Monday Finish: Xander Schauffele is the Comeback Kid

Round 1 belonged to Kevin Streelman and Beau Hossler, who fires a flawless, 7-under 63s to tie for the lead after 18 holes. TOUR rookies Julian Suri and Aaron Wise trail by just a stroke, while Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson all postes sub-par rounds early. Another day, another course in Monterey. Who shines in Round 2 at Pebble Beach? THE STARS ARE OUT: Tony Romo, Aaron Rodgers, Justin Verlander, Larry the Cable Guy and all the other celebrity faces. FULL FIELD: Defending champion Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and more! Round 2 tee times Round 2 leaderboard HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN TELEVISION: Friday, 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 2-3:30 p.m. (GC), 4-7 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, 1-2:30 p.m. (GC), 3-6:30 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Friday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-6 p.m. (featured holes). Saturday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. (featured holes). Sunday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. (featured holes). RADIO: Friday, 12-6 p.m. ET. Saturday, 1-7 p.m. Sunday, 1-6:30 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com) NOTABLE PAIRINGS (All times Eastern) * – Notable amateur PEBBLE BEACH GOLF LINKS Pat Perez, Vaughn Taylor 11:11 a.m. off the 10th tee Jon Rahm, Patrick Cantlay 11:22 a.m. off the 1st tee Bubba Watson, Aaron Baddeley 12:50 p.m. off the 1st tee Bryson DeChambeau, Jim Herman 1:01 p.m. off the 1st tee SPYGLASS HILL Patrick Reed, Paul Casey 12:50 p.m. off the 1st tee Graeme McDowell, Sangmoon Bae 12:50 p.m. off the 10th tee Beau Hossler, Cameron Davis 1:01 p.m. off the 10th tee MONTEREY PENINSULA Brandt Snedeker, Matt Kuchar 11:11 a.m. off the 1st tee Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy 11:11 a.m. off the 10th tee D.A. Points, Chris Stroud, Bill Murray*, Darius Rucker* 11:22 a.m. off the 10th tee Russell Knox, Jimmy Walker, Justin Verlander* 12:06 p.m. off the 1st tee Mac Hughes, Kevin Na, Steve Young*, Alex Smith* 12:17 p.m. off the 10th tee Jerry Kelly, Kevin Streelman, Aaron Rodgers*, Larry Fitzgerald* 12:39 p.m. off the 10th tee Jason Day, William McGirt, Alfonso Ribeiro* 12:50 p.m. off the 1st tee Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Wayne Gretzky*, Jake Owen* 1:01 p.m. off the 10th tee Keith Mitchell, Tom Lovelady, Ray Romano*, Larry the Cable Guy* 1:12 p.m. off the 10th tee

Click here to read the full article…

Four of the biggest names in sports are going to play a charity golf match. Intrigued? Isn’t everyone? So what else do we know — about format, about social distancing rules, about venue? We go through what we know and what still needs resolution.

Click here to read the full article…

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Jordan Spieth has displayed a new skill set in 2017, and it’s one that we still have to get accustomed to. His ballstriking has been the key to his success, while his trusty putter has failed to live up to his standards. That was the case again Thursday as Spieth began his pursuit of the career Grand Slam at Quail Hollow. This is a course that requires players to drive the ball well, and Spieth leaned heavily on the longest club in his bag. It was the shortest one that frustrated him, though. “It was just the putter,â€� Spieth said after a first-round 72 that left him five shots behind leader Thorbjorn Olesen. Spieth had 32 putts Thursday, and didn’t make a putt longer than 5 feet. “If you told me I was going to hit my driver the way that I did today, I would have definitely thought I shot a few under par,â€� Spieth said. “I can’t putt any worse than I did today.” This was only the fifth time this season that Spieth had 32 or more putts. It was his fifth-worst performance in Strokes Gained: Putting (-2.15 strokes) this season, as well. If Spieth is to become the youngest player ever to complete the career Grand Slam – and this is his lone opportunity to break Tiger Woods’ record – then Spieth will have to win in a way that is unprecedented for him. Spieth has never finished in the top 10 in a major after shooting over par in the first round. His best finish was a T11 at this year’s Masters, where he shot a first-round 75 after making a quadruple-bogey at the 15th hole. He battled to within two shots of the lead after 54 holes, but shot another 75 in the last round. Spieth’s caddie, Michael Greller, used that tournament as inspiration when Spieth arrived at the seventh tee Thursday at 3 over par. “He goes, ‘Grind these last few. You had a chance to win Augusta and we were in a worse position at this point,’â€� Spieth said. “And he was spot on.â€� They knew birdie opportunities awaited, at Quail Hollow’s par-5 seventh and the short, par-4 eighth hole. There was still the possibility to turn in an even-par scorecard. “If I were to finish par, par, par, I would have thrown myself out of the tournament,â€� Spieth said. Instead, he made two birdies and a solid par at the final hole. His rally started with a 296-yard drive into the fairway at the seventh hole. His playing partners, Brooks Koepka and Sergio Garcia, had to lay-up after missing the fairway, but Spieth was able to hit a hybrid that just trickled through the green and set-up a two-putt birdie. A 290-yard drive into the fairway on the next hole set up a 57-yard approach that he knocked stiff. Spieth hit 10 of 14 fairways while averaging 298.8 yards on all tee shots. He gained 2.03 strokes off the tee Thursday, his second-best performance in that stat this season. He also hit 12 of 18 greens. “If I would have shot 1 over and didn’t strike it well and everything was average, it would have been fine. But when I had the chances that I had and I just couldn’t get the ball to go in on the greens, that is when I get the most frustrated I can get out there,â€� Spieth said. He is in the midst of the best ballstriking season of his career, leading the PGA TOUR in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green. Earlier this year, he said that his playoff victory at the Travelers Championship was the first time that he won on the PGA TOUR without putting well. His Open Championship win, the one that set the stage for the career Grand Slam, will be remembered for the long putts he holed down the stretch, but he also wasn’t content with his putting performance at Royal Birkdale. He ranks 47th in Strokes Gained: Putting this season, his worst ranking in that statistic in his career. Spieth, who teed off on No. 10 on Thursday, missed a downhill, 8-foot birdie putt at the par-3 13th. He drove the green at the next hole, but his 120-foot eagle putt rolled off the back of the green, leading to par. Spieth also three-putted the sixth and seven holes from just off the green. He missed 10-foot par putts on both holes. “He didn’t make as many putts as he usually does. I feel like that 15- to 20-foot range, usually see him make a bunch of putts. He just didn’t make any,â€� said Koepka, who shot 68. “He had a couple putts that he just ran 10, 15 feet by. But he struck it really well.â€� Spieth knows he has ground to make up. He has started with 68 or better in all three of his major wins. He held the 36-hole and 54-hole leads in all three victories, as well. “I know I’m still in it, but I know that tomorrow’s round becomes that much more important. … I’ve got to make up ground,” Spieth said. “If I’m five back at the start of the day, I’ve got to be less than five back after Friday to really feel like I can play the way this golf course needs to be played and still be able to win.”

Click here to read the full article…