LPGA golfer: President Trump ‘cheats like hell’

NEWTON SQUARE, Pa. – It’s not often that Rory McIlroy gets a momentum bump from a pro-am round. Wednesdays generally are not a productive scoring day for him “My stroke average in pro-ams is probably about 75.7,â€� he acknowledged. But this Wednesday at the BMW Championship was different. McIlroy played his final nine holes of the pro-am at Aronimink in 8-under 27, including a stretch of seven consecutive birdies. McIlroy was still on fire a day later. He played his first 14 holes in Thursday’s first round in 9 under, reeling off six straight birdies at one point. By the time he got to his 15th hole, the par-4 sixth, he was thinking 59. A couple of late bogeys dashed those dreams, but his 8-under 62 still was good enough to share the first-round lead with Tiger Woods. And that 23-hole stretch over two days in which he shot 17 under? “Oh, that’s pretty good,â€� McIlroy said. Two weeks ago, McIlroy sat out the FedExCup Playoffs opener in order to work on a few things. Last week, he tied for 12th, shooting 67-66 in his middle two rounds at TPC Boston. On Thursday, he was in full Rory mode, hitting 11 of 14 fairways, 16 of 18 greens and averaging 24 feet, 3 inches proximity to the pin – second-best average of the day. “It’s a golf course that just seems to fit my eye,â€� McIlroy said. “I like the greens. You can work the ball in off the slopes. You got to hit it pretty wild to start missing fairways. So if you get your ball in the short stuff, you can get it going.â€� McIlroy’s 62 was his lowest round of the year by two strokes and is just one off his career low. But through 14 holes, it looked like he was headed for the record books. Asked if he was disappointed not to have shot 59, McIlroy could only smile. “Geez, Debbie Downer here,â€� he said. “… I’m not going to say it stinks too bad because I’d much rather shoot 62 today and win the golf tournament Sunday than shoot 59 today and maybe not win.â€� No matter how things turn out the rest of the week, though, perhaps McIlroy will take a new approach toward pro-ams. “Maybe I should try a little harder on Wednesdays,â€� he said. “It seemed to work this time.â€� NOTABLES One person who did not play in the pro-am was Tiger Woods, who took off on Wednesday after playing nine holes with McIlroy on Tuesday. “I needed it, I really did,â€� Woods said after his 62, his lowest score on the PGA TOUR in five years. “I just played a lot of golf in the last six weeks and I needed a day to recover and make sure I was fresh for today.â€� Woods is the co-leader after 18 holes for the first time since the 2013 World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship. Rickie Fowler missed the first two FedExCup Playoffs events with an oblique injury, but it certainly didn’t impact him Thursday. He shot a bogey-free 5-under 65, his round getting off to a quick start with a birdie putt from just inside 12 feet. Fowler hit 12 of 14 fairways and 13 of 18 greens. “I’m happy we’re back this early as far as coming back from the injury,â€� Fowler said. “You never know exactly how long those things are going to last, and especially with our sport being very rotational-oriented, having the oblique was a little scary. But happy that we’re in a good spot now. Speaking of Fowler … he worse custom-made yellow shoes that honored the late Jarrod Lyle. The shoes included the birth and death dates for Lyle, along with his initials on the back of one shoe and an image of his bucket hat on the other. Fowler said he was hoping to wear the shoes on the weekend at the PGA Championship (Lyle died the day before the first round) “but I didn’t have anything to wear them with, so I couldn’t really make it work. … Obviously we don’t want to ever forget Jarrod.â€� Although admittedly tired after winning the first two FedExCup Playoffs events, points leader Bryson DeChambeau spent more than an hour on the practice green after signing for a 3-under 67. DeChambeau missed a birdie putt inside 10 feet early in his round but likely was more frustrated with missing a 6-foot par putt at the par-3 eighth for his only bogey of the day. DeChambeau is assured of No. 1 status after this week, no matter how he fares. Jordan Spieth played in the same threesome as Tiger Woods and Rickie Fowler. Those two got off to hot starts, but it took longer for Spieth to heat up, as he birdied three of his last four holes to shoot a 3-under 67. “The toughest part is when there’s that many birdies within the group, him and Rickie, it’s tough not to force it when I was out of position all day,â€� Spieth said. “So I thought my 3 under was fantastic from places I played today.