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PGA Tour

PGA Tour Tee Times: Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood and Robert MacIntyre

The TOUR Championship, part of the PGA Tour, is set to take place at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia. The par-71 course will host top golfers competing for the $25 million winners prize. Last year’s champion, Viktor Hovland, will return to defend his title. The groups are determined by the current FedExCup standings. Round 2 tee times will be announced after round 1.

Rory McIlroy starts his first round at 1:38 pm local time. He will be playing alongside Ludvig Aberg from Sweden.

Tommy Fleetwood begins his round at 12:00 pm local time, paired with Billy Horschel from the USA.

Robert MacIntyre tees off at 12:16 pm local time with Akshay Bhatia from the USA.

Aaron Rai is set to start at 11:27 am local time, joined by Tom Hoge from the USA.

Round Time Player Nationality Playing With Nationality
1 11:27 AM Aaron Rai ENG Tom Hoge USA    
1 12:00 PM Tommy Fleetwood ENG Billy Horschel USA    
1 12:16 PM Robert MacIntyre SCO Akshay Bhatia USA    
1 1:38 PM Rory McIlroy NIR Ludvig Aberg SWE    

Text written with the help of AI

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PGA Tour

BMW Championship: Scottie Scheffler Loses It After Missed Green

Scottie Scheffler has played far below his expectations at the BMW Championship so far. After 36 holes, the leader of the FedExCup ranking is only tied 29th. During the second round at Castle Pines Golf Club in Colorado, the otherwise calm and controlled world number one showed an unusually emotional side. The normally level-headed Texan had a moment on Friday that many amateur golfers know only too well: Frustration after a failed shot.

Scottie Scheffler Freaks Out After Hitting the Water at the BMW Championship

After a solid start to the round, with a front nine one under par, Scheffler seemed to be on course. But there was a scene on the par-4 10th that quickly made the rounds on social media. Scheffler sent his tee shot 335 meters into the right rough, leaving him with a difficult approach shot over a water hazard. The attempt to reach the green failed and the ball landed in the water. On his next attempt to reach the green, this time from the drop zone about 90 meters from the flag, the situation got out of hand. His wedge shot missed the green, which visibly infuriated the otherwise so controlled professional. “Isn’t that uphill?” Scheffler asked loudly, while his caddie, Ted Scott, walked on silently. But the outburst didn’t end there: “How? HOW?” Scheffler repeated several times. “How is that possible? What the f*ck! That’s impossible!”

The following putt from around seven meters was solid, but Scheffler still had to settle for a double bogey – his worst result of the day. At the end of the round, his score was even-par 72, which dropped him to T29 in the tournament, twelve strokes behind the leader Adam Scott. However, Scheffler does not have to worry about his lead in the season rankings just yet. On the one hand, his lead is enormous and on the other, his closest rival Xander Schauffele has not performed brilliantly in Castle Rock so far.

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PGA Tour

Scottie Scheffler Battling Back Tightness in First Round of the BMW Championship

Scottie Scheffler dealt with back problems during the first round of the BMW Championship on the PGA Tour. After a high draw on the Par-5 17th, Scheffler grabbed his back seemingly in pain. In the post-round interview, the Masters champion spoke about the back issues.

Scottie Scheffler: “I was laboring most of the day to get through the ball”

“With it [back] being a little bit tight, it was hard for me to get through it, and I was laboring most of the day to get through the ball. On 17 I was trying to hit a high draw, and that’s a shot where I’ve really got to use a big turn, big motion. Really just felt it a little bit. But other than that, all good. Maybe I hit a few too many balls yesterday or something. It was just a little sore. I’m sure I’ll get some ice on it and stuff and I’ll be totally fine tomorrow.”

Bad ball-striking perfomance from Scheffler

Scottie Scheffler leads the Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green for the season. In the first round of the BMW Championship though, he lost strokes to the field in SG: Tee-to-Green. This time his putting, which is normally Schefflers weak spot, saved his round. He holed over 100 feet of putts.

