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Bob May and Tiger Woods Exchanged Blows In The Epic 2000 PGA Championship At Valhalla

It’s so easy now, with more than two decades of hindsight, for all the victories to converge into one uninterrupted stretch of dominance. The Tiger Woods of 1999 and 2000 won 17 PGA Tour events in his early 20s and suddenly, explosively, was the dominant force in golf.

He had fully burst into the spotlight with his eye-popping performance at the 1997 Masters, shattering the scoring record with the most dominant display in major championship history. After a relatively quiet year in 1998 in which he reworked his swing, he stared down a young Sergio Garcia to win his second major title at the 1999 PGA Championship at Medinah Country Club in Illinois.

Entering the 2000 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, Woods was without doubt the star, capable of shotmaking and power and putting prowess unmatched by his older peers.

Spoiler alert: Woods won that PGA Championship, part of the greatest streak in golf history. But that 2000 PGA Championship was special, because Woods was pushed to an extent he rarely experienced during the peak of his powers. Almost every great shot he hit was matched in the final round, and for once, the ultimate frontrunner had a running mate down the line at Valhalla.

Woods had started the year on a heater, winning early-season Tour events in Hawaii, California, Florida and Ohio. And he was just getting warmed up.

Woods blew away the field at the 2000 U.S. Open in June at Pebble Beach, notching a 15-shot win for the largest victory margin ever in a major. He then claimed his fourth major title and second in a row at the Open Championship in July at the Old Course at St. Andrews, this one by a mere eight shots. He had claimed three titles in a stretch of four major championships, and he had locked up the career Grand Slam before his 24th birthday.

If it seemed as if Woods couldn’t lose, it was because he wasn’t doing much losing. He headed into the PGA Championship as the strong favorite at Valhalla Golf Club, and he had exposed this fact to all who dared challenge him. Tiger was the man to beat, and nobody seemed able to do it.

Enter Bob May.

Nobody wants to be called a journeyman, but that description perfectly fit May, then a 31-year-old who had split time between the PGA Tour and the European Tour. He had never won on the PGA Tour, but his impressive junior-golf record in California had once been a target for a younger Woods. At the start of the PGA Championship at Valhalla, May had climbed to No. 48 in the world.

As the Championship progressed into Sunday’s final round, May vs. Woods had all the makings of a classic David-vs.-Goliath matchup that nobody saw coming. It’s easy to look back now and say the outcome seemed predetermined based on Woods’ sterling record as a closer, but that would be a case of hindsight being 20/20 because May was determined to take it to Woods.

And Woods, coming into Valhalla on an 18-month hot streak, looked entirely human for a spell in the third round and again early in the fourth.

Valhalla’s course was designed by Jack Nicklaus with major aspirations, having first hosted the 1996 PGA Championship won by Mark Brooks in a playoff over Kentucky native Kenny Perry. The layout featured thick bluegrass rough and tricky Nicklaus greens, many of which included several tiers.

By the 2000 PGA Championship, the 60-year-old Nicklaus was nearing the end of his major championship career. The course he built in Kentucky would be the last he would play in the PGA Championship. But there was one more reason to watch the Golden Bear. He was paired with Woods in the first two rounds, Vijay Singh occupying the third spot in their group. It was the first time Nicklaus and Woods played competitive rounds together.

Woods wasted no time showing off in front of the man whose records he was chasing, shooting 6-under-par 66 to share the first-round lead with Scott Dunlap. A second-round 67 gave Woods the outright lead by one over Dunlap, who was playing some of the best golf of his life.

By and large, Woods did it by manhandling Valhalla’s four par 5s. With length to spare, Woods was 7 under par on those holes after playing each of them twice, seven birdies in eight attempts.

“I knew that he was good, but I had never played with him in a tournament before,” Nicklaus, who missed the cut by a shot, said during a televised interview after the first two rounds. “And he is so much better than I thought he was. It just absolutely amazed me. It was a unique experience for me to play with him the last two days.”

May, meanwhile, didn’t get off to the greatest start. By then a Las Vegas resident, May was an incredible longshot after opening with an even-par 72. A talented iron player, he climbed into the fringes of contention with a bogey-free 66 in the second round, but he was five shots behind Woods on a packed leaderboard.

Nobody could have predicted what would come.

In Saturday’s third round, May racked up seven birdies in a 10-hole stretch and hung a second consecutive 66 on the board. Woods, meanwhile, started struggling a touch with his putter — nothing too alarming, but not every putt was dropping as some fans had come to expect. He was still dominating the par 5s in general, but a double bogey on the par-4 12th included a missed 3-footer.

Woods hung tough for a 2-under 70 and a one-shot lead over May, who was one shot clear of Dunlap and JP Hayes. But, unexpectedly, there appeared to be gaps in Woods’ armor.

Sunday turned into one of the greatest two-man duels in major championship history. Woods and May, paired together in the final group, distanced themselves from the field. And despite many expectations, it was May who started hot.

Woods struggled early with two bogeys in the first six holes, including a three-putt on a par 5. Meanwhile, May flipped the script with birdies on two of the first four holes. He bogeyed the sixth, but as the pairing walked to No. 7 tee, the journeyman had a two-shot lead and appeared fearless, throwing great iron shot after great iron shot at a Woods who couldn’t seem to dodge the blows. David had Goliath on the ropes.

But No. 7 is a par 5, and Woods did what he does on such holes, making birdie to cut May’s lead to one. Woods then reheated his putter with a 12-footer that found the cup on No. 8 to reach 13 under par and square what soon would become a two-man match. The contestants took a breather with pars on No. 9 before heading to the back nine.

After the turn, they threw birdies at each other hole after hole. May had three birdies in a row on Nos. 10-12 to take a 1-up lead despite Woods birdieing Nos. 10 and 12. They both birdied the long par-3 14th, May again knocking his approach inside Woods’ before each rolled in a putt. May again struck a beautiful approach on 15, but this time he misread his birdie putt and settled for par after Woods had made a 15-footer for his par, later calling that save a deciding point of the tournament.

Woods stuck a wedge approach tight on 17 to pull even with May as they lapped the rest of the field, and with the title on the line each man reached the par-5 18th green in two shots. Neither eagle putt came close, with May actually running his off the green and onto the fringe before Woods missed by 5 feet.

By this point, each player had four birdies on that back nine, and with everything on the line in regulation, neither backed down on 18. May knocked in his long birdie putt from the fringe, fist-pumping on his way to retrieve the ball from the hole. Woods then rolled his shorter putt home to tie May at 18 under par at the end of regulation, generating a Woods fist-pump of his own.

2000 – Tiger Woods chased Bob May’s junior records in Southern California, but the two had never met in competition. That changed at Valhalla Golf Club in what many call the greatest final-day duel in PGA Championship history. #PGA100 Vote now at https://t.co/XfDTpfWQZg pic.twitter.com/8jb3LN0qs4 — PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) July 22, 2018

Each man shot 5-under 31 on that back nine, no bogeys between them. Woods had to birdie seven of the final 12 holes to catch the underdog May: No player had pushed Woods to those extremes in any of his previous major victories.

