Winner’s Bag: K.H. Lee, AT&T Byron Nelson

SILVIS, Ill. – Dylan Frittelli shot a bogey-free, 6-under-par 65 to reach 14 under par in the third round of the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run on Saturday.  But it was his wild adventures on the eighth hole, including an unusual and fortuitous ruling, that took up most of his post-round interview. “Yeah, it’s a way of using the rules to your benefit,â€� Frittelli said. He was tied for fifth and within two of leaders Andrew Landry (67) and Cameron Tringale (65). Frittelli, 153rd in the FedExCup, got his unusual ruling at the par-4 eighth hole, where he lost his drive into the trees, the ball coming to rest 257 yards away in the right rough. His second shot, from 164, cleared the right greenside bunker, but barely, stopping in the short rough barely over the top lip of the trap.  Related: Tee times | Morikawa keeps momentum going | Landry’s putter heats up It was a lie no one wants, calling for a shot almost no one practices. Frittelli had no stance if he went with his natural right-handed swing, the ball (in the grass) well above his feet (in the sand). If he tried to hit the ball that way, he could easily have whiffed or done a backward somersault into the sand. Or both. Conversely, standing above the bunker would mean either turning the club over to make a lefty swing or facing opposite the hole and taking a backward, croquet-style swing with the club in his right hand. Frittelli was exploring these options when he realized there was something under his feet just above the bunker: a sprinkler head. Eureka.  “I wouldn’t have called the referee if I didn’t truly think I could have played the shot that way,â€� said Frittelli, a South African who briefly played alongside Jordan Spieth at Texas. “… I was standing right on a sprinkler head. The ref agreed with me. He said, ‘Sure, it’s definitely a plausible shot. It’s not conventional obviously but it’s plausible,’ so he gave me relief.â€� But his adventure wasn’t over yet. “My drop was then a club length away,â€� Frittelli continued. “Rolled back towards the sprinklers; now playing right-handed, I was standing on the sprinklers again, so needed to take relief for the right-handed shot from the same sprinkler and then go one more club length, and ended up in the sort of first-cut area where I could have a much easier chip shot than where I was.â€� After all that, from 51 feet, Frittelli chipped to 13 inches and made the par putt.  Frittelli, who birdied four of his first five holes, has made 13 cuts in 19 starts but has just three top-25 finishes this season. The big difference at TPC Deere Run: Although he came into this week 161st in Strokes Gained: Putting, the two-time European Tour winner is second (+5.237) in that stat this week. “Yesterday I made a few,â€� Frittelli said, “today I made a few, and if I can keep that rolling and the ball-striking remains, it should be a good Sunday.â€� A good break might be helpful, too.

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MEXICO CITY — Rickie Fowler was penalized one shot Friday in the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship for dropping from the wrong height, a new rule he expects to be changed. Fowler hit a shank on his second shot of the round from the 10th fairway. He got a ball from his caddie and instinctively held out his arm at shoulder-height, then played his next shot to the green. The modernized Rules of Golf that began this year require drops to be knee-height. It’s not unusual for players to use a method that had been in place since 1984 — before Fowler was even born — but in all but one occasion on the PGA TOUR, someone noticed and the player was able to re-drop. In this case, neither Jon Rahm nor Patrick Reed watched him go through the drop, and his caddie was looking at the yardage book. Fowler said someone mentioned to Reed that the drop was shoulder-height, and that’s when Fowler realized what he had done. “It’s on me. I took the shot. It was no big deal,” Fowler said. “But I think with the new rules that have been put in place, it’s not doing any favors for our sport.” With the shank out-of-bounds and the penalty for the incorrect drop, he made triple bogey and shot 73. He called the knee-length drop a “terrible” change, adding, “I definitely think it will get changed.” Rules officials from tours around the world, led by the USGA and R&A, spent five years overhauling the rules to make them simpler and easier to understand for pros and recreational players alike. The change in the drop received most of the attention, mainly for the optics, as some players couldn’t figure out a smooth motion to get their hands at knee-length. This is Fowler’s third tournament of the year, and he said he had no problem the first time he had to take a drop because of all the attention. “We have been making fun of the knee drop for so long that it was ingrained that my first drop was going to be from the knee, like this iconic moment,” he said. “I get to drop from my knee and look stupid.” Fowler said he also didn’t like the rule that a ball dropped from the knee could not roll more than two club lengths away, which was a previous rule for some drops. Because the ball is only falling from the knee, the new rule says it must stay in a relief area one club length in a semi-circle. MUST READS: Round 2, WGC-Mexico Championship Tiger climbs leaderboard after second-round 66 That was the idea behind the change. When balls were dropped from the shoulder area, there were nine things that would have led to dropping again. Rules makers thought that by dropping from knee level, players would be able to get the ball in play quicker. “Maybe there’s a minimum at the knee — you can drop from the shoulder, whatever,” he said. “I mean, it’s not like we’re trying to gain some sort of advantage.” That’s been a common theme among PGA TOUR players, that the drop should be allowed from the knee to the shoulder without penalty. Fowler sees no reason why a shoulder-length drop that stays in the relief area shouldn’t count. The new rule (14.3b) says it must be knee high. “I haven’t heard many of the guys say that the drop from the knee has been a good thing, or that it looks good,” Fowler said. It was the second time this year Fowler has had a tough ruling. The other was on the 11th hole of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, when after two drops on a slope next to the green, he was able to place the ball. After it was in play, and as Fowler was studying his shot by the green, the ball rolled into the water hazard. That rule has been part of golf for years and was not part of the overhaul. “I know that they’re going to bring up that rule, as well, when you’re getting assessed penalties for nothing, really,” he said.