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European Tour

DP World Tour Tee Times: Nick Watney at the Danish Golf Championship

The DP World Tour Tee Times for the upcoming Danish Golf Championship at the Lübker Golf Resort in Aarhus, Denmark, have been announced. The tournament, part of the DP World Tour, will feature top golfers from around the world. Rasmus Hojgaard, the current titleholder, will be defending his trophy. The golf course has a par of 71.

DP World Tour Tee Times

Gunner Wiebe, an American golfer, will tee off at 07:40 on Thursday alongside Stephen Gallacher from Scotland and Casey Jarvis from South Africa. His second-round tee time is 12:40 on Friday.

James Nicholas is set to start at 08:40 on Thursday with JJ Senekal from South Africa and Jonathan Gøth-Rasmussen from Denmark. They will continue their tournament at 13:40 on Friday.

Nick Watney, another American, will begin his Danish Golf Championship at 12:50 on Thursday. He will be joined by Søren Kjeldsen from Denmark and Dylan Frittelli from South Africa. Their second round is scheduled for 07:50 on Friday.

Chase Hanna will tee off at 14:10 on Thursday with partners Kristoffer Reitan from Norway and Dan Bradbury from England. They will hit their second round at 09:10 on Friday.

Player 1 Nationality Round 1 Tee Time Round 2 Tee Time Player 2 Nationality Player 3 Nationality
Gunner Wiebe USA 07:40 12:40 Stephen Gallacher SCO Casey Jarvis RSA
James Nicholas USA 08:40 13:40 JJ Senekal RSA Jonathan Gøth-Rasmussen DEN
Nick Watney USA 12:50 07:50 Søren Kjeldsen DEN Dylan Frittelli RSA
Chase Hanna USA 14:10 09:10 Kristoffer Reitan NOR Dan Bradbury ENG
Jordan Gumberg USA 14:10 09:10 Oliver Wilson ENG Adrien Saddier FRA
Theo Humphrey USA 14:30 09:30 Marc Warren SCO Oliver Jørgensen DEN

The Text was written with the help of AI.

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European Tour

DP World Tour Tee Times: Stephen Gallacher and Other UK Players at Danish Golf Championship

The DP World Tour Tee Times for the upcoming Danish Golf Championship at Lübker Golf Resort in Aarhus, Denmark, have been released. This event is part of the DP World Tour, and it will be a Par 71 competition.

DP World Tour Tee Times for UK Players

Stephen Gallacher begins his rounds at the Danish Golf Championship alongside Casey Jarvis from South Africa and Gunner Wiebe from the USA. Their first round starts on Thursday at 7:40 AM local time, and their second round takes place on Friday at 12:40 PM.

Matthew Southgate is paired with Brandon Stone from South Africa and Hurly Long from Germany. Their initial tee time is on Thursday at 7:50 AM, with the second round scheduled for Friday at 12:50 PM.

Andy Sullivan will tee off with Julien Guerrier from France and Hamish Brown from Denmark. They are scheduled to start their first round on Thursday at 7:50 AM, and the second round on Friday at 12:50 PM.

Richard Mansell plays with Robin Williams and Sam Bairstow. Their first round begins on Thursday at 8:30 AM, followed by the second round on Friday at 1:30 PM.

Eddie Pepperell shares the course with Lorenzo Scalise from Italy and Jack Davidson from Wales. Pepperell’s first tee time is scheduled for Thursday at 9:00 AM, with the second round starting on Friday at 2:00 PM.

Player Other Player Other
Player 
Starting time R1 Starting time R2
Stephen Gallacher Casey Jarvis Gunner Wiebe 07:40 12:40
Matthew Southgate Brandon Stone Hurly Long 07:50 12:50
Andy Sullivan Julien Guerrier Hamish Brown 07:50 12:50
Richard Mansell Robin Williams Sam Bairstow 08:30 13:30
Eddie Pepperell Lorenzo Scalise Jack Davidson 09:00 14:00

Text written with the support of AI.

