Cycling: Hammer Series aiming to nail it in Hong Kong

One of the pleasures of the vast array of PGA TOUR LIVE’s free video options is the ability to travel back in time, and to destinations that are all but impossible to visit in the present moment. Also, it’s just fun to hear Pat Summerall open a show with, “Hilton Head Island – a nautical paradise.â€� Since this is RBC Heritage week, let’s allow the Harbour Town Lighthouse to be our beacon. Last year South Carolinian Dustin Johnson had the lead but struggled in the final round, and when C.T. Pan posted a 4-under 67 it was good enough to beat Matt Kuchar by one. It was Pan’s first win after two runner-up finishes the previous two years. (Click here to watch) Greg Norman was at the height of his powers but hadn’t won in a few years. Jamie Hutton, 17, had leukemia and needed a bone-marrow transplant. They met at the 1988 MCI Heritage Golf Classic, where Norman shot an emotional final-round 66 and dedicated the victory to Jamie. (Click here to watch) After several close calls in playoffs, Payne Stewart prevailed in a playoff at the 1990 MCI Heritage Golf Classic. “I just told myself,â€� Stewart said afterward, “‘Look, this is the ’90s. All those playoff losses were in the ’80s.’â€� (Click here to watch) At the end of a week in which David Frost shot a course-record 61, the ageless Hale Irwin, then 48, authored the last of his 20 PGA TOUR victories at the windless 1994 MCI Heritage Classic. (Click here to watch) Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf is great for way-back time travel – check out the 1969 exhibition from the El Conquistador Hotel & Club in Puerto Rico, featuring Gay Brewer, Chi-Chi Rodriguez and “golf’s all-time leading money-winnerâ€� Arnold Palmer. (Click here to watch) Before Greg Norman and Nick Faldo at the 1996 Masters, there was their 1994 Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf match at Sunningdale Golf Club in England. (Click here to watch) This profile of Jordan Spieth starts with a 360-degree retrospective of his holed bunker shot to defeat Daniel Berger at the 2017 Travelers Championship. (Click here to watch)

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JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Number-crunchers were still waiting for the final finishers to complete Friday’s second round of THE NORTHERN TRUST, but one category seemed finalized. Jordan Spieth had led the field in Strokes Gained: Total, with 7.016. RELATED: Full leaderboard | FedExCup update: Keith Mitchell makes move after brilliant birdie run Spieth, minutes after shooting a 9-under 62, seemed to shrug that off, probably because he had another stat in his head. He told a reporter that he figures he led the field in “Strokes Gained: Plus 8, in luck.” Pretty good quip and goodness know but someone might just go and take on quantifying such a category, but Spieth’s assessment of his round was spot on. Even for his uncanny standard of scrambling, Round 2 of this FedExCup Playoff at Liberty National Golf Club was one for the highlight reel. We circle the par-4 fifth and par-5 sixth. At the former, Spieth split the fairway perfectly, then holed out with a wedge shot from 81 yards. One hole later, he was miles right with his drive, then hit a 246-yard shot that didn’t carry onto the green and seemed to be headed toward some water. “I got really lucky it held up in the hazard,” said Spieth, whose good fortune wasn’t over. His pitch from just inside of 30 yards was hot and likely going to be long, only it hit the flagstick square and dropped. Nothing like a little eagle, eagle to change the mood of a round. And to think, said Spieth, “I was worried about the cut” when he fell to 1-over for the tournament with a bogey at the first. Two eagles, six birdies, and a handful of Spieth-like par saves later, and he put himself in contention – at 8-under 134 he is tied for 10th, four behind Jon Rahm (67). So often, it is the putter that carries this young man, but he pointed out that he didn’t have “many putts outside of 5 feet.” And just why was that? “Because I didn’t play normal golf today. It was just kind of one of those days where you know you won’t get away with it throughout the weekend. “But I chipped the ball unbelievably well (setting up a handful of kick-ins for birdie or par), I wedged it beautifully, and I was patient.” Oh, and lucky. He confirms that was a big part of his day. Golfers being golfers, they know there is good luck and back luck, and the question was asked: Will it even out over the course of a career? Spieth laughed. “It’s weird, but you always focus on when you get a bad break versus the good one. But I would imagine, yeah, it evens out.” We suspect he’s correct. But we also know if anyone can overcome bad luck with a five-star scrambling game, it’s Spieth. Which is why, when the luck is on the good side, it computes to 62.

