Jason Kokrak wins Charles Schwab Challenge for second PGA TOUR victory

The second round of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am was suspended by rain on Friday with Phil Mickelson and Jordan Spieth sharing the top of the leaderboard with Lucas Glover, Scott Langley and Paul Casey. Spieth still has two holes remaining when play resumes.

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PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Tom Hoge enjoys being at Pebble Beach even in a frigid wind and relentless rain. He loved it even more Thursday in brilliant sunshine, especially with nine birdies on his card. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Peter Jacobsen’s Pebble Beach farewell Hoge began his day along the Pacific Ocean with a 30-foot birdie putt on No. 10 at Pebble Beach. He made the last of six straight birdies with a 40-foot putt on the daunting eighth hole. It added to a 9-under 63, by four shots his best score at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. “It’s hard to be in a bad mood out here,” Hoge said. “I mean, Pebble Beach and perfect weather is about as good as it gets.” He had a one-shot lead over Seamus Power of Ireland, whose round was equally stout. Power birdied his last four holes at Spyglass Hill, traditionally the toughest of the three courses in benign conditions. It was the only course that played over par Thursday. Jonas Blixt had a 7-under 64 on the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula. Patrick Cantlay, the reigning FedExCup champion, birdied his last three holes for a 65 on the Shore. Hoge has played just over 200 times on the PGA TOUR without winning, though he’s getting closer. He finished runner-up by two shots in Palm Desert two weeks ago. Whether he gets another shot, that’s still a long way off, with two more courses to get through before Hoge gets back to Pebble Beach. The coastline along the peninsula and the desert tucked amid the Santa Rosa Mountains are nothing alike, although Hoge managed to make one comparison. Scoring is on the low side. Along with very little wind, the area has gone more than a month without rain and the courses are firm, without the greens being too fast because of amateurs in the field. To have greens running firm and fast, they might never finish. “I was in the situation a couple weeks ago in Palm Springs — scores were a little bit better there — but you keep switching golf courses and you fee like you’ve got to keep making birdies the whole way because there’s a lot of great players out here,” he said. “Conditions look pretty good for the weekend, so I know that I’ve got to keep moving forward.” There was no need to check the forecast and hope for the best — and this tournament, that means getting Pebble Beach and Monterey Peninsula on the calmest day and Spyglass in the wind. But it’s supposed to stay gorgeous all week. Cantlay nearly had his round ruined around the turn when he squandered a good start with a pair of bogeys and began the back nine at the Shore by failing to birdie the par 5s. He made up for it with three straight birdies to finish his round, one of them on the 17th when his tee shot was about 6 feet from going into a small creek, and he hit a towering wedge over a pine to 12 feet for birdie. Jordan Spieth, still trying to recover from an intestinal infection, had a 68 at Monterey Peninsula. He had hoped to be at full strength, but probably wasn’t quite there. Otherwise, it was as perfect a day as the Pebble Beach Pro-Am can offer. About one-third of the field broke 70, and no one was terribly grumpy. Power won an opposite-field event last year for his first PGA TOUR victory. He tied for third in the Sony Open in Hawaii and now sits at No. 50 in the world, needing to hold that position for two months to earn an invitation to the Masters. He played in an all-Irish pairing with John Murphy, who went to Louisville and made his PGA TOUR debut, along with Irish amateurs Dermott Desmond and Gerry McManus. That added to a day that felt like more fun than work. “I’m playing in a shirt. Normally I have a sweater and other stuff on,” Power said. “So it was nice, wind was minimal. It was a perfect day for scoring.” His best moment was scrambling for par at the par-3 fifth hole, the last that runs along the Pacific on Spyglass Hill. He went from a fairway bunker on the uphill sixth to 25 feet and made that, and then finished with three more birdies. “It’s always funny with the three courses,” Power said. “It’s great to have a good start but you’re on to a completely different challenge. Tomorrow I’m playing Pebble and it’s going to be a completely different course to today. So kind of makes it easier to reset, and hopefully we can kind of keep doing the same thing tomorrow.”

