J. Force extends record with 150th Funny Car winJ. Force extends record with 150th Funny Car win
John Force raced to his record-extending 150th Funny Car victory Sunday in the NHRA Northwest Nationals.
Day: August 5, 2019
Wyndham Championship Round 4 updates: FedExCup standings, Wyndham Rewards, Aon Risk Reward ChallengeWyndham Championship Round 4 updates: FedExCup standings, Wyndham Rewards, Aon Risk Reward Challenge
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Plenty was on the line at this week’s Wyndham Championship, with the top 125 in the FedExCup standings advancing to the Playoffs, as well as the finale of the Wyndham Rewards Top 10 competition and Aon Risk Reward Challenge. Here’s a quick look at each one after Sunday’s final round at Sedgefield Country Club. FedExCup Update: Two players played their way into the top 125 – Patton Kizzire, who moved from No. 129 to 118th, and Andrew Landry, who went from No. 132 to 123rd. … Falling out of the top 125 are Robert Streb, who came in No. 124 and dropped four spots after missing the cut, and Alex Noren, the bubble boy, who ended up No. 129 after tying for 60th at the Wyndham Championship. … Both Noren and Streb will be able to compete in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, which begin Aug. 15 in Columbus, Ohio, at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Open, where 25 PGA TOUR cards will be up for grabs. Patton Kizzire: The Auburn grad, who shot 67 on Sunday, his fourth round in the 60s and tied for 13th, will be competing in the Playoffs for the fourth straight season. The 33-year-old reached the TOUR Championship a year ago. He’s exempt through the end of the 2021 season after winning twice last year. “I’ve never missed the FedExCup Playoffs, so I certainly didn’t want to do that this year,â€� Kizzire said. “I felt like I had a lot to play for and really grinded. I wasn’t breathing real easy out there. There was a lot of trying going on, and it was a fight until the end. I feel pretty good about how I did.â€� Andrew Landry: Landry, who is exempt through the end of the 2019-20 season after winning the 2018 Valero Texas Open, will be making his second straight appearance in the FedExCup Playoffs. He finished No. 37 last year. Landry closed with a 70 on Sunday and wasn’t quite sure it was good enough to move him into the top 125 but he held steady in the projections as the last few groups finished. “I was obviously trying to get myself in contention to win the golf tournament and I just kind of felt on the back nine I started thinking more of the FedExCup than it was winning a golf tournament,â€� Landry said. “I’m good with an exemption for next year and it was definitely stress free, but for some odd reason it was on my mind to get into those Playoff events. You know, it’s a big relief off my shoulders to be able to go play THE NORTHERN TRUST and try to get myself in the top 70. My game’s sharp right now, I’m playing really well and just looking forward to next week.â€� RELATED: Poston breaks through for first win | What’s in J.T. Poston’s bag? | FedExCup standings Worth Noting Pat Perez missed the cut but held onto a spot in the Playoffs at No. 125 by two points over Richie Werenski … Zach Johnson’s streak of making the Playoffs every year since the inception of the FedExCup ended when he tied for 53rd at the Wyndham Championship and finished No. 154. … Nine other players’ streaks are in tack, though – Charley Hoffman, Charles Howell III, Matt Kuchar, Phil Mickelson, Ryan Moore, Justin Rose, Adam Scott, Brandt Snedeker and Bubba Watson. … J.T. Poston, who made the Wyndham Championship his first PGA TOUR victory, will be competing in the Playoffs for the second straight year. He’s put himself in position to make the TOUR Championship, too – moving from No. 83 to 27th with the win. … Speaking of East Lake, Rory Sabbatini has made the Playoffs 12 of the 13 years the FedExCup has been in existence. He’s