Here’s a new tradition unlike any other – the race to see if the Masters can keep its field under 100 players by April.

For the fourth time in the last five years, at least 90 players already have qualified for the Masters at the end of the year with three months of opportunities remaining before the field is set. Each time, Augusta National managed to achieve its objective of keeping the number of competitors in double digits.

By far the smallest field of the four majors, the Masters has not had more than 100 players since 1966.

That’s what Augusta National prefers. Club chairmen have talked about a small field creating a better experience. Remember, the original name of the Masters was the Augusta National Invitation Tournament.

But if the last eight months were any indication, this could be the closest call yet.

Of the 90 players who are eligible and expected to compete, 17 earned invitations by winning PGA Tour events that award full FedEx Cup points. That’s up from 12 a year ago, a reminder not only that winning is difficult for everyone but that the PGA Tour is stronger and deeper than ever.

There are 13 chances for players not already in the Masters to win a full PGA Tour event and get in. And because the Match Play Championship has been moved from its traditional late February slot, top international players such as Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson and Adam Scott are not expected to play much (if at all) before the Florida swing.

The other way to qualify is to move into the top 50 in the world ranking published on March 30. Among those on the outside is Canada’s Graham DeLaet (No. 57) and 2013 RBC Canadian Open champion, Brandt Snedeker (No. 58) from the PGA Tour. Tommy Fleetwood (51), Alexander Levy (53),  and Francesco Molinari (55) are also outside the top 50, though they will face some of the European Tour’s stronger fields during the Middle East swing.

Also, the Masters had created a new spot for the winner of the Latin America Amateur Championship, to be played in January in Argentina.

Team Canada’s Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont. earned a spot by virtue of finishing runner up at the 2014 U.S. Amateur Championship.

Mike Weir has a lifetime exemption as a past champion.

A year ago, 90 players were eligible after the first cutoff in December. Seven players not already eligible won PGA Tour events, and Stephen Gallacher was added from the world ranking. Then again, one spot was reduced when Tiger Woods had back surgery a week before the Masters.

This year? Stay tuned. It starts with the Tournament of Champions at Kapalua, a field that includes four players who won before last year’s Masters – Scott Stallings, Matt Every, Steven Bowditch and Matt Jones – and are not yet eligible at Augusta.

GOLD COAST, Australia – Former Masters champion Adam Scott has picked Mike Kerr to be his next caddie.

Kerr worked the Australian Open and Australian PGA Championship for Scott, and then was offered the job. Scott had been trying out different caddies since parting with Steve Williams at the end of the FedEx Cup.

Scott had received more than 100 offers. That is not surprising given that he is a top player with a congenial personality and limited schedule.

Kerr is from Zimbabwe. He previously worked for Ernie Els, Lee Westwood and most recently Thorbjorn Olesen.

Scott is not expected to play again until the Honda Classic in late February of 2015.

The idea that the PGA Tour calendar is too full depends on how you look at the calendar.

In this new world of the wraparound season, it seems as though golf never ends. There was a three-week break between the end of one season (Tour Championship) and the start of another (Frys.com Open). And then the PGA Tour takes a seven-week break before resuming the new season in Kapalua.

But is that much different from 10 years ago?

The PGA Tour had 44 consecutive weeks of golf in 2004 from Jan. 8 at Kapalua until Nov. 7 at the Tour Championship. That schedule included three tournaments held the same week as World Golf Championships, the B.C. Open opposite the British Open and the Texas Open the same week as the Ryder Cup.

The tour had 43 weeks of golf in 2014, with the three-week break built around the Ryder Cup in the early fall and the final tournament Nov. 16 in Mexico. And there were only three opposite-field events the same week as three WGCs (Doral, Firestone, Shanghai).

Is the new “fall start” any different from the old “fall finish?” Now it starts in California and goes to Las Vegas, Sea Island, two in Asia, one in Mississippi and Mexico. Ten years ago, the lineup after the majors included Hartford, Canada, Tampa and now-defunct tournaments at Disney and 84 Lumber. There also was a WGC thrown in the mix.

Go back even further. Twenty years ago, the PGA Tour schedule featured 43 consecutive weeks of tournaments. That was right about the time the WGCs were being discussed, and a decade before the FedEx Cup was even an idea.

The biggest change might be the golf that isn’t being played.

Back in 1994 when the Tour Championship ended (at Olympic Club – those were the days) on Oct. 30, there were six tournaments as part of the silly season. That included the Lincoln-Mercury at Kapalua, the Shark Shootout, Skins Game, JC Penney Mixed-Team Classic and the Diners Club Matches.

