Day: September 3, 2017

Jon Rahm soars to the top at Dell TechnologiesJon Rahm soars to the top at Dell Technologies

September 3, 2017September 3, 2017| 1:10

Outside the top 500 in the Official World Golf Ranking to inside the Top 5 is a massive gap. Closing it in a little more than a year and in fewer than 30 professional tournaments is shocking stuff – even to the man who scripted it. “I was for a while. I’m not going to lie,� said Jon Rahm, when asked if he was surprised to see the speed in which he climbed toward the penthouse of professional golf. The 22-year-old Spaniard continued to show what was at the heart of his meteoric rise – raw power – as he shot 5-under 66 to push into the lead halfway through the Dell Technologies Championship. At 9-under 133, Rahm leads Adam Hadwin (65), Paul Casey (65) and Kyle Stanley (68) by two and a rejuvenated Phil Mickelson (67) by three. When Rahm left the U.S. Open in 2016, he was No. 551 in the OWGR. He arrived at TPC Boston this week at No. 5, his last year having included wins at the Farmers Insurance Open and the Irish Open, as well as a sprinkling of top 10s. But he conceded that this hasn’t been a Usain Bolt-like sprint; he’s found a rough spot or two. In fact, “I got to the point where I had accomplished so much more than I had set out to do that I felt like there was nothing else to do.� He was inside the top 10 when he missed the cut at the Memorial Tournament and U.S. Open, and the call went out to his mental coach and others around him. “It’s been a process,� said Rahm, who shook off a lackluster PGA Championship (T-58) to finish in a share of third at last week’s FedExCup Playoffs opener, THE NORTHERN TRUST. On a day when first-round leader Dustin Johnson stumbled backward into a tie for 15th with a 72 and Rory McIlroy missed the cut, Rahm flashed his brawn. A 3-wood and 6-iron combination set up a 12-foot eagle putt at the 515-yard, par-5 18th, then the Spaniard birdied both par-5s on the front. In two days, Rahm has played the par-5s in 6-under, and if not for a sloppy double-bogey at the par-3 16th he’d be in an even sweeter position. Then again, he appreciates his current lot in the pro golf world. Having taken so little time to meet his goals for the 2016-17 season, Rahm said he will not fall into that trap that snared him in mid-summer. He is not happy with just being inside the top five. There is another goal. “I think we all have the same goal in the next few weeks,� he said. “The FedExCup.� For more on Round 2 at TPC Boston, click here for the Daily Wrap-Up.  RORY HEADS HOME Want to know what sort of day it was for defending champ Rory McIlroy? Go no further than the par-5 18th hole at TPC Boston. He had virtually made the 515-yarder his own punching bag in his first 25 rounds – three eagles, 15 birdies, 19-under overall. But, what did he do Saturday? He blocked his drive well right, found a deep forest, took a penalty drop, and made just his second-ever bogey there. Five holes later, he pulled his drive into gnarly native grass at the par-4 fifth and made double. “When you have the two-way miss going with your driver, it’s never good,� said McIlroy, who shot 74 and at 4-over 146 missed a FedExCup playoff for the first time in his career. It was the latest lackluster effort for McIlroy, who has been plagued by a rib injury most of the year. “I also made a bogey with a wedge in my hand at the first hole (his 10th). Sloppy. I’m sort of waiting for the season to end and that’s reflected in the way I’m playing.� CALL OF THE DAY SHOT OF THE DAY HEADLINERS PULL THROUGH Friday, Dustin Johnson was the best of the heavyweight group as he took the lead with a 65 opposite playing competitors Jordan Spieth (72) and Justin Thomas (71). One day later, with a Boston crowd offering raucous backdrop, Spieth stood out. “Everyone has a bad day at the office and (Friday) was a bad day at the office for me,� Spieth said after a tidy 65 got him into a share of 10th at 5-under 137. His playing competitors are at 4-under after rounds of 72 (Johnson) and 67 (Thomas) and Spieth chuckled when asked about the atmosphere, with fans seemingly urging on Johnson at Spieth’s expense. “It’s sports,� he laughed. “I mean, when (the) opposing team comes in and plays the Dallas Mavericks, I’m yelling at them, so who am I to judge?