going to do the right thing.

“If anything, I was being conservative with it. I think at the end of the day we’re all trying to protect ourselves, protect the field, as well. I wouldn’t say it was needless. I think he was just trying to make sure that what happened was the right thing.”

–Field Level Media

50th Edition of The PLAYERS

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH – The 50th edition of The Players Championship begins today at TPC Sawgrass. Often called “the fifth major,” the 144-player field is arguably the strongest of the year outside of the four majors, even minus those who left for LIV Golf. Our golf experts preview the event and provide their favorite prop picks along with best bets to win this week.

THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP
Location: Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., March 14-17
Course: TPC Sawgrass (Par 72, 7,275 yards)
Purse: $25M (Winner: $4.5M)
Defending Champion: Scheffler
FedEx Cup Leader: Scheffler

HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday, 1-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday, 2-7 p.m. (NBC); Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (NBC)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m. ET; Saturday, 8 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday, 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
X: @ThePlayers

PROP PICKS
–Brian Harman to Beat Tony Finau (+100 at DraftKings): Harman is coming off a solid T12 at Bay Hill following a string of five starts with no finishes better than a T44. T44 is exactly where he finished in The Players last year before going on to win The Open. Finau finished T19 last year and should be well rested after skipping the Arnold Palmer Invitational. We still like Harman’s ball-striking around the challenging TPC Sawgrass — especially at these odds.

–Wyndham Clark Top 20 (+150 at BetMGM): The reigning U.S. Open champion is coming off a runner-up at Bay Hill and won at Pebble Beach earlier this year — both against strong signature event fields. Clark still isn’t getting the love from oddsmakers, but the world’s No. 5-ranked player is back in top form.

–Hole In One on Hole 17 (+250 at DraftKings): One of the most famous holes in golf, “the watery grave” always makes for some entertaining prop action. There have only been 13 aces at the 17th hole since The Players moved to TPC Sawgrass in 1982. Three of those came last year and Shane Lowry carded one in 2022. Keep an eye on that front left pin placement — we’re banking on at least one player zipping a short iron back into the cup.

2024 Prop Picks Record: 13-16-1

BEST BETS
– Scottie Scheffler (+550 at BetMGM) is coming off a five-shot victory at Bay Hill and also won The Players by five shots last year. His seven PGA Tour wins since 2021-22 are the most of anyone during that span. Scheffler opened the week at +650 but has seen his odds shorten while drawing the most total winning bets (15.4 percent) and money (23.7 percent), making him the book’s biggest liability this week. Scheffler has the same odds at DraftKings, where he has been backed by lopsided action at 28 and 35 percent, respectively.
– Rory McIlroy (+1600) missed the cut last year and has an average finish of 34th over his past four appearances. However, he did win in 2019 and was in contention last week until a 76 on Sunday. The world’s No. 2-ranked player opened at +1400 but has seen his odds lengthen slightly despite being second in the field with 6.9 percent of the bets and 8.0 percent of the money.
– Justin Thomas (+2300) finished T12 at Bay Hill after going 72-73 over the weekend. The 2021 Players champion has only one finish worse than T12 in his past nine worldwide starts. Thomas is BetMGM’s second-biggest liability this week, having drawn 6.8 and 7.4 percent of the action, respectively.
–Will Zalatoris (+2500) spent time atop the leaderboard last week before settling for a T4 after going 72-72 over the weekend. With a T2 in his previous start at the Genesis, it’s clear Zalatoris’ game is rounding back into shape, and he’s the book’s third-biggest liability this week. Zalatoris has longer odds at DraftKings, where he has drawn the second most money with 6 percent at +3000.
– Viktor Hovland (+2500) is a darkhorse as he works his way through some swing changes. The reigning FedEx Cup champion has admittedly been frustrated with a lone top-20 in four 2024 starts, and he returned home for a spell to focus on his game. However, the young Norwegian is always a threat and finished T3 last year. He’s fourth in the field with 4 percent of the money backing him to win at +2200 at DraftKings.
– Clark (+3400) is a career-best fifth in the world rankings following his runner-up last week. The defending U.S. Open champion also won at Pebble Beach last month. Clark has significantly longer +5000 odds at DraftKings, which has led to 3 percent of the total money backing him to win.
–Shane Lowry (+3400) has finished T4 and third the past two weeks.
–Tom Hoge (+7100) set the course record with a third-round 62 en route to finishing T3 last year.

