Tiger Woods cards solid opening round at The Honda Classic

McKINNEY, Texas — Now that Sam Burns has figured out how to turn an early lead into a victory, it’s already time to try again. Burns birdied six of his last eight holes Friday for a 10-under 62 and a two-stroke lead over Alex Noren at 17 under after the second round of the AT&T Byron Nelson. RELATED: Full leaderboard | What’s in Burns’ bag? Noren shot 64 to get to 15 under, and K.H. Lee had his second 65 to reach 14 under. Doc Redman bogeyed two of his last three holes for a 67 that left him 13 under. J.J. Spaun was 12 under, following a first-round 63 that left him tied with Jordan Spieth with a 69. Spieth shot 70, leaving the local favorite in the group at 11 under that included Matt Kuchar and Charl Schwartzel. Scoring went up overall along with the wind a day after the new home of the Nelson, the par-72 TPC Craig Ranch north of Dallas, surrendered 94 rounds in the 60s in its debut. That number dropped considerably in the second round. The tougher conditions didn’t affect Burns, playing for the first time since his first PGA TOUR win two weeks ago at the Valspar Championship in Florida. Before Burns won at Innisbrook, the 24-year-old Louisiana native who lives in East Texas had twice failed to convert 54-hole leads, in the Vivint Houston Open last fall and The Genesis Invitational at Riviera in February. Now he has a TOUR-best five 36-hole leads this season after following a 65 with the lowest round of his career. Burns is trying to become the first to get his first two PGA TOUR victories in consecutive starts since Camilo Villegas in 2008. “The biggest thing for me is just seeing the hard work that we put in it, start seeing results from that,” Burns said. “A lot of times you don’t know how long the results are going to take. It’s cool to see some feedback from the progress we’ve made back home and seeing it in tournament play as well.” Already with a four-hole run of birdies on the back nine, Burns put his tee shot in the stadium setting of the par-3 17th inside 4 feet, then hit a short approach on the par-5 18th to 2 feet for birdie. Another birdie came on the par-4 14th, when Burns laid up on the 318-yard hole while playing partner Bryson DeChambeau drove the green and two-putted for birdie for the second day in a row. Burns made a 17-footer. DeChambeau, who played at nearby SMU and is one of three top-10 players in the field, had two late bogeys for a 68 to get to 7 under. Sung Kang, the 2019 winner and defending champion after last year’s cancellation, is 8 under after a 69. Spieth didn’t make any putts beyond 12 feet a day after a 55-footer for eagle on the final hole pulled him even with Spaun. Still, Spieth was in his best position in five years for a top-10 finish — or better — at the Nelson. That hasn’t happened in the decade since Spieth contended on Sunday as a 16-year-old amateur before tying for 16th. Not only are Spieth’s thoughts on the best finish in his hometown event, the three-time major winner and others are peeking at next week’s PGA Championship on the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island in South Carolina. “There is no reason for me not to trust everything I’m doing,” said Spieth, who ended a nearly four-year victory drought in San Antonio the week before finishing third at the Masters. “At this point, I’ve got an opportunity to contend here, and if I can get myself a chance on Sunday, that is the best prep for this tournament and also next week.” Burns and Spieth already have spots in the PGA. Lee, who has never won on the PGA TOUR, doesn’t. A Nelson victory would put the 29-year-old South Korean in the field. Hideki Matsuyama shot 70 and was right on the Nelson’s record-low cut line at 6 under in his first appearance since becoming the first Japanese winner at the Masters. Jon Rahm, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 3, shot 69 and was 7 under. Masters runner-up Will Zalatoris, playing not far from where he grew up on a course he knows well, joined Matsuyama at 6 under. The 24-year-old birdied two of his last four holes for a 68. The Nelson moved to TPC Craig Ranch after last year’s COVID-19 cancellation, which followed two years at Trinity Forest links course in Dallas. Before that, the Nelson spent more than 30 years at the Four Seasons resort in Irving. TPC Craig Ranch’s debut coincided with Lee Westwood’s first appearance in either Dallas-area tournament. The 48-year-old Englishman, who hasn’t played Colonial in nearby Fort Worth, shot a 64 and was 9 under. Westwood wanted to see his daughter in Florida — and didn’t want to go into the PGA without having played in a month. “I thought maybe, you know, try a new experience,” said Westwood, who opened his second round on the back nine and birdied five of the first six holes. “I don’t want to call it prep for next week, but I prefer to go into a major championship being competitive the week before.”

