Ohio's Tiana Jones (one of 8 Black female PGA Professionals) on diversity in golf: ‘That's what drives me'

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Lee Westwood isn’t interested in comparing himself with the player who rose to No. 1 in the world a decade ago. All he knows is he’s playing some of his best golf, and he gets another chance to see if it can hold up against the best field. RELATED: Leaderboard | DeChambeau, Rahm lurk at THE PLAYERS Westwood had all the shots Friday in a bogey-free round at THE PLAYERS Championship, with two birdies at the start and a nifty pitch to a troublesome pin on the par-5 ninth to close with a another birdie and a 6-under 66. That gave him a one-shot lead over Matt Fitzpatrick (68) going into the weekend on the Stadium Course at the TPC Sawgrass, with U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau not too far behind. Westwood, who turns 48 next month, played well enough to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard last week at Bay Hill except that DeChambeau was one shot better in a fascinating duel of generations on a course that favors power. Sawgrass favors no particular style, and it produced an eclectic mix of contenders at the halfway point. “I think to compete in any of these tournaments against the best players in the world, you can’t have any weaknesses in your game,” Westwood said. “I wouldn’t be able to say I’m doing this better or that better. There’s not a shot out there I’m afraid of. There’s not a shot out there I’ll walk up to and think, `I haven’t got this one.’ “I’m comfortable out there with everything.” He was at 9-under 135 and will be part of the All-England final pairing Saturday. Sergio Garcia was another shot back after a 72 that looked like it was a lot worse with so many putts the Spaniard missed, including a 23-inch par putt on the 15th hole that followed a 5-foot par putt he missed on the 14th. Still, the 2008 champion showed plenty of game — and enough par putts that went in — to stay in the hunt. He drilled his approach to inches away on the par-5 11th for his third eagle of the week, which already ties the tournament record. And he finished in style with an approach that danced around the flag and settled 5 feet away for birdie on the 18th. “It was a beautiful roller coaster,” Garcia said. “There were a lot of good things. Unfortunately, a lot of bad things. But more than anything there was a lot of fighting, and that’s one of the things that I’m most proud of because when things are not really happening and you miss a couple putts here and there, it’s easy to kind of let the round get away from you.” When the second round was suspended by darkness, 16 players were within five shots of the lead. DeChambeau was in the group three shots behind after a 69 that began with a double bogey from the trees and a muffed chip out of the rough from behind the green. He was bogey-free the rest of the way on a course that doesn’t let him swing for the fences because of water and cross bunkers and other brands of trouble. “I’m happy with the fact that I’ve still been able to keep myself in it and score well,” DeChambeau said. “I’ve been pretty lucky, for the most part. I don’t think that’ll happen this weekend. I’ve got to make sure that my game is good off the tee, so I don’t have those issues occurring and I don’t have to rely on luck for the most part. I have to get it in the fairway.” Kirk holed out from the first fairway for eagle and closed with back-to-back birdies for a 65. Starting with a chip-in for birdie on the 15th, he played six straight holes in 6 under. Sungjae Im tied the tournament record with six straight birdies, a streak that ended when he missed the green to the left on the par-3 third, and even then he nearly chipped in. He had to settle for a 66 and was three shots behind. Dustin Johnson wasted a good start and shot 70, leaving him eight shots behind. Jordan Spieth made his first double bogey in 411 holes — the longest streak of his career — and shot 74 to make the cut on the number. Rory McIlroy, who opened with a 79, wasn’t much better Friday. He made another double bogey on the 10th hole and shot 75. His 36-hole total of 154 was his highest ever in his 11 appearances at THE PLAYERS Championship. He is the first defending champion to miss the cut since Rickie Fowler in 2016. Four players from the top 10 in the world missed the cut — Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay, Tyrrell Hatton and Webb Simpson, whose hopes ended with one of 13 balls in the water at the island-green 17th.