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Top Tours

Jon Rahm: “They just Make something Up”

Just under a week ago, US golf journalist Jaime Diaz fueled the rumor mill surrounding Jon Rahm. In a lengthy Golf Digest article, Diaz cited an alleged statement from an unnamed “veteran tour insider” who said of Rahm: “I am 100 percent positive that if Jon could give the money back to the Saudis and come back to the tour, he couldn’t write the check fast enough. Now there are only four times a year when he’s playing that anybody is remotely interested. He thought his stature in the game was secure no matter where he was playing, and it was a bad miscalculation”. During a rain delay at the LIV event at Greenbrier last weekend, Rahm was confronted with the statement and asked for a reaction, according to the X account “Pro Golf Critic”. A video recording of Rahm’s reaction does not exist, so it is not 100 percent verifiable whether he really reacted as follows.

Jon Rahm: “Couldn’t be further from the truth”

The Spaniard responded: “Yeah that’s why I can’t stop smiling out here. They just make something up.[The claim of the insider] Couldn’t be further from the truth”. The two-time major champion’s answer – if it was really given – can now be believed or not. To realize that the alleged claim of the “veteran tour insider” may not be completely out of thin air, you only need to recall a few of Jon Rahm’s statements during 2024.

Here are three statements made by the 29-year-old during the season: “Not being there was difficult. It’s a decision I made, and I’m comfortable with it. […] But I hope I can come back”. That is a statement made by Rahm at the beginning of 2024, when talking about the three PGA Tour tournaments he was not allowed to defend due to his defection to LIV. With regard to a change in the LIV format from 54- to 72-hole tournaments, he made the following comments in April: “The closer we can get LIV to do some of these things, the better”. In the run-up to the 2024 PGA Championship, the former Masters champion caused a stir when he said the following: “I’m still a PGA Tour member, whether suspended or not & I still want to support the PGA Tour”.

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PGA Tour

PGA Tour Schedule for 2025 – A Traditional Tournament Is Moved

On Wednesday, the PGA Tour published its playing calendar for 2025. The calendar consists of 36 regular season events and 3 playoffs events. Like this year, eight signature events are part of the regular season. The signature events consist of the same tournaments as in 2024, with the only significant changes being the name of one tournament, one venue and one date. The most significant change was to the Memorial Tournament. While the plan this year was still Memorial, US Open and Travelers (2 signature events and a major), the Canadian Open will take the place of the Memorial Tournament. In 2025, golf legend Jack Nicklaus’ tournament will once again traditionally take place two weeks before the US Open.

The former Wells Fargo Championship is now called the Truist Championship and will take place at The Philadelphia Cricket Club instead of the Quail Hollow Club in 2025. The PGA Championship will be held at the Quail Hollow Club one week later.

PGA Tour: 51st edition of the Players Championship and the four Majors

Of course, the four Majors and the Players Championship are also part of the schedule. It all starts with the 51st Players Championship from 13 to 16 March 2025 – at the TPC Sawgrass, of course. The 89th Masters Tournament will take place as usual at Augusta National from 10 to 13 April 2025. This will be followed by the 107th PGA Championship from 15 to 18 May at Quail Hollow Club. The 125th edition of the US Open will be played at the infamous Oakmont CC from 12 to 15 June. The Open Championship at the Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland (17 to 20 July) will be the crowning Major finale.

Different venue for the BMW Championship

The BMW Championship is the second tournament of the FedExCup Playoffs. In recent years, the BMW Championship has regularly changed venues. This year, the men on the PGA Tour will be playing at Castle Pines Golf Club in Colorado, while a year later the Caves Valley Golf Club in Maryland will be the venue for important points in the playoffs.

