Day: April 22, 2017

First Look; Zurich ClassicFirst Look; Zurich Classic

April 22, 2017April 22, 2017| 4:07

• FIELD: Playing this week. • COURSE: TPC Louisiana, 7,425 yards, par 72. Something of an anomaly among Pete Dye creations, the course already ranked among the PGA TOUR’s top third to take it low before the format change that will debut two-man teams this year. Winding through some 250 acres of Louisiana wetlands among stands of cypress and oak trees, Dye and consultant Steve Elkington added more than 100 bunkers and five ponds to increase the challenge. Several large waste bunkers also are featured early in the back nine. The Zurich Classic relocated there in 2005, though flooding a year later forced a one-time return to English Turn G&CC. • FEDEXCUP: Winning partners receive 400 points apiece. • CHARITY: The Fore!Kids Foundation, which has given more than $30 million to children’s service organizations in Louisiana since its inception in 1958. Charitable distributions focus primarily on healthcare and education, with contributions to more than 110 outlets last year. • FIELD WATCH: Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson, last year’s Olympic gold and silver medalists, and Jason Day/Rickie Fowler are the marquee duos under the new tandem format. Others of note: Jordan Spieth/Ryan Palmer, Branden Grace/Louis Oosthuizen and Bubba Watson/J.B. Holmes. … In all, 12 of the top 25 players in the world rankings will tee it up, though only Rose/Stenson and Day/Fowler place both members in that stratosphere. … Bobby Wyatt, fourth last year on a sponsor exemption, is back with partner Trey Mullinax. … Brooks Koepka returns after a two-year absence to play with his brother. Chase Koepka is a member of Europe’s Challenge Tour, the same path big brother took to the big stage. • 72-HOLE RECORD: 262, Chip Beck (1988 at Lakewood CC). TPC Louisiana record: 266, Justin Rose (2015). • 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Paul Stankowski (1st round, 2001 at English Turn G&CC). TPC Louisiana record: 62, Ben Martin (1st round, 2014). • LAST YEAR: Brian Stuard held steadiest through a marathon slog that required five days to play 56 holes, beating Jamie Lovemark and Byeong-Hun An in a playoff for his first PGA TOUR win. Stuard never trailed after his opening 8-under-par 64, going bogey-free for the entire week as challengers rose and fell. More than 4 ½ inches of rain fell during the tournament, forcing delays on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday before the decision was made to shorten to 54 holes. Stuard’s closing 69 wasn’t even among the top 20 scores from the final round, but it was enough to get to extra holes with An (65) and Lovemark (68). An misplayed two approach shots on the first playoff hole, and Lovemark found a muddy miss left of the green one hole later. • STORYLINES: Team competition returns to the TOUR for the first time in 3 ½ decades, going back to the 1981 Walt Disney World Team Championship. Tandems will play alternate-shot on Thursday and Saturday; best-ball on Friday and Sunday. … FedExCup points and prize money are split as though partners tied. For instance, champions divvy up the 500 points usually given to a tournament winner and 300 for second place – coming out to 400 points each. … Rose and Stenson already have tasted success as a duo, posting a 4-2 mark as a European Ryder Cup pairing. They went 3-0 in 2014, during which they set a Ryder Cup record with 12 birdies in a four-balls match. … Will the new format change the trend of first-time winners? Stuard was the fourth in the past five editions to make the Zurich Classic his first PGA TOUR victory. • SHORT CHIPS: Louisiana native David Toms, whose 2001 win over Phil Mickelson foretold a PGA Championship reprise, is absent for the first time since 2008. He owns 23 starts in his home-state event. … It’s the last chance for players to gain a berth in THE PLAYERS Championship by moving into the top 10 in FedExCup points or top 50 of the world rankings. One last spot will be held for the winner of next week’s Wells Fargo Championship, if not already in. … Statistical oddity: You have to go back 122 holes to see a bogey from an eventual Zurich Classic winner. Before Stuard’s bogey-free performance last year, Rose played his final 66 holes in 2015 without giving a shot back to par. • TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 3:30-6:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:30 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). • PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. (featured groups), 3:30-6:30 p.m. (featured holes). Click here to sign up for PGA TOUR LIVE. • RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 1-7 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com). For more on all the courses in the TPC network, visit TPC.com.