They set off for a three-hole aggregate playoff, the first time that format was employed in the PGA Championship, replacing the previous sudden-death method. And Woods struck early.

May drove left into tall rough on Valhalla’s 16th, and his second shot found more rough short and right of the green. From there, an exceptional pitch-and-run trundled across the green, up to the back tier and to within a few inches to secure a par.

But Woods, having found the fairway with a 2-iron tee shot and having hit the green with his approach, rolled in a 25-footer for birdie. And it wasn’t just that Woods made the putt. He followed the ball toward the hole, quick-stepping as it approached the cup and pointing as it tumbled in, giving the cameras one of his most iconic reactions. His birdie drew the first and only blood of the playoff.

Both men struggled on No. 17, May getting up and down from a greenside bunker while Woods was forced to pitch out of the trees with his second, bouncing his ball off a cart path and over the green before scrambling for a par to maintain his one-shot playoff lead.

Then came one of the luckiest breaks of Woods’ career. On the third and final hole of the playoff, he badly tugged his drive toward trees and bushes. After a few tense seconds in which nobody seemed to know where the ball was, it could be seen on the television coverage rebounding down a cart path to a much better location, albeit still in light rough.

There has been speculation that Woods’ ball was either kicked or thrown by a fan, but there’s no solid evidence to promote such a claim. If his ball had remained in the thickest trouble, his one-shot lead would have been in peril.

May also pulled his drive into the rough, and both men missed the fairway with their ensuing layups on the par 5. Woods then found the front bunker with his third shot, while May blasted his approach from deep grass onto the green within 25 feet of the hole. This thing wasn’t over yet, as a make by May or a bad bunker shot by Woods could yet square the playoff.

Woods then did what he does, blasting from the sand to within 18 inches to guarantee his par. May needed to sink that 25-footer for birdie, and for most of its length it appeared as if he might have done it. But the putt broke hard near the end and missed by inches, and Woods had his third major victory in a row.

“Anytime you get to play against the best, and be able to come out on top against the best, it’s always going to be more satisfying,” Woods said after the round. “The last two years the PGA Championship has drawn the best field, and I’ve been very fortunate to be able to win. But to be able to tee it up and go toe-to-toe against the best players in the world, that’s what you dream about.”

May had come within a whisker of knocking the wind out of Woods, ultimately falling one shot shy of victory in regulation and then losing by just one shot in the playoff.

“I wanted to concentrate real hard out there today and, you know, prove to people I can play out here,” May said in a post-round television interview. “It’s not a question anymore. I went out and played a good solid round of golf, and was just one shot too short.”

The two players’ careers diverged greatly after that PGA Championship before suffering similar infirmities.

Woods kept winning, racking up a total nine PGA Tour victories in 2000. He added the Masters title in 2001, giving him all four major trophies in a row. Call it a non-calendar- year Grand Slam if you like or not, but there’s no denying it was the greatest professional major streak in the history of the game.

May kept swinging well in the weeks after the PGA Championship, finishing third at the

Reno-Tahoe Open the next week and adding three more top-20 finishes on Tour that year. Over the next several seasons, he continued on Tour before hurting his back in 2003, the spinal injury eventually leading to surgery. After more than a year away from golf, he returned to play a handful of more seasons before more pain led to a second surgery. After turning 50 in 2018, he tried to qualify for the PGA Tour Champions but has played only a handful of events. Much of his focus has shifted to the eponymous golf academy he operates in Las Vegas.

Woods, meanwhile, went on to arguably the best career in professional golf history with 15 major titles and 82 PGA Tour victories before suffering a series of injuries himself, including his own back problems that led to multiple surgeries. All these years after his stunning showdown with May in Louisville, Woods is also trying to prepare his body for PGA Tour starts.

The two players were on divergent paths that eventually led to similar pain and limited play. But for that week at Valhalla, each was in his prime, and they put on one of the greatest shows the game has ever seen.

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Tour Championship Leaderboard And Final Round Live Updates - Hovland Wins FedEx Cup by Five Shots Over Schauffele

The 2022/23 PGA Tour season comes to a conclusion this evening at East Lake. Who will lift the FedEx Cup and take the $18m bonus?

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Viktor Hovland fought off a spirited fightback from Xander Schauffele to claim back-to-back victories and the FedEx Cup with a five-shot victory at the Tour Championship.

Starting the day six shots ahead, Hovland started fast, making four birdies in his first six holes either side of a rain delay but was unable to shake off the challenge of Schauffele.

The American, who has never finished below seventh in his six appearances so far at East Lake, also made four birdies in his first six holes and continued to battle away, at one point reducing Hovland's lead down to just three after three birdies in five holes around the turn.

As the rest of the field was left behind, the final pairing offered up something of a prelude for next month's Ryder Cup over the back nine, going blow for blow over the final holes.

The turning point would arrive on the 14th, where Hovland responded from a poor chip to drain a crucial par putt and retain his three-shot advantage. From there, the 25-year-old found three birdies in his final three holes to finish on -27, securing back-to-back wins alongside the $18m winner cheque.

After Schauffele on -22, Wyndham Clark was the next best back at -16. Solid final rounds from Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay saw the pair round out the top five at -14 and -13 respectively. World No.1 Scottie Scheffler finished at T6 on -11.

Relive all the action from the final round of the Tour Championship below:

TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP LEADERBOARD

• -27: HOVLAND
• -22: SCHAUFFELE
• -14: MCILROY 
• -13: CANTLAY

TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP QUICK LINKS

• Tour Championship Final Round Tee Times
• Tour Championship Prize Money 2023
• Tour Championship Live Stream: How To Watch

Updates from:

Hello and welcome to Golf Monthly's live coverage of the final round of the Tour Championship. After a stellar round on Saturday, the tournament is really Viktor Hovland's to lose. Fresh of his victory last week, the Norwegian has a six-shot advantage at East Lake heading into the final round. 

It will take something special from the chasing pack to stop him. Will that happen? Tune in to find out...

FINAL ROUND TEE TIMES

We've got a few early starters out on the course, but here's a look at when the big contenders get underway for their final round.

Times listed in EDT (BST):

• 12.56pm (5.56pm) -  Adam Schenk, Rory McIlroy
• 1.07pm (6.07pm) -  Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay
• 1.18pm (6.18pm) -  Wyndham Clark, Jon Rahm
• 1.29pm (6.29pm) -  Keegan Bradley, Collin Morikawa
• 1.40pm (6.40pm) -  Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele

DIFFICULT EARLY SCORING

Scoring was tricky yesterday and the early signs from those already on the course is that we could be in for similarly tricky scorings.

14 players are out on the course but just two are under par currently for their rounds...

IS XANDER THE MAN TO CHASE DOWN HOVLAND?

If you could have picked someone charged with catching Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele may just be that person.