only advanced to the TOUR Championship once – in 2007 – but is making a strong bid this year. He tied for sixth at Sedgefield and currently stands No. 36 in the FedexCup. … Viktor Hovland fell short in his bid to earn enough FedExCup points as a non-member to earn his card for next season. He ended up with 308 – which would have put him 144th. Hovland closed with a 65 and finished solo fourth, his fourth top-20 in five starts as a pro. So he’ll head to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. “I feel like I’ve just playing better and better every single week, and obviously this is my best finish throughout the five tournaments that I played,â€� Hovland said. “I’ve just got to keep it going in the Korn Ferry Finals and hopefully I’ll make it through.â€� … Johnson Wagner, Josh Teater and Harris English played their way into the top 150 at Nos. 141, 146 and 149, respectively. That means they will have conditional status on TOUR for 2019-20, at the very least, and could earn a TOUR card via the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. “I plan on going and being real focused and treating them like just like they were the PGA TOUR Playoffs,â€� said Wagner, who is a a three-time TOUR winner. “In years past in those things I’ve had a bad attitude. I’ve skipped events. I’m excited to go to work next week and be ready mentally to do what I need to do.â€� … Teater missed a 10-footer on the 18th hole but looked back at No. 8 on Saturday as equally costly when he picked his ball up in the fairway (the first two rounds were played under lift, clean and place rules but not the third). “I didn’t have a clue,â€� he said when asked about the putt on the 18th hole. “Obviously I wanted to make it, but they told me in the scoring area that it may have jumped me into the 125. But there’s so much golf, I probably would have got bumped out. I mean, what if? What if I didn’t pick my ball up on the fairway yesterday when I wasn’t supposed to? Maybe that’s the ‘what if’ we should ask.â€� Wyndham Rewards Top 10 Webb Simpson was the only player to move into the Wyndham Rewards Top 10. Simpson, the 2011 winner of the Wyndham Championship, finished solo second, the 10th runner-up finish of his career, on Sunday and moved from No. 13 to No. 9 — earning an additional $550,000 bonus. When the former Wake Forest All-American moved in, Justin Rose was knocked out of the No. 10 spot which cost him $500,000. Simpson gave himself chance at the bonus when he tied for second a week ago at the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational to move from No. 26 to 13th in the FedExCup. “Honestly, it wasn’t even on the radar going into Memphis,â€� Simpson said. “I was too far back, I thought, unless I did something crazy. So yeah, it was on my mind this week after second last week. I’m so thankful to Wyndham for feeling the need to jump in and be the first one to sponsor a regular season bonus for play that’s been going on since October. And they did a great job, so I’m thankful to them for that.â€� Paul Casey, who was the only player in the top 10 who competed in Greensboro, could have risen as far as fourth with a victory. He played well, starting the final round tied for fifth, three strokes off the pace, but ran out of gas on Sunday after playing four straight weeks. “It’s actually a perfect example of why we’re taking next week off,â€� said Casey, who shot 69 in the final round and tied for 13th. “… I miss my family. And I gave it a good shot today, but just ran out of energy.â€� He finished where he started at No. 8 and earned a $600,000 bonus. Aon Risk Reward Challenge The Aon Challenge is officially over with Brooks Koepka, adding another $1 million to his regular season bonus bounty. He beat Jason Day in a tiebreaker. Both Jason Kokrak and Noren came to the Wyndham Championship with an outside shot to overtake him but the elusive albatross was involved and their bids fell short.