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Wrap-up: Finau tied for the lead at Valero Texas OpenWrap-up: Finau tied for the lead at Valero Texas Open

April 22, 2017April 22, 2017| 2:42

SAN ANTONIO — Tony Finau arrived at the 18th tee with a chance at a course record, but his approach splashed in the water and his bogey dropped him into a second-round tie for the lead with Bud Cauley at the Valero Texas Open on Friday. A birdie at the par-5 final hole would have given Finau a share of the course record, but he settled for a 7-under 65 and is tied with Cauley at 8 under through 36 holes at TPC San Antonio. Ian Poulter, Europe’s Ryder Cup star, missed the cut and lost his fully exempt status on the PGA TOUR. He fell about $30,000 short of the required earnings to keep his status through a medical exemption because of a foot injury last year. Cauley, a former NCAA standout at Alabama who’s yet to win through six seasons as a pro, had a lead at the halfway point after his 66 in the morning. Cauley and Finau, winner last year at the Puerto Rico Open, both lead by one over 23-year-old Australian Cameron Smith, Kevin Chappell, Robby Shelton and veteran 1994 Texas Open winner Bob Estes. Smith shared low round with Finau at 65, Chappell shot 68, Shelton had a 69, and 51-year-old Estes had a 69. John Huh is 6 under after a 71, and he’s joined by Kevin Tway (68) and Jonathan Randolph (70). There are seven players at 5 under, including first-round leader Branden Grace (73) and former Texas Open champs Jimmy Walker (69) and Martin Laird (67). Walker, winner of the PGA Championship last summer, said he’ll start treatment for Lyme disease after this event. It may keep him from playing at New Orleans next week. Finau holed a wedge shot from 105 yards for eagle on No. 11. A 22-foot birdie putt at 16 and a tap-in birdie on the next hole had him looking at tying the course record. After his approach landed in shallow water in the creek fronting the 18th green, Finau played it out and chipped it past the green, rather than take the penalty drop. Tony Finau had to play from the hazard on the 18th hole, making bogey. (Steve Dykes/Getty Images) “I did the same thing yesterday after going for the green (in two),” Finau said. “About half of the ball was out of the water. I got up-and-down yesterday. I know lightning doesn’t always strike twice.” After a par at the first, Cauley’s early birdie streak included a 38-foot putt at 2. He avoided bogey all day, including a near 3-putt by sinking a 12-footer at No. 17. “Putting saved me a lot today,” Cauley said, “and the putt (to save par) at 17 was huge. It was windy, and I knew I was going to miss some greens. When I did, I was able to leave it in a relatively easy spot and get up and down.” Cauley is coming off his second top 10 of the year, a ninth place at RBC Heritage after a first-round 63 at Hilton Head. After opening the tournament with even-par 72 Thursday, Smith jumped 68 spots on the leaderboard and finished with eagle-birdie. The eagle was a 90-yard blast from a bunker. He also chipped in from off the green for three birdies. “Everything I hit, whether it was a rubbish shot or a good shot, kind of went close to the hole,” Smith said. Cauley played through a medical exemption to keep his TOUR card last year after shoulder surgery. It didn’t work for Poulter, the Englishman who’s played in five memorable Ryder Cup events for Europe. “I’m healthy,” Poulter said. “I’m still going to be able to play golf. It doesn’t mean to say that the clubs are going to go away and you’re never going to see me again.” Besides Poulter, notables missing the cut included U.S. Amateur champ Curtis Luck (73-72 in his pro debut), Billy Horschel (73-74), Luke Donald (76-72), Zach Johnson (74-74) and Keegan Bradley (77-74). Defending champion Charley Hoffman, who shared the lead at the halfway point of the Masters this month, birdied his 17th hole to get to 1 under for the tournament and one shot inside the cut number.

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