Draws and Fades: Rocket Mortgage Classic

PALM HARBOR, Fla. (AP) — Joel Dahmen, who took advantage of gentle, morning conditions Thursday on a tough Copperhead course, shot a for a 5-under 66 and a share of the lead with Austrian-born Sepp Straka in the Valspar Championship. Dahmen is playing a course he had never seen for the third straight week. But he has been playing well of late and considers himself a streaky player. Coming off a tie for 12th at THE PLAYERS Championship, he handled Innisbrook with six birdies and a strong finish — a 6-iron to 4 feet for birdie on No. 3, a 7-iron to 5 feet on the par-3 fourth hole, a 20-foot birdie putt at No. 9. The lead stood when the wind picked up in the afternoon. Of the 28 rounds in the 60s, only eight were in the afternoon. One of them belonged to Dustin Johnson, who had not seen Innisbrook in nine years. He had a 69, with one birdie coming on the 578-yard 14th hole with a big drive and a 3-wood dead into the wind to 30 feet. “I played a little bit better than my score,” Johnson said. “But first time being here in a while, not real used to the golf course … all in all, it was a good score. I felt the conditions were tricky.” It was all part of an action-filled day at Innisbrook, where Russell Knox wiped out a double bogey on No. 9 by hitting 3-wood into the cup from 274 yards for an albatross on the par-5 11th, and riding that to a 29 on the back nine. He was one shot behind at 67. “It’s a good way to go from plus 2 to minus 1 very quickly,” Knox said. “Didn’t even have to putt, which was great.” And for the second straight week, Peter Uihlein saw the rarest shot in golf. He was standing on the 12th tee when he watched Knox’s ball roll onto the green and into the cup. Last week at THE PLAYERS, Uihlein was in the same group when Harris English made an albatross. The group at 67 included Kevin Kisner and Luke Donald. Donald has been battling a back injury that has limited him to just six tournaments worldwide in the past year. Donald was tied for the lead until a bogey on the final hole from a tough spot in a bunker some 30 yards short of the pin on the 18th. And while it’s just one round, it’s a round he needed to see for his state of mind, much less his back. “It makes your back feel better, actually, when you make a few birdies and hole a few putts,” he said. “It’s good for the soul. And it’s been a while since I had a really good round like that, and it does feel good. I felt very relaxed out there, which is somewhat unusual. The last year or two hasn’t really been that way.” Defending champion Paul Casey opened with a 70, while Jon Rahm made his Innisbrook debut at 71. But even the easier morning conditions didn’t help Patrick Reed, who had a 77, or Jason Day at 74. Knox finished his front nine with a double bogey for a 38 until the albatross turned his fortunes. He added three more birdies to turn a rough start into an ideal one, especially considering the importance of these next two weeks. He is No. 62 in the world, which gets him into the Match Play next week. He has two tournaments to crack the top 50 and get back to the Masters. “Getting into Match Play was big,” Knox said. “I’ve been building a bit of momentum. The Masters has been on my mind since the first of the year.”

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Keegan Bradley said his 1-under 71 in the second round of THE PLAYERS Championship on Saturday was one of the best performances of his life, given the stiff winds and chilly temperatures. It could have been better. Facing a birdie putt from 10 1/2 feet at the par-5 16th hole, Bradley put his marker behind the ball but had not picked up the ball when a sudden gust of wind blew it across the green. Thinking he had officially marked the ball, he returned it to its original spot, missed the birdie putt, and tapped in for a par. Or so he thought. He had made the turn and was on the second hole when Chief Referee Gary Young told Bradley he had broken Rule 9.4 a. Because he had put the mark down but not picked up the ball, he had not officially marked his ball when it was moved by an outside agency. As a result, the Rules of Golf state that he should have played the ball from where it stopped rolling, not return it to its original position. Bradley was told he was being assessed a two-shot penalty, his par turning into a double-bogey. It would be his only over-par hole in a round that included birdies on holes 2, 13 and 15. “Everyone in my group, and I guarantee most of the entire field, thought the USGA changed the rule to simplify it,” Bradley said. “Put your coin down, that’s where your ball is. So put my coin down, the ball moved, a huge gust of wind came up. “I looked at the guys in my group,” he continued, “and we all said, yep, the coin was down first, all good. Didn’t think about it again until Gary came up and spoke to me on 2, and proud of the way I handled that because that was tough news, especially with some tough holes in front of me.”

