Tag: Davis Riley

‘This is my fifth major’: Why Davis Riley thinks so highly of the PGA Tour’s Sanderson Farms Championship

Move over, TPC Sawgrass and The Players.

JACKSON, Miss. – Davis Riley thinks highly of the Sanderson Farms Championship.

The 25-year-old from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, has a home game this week at The Country Club of Jackson, situated about an hour and a half from Riley’s hometown. It’s a place he played when he was a 7th grader competing on his high school team and is now playing against the best golfers in the world.

And as far as how important it is to him? Very.

“Anytime I can get close to home and be back in Mississippi, it’s special,” Riley said. “(The) Sanderson Farms was one of the first tournaments that I got one of my first PGA starts at, so it’s always had a special place in my heart. This is my fifth major, so it’s definitely one I’ve had chalked up on the calendar and would like to have a chance to win at one day.”

Move over, TPC Sawgrass and The Players. The Country Club of Jackson and the Sanderson Farms Championship is the new fifth major.

Sanderson Farms: Tee times, TV | PGA Tour live on ESPN+ | Odds

Jokes aside, Riley will make his fourth start at the Sanderson Farms Championship come Thursday when he tees off at 1:50 p.m. ET. In 2019, he made the cut and shot 7-under 281 in his debut. The last two years, however, Riley has missed the cut.

Riley made the BMW Championship in the FedEx Cup Playoffs during his rookie year, and he nearly got into East Lake, but a poor opening round put him behind the field for the Tour Championship.

Now in a new PGA Tour season, Riley missed the cut at the Fortinet Championship two weeks ago, but he’s back at a place he has won before, though it was on a different stage. Now he wants to replicate that prior success.

“I will have a bunch of friends out and a bunch of family,” Riley said. “It’s definitely is a special tournament. Just anytime you can play in front of a home crowd and your family is really special. There’s definitely a little extra motivation there to do well. You just don’t want to put too much pressure on yourself, but you do want to perform. I think that’s the biggest thing is just taking it day by day and trying to ride some of that hometown momentum a little bit.”

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FedEx Cup Playoffs: A closer look at PGA Tour players on the top-30 bubble ahead of the 2022 BMW Championship

Plenty of players are looking to punch their tickets to East Lake Golf Club.

The second leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs begins Thursday at Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, Delaware, at the BMW Championship. That means only the top-70 players from the PGA Tour FedEx Cup standings qualified and are shooting for the season-long prize, the FedEx Cup.

Only 68 players will tee it up, and from there, only the top 30 in the standings advance to the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. The winner of the FedEx Cup Playoffs will take home $18 million and the FedEx Cup.

Cameron Smith, No. 3 in the FedEx Cup standings and into next week’s field, won’t tee it up at the BMW Championship, withdrawing Monday.

BMW Championship: PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ | Best bets | Tee times

Here’s a closer look at some names in the FedEx Cup points standings, including those who are on the bubble and others who need a big week to make the Tour Championship.

These players have the weekend off at the 2022 3M Open

Here’s a look at some of the players in the field at the 3M Open in Blaine, Minnesota, who failed to make the weekend.

Cameron Champ looked to be toast.

The defending 3M Open champion opened with 75 and was 6 over through 26 holes. The odds weren’t in his favor to play the weekend this time. But the 27-year-old Northern California native refused to quit. He snagged a birdie at No. 18, his 27th hole of the tournament, before catching fire on the final nine holes. He closed with four birdies on his final five holes, including a 21-foot birdie putt at No. 9 to shoot 68, which secured him weekend plans in the Twin Cities.

A gutsy performance, indeed. Same goes for Rickie Fowler, who straddled the cutline most of the day and made it on the number after a bogey at No. 16, posting a 36-hole total of 1-over 143. So did Maverick McNealy, who had missed just four cuts all season. Double bogeys at Nos. 9 and 11 stacked the deck against him, but he canned a 40-foot birdie putt at 17 and an 8-foot birdie at 18 to give himself a one-strike cushion and lock up a tee time for Saturday.

Here’s a look at some of the players in the field at the 3M Open in Blaine, Minnesota, who weren’t so lucky.

2022 3M Open odds, field notes, best bets and picks to win

After having Cam Smith at The Open, let’s get another winner.

We’re pretty sure the world of golf is going to be feeling a hangover-type come down from the festivities at the 150th Open. Our reward for pushing through the long weekend?

The 3M Open.

Tony Finau, coming off a T-28 at the Old Course, is the betting favorite at +1200. Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im are next at +1500. Chez Reavie won the opposite field event last week at the Barracuda Championship and sits at +3000.

TPC Twin Cities is a par-71 layout that will measure 7,431 yards this week.

There aren’t many star-level names in this field, so we’ll have to find some value farther down the board.