� ACES ARE REALLY WILD Rod Pampling felt like he had been given the assignment of designated high-five guy. One of his playing competitors, Kevin Tway, aced the par-3 11th hole Friday, and the other member of the group, Grayson Murray, did the honors at the par-3 eighth in Round 2. “At least I’m seeing how it’s done,� said Pampling. When he heard that Lucas Glover also recorded an ace in Saturday’s second round – at the par-3 16th – Pampling laughed. “With this little run, they may have to add a bar upstairs.� Murray used a 6-iron at the 195-yard eighth, Glover an 8-iron at the 177-yard 16th. They came at virtually the same time as Murray shot 68 to finish at 6-under and Glover signed for 69 and 2-under. It was Glover’s fifth ace in PGA TOUR competition. He recalled the one that won him a Mercedes on his first start in the 2006 Mercedes Championship at Kapalua. “Hit a big hook off the hill (at the 203-yard eighth hole), rolled back in. That one was garbage,� he laughed. “This one was legit.� Murray said he’s made “seven or eight� aces, but he turned down a car that came with the one made last year on the Web.com Tour. “I took the cash instead of the car,� he said. NOT SO TOUGH Much was made of the re-designed 12th hole at TPC Boston, with many players grumbling about how difficult it was. Don’t tell that to Kevin Kisner. “Easy hole,� he said, tongue firmly planted in cheek. Kisner made one of three birdies at the 12th in Friday’s first round and with another one Saturday, he’s the only one in the field to play it thus far in 2 under. Stretched to 500 yards in Round 2, Kisner hit a perfect 285-yard drive, keeping the ball on the top plateau of the fairway, then slammed a 4-iron to 14 feet. Friday, he hit a 6-iron to 12 feet from 203 yards. Statistically, it’s the toughest hole (4.370 for two days), but Kisner is the consummate no-nonsense, suck-it-up-and-play guy. “You can bitch all you want, but it’s just a golf hole and we’re playing for $9 million bucks,� he said. NOTABLES WATCH Jason Day birdied four of his first five holes, then bogeyed four of his next six before settling down. He shot 2-under 69 and at 2-over snuck inside the cut. Sergio Garcia started the day tied for second, but shot 73 and fell into a share of 28th. Rickie Fowler made sloppy bogeys on a pair of par-5s – the seventh and 18th – to shoot 71 and at 2 under he’s seven off the lead. Adam Scott flew in from Australia after the birth of his second child, pushing to get inside the top 70 for the BMW Championship. But he played the back nine in 38, shot a second-round 75 and missed a cut, so he’s done for the season and will now prep for the Presidents Cup. ODDS & ENDS At 6-over with just four holes to play, Zach Johnson was three outside the cut. He then birdied the sixth, seventh and ninth to make it on the number. Like Zach Johnson, Daniel Berger also opened with a 77. But, he, too, shot 68 to make the cut on the number. There have more eagles (17) at the par-5 18th than there have been birdies at three other holes – the par-3 third, par-3 11th, and par-4 12th. Justin Rose made five birdies on the back nine to shoot 65, his lowest PGA TOUR score since the third round of the Genesis Open in February. After chasing Henrik Stenson to the 72nd hole at the Wyndham Championship, Ollie Schniederjans has missed the cut in each playoff. He made just four birdies in shooting 75-77 at TPC Boston. Don’t ask caddie Don Cooper about his man’s hole-in-one at the 16th. “I did nothing,� Cooper laughed. “Lucas (Glover) pulled the club and I went to the water cooler. Had my back turned when I heard the roars. Guess it was a good shot.� BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