The American has five top-ten finishes and one victory at this course in his six appearances at the tournament. As well as that, he's yet to shoot over par at East Lake. 

Could he cause a shock here today? A reminder that Scottie Scheffler led by this exact amount heading into the final round last year...and ended up falling short to an electric round from Rory McIlroy.

BIG PAYDAY FOR THE WINNER

It's the biggest purse on the PGA Tour, so here's a quick reminder of the eye-watering sums of money that the top-ten players are set to take home today:

• 1 - $18,000,000
• 2 - $6,500,000
• 3 - $5,000,000
• 4 - $4,000,000
• 5 - $3,000,000
• 6 - $2,500,000
• 7 - $2,000,000
• 8 - $1,500,000
• 9 - $1,250,000
• 10 - $1,000,000

RYDER CUP PICKS TO PLAY FOR

Another strand to today's action is next month's Ryder Cup. Two names in the top five, in particular, will be looking to force the hand of US Captain Zach Johnson ahead of Marco Simone.

Collin Morikawa looks likely to get a captain's pick already but he'll be after one more big round just to make that sure.

The other is Keegan Bradley who it feels like is on the outside looking in at the minute. He's already won twice this season but may well need a big final-round showing at East Lake to make the case to Johnson for one of those six picks.

RORY MCILROY UNDERWAY

He's been struggling with a back injury all week has Rory and currently sits 11 shots back of the lead. He pulled off something magnificent this time last year but 11 shots feels even beyond his best.

He gets underway with Adam Schenk, finding the right rough with his first tee shot.

EARLY BOGEY FOR RORY

The Northern Irishman is blocked off by trees after his opening drive and can't reach the green in two. From the fairway he can't get up and down to save his par and he drops back to -8.

It's a lovely birdie, though, for his playing partner Schenk who moves into solo eighth at -10. What a season he is putting together. 

GLOVER AND HOMA INTO THE TOP TEN

A nice start for the American duo early into their final rounds. Two birdies for Glover, one for Max and the pair are both at T9 on -9.

OPENING BIRDIE FOR SCHEFFLER

Where was any of that yesterday, Scottie? The World No.1 was birdie-shy almost the entirety of Saturday but gets underway at the first on Sunday with a lovely iron approach.

He's got ten feet for birdie and this time makes no mistake. Up to -12 but plenty of work still to do. 

SCHENK HOLES OUT FROM THE FAIRWAY

Wow! What a start from Adam Schenk. It's rare that Rory McIlroy is overshadowed in a pairing but it's happening right now.

A birdie on the first is met by eagle on the third as he holes out from 137 yards on the fairway. Up to -12 and into a share of fifth for him.

He's still yet to win on the PGA Tour and that's probably unlikely to change today, but his breakthrough season continues to go from strength to strength.

6 years ago today, Adam received his PGA Tour card. Today, he is playing in the final round of the Tour Championship. I have a slew of words to share but I’ll spare you all: I’m wearing waterproof mascara today. pic.twitter.com/QuMdBmcJN7 August 27, 2023

LEADER UNDERWAY

A bit of drama before he starts as Viktor Hovland and his caddie appear to take a wrong turn and have to lightly jog to make the first tee on time.

All's well that ends well, though, as he finds the fairway with his drive. Schauffele, too, finds the short stuff as he looks to chase down the Norwegian. 

EARLY BIRDIES FLOWING

Well, I thought it might be similar to yesterday conditions-wise but perhaps not. Scheffler rolls in another birdie - his second of the round - to get to -13 and he's joined there by Adam Schenk whose marvellous front nine gets even better with a 31-foot birdie to move four under thru four.

Morikawa gets off and running with birdie at the first to move to -14 but Keegan Bradley doesn't appear to have got the memo as he makes an opening-hole bogey to drop back to -12.

HOVLAND MAKES AN EARLY MOVE

Just relentless golf from Viktor Hovland who pours in a 15-footer on the first for a birdie to move to -21. He's going to be difficult to catch if he keeps making birdies look as easy as that.

But credit to Schauffele. A beauty of an iron into the green for the American who also makes birdie to keep some sort of pressure on the leader. Up to -15 for him.

PLAY SUSPENDED

Well, not the news we were hoping for. Just as we were getting started, play has been suspended due to "inclement weather." Looks like storms are projected in the area but hopefully East Lake can avoid the worst of it.

The final round of the TOUR Championship was suspended at 1:57 p.m. ET due to inclement weather. August 27, 2023

Some thunder being picked up by the TV cameras. It looks like this delay could be a bit lengthier than anyone initially anticipated. 

Anyway, lets take the opportunity to look back on what golf we have seen so far today and the story right now is Adam Schenk. Five holes, three birdies, one eagle. Not bad. 

Here's a look at that eagle - a hole-out from the fairway:

A post shared by PGA TOUR (@pgatour) A photo posted by on

RAIN BEGINNING TO CLEAR

No news as of yet regards a restart but signs the rain and clouds appear to be slowing moving away from East Lake. 

There's not a lot of wind out on the course so it may take it's time but hopefully we aren't too far away from getting the golfers back on the course. 

OVER IN EUROPE...

A few signs of fans but still no signs of players so lets take another look back at some other action from today which happened in Europe at the Czech Masters on the DP World Tour.

If today is a big day for the likes of Bradley and Morikawa to force their way into a US captain's pick for the Ryder Cup, then it was no different over in Prague.

A host of big names such as Ludvig Aberg, Nicolai Hojgaard, Adrian Meronk, Yannik Paul and Bob MacIntyre were in contention as they looked to make their case to Luke Donald for a captain's pick onto Team Europe. 

Click here to find out how they got on.

PLAY TO RESUME AT 15:50 ET (20:50 BST)

Finally some good news and a time for the resumption of play. Given the length of the delay, the players are being allowed some time on the range first but it looks like we are looking at a 3:50pm ET restart. 

For the folks in the UK, that's 20:50pm so just over half an hour away.

Update from Atlanta: the range is opening at 3:15 and play expected to resume at 3:50 pm ET. August 27, 2023

PLAY TO RESUME - HOVLAND LEADS BY SIX

We're about 15 minutes away from play resuming so a small reminder of how things stand:

Hovland remains six shots ahead on -21 after a first-hole birdie but faces a putt to save his par on the second. His closest chaser, Schauffele, also made birdie on the first and has a look at birdie on 2 to move up to -15. 

Further back on -14 is Morikawa, while Schenk and Scheffler have each started excellently with the pair sat on -13 and -4 and -2 for their final rounds respectively so far.

PLAY BACK UNDERWAY

The horn goes and we're back just under two hours later! 

A big putt first up for Hovland to save his par on the second...right in the heart of it. No signs of rust from the Norwegian after the time waiting around. Schauffele pushes his birdie putt right off the hole and walks of for a par. 

There was a chance of a two-shot swing there but, in the end, it all remains the same. Hovland leads by six.

