Knock off the ‘too friendly’ talk

SAN DIEGO – Ryan Palmer owes plenty to Jon Rahm but he has no problem trying to take something from him on Sunday at Torrey Pines. It was the fiery Spaniard who helped Palmer claim his fourth PGA TOUR win, nine years after getting his third, at last season’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans. The pair came together to take out the team event, which also gave Rahm his third PGA TOUR win. RELATED: Leaderboard | Tiger needs big Sunday to claim No. 83| Win probabilities But come Sunday at the Farmers Insurance Open the duo make up two of the final threesome looking to take home another title. Rahm leads after a sublime Sunday 65 left him 12 under for the week. Palmer is just one back in second place. As friendly as they are this time it’s for personal glory. “Of course you’re rooting for him at Zurich and trying to say, “hit it here” and “hit it there,” so maybe tomorrow I’ll say, “hit over there” instead,â€� Palmer joked. “It’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s fun when you get to play with guys you know well and you have a good time. Getting to watch him and play with Rory, that’s the position you want to be in. You want to be with the best come Sunday late in the day, so I’m excited about that chance.â€� Just how they came together goes back to before the first team iteration of the Zurich Classic in 2017. Jordan Spieth, Palmer and their caddies Michael Greller and James Edmondson were having a friendly round at Trinity Forest in Dallas late in 2016 when an interesting wager was thrown up by Edmondson. The former college golfer and four-time club champion from Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth issued a challenge to the 2015 FedExCup champion Spieth: If I beat you, you have to partner up with Palmer at Zurich. Edmondson won and a partnership with some 17 years of age difference was formed. They were fourth in 2017 in New Orleans before missing the cut in 2018 when they were paired with Rahm and Wesley Bryan. Despite both teams going out early they had a fun time. So when 2019 rolled around and Spieth decided to give the tournament a miss and Bryan was struggling with injuries a new option was available. “I’ve known Adam Hayes (Rahm’s caddie) a long time and I’ve played a lot of rounds with Jon in the last two, three years, had him at my charity event and became pretty good friends,â€� Palmer said. “It was a matter of James and I saying who do we really look at playing with. I didn’t want to just play to go play, I felt like I wanted to find a partner that I got along with, but also I knew I could really contend with. “I texted Adam and mentioned it and he said to text Jon, see what he says. We hit it off and I knew our games related so well … the way we both drive it … his short game and my iron play was a perfect match. We’re looking forward to doing it again.â€� Before that title defense in April comes Sunday’s round in San Diego. Rahm already won the Farmers Insurance Open in 2017, his first win on TOUR that came in incredible fashion. On that Sunday Rahm played the final nine holes in six under with two eagles and two birdies to blow away what previously was a bunched leaderboard. “Hopefully, I don’t need to shoot 6 under. Hopefully, I do shoot 6 under honestly and I don’t have to stress down the stretch,â€� Rahm said. “The only thing it’s going to do is keep me focused, no matter how good I’m playing, knowing that somebody can come and do the same thing.â€� Rahm’s Saturday 65 included a chip-in birdie on the first and a hole-out eagle from 111 yards on the second. He then birdied three of the four par-5s and produced a laser from 203 yards on the par-3 16th to set up a three-foot birdie. Along with his win at Zurich in 2019 Rahm also won three times on the European Tour and sits at third in the world rankings. He has an outside chance to move to second with a victory but at the very least would get within striking distance of top spot should he prevail at Torrey. “We all try to show up to a golf tournament thinking we’re the better player that week and we can do it and it’s just a matter of showing it,â€� he said. “So hopefully I can keep playing good, do it tomorrow and I can be back here and tell you I was the better player that week.â€� While the duo are the front runners, they won’t have it all their own way. With them in the final group is FedExCup champion Rory McIlroy. He will start three back of Rahm. A win for McIlroy will take him to the top of the world. “It was nice to shoot a good third round here and get myself a little bit closer,â€� McIlroy said after a 67. “The way it’s set up this week, I think it’s built for me, especially with how I’m driving the ball. It’s playing long, we’re not getting much roll out there. The rough’s up, fairways are pretty narrow. I would love bent greens instead of poa, but I guess you take what you’re given.â€� TOUR winners Sung Kang and Cameron Champ, plus rookie Harry Higgs join McIlroy at 9 under. Among the throng at 8 under, just four back, are more TOUR winners in Tony Finau, Marc Leishman, Patrick Reed, J.B. Holmes and Brandt Snedeker. And then of course lurking, perhaps a little far back but a chance none the less, is 82-time PGA TOUR winner Tiger Woods. He searches for a ninth professional win at Torrey Pines from five shots off the pace. “I still got to go out there and post a low one tomorrow, still got to make a bunch of birdies tomorrow and move up that board,â€� Woods said of the challenge ahead of him. Should he find a way to the top Woods would stand alone at the top of the all-time win list on the PGA TOUR, jumping out of a tie with Sam Snead.

