Tony Romo opens with 79 in second PGA Tour start

2021 Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, Round 2 Top 10 win probabilities: 1. Hudson Swafford (1, -12, 15.6%) 2. Luke List (T2, -10, 14.4%) 3. Mackenzie Hughes (T5, -9, 8.3%) 4. Sepp Straka (T5, -9, 6.8%) 5. Adam Long (T5, -9, 6.4%) 6. Sam Burns (T9, -8, 6.1%) 7. Sean O’Hair (T2, -10, 6.1%) 8. Justin Suh (T2, -10, 5.7%) 9. Xinjun Zhang (T5, -9, 5.1%) 10. Patrick Rodgers (T9, -8, 4.3%) Biggest movers in Round 2 (in terms of win %): Positive moves: 1. Luke List (+12.1%) 2. Hudson Swafford (+10.9%) 3. Adam Long (+5.6%) Negative moves: 1. Scott Harrington (-4.2%) 2. Sepp Straka (-3.5%) 3. Tyler McCumber (-3.3%) NOTE: These reports are based off the live predictive model run by @DataGolf. The model provides live "Make Cut", "Top 20", "Top 5", and "Win" probabilities every 5 minutes from the opening tee shot to the final putt of every PGA TOUR event. Briefly, the model takes account of the current form of each golfer as well as the difficulty of their remaining holes, and probabilities are calculated from 20K simulations. To follow live finish probabilities throughout the remainder of the U.S. Open, or to see how each golfer's probabilities have evolved from the start of the event to the current time, click here for the model's home page.

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On Tuesday afternoon in the locker room of the CareerBuilder Challenge, Zach Johnson made an observation aloud to no one in particular. “I’ll tell you what’s crazy,â€� Johnson said. “A lot of guys I’ve been paired with on Thursday and Friday have gone on to win that week. Either I’m incredibly motivating or they’re just incredibly good.â€� In Rounds 1 and 2 of last week’s Sony Open in Hawaii, Johnson was paired with Patton Kizzire. On the sixth hole of sudden death, the longest in Sony Open in Hawaii history, Kizzire emerged victorious over James Hahn. The win at Waialae Country Club, his second on the PGA TOUR, came in his 66th start and came just three starts after his maiden victory at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba. As such, Kizzire became the season’s first two-time winner and jumped to No. 1 in the FedExCup standings. A towering figure that strikes the ball with the smooth style and grace of Ernie Els, Kizzire’s Tuscaloosa, Alabama roots lend to a deep and slow Southern drawl and demeanor that parallels his effortless swing. Until this season on the PGA TOUR, Kizzire’s ascent into golf’s upper echelon was more of an amble than a stride. It could be said that contentment trumped commitment. After graduating from Auburn University with a business degree in 2008, Kizzire lacked the tenacity and discipline a career in professional golf requires. “Yeah, I was a little bit stuck in college, but I think that was all part of the deal,â€� Kizzire said. “I kind of got a little bit of that out of my system and was able to move on and start being a little bit more serious about the profession and I think it all kind of just gelled together at the right time.â€� In order to resurrect the fire he displayed in college that resulted in top honors at the 2007 SEC Championship, Kizzire relocated to Georgia to place serious focus on his game. “I guess it was just maturity kind of coming into play there,â€� Kizzire said. “I was living in Auburn and decided to move to St. Simons and really take it seriously and take advantage of the resources we have down there. I have my management group, great coaches, Davis Love III, Zach Johnson and Jonathan Byrd and all the other guys down there. We have a lot of competition amongst ourselves. So, I decided to take advantage of that. I was kind of kicking myself for not doing it sooner, but I think the time was right.