From the court to the golf course: Caitlin Clark’s best moments from LPGA pro-am

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You had to go low to earn a spot in the Barracuda Championship. A 65 in Monday’s qualifier at Hidden Hills Country Club in Reno, Nevada, didn’t earn anything except a pat on the back. The four qualifiers combined for 34 birdies and three eagles. Sulman Raza made 11 birdies in his 62. Scott Strohmeyer birdied eight of his first nine holes en route to a 63. John Oda also shot 63, thanks to two eagles. Two of the qualifiers — Strohmeyer and Oda — already have top-10 finishes this season. Strohmeyer is trying to lock up his spot in the Web.com Tour Finals, while Oda qualified for his fourth event of the season. With three weeks remaining in the season, Strohmeyer is clinging to one of the last spots in the Web.com Tour Finals. Oda’s spot in the four-event series looks secure. Here’s a closer look at this week’s qualifiers. SULMAN RAZA (62) Age: 24 Hometown: Eugene, Oregon Alma mater: Oregon PGA TOUR starts: 1 Cuts made: 0 Best TOUR finish: MC, 2018 U.S. Open Notes: Raza was teammates at Oregon with AT&T Byron Nelson winner Aaron Wise. Raza, who grew up in Eugene, was the hometown hero at the 2016 NCAA Championship, scoring the clinching point for the Ducks at Eugene Country Club. He also led Oregon back to the final match of the NCAA Championship in 2017, but the Ducks fell to Oklahoma. He went 5-1 in match play in his NCAA career. He was working for a golf bag company before turning pro after qualifying for this year’s U.S. Open. SCOTT STROHMEYER (63) Hometown: Auburn, Ala. Alma mater: Alabama PGA TOUR starts: 2 Cuts made: 1 Best TOUR finish: T4, 2017 Sanderson Farms Championship Notes: Justin Thomas’ former Alabama teammate has the best finish by a Monday qualifier this season, but he hasn’t made a start since the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. He could use a good week in Reno to clinch his spot in the Web.com Tour Finals. He has 68 non-member FedExCup points. He needs to stay ahead of No. 200 in the FedExCup points list to make The Finals. Rod Pampling currently holds that position with 61 points. JOHN ODA (63) Age: 22 Hometown: Honolulu Alma mater: UNLV PGA TOUR starts: 8 Cuts made: 3 Best TOUR finish: 8th, 2017 OHL Classic at Mayakoba Notes: Like Strohmeyer, Oda had a top-10 in the fall. Oda’s position in the Web.com Tour Finals should be safe, though. He has 101 non-member FedExCup points. Oda played his college golf in Nevada. He was a first-team All-American for UNLV in 2017. This is the fourth time Oda has Monday qualified this season. He also made the cut in the Sony Open in Hawaii (T67) and Barbasol Championship (T34). He also has two top-10s on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada this year. EDDIE OLSON (64) Age: 31 Hometown: Aptos, California Alma mater: UNLV PGA TOUR starts: 1 Cuts made: 0 Best TOUR finish: MC, 2010 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open Notes: Olson joins Oda as a UNLV alum to qualify for the Barracuda. Olson was an All-American for the Rebels, whom he played for until 2010. He has made just seven starts on the PGA TOUR, Web.com Tour and Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada since. He won the Northwest Mississippi Classic on the Adams Pro Tour earlier this year. RBC CANADIAN OPEN QUALIFIERS MC. Michael Gligic, 69-77 MC. Russell Budd, 75-72 MC. Mitchell Sutton, 74-80 MC. Justin Yong Woo Kim, 81-76 THIS SEASON’S QUALIFIERS Qualifiers: 87 Made cut: 26 Top-10s: 4 (Scott Strohmeyer, T4 at Sanderson Farms; Trey Mullinax, T8 at Valspar; Julian Suri, T8 at Houston; Chase Seiffert, T9 at Travelers) Top-25s: 6 Most times qualified: T.J. Vogel (7)

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PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Eight times this season, Sam Burns has been atop the leaderboard after every round except the one that mattered. That changed, finally, at the Valspar Championship. RELATED: Leaderboard | Winner’s Bag: Sam Burns, Valspar Championship Burns got some help from Keegan Bradley hitting into the water on the 13th hole, and then the 24-year-old from Louisiana took it from there with two big birdies that led to a 3-under 68 and a three-shot victory Sunday. Burns won for the first time on the PGA TOUR after twice failing to convert 54-hole leads in the Vivint Houston Open last fall and the Genesis Invitational at Riviera in February. The victory moves him into the top 50 in the world, 14th in the FedExCup and all but assures a spot in the U.S. Open, along with his first trip to the Masters next spring. Burns was wiping away tears when he tapped in for a meaningless bogey on the final hole, especially to see his wife, parents and other family members pour onto the green to celebrate the moment with him. “I’ve worked so hard for this moment,” Burns said. “They’ve all sacrificed so much.” He had reason to believe this moment could have come sooner. Burns wasted a good start at the season-opening Safeway Open. He closed with a 2-over 72 to tie for seventh in the Houston Open. He lost a two-shot lead at Riviera, coming up one shot short of a playoff. “Those moments in the past, you really learn a lot,” Burns said. “This week coming down the stretch, I tried to stick to our process.” Bradley and Burns were tied through 36 holes and 54 holes, and they stayed that way through 12 holes on another blistering day at the Copperhead course. That changed with one swing. Bradley came up well short on the par-3 13th and went into the water, leading to double bogey. Burns saved par with an 8-foot putt for a two-shot lead. Burns was three shots ahead through 13 holes on Saturday and he struggled to retain a share of the lead, so he knew what was possible. This time, though, Bradley had no chance. Burns followed with a wedge that stopped next to the hole for a tap-in birdie on the par-5 14th. He put Bradley away with a 7-iron to 18 feet and a birdie putt that brought the most emotion he showed all day, a hard fist slam. He had a four-shot lead with two holes to play, the water and worst hazards behind him. No one else had much of a chance. Max Homa briefly tied for the lead with a birdie on the par-5 opening hole. He didn’t make another birdie the rest of the day, missing several chances around the turn and ending his hopes with a double bogey on the par-3 15th without hitting into the water. He shot 74. Cameron Tringale was lurking but never seriously challenged. He shot 68 and shared third with Viktor Hovland, whose had a 65 but started too far back at the start of the day. Abraham Ancer (69) finished fifth. Burns built a quick two-shot lead on the front nine Sunday. Bradley answered with a pair of birdies, and then made a 15-foot birdie putt from the fringe on No. 9 to take a one-shot lead to the back nine. The final round started to take shape on the par-5 11th, both hitting wild tee shots and good escapes from the trees. Burns won the wedge contest, making a 15-footer for birdie, to tie for the lead. Bradley fell back with his double bogey and never caught up.

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