The PGA Tour’s Asian Swing concludes this week in China with the WGC-HSBC Champions. Here’s a look at some of the marquee, early-round groupings as Brooks Koepka tees off for the first time as the top-ranked player in the world (all times ET):
9:45 p.m. Wednesday, 10:40 p.m. Thursday: Patrick Reed, Jon Rahm, Alex Noren
Captain America will be in a group with two former European foes, as the Masters champ looks to start the new wraparound season with a big week in China. Rahm has not played a stroke-play event since the Tour Championship, while Noren enters off a T-18 finish last week at the CJ Cup.
9:55 p.m. Wednesday, 10:50 p.m. Thursday: Brooks Koepka, Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood
Koepka cruised to victory last week in South Korea in a performance that helped him summit the OWGR for the first time in his career. He’ll play the first two rounds alongside Rose, who chased down Dustin Johnson for a surprising victory at this event a year ago, and Fleetwood, who has notched a pair of top-10 finishes since his dazzling Ryder Cup performance.
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10:45 p.m. Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. Thursday: Haotong Li, Jason Day, Tony Finau
Li is the only Chinese player ranked inside the top 150 in the world, and he’ll have plenty of support this week from the crowds in Shanghai. Day is playing in Asia for the second straight week after a T-5 finish in South Korea, while Finau makes his season debut following a strong 2018 campaign that didn’t feature a win but still led to his first Ryder Cup appearance.
10:55 p.m. Wednesday, 9:40 p.m. Thursday: Dustin Johnson, Francesco Molinari, Rory McIlroy
Johnson watched from home as Koepka took the No. 1 ranking from him last week, but he’ll look to get the top spot back while avenging a final-round collapse from a year ago. Joining him will be a pair of European stalwarts from Le Golf National, as Molinari continues the best year of his career while McIlroy will look to garner some momentum before the European Tour’s closing stretch.
Source: Internet