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Rahm holds solo lead at TPC BostonRahm holds solo lead at TPC Boston

September 3, 2017September 3, 2017| 0:43

NORTON, Mass. — Jon Rahm accomplished so much so quickly that he began to wonder what else was left for him to achieve in his first full year on the PGA TOUR. He now has 10 million reasons to play his best golf. Already very much in the hunt for the FedExCup and its $10 million bonus, Rahm took another step Saturday when he made an eagle and five birdies over his last 10 holes for a 5-under 66 and a two-shot lead at the halfway point of the Dell Technologies Championship. Rahm already has a short history of strong finishes in his first trip to the TPC Boston. One day after he birdied four of his last five holes, he made a 12-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th and then shot 31 on the front nine to reach 9-under 133. No one could catch him in the afternoon, least of all Dustin Johnson. Johnson, the world’s No. 1 player who had a one-shot lead going into the second round, had a pair of double bogeys after a quick start and needed a birdie on the 18th hole to keep from falling further behind. Johnson shot a 72 and was five shots behind. It’s already been an amazing year for Rahm. The 22-year-old Spaniard was No. 137 at the start of the year. Now he’s at No. 5. His two main goals were to get to East Lake for the TOUR Championship and win a tournament. Check. Check. But after a runner-up at Colonial, he has missed the cut twice and finished out of the top 25 in three other PGA TOUR starts. “It’s probably because I got to the point where I had accomplished so much more than I had set myself to in the beginning of the year that I felt like there was nothing else to do,” he said. “It made me complacent of what I had accomplished all year. I didn’t play with the same intensity. I really didn’t have a goal. “It’s taken me two months to realize what I’ve done, and hopefully I can keep surprising myself.” Paul Casey, who played in the final group last year until Rory McIlroy ran him down, had a 65 and was two shots off the lead along with Adam Hadwin (65), Kevin Streelman (65) and Kyle Stanley (68). Streelman is at No. 90 in the FedExCup, and only the top 70 after the Labor Day finish advance to the third playoff event in two weeks outside Chicago. Rahm was only part of a cool, calm day that left a large crowd entertained, and at times surprised. Lucas Glover (No. 16) and Grayson Murray (No. 8) each made a hole-in-one that the PGA TOUR estimated were 65 seconds apart. Phil Mickelson dropped only one shot on his way to a 67. He was just three shots off the lead at 6-under 136, his best 36-hole score since the FedEx St. Jude Classic in June. Jordan Spieth also turned around his fortunes. Despite missing a pair of birdies inside 7 feet, Spieth still shot a 65 and was in the group four shots behind. Spieth attributed his slow start in the opening round Friday to waking up on the wrong side of the bed. “For me, it was just a matter of just stop being cranky,” Spieth said. “I don’t know what to tell you. I was getting more made at bad breaks than you should. It was a bad day at the office yesterday and a really good one today. I’m going to need two really good ones again. But to be within four shots after yesterday’s round is a tremendous accomplishment.” McIlroy, meanwhile, was headed home after missing the cut as the defending champion for only the second time in his career. McIlroy also missed the cut as defending champion in the 2012 U.S. Open. McIlroy will still advance to the BMW Championship, though he will need a top finish to get to East Lake for the TOUR Championship. That’s no longer a concern for Rahm. He is No. 5 in the FedExCup, already assured of going the distance. He won at Torrey Pines in January. He even won his first European Tour title at the Irish Open. And he now has a very clear goal over the next few weeks. “I think we all have the same goal in the next few weeks, which is the FedExCup,” he said with a smile. He still has a long way ahead of him at the TPC Boston. Twenty players were within five shots of the lead with two rounds to go, and players were bracing for a Sunday of wet weather. The tee times were moved back and will be played in threesomes because of the forecast. The cut was at 3-over 145, which spared the likes of Bubba Watson, who is at No. 72 in the standings. Watson missed a 3-foot par putt on the par-5 18th hole and figured he would miss the cut until Patrick Rodgers hit into the junk on the 18th hole, had to take a penalty drop and made bogey. Adam Scott wasn’t so fortunate. He came up short of the 18th with a sand wedge and missed a 6-foot par putt, giving him a 75. He wound up missing the cut by one shot after flying in from Australia to try to extend his season.

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