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PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – Rickie Fowler calls his last five weeks “somewhat of an off-season.â€� It’s fitting, then, that Fowler will begin his 2017-’18 season with somewhat of a working vacation at this week’s OHL Classic at Mayakoba, where he is the highest-ranked player in the field (10) and perhaps the most anticipated first-timer in the event’s 11-year run. “I mean, I’m excited to be down here,â€� said Fowler, who with his girlfriend, Allison Stokke, got to the Riviera Maya on Saturday for some pre-tournament fun in the sun. “I want to play well and I feel like I definitely can play well. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t feel I could win. But I’m also enjoying the relaxation and getting some time in the gym and we’ll definitely be ready to go and really get the season going in January.â€� On TOUR, the off-season is where you find it, and while Fowler has been busy since he beat Emiliano Grillo 6 and 4 in the Presidents Cup on Oct. 1, he hasn’t been playing golf. Fowler served as Grand Marshal at alma mater Oklahoma State’s homecoming; went to Stokke’s homecoming at Cal-Berkeley; did a wine-tasting tour in the fire-ravaged Napa Valley; shot TV spots for Farmers Insurance in Los Angeles; swung through Scottsdale, Arizona; and squeezed in five rounds of golf. Oh, and he also sent his coach, Butch Harmon, video of his swing last week. (Harmon said it looked good if slightly laid off the top, according to Fowler.) It seemed almost rude to interrupt the relaxed Riviera Maya vibe and ask how Fowler might play this week. “I like the golf course,â€� he said of the 7,000-yard, par-71 El Camaleon Golf Club. “It’s a fun layout. I enjoy playing in windy conditions; I know it can get fairly windy down here.â€� Another thing he noticed in his first trip around the course Wednesday: It’s not very forgiving off the tee. “You have to hit the ball pretty straight to stay out of the native area, whatever you want to call it,â€� Fowler said. “Stay out of it.â€� In the big picture, Fowler, 28, is doing very well, with room for improvement. In 32 major starts he has seven top-five finishes, none of them wins. He led the U.S. Open at Erin Hills after shooting a 7-under 65 in the first round, but faded to a T5 finish. (He has never broken par in the final round in nine U.S. Open appearances.) He picked up his fourth career win at The Honda Classic, but had nine other top-10s. In one sense, Fowler says, last season was “arguably the best I’ve played.â€� That’s one way of looking at it. He also admits he had “maybe not as many wins as I would have liked.â€� Meanwhile, he keeps hanging around to congratulate his friends when they win. Jordan Spieth at the Open Championship. Justin Thomas at the PGA Championship, where Fowler again finished T5. Spieth has said that when Fowler himself wins, a whole world of friends will be waiting for him behind the 18th green. That’s not just karma; it speaks to Fowler’s likability.    If form holds, his major W is coming, perhaps with fate providing a nudge. Fowler won THE PLAYERS Championship in 2015 after a poll in Sports Illustrated tagged him as overrated. And while his critics once said he was too nice, pointing to all those halved matches in the tense, mano-a-mano theater of the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup, he went a sporty 3-0-1 at the recent Presidents Cup at Liberty National. He seems likely to figure out the majors, too. “It’s a fine line,â€� Fowler said Wednesday. “You know well enough, seeing guys and where they finish and how they play and understanding how much one putt or one shot can do, whether it’s coming down the stretch or even that one putt early in the week.â€� Patrick Reed, who is also making his first OHL start and also in search of his first major, echoed Fowler’s sentiments. “Nowadays the PGA TOUR is so deep, top to bottom,â€� Reed said. Whatever happens at lush, leafy El Camaleon this week, Fowler will spend some time at home in Jupiter, Fla., before starts at the Hero World Challenge, Nov. 30-Dec. 3, and the Sentry Tournament of Champions, Jan. 4-7. For those scoring at home, that’s the Riviera Maya to the Bahamas to Maui. “Not a bad little swing,â€� Fowler said. You can bet he’ll make the most of it.

