Couples, Karlsson lead Florida Champions event

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Things weren’t exactly looking good for Roger Sloan on Thursday midway through his first round of the Wyndham Championship. The 34-year-old Canadian had started on the back nine and after a birdie at No. 11, he proceeded to make four bogeys over his next nine holes. It took a pair of birdies on the fifth and eighth holes just to salvage a 1-over 71. Sloan found his range during the second round, though, shooting 64 on the Donald Ross gem that opened in 1926. And he matched that score of 6 under on Saturday to move into a six-way tie for third, four strokes off the pace being set by Russell Henley. “I think in the first round I dusted off a few of those jitters and then I was just able to settle in the last few holes on Thursday,” Sloan said. “I really like this golf course. I like a lot of the sightlines off the tee. These greens are so good, you just put the ball online and it’s going to go in the hole. “It’s a great track.” Not only has he put himself in the hunt for his first PGA TOUR victory, Sloan is also on the cusp of making the FedExCup Playoffs for the second time in his career. Sloan came to Greensboro ranked No. 131 in the FedExCup, needing to finish 19th or higher to move into the top 125. He’s projected inside the magic number at No. 102 through three rounds but it’s clear he’s focused on even more. “I’ll let you guys kind of figure that out,” he told the sportswriters at the flash area when asked about the FedExCup permutations. “As far as I’m concerned, there’s a trophy to be won and everything will kind of take care of itself.” This is Sloan’s fourth appearance at the Wyndham Championship. He’s needed to play his way into the top 125 on two of the three previous trips but was unsuccessful. This year, though, Sloan arrived with momentum after tying for sixth at the Barracuda Championship last week. It’s his lone top 10 of the season. NOTES: Justin Rose, who has made the Playoffs every year since its inception, came to Greensboro on the outside looking in, ranked No. 138. He’s in a six-way tie for ninth after shooting 69 on Saturday and is now projected out at No. 126 with one round remaining. … Tyler Duncan, who is tied for ninth at 10 under, is the only player who is projected to move into the top 150 through three rounds. Normally that’s important because it gives a player conditional status for the following season on the PGA TOUR. But Duncan already has his playing privileges locked up by virtue of his win last year at the RSM Classic. … That said Satoshi Kodiara, who missed the cut and has dropped one spot to No. 151, isn’t exempt so he’ll likely be watching what happens on Sunday closely. If he doesn’t finish in the top 150, though, Kodiara will be able to compete in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. … David Lingmerth and Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who played together in the third round, remain projected inside the top 200 now, which would also give them access to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. Lingmerth moved from No. 205 to 199 in the projections while Aphibarnrat went from 204 to 198. PROJECTED IN Roger Sloan (131 to projected 102) – Sloan shot his second straight 64 to move to 11 under and into a tie with Brandon Grace, Kevin Kisner, Kevin Na, Scott Piercy and Rory Sabbatini. Rory Sabbatini (141 to projected 122) – The 69 that Sabbatini shot on Saturday was his highest of the week, but it was also his grittiest. The Olympic silver medalist only made one bogey during the first two rounds but scrambled to overcome four in the third round. Scott Piercy (126 to projected 93) – Piercy has hung in there all week. He was tied for second after the first two rounds and Saturday’s 69 kept him in the hunt, four strokes behind Henley. PROJECTED OUT Ryan Armour (122 to projected 127) – Armour shot 68 on Friday but he missed the cut by one. He’s projected one shot lower after the third round than he was after the second. Patrick Rodgers (123 to projected 128) – Rogers rallied with a 67 on Friday but also missed the cut by one. He, too, dropped one more in the projections after the third round. Bo Hoag (125 to projected 129) – Hoag followed up his 67 with a one-over 71 to miss the cut by a stroke, as well. Like Armour and Rodgers, the bubble boy now does not control his own fate in the FedExCup.