Either way, there was never a shortage of golf. That much hasn’t changed.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Bernhard and Jason Langer won the PNC Father-Son Challenge on Sunday, closing with a 13-under 59 for a two-stroke victory in the better-ball event.

The Langers finished at 23-under 123 at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club’s Grande Lake Orlando.

Fourteen-year-old Jason jumped into the lineup Saturday when sister Christina withdrew because of back issues. He’s the youngest son to win the event, breaking the mark of 15 set by brother Stefan in 2005.

“It was an unbelievable, magical week, just like the whole year,” Bernhard Langer said. “Jason, I’ve been watching him play golf for several years now and he has played better the last two days than he has ever played in his whole life, under this kind of pressure. It’s unbelievable. … I am so proud of him.”

The Langers had six birdies and an eagle on the first seven holes. They added five more birdies on the back nine, the last on No. 18.

“Just to be out here, I was hoping for maybe a top 10, even a top five if I played really well, but nothing near like this,” Jason Langer said. “I was satisfied with the way I played. I made a few putts today and, as expected, he played really well. Yesterday, we were burning a lot of edges. We missed a few short ones we wish we’d have gotten back. Today, it was really good. I left them out there the first three holes, but he made up for it and he drained them. Those first three were so key today.”

Bernhard Langer earned $200,000.

Davis Love III and son Dru also shot a 59 to finish second.

“I think we both tried a little too hard. We get a little impatient,” Davis Love III said. “When you make a couple pars in a row, like any tournament, you feel like you’re getting behind. We did better today, obviously, than we did yesterday, but we stalled on 7, 8 and 9 both days. We both hit it well enough to win today, but the short game was just a little off.”

Curtis and Tom Strange tied for third with Vijay and Qass Singh at 20 under. The Stranges shot 62, and the Singhs had a 61.

Jack Nicklaus and son Jack II tied for 15th at 11 under after a 66.

“We had a lot of (birdie) opportunities, for sure,” Jack Nicklaus said. “We didn’t make much all week. When you are finishing where we did, you don’t make many putts. You make a lot of putts, you finish up. Any time I play, I want to be competitive and we just weren’t very competitive. I particularly, Jackie didn’t play too bad. Jackie played reasonable well.”

NAPLES, Fla. — Jason Day and Cameron Tringale overcame a slow start Saturday to win the Franklin Templeton Shootout by a shot.

Day and Tringale shot a 7-under 65 in the better-ball final round to finish at 32 under at Tiburon Golf Club. They each earned $335,000.

Leading by three shots going into the final round, they had just one birdie in the first eight holes before closing with six in their last nine.

“He hit a lot of good, clutch putts,” Day said about Tringale.

Day made 25-foot birdies putts on Nos. 10 and 12.

“Once I holed that putt, we started very well on the back nine,” Day said.

Day and Tringale opened with a 55 on Thursday in the scramble round and shot a 64 on Friday in modified alternate-shot play.

Matt Kuchar and Harris English, the 2013 winners, finished second after a 62. Kuchar just missed an eagle chip on No. 17.

“It came awfully close,” he said. “I thought it was in. It was hard looking at the sun, I wasn’t sure on the depth where the hole was but it had a great line and pretty good pace as well.”

English then hit his approach shot 2 feet from the cup on No. 18

“Just take dead aim, that’s what I did,” he said.

The teams of Billy Horschel-Ian Poulter and Keegan Bradley-Camilo Villegas tied for third at 29 under.

Saturday’s action included momentum swings, numerous ties for the lead and memorable shots off the green. At the same time Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly birdied eight of nine holes, Day and Tringale went birdieless on seven of their first eight holes, as did Graeme McDowell and Gary Woodland, who came into the day in second place.

Three hours into the tournament, there was a three-way tie at 25-under with nine teams within three shots. An hour later, six players were within a shot of the lead. With birdies from Nos. 9-13, Day and Tringale regained control.

(A previous version of the story incorrectly listed Kuchar’s near eagle chip as final hole instead of 17th hole.)

Mike Weir and Retief Goosen finished in last place with a score of -15 for the week.

NAPLES, Fla. — After a blistering first round with teammate Cameron Tringale, Jason Day thought if they could get to 25 under, that’s “pretty good scoring.”

That’s what they did.

Day and Tringale shot an 8-under 64 on Friday in modified alternate-shot play to reach 25-under 119 and increase their lead to three strokes in the Franklin Templeton Shootout.

Day and Tringale opened with a 17-under 55 on Thursday in the scramble round at Tiburon Golf Club. The event will close Saturday with better-ball play.

Graeme McDowell and Gary Woodland were second after a 63.

Defending champions Matt Kuchar and Harris English were third at 21-under after a 66.