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HONOLULU – Patton Kizzire says he’s lobbying the PGA TOUR to plant palm trees at more of its venues. With his two career wins coming at the Mayakoba Golf Classic and the Sony Open in Hawaii over the 2017-18 season, it’s not hard to see why. Both have an obvious tropical feel and most players in the field at both find themselves in a relaxed state of mind. You might think any other correlations might not be something to highlight. But last season, Matt Kuchar won at Mayakoba and then… you guessed it… at Sony. Coincidence? Maybe. Probably even. But surely, Brendon Todd doesn’t mind the omen having grabbed his Mayakoba trophy a few months ago. RELATED:  What you need to know for Sony Open in Hawaii | Power Rankings “It’s exciting for sure,â€� said Todd, who sits second in the FedExCup after two wins in the fall. “I would love to pick up another win this year. I’ll take as many as I can get. I spotted the TOUR a few years of bad play so I’m ready to get mine while I’ve got it.â€� Kuchar, the defending champion at Sony this week, remembered realizing the fact after his win 12 months ago. Just like Kizzire it would be his last win of the season. “I didn’t really put two and two together until after I won Sony… and I said to Patton, I was a little disappointed you didn’t win anything else,â€� Kuchar who has nine career TOUR wins, recalled with a grin. “I was hoping to continue following in his shoes. Now I have yet to have Brendon Todd come up to me and be disappointed that I didn’t win any more than the Mayakoba and Sony… but he might be.â€� Kizzire added with a laugh that it was a cool stat, but one that has now run its course. “It would be very interesting if Brendon won this year but obviously I’m pulling for myself this week. He’s been winning enough lately,â€� Kizzire said. “And this is a very different course this year with the heavy winds and the rain it will be a tough challenge. A lot of creativity and patience will be the key this week.â€� Coincidence or not, surely there is something more to this we need to explore. Let’s jump into some stats, although we must keep in mind that in Mayakoba ShotLink is not used extensively like most events. So we don’t get a direct comparison to Waialae Country Club where we do have access to more numbers.  But we do know that when Kizzire saluted in both tournaments, the focal point was his putting. He had just 107 total putts in Mexico and the same again in Hawaii. In Hawaii, this correlated to being third in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting and was T2 for putts per round, while in Mexico his 107 putts was T5 in relation to the field. What about Kuchar? His 111 total putts when he won at Mayakoba was T21 in the field. His 112 putts at Sony was T13 in the field, but he finished third in Strokes Gained: Putting that week. “Both golf courses are ball placement venues and put a premium on putting,â€� Kizzire confirms. “You have to put it in the fairway and place it well and make your putts. It’s not just for bombers, it is precision and strategy.â€� Funnily enough Kizzire hit just 35 of 56 fairways in Mexico when he won, which was T52 in the field and at Sony he found just 29 of 56 fairways. Clearly, he made it up on the greens. Kuchar, however ranked third in driving accuracy in his Mexico win and fourth in Hawaii. So in theory Kizzire is right. “You need to be awfully accurate off the tee as there can be lots of trouble to be found if you miss fairways on both courses,â€� Kuchar says. “That’s the best correlation. They are relatively flat and tight courses. I like the courses that provide options. They can be played so many different ways. “It is much more position oriented, and it’s not just grab driver and hit it. There are so many courses that we play you just know every non par-3 is grab the driver and smash it. The two we talked about there are a lot of different options.â€� Then there is the confidence factor. Once a player has a win under their belt in any season, the shackles are lifted pressure wise to some degree. “You get a little break and then you come to Hawaii feeling good,â€� Kizzire says. “You play in Maui which gets you get accustomed to the time change plus you are playing some golf in the winds in the lead up… so it can just create a perfect storm for success.â€� That sounds good to Todd. Of course, he has already won twice having picked up the Bermuda Championship prior to his win at Mayakoba. Bermuda is also a tropical venue. For the record, Todd ranked 13th in total putts while winning in Mexico with 109 for the week. He currently ranks 87th for the season in Strokes Gained: Putting. “I’m still confident from the fall. Still striking it nicely and the weeks where I chip and putt well are the weeks where I contend so I’m continuing a focus on those areas,â€� Todd said from the practice putting green where he was getting extra work done. “Playing last week in the wind has helped me in practice rounds so far as I am feeling like I’m in tune with how far things are going and how cross winds are playing. “This course is playing soft like Mayakoba was but it is blowing a lot harder here than it was there so I will have to play well.â€� If he does win this week you can be sure the field in next seasons Mayakoba Golf Classic might get a bit of a boost this time around.

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