Golf course

TPC Twin Cities | Par 71 | 7,431 yards | Architect: Arnold Palmer

TPC Twin Cities
The second hole at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota. (Photo: David Berding-USA TODAY Sports)

Key statistics

  • Driving distance
  • Birdies or better percentage

Data Golf Information

Course Fit (compares golf courses based on the degree to which different golfer attributes — such as driving distance — to predict who performs well at each course – DataGolf): 1. Sea Island GC, 2. East Lake Golf Club, 3. Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead)

Trending: 1. Tony Finau (last three starts: MC, T-13, T-28), 2. Sahith Theegala (T-2, T-16, T-34), 3. Davis Riley (T-13, T-31, T-64), 3.

Percent chance to win (based on course history, fit, trending, etc.): 1. Sungjae Im (6.7 percent), 2. Hideki Matsuyama (5.2 percent), 3. Tony Finau (4.6 percent)

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Open Championship recap | 3M preview:
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2022 Travelers Championship odds, field, best bets and picks

Betting odds, field notes and more for this week’s PGA Tour stop.

A few days after Matt Fitzpatrick’s stellar U.S. Open win at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, the players have traveled just down the road to TPC River Highlands for the Travelers Championship.

And the field is loaded.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and world No. 2 Rory McIlroy are in Hartford, Connecticut. In total, five of the world’s top-10 players will be teeing it up this week.

As it stands now, Brooks Koepka is also in the field. However, it was reported Tuesday morning that the four-time major champion is leaving the PGA Tour for LIV Golf. We’ll have to wait and see if he actually plays on the U.S. circuit this week.

Golf course

TPC River Highlands | Par 70 | 6,852 yards

The 15th green during the final round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands. (Photo: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports)

Key statistics

Even though this is a short golf course, distance isn’t king around here. A variety of different styles can win at River Highlands, just look at the last three winners: Harris English, Dustin Johnson and Chez Reavie. With that being said, driving accuracy will be key this week as the rough is long and very penal. The winning score will be somewhere in the mid to high teens, so running into a hot putter will be important, as well.

Data Golf Information

Course Fit (compares golf courses based on the degree to which different golfer attributes — such as driving distance — to predict who performs well at each course – DataGolf): 1. TPC Potomac, 2. East Lake, 3. TPC Twin Cities

Trending: 1. Rory McIlroy (last three starts: T-18, 1, T-5), 2. Tony Finau (T-4, 2, MC), 3. Scottie Scheffler (2, T-18, T-2)

Percent chance to win (based on course history, fit, trending, etc.): 1. Scottie Scheffler (7.9 percent), 2. Rory McIlroy (7.7 percent), 3. Patrick Cantlay (6.2 percent)

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2022 Memorial Tournament odds, field notes, best bets and picks

Can another youngster grab his first PGA Tour win?

From Fort Worth, Texas, to Dublin, Ohio, the PGA Tour has moved its way north and it’s time for a weekend at Jack’s place.

Last year’s Memorial was, well, unique. Jon Rahm had the tournament all but locked up, tested positive for COVID-19 and was forced to withdraw after the third round, and the trophy eventually went to Patrick Cantlay, his second career win at Muirfield Village.

Like most years, the field is loaded. Rahm and Cantlay are joined by world No. 3 Cameron Smith, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, and Viktor Hovland.

Changes were made to the course over the last few years including the resurfacing of every green, adjustments to 14 of the putting surfaces, and No. 15 was completely redone.

Golf course

Muirfield Village | Par 72 | 7,533 yards

General view of the 16th hole during the final round of The Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 5, 2016 in Dublin, Ohio. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)

Key stats

Strokes Gained: Tee to Green: The last five winners of the Memorial entered the week ranked inside the top 14 in SG: Tee to Green on the season.

Strokes Gained: Around the Green / Scrambling: Short game is key around Muirfield Village. Players who are unable to avoid bogeys around the greens are going to have trouble contending.

Data Golf Information

Course Fit (compares golf courses based on the degree to which different golfer attributes — such as driving distance — to predict who performs well at each course – DataGolf): 1. Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead), 2. The Concession Golf Club, 3. Sea Island GC

Trending: 1. Shane Lowry (last three starts: T-3, 13, T-23), 2. Cameron Smith (MC, T-21, T-13), 3. Rory McIlroy (2, 5, 8)

Percent chance to win (based on course history, fit, trending, etc.): 1. Jon Rahm (7.3 percent), 2. Patrick Cantlay (5.3 percent), 3. Rory McIlroy (5.1 percent)

Latest Twilight 9 episode

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Sam Burns buries long putt to beat his buddy Scottie Scheffler in a playoff, taking Charles Schwab Challenge title

The LSU product dropped a 38-foot putt from off the green to capture his third PGA Tour victory of the season.