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JACKSON, Miss. – When Sebastian Munoz started his college career, he didn’t dream of playing the PGA TOUR. Reaching golf’s highest stage didn’t seem realistic. He was struggling just to crack the starting lineup at North Texas. Focusing on academics felt like the prudent thing to do. Then the quick pro success of a former teammate changed Munoz’s mind. Carlos Ortiz started his first season on the Korn Ferry Tour during Munoz’s junior year. Ortiz won three times, and inspired Munoz to swap some time in the library for the driving range. Still, Munoz said he wouldn’t turn pro unless he won during his senior season. He’d return to Colombia and work for his family’s rubber-tree plantation instead. Fortunately he won twice during his final year for the Mean Green. “I made a promise, so I said, ‘Let’s go,’â€� Munoz said. RELATED: Final leaderboard | Winner’s Bag: Sebastián Muñoz Like his former teammate, he didn’t take long to enter the winner’s circle. Munoz won his second start on the Korn Ferry Tour, after receiving a sponsor exemption into the event in his native Colombia. It translated into his first PGA TOUR card. That improbable path led to his first PGA TOUR win Sunday at the Sanderson Farms Championship, where he beat the reigning Rookie of the Year, Sungjae Im, on the first hole of a playoff. With the win, Munoz took over the top spot in the FedExCup standings. He shot 70-67-63-70 to finish at 18-under 270 at the Country Club of Jackson. “I never thought I was going to be a PGA TOUR player,â€� Munoz said. “It wasn’t even an option.â€� He’s the second consecutive winner from Latin America to start the new season. Joaquin Niemann won the season-opening A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier. Watching his friend win gave Munoz the confidence that he could do the same. It was at The Greenbrier two years ago when Munoz held the first 54-hole lead of his career. He shot 2 over in the final round, though, as Xander Schauffele earned his first win. Munoz quizzed Niemann, who made six back-nine birdies last Sunday, about the final round as they flew together to Mississippi. The advice paid off quickly. Munoz was back in the lead after a third-round 63 at the Country Club of Jackson. “Him winning last week was the last piece of the puzzle that I needed to know that we’re good enough to compete, that we’re PGA TOUR members and we play to win,â€� Munoz said. Munoz scrambled to stay in the lead all day until a sloppy bogey at the drivable 15th. It was his first in 39 holes. He still trailed by one when he came to the final hole. Munoz slammed a 322-yard tee shot into the fairway, then hit his 160-yard approach to 15 feet. He made the putt, setting off a roar in the grandstands surrounding the final green. He missed both the fairway and the green on the first extra hole, but chipped to 4 feet and made par. He won after Im failed to get up-and-down from behind the green. “He has a lot of moxie and confidence,â€� said Munoz’s former college coach, Brad Stracke. “It doesn’t surprise me he made that putt to tie and then got that up-and-down.â€� Munoz only made three bogeys all week despite hitting just 52% of the fairways. None of his recovery shots was bigger than his approach on the 482-yard sixth, one of the Country Club of Jackson’s most difficult holes.   His tee shot slammed into a tree, leaving him 260 yards to the green on the par-4. The thick canopy of the oaks left him with few options. Pitching out to the right, and leaving himself a third shot around 100 yards seemed like the prudent play. Munoz was inspired to take the riskier route after seeing Golf Channel broadcaster Jim “Bonesâ€� Mackay, who was following the group. Mackay was the longtime caddie for Phil Mickelson. Munoz decided to emulate Mackay’s old boss. “Fortune favors the bold,â€� Munoz said. “I believed in myself and pulled the shot off.â€� Munoz opened the face of his fairway wood, and hit a shot that was headed down the parallel fifth fairway before slicing some 50 yards. It ended up in the rough left of the green. He pitched to 12 feet and made the putt. Munoz finished 42nd in driving accuracy this week after hitting 29 fairways, but he was 12th in greens hit (57 of 72). His iron play was good enough that he didn’t have to make a putt longer than 15 feet for any of his 21 birdies. It was Munoz’s second consecutive top-10 to start the season. He finished T7 last week at A Military Tribute. Stracke remembers the first time he watched Munoz play, at a junior event on Doral’s Blue Monster. Munoz made eight birdies. “I remember thinking, ‘Gosh, this guy is going to be great.’â€� He almost didn’t play the PGA TOUR, though. Now he’s a winner.

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He won the Masters in April, a feat that should have led to a year-long celebration. Instead, it raised expectations. Then came injuries, absences, bad golf and, now, question marks.

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