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HAIKOU, CHINA — Big-hitting American Joseph Winslow shot a closing 3-under 69 to secure a four-stroke victory over compatriot Ryann Ree (70) at the PGA TOUR Series-China International Qualifying Tournament No. 2, the second of two successive 72-hole qualifiers at Mission Hills Haikou. Winslow finished 12-under over the 7,147-yard Sandbelt Trails Course, while Ree was followed by fellow Americans Kevin Techakanokboon (69), at 7-under, and Brett Munson (70) at 6-under. Jesse Speirs (fifth), Matthew Negri (ninth) and Cody Paladino (14th) rounded out the seven Americans in the top-15. Chinese Taipei’s Haosheng Hsu and Chiehpo “Max� Lee finished sixth and 10th, respectively. Other qualifiers included England’s William Harrold (seventh), Singapore’s Quincy Quek (eighth), Philippine amateur Lloyd Jefferson Go (11th) and Ireland’s Brian O’Donovan (12th), a Mission Hills Shenzhen teaching pro. Korean Taeho Kim (13th) was later joined by countryman Myunghwa Hong after the latter won a four-way playoff with a birdie at the first extra hole to secure the 15th full card. Players from Canada, Australia, Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, Argentina, Japan and New Zealand were among those who finished in the top 40 to earn conditional status. Winslow, 25, was the star of the event after sharing the lead after 36 holes and posting a three-stroke lead over Ree after day three. However, Ree, the 23-year-old San Diego State University graduate, opened with four birdies to draw level with Winslow, who birdied one. Winslow then fell behind after a bogey at No. 5 but regained the lead when Ree double-bogeyed No. 6. Winslow took the chance to pounce, the 6-foot-5 slugger powering ahead with birdies at Nos. 8, 9 and 10 and made up for a bogey at No. 11 with another birdie at No. 14 before cruising home with four pars. “I feel pretty good. That was a successful week. I played really solid for four rounds. I came into this week feeling good about my game, and it was nice to go out there and execute the shots,� said Winslow. “Ryann put some pressure on me right away there in the first few holes. He made four birdies in a row, and I bogeyed the fifth to lose my lead, but I just told myself to keep playing my game, stay mentally tough out there and that’s exactly what happened.� At last month’s PGA TOUR Latinoamerica qualifier in Bogota, Colombia, a closing 80 dropped Winslow from solo second to 17th, securing him only conditional status on that Tour. He believes he has learned from that lesson. “It was especially good to get some revenge from the Latinoamerica Q-School. The thing I’m most proud of is that the adjustments I wanted to make based on what happened in Bogota worked well,� said Winslow, who played 12 events on last year’s PGA TOUR Latinoamerica—his best finish a tie for ninth at the 64 Aberto do Brasil in October. “That confirms that when I get into this position, which I anticipate being in more often, I know how to get it done on the final day. I’m really proud of that. I just like the way that I stayed focused on one shot at a time today, didn’t get ahead of myself and just kept grinding,� Winslow added. Quek, who has played on the Asian Tour, shot weekend rounds of 68 and 67 to regain his card, a week after young Singaporeans Joshua Shou and Jesse Yap secured conditional status at the same venue. “It’s been a good couple of rounds to get back my card. I’m really happy knowing I have 14 events this year,� said the 30-year-old, who played the Tour in 2014 and 2015. “Back in 2014, I got conditional status in China and played most events (20 of the 24 tournaments in 2014 and 2015). I’m really happy Joshua and Jesse got conditional status, especially since they just turned pro. It’s great that PGA TOUR China is back, and I’m looking forward to a great season.� Arie Irawan, 27, was aiming to become the first Malaysian to hold a full card on PGA TOUR Series-China and eventually finished 24th after a 76 left him even-par overall. “I guess I’m relieved. If I can get plenty of starts, I’ll be happy. I’m a bit disappointed I didn’t get full membership, but if I get enough starts, then I’m ecstatic,� said Irawan, a former Asian Tour player and two-time winner on the Asian Development Tour. “The course conditions on PGA TOUR China, the way it sets up, suits my game. The goal would now be to get into the top five (on the Order of Merit), so I’ve got to really prepare myself for the tournaments I get into.� Full Members: International Qualifying Tournament No. 2, Mission Hills Haikou (Sandbelt Trails) U.S. (7): Joseph Winslow (won), Ryann Ree (second), Kevin Techakanokboon (third), Brett Munson (fourth), Jesse Speirs (fifth), Mathew Negri (ninth), Cody Paladino (14th) Chinese Taipei (2): Haosheng Hsu (sixth), Chiehpo Lee (10th) South Korea (2): Taeho Kim (13th), Myunghwa Hong (15th) Ireland (1): Brian O’Donovan (12th) Singapore (1): Quincy Quek (eighth) Philippines (1): Lloyd Jefferson Go (A) (11th) U.K. (1): William Harrold (seventh) Full Members: International Qualifying Tournament No. 1, Mission Hills Haikou (Sandbelt Trails) U.S. (4): Jeffrey Kang (won), Alex Kim (sixth), Trevor Sluman (seventh), Kurt Kitayama (12th) Australia (4): Lucas Herbert (second), Kevin Yuan (third), D.J. Loypur (eighth), Andrew Schonewille (15th) Japan (2): Taihei Sato (fourth), Koki Ishihara (14th) Canada (1): Richard Jung (ninth) Italy (1): Aron Zemmer (10th) New Zealand (1): Luke Toomey (11th) South Korea (1): Daejin Jeong (13th) Sweden (1): Oskar Arvidsson (5th) International Qualifying Tournament Winners

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