NOTES
–This is the 50th playing of the event, which began in 1974, and the 42nd edition at TPC Sawgrass, which became the venue in 1982.
–Scheffler is the first defending champion to arrive at The Players ranked No. 1 in the world since McIlroy in 2020. McIlroy won in 2019 and the event was ultimately canceled the following year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
–There are 22 players in the field making their event debuts this week, including Sweden’s 10th-ranked Ludvig Aberg and Nick Dunlap, who turned pro after winning the American Express in January.
–Tiger Woods, the 2001 and 2013 champion, is not in the field.
–Each of the past four winners of The Players entered the week ranked in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking.
–The three hole-in-ones at the signature 17th hole last year marked the first time there were multiple aces on that hole.
–Former PGA Tour pro and current LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman holds the tournament scoring record of 24-under 264 set in 1994.

–Field Level Media

Scheffler to Defend at PLAYERS

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler will begin his defense at The Players Championship paired alongside fellow Americans Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas for the first two rounds.

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Coming off a dominating victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he beat the entire field by two strokes on Sunday, Scheffler is the first defending champion to arrive at TPC Sawgrass as the top-ranked player in the world since Rory McIlroy in 2020. The event was ultimately canceled that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Scheffler will begin his quest for a repeat in the afternoon wave on Thursday, teeing off in at 1:40 p.m. ET in one of the marquee pairings released Monday. The trio will tee off at 8:35 a.m. on Friday. Fowler won the Players in 2015 while Thomas claimed the trophy three years ago.

Thursday’s afternoon wave will include other marquee groups comprised of defending U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark playing with fellow former champions Collin Morkikawa and Brian Harman, while young American stars Tony Finau and Will Zalatoris will play with former Open champion Shane Lowry.

McIlroy is coming off a disappointing Sunday at Bay Hill, where he stumbled to a final-round 76. Rather than grab his opportunity to reclaim the No. 1 ranking, McIlroy saw the distance between him and Scheffler grow further with a tie for 21st.

The 2019 champion finished T33 at last year’s Players. He will tee off at 8:35 a.m. on Thursday in a featured group along with Jordan Spieth and Norway’s Viktor Hovland.

Also teeing off in the morning wave of the opening round will be the group of Patrick Cantlay, 2004 Players champion Adam Scott and rising Swedish star Ludvig Aberg.

They will all be looking to get off to a fast start to put pressure on Scheffler, the +500 pre-tournament favorite at DraftKings and +550 favorite at BetMGM.

“Everybody, I guess, now is kind of looking up at me at the top of the rankings and trying to take me down, so in order to stay up there, you got to put in a lot of work,” Scheffler said on Sunday.

–Field Level Media

Scheffler, Lowry Lead at Bay Hill

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ORLANDO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Scottie Scheffler of the USA and Shane Lowry of Ireland survived a breezy afternoon to each shoot 2-under-par 70 and claim a share of the lead Saturday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational played at Bay Hill CC..

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Wyndham Clark fired a 1-under 71 to sit third, with Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama (72), Will Zalatoris (71) and Russell Henley (72) in a three-way tie for fourth.

Scheffler, who won this event in 2022, struggled on the front, going out in 38, but birdied five of his first seven holes on the back nine to surge toward the front.

Zalatoris briefly held a five-shot lead with his four birdies from Nos. 3-8 on the front, but stumbled with a bogey at No. 14 and double-bogeys at Nos. 15 and 18.

Harris English, who enters Sunday in seventh place, and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy tied for the day’s low round, shooting 68.

McIlroy, in a tie for eighth at 5-under, moved quickly up the board with a blazing, bogey-free 30 on the back nine that included six birdies.

-Field Level Media

PGA Tour: This Week

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ORLANDO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The PGA Tour tees up its fourth signature event of 2024 this week, while tournaments will also be played in Puerto Rico, China and Hong Kong. Be sure to visit www.pgatourbrunch.com

