USGA, R&A propose equipment standard changes

BETHESDA, Md. – Tiger Woods has cranked up his putter and pushed his way into contention after a 5-under 65 in the second round at the Quicken Loans National. After making just 48 feet, 7 inches of putts in Thursday’s opening 70, Woods rammed home 122 feet, 5 inches of them on Friday to move to 5 under for the tournament and just four shots off the clubhouse lead through the morning wave. While his putter was decidedly better, it was a chip-in on the 18th hole, his ninth of the round, that really kick-started the 79-time PGA TOUR winner’s charge. Coming off a three-putt bogey on the 17th, Woods missed the 18th green short and to the right but then clipped his wedge shot perfectly for birdie. It meant he turned in 2 under and made three more birdies in the next five holes to ride the momentum and have him in striking distance. “I was hitting that shot in the practice round and it’s exactly the same shot and it was pretty sweet because I was just trying to hit kind of a high cut spinner in there and it worked out perfectly,â€� Woods said of his chip. Woods had defiantly stated he putted well on Thursday despite ranking 92nd of 120 players in Strokes Gained: Putting. He reiterated that on Friday when he finished his round ranked fifth in the same stat of those playing the morning wave. After years of using a blade-style putter, the 42-year-old switched to a mallet style this week. “I tried to clean up my ball‑striking a little bit and continue doing what I was doing on the greens yesterday,â€� Woods said of his round. “I hit a lot of good putts (yesterday), they just didn’t go in. I started on my line with the right pace and today I did that and a lot of them fell. “I haven’t done that in probably about four tournaments, they’re going to start falling and today they fell.â€� Perhaps the important part of the round was the final two holes where he got up and down for par from bunkers. It enabled Woods to put TOUR win No. 80 firmly in his sights. But with temperatures expected to soar over the weekend it is going to be tough for all competitors. Woods was tied for second through 36 holes at the Valspar Championship earlier this season and would go on to be runner-up. He started the weekend just two shots back. In all his other starts, he’s had to climb from well back to get into contention. “I didn’t want to lose it on the last couple holes … I could have easily lost it but I made two nice saves,â€� Woods added. “I’m not that far away from putting it together where I can win. Right now, I’m only four back. I’m in a similar position to where I was at Valspar. The scores aren’t going to be that low and it’s going to be a tough weekend. “It’s going to be hot, it’s going to be long grinds. It will be hotter than now, which is scary. It will be over 100 degrees and it will be a long weekend mentally and physically. I’m in a good position.â€�

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Patrick Reed, thanks to his breakthrough major win at the Masters, is a Best of April finalist for the Team USA Awards presented by Dow. The awards recognize the outstanding achievements of Team USA athletes from last month. Reed is one of four PGA TOUR golfers who represented Team USA at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Fans can vote for their favorite athletes and teams through midnight Monday, May 7. Click here to vote. A total of 10 sports – including curling, equestrian, fencing, golf, gymnastics, Para swimming, Para track and field, shooting, tennis, and track and field – are represented among the 13 finalists across men’s, women’s and team categories. Reed won his first major at Augusta National, collecting the sixth victory of his TOUR career. He’s currently ranked fifth in the FedExCup standings and 10th in the Official World Golf Ranking. At the 2016 Olympics, Reed finished T-11. Matt Kuchar was the top American performer, collecting the bronze medal behind England’s Justin Rose (gold) and Sweden’s Henrik Stenson (silver). Golf will again be part of the Olympics at the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo. Here’s a complete list of the April finalists: Male Athlete of the Month Patrick Reed (Spring, Texas), Golf  — Secured his first major golf title at the Masters, finishing 15-under at 273 after firing a final-round 71 to edge fellow Team USA Olympian Rickie Fowler by one stroke. Jeremy Campbell (Perryton, Texas), Para Track and Field — Opened the season by defeating the reigning Paralympic champion with a world-record mark of 65.47 meters to win the men’s F64 discus at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational. Eli Dershwitz (Sherborn, Massachusetts), Fencing — Improved to a career-high No. 3 world ranking after earning the bronze medal in saber at the grand prix in Seoul, South Korea. Robert Griswold (Freehold, New Jersey), Para Swimming — Won two gold medals in the 400-meter freestyle and 100 backstroke and set American and Pan American records in the 100 butterfly at the World Para Swimming World Series. Vincent Hancock (Eatonton, Georgia), Shooting — Captured his second consecutive gold medal by tying his own world record in the skeet final, topping the reigning Olympic champion at the world cup in Changwon, South Korea. Female Athlete of the Month Desiree Linden (San Diego, California), Track and Field — Became the first American woman to win the Boston Marathon in 33 years, overcoming brutal weather conditions to clock 2:39:54 – more than five minutes ahead of the field. Beezie Madden (Cazenovia, New York), Equestrian — At age 54, became the oldest world cup jumping champion, and only the second American to win the Longines FEI World Cup Jumping Final twice and only the sixth U.S. woman to accomplish the feat. Tatyana McFadden (Clarksville, Maryland), Para Track and Field — Won her fifth Boston Marathon and finished second in the London Marathon six days later, improving her record to 22 world major marathon series victories. Kim Rhode (El Monte, California), Shooting — Bested her own world cord, hitting 58-60 targets en route to her second consecutive gold medal in women’s skeet at the world cup in Changwon, South Korea.   Leanne Smith (Beverly, Massachusetts), Para Swimming — Set four American records and three Pan American records in the 50-, 100- and 200-meter freestyle and 50 butterfly at the World Para Swimming World Series. Team of the Month Jamie Sinclair Rink, Curling — Made U.S. history by becoming the first American team to win a Grand Slam of Curling event at the Players’ Championship in Ontario, defeating the reigning world champion and improving to a No. 6 world ranking. U.S. Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Team — Clinched its tenth consecutive Pacific Rim Championship title with a 15-point margin of victory, with Grace McCallum and Morgan Hurd finishing 1-2 in the all-around competition. U.S. Davis Cup Team, Tennis — The team of John Isner, Sam Querrey, Jack Sock, Steve Johnson and Ryan Harrison advanced to the Davis Cup semifinal for the first time since 2012 after defeating Belgium, 3-0.

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