CLOSE SHAVE FOR SCHEFFLER

Scottie was getting hot before the weather interval and his iron's are dialled right out the gates with a nice approach into the fifth. From ten feet, though, he can't convert and he remains eight back at -13. 

SCHAUFFELE CUTS LEAD TO FIVE

He just loves this course, does Xander. Another sterling iron into the third green gives him a look at birdie and the American makes no mistake.

He's up to -16 and now just five back of Hovland after he misses his look at birdie. No cause for concern...yet.

SCHENK INTO THE TOP THREE

Not even the near two-hour rain delay has dampened Adam Schenk's spirits today as his magical front nine just keeps getting better. Another birdie pours into the hole at 6 and he's now -5 for his round, 14-under-par for the tournament and into a tie for third! 

BIRDIES FOR HOVLAND AND SCHAUFFELE

The rain from earlier may have made these greens slightly more receptive, and the final pair are putting that two the test. Schauffele's approach into the fourth is great. Hovland's is even better, almost threatening to slam dunk into the hole. 

It's two relatively short birdie efforts...and they both convert. We started the day with a few in contention but this is fast becoming a two horse race - Schauffele hunting down Hovland. 

Elsewhere, there is a bogey for Morikawa who drops back to -13 and leaves Schenk in solo third. That's a tasty payday if he can stay there.

KEEGAN BRADLEY DROPS BACK 

Not the round the American would have wanted to put together today. His second bogey of the day on the front nine and he's now two-over-par for his round and back at -11.

MORE PUTTING WOES FOR SCHEFFLER 

A couple of missed opportunities early in the round for the American and he's now in trouble on the seventh with his ball running through to the back of the green. It's a tricky two-putt but that becomes all the more difficult when the World No.1's first effort comes up way short before drifting down the slope and away from the hole.

In the end, it's a three-putt bogey and he's now ten back of Hovland at -12.

HOVLAND RESTORES SIX SHOT LEAD

It's difficult to put into words the level of ball striking Hovland is displaying right now. The greens are receptive, sure, but, he's got another great look at birdie after a sumptuous iron into the fifth. 

No problem for the Norwegian, who rolls it in for back-to-back birdies to get to -23. 

And the pressure tells on Schauffele who misses his birdie putt just prior. He's been great so far today as well but he's back to how he started the day - six back of the leader. 

PLENTY FALLING BY THE WAYSIDE

This truly has become a two-horse race now. A bogey for Rahm after finding the greenside bunker. A bogey for Morikawa after a short miss. And a bogey, too, for Schenk after a clumsy three putts.

Schauffele the only one standing, trying to chase down Hovland.

DOUBLE BOGEY FOR SCHEFFLER 

Well Scottie wasn't likely to win today but he's now just losing money quickly on these greens. 

The first putt on the eighth is tricky - slow at first before picking up speed - and Scheffler races it by. The par putt is missed...and so is the even shorter bogey putt. Double-bogey six and the World No. 10 is back to -10 where he started the tournament. 

MORE BIRDIES FOR HOVLAND AND SCHAUFFELE

The two players in the final group find the exact same greenside bunker left of the green with their approaches in. 

The rain we've had earlier in the day makes this a far less intimidating proposition for these two on the par-five sixth and they make no mistake, up and down for a pair of birdies and on they go, storming further ahead of the field. 

BOGEYS FOR SCHENK AND RAHM

Schauffele and Hovland look like they are playing a different course at the minute as more players drop shots around them. Rahm gets himself in trouble off the tee and can only hack out of the fairway bunker. In the end, he does well to just drop one shot. 

Schenk, too, drops one as he makes the turn after another three putt on the tenth. 

SCHAUFFELE BACK WITHIN FIVE

Everyone else has vacated from the chase but Xander Schauffele is going nowhere. An aggressive tee shot allows him a wedge into the green and he makes no mistake with the birdie putt. He's -5 thru eight holes and up to -19.

Hovland taps in for his part to remain at -24, but his lead now drops back to five.

MORIKAWA MAKES THE TURN WITH BIRDIE 

He's no longer fighting for the overall title, but there's plenty of money on offer for any of the players that can make a move up the leaderboard. After a quiet few holes, Morikawa bounces back with birdie on the par-three ninth to move alongside Clark on -13.

And he's joined back on 13-under-par by Adam Schenk who pours in another birdie from over 20 feet. He's back into a tie for third. 

HOVLAND SAVES PAR AS FINAL PAIR MAKE THE TURN 

Plenty of work to do for Hovland as his tee shot into the ninth comes up right at the bottom of a huge slope. It's 50ft long but with about 40ft worth of left-to-right break. 

The Norwegian gives it a good go but his effort comes up just short. It's a slightly testy downhiller for par...but he makes no mistake. Schauffele gives his putt a great roll but it just evades the hole. A great effort but the lead remains at five for Hovland. 

CLARK MAKING A MOVE

He wasn't particularly in contention at the start of the day but a three-under-par round has this year's US Open champion up into solo third at -14. 

That could be worth a few dollars if he can stay there come the end of play. 

DOUBLE BOGEY FOR SCHENK

Oooh, that's not ideal. Adam Schenk goes from bunker to bunker on the 14th before a costly three-putt leaves him with a double-bogey six! From a tie for fourth down into seventh at -11 for the American. 

SCHAUFFELE CUTS LEAD TO FOUR 

Xander is running out of holes but by no means giving up the chase. He hits a solid iron into the 11th but is under pressure as Hovland stuffs one in close.

No nerves from the American, though, as he gets the perfect roll on his right-to-left putt, sending it right into the heart of the cup for his eighth birdie of the day. He's up to -20 now.

Hovland with a chance to maintain his five-shot lead...but he can't. Perhaps the first signs of nerves from the Norwegian? Seven holes to go but his lead is now four. 

RORY MAKING A MOVE

Even a bad back can't deter the Northern Irishman. He loves it here at East Lake and is finishing in style here on Sunday. A divine tee shot into the 15th brings him his third birdie in four holes and up to T4 at -13.

Schenk, his playing partner, bounces back nicely after that double bogey with a birdie, too, while Clark further improves his position in third with another birdie to get to -15.

BACK-TO-BACK BIRDIES FOR SCHAUFFELE, LEAD NOW JUST THREE

Hovland is in a small spot of bother off the 12th tee as his ball settles into the fairway bunker. Not to worry, he simply sticks it in close and gives himself another look at birdie. 

Schauffele ramps up the pressure with another stellar iron into the green just inside Hovland's effort. And the pressure tells.

Hovland's effort goes by while Schauffele's putt drops for another birdie. In an instant, the hole is now three. 

Some late drama perhaps?

BOGEYS FOR CLARK AND MCILROY 

These two spent the final day at LACC battling it out for the US Open a few months back and they deservedly have their names right up at the top of the leaderboard after a pair of fine seasons. 

They've both made nice moves today but now Clark and McIlroy falter somewhat with bogeys, moving them back to -14 and -12 respectively.