J.T. Poston goes bogey free in breakthrough win at the Wyndham ChampionshipJ.T. Poston goes bogey free in breakthrough win at the Wyndham Championship
GREENSBORO, N.C. – In the fading light of early Sunday evening, Charles (Doc) Cunningham sat on his folding, metal carry chair and watched a man in knee pads carve letters into a sandcastle: Winner: J.T. Poston. James Tyree – Cunningham’s grandson. Someone handed Cunningham a carbonated beverage, and he took a sip and handed it back. At 85, he still regularly shoots his age or lower, and has done it so many times he no longer keeps track. The first time he did it, he was 67 and shot 66. “I remember growing up, he just hit it – similar game to myself,â€� Poston said after shooting 62 to win the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club, his first PGA TOUR win. “Nothing flashy off the tee, but he kept it in front of him and his short game was unbelievable. That was kind of how I learned to play golf was watching him at a competitive level, learning from him.â€� Poston, 26, clearly learned well. He eagled the par-5 fifth hole, sprinkled in six birdies, and did not make a bogey for the fourth straight day. He becomes the first player to go bogey-free for 72 holes and win an individual TOUR event since Lee Trevino in 1974. Poston also becomes the fifth native North Carolinian to win the event; he’s from Hickory, a town of 40,000 about two hours away. RELATED: What’s in J.T. Poston’s bag? | FedExCup standings | Leaderboard Webb Simpson, another North Carolinian who was bidding to win the Wyndham for the second time (2011), birdied the 18th hole to shoot 65 and finish second, a shot back. “Congrats to J.T., he played phenomenally today,â€� Simpson said. “Happy for him. He’s a young player, such a nice kid, so I’m happy for him.â€� Simpson wasn’t the only one; this was, to put it mildly, a popular victory. Poston’s mother, Cheryl, and father, Ty, were here. His brother, Bailey. His coach, John McNeely, who gave him a lesson on his takeaway just days before the tournament started that proved to be hugely helpful. Cousins. Friends. Also over the moon were fellow players Patton Kizzire, who waited behind the green for Poston to roll in the testy 4-footer for par on 18, and Denny McCarthy, who didn’t quite get back in time.  “I’m in the middle of a laundry cycle at the hotel,â€� McCarthy said with a laugh. “And I just left my clothes in the wash right now. I wouldn’t miss this. He’s been a great friend to me the last couple years and he deserves this so much. He’s always shot me a text when I have success, or when I’m down.â€� Keith Mitchell, who won The Honda Classic earlier this season and lives with Poston as roomies at a house in St. Simons Island, Georgia, was trying to steady his breathing in front of the TV at home. Poston was there waiting for Mitchell when he won The Honda, and Mitchell so badly wanted to return the favor he said he tried to rent a plane to get to Greensboro in time to watch the back nine. Alas, he was told the weather was too poor. “We tried everything we could,â€� Mitchell texted. Poston attended Western Carolina in tiny Cullowhee, about three and a half hours away, and his mother reported seeing copious Catamounts purple at Sedgefield. “It’s amazing how many people were out here pulling for him,â€� said McNeely, his coach. No one, though, had quite as personal a stake as Poston’s grandfather. Cunningham, who played in two U.S. Senior Amateurs and two British Senior Amateurs, used to drive Poston and his friends to junior tournaments, and before that he cut down a persimmon 5-wood, pried off the sole, and took the weight out to create the kid’s first club. Poston was 3. “I can remember as a kid following him to the range, and taking that 5-wood and just hitting balls for hours and loving every minute of it,â€� said Poston, who moved to 27th in the FedExCup and qualified for the Masters Tournament and Sentry Tournament of Champions, among other elite events. “I mean, our relationship, a lot of it has revolved around golf. … I learned from him, just from watching him and how he carried himself, when I was a kid.â€� Cunningham has had some health problems and been unable to attend many tournaments, but he walked the front nine Sunday before going in for some lunch. He came back out and did six holes of the back nine. He said Poston was 12 or 13 when he beat his grandfather for the first time. “I think he shot 76 and I shot 77,â€� Cunningham said. “It wasn’t an easy course. I’ve still got that scorecard.â€� The sand castle will not last. The rains will come, even if they mercifully held off for 72 holes, and his name will dissolve into slurry. But it will be on a plaque on the Wall of Champions behind the ninth green. That will endure, and so will the memory of winning in front of the man who started it all, the man he calls Pa Doc. “For him to be here,â€� Poston said, “that’s something that I will never, never forget.â€�
Franco’s rough season continues with demotionFranco’s rough season continues with demotion
Maikel Franco, who was only hitting .231/.296/.405 this season, was sent down to Triple-A by the Phillies on Sunday.
NASCAR Playoff watch: Jimmie Johnson spins, still gains in the points standingsNASCAR Playoff watch: Jimmie Johnson spins, still gains in the points standings
Johnson went spinning off Ryan Blaney’s bumper and finished 19th. Yet he’s now in the playoffs with four races to go.
