Sagstrom leads women’s Olympic event

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – On the eve of The Open, the discourse was dominated by the tournament’s greater significance. The Open’s return to Royal Portrush was a significant step for a country that suffered through decades of sectarian violence. But golf became the focal point once Darren Clarke hit the first tee shot a little after 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, and Royal Portrush is playing the starring role. Related: 5 Things to Know about Royal Portrush | O.B. could be a factor at The Open “The course is special,â€� Eddie Pepperell said after shooting 70. “This is hopefully going to build into, progress to a historic Open. I’m confident it will be.â€� Rory McIlroy’s Open chances may have ended on his first hole. Graeme McDowell’s sterling round was spoiled by a lost ball on his last hole, and Clarke faded after a fairy-tale start, but the locals will still get to see one of their own shine this weekend. Harry Colt’s design did exactly what a golf course should. It was fair in doling out rewards and punishments. The doglegs require players to commit to a distance and line off the tee. Webb Simpson said he hit drivers and hybrids off the tee Thursday, and everything in between. He is 156th on the PGA TOUR in driving distance, but used his longest club just five times Thursday. First-round leader J.B. Holmes, on the other hand, is one of the TOUR’s longest players. Royal Portrush allows a variety of players to succeed. There’s a myriad of ways to play the course, but the penalties are high for a miscue. Royal Portrush may have the fewest bunkers of any course on The Open rota, but the rough is thick after recent rains and lost balls are a possibility whenever a shot strays from the fairway. “They’ve done such a great job setting this course up, where you have fairway, first cut and then about 7 or 8 yards of light rough,â€� Simpson said. “So a shot that’s not that bad is still okay. And then a really bad shot is super penal, which I think is the perfect way to set it up, because a bad drive, you’re going to have a pitch out. “It’s one of the few courses that every player who’s played it that I’ve talked to this year, they all loved it. Usually you’ll have both sides. But everybody loved it.â€� This is a much different test than the crispy Carnoustie that players faced last year. The lush conditions, combined with Royal Portrush’s elevated greens, mean players must take an aerial route on many holes. The slopes around the putting surfaces repel wayward strikes. Players lauded Royal Portrush for being tough, but fair. “He really will only penalize you if it’s a poor golf shot,â€� Paul Casey said about Colt. “Nothing is random with what he did. That’s the best way to put it. You can see a lot of randomness in links, a lot of why on earth is that there?â€� Casey said he puts Portrush, which is hosting The Open for the first time since 1951, in his “top coupleâ€� among courses in the Open rota. “This has everything,â€� Casey said. “This is an unbelievable golf course.â€� Ireland’s Shane Lowry is the only player within a shot of Holmes, but the crowd at 68 is as large as the one that’s gathered each night this week outside Portrush’s Harbour Bar. Among those contenders are links aficionados Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Tommy Fleetwood, and the game’s dominant force in majors, Brooks Koepka. As proof that the course rewards good play, last week’s winner, Dylan Frittelli, continued his fine form with a first-round 68. But Royal Portrush shouldn’t be accused of impunity. It punished plenty, and it was impartial to the names on the caddie bib. McIlroy shot 79. Tiger Woods, Adam Scott and Marc Leishman were just one shot better. Phil Mickelson shot 76. Among the players who shot 74 were Gary Woodland, Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauffele and defending champion Francesco Molinari. The field’s scoring average on the par-71 track was approximately 73 strokes. “You couldn’t rely on getting (shots) back,â€� Scott said after making just one birdie Thursday. “There wasn’t birdie opportunities out there unless you hit a really great shot.â€� Throw in some trademark Open weather and Thursday offered a thorough examination. “We had a true Irish day today,â€� said Jordan Spieth, who shot 70. “It was all the seasons in one day, which is kind of cool to play The Open in that situation on such a beautiful track.â€� The claret jug isn’t handed out until Sunday, but Royal Portrush won on Thursday.

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On Sunday at the Tour Championship, five years removed from his last win and after multiple surgeries and a few scandals, Tiger Woods summoned his greatness one more time.

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HAYWARD, Calif. — Stephen Curry missed the cut Friday night against professional golfers on the Web.com Tour. But not before leaving some of golf’s best players impressed that a two-time MVP for the Golden State Warriors could enter their arena and look respectable. Curry opened with a 4-over 74 on the TPC Stonebrae and needed a career round to stay for the weekend. He shot a 74 again on Friday to finish tied for 148th. He missed the cut by 11 shots. Curry bogeyed two of the first three holes on Friday and shot a 39 on his opening nine. He made five straight pars and birdied No. 14 before playing the final three holes at 1-over with two bogeys and a birdie on 17. No matter. “That was awesome what he did yesterday,” said 2015 FedExCup winner Jordan on Friday at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. “I think he certainly beat most everybody’s expectations, but I don’t think that really surprised him. It was pretty cool — really cool — to see. You see him fist-pumping out there, and just him talking about how nervous he was when he heard his name called, it just makes us feel a little better when sometimes some of the stuff he does looks like a robot.” Stanford alum Andrew Yun shot a 62 on Friday and finished two rounds at 8-under 127. Fellow American Brandon Harkins is two shots back after rounds of 64 and 65. One of the highlights for Curry in the opening round was a long birdie putt and telling his caddie to “Go get that” from the cup. That was the famous line Spieth said to his caddie at Royal Birkdale two weeks ago after a 50-foot eagle putt to take the lead. “To be honest, I think it’s pretty special for a two-time MVP to be able to shoot 74 at a pro event and beat other pros,” former PGA champion Jason Day said. No one expected very much out of Curry, who last year played in the pro-am at the PGA TOUR’s season opener in Napa, California. The field included players who have competed in majors this year, and seven players who have won on the PGA TOUR. The question in some corners was how high his score would be. “I was asked if I thought he was going to break 80, and that’s the hand grenade question,” Paul Casey said. “But 4 over is really good. It’s a lot of pressure, and he exceeded my expectations.” Zach Johnson, a two-time major champion, said he has a friend who knows Curry and said he was a good player. The score in the first round was enough to make a believer out of Johnson. “Clearly, he is,” Johnson said. “I don’t know that golf course. Someone said they shoot pretty low there often, but it doesn’t matter. You’ve still got to put the ball in the hole. First round as an amateur in a professional tournament? That’s pretty good.” Johnson vaguely recalled the time Jerry Rice, the Hall of Fame receiver for the San Francisco 49ers, played in the tournament. Rice shot 90. “He’s a good athlete. They’re both good athletes,” Johnson said. “I’m not going to be playing for the 49ers.”

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