Rod Pampling eagles 18th, shares lead in Champions debut

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Since finishing T-9 in his Open Championship title defense last July in Carnoustie, Jordan Spieth has played in nine PGA TOUR events. He’s failed to crack the top 10 in any of those starts. It’s the longest non-top-10 stretch of his stellar TOUR career. Of course, Spieth isn’t about top-10 finishes. He’s interested only in winning. From that standpoint, he’s made 34 worldwide starts without a win since his breathtaking Open victory at Royal Birkdale in 2017. But as he prepares for this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, site of one of his 11 career TOUR victories, Spieth is encouraged by the state of his game. The top-10s may be elusive, but the confidence is not. “I’m in a good place right now,� said Spieth, who once again will partner with country musician Jake Owen in the pro-am portion of the event. That twosome will play with Dustin Johnson/Wayne Gretzky for the first three rounds this week, starting at Monterey Peninsula on Thursday. “I feel like my game’s trending the right direction,� Spieth added. “Sometimes that means results are coming soon. Sometimes it means they’re coming later. But they’re coming.� And Spieth is willing to remain patient – something he didn’t always do last season as he desperately tried to avoid his first winless year as a pro. “I’m not going to chase them as hard as I tried to, maybe force or chase them last year because you can get hurt doing that,� Spieth said. “You can get into some bad patterns.� Asked if he’s hearing a lot of negative static based off of last season’s results, Spieth said no. He does, however, hear people talking about comparisons to other years – especially the 2014-15 season when he won five times, including his first two majors, and took home the FedExCup. “I’m used to that now four or five years in,� Spieth said. “But at the same time, at this point it’s how do I improve to get myself into contention this week, and then what do I do next week, and just staying very present and recognizing the longevity of a career and that your career’s not defined by a couple bad years. “I could have really poor years the rest of my career and still have a pretty fantastic career. So if I just think about it that way, it kind of certainly makes me a little happier, frees me up a bit.�

Click here to read the full article…

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana – Marcus Byrd of Nashville shot a bogey-free 64 to take the first-round lead at APGA Tour New Orleans Monday, securing a four-shot cushion over the circuit’s top players heading into Tuesday’s final round at TPC Louisiana. Byrd’s eight-under round included birdies on three of the par fives as he navigated the 7,400-yard Pete Dye layout smartly, capping his eye-opening round with a four on the 585-yard, par-5 18th hole. The 2018 Conference USA Player of the Year for Middle Tennessee State is seeking his first APGA Tour title in just his sixth event after turning pro in October. “The putter got hot,” stated Byrd, who played in the 2020 U.S. Amateur on the strength of his World Amateur Golf Ranking earned during his college years. “I’ve worked hard to get into this position and it’s good to be here, for sure.” A product of the PGA TOUR’S First Tee of Greater Washington (D.C.), Byrd won the 2013 Georgia State Junior Championship as part of a stellar junior, high school and college career. “Today was a good day, but I’m still learning some things,” he concluded. Willie Mack, the APGA Tour star who has played two PGA TOUR events this year as a sponsor exemption, heads a group of four players in second place at four-under 68. Michael Herrera of Moreno Valley, California, winner of the season’s first two events, is also at four-under with Rafa Guerrero Lauria of Pompano Beach, Florida, and Wyatt Worthington of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. Andrew Fernandes of Lakewood, Ohio, and Marcus Manley of Kissimmee, Florida, are another stroke back at three-under as the 50-player field competed in mild conditions. Ryan Alford, the Shreveport and Louisiana Tech standout who won the last two APGA Tour events, leads a group of five more players – Joseph Dent of Tampa, Tommy Schaff of Ridgeland, South Carolina, Davin White of Locust Grove, Georgia and Landon Lyons of Baton Rouge — at two-under 70. Byrd started the week in seventh place in the Lexus Cup Point Standings on the strength of top-tier finishes in all five season-long bonus pool events this year. His top previous finish was runner-up in APGA Tour Scottsdale at TPC Scottsdale April 20. Following APGA Tour New Orleans, the Lexus Cup Point Standings battle continues July 18-20 at APGA Tour Deere Run at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois. Tuesday’s final round will determine the winner of the $7,500 first-place prize from a purse of $25,000. The tournament is being played under social-distancing and health/safety guidelines in conjunction with regional authorities. Same day scoring detail for tomorrow’s final round is available at www.bluegolf.com.

Click here to read the full article…

The PGA TOUR’s biggest stars are at Atlanta’s East Lake Golf Club for this week’s TOUR Championship, as is one of the NBA’s biggest names. NBA veteran and former collegiate player of the year Blake Griffin is attending the TOUR Championship this week. Griffin, a six-time NBA All-Star, walked with Max Homa and rookie Sahith Theegala during Friday’s second round. “I love the fact that Max during The Open is like, ‘I’m playing with Tiger Woods today.’ He’s having a full freak-out moment that everyone else would but he’s not afraid to say it,” Griffin said. “I respect people that are like that. It’s just real. You’re a real person. He doesn’t take himself too seriously.” The 12-year NBA veteran recently took up the game as a competitive outlet and said he’s become “obsessed,” even building a simulator in his home. The TOUR Championship was the first golf tournament he attended, calling it “unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.” “I can’t stop,” he said. “I put a simulator in my house. If I have 30 free minutes, I’m down in my simulator and I’m working on stuff. I don’t know what I’m doing but I’m working on it. “I knew that when I retired from basketball, … I needed a competitive outlet or I’ll be like a psychopath,” he added. “I started playing and I was awful. I’m still awful but a better awful. “You want the challenge. … You want it to be hard. This is such a different sport. It’s so mentally tough, that’s why I love it. If golf was easy, nobody would play.”

Click here to read the full article…