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PGA Tour

Bronze Medalist Hideki Matsuyama Robbed After the Olympics

Former Masters winner Hideki Matsuyama was robbed during a stay in London, as were his caddie Shota Hayato and his swing coach Mikihito Kuromiya. The trio made a stopover in the English capital after the games in Paris. In an interview with Golf Digest Japan, Matsuyama revealed that his wallet had been stolen. His two team members’ passports and visas had been stolen, he said. The good news: The bronze medal from the Summer Olympics in Paris is still in his possession. From a sporting point of view, however, the incident has consequences.

Hideki Matsuyama lends caddie from his compatriot Ryo Hisatsune

Matsuyama’s caddie Hayato and coach Kuromiya had to return home to apply for replacement documents. This means he will be without his closest confidants for the first event of the FedExCup Playoffs. Instead of Shota Hayato, Taiga Tabuchi, the caddie of Matsuyama’s compatriot Ryo Hisatsune, will be at the 32-year-old’s bag this week. This information comes from the PGA Tour’s caddie list. Hisatsune finished 83rd in the FedExCup and missed out on the top 70 playoffs.

Matsuyama talked to Golf Digest Japan about his new caddie:”I’m glad he accepted. He’s worked with Hisatsune this year, so I think he knows the ropes, and he can speak English, so I can rely on him.” Matsuyama does not yet know exactly when his regular team will return:”There’s a chance they’ll make it to the BMW Championship (second playoffs event), but we have to go into it thinking it’s close to zero.”

Hideki Matsuyama is in 8th place in the FedExCup ahead of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the first event of the playoffs, and is therefore as good as guaranteed a place in the TOUR Championship. The top 30 in the FedExCup after the conclusion of the BMW Championship will play for the FedExCup title and a large prize purse at the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club.

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PGA Tour

PGA Tour: How does the FedExCup work?

The PGA Tour introduced a new format in 2007 with the FedExCup. The FedExCup is split into two main parts: over 36 regular PGA Tour events and three Playoff tournaments at the end of the season, leading up to the Tour Championship, where the season champion is determined. Winning individual events and the overall title comes with significant financial rewards, with the FedExCup champion earning an extra $25 million. Tiger Woods was the first to win the FedExCup in 2007, and he, along with Rory McIlroy, is one of the few players to have won it twice.

Points Vary by Tournament Importance

To compete in the FedExCup, players must have full PGA Tour membership. Eligible players earn points starting from the season’s beginning, with point values varying based on the tournament’s prestige. Winners can earn between 300 and 750 points depending on the event.

The major championships (Masters Tournament, U.S. Open, The Open Championship, and PGA Championship) and the Players Championship offer 750 FedExCup points to the winner. The newly added Signature Events provide 700 points. Most other PGA Tour events grant 500 points, except for alternate events running alongside major tournaments, which offer 300 points to the winner.

The stakes increase significantly during the Playoffs, where point allocations change dramatically. Each Playoff event awards 2,000 points to the winner, four times the amount of a regular season event.

Points System Creates Playoff Drama

The top 70 players at the end of the regular season keep their PGA Tour cards and qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs, beginning with the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Since 2019, the Playoffs have been shortened to three events. This change has made the Playoffs more competitive and less volatile. At the St. Jude Championship, 20 players are eliminated, leaving only the top 50 to advance to the BMW Championship.

At the BMW Championship, there is no cut, meaning all players compete through 72 holes. This rule adds to the tension, as even the leader with 2,000 points can be overtaken by any player in the field. However, those at the top still have the best chance to win the FedExCup.

In the past, Playoff points were reset before the final event, meaning that only strong performances in the finale would count. But since 2019, the Tour Championship uses a staggered start system based on Playoff rankings. The leader begins the final event at 10-under par, followed by second place at 8-under, and so on, down to even par for players ranked 26th to 30th. This system rewards consistency throughout the Playoffs while still allowing for a competitive final event.

What does the new format change?