Click here to read the full article…

Click here to read the full article…

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Notes and observations from Saturday’s third round of the BMW Championship, where in tougher conditions Marc Leishman birdied the 18th hole to shoot 68 and extend his lead to five shots over Jason Day (70) and Rickie Fowler (70). For more coverage from Conway Farms Golf Club, click here for the Daily Wrap-up. CONWAY FARMS BITES BACK No one would ever confuse Conway Farms for Bethpage Black. After all, this is where Jim Furyk fired a 59 at the 2013 BMW, and where Marc Leishman shot a 62 in the first round. But the course is not without its defenses, and they were up Saturday. “It was a lot tougher today,â€� said Phil Mickelson, who birdied three of his first six holes only to eventually settle for a 2-under 69. “The pins were in tough spots and the greens got a lot firmer.â€� That was a common refrain, as players made 164 bogeys on the day, compared to 147 on Friday and 131 on Thursday. Rickie Fowler eagled the first hole, but alas could only find one more birdie and two bogeys the rest of the way. “I didn’t make anything,â€� he said of his putting. Patrick Cantlay double-bogeyed the par-3 11th after hitting his tee shot in the water, but at least he had company. The 169-yard hole yielded no birdies and 19 bogeys or worse on the day, the first time all season in which a par-3 has shut out the entire field. Jason Day crushed his tee shot 366 yards on 18, but pulled his second shot into a buried lie in the greenside bunker. He hacked his ball out and settled for his 15th par of the day. “The greens started to get a little firmer,â€� Day said. “The fairways started to get a little firmer.â€� Leishman hung tough despite bogeys at the fourth and seventh holes, sprinkling in five birdies. “The course changed quite a lot today compared to the first two days,â€� said Leishman, who shot a back-nine 40 to finish a disappointing third at the Dell Technologies Championship at TPC Boston two weeks ago. “Firmed up a lot and the greens sped up, so that [good play] was good to see and nice to keep making birdies like I have been all week.â€� RAHM MAKES PUSH TO STAY IN TOP 5 FedExCup No. 5 Jon Rahm could do no wrong earlier this season, registering seven top-10s in a span of 10 starts, highlighted by his win at the Farmers Insurance Open. He hit a sudden dip in form, a summer swoon that saw him miss cuts and/or fail to contend in the majors, and now he’s back again, playing some of his best golf of the year from tee to green. The 22-year-old from Spain racked up seven birdies against just one bogey and signed for a 65, tied with Lucas Glover (-10, T12) for best of the day. At 11-under, Rahm is eight off the lead. “I’ve been really close timing-wise, really close to hitting really good shots,â€� Rahm said. “My swing hasn’t been a hundred percent, maybe 90 percent. This week it’s close to a hundred percent. I’m visualizing the shots, hitting them a lot closer to the way I see it.

“Hit more than two perfect shots a round, you’re having a really good ball-striking day. I’m fortunate to say there’s been least two of them each round. Hopefully I can keep it going.â€� Rahm is coming off a T4 at the Dell Technologies Championship and a T3 at THE NORTHERN TRUST. With Jordan Spieth falling down the leaderboard, Rahm could wind up being the most consistent performer over the first three legs of the FedExCup Playoffs. “My ball-striking was probably close to the best it’s ever been right now,â€� he said, “so hopefully I can keep going and make a few more putts.â€� CALL OF THE DAY BRADLEY FEELING LIKE OLD SELF Keegan Bradley was the PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year back in 2011, when he won the HP Byron Nelson Championship and the PGA Championship. He would play in a Presidents Cup (2013) and two Ryder Cups (2012, 2014), forming an electric tandem with Phil Mickelson. Today, Bradley, 31, is lingering at 48th in the FedExCup standings. He and his wife, Jillian, are anticipating the birth of their first child, due Nov. 18, as Keegan works to find his old form. “Everyone thinks I stink now,â€� Bradley said after shooting an opening-round 65 at the BMW. Scores of 72-68 in the second and third rounds have him at 8-under (T20), and he’s projected to finish outside the top 30 (47th) in the FedExCup. He’ll likely need to shoot something around 66 on Sunday to play his way into the season-ending TOUR Championship at East Lake. What happened to Bradley? Everything. The USGA and R&A outlawed anchored putting. He retooled his full swing, so he was working on new mechanics both on and off the greens. He changed caddies and slipped to 60th in the FedExCup in 2015, and 103rd last season. Relegated to watching Presidents Cups and Ryder Cups on TV, he missed the Masters this year as veterans like Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson sent encouraging messages to buoy his spirits. Through it all, Bradley kept on working as the golf world moved on. Now in his 10th year as a pro, he has been encouraged by five top-10 finishes this season. He’ll need a sixth on Sunday. “If it’s not this year, hopefully it will be next year,â€� he said. “But I feel a lot more like the person I was out on the course, now more than ever.â€� ODDS AND ENDS Leishman is 14-under so far on the par-4s, which is on pace to set a new record for a winner in the FedExCup Playoffs. (Jason Day went 15-under in winning THE NORTHERN TRUST in 2015.) Leishman is also excelling on and around the greens, second in the field this week in strokes gained: around the green (+1.477). He was 31st in that category entering the week. … The largest margin of victory in a FedExCup Playoffs event is eight strokes, which Tiger Woods accomplished twice (2007 TOUR Championship, 2009 BMW Championship). Jason Day won THE NORTHERN TRUST in 2015 by six shots. Leishman currently leads the BMW by five. … Justin Rose was one of the few to keep a bogey off his card on the way to a 66 (12-under, solo fourth). The Olympic gold medalist from England said he noticed a slight uptick in the wind on Saturday. “Lot of tricky club-making decisions out there,â€� he said. … The field’s stroke average for the third round was 69.420, the highest it’s been all week. The second-round stroke average was 69.072, while the first-round average was 68.855. SHOT OF THE DAY

Click here to read the full article…