â€� Due to the threat of inclement weather Friday afternoon, tee times for the second round have been moved up. Play will begin at 7 a.m. ET, with threesomes off two tees. QUOTABLES My body just remembers it.That was weird, right? All three of us.I’m not very old but I feel like I shouldn’t be making those mistakes, second year veteran out here. SUPERLATIVES Lowest rounds: The 8-under 62s shot by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. Combined, they made 1 eagle, 17 birdies and 3 bogeys. Bogey-free rounds: Rickie Fowler (65), Brian Gay (66), Henrik Stenson (66), Paul Casey (69). Longest drive: Brooks Koepka’s 361-yard tee shot at the par-5 ninth. Koepka also had a drive of 354 yards at the seventh hole. Longest putt: Beau Hossler’s birdie putt from 70 feet, 1 inch at the par-4 15th. Hardest hole: The 246-yard par-3 eighth played to a stroke average of 3.420. Just three birdies were made by the 69 players in the field (Justin Rose, Ian Poulter and Chris Kirk). Easiest hole: The 542-yard par-5 16th played to a stroke average of 4.304. Six eagles and 38 birdies were made there, while just two players suffered bogeys (Chesson Hadley, Brandt Snedeker). CALL OF THE DAY For play-by-play coverage of the second round of the BMW Championship, listen at PGATOUR.COM. SHOT OF THE DAY

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Like Jordan Spieth in 2015, Collin Morikawa is riding too much confidence, skill and mojo to be bothered by nerves, history and learning curves. Like Justin Thomas, Morikawa has the kind of enviable swing that looks incapable of producing a bad shot. And like Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus, Morikawa, 23, joins an elite club of players to capture the PGA Championship before his 24th birthday. His final five holes won’t soon be forgotten. Drawing upon exquisite skill and perfect timing, Morikawa chipped in for birdie on the par-4 14th hole before hitting possibly the shot of the year – a perfect, left-to-right drive that bounded to seven feet for eagle at the par-4 16th – to rise above an impossibly crowded leaderboard. For more on Morikawa’s eagle, click here. Now second in the FedExCup, behind Thomas, Morikawa will be a favorite in the Playoffs and beyond. Welcome to the Monday Finish. THREE KEYS TO SUCCESS 1. Morikawa is comfortable in California. Actually, comfortable is an understatement. While he can win anywhere – the PGA was his third PGA TOUR victory – he has really impressed others on the West Coast, as a lengthy profile on PGATOUR.COM detailed earlier this year. “There are no holes in his game – at all,” said Maverick McNealy, a rival when he was at Stanford and now a friend with whom Morikawa plays and practices at home in Las Vegas. In a way, Walter Chun, Morikawa’s coach at Cal, predicted this back in January. “I think he’ll win at Torrey Pines or Riviera to start the year,” said Chun. “He’s a West Coast kid, he knows poa annua greens, and he’ll be motivated to win. When he wants to accomplish something, he tends to do it.” Chun was not quite right with the timing, but the rest of it looks about right. 2. He has the head of a caddie. Steve Desimone, who recruited Morikawa to Cal, said he never saw Morikawa pull the wrong club. J.J. Jakovac, who worked for Ryan Moore before landing Morikawa’s bag last year, considers Morikawa so golf-smart it’s like he’s another caddie. “It’s unbelievable,” Jakovac said at TPC Harding Park. “It really is. I’m in awe still watching him play. All my caddie friends say the same thing. They’re like, ‘I just cannot get over how mature your guy is.’ He’s like an old soul or something. He’s just plodding along and he just knows what he needs to do. The confidence is a quiet confidence but it’s super confident, you know.” Said runner-up Paul Casey of his first impressions of Morikawa last year: “Instant maturity was probably the one thing that stood out.” 3. He learned to be a player, not just a swing. Morikawa’s first lessons, when he was 5, came at a junior camp at Scholl Canyon in Glendale, California. Rick Sessinghaus, who focused on the mental game, taught the better players there. You could say it was a fruitful partnership. Sessinghaus, who has a doctorate in sports psychology and is the mental performance coach for UCLA’s golf team, recognized Morikawa’s excellent fundamentals but didn’t stop there. Their lessons came to include copious on-course problem-solving. What was the percentage shot? Where was the best miss? How could he play to his strengths? “There’s a lot of great swings out there but not many golfers,” Sessinghaus told PGATOUR.com earlier this year. “He learned to play at a high level. Collin’s been wired that way; I’ve tried to cultivate it, raise his golf I.Q. by putting him in different situations. “He’s going to look at a golf course and create a strategy based on his capabilities. He’s not going to overpower it but can plot his way around based on his strengths.” OBSERVATIONS Casey, Koepka pull reversal The cameras were on Brooks Koepka, not Paul Casey. Just a few shots back as he eyed a potential third straight PGA title, Koepka came in with ample swagger. Alas, Casey (66) thumped Koepka (74) by eight shots, and by the end of their rounds the cameras were on the Englishman, a flip of the script that was more than a little surprising. “Today was just sort of cruise around the golf course and have a great time,” Casey said. “I’ve not played great golf so far this season, so anything was going to be a bonus on where I was a week ago or two weeks ago. So I was just out there kind of having a good time. “But I do think I’m in a sweet spot,” he added. “It’s taken me 43 years to get there, but yeah, pretty chilled out, know what I’m capable of, and enjoying my golf.” As for Koepka, he shrugged and smiled and said he was just there to cheer Casey on. “You know, hey, wasn’t meant to be,” said Koepka, who finished T29 at 3 under par. “Three in a row, you’re not really supposed to do two in a row looking at history, but that’s all right.” DeChambeau, Finau put on show They hit epic tee shots, but they didn’t win. No matter. Bryson DeChambeau was unphased. For one thing, he shot a final-round 66, and for another, his T4 was his best finish in a major. “It’s super validating,” he said. “I don’t know how else to put it. Very excited for the future for me. Look, my driving I think is only going to get stronger and farther, golf-course-dependent, obviously. But I hope in due time there’s going to be an advantage that’s out there that, you know, hopefully – I don’t know how else to put it in a nicer way, but gives me a really distinct advantage that helps me win a lot out here. I feel like my putting is good enough. “I just have to improve the irons and wedges a little bit,” he added. Finau, meanwhile, shot 67 to also finish T4 – another close call for the one-time TOUR winner. “I had so many, so many great looks that I thought I made, and just slid by,” he said. “… I felt like just try and get to double digits as fast as you can, and hopefully from there you have some holes left to make some more birdies. I did that. I got to 10-under, I think after 14, and had four holes in front of me that I felt like if I got a couple, I would have a great chance, and gave myself some looks.” QUOTEBOARD “I didn’t realize how much I actually missed this area.” – Southern Cal product Morikawa, who graduated from Cal-Berkeley, just across the bay from TPC Harding Park “There’s nothing I would change. I’m very, very happy with how I played.” – Paul Casey (66, 11 under, T2) after thumping final-round playing partner Brooks Koepka “You know, I was just there to cheer Paul on.” – Brooks Koepka, who was in contention for a third straight PGA Championship win but shot a final-round 74 (T29) WYNDHAM REWARDS The Wyndham Rewards Top 10 is a season-long competition that offers a $10 million bonus for the 10 golfers who end the regular season at the Wyndham Championship inside the top 10 in FedExCup points. The player atop the standings will earn $2 million, with varying payoffs for the others through $500,000 for the 10th place finisher. Justin Thomas remains at No. 1 with a 556-point lead over new No. 2 Collin Morikawa. With 500 points available to the winner of this week’s Wyndham Championship, that means Thomas has clinched the victory in the Wyndham Rewards Top 10, while the remaining nine places remain up for grabs. This is the last week before the start of the FedExCup Playoffs. Here’s how the standings look heading into this week’s Wyndham Championship: SOCIAL SNAPSHOT

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