HOVLAND PAR KEEPS HIM THREE AHEAD

Problems off the tee for Schauffele who goes way left over the trees. He recovers nicely to make a par but it's advantage Hovland after he sticks one in close on 13.

It's a good roll...but just catches the lip and rolls by quite some distance! Not the tap-in he would have wanted but it's calmy negotiated by the Norwegian back up the slope to make par and remain three ahead. 

We're supposed to still have a month until the Ryder Cup but this feels like a proper Sunday matchplay singles classic. Hovland 3UP with five to play.

BIRDIE FOR RORY, BOGEY FOR COLLIN 

The two swap places with McIlroy moving into solo fourth after a bounce-back birdie on the penultimate hole. Morikawa, meanwhile, serves up a three-putt at just the wrong time to drop back to -12 and a tie for fifth alongside Cantlay.

Schenk was at -12 but he's now further back at -10 after his second double bogey in four holes at 17.

HUGE PAR SAVE FROM HOVLAND ON 14

The first real sign of emotion from Hovland all day as he lets out an almighty fist pump having saved par! His second shot came up short and the chip onto the green was poor, but the putt...nerveless.

He maintains his three-shot lead with Schauffele making par and that feels like a big moment in this closing stretch. 

What a putt!Viktor Hovland comes up clutch to save par @TOURChamp 💪He leads by 3 with 4 to play. pic.twitter.com/LGGFxLRAUb August 27, 2023

DOUBLE BOGEY FOR MORIKAWA 

The American isn't closing in style and a mistake out of the greenside bunker from the par-three 15th leads to a double bogey and three dropped shots in his last two holes. 

Three-over-par today. Not his finest golf. 

HOVLAND LEADS BY THREE WITH THREE TO PLAY

The par-three 15th next for the final pair and they both safely carry it beyond the flag to give themselves outside looks for birdie. 

Hovland is further away, and it's a big right-to-lefter which he nurses down to the hole nicely. A solid par for him. Schauffele needs to be aggressive and try steal one here...but it's on the wrong line right from the start. 

No harm with a par but he's only got three holes left now and still trails by three. 

MCILROY IN THE CLUBHOUSE

Rory ends with a birdie on the par-five last to get up to -14 for the tournament and safely inside the top-five after a four-under-par 66. That's a great performance given the problems with his back that plagued his first two rounds. 

A great end to another remarkably consistent season for him. His playing partner, Schenk misses out on a birdie and currently sits at T8 which also represents a fantastic season for the up-and-coming American.

Rory McIlroy: 10 consecutive top-10 finishes, the longest streak of his PGA Tour career August 27, 2023

HOVLAND MAKES BIRDIE TO GO FOUR AHEAD WITH TWO REMAINING

What a couple of holes from Viktor Hovland. A huge par save on the previous hole is followed by a superb iron shot into the 16th green to give him a great look at birdie.

Schauffele has a go for birdie before that but his effort comes up short and Hovland takes full advantage, rolling his 10-foot putt down the slope and into the cup for his first birdie of the back nine to move to -25.

He now leads by four with two left and that, should be that.

BACK-TO-BACK BIRDIES AS HOVLAND EXTENDS LEAD TO FIVE

Simply relentless. It looked at one stage that this might go right down to the wire. 

Not any more. 

Hovland rolls in another birdie on the 17th and now, he heads the 18th tee with almost the same size lead as he started the day with. Schauffele sees his effort roll past and he settles for a par. 

He's played his part and made this final round a real test for the Norwegian, but the task was just too much and he's ran out of steam on these final holes. 

UP THE LAST THEY GO...

Safely on the fairway for Hovland on the par-five 18th and he can now enjoy this final work. His work is done and he will surely be your 2023 FedEx Cup champion.

VIKTOR HOVLAND WINS THE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP!

Schauffele second comes up short of the green but it's a lovely up and down to find yet another birdie. A final-round 62 is some achievement and he's pushed Hovland all the way today.

The Norwegian's second shot also comes up short, rolling back into the sand. Can he get up and down for a final birdie?

You bet he can. Remarkable golf from Hovland who himself shots a seven-under-par 63 to win the Tour Championship by five shots and claim the FedEx Cup for the first time! 

Viktor Hovland is the 2023 #FedExCup champion!This win @TOURChamp is his third victory of the season 🏆 pic.twitter.com/GRuHFLzDqT August 27, 2023

Simply remarkable golf from Hovland today. We saw last year from Scottie Scheffler how tricky it can be to close out these tournaments but the Norwegian was simply faultless and refused to take a backwards step.

A lot of credit, too, must go to Xander Schauffele who continues his magnificent record here with a final-round 62. He fell five shots short in the end but it felt and was a lot closer than that for large parts of the final round.

THANKS FOR TUNING IN!

Well, what a way to end the season. I didn't expect as entertaining a final round as that but thanks to Schauffele and Hovland we were treated to a real thriller.

Thanks for tuning in, until next time!

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Twenty years ago, Bob May took it to Tiger Woods, and it nearly ended in victory

Bob May nearly took down Tiger Woods at the 2000 PGA Championship at Valhalla, and it still remains one of golf's greatest major finishes.

Stephen Denton

History is written by the winners. But sometimes runners-up have the more interesting say. Twenty years ago, at the 2000 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club, Tiger Woods claimed his third of four consecutive majors in a run that became known as the Tiger Slam. Yet the story that gave full shape to Woods’ Wanamaker Trophy win was the inspired play of the guy who finished second. Expected to fall meekly to golf’s alpha at the top of his game (as so many had before), Bob May took Woods to the limit, firing a 66 to Tiger’s 67 to force a three-hole playoff that was settled in the twilight by a single shot.

In golf fan memory, May and Woods will be forever linked by that duel. But the ties between them run deeper. Seven years older, May grew up in the same area of Southern California as Woods, playing the same courses and setting junior records that Tiger held as a benchmark for himself. Even after the two shook hands at Valhalla, with their careers destined for divergent paths, their connection continued through the shared experience of injury. Beset by back problems, May, like Woods, went on to have multiple spinal surgeries, including the same fusion procedure that helped Tiger get back on track. May returned to competition after fusion, too, though, today, at 51 and lacking status on the senior circuit, he is left to Monday qualify into events.

His other working hours are spent running the Bob May Golf Academy, in Las Vegas, where he lives. GOLF sat down with May to discuss his life in the game before and after Valhalla, his competitive relationship with Woods and the details of a Sunday afternoon that the golf world can’t forget.

GOLF : So it’s the final round, and you’re in the final pairing with the man himself. How intimidated were you?

May : Honestly, I wasn’t. I knew Tiger was the most dominant golfer in the world, and I respected that. But intimidated? Not at all.

GOLF : What’s the difference?

May : The biggest thing that helped me was understanding he was going to play a different course than I was. He just hit it so much farther. Some of the guys who had fallen to Tiger in the past were big hitters who tried to slug it out with him, and I think it caught up with them. That wasn’t my mindset. I told myself I was going to play my game, which I knew was good enough to go to war with.

