Merritt’s playoff bogey gives Davis win at Detroit

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Wyndham Clark zoomed to the top of the leaderboard midway through his third round at The Honda Classic. Here are a few things you should know about the PGA TOUR rookie who currently resides in Las Vegas. His mom took him to the driving range for the first time when Wyndham was just 3 years old. “I hit a bucket of balls and asked to hit another bucket,â€� Wyndham recalled. Lisa Clark remembered an elderly gentleman golfer asking how long her son had been playing the game. She said, “30 minutes,â€� to which the man replied, “Don’t change his swing.â€�   At 6 years old, young Wyndham made his first hole-in-one. “Hit driver from 125 and made it,â€� Clark said. “I actually got on the front page of the Denver Post. I have that framed. So, I remember that as well.â€� Clark attended Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, and become close friends with classmate Christian McCaffrey, the star running back for the Carolina Panthers.   After graduating from high school, he initially went to Oklahoma State to play golf (and through that connection, became friends with Rickie Fowler). During Clark’s freshman year, his mother’s breast cancer, which had been first diagnosed in 1997, returned. She died in August of 2013. Wyndham wants to honor his mom’s memory – he calls it “Play Bigâ€� — and hopes to start a breast cancer foundation.   “She’s a lot of the reason why I play today,â€� Clark once told the school newspaper at Oregon. “She was there when I played bad, and there to console me and make me feel better. When I played great she was there to hug me and be super excited for me. She was a huge part of my upbringing.â€�   After his mother’s death, Clark contemplated quitting the game. “It just wasn’t as much of a priority for me after she passed,â€� he said. “It got to where it was really hard and just not enjoyable. But I know that she wouldn’t want me to do that. … She’s really helped me get through a lot of tough things since she’s passed. I want to honor her and honor what she wanted me to do and try to make her proud.â€�   Ten days after his mother’s death, Clark competed in the U.S. Amateur, finishing ninth. Oklahoma State head coach Alan Bratton was his caddie.   Clark transferred to Oregon for a change of scenery and enjoyed playing for coach Casey Martin. He was Pac-12 Player of the Year for the Ducks team, with three individual tournament wins and 10 top-10 finishes in 11 starts. He shot 69 or better in 18 of 28 rounds that season, including all three rounds of the Pac-12 Championship, which he won. He was also named GolfWeek Player of the Year, was a finalist for the Ben Hogan Award and was a semifinalist for the Division I Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year award.   The Ducks also won the NCAA Championship in 2017. “I’ve never won a championship that big. Not only did I do it individually, but we did it as a team, which was awesome. It was really fun to share, and we all had a blast doing it,â€� Clark said.   Clark also graduated with a business degree. “It took me five years,â€� he said. “I’m a good student, but I didn’t put 100 percent effort into it. When I did graduate, it definitely felt like I accomplished something. It’s nice to have my piece of paper, my degree.â€�   After a T-23 finish at the Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament – which included a hole-in-one during competition — Clark guaranteed himself eight starts to begin the 2018 Web.com Tour season. He parlayed that into full status, and eventually made 24 starts, with four top-10 finishes. He finished 16th on the regular season money list to secure his PGA TOUR card for the 2018-19 season.   In his first 10 starts this season, his best result is a T-10 at last week’s Puerto Rico Open. Because of that top-10 result, he earned a spot in the field this week at PGA National. He entered this week ranked 13th on TOUR in birdie average (4.66 per round).   He currently lives in Las Vegas, and practices with fellow residents Scott Piercy and Ryan Moore, who have given him advice on being a TOUR pro, as well as insight into the courses on TOUR.   Asked once if it was an advantage or disadvantage growing up in Colorado as a golfer, Clark replied (to CHSAA.org): “I think it’s a disadvantage, personally. Because you don’t ever really play at altitude at any of these events. The most you play at is maybe 1,000 feet. I think growing up in Colorado, not only are you playing different distances, but the ball actually spins less and is affected by the air less. So the ball goes straighter and doesn’t go offline as much. When you go play in Florida or other places where the air is thick, your misses are exaggerated a lot more. I think that’s definitely a disadvantage.â€� So far, Florida seems to be working out quite nicely for Clark.