FORT WORTH, Texas — With his longtime coach Randy Smith eyeing each swing, Scottie Scheffler spent a little extra time on the range at Colonial Country Club on Sunday working through low knockdowns, something the world’s top-ranked player hadn’t done particularly well through the tournament’s first three days.

Looking for his fifth win in his last 10 starts — and to become the first player to win five PGA Tour events before June 1 since Tom Watson turned the trick in 1980 — Scheffler knew the final round of the Charles Schwab Challenge would be more about standing strong in the wind than sprinting toward the lead.

With consistent winds in the 30 mph range making the small greens at Colonial even tougher than usual to hit, Scheffler’s strategy was spot on — and nearly worked.

But as he and others fought to keep their heads afloat, Sam Burns found an even better plan of attack — get out early, play well and wait for the pack to come back to him.

Burns earned his third victory of the PGA Tour season by posting an early 65, then waiting as others struggled to deal with the wind.

He then beat Scheffler — his buddy, with whom he shared a house at this year’s Masters — by dropping an incredible, winding 38-foot putt from off the green on the first playoff hole.

For the few hours before Burns’ heroic putt, however, he wasn’t even in the conversation.

At one point on the back nine, five players all sat at 10 under as Scheffler, Davis Riley, Brendon Todd, Harold Varner III and Scott Stallings found themselves all tied. Meanwhile, Burns sat in the clubhouse at 9 under.

Riley, who briefly held the lead, was the first to fade away, dropping a shot on No. 13 and then knocking a drive on the next hole out of bounds through a chain-link fence.

Todd, who considers Colonial his favorite course on Tour, dropped strokes at Nos. 11 and 12. Varner then had a stretch of triple bogey-double bogey-triple bogey on Nos. 12-14.

And Stallings tried to stay above water but lost single strokes at 12, 14 and 17 to fall off the chase.

Scheffler, who failed to make a birdie through 18 holes, made knee-knocking par putts of nine, six and eight feet in the final four holes to force the playoff. His only previous appearance in a playoff was when he captured his first Tour victory, as he beat Patrick Cantlay on the third hole at the WM Phoenix Open.

Scottie Scheffler lines up his putt on the first green during the final round of the Charles Schwab Challenge golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-USA TODAY Sports

But Burns, who already had victories this season at the Sanderson Farms Championship and the Valspar, posted the day’s best round, including a 30 on the front nine. Burns teed off nearly 90 minutes before Scheffler, and the LSU product took advantage of beating the afternoon gusts, although the world’s 10th-ranked player did play the final seven holes at even par.

He admitted that he wasn’t even thinking about the leaders as he made his way through his final round.

“I never really did, to be honest. When you start the day seven back, I knew Scottie was at 11, I mean, the way that guy is playing right now, who would have ever thought that you’d have a chance seven back?” Burns said. “But I mean, with the wind we had today and the way the golf course is set up, to go out and shoot the score that I did today was really good.”

When the playoff started, the nearly two-hour delay didn’t seem to faze Burns, as he piped a drive well past Scheffler on the first playoff hole and then calmly drained the 38-footer for the victory. Scheffler followed by just missing his putt from 37 feet away.

For Burns, this has become a huge season. The 25-year-old from Shreveport, Louisiana, has eight top-10s in 17 starts on the year and now is only behind Scheffler (four) in terms of Tour wins on the season.

And while the two are extremely close, Burns knows his buddy was not taking it easy on him.

“Yeah, we’re probably best friends,” Burns said. “But at the same time I can assure you, he wanted to beat me more than anybody else and I wanted to beat him more than anybody else, and it just happened to be the two of us at the end.

“It’s going to be a fun story that we’ll get to have for the rest of our careers, and fortunately, I got the better end of it this time, but hopefully, we’re at the beginning of these situations in the future.”

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Justin Thomas will continue to call on patience as he comes close again at Valspar Championship

“I’m doing a lot of really, really good things. I just need to keep putting myself there and it will start happening.”

Patience, Justin Thomas has occasionally admitted, isn’t the strongest weapon in his considerable arsenal.

It’s not that he gets testy and brusque when things aren’t going his way. It’s just Thomas knows the thin line between getting the job done and not forcing things to arrive at the desirable outcome is a tough one to walk.

Now, however, patience has to be the 15th club in his bag.

The 14-time PGA Tour winner and 2017 PGA champion fell short once again Sunday, when he fell one shot shy of a playoff between Sam Burns and Davis Riley, a fellow Alabama golf alum, in the Valspar Championship on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida.

While Burns won on the second hole of the playoff, Thomas left the grounds with his fifth top-10 finish in eight starts this season. But he still hasn’t won since the 2021 Players Championship.

“It’s coming,” Thomas said of an expected upcoming victory. “I’ve just got to be patient and be in the right frame of mind because you can’t force anything in this game. As soon as I start doing that you get down some rabbit holes.

