Steve Stricker playing 20th U.S. Open close to home

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. – The first omen appeared Monday when amateur Lukas Euler, currently a junior on the University of Kentucky golf team, earned an exemption into the Genesis Open by winning the Collegiate Showcase at Riviera. On Sunday, the two most notable active PGA TOUR pros from Kentucky battled for 34 holes to decide a much more lucrative prize. Fittingly, with their home state famous for its equine competition, the final round essentially became a two-horse race. In the end, it was J.B. Holmes, the older of the two thoroughbreds, who caught Justin Thomas down the home stretch to win at Riviera in an afternoon of challenging, windy conditions. In the scoring tent, Thomas noted that the final leaderboard had the Bluegrass State going 1-2. “Obviously wish I was on the other part of that,â€� Thomas said, wondering if it’s “ever happened before on the PGA TOUR, two Kentuckians finishing first and second.â€� Holmes and Thomas have known each other at least 15 years. When Thomas was still in grade schools, Holmes showed him the ropes by allowing him inside-the-ropes access during practice rounds. When Holmes and fellow Kentuckian Kenny Perry were on the American team at the 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla in Thomas’ hometown of Louisville, a teenaged Thomas was part of the victory celebration. Holmes said he’s basically a “big brother, mentor a little bitâ€� to Thomas. They’ve played practice rounds together, but this weekend was the first time at a regular TOUR event they’ve been paired in the same group. Due to the schedule adjustment forced by a seven-hour rain delay to start the tournament, rules officials decided not to re-pair the groups between the third and fourth rounds in order to make sure the playing schedule was not pushed into Monday. That meant Holmes and Thomas – along with Australian Adam Scott – played two holes late Saturday afternoon to start the third round, then 16 holes to complete the round Sunday morning before teeing off 20 minutes later for 18 more holes in the final round. “It was great being able to go out and play with him and battle it out,â€� Holmes said. “He’s such a great player, so it was fun being out there, talking and just battling it out.â€� It probably didn’t seem as much fun for Holmes when Thomas appeared to take control of the tournament with a third-round 65 that put him four strokes ahead. But that lead evaporated five holes into the final round, when Holmes gained a stroke on four consecutive holes with a birdie and three Thomas bogeys. Once Scott fell off the pace at the turn, the outcome was left in the hands of Holmes and Thomas. Holmes took his first outright lead of the day with a birdie and a Thomas bogey at the drivable par-4 10th. He promptly gave the lead back with his first three-putt of the week, at the par-5 11th, while Thomas birdied. At that point, Thomas was 15 under, Holmes 14 under. Holmes had entered the week ranked 202nd in Strokes Gained: Putting but found a hot hand on Riviera’s greens. He refused to let his season-long putting struggles create doubt in his mind down the stretch, especially with wind gusts of 30 mph creating indecision with every shot or putt. “I knew were getting on the holes that were very, very difficult and that anything could happen,â€� Holmes said. “For me to get upset was just going to hurt me there. It was over and I had to do the best I could to get back in it.â€� Holmes did exactly that by playing par golf the rest of the way. He made a crucial par-saving putt from 12 feet on the 13th hole and another one from 11 feet at the 16th. Meanwhile, Thomas self-destructed with a double at the 13th and a bogey at the 14th. He admitted to struggling with the putter, adding that it showed a flaw in his game. “J.B. won, he played great,â€� Thomas said. “But it’s always a bummer to hand him a tournament. I feel like I should’ve won that thing.â€� Instead of Thomas winning for the 11th time on TOUR, it was Holmes who claimed his fifth win, and first since the 2015 Houston Open. Known for his length off the tee, it was, surprisingly, the putter that gets most of the credit for ending his victory drought. He credits time spent with his coach Matt Killen. “We spent a lot of time this week with the coach and getting on the green and trying to find the right ball position and how it set up, and putting through some gates, making sure I was starting the ball online,â€� Holmes explained. “I putted for several hours throughout the week in the morning, we changed our routine and we had a string and a mirror and just made sure that everything was dialed in.â€� On the 18th green late Sunday, Holmes made a terrific lag putt to set up a short par putt for his final-round 1-under 70 that won him the tournament when Thomas missed his birdie attempt from 19 feet. The two guys from Kentucky – Holmes is from Campbellsville, Thomas is from Louisville – then hugged, competitors for 36 holes who shared more than just a thirst for victory. Perhaps one day, they’ll race down the stretch again. â€�I’ve known J.B. since I was 7 or 8 or 9 years old,â€� Thomas said. “He was always so great to me. He would always pull me in the ropes in practice rounds in PGAs and stuff like that. I mean, that’s stuff I never forget.” “I just never thought, you know, 15 years later he would beat my ass at Riviera. That was a bummer.â€� But for the Bluegrass State, it was pretty cool.

