Sungjae Im secures first PGA title at Honda

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland — Tommy Fleetwood brings to mind some of the best ball-strikers of yesteryear. The Englishman, with his long locks and aggressive hip turn through impact, looks like a brown-haired version of a young Johnny Miller. He harkens back to the days before space-age technology infiltrated the game, when players flushed unforgiving forged blades and hit wound balls that flew off-line after the slightest mis-hit. Fleetwood is such a good ballstriker, in fact, that he was able to shoot the best round of this Open Championship without his best stuff. Fleetwood’s 6-under 65 on Friday was the low score, and first bogey-free round, thus far at Carnoustie. He sits at 5-under 137 through 36 holes. Earlier this summer, England was two victories from winning its first World Cup since 1966. Now Fleetwood is two rounds from bringing the Claret Jug back to his homeland for the first time since Nick Faldo’s win at Muirfield in 1992. Fleetwood will have to find his swing first. “Normally, when you play great you know where the ball is going,â€� Fleetwood said. “A lot of the shots, I was just looking up, and I was really happy that they were going straight. I didn’t feel fully confident and fully comfortable with my swing.â€� Fleetwood has hit 27 of 36 greens this week, but he headed to the range for a late-afternoon practice session after finishing his first-round 72 with bogeys on 16 and 17. He signed his scorecard around 5:30 p.m., then spent an hour on the driving range with his coach and caddie to “neutralizeâ€� his swing. His swing was too short and under the plane, leading to shots pushed right of his target. “Sometimes … you’ve just got to hit balls and work your way into some good swings,â€� Fleetwood said. Even though it would help his competition, he was hopeful that the rain would cease so he could head to the range Friday for another post-round practice session. Normally, when you play great you know where the ball is going. A lot of the shots, I was just looking up, and I was really happy that they were going straight. I didn’t feel fully confident and fully comfortable with my swing. Thursday’s extra work set the stage for Fleetwood’s latest impressive performance in a major. He is coming off a second-place finish at Shinnecock Hills, where he barely missed a birdie putt for 62 and finished one shot behind Brooks Koepka. Shinnecock and Carnoustie are two of the toughest venues in their respective rotas, but Fleetwood is 12 under par over his past 54 holes on those courses. Fleetwood is in contention at Carnoustie despite playing in the tougher half of the draw, as well. The late-early players got Thursday’s strongest breezes and Friday’s heaviest rain. Only Zach Johnson (69-67) posted a lower score from their half of the field. “Our side of the draw, we had to sort of tough it out a little bit,â€� Rory McIlroy said after shooting consecutive 69s. Fleetwood is unprecedented territory at The Open. He may have grown up around the corner from Royal Birkdale, but he has found more success in the Open held across the Atlantic. He finished fourth at Erin Hills before this year’s runner-up. Last year’s T27 at Royal Birkdale was Fleetwood’s best finish in four Open Championships. He missed the cut in his first three starts in golf’s oldest championship. He owns the course record at Carnoustie, though, after shooting 63 in last year’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. That is the European Tour’s version of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The event is held on three courses and conditions are easier to ensure the amateurs can get around in a timely fashion. Friday’s round was just his fourth sub-par score in 10 rounds at The Open, and was his lowest ever at this championship. “It’s no course record, but it will do,â€� Fleetwood said. “It was a spirited effort today.â€�

Click here to read the full article…

Tiger Woods is back in action at the newly-dubbed Genesis Invitational, where J.B. Holmes defends. Woods isn’t just the host. He’s also seeking a record-breaking 83rd victory. RELATED: Inside The Field FIELD NOTES: This is the first year that the tournament will be played as an invitational. The field is now 120 players, and the winner receives a three-year exemption, putting the Genesis on par with the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. … Rory McIlroy makes his fourth start at Riviera. He finished T4 a year ago. McIlroy, the reigning FedExCup champion, is expected to regain the top spot in the world ranking Monday. It will be the first time since 2015 that he has held that position. … All of the top five players in the world (as of Feb. 7) will be in the field including McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, and Dustin Johnson… Thomas had the 54-hole lead a year ago before shooting a 4-over 75 in the final round to finish runner-up. Thomas is currently the FedExCup leader as he seeks to join Woods and McIlroy as the only two-time FedExCup champs. … Joseph Bramlett received the 2020 Charlie Sifford Memorial exemption and will be in the field. Bramlett, who received the same honor in 2011, is the first two-time recipient. He shot 75-74 in 2011 to miss the cut. Since then, Bramlett completely re-built his swing after suffering an annular tear to his L4 and L5 discs. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points COURSE: Riviera Country Club, 7,322 yards, par 71. A long-time PGA TOUR host club, Riviera will be the site of the 2028 Olympic events. STORYLINES: This will be Woods’ third start of the season. He won THE ZOZO Championship to tie Sam Snead’s PGA TOUR wins record of 82, then finished T9 at the Farmers Insurance Open. Woods finished T15 here a year ago. This year will mark the 11th time that he tees it up at the venerable Riviera, a course that’s had his number throughout his career. It’s the only course Woods has played more than four times in his career where he hasn’t won. … Bubba Watson, who has two-straight top-10’s to begin 2020, returns to Riviera where he’s a three-time winner. Watson won in 2014, 2016, and 2018 and if history is any indication, these ‘even’ years have treated him well. … Stay tuned for the results of the Collegiate Showcase on Monday. The low collegiate golfer after the 18-hole earns a spot in the tournament. Past winners include 2019 Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year Scottie Scheffler. … A great finish that catapults a golfer into the top-10 of the FedExCup standings will mean earning a late spot into the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship.   72-HOLE RECORD: 264, Lanny Wadkins (1985). 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, George Archer (3rd round, 1983 at Rancho Park GC), Ted Tryba (3rd round, 1999 at Riviera CC). LAST TIME: It was a brutal Sunday a year ago at Riviera as cold temperatures and gusty winds impacted the scoring. While Thomas fell down the leaderboard after a 4-over 75, it was Holmes – who played 33 holes on the final day – who came out on top. Thomas made three bogeys in his first five holes in the final round while Holmes was 2 under through that same stretch. That was ultimately the turning point as Holmes ended at 1 under for the day and won – for the fifth time on TOUR – by a shot. He was able to hold off a hard-charging Si Woo Kim, whose 5-under 66 was the round of the day. Kim finished third while Marc Leishman and McIlroy finished T4. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-2:45 p.m. (Golf Channel). Saturday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, 3 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (CBS).   PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 9:45 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, 11:15 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (Featured Groups and Featured Holes) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, 1 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).

Click here to read the full article…

Click here to read the full article…