Expert Picks: Houston Open

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NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. — Jim Herman shot his second straight 7-under 65 on Friday to take the second-round lead in the PGA TOUR’s Barbasol Championship. Herman had a one-stroke lead over Bill Haas at rain-softened Keene Trace. He won the 2016 Shell Houston Open for his lone TOUR title. Haas followed his opening 65 with a 66. He made a 45-foot eagle putt on the par-5 eighth, his 17th hole. David Toms was two strokes back at 12 under after a 64. The 52-year-old Toms made a 13-foot eagle putt on the par-5 fifth, his 14th hole of the day. D.J. Trahan, Kelly Kraft and Kramer Hickok also were 12 under, each shooting 67. Jose de Jesus Rodriguez (65), Austin Cook (66), Sebastian Munoz (68) and Wes Roach (69) were 11 under. Tom Lovelady played the first six holes on the back nine in 7 under, capped by a 10-foot eagle putt on the par-5 15th. He bogeyed the par-3 16th and parred the last two for a 65 to top the group at 10 under. J.T. Poston, the first-round leader after a 62, had a 73 to drop into a tie for 18th at 9 under. Canadian Nick Taylor, a stroke behind Poston after an opening 63, also was 9 under after a 72. John Daly missed the cut with rounds of 71 and 72. Fighting osteoarthritis in his right knee, the 53-year-old Daly was playing his first PGA TOUR event since he was approved for a cart last fall. Denied a cart by the R&A for the Open Championship, he has been approved for a cart at PGA TOUR events until the end of the year. The winner will receive a spot in the PGA Championship.

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PONTE VEDRA, Fla. - The PGA TOUR announced today that Fortinet, a global leader in broad, integrated and automated cybersecurity solutions, will become the title sponsor of PGA TOUR's Napa tournament, to be named the Fortinet Championship. The six-year agreement begins as the kickoff event of the 2021-22 FedExCup Regular Season at Silverado Resort and Spa, Sept. 13-19, 2021. The Fortinet Championship dates to 2007, with the event moving from CordeValle Golf Club in San Martin to Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa in 2014. With its present location, the event has been the TOUR's season-opening event each season since 2014, with the exception of the 2019-20 season. "We are thrilled to welcome Fortinet to the PGA TOUR family with the Fortinet Championship leading off the 2021-22 FedExCup Regular Season in September," said Tyler Dennis, PGA TOUR President. "Napa is an extremely popular stop for our players, their families and our fans. We look forward to having Fortinet help grow the event to maximize charitable impact for the Napa Valley community." Net proceeds from the Fortinet Championship will benefit non-profit organizations in the areas of STEM, women and minorities in technology, as well as veterans reskilling programs. "Fortinet is excited to partner with the PGA TOUR as both our organizations are committed to trust and creating exceptional experiences - ensuring players and customers are set up for success to overcome even the most trying conditions and challenges," said John Maddison, EVP of Products and CMO at Fortinet. "This partnership will benefit our community, customers and local nonprofit organizations. We look forward to hosting the Fortinet Championship in Napa." Fortinet's mission is to make possible a digital world that organizations can always trust by protecting edges, data and content, people, devices and systems. Fortinet delivers the most innovative, highest-performing network security fabric to secure and simplify organizations' IT infrastructures. Fortinet is a leading global provider of network security and SD-WAN, switching and wireless access, network access control, authentication, public and private cloud security, endpoint security, and AI-driven advanced threat protection solutions for carriers, data centers, enterprises, and distributed offices. Silverado Resort and Spa hosted the PGA TOUR from 1968-80 before returning in 2014. The venue has produced a prestigious list of winners including Jack Nicklaus (1969), Tom Watson (1978), Ben Crenshaw (1980) and Johnny Miller (1974-75). In addition, Silverado was a PGA TOUR Champions venue from 1989-2002. All four rounds of the Fortinet Championship will be televised on Golf Channel, featuring a 156-player field, 500 FedExCup points and a $7 million purse. Stewart Cink, the winner of the 2009 Open Championship and a member of four U.S. Presidents Cup teams and five U.S. Ryder Cup teams, is expected to defend his 2020 title.

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