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GUYANCOURT, France — Europe won six of the final seven matches in Sunday’s Singles to reclaim the Ryder Cup, beating the U.S. 17.5 to 10.5 in a dominating performance at Le Golf National. It’s the sixth consecutive Ryder Cup on home soil that Europe has won; the last time the U.S. has won in Europe is 1993. Francesco Molinari completed the best week ever by a European player, remaining undefeated as he beat Phil Mickelson 4 and 2. BEST MATCH Both Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy expected that their opening match in Singles would be a key one, setting the tone for the rest of the day. Certainly it was a tight one, with neither player going more than 2-up. And it was riveting, as the match reached the 18th hole. But as it turned it, it did not impact the outcome, as Thomas’ 1-up win was one of just four on the day for the Americans. Still, it had plenty of interesting moments, particularly at the final hole. With the match all square, Thomas found the fairway off the tee while McIlroy found a half-buried lie near the lip of the fairway bunker. He tried to punch out sideways to the fairway, but his ball dribbled back into the bunker. Then on his third shot, his ball came out low, clipped the lip, and ran into the water on the other side. Once Thomas safely found the green with his approach, McIlroy conceded the hole and the match. Don’t expect it to be the last time these two players face each other in a Ryder Cup match. BEST AMERICANS The U.S. had four winners on Sunday – Thomas, Webb Simpson, Tony Finau and Patrick Reed. Thomas had to knock off McIlroy and Simpson beat Justin Rose, the recent world No. 1. But the most impressive American performance was from Finau. The Ryder Cup rookie put together six birdies and won nine holes in a bogey-free round to throttle previously unbeaten Tommy Fleetwood 5 and 4 in the fifth match of the day. “I played incredible golf today. I was controlling the ball nicely and made some putts. It was a really hard time for Tommy to get in the match,â€� Finau said. BEST EUROPEANS The Europeans had seven winners on Sunday. Jon Rahm had the thrill of a lifetime, knocking off Tiger Woods 2 and 1. Ian Poulter remained undefeated in Ryder Cup singles, beating world No. 1 Dustin Johnson 2 up by winning four of the last six holes. But the most impressive performance was by Ryder Cup rookie Thorbjorn Olesen. He sat out both sessions on Saturday but had a key victory over Jordan Spieth in the seventh match, winning 5 and 4 in a match that was vital to slow the early U.S. momentum. Olesen made five birdies and never trailed for the last 11 holes to beat Spieth, who had won three points in the team session. “I played great on the front nine,â€� Olesen said. “Holed some really, really good putts and the crowd were mental. It’s been so much fun.â€� BEST STAT Sergio Garcia became the most successful Ryder Cup player in history with 25.5 points ahead of previous record holder Sir Nick Faldo (25). Jordan Spieth is now 0-3 in Ryder Cup singles and 0-3 in Presidents Cup singles. ROOKIE REVIEW USA Bryson DeChambeau (0-3-0) – Despite fighting all the way to the final hole well after the Ryder Cup had been decided and throwing a dart on 18 DeChambeau was left without a point after Alex Noren drained a huge putt for a 1-up win. Justin Thomas (4-1-0) – The MVP of the American team. Thomas was a rookie in name only as he showed he could be the man to build a team around for the next decade and some. Took down Rory McIlroy 1-up in the opening singles match. Tony Finau (2-1-0) – Justified his selection as a captain’s pick with two earned points … the only two earned from all four of team USA’s picks. Finau gave Tommy Fleetwood a 6 and 4 thrashing in singles which was pretty incredible after the first two days of dominance for the Englishman.  EUROPE Tommy Fleetwood (4-1-0) – A stud on debut in the Ryder Cup despite being hammered 6 and 4 by Tony Finau in singles. Prior to that he teamed with Francesco Molinari to become just the second pairing ever to go 4-0 in a single Ryder Cup and the first ever Europeans to do so. Takes the record for most points earned by a European rookie in Ryder Cup history. Alex Noren (2-1-0) – Put some impressive icing on the cake but making a long-range birdie putt on the 18th in the anchor match to win 1-up over Bryson DeChambeau. His accuracy was huge throughout the week. Tyrrell Hatton (1-2-0) – Was unable to keep Patrick Reed from securing a point – going down 3 and 2 in singles.  Thorbjorn Olesen (1-1-0) – After being benched all day Saturday Olesen showed he certainly wasn’t sulking as he made short work of Jordan Spieth in Sunday’s singles. Took care of Spieth 5 and 4 to ensure he added his first Ryder Cup point to his personal tally. Jon Rahm (1-2-0) – Provided one of the biggest highlights of his short career with a singles win over Tiger Woods. Rahm ensured every single European player contributed at least a point with a famous 2 and 1 win. 

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