Tiger was on the left side of the fairway, and I remember seeing him shake his head at Stevie as if to say, ‘Damn. This guy is not going away.’ Bob May

GOLF : You and Tiger grew up in the same area. Had you ever played head-to-head?

May : We were far enough apart in age that we didn’t compete directly against each other. But I heard plenty about him, of course, and he knew about me. I had a few junior records back then, and Tiger used to say he wanted to break them. At the time, I was like, “What? Why don’t you just worry about your own stuff?” But later, when he started talking about wanting to break Jack Nicklaus’ records, I came to think of it as a compliment.

GOLF : Did you two interact much that Sunday at Valhalla?

May : We were each in our own zone. And, as I expected, we were each playing a different course. On the first hole, a par 4, I hit a good drive just to the right of a tree that was about 275 yards out. When Tiger hit his drive, I thought he pulled it because it was going right at that tree. But when his ball got to that tree, it just kept on going. I wound up hitting 7-iron into that first green, and he hit sand wedge.

GOLF : Still not intimidated?

May : We both made par. If anything, it put me at ease because it showed me right off the bat that I was right: We were going to be playing different courses.

GOLF : You took the lead with a birdie on the second hole. Did you realize right away that you had your A game?

May : I’d always been a pretty good ball striker, and I’d been playing well all week, so my confidence was high from the start.

GOLF : Any shots from that day that you’d want to have back?

May : Maybe my drive on 18 in the playoff. But in regulation, no. I had a short putt for birdie on 15 that people ask me about. But I hit the putt I wanted. If you look at the tape, [José María] Olazábal had pretty much the same putt earlier and it broke right. That’s how I played it, but mine just didn’t dive right.

GOLF : The 15th was where Tiger missed left and made a crazy up-and-down.

May : That’s right. And I’d put my approach in there tight by drawing one out over a creek on the right to a right pin position. Tiger was on the left side of the fairway and I remember seeing him shake his head at Stevie [Williams, his caddie] as he was walking toward his ball as if to say, “Damn. This guy isn’t going away.”

GOLF : You mentioned the tape. Have you watched replays of that round?

May : I never made a point of sitting down to watch it. But we used to have a loop of it running at my academy. Some students would see it and go, “Oh, I thought I recognized your name.”

GOLF : In the playoff, Tiger’s drive on 18 seemed headed for serious trouble but wound up in play. As you’re probably aware, there are conspiracy theorists who insist that Tiger got a friendly assist from a fan.

May : Oh, I know all about the conspiracy theorists. I had a 50-gallon bucket full of letters from them over the years.

GOLF : Saying what?

May : Things like, I saw a kid throw it out of a bush. Or I saw someone kick it back in play.

GOLF : What did you see?

May : From the tee, we couldn’t see anything. There’s a hill that blocked our view. After the round, I was up in the booth with Jim Nantz and Ken Venturi, and Venturi said, “I want you to see this.” Someone off camera tried to cut Venturi off, but he was like, “No, he needs to see this.” But even on the replay, I couldn’t tell. And to me, it doesn’t matter. Even if something did happen, it’s not like Tiger planned it. It’s water under the bridge.

GOLF : Have you ever had a chance to talk to Tiger about that day?

May : No. After the playoff he said, “Great match,” and that was about it. It was getting dark and we each got pulled in different directions for interviews. I didn’t see him again until [the Walt Disney World Golf Classic] later that year, when they paired us for the first two rounds. And then it was just like, “Oh, hey. How’ve you been?”

GOLF : Tiger might have edged you at Valhalla, but you beat him to spinal-fusion surgery.

May : In 2002, I started to have back pain, and then in 2003, at the Byron Nelson, I hit a tee shot and that was it. I was done. We found out later that my spinal nerve canal is twice as narrow as a normal man’s, so any herniation of a disk would just drive me crazy. I did nine months of rehab and tried to get back to it, but after just four days of practicing, the pain was back. I needed surgery.

GOLF : Was that the same fusion procedure that Tiger had?

May : That came later. This was a laminectomy. They basically go inside your spinal nerve canal and Roto-Rooter you. I didn’t play again for nearly three years.

GOLF : How did you feel when you finally came back?

May : If I didn’t play golf, I would have felt great. But the wear and tear — I had so much pain I couldn’t go through it anymore. I had the fusion surgery four years ago and that did the trick. To finally get rid of nerve pain and get your life back — I can’t tell you how good that feels.

GOLF : After Tiger had that surgery, a lot of people doubted he’d be able to make a comeback. Did your own experience convince you he’d be able to return?

May : The hardest part was always going to be getting back the confidence you lose when you play through pain. That happened to me. Tiger lost his confidence, but he was able to get it back. It’s hard to comprehend how difficult that is to do.

GOLF : How’s your own game these days?

May : If I could get out there, I believe I could stay out there. I’ve qualified a few times for tournaments, but it’s tough when you’re trying to get sponsors to give you an invite and they think a pro athlete from another sport is a better draw.

GOLF : Looking back, how would you grade your career?

May : At times it was an A, and at times it was a B or C or D. It’s hard to give an overall grade because it’s been up and down. Generally, I would say I had a decent career, but it didn’t meet my expectations. The way I played in 1999 and 2000, the way I played at Valhalla, that’s what I expected of myself and what I think others expected of me. But when I first got out on Tour, I kind of had a stumble.

GOLF : What caused that?

May : Part of it might have been trying too hard. But honestly, I think being too respectful. There were a lot of guys out there I’d always looked up to. When I came out, Mr. Nicklaus was still playing. Tom Watson. Ben Crenshaw. I grew up idolizing those guys. There were times when other players would come on to the range and I would squeeze over and make room, rather than thinking to myself, This is my area. I lost some of that cockiness. And golf is such an individual sport, you need some of that cockiness. Some of the other guys who came up with me had that swagger, and I think it helped them. One example I’ll give you is David Duval. If you knew him as a person, he was a good guy. But on the course, he wasn’t someone you wanted to mess with. He had that attitude. As he got older, I think he started to worry more about what people thought. It’s something I tell my students because I’ve learned the lesson myself: You’ve got to have that attitude because it’s man-eat-man out there.

GOLF : Do you ever play the what-if game? Like, what would your life have been like if you’d won that day at Valhalla?

May : The only thing that would be different was the financial side of things. I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but there were guys who came after me who won tournaments but who didn’t get nearly the publicity I got from finishing second. I have no regrets. That day is now stitched into the history of the game. I feel fortunate that I was part of it, and that 20 years later we’re still talking about it.

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A golf, food and travel writer, Josh Sens has been a GOLF Magazine contributor since 2004 and now contributes across all of GOLF’s platforms. His work has been anthologized in The Best American Sportswriting. He is also the co-author, with Sammy Hagar, of Are We Having Any Fun Yet: the Cooking and Partying Handbook.