â€� After making just one cut in six starts on the Web.com Tour between 2009 and 2014, Kizzire finished T21 at the 2014 Qualifying Tournament, good for fully-exempt status onto that Tour in 2015. In 23 starts, two victories highlighted 12 top-10 finishes and the money list’s No. 1 spot. In his rookie year on the PGA TOUR in 2015-16, Kizzire claimed five more top-10 finishes, including a tie for second in his first start of the season at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. He posted a final-round, 8-under 63 to claim the runner-up finish. In his next start, he finished T4 at the Sanderson Farms Championship. Responsibility was paying off handsomely. “The accountability factor was absolutely there in Sea Island,â€� Kizzire said. “I can’t say I do a whole lot of really tough stuff, but I stay on top of it. I try to stay in golf shape, I’m no physical specimen or anything, but my coaches and managers really hold me accountable. There’s also my wife. She’s a planner. I was never much of a planner, but I’ve learned that you’ve got to make a plan and execute it, and that’s been big for me.â€� That season, Kizzire advanced through the first two of four events in the FedExCup Playoffs, before finishing 82nd in the FedExCup standings. Kizzire began his sophomore season on the PGA TOUR in 2016-17 as he did his rookie year. At the Safeway Open, he finished just one stroke back of Brendan Steele at 17-under 271, good for solo second place. He would again advance through the first two FedExCup Playoffs events, before finishing 99th in the final FedExCup standings. Even though he finished lower in the FedExCup standings his second year on the PGA TOUR than his first, he knew he was burning. Stronger than ever before, the fire was back. “I knew I needed the kind of reigning in I get in Sea Island,â€� Kizzire said. “But, I guess I wasn’t disciplined enough to do it on my own. Just to have a taste of that…for them to give me a taste of that and make it part of me made all the difference. I started holding myself accountable after a while and that led to the progression.â€� On the PGA TOUR this season, that newfound, but rooted resolve has elevated Kizzire to unprecedented heights that not even he felt he was ready for. A week after finishing T10 and T4 at the Sanderson Farms Championship and Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, respectively, in his second and third starts of the season, Kizzire reached a mountain top. At the OHL Classic at Mayakoba, he made 10 birdies en route to an opening-round, 9-under 63 and the 18-hole lead by two strokes. With ensuing rounds of 70-66-67 to finish at 19-under 265, Kizzire held off a hard-charging Rickie Fowler to claim his first PGA TOUR title. “Yeah, to win in that fashion, with Rickie Fowler breathing down my neck, gave me a nice big head. It was pretty cool,â€� Kizzire said. “He’s obviously a world-class player, so to have it come down to he and I was what I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve always wanted to beat the best.â€� Three starts later, second- and third-round, 6-under 64s resulted in the eventual win in Honolulu. The Mexico win gave me the confidence to do it again at Sony,â€� Kizzire said. “The first win was like a big hurdle for me and the second win was a little bit more validation. I don’t really think anybody deserves wins, I think you just have to work for it and it just happens. It has all just been a part of the process.â€� So, now, with two wins in four starts and the No. 1 spot in the FedExCup, a lot more people are paying a lot more attention to the man who previously preferred to remain unaccountable and in the shadows. Anything else went against his grain. On Tuesday of this week’s CareerBuilder Challenge, Kizzire arrived on site at PGA WEST staring at a schedule that included a Titleist photo shoot, a clothes fitting, media obligations and time for practice. As smooth as is his swing and Southern drawl, Kizzire responded accordingly. After all, that’s precisely what commitment calls for. “I imagine I’ll be pulled in certain directions and have to manage that, but that comes with the territory and I’ll welcome that just like I welcome any part of being a professional golfer,â€� Kizzire said. “I’m just going to keep working hard. I want to get the third win. That’s all I want to do. I love playing golf. I love trying to get better and putting myself in uncomfortable spots. That’s all I want to do is just to be somewhere that I’ve never been because that gets me uncomfortable. That’s when I know I’m doing something right.â€� Although Zach Johnson is quite the motivator, he was clearly onto something when he suggested that it takes an incredibly good player to win on the PGA TOUR. But, the thing is, the most significant ingredient to being good is being dedicated.