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OAKVILLE, Ont. – News and observations from the second round of the RBC Canadian Open where Martin Flores leads by one over Matt Every and Gary Woodland heading into the weekend. For more of what unfolded on Friday, click here for the Daily Wrap-up. KUCHAR SHAKES OFF DIZZY SPELL After suffering through a bought of dizziness Thursday, Matt Kuchar returned to Glen Abbey on Friday with a renewed sense of purpose after a good night’s rest. Kuchar shot a 4-under-par 68 in the second round at the RBC Canadian Open, despite a double bogey on the par-4 10th. He bounced back with an eagle on the par-5 13th and three-straight birdies to finish his round. “That was a big momentum boost,â€� said Kuchar of his eagle. “When that putt dropped… it was looking like it may just run out of gas and it just fell in the hole. A difference of one stroke when you’re clawing back to make the cut is a big difference. “Some of these holes played really, really hard. I made a few really good par-saving putts, and after a double bogey on the 10th hole I knew I needed some really good golf coming in to make the cut, and I was really pleased to come through and put a good run on and go ahead and make the cut.â€� After his round Thursday Kuchar said he had had a “couple of spellsâ€� where he got dizzy and felt weak, something that had never happened to him before. His playing partner, Bubba Watson, said it looked as though Kuchar was light-headed, and was likely impacted by the warm temperatures combined with how tired he must have been after The Open Championship. “Second place is a lot of energy used over there, and then flying back over here with the time change… probably just one of those things,â€� said Watson. Kuchar said Thursday night he enjoyed a quiet night in and felt much better coming to the golf course for round two. “I’m still tired. It’s got to be fatigue. The last two weeks… I’ve played some good golf. Being in contention last week… it’s draining. It was just fatigue,â€� explained Kuchar, who spent Thursday afternoon watching television, reading a book, and trying to rest up. “My wife picked up the boys, who are going to baseball camp. She picked up some food and we had an early dinner and tried to get ready for today.â€� HICKOK INSPIRED BY SPIETH A week ago, Jordan Spieth captured The Open Championship in dramatic fashion. But his roommate Kramer Hickok wasn’t surprised. “He’s done that so many times to me and our buddies. He can just flip that switch so easily, so it wasn’t surprising to me,â€� said Hickok, who is in the field this week at the RBC Canadian Open on account of his performance so far on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada. He sits third on that Tour’s money list. After firing a 1-under-par 71 Friday, Hickok, who is at 6-under for the tournament, made his first PGA TOUR cut after three previous tries. It was a text from Spieth Thursday that gave Hickok the inspiration he needed. “He sent me a text saying I’m good enough to beat these guys because we’ve played a bunch of golf together,â€� he explained. “That’s obviously pretty inspiring and motivating and that’s the biggest part of it, you just have to believe you are.â€� Kramer explained he was excited to tee it up Thursday because he’s become accustomed to ‘Canadian-style’ golf after a year on the Mackenzie Tour. After his victory he notched a tie for second the very next week. “I just want to see how I stack up to these guys. It’s not much different out here now. (Playing the Mackenzie Tour) has been a huge part of my success this week, and this is why we come up to Canada,â€� he said. “It prepares you for the biggest stage and it’s done that this week.â€� Hickok sits tied for 36th heading into the weekend, while Spieth, he said, is enjoying a well-deserved holiday with his dad and brother, with the Claret Jug likely in tow. FLORES CHANNELING WEB.COM TOUR SUCCESS A year ago this month, Martin Flores captured the Lincoln Land Charity Championship on the Web.com Tour, propelling him to a spot on The 25 and earning status on the PGA TOUR once again. And through two rounds this week at the RBC Canadian Open, he’s putting some of those good vibes from last year into practice. “Playing on the (Web.com Tour) last year was a little refreshing in that you have to shoot so low. So no matter if you’re in the lead or if you’re chasing… you’re always attacking. You’re always trying to make birdies,â€� he said. “That’s kind of a similar situation with how the rain has been this week. You just have to keep attacking.â€� Flores fired a 6-under-par 66 Friday to move into a tie for first at 12-under. The 35-year-old sits 151st on the FedEx Cup standings, but, has made his fifth-straight cut. He said he hasn’t been hitting the ball well so far in 2017, but things have turned around this week. “I haven’t been able to attack like I’ve wanted to,â€� he said. “Now I’m starting to hit the ball very nicely, so I’m giving myself a lot of opportunities.â€� Flores will be paired in the final group Saturday with Matt Every, who is looking for his third TOUR victory. Gary Woodland will be in the penultimate pairing with Vijay Singh, who won this event in 2004. Woodland made six-straight birdies on Friday and shot 63, just one shot off the course record at Glen Abbey. DELAET/HUGHES LEAD CANADIAN CONTINGENT A perennial favourite and a TOUR winner will be the lone Canadians to see the weekend at Glen Abbey, as both Graham DeLaet and Mackenzie Hughes sit at 8-under par through two rounds. DeLaet drained an 87-footer for birdie on the par-4 8th to jump to 8-under for the championship while Hughes made seven birdies on Friday but had four bogeys as well to fire a 3-under-par 69. “All in all, it’s okay. It’s not great. I would have liked to have gotten a couple more there. I just… I don’t know, I was on, but I was also off at times,â€� admitted Hughes. “You’re going to have those kind of rounds. I did well to manage it. It was kind of tricky out there.â€� DeLaet shot a 4-under-par 68 for the second day in a row to get to 8-under, the lowest two-day total in his career at Glen Abbey. “I’m in the hunt. Just to make the cut here is pretty good for me,â€� said DeLaet with a smile. “I’m happy with where I’m at. I think it’s going to take two really good rounds on the weekend or something really special one of the two days. But I’m in the mix, so I’m excited about it.â€� Five Canadians were at 3-under, missing the cut by a shot, including David Hearn. Hearn missed a five-foot putt on his 18th hole of the day what would have got him to 4-under par and inside the cutline. VEGAS THINKING ABOUT HOME Although the reigning RBC Canadian Open champion is in a strong position on the leaderboard through two rounds – his 3-under-par 69 has him at 9-under going into the weekend, and tied for 10th – he admitted Friday his mind was on things unfolding in his home country of Venezuela. Venezuela’s President has dispatched nearly half a million troops across the country has it prepares for an election Sunday and Vegas talked about how his family there is suffering. “It’s really tough, what’s happening. I try my best to keep an eye on them and help them the best way we can, even to get them out of the country for a few weeks if that’s necessary,â€� he stated. “It’s just really tough.â€� But while one eye is on home, the other is on the Presidents Cup standings. “That’s been on my radar since the beginning of the year,â€� said Vegas, who is 87th on the FedEx Cup standings. “I’ve always thought it would be so fun to be part of that team, especially having Nick Price as a captain, great guy. I’ve got a few weeks to really, really make a push. I feel like my game is there. I just have to play good these next few weeks.â€�   BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

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