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Tom Kim tops a stacked leaderboard as TPC River Highlands yields more low scores at 2024 Travelers Championship

C ROMWELL, Conn. -- On a day that felt like two thanks to a three-hour and 10-minute rain delay, the Travelers Championship provided golf lovers with exactly what they have come to expect from the only PGA Tour event held in the Northeast: low scores.

In the third round of last week's U.S. Open, the 74 players who made the cut carded 167 birdies, but this Saturday, the 70 players in the field here made 347 birdies.

Before the storms arrived, Cameron Young provided plenty of electricity by becoming the 12th man to shoot a 59 in a PGA Tour event . Playing in nearly windless conditions on a course softened by rain that fell Friday evening, he started by going 5 under through his first four holes en route to a front-nine 28, then birdied 13, eagled the par-4 15th and stuffed a 9-iron to five feet to set up a final birdie on the 17th hole.

Coming off a 66 in the second round, you might think that Young would be in the lead, but this is the Travelers Championship, where Keegan Bradley won last year at 23 under. Young's 13 under total was dusted by major winners and several young stars who are eyeing the $3.6 million prize for winning this signature event.

After making his first bogey of the week on the fourth hole Saturday, Tom Kim, who had the lead after both the first and second rounds, made birdies on the fifth, sixth, eighth and 11th holes to reach 16 under. Kim made two more birdies on the back nine as darkness descended on the course to shoot 65 and take a one-shot lead into Sunday.

"The wind kind of died down after the delay, so the greens were really soft and fairways were soft and there's no wind, so obviously there were a lot of birdies out there," Kim said. "I didn't really look at leaderboards, but when you get soft conditions out there like that, it's definitely gettable and I feel like I executed well enough to have a good round today."

Kim is trying to be the 12th wire-to-wire winner at the Travelers Championship and the first since Jordan Spieth won in 2017.

With more storms in the forecast to be around TPC River Highlands on Sunday afternoon, the PGA Tour decided on Saturday to group players in three instead of twos and have the first group start at 6:50 a.m. ET. The hope is to conclude play at the Travelers Championship by 4 p.m. ET.

Kim, at 18 under, will be in the final group on Sunday, paired with Akshay Bhatia, who shot 64 on Saturday, while paired with Masters champion and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who also shot 64. Bhatia and Scheffler will each start Sunday one shot behind Kim at 17 under.

"I was pretty nervous stepping on that first tee today playing with him, and I think it's kind of my first time playing in that many, in front of that many people," Bhatia admitted Saturday evening. "It was really cool. (The fans were) 90 percent Scottie, 10 percent me, which is all right, but it was awesome."

It sounds like Scheffler had fun too.

"Sometimes, when you're in pairs, you can feed off each other the wrong or the right way. Today, especially at the end, we were feeding off each other what I would say in the right way," Scheffler said. "It's always a good thing."

Asked if he anticipated that it would be hard to separate from the crowded leaderboard on Sunday, given the soft conditions and low scores, Scheffler said, "It really depends on the weather. I think I saw that the winds were going to be up a little bit, and it depends if we get more rain overnight. So there will be a few different factors going into it, but I'll wake up tomorrow, see how the course is playing and go from there."

Xander Schauffele, who won the Travelers Championship two years ago and quietly shot a pair of 65s to start this year's event, made birdies at two, three, six and the ninth hole, and then three more on the back-nine before a bogey on 18 left him with a 64. He is at 16 under.

The golf medal winner from the Tokyo Olympics knows that on Sunday, he'll need to circle a lot of his scores if he wants to contend.

"It feels like, more than ever, you're going to have to keep your head down," he said. "It's kind of been my motto, to stay in my lane, for quite some time and I think tomorrow it's going to hold pretty true. You might par the first two or three holes and feel like you're miles behind, but you can get on a run at any point on this golf course."

Collin Morikawa will start Sunday at 16, tied with Sungjae Im, while Tony Finau, Justin Thomas and Shane Lowry will begin the final round at 14 under.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Tom Kim tops a stacked leaderboard as TPC River Highlands yields more low scores at 2024 Travelers Championship

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Behind the Leaderboard – 2024 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship

Porter and young find themselves in contention for second epson tour win in 2024.

• kpmg-womens-pga-championship

In her 75th major start, Amy Yang broke through with a career-defining victory at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Yang’s career has been one of persistent elite play, with 21 top-10 finishes in majors before her victory last week in Washington. She now has a signature win previously missing from a deep on-course résumé.

Superb short game

In a week when saving par often felt like making birdie, Yang’s exquisite short game propelled her to victory. For the championship, the field scrambled at a rate of 46.8%. Yang got up-and-down 16 of 21 times (76.2%), best of anyone in the field.

This was an especially prescient metric given the entire field’s propensity for missed greens. Like most elite championship setups, the difficulty level was ratcheted up all week long. A field comprising the world’s best missed the green in regulation more than 40% of the time at Sahalee. Yang ranked second in the field in strokes gained around the green, picking up more than five shots on the field with her short game alone. It led to her carding just seven bogeys or worse for the week, fewest of any player in the field.

Terrific through and through

While Yang’s short game and bogey avoidance numbers stand out the most, she showcased every facet of her game to get the victory at Sahalee. Yang ranked eighth in strokes gained off the tee, 16th in approach and 20th in putting to go along with her sterling short-game performance. She was the only player in the field ranked in the top-20 in all four of the key strokes gained disciplines.

Yang entered the final round with a two-shot lead over Lauren Hartlage and Miyu Yamashita, giving her a 45.6% win probability according to KPMG Performance Insights. By the time she walked off the eighth green with birdie, that figure had ballooned to 90.6%, breathing room that undoubtedly made the pressure of major championship Sunday slightly less oppressive. Neither her bogey at No. 16 nor double at No. 17 knocked her win probability under the 99% mark.

A superstar on the horizon

While her name might have been unfamiliar to most fans who regularly follow the LPGA Tour, Miyu Yamashita showed at Sahalee why she’s racked up 11 wins on the JLPGA at just 22 years old. This season on that tour, Miyu ranks in the top-10 in fairways hit, greens in regulation, scrambling, birdie percentage and putting average. Last week, she was the only player in the field ranked in the top-15 in strokes gained off the tee, approach and putting.

Yamashita’s excellent week in the Pacific Northwest pushed her into the top-20 of the Rolex Rankings. She’s unquestionably a name to watch in the year’s remaining two major championships as well as the Olympics in Paris.

Late-charging Americans

Had it not been for a front-nine 39 on Thursday, Lilia Vu may have won her third major championship last week. Vu opened the week with a 75 but still managed to finish in a tie for second place. Had she won, it would have been the highest opening-round score by a KPMG Women’s PGA champion since Kathy Ahern in 1972.

Lilia’s approach play was the key factor in her success at Sahalee. The Rolex Rankings No. 2-ranked player ranked fourth in the field in proximity from the fairway and in the top-10 in both strokes gained approach and overall approach proximity. Vu also improved her strokes gained putting figure each day for the week, capped off by picking up 3.47 strokes on the green Sunday, second-most in the field.

