The First Look: Valero Texas Open

LA QUINTA, Calif. – Andrew Landry and Scottie Scheffler broke away Saturday at The American Express. Landry shot a 7-under 65 at PGA West’s Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course to join Scheffler atop the leaderboard at 21-under 195, four strokes ahead of third-place Rickie Fowler. Related: Leaderboard | Tee times | Amateur with one arm makes hole-in-one  Scheffler had a 66 on the adjacent Stadium Course, also the site of the final round Sunday. “It’s a tough course. It’s a good track,” Scheffler said. “If you’re not on your game, you can really struggle. There’s a lot of trouble out there, so you’ve got to hit a lot of quality shots to keep the ball in play. Good test.” Fowler, tied with Scheffler for the second-round lead, overcame two front-nine bogeys to shoot 70 at the Stadium Course. At the event for the first time in six years, he played the Pete Dye-designed course for the time Saturday after only taking a quick scouting drive early in the week. “I was actually surprised by the green speed early on,” Fowler said. “They were a bit slower than what I’ve seen the last two days, so adjusting to that, really didn’t have anything go in early on until the ninth hole. But I thought I did a good job of hanging around, not getting too far behind.” Ryan Moore and Chase Seiffert were five strokes back at 16 under. Moore had a 67 at the Stadium, and Seiffert shot 67 on the Nicklaus layout. Tournament host Phil Mickelson missed the cut by six strokes. The 49-year-old Hall of Famer finished three rounds at 3 under. He eagled the par-5 16th on Saturday in a 71. Landry lost a playoff to Jon Rahm two years ago at PGA West. The 32-year-old Texan has found something in the desert after missing the cuts in seven of eight starts this season. “It’s been a heck of a week so far with my ball-striking,” Landy said. “Just kind of one day’s ball-striking, the next day’s putting and putting’s just been here all week. So, we’ll just keep riding it out and see what happens tomorrow.” The 2018 Valero Texas Open winner closed with a 12-foot par save on the par-4 ninth after bogeying the par-3 eighth. He birdied six of his first eight holes. Scheffler got a break on his final hole, escaping with par on the par-4 18th after his drive bounced out of the rocks along the left-side water and into the fairway. “I was just trying to hit a little draw 3-wood — and I drew it a lot,” Scheffler said. “I’m not sure if it would have crossed up there, so it was a great break bouncing off the rocks like that. I guess you take them where you can get them.” The 23-year-old former University of Texas star is in his first season on the PGA Tour after winning twice and topping the Korn Ferry Tour Finals and overall points lists. “I think winning is pretty similar at all levels of the game, and I feel like I’ve gone a good job of closing tournaments out, especially last year on the Korn Ferry Tour,” Scheffler said. “So, looking back on that experience should definitely help. It should be a fun day.” The leaders became friends when Scheffler was in college. “I live in Austin,” Landry said. “I’ve kind of watched his career, because I work with Chuck Cook out at UT Golf Club, so I’ve known Scottie for a little while. … I’m going to feel super comfortable out there with him. And hopefully he doesn’t hit it too far by me.'”‘ Tony Finau followed a second-round 62 on the Nicklaus Course with a 71 at the Stadium alongside Mickelson. He was seven strokes back. “I shot a 62 this week already,” Finau said. “It looks like I might need that tomorrow.”