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Odysseus and Telemachus; Marlin and Nemo; Jellybean and Kobe Bryant. History, real and imagined, is so thick with fathers and sons that the temptation is to get carried away at the PNC Championship, where Tiger and Charlie Woods will be the headliners for the third straight year at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando. The swings! The mannerisms! The outfits! Hang on, though. Slow down. Tiger is just a man, and a hobbled one, at that. Charlie is just 13. “I want him to enjoy whatever he’s doing,” Woods said in their first joint interview at the Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship in Kinder, Louisiana. And there it is, the through line to which all else must adhere. Joy. “Hey, Charlie, you gotta practice this,” Lee Trevino said last year while giving Team Woods an impromptu clinic on the PNC’s driving range. Trevino and Woods disagreed on who was the best-ever ball-striker, each citing the other, and at one point Woods doubled over laughing. Tiger thinks a lot about fatherhood these days. Much of his induction speech into the World Golf Hall of Fame in March recalled how he snuck onto courses with his dad Earl to skirt the age-limit restrictions, and how Earl and Kultida took out a second mortgage so Tiger could travel the country to play American Junior Golf Association events. His hopes this week? To feel well enough to play. That Charlie does well. It’s different for Charlie. He wants to beat his friend Justin Thomas, who will play with his dad, Mike, who coaches Charlie and with whom Justin won the PNC Championship in 2020. Oh, and Tiger and Charlie also wouldn’t mind winning. Last year Team Woods made 11 straight birdies in the final round, finishing second to John Daly and John II. It was enjoyable for all. “The competitive juices, they are never going to go away,” Tiger said then. “This is my environment. This is what I’ve done my entire life. I’m just so thankful to be able to have this opportunity to do it again.” They’ll do it again this weekend with the scramble format Saturday and Sunday. And we’ll watch. Old and Young Tom Morris. Jack and Gary Nicklaus. Craig and Kevin Stadler. Dave Stockton and Dave Stockton, Jr. Johnny and Andy Miller. Al and Brent Geiberger. Bill and Jay Haas. We warm to these stories, the perks (top instruction, optimized gear), challenges (unfair expectations, incessant scrutiny), and debate (nature versus nurture, DNA versus drive) always the same but not. Has any player ever labored under a shadow like the one cast by Tiger Woods? The PNC is where we gather for all of it. Charlie may have to carry Team Woods, what with Tiger battling plantar fasciitis in his right foot. He was rusty in The Match last week as he and FedExCup champ Rory McIlroy fell to the super-duo of Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas. “Play hard, partner,” Woods said. The 12-hole exhibition under the lights came a month after Charlie shot 72-69-71 for a 1-under total of 212 as he finished 11th in Louisiana. Tiger caddied. “Get the misses tighter,” Charlie said of his golf goals. “Practice more. Just have fun.” And would Tiger be a first-ballot Hall of Famer as a caddie? “He forgot my putter a few times,” Charlie said. “That’s about it.” Tiger didn’t miss much when enjoyment meant world domination. At his Hall of Fame speech, the winner of 82 PGA TOUR titles, 15 majors, said he remains conflicted about the famous Presidents Cup tie as darkness fell on South Africa … nearly two decades ago. But he’s softened as a dad even while indulging in the gamesmanship that his father visited upon him: the well-timed jangling of coins, ripping of Velcro, and/or clearing of throat. “If I can get into his head,” Tiger said of Charlie, “that means someone else can get into his head. It’s going to get to a point where I can’t get into his head, and then no one else can.” As a father, Tiger’s life is complicated by his celebrity. As a player it’s more complicated still. Intending to play in the recent Hero World Challenge, the tournament he hosts in the Bahamas, he took barefoot walks on sand, but it backfired, and he withdrew before the Hero even began. Officially, Woods played just three times in 2022, making the cut at the Masters, making the cut but withdrawing with leg pain at the PGA Championship, and missing the cut by nine at The Open Championship. It was at St. Andrews, he said, that his leg basically stopped working. He turned his attention to Charlie. During the Presidents Cup in September, when Woods could have been in the back room for U.S. Captain Davis Love III, he was carrying Charlie’s clubs as the kid posted a career-low 68 in a qualifier for the Begay III tournament. That, along with managing the delicate titration of rest and rehab, is Tiger Woods on the verge of his 47th birthday on Dec. 30. Out: Just Win, Baby. In: Dad life. No shame in that. At the PNC, where Team Daly will defend, Team Trevino will lead the field in Strokes Gained: Merriment, and Team Woods will no doubt dazzle in their Sunday red, it’s the entire point.

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