The First Look: Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship

SOUTHPORT, England – Glasgow native Kent Bulle is in contention at The Open Championship. He’s not a Scot giving the British fans a rooting interest, though. He’s a Web.com Tour player who is a surprise contender at The Open Championship after earning his spot with a win in South America. Bulle is from Glasgow, Kentucky, a town of approximately 15,000 residents and a dozen stoplights. It was named for the Scottish hometown of one of its founders, John Matthews. His mascot at Glasgow High School was the Scotties, and the town is known for its annual Scottish Highland Games. Bulle has had little success this season in the States, but has handled himself well on the unique challenges of links golf. Bulle, who is playing in just his second major championship, sits at even-par 140 after shooting 68-72 in the first two rounds. He is No. 632 in the Official World Golf Ranking. “It’s been a whirlwind,â€� said Bulle, a 28-year-old alumnus of Middle Tennessee State. “(I) try to keep (my) head down and plug, and not think about the situation (I’m) in, just try to play good golf.â€� The Open Championship offers a unique hiatus from the Web.com Tour’s current 14-tournament stretch that runs through the tournament’s conclusion. Bulle sits 96th on the money list, and needs to crack the top 75 by Aug. 27 to qualify for the Web.com Tour Finals, where players compete for 50 PGA TOUR cards. Bulle is in The Open after winning his second consecutive Argentina Open last November. He first won the title in 2015, as part of a season that saw him finish second on the PGA TOUR-Latinoamerica money list. He competed on the Web.com Tour last year, but returned to Argentina to defend his title. The victory, which he earned in a three-man playoff, was his lone top-10 in 21 tournaments last year. It came with a big reward: an invitation to The Open. It’s a little different than his first links golf experience. He took a golf trip to Scotland about seven years ago and waited outside the St. Andrews clubhouse in the early morning in order to play the Old Course. “We sat next to the first tee, huddled at 3:00 in the morning. It was pouring down rain,â€� Bulle said. “It was about 45 degrees and we sat there for about 4 ½ hours to be able to play. And then once we got there it blew 35, 40 mph with gusts over 50. … Balls were rolling off greens and stuff like that.â€� Conditions weren’t quite that difficult at Royal Birkdale on Friday, but they were trying. Bulle handled them well. His birdie on the first hole put him into a tie for fourth, just two shots off the lead. It was one of just two birdies on the day, but his 2-over 72 was two strokes better than Friday morning’s scoring average of 74.4. Only four players broke par in the morning half of the draw. Bulle said he enjoys links golf because of the short-game shots it demands and the fact that pars are valuable at difficult Royal Birkdale. The course is known for its tight fairways, but Bulle ranks 14th on the Web.com Tour in total driving. He’s 15th in driving distance, averaging 317.9 yards off the tee, while also hitting 65 percent of his fairways. His best finish of the season came at the season-opening event in Exuma (T13), where high winds led to just one player breaking par. “I like when par has some value,â€� he said. He’s missing two Web.com Tour events to compete in The Open, but is scheduled to be back on the circuit again at next week’s Pinnacle Bank Championship. He sits $13,682 dollars behind Justin Hueber, who ranks 75th on the Web.com Tour money list, as he chases a spot in the Web.com Tour Finals. A good showing this week could help Bulle qualify for that four-event series via non-member FedExCup points. He would have to match No. 200 on the FedExCup points list to do so. He can earn points this week, and a top-10 finish would get him in next week’s RBC Canadian Open. “This week means a lot to me, not just because it’s The Open Championship,â€� he said. “There’s a lot on the line.â€�

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PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Morgan Hoffmann is playing for more than trophies. Hoffmann hopes to find a cure for muscular dystrophy after being diagnosed with the disease in November 2016. The 28-year-old has started a charity to fund muscular dystrophy research while still chasing the PGA TOUR dreams he’s had since childhood. “I could become a recluse and feel bad for myself, but what’s that going to do?� Hoffmann said Thursday, after shooting a first-round 67 at The Honda Classic. “I love being out here and I love playing on the PGA TOUR and that’s my dream, and to help people ultimately is my goal. I think I can do really special things with this platform.� Contending at the PGA TOUR stop in his adopted hometown will help him spread the word on his mission to end muscular dystrophy. He is back on the leaderboard one year after finishing runner-up here to former Oklahoma State teammate Rickie Fowler. He trails another Oklahoma State alum, Alex Noren, and Webb Simpson by one stroke after the first round of this year’s Honda Classic. Hoffmann announced his diagnosis in a December article on The Players’ Tribune. He has a charity event planned for Aug. 20 in his native New Jersey. “It was tough to hear,� he said about the diagnosis, “but I think we’re going to do a lot of really good things with the charity that I’m starting, hopefully find a cure.� Thursday’s good round came after a difficult stretch. He missed the cut or withdrew in his previous six starts, but he made just one bogey Thursday. The disease has led to a loss of swing speed, but Hoffmann didn’t blame it for his recent struggles. “I’ve lost a lot of speed in my swing but my swing is still there,� he said. “I’m on plane. It’s not like it’s really killing my golf game.� In 2014, when Hoffmann qualified for the TOUR Championship, he ranked 78th in clubhead speed and 48th in driving distance. He’s 184th and 101st in those statistics this season. He’s lost more than 5 mph of clubhead speed in that span, dropping from 114 mph to 108.8. That hasn’t stopped him from trying to win his first PGA TOUR title. He just has other sources of inspiration now. SHOT OF THE DAY  NOTABLES Alex Noren, who’s known for an unceasing work ethic, wasn’t done after his first-round 66 that gave him the lead after morning wave. “I’m going to go and maybe play some holes on another course and try to figure out how to play all these different iron shots because this golf course is an iron paradise,� said Noren, who made five birdies and just one bogey Thursday. He ranks ninth in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green this season, but he wasn’t happy with Thursday’s ball-striking. “I hit a lot of wayward shots,� he said. Noren is playing his first season as a PGA TOUR member. He’s 33rd in the FedExCup, including a playoff loss to Jason Day at the Farmers Insurance Open. Justin Thomas attended the final round of last year’s Honda Classic only to congratulate Rickie Fowler on his win. Thomas had missed the cut, one year after finishing third. He’s back in contention at PGA National once again after shooting 67 in the first round. He’s coming off a T9 finish at the Genesis Open, his best finish since winning THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES in October. Daniel Berger, who grew up in south Florida, shot a bogey-free 67 while playing alongside Thomas and Sergio Garcia (72). Berger lost a playoff to Padraig Harrington at the 2015 Honda Classic during his Rookie of the Year season. “I’m a different golfer now than I was then,� said Berger, a two-time PGA TOUR winner. He missed just three fairways and five greens Thursday. He hit his tee shot at the par-4 sixth hole into the water but was able to save par after hitting his ball out of the water and getting up-and-down. Tiger Woods played the best round of his young comeback, shooting an even-par 70 in Thursday morning’s breezy conditions. He hit 7 of 14 fairways and 10 of 18 greens, but mostly avoided the big misses that have plagued him. For more on his round, click here. CALL OF THE DAY  QUOTABLES It can make you look bad in a heartbeat.You can see the Tiger effect when you come out here. There’s thousands of people.

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At the beginning of what was supposed to be Masters week, we offer a look around Augusta National with the help of some folks with green jackets in the Champions Locker Room.

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