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HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – This week marks the 50th RBC Heritage; Arnold Palmer won the first one in 1969. Luke Donald finished second. Actually, no. That’s not true, but it’s only a small exaggeration. Donald, 40, is a five-time runner-up at Harbour Town, having finished second to Bryan (Wesley, 2017) and Brian (Gay, 2009); Branden (Grace, 2016) and Brandt (Snedeker, 2011). Oh, and he had his heart ripped out by Matt Kuchar in 2014. “The one that probably hurt the most,� Donald said Wednesday. “Kooch holing the bunker shot and shooting 63 or 64 and coming from a lot behind.� You have to dig hard to find a golf oddity that compares to Donald’s close-but-no-cigar record at Harbour Town, where every anniversary is plaid. He has played 32 of his last 35 rounds here at even par or better. He has five seconds, two thirds and a T15 (but no victories) since 2009. Over the last 75 years, only two players have had more runner-up finishes in a single event: Jack Nicklaus at the RBC Canadian Open (seven), and Phil Mickelson at the U.S. Open (six). Indeed, the plaid jacket is to Donald what the Emmy was to Susan Lucci, but on the flip side there could be no better place than this cozy Pete Dye masterpiece for him to begin a career comeback. (He’s 189th in the FedExCup and 196th in the Official World Golf Ranking.) We’ve seen Phil Mickelson get back into the winner’s circle this season, plus Paul Casey, Ian Poulter and Gary Woodland. Why not Donald? And why not here? “It’s been a good run around here, for sure,� he said. “I’ve done everything but win. I guess the simple answer is I think it suits the way I play. Obviously very small greens; it’s tough to hit a lot of greens. You have to be very good around the greens, which is a strong part of my game. “It’s a fiddly course,� he added. “You’re not going to always have straightforward shots to the greens. I think it takes some imagination, some creativity around this course. Again, that’s something I’ve always been known for.� Donald reached the top of the Official World Golf Ranking in the spring of 2011 and stayed there, on and off, for 56 weeks through the middle of 2012. He played on four European Ryder Cup teams, and racked up five PGA TOUR victories. That all seems like a long time ago. Niggling injuries have been part of the problem, and Donald was hospitalized with chest pains prior to teeing off at The RSM Classic in St. Simons Island, Georgia, last November. He withdrew from the tournament and underwent extensive testing, which showed he was not having a heart attack. “I think it was some kind of remnants of a stomach flu that my kids had,� he said. The other setback: his decision to part ways with his longtime coach, Pat Goss. (They’ve since reunited.) It was Goss, then the men’s golf coach at Northwestern, who recruited Donald to go to college in America, and their partnership continued after Donald turned pro. But in 2013, Donald began working with Chuck Cook. A little over a year later, he went back to Goss. “The impetus there was to search to try and hit my driver a little bit straighter and gain a little bit of distance,� Donald said. “I thought that would give me a better chance to win majors. Certainly, Chuck’s method was very different to what I had been doing, and after 13 months, what he was trying to get me to do, I couldn’t do. “But in trying to do it,� Donald added, “I got into some bad habits that took a long time to get out. I’m certainly not blaming Chuck. He’s a wonderful teacher; it just wasn’t the right fit for me.� Donald’s swoon has coincided with career highs by some of his old teammates like Poulter and Henrik Stenson, and he derives hope from their comebacks. If they can do it, he tells himself, then so can he. And, as Donald pointed out in one of his recent tweets, there’s nothing wrong with struggling, which is relative, after all. To be blunt, we should all struggle like him. His social media feed has featured photos of himself playing Cypress Point; a golf-and-basketball date with Keegan Bradley, Tom Brady and Michael Jordan; and a fierce Moana-themed Halloween costume lineup consisting of Donald, his wife, Dianne, and their three children. Was he tempted to reassess his priorities when he turned 40? Well, yes. But that doesn’t mean he’s going to step away to tend to his wine label fulltime, or start brewing his own kombucha. “Those things always cross your mind,� Donald said. “You could sort of disappear into the shadows and not really play again and live off what I’ve made on the golf course over the last few years. “But that’s not really my style,� he added. “I’m still very competitive. I want to be out here. I want to compete. I’ve seen lots of my peers go through struggles and tough times and slip down the rankings and come back. And those kinds of players and experiences give me heart that I can do the same.�

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PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – Kyle Stanley said Saturday that criticism from one of his playing partners for failing to yell “foreâ€� on an errant shot is a “non-issue.â€� Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre, one of Stanley’s playing partners for the first two rounds at The Open Championship, confronted Stanley on Friday after Stanley did not issue the warning after his tee shot at the 17th hole. MacIntryre said the ball hit his caddie’s mom, although no medical attention was required. Related: Leaderboard | Lowry sets 54-hole record, leads The Open by four | Ominous weather moves up final-round tee times  Stanley discussed the situation following his third round Saturday and was perplexed about MacIntyre’s reaction. He said plenty of people yelled “foreâ€� after the tee shot was launched. “I’m not really sure why he decided to make such an issue about it,â€� said Stanley, who shot a 2-over 73 to finish at 2 over through 54 holes. “I know it hit his caddie’s mom’s hands off the bounce, and that’s unfortunate. “But as far I’m concerned, a number of people yelled ‘fore.’ He made the argument that since I hit the ball, that it maybe should have come out of my mouth first. I guess I can see that. “But it’s unfortunate it ended up the way it did. It certainly wasn’t my intention to put anyone in harm’s way. I had my wife in the gallery. My coaches. So I’m surprised it’s kind of come to this point.â€� The 31-year-old Stanley, a two-time PGA TOUR winner, said he usually yells “foreâ€� when he hits a shot off-line. “This was a unique situation,â€� he added. “You have marshals on the tee signaling where the ball is going. You have guys down there in the landing area. Everyone knew the ball was going right. “Like I said, it’s a bad deal. One hopped into his caddie’s mom. But everyone knew the ball was going over there. … Five or six people on the tee yelled ‘fore’ — my caddie did, my two playing partners, a couple of the marshals. I thought that was enough.â€� The 22-year-old MacIntyre spoke to Stanley afterwards. “It wasn’t too pleasant,â€� MacIntyre said. “But you’ve got to tell them.â€� Stanley said the conversation was not heated. “We talked about it briefly,â€� he said. “I was surprised. I was caught off-guard that it even came up, really. I just explained to him my side of it. “I saw what he said last night (to the media). The way things were kind of painted from his perspective … When you tell your story, you’ve got to make sure you have all the details. From what I read last night, he didn’t do that. He’s a young player. I’ve been out here for a while. So I don’t feel the need to be schooled on the rules of golf or what to do when you hit a shot off-line. “So that’s kind of my perspective on it. I don’t know, maybe a good learning experience for all.â€�

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