Not to be outdone was Vu’s Solheim Cup teammate Ally Ewing, who continues to play some of the best golf of her career in 2024. Ewing has now finished in the top-five in three consecutive LPGA Tour starts, two of which have been majors. She’s gaining 3.29 strokes on the field per round in that stretch, averaging more than 3.6 birdies or better per round. Ewing ranked third in the field at Sahalee in strokes gained putting and is now in the top-10 on the LPGA Tour this year in strokes gained total per round.

A resilient, roller-coaster Sunday

You would be hard-pressed to find a round quite like the one Lexi Thompson assembled in the final round at Sahalee. She got off to a nightmarish start, playing the first eight holes in 8-over-par. She hit only three greens in that span, dropping almost three full strokes to the field from tee to green.

While it would have been easy to melt under the heat lamp of that disappointment, Thompson bounced back emphatically. Lexi played the last 10 holes of the championship in 6-under, going bogey-free and gaining a ridiculous 5.16 strokes on the field tee-to-green in that span. She missed only one of her last 10 greens in regulation, too. Thompson’s tie for ninth place is her best finish in a major in two years.

Ko finds elite form

It’s been five years since Jin Young Ko’s multi-major season of 2019, but Sunday in Washington she showed why it might not be long before she’s back in the winner’s circle at the game’s biggest events.

Ko gained a field-high 4.38 strokes with her approach play in the final round, her first time picking up four or more strokes in that metric in one day since April. Her average proximity to the hole for the day was an obscene 18 feet, 1 inch – 4 feet better than any other player (Yealimi Noh, 22’1”). Ko was the only player to gain double-digit strokes with her approach shots for the championship.

The Amundi Evian Championship, site of Ko’s last major triumph, begins July 11.

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20 - 23 Jul 2000

129th Open Championship

St. Andrews, Old Course, Fife, Scotland

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2024 Travelers Championship live stream, TV schedule, channel, where to watch, tee times, radio, golf coverage

A busy three-week stretch in professional golf comes to an end this week in connecticut.

The 2024 Travelers Championship appears to be heading to an exciting finish. Taking to TPC River Highlands once again, Sunday's final round has moved into a playoff as world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Tom Kim battle for the trophy and a massive prize money payout .

Failing to card a single under-par round in a tournament for the first time in his professional career, Scheffler looks to get back on the wagon and capture his sixth victory of the season. A win at TPC River Highlands would be his first at a course which saw Xander Schauffele reign supreme in 2022.

The world No. 2 continues to display his consistency on a weekly basis and has now notched four straight top 10s dating back to the Wells Fargo Championship. With plenty of form in tow, Schaffuele seeks his second win of the season and second trophy at the Travelers Championship.

All times Eastern; streaming start times approximated   

Round 4 - Sunday

Round starts:  6:50 a.m.

PGA Tour Live:  6:50 a.m. -  1 p.m. --  PGA Tour Live

Live TV coverage:  12-2 p.m. on Golf Channel,  fubo  (Try for free) Live streaming:  12-2 p.m. on Peacock

Live TV coverage:  2-6 p.m. on CBS Live simulcast:  2-6 p.m. on  CBSSports.com  and the  CBS Sports App

Radio:  1-6 p.m. --  PGA Tour Radio  

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Scottie Scheffler claims win No. 6 of 2024 in playoff at Travelers Championship

Put another one on the board for Scottie Scheffler.

Scheffler won his sixth event of the season Sunday at the Travelers Championship, becoming the first player to win that many times on the PGA Tour before July since Arnold Palmer in 1962.

To do so Scheffler had to fend off Tom Kim in the first hole of a playoff. The pair tied at 22 under par for the tournament after Kim birdied the 18th hole, and went back to the 18th tee box to play it again. Both hit their drives into the fairway, but Scheffler hit his approach shot to 12 feet and Kim was short into the greenside bunker.

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When Scheffler tapped in the par putt he did not celebrate, simply taking off his cap and hugging Kim, one of his closest friends on tour. It was a fitting reaction to a chaotic ending of the signature event at Cromwell, Conn.

With Kim trailing Scheffler by a stroke and needing a birdie — and Scheffler par — to force a playoff, he hit what had to be one of the best approach shots of his life from 131 yards out — the third bounce on the green landed an inch to the right of the cup, and settled 10 feet away.

As Scheffler lined up his first putt five protestors stormed the 18th green from all angles. They were quickly apprehended by local police and pinned to the green before being taken away, but not before leaving white and red colored residue on the green.

Kim made his birdie putt to force the playoff, but tournament officials determined to move the pin position for the playoff, taking it closer to the front edge of the green and away from the most significant damage.

6 wins in a PGA Tour season before July 1, since 1960 Arnold Palmer, 1962 (May 14) Arnold Palmer, 1960 (June 18) Scottie Scheffler, 2024 (June 23) — Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) June 23, 2024

Scheffler has again put his name in the conversation with Tiger Woods, matching Woods’ 2005 and 2009 yearly win totals (as well as Nick Price in 1994). Of course, Woods also won seven times in 2007, eight times in both 1999 and 2006 and nine times in 2000. (Vijay Singh also win nine times in 2004.)

It’s not just how much Scheffler is winning, but also when and against whom. In addition to his Masters win, he won The Players Championship, Arnold Palmer Invitational and Memorial Tournament. In terms of event prestige the Travelers Championship is more akin to the April RBC Heritage win, but both are signature events with limited fields made up of the best 70 or so players on the PGA Tour.

Scheffler has now won $27.7 million this year, roughly $15 million more than the next-best competitor, Xander Schauffele.

The Travelers Championship continued its recent trend of very low scores — TPC River Highlands plays at a shade over 6,800 yards and offers little defense for the top players. Playing under lift, clean and place rules because of wet weather in the area all week did not help matters. Keegan Bradley won a year ago at 23 under par, and Schauffele (2022) and Dustin Johnson (2020) both hit 19 under par to win recently.

Cameron Young shot a 59 on Saturday, the 12th sub-60 round in PGA Tour history . And Tom Hoge shot a 62 on Sunday to vault up to a tie for third place at 20 under. Only three players in the 70-man field finished above par for the week.

Required reading

• The lesson of Scottie Scheffler at this U.S. Open, from the man who taught him
• Scottie Scheffler’s secret: How a ‘venomous’ trash talker became the best golfer in the world
• U.S. golf roster is set for Paris Olympics. Here’s why DeChambeau missed the cut

(Photo: James Gilbert / Getty Images)

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Hugh Kellenberger is the senior managing editor of The Athletic's golf group. A native of North Carolina, Kellenberger previously served as sports editor and columnist for the Jackson (Mississippi) Clarion Ledger. He first covered Ole Miss for the paper, and in the past has covered Indiana for the Bloomington Herald-Times and the ACC for the Rocky Mount Telegram. Follow Hugh on Twitter @ KellenbergerCBB

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