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PGA TOUR
LAST TOURNAMENT: Cognizant Classic (Austin Eckroat)
THIS WEEK: Arnold Palmer Invitational, Orlando, Fla., March 7-10
Course: Bay Hill Club & Lodge (Par 72, 7,466 yards)
Purse: $20M (Winner: $4M)
Defending Champion: Kurt Kitayama
FedEx Cup Leader: Matthieu Pavon
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday, 2-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 12:30-2:30 p.m. (GC), 2:30-6 p.m. (NBC)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
X: @APInv
NOTES: This is the second of three player-hosted invitationals along with Tiger Woods’ at the Genesis and Jack Nicklaus’ at the Memorial. It’s also the fourth of eight signature events, featuring a $20 million purse and 700 FedEx Cup points. Player-hosted signature events are the only ones to feature a 36-hole cut, with the low 50 and ties advancing to the weekend. … Tony Finau is the only eligible player among 70 who is not competing this week. … Kitayama seeks to become the first player to successfully defend at Bay Hill since Matt Every in 2015. … The API has three qualifying spots available for The Open Championship to those not already qualified. … European Ryder Cup players Nicolai Hojgaard and Shane Lowry are in the field on sponsors exemptions, and will be joined by 2018 Players champion Webb Simpson. … North Carolina junior David Ford will make his first start on tour after winning a vote of his peers at the 2023 Palmer Cup. … Payne Stewart holds the tournament scoring record of 264 set in 1987.
BEST BETS: Scottie Scheffler (+650 at BetMGM) has gone T4-1-T15 in his past three starts at Bay Hill. He hasn’t finished worse than T17 in his past five starts on tour, but Scheffler is seeking his first official tour win since The Players last March. … Rory McIlroy (+900) won the API in 2018 and was the runner-up last year. He has six top-10s at Bay Hill since 2015. … Viktor Hovland (+1400) makes his first start since a T19 at the Genesis. … Min Woo Lee’s (+4500) late charge for a T2 at PGA National helped earn a spot in the field. He enters the week a career-best 31st in the world rankings.

THIS WEEK: Puerto Rico Open, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, March 7-10
Course: Grand Reserve Golf Club (Par 72, 7,506 Yards)
Purse: $4M (Winner: $720,000)
Defending Champion: Nico Echavarria

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HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 2:30-5 p.m. (All times Golf Channel)
X: @PGATour
NOTES: This is the 16th playing of the event, and the winner will earn a spot in next week’s Players Championship if not already qualified. … Echavarria is seeking to become the first player to successfully defend in Puerto Rico. He tied the tournament scoring record of 267 first set by Chesson Hadley in 2014. … Aaron Wise, who withdrew from the Masters last year to focus on his mental health, is making his first start since last year’s U.S. Open. … Daniel Berger has made three of four cuts since returning from an 18-month absence due to a back injury. … Puerto Rican Rafa Campos is making his 15th event start, with his best previous finish a third place in 2020.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: The Players Championship, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., March 14-17

Eckroat Wins in Monday Finish

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PALM BEACH GARDENS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Austin Eckroat won the weather-delayed Cognizant Classic by three strokes Monday to capture his first career PGA Tour title in the tour’s first event of the season in Florida.

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Eckroat was 15 under through seven holes Sunday when play was suspended due to darkness at PGA National’s Champion course. He added three birdies and a bogey on the back nine Monday morning to card a 4-under 67 for a winning score of 17-under 267.

South Africa’s Erik van Rooyen had been the leader in the clubhouse after finishing at 14 under on Sunday. He posted a final-round low of 63 and tied for second with Australia’s Min Woo Lee (final round 67).

Five players tied for fourth at 13 under, including rookie Jake Knapp (66), who was picked up his first career win at the Mexico Open at Vidanta last week. South Korea’s Kyoung-hoon Lee (66), Cameron Young (66), Ireland’s Shane Lowry (71) and England’s David Skinns (71) were also at 13 under.

–Field Level Media

PGA Tour: Cantlay vs Schauffele

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The Genesis Invitational | Final Round Preview

PACIFIC PALISADES – Patrick Cantlay holds his fifth career 54-hole lead/co-lead in individual stroke-play events on TOUR (not including FedExCup Starting Strokes) and first since 2022 Shriners Children’s Open where he finished T2. He is 2-for-4 converting to a victory to date (2021 and 2022 BMW Championship).

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Cantlay held a two-stroke lead after the third round of the 2021 TOUR Championship and went on to win by one stroke (entered the tournament with a two-stroke lead at 10-under due to FedExCup Starting Strokes). He held a five-stroke lead through 54 holes with partner Xander Schauffele at the 2022 Zurich Classic of New Orleans (went on to win by two strokes)

Today, Cantlay will battle vs. Schauffele rather than play with him as a partner. Schauffele shot a 6-under (65), his career-low score in 27 career rounds at The Riviera Country Club. A win today would be his eighth on the PGA TOUR and first since the 2022 Genesis Scottish Open.

Luke List (4th/-11) seeks his third TOUR victory in as many seasons (2022 Farmers Insurance Open, 2023 Sanderson Farms Championship).

Genesis Leaderboard | After Round 3

1 Patrick Cantlay 64 65 70 199 (-14)

T2 Xander Schauffele 70 66 65 201 (-12)

T2 Will Zalatoris 66 70 65 201 (-12)

4 Luke List 65 69 68 202 (-11)

Full Leaderboard: (link)