Day was quite aware of how Kuchar and English did it in 2013.

“These guys played well last year, 34 under is a big margin,” Day said. “So this is the format that you need to play well. You need to play this format because it’s very quick to lose your lead.”

That almost happened.

Charles Howell III and Scott Verplank were 19 under after a 64. The teams if Keegan Bradley-Camilo Villegas (67), Billy Horschel-Ian Poulter (65) and Patrick Reed-Brandt Snedeker (65) were 18 under.

Snedeker, who shot a 10-under 62 in the alternate shot format with Davis Love III in 2012, had it going with Reed early. After a birdie on No. 10, they were 6 under for the day, 17 under for the tournament and one shot behind.

While they cooled, Day and Tringale took off and quickly built the lead back to five shots. They had an eagle on No. 6 and birdies on Nos. 3 and 8-10.

Tringale said he didn’t see a scoreboard until No. 10 but doesn’t really watch them, anyway. Day said he’s just the opposite.

“I think if there were more boards out there, I would probably be watching because I tend to watch a lot more scoreboards than Cameron,” Day said. “I like to know what I need to do. That may add some pressure.”

Day thinks players will scale back on their aggressiveness off the tee today in a chance to catch up.

“I would expect a lot of guys, even if your partner is in play, because it’s always better to have two balls in play than just one,” he said. “I would rather have two opportunities at birdies than just one.” McDowell said teams more than five or six shots behind the leaders will have a hard time catching up so he and Woodland are glad where they are.

“Two balls in play, you know, it means no one can hide,” he said. “That was kind of why I really feel like myself and Gary have a good shot tomorrow because we’re both really playing well tee to green.”

Woodland added their score could’ve been much better but they missed on four or five putts inside 10 feet that were straight up the hill. Their highlight was McDowell using his 58-degree wedge to hole out from 48 yards on No. 13.

Kuchar and English finished strong by going 4 under in the back nine. However, they’d have to go 13 under to match last year’s record mark.

Reed’s wife, Justine, watched some of the action as she recovers from a grand mal seizure Tuesday. The two shared a hug and kiss during the round.

“The doctor said everything was all clear so it was great to see her out here, it was awesome, taking a big weight off my shoulders,” Reed said.

Mike Weir and Retief Goosen were the only team to shoot over par (74) and dropped into last place at -10 for the week.

Jason Day et Cameron Tringale occupent toujours la tête du Franklin Templeton Shootout disputé selon la formule des coups alternés à l’issue de la deuxième ronde disputée vendredi sur les allées du Tiburon Golf Club , à Naples, en Floride.

Le duo Day-Tringale, qui a joué 64, détient présentement trois coups d’avance sur celui formé de Graeme McDowell et Gary Woodland, qui occupe le deuxième échelon à -22.

Les meneurs ont notamment calé six oiselets sur leurs huit premiers trous.

Matt Kuchar et Harris English, de leur côté, sont en troisième position à -21, un coup devant la paire Howell III-Verplank.

Les duos Bradley-Villegas, Horschel-Poulter et Reed-Snedeker, pour leur part, se partagent le cinquième échelon, un coup devant ceux composés de Leonard-Sabbatini et Palmer-Walker.

Samedi, les 12 équipes concluront le tournoi avec une ronde disputée selon la formule deux balles, meilleure balle.

NAPLES, Fla. — Jason Day and Cameron Tringale shot a 17-under 55 on Thursday in the first-round scramble to take a two-stroke lead in the Franklin Templeton Shootout.

“The abridged version is, I hit first and then let Jason loose,” Tringale said.

Day and Tringale tied the tournament scramble record set by tournament host Greg Norman and Nick Price in 1993 and matched by Peter Jacobsen and John Cook in 1998 and Norman and Steve Elkington in 2005.

“Scramble is one of those formats where you have to go at it and shoot lights out,” Day said. “It definitely helps when you have a partner who hits it down the middle all the time and putts great.”

They were 12 under on the last 12 holes at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, making eagles on Nos. 13 and 14 and birdies on Nos. 9-12 and 15-18.

“It’s great to be able to read the putt together, really put our minds together, because he’s a great putter,” Day said. “He always has been.”

Defending champions Matt Kuchar and Harris English opened with a 57. They birdied 14 of their last 15 holes.

“To go 15 is great,” Kuchar said. “To go 17 is quite amazing.

All 12 teams were 11 under or better. The teams will play a modified alternate shot Friday and close with a better-ball round Saturday.

English thinks they separated themselves last year in the modified alternate shot.

“I feel like we can do the same thing as we did last year,” English said. “Kooch is driving it great right now, so we’re going to kind of lean on that.”