Previously, Playoff points were reset before the finale to keep the competition open until the last event. However, this led to confusion and criticism, including from Tiger Woods, who argued that it didn’t reward season-long performance. The new system aims to make the FedExCup more accessible, particularly for the top 30 players. While the changes wouldn’t have drastically altered past outcomes, they do change how the final event unfolds. Some players excel when chasing down a leader, while others perform better when protecting a lead.

“I would feel better about a ten-stroke lead for four days than having to start from 30th place in the FedExCup like everyone else did before,” said 2015 FedExCup champion Jordan Spieth.

“The new system still gives a player a chance to finish really high and start a run in a week, but at the same time rewards those who have earned it at the top. I like that every shot counts, but also that some count a little more than others by rewarding a good season,” said 2010 FedEx Champion Jim Furyk.

The final Playoff event offers a doubled prize. Each Playoff tournament has a $20 million purse, with the winner taking the largest share. The FedExCup champion earns an additional $25 million from a $100 million bonus pool, most of which is paid directly to the players, with some set aside in a retirement fund accessible at age 45.

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PGA Tour

PGA Tour: The Race to the FedExCup Playoffs – Why Even a Victory Is Not Enough

The Wyndham Championship marked the end of the 36-event regular season of the PGA Tour, determining the top 70 players who will advance to the FedExCup Playoffs. These Playoffs, consisting of three tournaments, begin with the FedEx St. Jude Championship and continue with the BMW Championship. Only the top 50 players from the St. Jude Championship will move on to the next stage, and this group will also earn spots in all Signature Events in 2025. The season then culminates at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, where the top 30 players will compete for the FedExCup title and a significant $25 million prize. This article takes a closer look at who secured their place, who missed out, and why even a tournament victory doesn’t always guarantee a spot in the Playoffs.

The Top 10 Players: Leading the Standings

Leading the charge into the Playoffs are the season’s standout performers, Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele, occupying the first and second spots, respectively. Following closely are Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, and Wyndham Clark, all of whom have shown exceptional form throughout the year. Ludvig Aberg, making waves in his debut full season on the PGA Tour, impressively holds the sixth position. He is trailed by Sahith Theegala and Hideki Matsuyama. Perhaps the most unexpected presence in the top 10 is South Korea’s Sungjae Im, who clinched the ninth spot. Rounding out the elite group is Ireland’s Shane Lowry.

Notable Players Missing the Playoffs

Not surprisingly, Tiger Woods is absent from the Playoffs roster. The legendary golfer, who now selectively participates in Majors and his own Genesis Invitational, wrapped up the season in 220th place. For Woods, the result holds little consequence as his focus has long shifted to the bigger stages of the sport. Rickie Fowler, a recent father, also failed to make the top 70, finishing 106th, far from the qualifying mark. Europe’s Ryder Cup stalwart Nicolai Hojgaard, who played a pivotal role in Rome, finds himself on the outside looking in after finishing 81st in the standings.

Matt Kuchar’s remarkable streak of 17 consecutive Playoff appearances came to a halt this year, as he finished 103rd. Similarly, Kevin Kisner, who will once again lend his insights as an NBC commentator during the Playoffs, ended his campaign in 196th place.

The Davis Riley Scenario: When a Win Isn’t Enough

Davis Riley’s situation underscores the unforgiving nature of the FedExCup Playoffs qualification process. Despite claiming victory at the Charles Schwab Challenge, earning a hefty 500 FedExCup points, Riley narrowly missed the cut, finishing 71st—just one spot shy of advancing. This scenario highlights that a single win, no matter how significant, doesn’t guarantee a Playoff spot. A comparison with Sepp Straka, who has yet to secure a win in 2024, further illustrates this point. Straka’s consistency, particularly in the Signature Events, propelled him to 18th in the standings. His two top-five finishes at the RBC Heritage and the Memorial Tournament earned him more points than Riley’s lone victory.