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Here are nine tidbits from the second round of the Valspar Championship that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. The Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor, Florida, plays to 7,340 yards and is par 71. PAIN OR GAIN These were the top-five picked golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO: No player has defended their championship and nobody has won more than once since the event moved to March in 2007. Stenson and Finau saw themselves out with matching 74-74, while Rose is the best of the bunch playing the weekend at T7. Those who were three over par or better will tee it up on the weekend and will only be nine shots off Corey Conners lead. People’s Choice: Henrik Stenson The big-hitting Swede skipped Mexico last week and prepped for this event instead. I’m not sure many gamers could tell after he circled one birdie in 36 holes. Sadly, he made just as many doubles. The shocking part for investors THIS WEEK is that he painted 20 of 26 fairways (T2). That’s good news for folks hopping on next week at Bay Hill where the Lake Nona resident and his record is even better. Tiger Woods He was the morning leader by himself at five under par before a bogey at the last saw him settle for 68 and a share of the lead. He only hit one more fairway and two more greens in Round 2, but he finds a way to get the ball in the hole. It’s his first round this season on TOUR in the 60’s, so there’s another item crossed off the list. His health is allowing him to play and the more he plays, the sharper he’s going to be. But when he hasn’t been sharp, he’s grinding like the old days. We’re almost to DEF-CON 1. Almost. Oh, and both of his playing partners MC again this week. Morning Show Ryan Palmer posted 66 in the morning wave to jump 46 spots to T2. He credited holing putts as the difference in Round 2 after opening with 72. Palmer hasn’t played this event since 2016 and this was his first round in the 60’s here in his last 11 tries. … Brandt Snedeker took one for the team at The Honda Classic (MC) as he was paired with Woods the first two rounds. Tomorrow, he’ll get a front-row seat with the circus again as he’ll play with Woods in the second-to-last group after his 68. He said after the round he’s in the best shape physically and with his swing in the last four or five years. … Englishman Paul Casey continues his excellent form after T12 last week in Mexico City where he played the final three rounds 11-under. He also posted 68 in the first wave and only has two bogeys for the week. Floor it. Afternoon Edition Corey Conners is the only player in the field to post his first two rounds in the 60’s (67-69). Whatever jitters he may have had sleeping on the lead didn’t last long. He racked up three birdies in his first seven holes and didn’t make a bogey. He did have a double, but the rookie’s lead is still two after 36 holes. He’ll have more time to sleep on his lead tonight, as he’ll be in the last group out with Casey tomorrow afternoon. … Webb Simpson’s 68 included LOSING strokes on the green. Simpson is currently in the top 10 this season in strokes gained: putting, so I wouldn’t expect that to last. He’s T7 and is looking for his third top-10 in his last six events. 3 up South African Tyrone Van Aswegen, giggling allowed of course, posted the round of the day with a bogey-free 65. He moved up 90 spots after posting 75 on Thursday. Van Aswegen has quietly made 10 of 12 cuts this season and has a trio of top-25 finishes. He opened 69-65 here last year, so I should have caught that! …  Big-hitting Jason Kokrak posted 67 and jumped 41 spots into the top 10 (T7). He’s in the top 10 of three of the four strokes-gained metrics after 36 holes so he’s not using smoke or mirrors. … Shrewd gamers are following the development of Aaron Wise. After squaring six bogeys to one birdie in Round 1, he flipped the script with a bogey-free 67 to move up 84 spots to sit T38. He cashed six times from 11 events this season and all of his checks are T33 or better. 3 down                               Fantasy golf is hard. REAL golf is even harder. Andrew Putnam entered the field on Wednesday after Vaughn Taylor’s WD and hit the ground running with 70. He dropped from T8 to MC after double hockey sticks (77) on Friday. … Former champion and recent winner Gary Woodland struggles continued after winning Waste Management Phoenix Open. He opened with 71, but he added 75 more today to drop 51 spots and miss the weekend. His best finish in four starts after his win is T49 and includes two MCs. … Luke Donald began the day in the top 10 as well (T8) but those of you just joining us will need to scroll down to T59 to see where he landed after 74. MC HOF The list of premium players heading home early from Palm Harbor is real and spectacular. Jordan Spieth’s issues on the greens continue and his inability to bounce back today was puzzling. I can’t remember the last time he made only three birdies in 36 holes. … Rory McIlroy continues to confound gamers, as his only consistency is his inconsistency.  Of his 13 rounds in the States, 10 are in the 70’s. … Ryan Moore received an interesting look in the PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done Presented by SERVPRO as he checked in at No. 6. In six rounds in Florida in two events, his best loop was 70. … Jason Dufner’s streak of nine in a row at Valspar is over. Study Hall Friday’s scoring average of 72.29 was over half of a stroke better than Thursday’s 72.81. … There were three bogey-free rounds on Friday after two on Thursday. … Bryson DeChambeau opened with 76 and complained about a back issue. He WD before his 7:34 AM tee time on Friday. … Bud Cauley WD at Honda with a wrist issue. He returned this week and MC (78-73). … Alex Cejka WD at Honda with a thumb injury but will play the weekend after 71-72 (+3). … Tweet of the Day:

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