Tiger Woods’ hot start thwarted by rain stoppage at PGA Championship

DETROIT — Davis Thompson, in his third PGA TOUR event as a professional, is leading the Rocket Mortgage Classic. RELATED: Leaderboard | Bryson DeChambeau will have new caddie in Rocket Mortgage defense He’s not excited about that fact. Yet. “Sounds good on Sunday,” Thompson said after matching a Detroit Golf Club record with a 9-under 63 to take the early first-round lead. “It’s only Thursday. I know I’ve got a long way to go.” Brandon Hagy and Tom Lewis were two shots back. Seamus Power and J.J. Spaun shot 66, putting them another stroke behind the surprising leader. Thompson is in the field as a sponsor exemption after sending an email to tournament officials, asking for a spot. The 22-year-old former University of Georgia star missed the cut last week at the Travelers Championship after tying for 35th in his pro debut at the Palmetto Championship at Congaree earlier in June. It is unlikely anyone saw his breakthrough round coming after he was a combined 6-over par in six previous starts — four as an amateur — on the PGA TOUR. Thompson did show a flash of promise when he competed in the 2020 U.S. Open as an amateur, opening with a 69 before missing the cut at 7-over 147. Thompson took advantage of favorable conditions with rain-softened greens and light wind Thursday morning at Detroit Golf Club, missing only one green and needing just 26 putts in his bogey-free round with nine birdies. “If the putter gets hot, you can just kind of ride that wave throughout the day,” he said. Thompson resumed his round after play was suspended due to inclement weather for three-plus hours. He tied the course record shared by Nate Lashley, who won the inaugural event in 2019, and J.T. Poston. “I’ve played in a few pro events now, so you’ve just got to keep your emotions in check,” Thompson said. “Anything can happen. I know I’m playing well, so I’m just going to have some confidence going into (Friday) and hopefully I can play another good round.” Players with afternoon tee times had to endure a long wait to begin playing and wind that was 5 to 10 mph stronger than it was in the morning. Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau got off to a shaky start, a day after parting ways with caddie Tim Tucker. He replaced him for this week with Cobra-Puma Golf TOUR operations manager Ben Schomin, who said he was a caddie in competition for the first time. DeChambeau is trying to win a PGA TOUR event in consecutive years for the first time. He had a chance two weeks ago to repeat at the U.S. Open, but went from leading the major with nine holes left to faltering and finishing in a tie for 26th. And now, the big hitter might not make the cut and that would be a blow for him. DeChambeau missed the fairway to the right at Nos. 2 and 3, leading to bogeys. At the par-3, 184-yard ninth hole, he was short off the tee, on his chip and 10-foot putt to put another bogey on his card that dropped him to even-par 36 at the turn.

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The 2017 Presidents Cup is officially here. The International Team takes on the U.S. Team at Liberty National in hopes to pull the upset as Lady Liberty watches on. Day 1 tee times Day 1 leaderboard HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN Telecast: Golf Channel (1 – 6 p.m. ET)                PGA TOUR Radio: Listen Free (12 – 6 p.m. ET) THURSDAY FOURSOMES Hideki Matsuyama/Charl Schwartzel vs. Rickie Fowler/Justin Thomas 1:05 p.m. ET Jhonattan Vegas/Adam Scott vs. Matt Kuchar/Dustin Johnson 1:17 p.m. ET Emiliano Grill/Si Woo Kim vs. Patrick Reed/Jordan Spieth 1:29 p.m. ET Branden Grace/Louis Oosthuizen vs. Daniel Berger/Brooks Koepka 1:41 p.m. ET Marc Leishman/Jason Day vs. Phil Mickelson/Kevin Kisner 1:53 p.m. ET

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LEXINGTON, Kent. – Turns out, the entry in his online bio is a little dated. Wes Roach actually has been to New York City. Once. But he’d love to make a return trip — particularly if it meant playing in the first event of the FedExCup Playoffs. And if he keeps playing the way he did on Thursday in the opening round of the Barbasol Championship, the former Duke standout just might be making his Playoffs debut. Roach fired a bogey-free 64 with matching nines of 32 at the Champions Course at Keene Trace Golf Club to finish two strokes off the lead held by J.T. Poston. He hit 11 of 14 fairways, all but two greens in regulation and ranked third in Strokes Gained: Total. “I played solid,â€� Roach acknowledged. “Hit a lot of fairways, gave myself some good opportunities with some wedges and short irons, and was able to hit some quality shots, and putted nice.  So yeah, everything was pretty good today.â€� Actually, Roach has been playing well for the last six weeks or so. In his last five starts, he’s finished 11th or better three times – shooting four rounds in the 60s each time. “Yeah, I’m starting to play a little better,â€� Roach said. “Been working awfully hard.  The first part of the year was a little bit tough, but had to keep grinding away.  You know, still a lot of work to do, a lot of golf to play, but I’m happy with the start.â€� Roach, who lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, is pleased to see the work he’s done with his swing coach, Brad Rose, pay dividends. He’s also been working on his fitness with Randy Myers since the beginning of March – which could come into play with heat indexes in triple digits expected the next three days. “My body’s moving pretty good, warms up pretty good with the heat,â€� Roach said. “I like playing in the heat.  I’m not too afraid of that at all.â€� The payoff could be job security for the 2019-20 season, should he solidify his spot in the top 125 in the FedExCup. He came to Kentucky ranked No. 124 with this tournament and two others remaining in the regular season. Oh, and a second trip to New York City, this time to to play in THE NORTHERN TRUST at Liberty National.  “I’m happy, but there’s a lot of golf left,â€� Roach said. “I’m very happy with the performance today, but can’t be satisfied, I guess.  There’s still a long ways to go.â€�

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