Augusta’s fifth hole lengthened 40 yards ahead of Masters

PUNTA CANA, Domincan Republic – Jhonattan Vegas has lots of reasons to celebrate these days, both on the golf course and off. Vegas – who shot a 3-under-par 69 Thursday in the first round of the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship and was just a few shots back of the early lead – and his wife announced via a video on Instagram just days before the tournament began they were expecting their second child (a boy). This, just a week after the three-time TOUR winner rocked the golf world with his across-the-green putt on the par-3 17th at TPC Sawgrass during THE PLAYERS Championship, en route to a T-3 – his best finish on TOUR since THE NORTHERN TRUST in August 2017. At 69 feet, 7 inches, Vegas’ long birdie putt on the island green was the longest in PLAYERS history. He admitted he didn’t realize how loud it was until after he watched the replays. “I was so tuned into the moment, to the putt,â€� he said. It was such an unreal moment, pretty much, that happened there at 17, that I didn’t notice people. I didn’t notice how loud it was.â€� Vegas said his result at THE PLAYERS two weeks ago gave him the confidence he needs – and made a big difference in his game – as he looks ahead to the Presidents Cup later this year. He said making the International Team captained by Ernie Els is his biggest goal for 2019. “It’s been on the radar since I got done in New York that Sunday,â€� he said. Vegas has made four of his last five cuts – and three straight – with both of his top-10’s on the season occurring in that span. He kept that momentum going Thursday in Punta Cana and was 3-under through his first seven holes. He made bogey on the par-3 9th before birdied the long par-5 12th. He had a short birdie try on the par-4 18th but it just slid by. Still, Vegas said he was pleased with his effort on the much harder back nine. “The back nine is really hard here… five holes on the back nine you’re just really happy to make pars (on). I tried to manage a birdie or two on the other ones. That’s kind of how the course is going to play all week,â€� he said. “The front nine, you have more gettable holes, which we did early, and played solid on the back and it’s a decent score.â€� But as Vegas looks to the second round in Punta Cana, he can’t help but be excited at the prospect of being a father for the second time. He says his daughter, who’s three, is already excited to be a big sister. He said, with a proud-papa smile, she’s already thinking about giving her baby brother a bottle and singing him a song if he cries. Vegas comes from a family of all boys, and although he said he would have been thrilled with another girl, he said he can’t wait to be the father of his own son. “I’ve had such an amazing experience with my daughter, but I think the boys are fun, too,â€� said Vegas. “We can push them more and kind of be athletes like we were when we were a kid, so it’s a way to live childhood through them.â€�

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HOUSTON — Jason Day was back in contention after two eventful days alongside Phil Mickelson. RELATED: Final leaderboard | Mickelson misses cut Winless in 2 1/2 years and fighting lingering back and neck problems, Day shot a 2-under 68 on Friday in the Vivint Houston Open to pull within two strokes of second-round leader Sam Burns at difficult Memorial Park. The Australian watched the 50-year-old Michelson hit into the water twice en route to an 8 on the par-3 ninth, then hole out from 193 yards for eagle on the par-4 18th. Lefty missed the cut, following an opening 76 with a 73. "He kind of left himself in some pretty tough positions and you're just struggling the whole day," Day said. "It's one of those courses where you've just got to be patient and try to get your birdies when you can." Day had three birdies and a bogey. "It's one of those courses where you can walk off kind of shaking your head even though you play some good golf," Day said. "I was chatting to Phil about that on the second hole today because he went out there and hit a nice 9-iron, pulled up short, rolled away off the green and you've got a 60-footer putting back up that hill. It's one of those golf courses where it can be a little bit frustrating at times, so just got to kind of be smart about it." Day was in contention three weeks ago in Las Vegas in THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK when the neck problem forced him to withdraw early in the final round. The 12-time PGA TOUR winner returned the next week at Sherwood to tie for 60th, and took last week off. "It's been very inconsistent, obviously, because I'm trying to change my swing a little bit just to try and help the back out," Day said. "I guess I'm stuck in between patterns right now, what I want to feel, my body just won't handle it and sometimes it just compensates elsewhere. That's why it happened to my neck at CJ." Burns birdied all three par-5 holes in a bogey-free 65 to reach 7 under. “It takes a lot of discipline around here," Burns said. "You get out of position, you just try to get it back to where you can get it up-and-down or get it in a section of the green where you can lag putt it. Fortunately, early we got some good looks and I was able to convert, so solid." Winless on the PGA TOUR, the 24-year-old Burns also took a two-shot lead into the weekend in the season-opening Safeway Open in September. He ended up tying for seventh that week at Silverado. "I think slowing down a little bit, really talking through the shot with Travis (caddie Perkins) and making sure we have a clear picture of what we're trying to do," Burns said. "I think that was really helpful to learn that." Carlos Ortiz of Mexico had a 68 to match Day at 5 under. First-round leader Brandt Snedeker followed his opening 65 with a 71 to drop into a tie for fourth at 4 under with Dawie van der Walt (66), Corey Conners (67), Aaron Wise (66) and Patton Kizzire (67). "Didn't drive it as good today as I did yesterday and that's going to put you behind the 8-ball here," Snedeker said. Top-ranked Dustin Johnson followed an opening 72 with a 66 to get to 2 under in his return after a positive coronavirus test knocked him out of THE CJ CUP and ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP. "It was very solid today," Johnson said. " I felt like I played pretty well yesterday, just a little rusty. … I swung it pretty well, just hit a couple bad iron shots. But I think that was more just from not trusting what I was doing, just from not being out there. But today did a lot better, hit a lot of really nice iron shots and felt like I managed my game very well, drove it well, hit a lot of quality shots." The tournament — at public Memorial Park for the first time since 1963 — is the first domestic PGA TOUR event to have fans since March. Tickets are capped at 2,000 a day. Brooks Koepka was 2 over after a 70 on the course where he served as a consultant on architect Tom Doak's renovation. Koepka’s playing for the second time since a two-month layoff to heal injuries. Jordan Spieth, playing alongside Koepka, missed the cut with rounds of 73 and 71.

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Even if Kevin Kisner didn’t contend at the PGA Championship, it’s likely that he’d have threatened for top-dog status at the Wyndham Championship. As it turns out, he’s the one who isn’t threatened as the clear-cut most-owned. The biggest surprise forced me to double-take. Check out that Sam Saunders slots 32nd at just 3.7 percent. He arrived in great form and with a bit of success at Sedgefield. The bonus is that he’s an asset off the tee for fantasy purposes. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO NOTE: Rob’s Rating refers to where our Fantasy Insider slotted a golfer in his Power Rankings (“PR”) and other preview material. Golfers in the Power Rankings and outside the top 10 in most owned Other notables PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO The total eclipse over the United States next Monday is getting all of the attention, but the stars aligned for One & Doners at the Wyndham Championship. The annual stop in Greensboro, North Carolina, is the 36th tournament in PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO. While one-and-done worthies like Brandt Snedeker and Patrick Reed aren’t competing, for loyal participants who have burned as many as 35 golfers and might be holstering standouts for the FedExCup Playoffs, we were treated to an array of possibilities at Sedgefield. But it’s unlikely that anyone predicted a coin flip. Webb Simpson was selected by only one more gamer than Kevin Kisner at the Wyndham. You can debate how much either has resonated in the long-term, but it’s a fair fight for the top spot and not some sort of skewed split due to over-ownership earlier this year. The last time we experienced a photo finish was at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Snedeker clipped Phil Mickelson by two picks. Sneds went on to finish fourth, Mickelson 65th. The next time Sedgefield hosts, full-season gamers are going to be down potentially eight more than they are this week. That’s because PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO, which launched at Kapalua this year, will be beginning 2017-18 with the season-opening Safeway Open on Oct. 5-8. It’s the first of eight tournaments lined up this fall. Other notables

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