Keegan Bradley-Camilo Villegas, Graeme McDowell-Gary Woodland and Ryan Palmer-Jimmy Walker shot 59, while the team of Mike Weir and Retief Goosen, who have three Major championships between them, carded a 12-under 60.

Patrick Reed played two days after wife Justine suffered a grand mal seizure.

“We are really fortunate that she is OK and lucky that I was in the room with her to save her from drowning,” Reed said

Reed, a late replacement for Chris Kirk, teamed with Brandt Snedeker to shoot 61. They were tied for 10th.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem has announced that the PGA Tour Policy Board has approved a recommendation to reduce the number of points awarded for each of the four FedExCup Playoff tournaments.

Beginning in 2015, The Barclays, Deutsche Bank Championship, BMW Championship and TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola will award 2,000 points for a victory (down from 2,500) with all other places being reduced by the same proportion. The intent, Finchem said, is to place a greater emphasis on season-long excellence while still maintaining the element of volatility and movement throughout the Playoffs.

“Every year since the FedExCup was introduced in 2007, we have reviewed the points structure with the Player Advisory Council and four Player Directors who sit on the Policy Board,” Finchem said. “We believe this slight modification will add greater significance to players having an outstanding season leading into the Playoffs, while still allowing for the excitement of volatility and movement during the Playoffs, particularly as players vie to make the final 30 for the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola.”

The proposal was strongly supported by the Player Advisory Council, which advises and consults with the Policy Board and Commissioner on matters affecting PGA Tour members.

With the change, reset points for the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola also have been proportionately reduced to maintain the current scenarios of all 30 players having a chance to win the FedExCup, the higher seeds having a significantly greater chance of winning, and the top 5 seeds being guaranteed the FedExCup title with a victory.

Additionally, the Board voted to eliminate a secondary cut for the Playoffs that normally would occur after three rounds when more than 78 players make the 36-hole cut.

NAPLES, Fla. — The Franklin Templeton Shootout has had a makeover.

Greg Norman’s tournament has a new format, course look and TV partner and will run from Thursday-Saturday instead of Friday-Sunday.

After Matt Kuchar and Harris English took the suspense out of the final round last year by shooting a record 34-under 182 and winning by seven shots, Norman and tournament officials tweaked the format order from modified alternate shot, better ball and scramble to scramble, modified alternate shot and better ball.

“I completely understand the idea that the scramble format, there’s not a whole lot of separation that happens,” Kuchar said. “You don’t get the big differences in scores. The best ball, you might have guys go 2-under to 12-under, or even better.”

For the first time, Fox Sports is getting into the golf business. Norman will join Joe Buck in the broadcast booth. They also will work the U.S. Open this summer.

Fox will employ 73 microphones, 24 cameras, 10 replay machines, seven broadcasters and five audio mixers for the tournament.

The switch to Fox forced the Saturday finish. After Saturday’s broadcast, Buck will fly to Seattle to work the Seahawks’ game against the San Francisco 49ers.

“I come at this as a guy who just loves the game and loves to play and loves to be out with friends and try to get better at this game,” Buck said. “I’ve been doing this for a long time now and I’ve gone from being the kid and trying to prove myself in baseball and football to somebody who’s done it for a long time and I think I understand TV.

“Greg knows the golf part of it I think together we’ll make this thing work.”

Norman calls the broadcasting venture one of the top five things he has done in his life.

“I think going in I’ll be as nervous as I was walking the first tee at Augusta National and teeing it up for the first time,” he said.

With several greens showing early signs of disease, both of the Norman-designed Tiburon courses will be used. The front nine will start on Tiburon’s Black course, using holes 1-7 and 17, 18. Closing holes Nos. 13-18 will remain the same on Tiburon’s Gold course.

“The greens on one side were suffering,” Ian Poulter said. “So to move it to play nine holes on the other course actually is the first time I’ve played it and it’s a lot of fun. It’s very tight, very tricky. So if you put it in play, you’re going to make plenty of birdies. But it’s easy to get out of position, so from that standpoint it’s good, it’s a good change.”

English and Kuchar are teaming again in the 12-team field.

The other pairings are: Poulter-Billy Horschel, Graeme McDowell-Gary Woodland, Keegan Bradley-Camilo Villegas, Jason Day-Cameron Tringale, Patrick Reed-Brandt Snedeker, Ryan Palmer-Jimmy Walker, Jerry Kelly-Steve Stricker, Sean O’Hair-Kenny Perry, Retief Goosen-Mike Weir, Charles Howell III-Scott Verplank and Justin Leonard-Rory Sabbatini.