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MEDINAH, Ill. – On Thursday, Justin Thomas and Jason Kokrak tied the course record at Medinah No. 3 with 7-under 65s. On Friday, Hideki Matsuyama set the new course record with a 63. On Saturday, Thomas answered back with a 61 to establish the current course record. We’ll see if it lasts longer than 24 hours. On a course that has major credentials and a reputation as a brawny brute in this City of Big Shoulders, this week’s PGA TOUR pros have spent the first 54 holes of the BMW Champioship treating Medinah like the local muni you sneak over to in order to boost your confidence. Of the 69 players in the field, just two are over par for the week (Harold Varner III and Cameron Champ at 1 over). Of the 207 rounds shot thus far, just 28 are over par. Meanwhile, Thomas leads at 21 under, six shots ahead of Tony Finau and Patrick Cantlay. A total of 17 players are at 10 under or better. Related: Leaderboard | Projected FedExCup standings | Thomas shoots course-record 61, leads BMW Championship by six Thomas is among the large group of players making their first pro starts at Medinah, which most recently hosted the 2012 Ryder Cup, along with the 1999 and 2006 PGA Championships. It’s hosting the BMW Championship for the first time in the FedExCup era. He’s not surprised the scores are so low. “It doesn’t matter what golf course it is. You give us soft good greens and soft fairways, we’re going to tear it apart,� Thomas said after his 11-under 61 that included two back-nine eagles. “It’s just how it is.� Indeed, the conditions this week have essentially left Medinah defenseless. Rainy weather has softened up the course, turning greens into dartboards. The wind on Friday came from a different direction than the first round, throwing a few players off, but for the most part, it has been a non-factor. When Finau first stepped on the course Tuesday for his first practice round at Medinah, he never expected the birdiefest that has developed. “I was almost convinced single digit was going to win,� Finau said his 68 on Saturday – his highest score of the week. “It’s a long golf course. I felt like it was going to firm out. Obviously hasn’t firmed out. “If you would’ve told me somebody would shoot 61 this week, I would have told you that’s a joke.� So is it strictly the easy conditions? Finau thinks yes. “The fairways are wider because they’re not bouncing and the greens are bigger – it doesn’t matter the type of spin you put on it, it’s not going very far. Forward or backspin, they’re not going very far. “When we have our number, we’re trying to hit our number. That’s no calculation …. There’s not that much running through our heads.� When Tiger Woods won the 1999 PGA at Medinah, he finished at 11 under. Only one other player shot double-digits that week – Sergio Garcia. When Woods won the PGA again at Medinah in 2006, he finished at 18 under. This time, five other players were at 10 under or better. So it’s not like Medinah can’t yield a low score. Woods, though, it surprised it’s yielded so many this week. “Amazing how many guys are under par on this golf course,� he said after his 67 on Saturday. “There isn’t one person over par. Who would’ve guessed that going into this week? “We all thought this was one of the more tough and bigger ballparks, and the whole field is playing well. There’s normally a few guys that are struggling. Th entire field is playing well is something that we’re all pretty surprised at. “These greens got a lot of movement to them, still on the quick side. The rough is hide. Can’t get to the green from the rough normally. Somehow guys are figuring out a way to all make birdies.� And eagles. There have been 30 this week – 19 of those at the 536-yard par-5 fifth, which has played to a stroke average of 0.729 below par. If that number holds up, it would be the fifth easiest hole played this season on the PGA TOUR. It also helps when you don’t even need a putter. Thomas holed out twice on Saturday, including from 180 yards for eagle at the 16th. Brandt Snedeker also had two hole-outs, both for birdies. “You have to shoot 7, 8 (under) if you want to move up the leaderboard here,� Snedeker said. It’ll likely take something better than that to catch Thomas on Sunday. But he knows he’ll need to keep firing at flags if conditions stay the same. “We all have such great control over our golf ball and we know how far it’s going to go and when we’re hitting it well,� Thomas said. “We know how it’s going to react. When the fairways are that much bigger and you put us in the fairway, I mean, we’re just good. “You know what I mean?�

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