“I’m doing a lot of really, really good things. I just need to keep putting myself there and it will start happening. I didn’t really do anything at all today and I very easily could have won the tournament. A lot to build on a, lot of positives, and we got a big stretch coming up, so I’m excited for it.”

Valspar: Leaderboard | Best photos | PGA Tour Live on ESPN+

After posting 5-under-par 66 in each of his first three rounds, Thomas just couldn’t get on any type of roll in the final round. He couldn’t get the putter to cooperate in the early going and then made a bogey on the par-5 11th when his second shot ended up in a small depression 54 yards from the hole. He pitched his ball over the green, then chipped much too strong past the hole and missed the par putt from 15 feet.

Another poor approach on 16 from 160 yards forced him to scramble for par. On the difficult par-3 17th, he pulled his tee shot into the greenside bunker but nearly holed his second for birdie. On the par-4 18th, the last nasty fang of the finishing stretch called the Snake Pit, Thomas drove his tee shot into the upslope of a fairway bunker and scrambled for par again.

“I didn’t make enough birdies. I didn’t hit the ball as well today,” Thomas said. “Got a couple of bad breaks, which is a bummer. I laid that ball up pretty nice there on 11 and just right into a hole there at the end of the fairway. That’s one I’m usually licking my chops, kind of pitching off the green. And then I was just, pretty much just trying to figure out how to hit the green.

“But everybody had to play in the same conditions, so it’s not like I was the only one that was dealing with that on the golf course. It just, I didn’t execute when I needed to.”

With a win, Thomas, 28, would have been the youngest player to win 15 PGA Tour titles since Tiger Woods in 1999. He would have also joined Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Johnny Miller as the only players since 1960 to win 15 titles before turning 29.

Earlier in the week, Thomas said, “To be perfectly honest, it pisses me off,” about his ranking of No. 8 in the world. The former No. 1 might go up a notch or two heading into next week’s World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, but he’ll keep calling on his patience until win No,. 15 comes.

“I haven’t been out here a crazy long time, but I’ve been out here long enough to know that stuff like this happens, and you’re going to go on times where things maybe aren’t going as well or some of the difference of those putts going in don’t go in and some of balls that bounce in the fairway bounce in the bunker,” Thomas said. “And then when you get on those hot streaks, those 10-month, year-and-a-half, two-year stretches, like I was on in 2017 and 2018, or like (Dustin Johnson has) been on, Jon Rahm, Collin (Morikawa).

“But you just have to be in the right frame of mind for it to happen. I can’t be all pissed off and moping around the golf course and somehow expect things to start going my way. I just have to stay in that positive frame of mind, so that way when it does happen I’m expecting it.”

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Sam Burns defeats Davis Riley in playoff to defend title at 2022 Valspar Championship

Burns defended his title with a birdie putt from distance on the second playoff hole.

Sam Burns got bit by the Snake Pit but that didn’t poison his 2022 Valspar Championship.

The 25-year-old defended his title at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course, claiming the Valspar Championship via a playoff with rookie Davis Riley after the pair each finished at 17 under. Following a pair of pars on No. 18, Burns claimed the title with a birdie from distance on the second playoff hole, the par-4 16th.

Burns is the fourth two-time winner at the Valspar, and the second to defend his title following Paul Casey in 2018 and 2019 (2020’s event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Last year’s Valspar win was the first of Burns’ PGA Tour career. The Shreveport, Louisiana native went on to win the Sanderson Farms Championship in October, his last victory on Tour prior to this week.

Valspar: Leaderboard | Best photos | PGA Tour Live on ESPN+

Justin Thomas and Matthew NeSmith finished T-3 at 16 under, with Matt Fitzpatrick and Brian Harman rounding out the top five at 14 under.

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Davis Riley loses two-shot lead, makes disastrous triple bogey in 2022 Valspar Championship final round

Riley shot a bogey-free 9-under 62 in the third round to set the 54-hole tournament scoring record.

Davis Riley stood on the par-5 5th tee during the final round of the 2022 Valspar Championship with a two-shot lead. He walked off the green trailing by one. He had gone 34 holes without a bogey before that hole.

The 25-year-old PGA Tour rookie made the only triple bogey of the week on No. 5 at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course at the worst time. After a wayward drive to the left, Riley struggled to get to the green, chunking an approach in-between a pair of drops before the struggles continued around the green.

Following a pair of poor pitches that failed to find the green, Riley two-putted from the rough to put the carrot on the snowman.

Valspar: Leaderboard | Best photos | PGA Tour Live on ESPN+

Riley shot a bogey-free 9-under 62 in the third round to set the 54-hole tournament scoring record at 18-under 195 and was on pace to set the Valspar’s 72-hole scoring mark, set by Vijay Singh in 2004 (18-under 266).

According to golf stats guru Justin Ray, it’s been almost nine years since someone posted an 8 or higher in the final round and went on to win.

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