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The 2017-18 FedExCup season is now past the halfway point of the regular schedule. Twenty-one weeks are in the books; 19 weeks are left before the top 125 players in the standings advance to the FedExCup Playoffs. At the very top, nothing really has changed since last year’s FedExCup Playoffs ended. Justin Thomas won the 2017 FedExCup crown, and he’s atop the current standings for the seventh consecutive week. But with a half-season still to be played, there are no guarantees. A few FedExCup observations:  Don’t be surprised if there’s a generous amount of turnover in the next 19 weeks. Of the top 30 players a year ago at this point, 10 fell outside the top 30 by the time the FedExCup Playoffs started. Only one of those 10 players managed to play his way back inside the top 30 and advance to the TOUR Championship – Justin Rose, who posted top-10 finishes in each of the four Playoffs events. Fourteen players who made the TOUR Championship last season are currently outside the top 30, including defending East Lake champion Xander Schauffele. The reigning Rookie of the Year finished third in the FedExCup Playoffs last year but is currently 46th and has just two top-10 finishes in 11 starts. Another notable, reigning U.S. Open champ Brooks Koepka, is currently 97th and has been sidelined since late January with a wrist injury. Just four players have been atop the FedExCup standings this season – Thomas for seven weeks, Patton Kizzire for eight weeks, Pat Perez for four weeks and Brendan Steele (winner of the season-opening Safeway Open) for two weeks. Thomas currently leads Kizzire by 440 points – that’s the biggest margin between No. 1 and No. 2 in the FedExCup standings entering the RBC Heritage since 2009.  Thomas, incidentally, has now been No. 1 this season for the same number of weeks (7) he was all of last season. And get this: Since the start of the 2015-16 season, there have been 106 weeks of tournament competition. Thomas has been inside the top 15 of the FedExCup standings a total of 104 weeks in that span. The only times he was outside the top 15? The first two weeks of this season. He didn’t play the opening week, and he was 33rd after the second week. Thomas not only has the most FedExCup points, he’s also making the most of each start. Thomas leads in FedExCup points per event with an average of 176.9 in his 10 starts. The next five are Dustin Johnson (161.3 avg.), Justin Rose (144.8 avg), Jason Day (130.6 avg) and Bubba Watson (128.1 avg). If Tiger Woods can maintain his pace, he’ll be in excellent shape to make a run at his third FedExCup title. Woods currently ranks 42nd in points, averaging 79.3 points per start. A year ago, any player who averaged 70 points or better per start in the regular season found himself inside the top 12 starting the FedExCup Playoffs. Woods won the inaugural FedExCup title in 2007 and won it again in 2009. Chesson Hadley has made the biggest one-year improvement in the standings. A year ago, he ranked 217th entering the RBC Heritage; he now ranks 26th, a jump of 191 spots. In fact, seven players have made jumps of 100-plus spots – Hadley, Ryan Armour (190 to 40), Tom Hoge (180 to 48), Ryan Palmer (201 to 76), Ian Poulter (149 to 25), Bubba Watson (124 to 3), and Brian Gay (151 to 47).

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To steal from the familiar slogan, when the PGA TOUR lands in Vegas, it stays in Vegas. At least this year. Because the annual excursion to Asia was canceled due to the pandemic, the TOUR is setting up shop for a second consecutive week in the Entertainment Capital of the World instead of South Korea. THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK is the fourth edition of the fledgling tournament with 78 golfers and no cut. As its eponymous name instructs, the substitute stage is none other than Shadow Creek Golf Course in North Las Vegas, and it's a treat. For some detail on the host course, what some will find in the dirt and more, scroll past the projected contenders. RELATED: Inside the Field | Five things to know about Shadow Creek POWER RANKINGS: THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa, Hideki Matsuyama and Justin Rose will be among the notables reviewed in Tuesday's Fantasy Insider. Our lasting images of Shadow Creek in the mainstream date back to Thanksgiving weekend of 2018 when Phil Mickelson defeated Tiger Woods in the dark in Capital One's The Match. The lasting imagery of the course excites the senses. Tom Fazio did more with flat desert than should be humanly possible when he designed the track in 1989. He returned in 2008 for a whole-scale renovation. Shadow Creek is a stock par 72. It'll tip at a respectful 7,527 yards and closes 5-3-5, a natural embodiment of the risk-and-reward experience of the city to the south. Bermudagrass that blankets everything but the greens is overseeded with rye. The four-inch primary rough will help frame the visuals. Bentgrass greens that are almost average in size have enough undulation to take seriously. They'll run out to 12 feet on the Stimpmeter, which is the bull's-eye of TOUR standards. The notion of not finding one's game at a specific course does not apply to Shadow Creek. It's likely that notables who have been out of form will connect with the kind of scoring that led them to be a notable in the first place. In addition to the promise of 72 holes, unfamiliar settings reward proper preparation and ball-striking. Unpredictably hot putters notwithstanding, the greens are equalizers because of the absence of experience in knowing where to leave approaches and the nuance of the uneven surfaces. As a result, course management will rise as a premium over four days. Furthermore, the weather will be perfect. Nothing but sunshine with daytime highs right around 90 degrees is expected. Any wind will blow in from the north and east with the strongest push midday on Thursday. ROB BOLTON'S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM's Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Rookie Watch, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM's Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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