Day: July 20, 2019

Jim Herman takes lead at Barbasol ChampionshipJim Herman takes lead at Barbasol Championship

July 20, 2019July 20, 2019| 1:48

NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. — Jim Herman shot his second straight 7-under 65 on Friday to take the second-round lead in the PGA TOUR’s Barbasol Championship. Herman had a one-stroke lead over Bill Haas at rain-softened Keene Trace. He won the 2016 Shell Houston Open for his lone TOUR title. Haas followed his opening 65 with a 66. He made a 45-foot eagle putt on the par-5 eighth, his 17th hole. David Toms was two strokes back at 12 under after a 64. The 52-year-old Toms made a 13-foot eagle putt on the par-5 fifth, his 14th hole of the day. D.J. Trahan, Kelly Kraft and Kramer Hickok also were 12 under, each shooting 67. Jose de Jesus Rodriguez (65), Austin Cook (66), Sebastian Munoz (68) and Wes Roach (69) were 11 under. Tom Lovelady played the first six holes on the back nine in 7 under, capped by a 10-foot eagle putt on the par-5 15th. He bogeyed the par-3 16th and parred the last two for a 65 to top the group at 10 under. J.T. Poston, the first-round leader after a 62, had a 73 to drop into a tie for 18th at 9 under. Canadian Nick Taylor, a stroke behind Poston after an opening 63, also was 9 under after a 72. John Daly missed the cut with rounds of 71 and 72. Fighting osteoarthritis in his right knee, the 53-year-old Daly was playing his first PGA TOUR event since he was approved for a cart last fall. Denied a cart by the R&A for the Open Championship, he has been approved for a cart at PGA TOUR events until the end of the year. The winner will receive a spot in the PGA Championship.

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Toms has ‘prime opportunity’ this weekend at Barbasol ChampionshipToms has ‘prime opportunity’ this weekend at Barbasol Championship

July 20, 2019July 20, 2019| 1:29

LEXINGTON, Ky. – David Toms didn’t know exactly what to expect this week. The 52-year-old had entered the Barbasol Championship because he wanted to stay sharp. Toms doesn’t plan to play the Senior Open Championship next week, and he didn’t want to take a four-week break before PGA TOUR Champions returns for its final 11 events of the season. His son Carter was playing in a tournament, too, so there wasn’t really time for a family vacation. So, Tom’s wife Sonya and their daughter Anna said they’d make the four-and-a-half-hour drive to Kentucky from their home in Shreveport with him. So far, it’s been well worth the trip. Toms fired a 64 on Friday that left him tied for third at 12 under, just three strokes off Jim Herman’s lead entering the weekend – with a chance to become the second-oldest winner on the PGA TOUR. Sam Snead, who won the 1965 Greater Greensboro Open at the age of 52 years, 10 months and 8 days, is the first. He has Toms by a matter of four months and nine days. “That would be kind of cool, but I’ve got a long way to go,â€� said Toms, who remembers spending time with Snead at the Masters. “See if we can play well enough tomorrow not to be too far back on Sunday and have a chance.â€� Toms, a 12-time winner on the PGA TOUR, has been his usual patient and steady self during the first two rounds at the Champion Course at Keene Trace Golf Club, a course he’s played several times before in U.S. Open qualifying. The 2001 PGA champion has hit 21 of 28 fairways and 29 of 36 greens in regulation. He’s made one eagle, 14 birdies – pitching in three times Friday from just off the green — and dropped just three shots to par, including on the last hole Saturday that kept him from a share of second. “My first goal was just to play Saturday and Sunday really, and then I started feeling good about it yesterday, the way I was playing, and obviously it carried over to today,â€� Toms said. “So, I’m in good shape. But I’ll have to go really low on the weekend like everybody else is going to have to do. “It’s a longer golf course for me, so it helps that it’s drying up a little bit. So, I don’t have as many scoring opportunities as some of the other players, but if I can take advantage of the ones I do have, I’ll be okay.â€� This is just the third TOUR event he’s played this season, tying for 31st at the Charles Schwab Challenge and missing the cut at the U.S. Open. Toms has three runner-up finishes on the PGA TOUR Champions, though, including in his title defense at the U.S. Senior Open and at another major, the Regions Tradition. “Had opportunities, haven’t been able to get it done,â€� Toms said. “But like I said, everybody out there are champions, all the guys that are playing, so they know how to win. “You have to go out there and do it and I haven’t been able to this year. We still have a lot of tournaments left.  Our fall is pretty important as a player out there, a lot of tournaments. So, I have some opportunities, I just have to get close and see if I can have something go my way.â€� He’s got a prime opportunity this weekend, too.

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