Click here to read the full article…

Click here to read the full article…

Here are nine tidbits from the third round of A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. The Old White TPC at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia hosts for the eighth time and measures 7,287 yards and plays to Par-70. Know Thy Enemy These were the top-10 selected golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf game presented by SERVPRO. With temperatures in dipping into the 70’s the breeze blowing, The Old White TPC showed its teeth, to a degree, in Round 3. After giving up a round of 61 in the first two rounds the lowest total on moving day was just 65. The track and the greens both firmed up nicely and there’s hardly a wonder why the top 10 was turned upside down. The Final Pairing Kelly Kraft has never held the 36-hole lead before and now he’s never lost it. He’ll want to forget he played the three holes in two-over par as he saw his three-shot lead evaporate as he shares the 54-hole lead. The good news is he finished the day in red numbers (69) and he’s 13-under on the Par-4 holes. He’ll be playing alongside another looking for win No. 1 on TOUR, Harold Varner, III, so that should help both of them relax. Varner’s last bogey was 39 holes ago as he posted 66 after 64 in Round 2 to share the lead. The last time we checked in with Varner he was putting all four rounds under-par at TPC Sawgrass for T7, his only top 10 of the year. He’ll be looking to join the first-timers club in the winner’s circle tomorrow. He closed with 67 last year in much different circumstances. Na-ht Out of It Kevin Na backed up his 63 in Round 2 with the co-low round of the day, 65, in Round 3 and sits just one back of the lead. He’ll have no problem stalking two players who have never won as he looks to pick up his first win since 2011. He closed with 61 at Trinity Forest for solo fourth at the AT&T Byron Nelson in May and his only top 10 here was posting 65 in 2012. Country Roads, Take Me Home Bubba Watson isn’t worried about stats or trends and shouldn’t be as well as he’s playing. He’s never led this week so he can join the previous seven winners in keeping that streak alive if he does the business tomorrow. He matched the low round of the day on Saturday with 65 as he led the field in SG: off the tee, tee to green, driving distance and proximity. He fired 63 on Sunday his last time out to win the Travelers so I’m not going to be surprised with another low one tomorrow! Mountain Climbing Tony Finau is looking to keep up his momentum going at The Old White TPC. His worst round of 11 is 69 and his best is 66 so I’m not surprised with his trio of 67’s this week. His third one of 2018 moved him up 10 spots to T14 as he looks to best his T7 from last year. He was second to Watson in the first three categories listed above and third in proximity. He’ll need to make a few tomorrow to get back into the top 10. I’m not betting against him as he’s T4 in birdies for the week. The Defending Champ All the talk of coming from behind to win is great but I’ll also point out that nobody has successfully defended either. Xander Schauffele doesn’t care about any stats or streaks as he became the first rookie to win The TOUR Championship last year. He’ll gladly take his chances on a course he loves as his 65 today pushes his two-year total to 27-under in seven rounds. Moving Day For the second week in a row Bronson Burgoon has forced himself into the conversation with a big round on Saturday. And for the second Saturday running it’s a 65 on Par-70 layout that’s put him in the mix. Last week he backed it up with 67 for his first top-10 TOUR finish and a trip to Carnoustie. He’ll have to feel like he’s playing with house money on Sunday as he moved up 24 spots, the most into the top 10. … J.T. Poston went out early and posted the first 65 of the as he jumped 42 spots to T18. … Brandon Harkins continues to rumble as well as his 66 leapfrogged 39 players to T21. Moving Day: Wrong Way Webb Simpson (T2) and Whee Kim (T5) both shared the worst round of the day with matching 76’s. Simpson dropped 28 spots to T30 while Kim plummeted 43 spots to T48. Simpson’s rough day affected more gamers than Kim’s to say the least. … The next step for cut-maker extraordinaire Tyler Duncan is putting together two solid WEEKEND rounds. He’s made nine cuts in a row but he dropped 52 places from T8 to T60 after 75 Saturday. I’ll keep reminding everyone that he’s a rookie playing his 26th event. Study Hall Saturday’s scoring average was the most difficult of the week but still played under-par at 69.753 (-0.247). Round 1 was 69.340 (-0.660) and Round 2 went lower at 68.636 (-1.364) before the correction in Round 3. … Varner has the cleanest card of week so far with just two bogeys and zero others. … Ollie Schniederjans (T14) has circled the most birdies thus far with 19 but has eight bogeys and a double to go with them. … Every player inside the top 10 SG: approach the green is in the top 21 save for Simpson. … Every player inside the top 10 SG: putting is T21 or better as well. … Only Varner and John Peterson (T38) played bogey-free golf in Round 3. Check yesterday’s Emergency 9 for more info on Peterson.

Click here to read the full article…