Abraham Ancer’s path leads to Chapultepec

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Steve Stricker is having too much fun at the Waste Management Phoenix Open to stress over a messy finish Friday. RELATED: Leaderboard | Return of fans helping return of Koepka Trying to become the oldest winner in PGA TOUR history, the 53-year-old U.S. Ryder Cup captain shot a 5-under 66 to get within a stroke of leader Xander Schauffele entering the weekend at TPC Scottsdale. Stricker scrambled for par on the eighth, but couldn’t overcome another poor approach on No. 9 in a closing bogey. “Just hit an awful iron into the green on No. 9,” Stricker said. “But overall a good day.” Stricker, who will be 54 on Feb. 23, won the last of his 12 PGA TOUR titles in 2012 at Kapalua. Sam Snead is the oldest winner at 52 years, 10 months, 8 days in the 1965 Greater Greensboro event. Seven players have won in their 50s, the last Davis Love III at 51 in the 2015 Wyndham Championship. “I know it’s a long shot,” Stricker said. “I’ve got to play my very best, just like anybody else does out here. But you know, I’ve been there. I’ve won a few times out on this TOUR and I know what it takes, although it’s been a while. It would be fun to see how I handle it if I do get that opportunity.” The five-time PGA TOUR Champions winner, with wife, Nicki, working as his caddie, birdied four of his first eight holes with hardly anyone watching in the chilly morning conditions. The attendance is capped at about 5,000 a day, a fraction of the usual turnout but the most for a TOUR event since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s always tough to get going around here in the morning and we started on the back nine with some pretty good holes and some water holes that can come up and get you,” Stricker said. Schauffele, coming off a second-place tie last week at Torrey Pines, played the back nine in 6-under 30 in the afternoon for a 64. He birdied Nos. 12-14, made a 21-footer for eagle on the par-5 15th, and hit a wedge to 4 1/2 feet to set up a final birdie on the par-4 18th. “It was a bit slow at first,” Schauffele said. “Kind of saw everyone’s name flying up the leaderboard.” He was at 12-under 130. Keegan Bradley was tied for second after a 65. He made 10 birdies in a 14-hole stretch from his 12th hole Thursday to the seventh Friday — all on the front nine. “All it was was having some putts go in,” Bradley said. Scottie Scheffler (65), Sam Burns (68) and Kyoung-Hoon Lee (66) were 10 under. Scheffler hit to a foot for birdie in the morning on the 16th. “There was literally nobody there, so I couldn’t tell if it had a chance or not,” Scheffler said. He followed with a 40-foot eagle putt on 17, but gave back the strokes with a four-putt double bogey on the par-4 fifth. Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka were 8 under. Spieth is trying regain the form that carried him to 11 PGA TOUR victories — three of them majors — in his first five seasons on the TOUR. Winless since The Open Championship in 2017, he shot his second straight 67, highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 third. “It felt like a 6- or 7-under day, and this is one of the first times I’ve almost been disappointed shooting 4 under in a round in long time, and that’s a good sign,” he said. “(Yesterday) I shot 4 under, but I got away with murder.” Justin Thomas was 7 under after a 65. He opened with a double bogey on the par-4 10th after making a late triple bogey Thursday on 17. “Hit a perfect tee shot down 10 and had a pitching wedge in and made about as easy and bad of a 6 as you possibly could,” Thomas said. He had five birdies in a six-hole stretch from No. 14 to No. 1, bogeyed the par-5 third, and then birdied four of the last five. “I stayed patient and understood that you can make a boatload of birdies,” he said.

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The final 18 holes at THE PLAYERS Championship can seem like an eternity. The finish line feels so far away. That’s because the final result often hangs in the balance until the very end. Rarely do we see a player jubilantly walking down the final fairway, doffing his cap to the crowd. He still has stressful shots to hit to complete his victory. The closing holes on THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass were designed to induce drama, and they usually fulfill their purpose. It looks like Sunday could be another PLAYERS Championship that won’t be decided until the final putt drops, thanks to difficult conditions and a crowded leaderboard. Kyle Stanley and J.B. Holmes share the lead at 9-under 207, taking disparate paths to the top of the leaderboard. Holmes has been one of the least accurate drivers this week but leads the field in Strokes Gained: Putting. Stanley has taken a more traditional road to the lead, ranking in the top 15 of both driving accuracy and greens in regulation. Holmes’ wild play – he also ranks 65th in greens hit — has bucked the conventional wisdom at the Stadium Course. Pete Dye’s design emphasizes accuracy over brute strength, especially when conditions are firm and the greens are hard to hold. Ball-striking is important because the penalty is so high for wayward shots on Dye’s penal design. “This golf course just beats you up,” said Emiliano Grillo, who’s three shots back. “You just have to play well.” There were 74 scores of double-bogey or worse recorded Saturday, and 238 this week. There have been 286 shots hit into the water, including 142 on the famed trio of finishing holes. “Around this golf course, with 16, 17 and 18, anything can happen,” said Louis Oosthuizen, who’s one shot back. “No lead can be big enough. You can be three back and you can win the event. That’s what makes this golf course great. We’ve seen over the years great finishes around this golf course and horrible finishes.” The volatility of the finishing holes, especially when the anxiety is highest on a Sunday afternoon, is one reason comebacks have been prevalent at TPC Sawgrass Seven of the past 10 PLAYERS have been come-from-behind victories, including four wins by players who trailed by three or more strokes entering the final round. There are six players who will start Sunday within three strokes of the lead. It was just two years ago that Rickie Fowler was 4 under on those three holes before winning in a playoff. And, of course, we’ve seen the heartbreak that players such as Sean O’Hair and Len Mattiace have suffered on the island green. “I like the course, but some shots are a bit too scary for me,” said Francesco Molinari, who’s five shots back. “Even if you are suffering out there, you know that everyone is doing the same.” That’s especially true this year. The field averaged 74.04 strokes Saturday. There were seven scores in the 60s on Saturday, as well as seven scores of 79 or higher. This week’s cumulative scoring average is 73.4, on pace to be the highest since 2008. The winner that year? Sergio Garcia. He’s in contention again this week after shooting a 67 on Saturday that moved him within four shots of the lead. He’s looking to become the only player other than Tiger Woods to win the Masters and THE PLAYERS in the same year. Woods won the 2001 PLAYERS a month before completing the Tiger Slam at Augusta National. Garcia is the most successful player among those in the top nine of the leaderboard. He and Oosthuizen are the only major champions among the bunch, and Garcia’s 10 PGA TOUR titles lead the group. Patrick Cantlay and Alex Noren are seeking their first PGA TOUR victories, while four of the top nine have just one TOUR title (Stanley, Oosthuizen, Grillo, Si Woo Kim). The task will be even tougher because high winds are expected to hit the Stadium Course again on Sunday. The final 20 players to tee off Saturday averaged 74.8 strokes, including eight scores of 75 or higher. Of the seven scores in the 60s shot on Saturday, only one came from a player who teed off after noon. Kim, who teed off at 1:30 p.m., shot 68. “Around this golf course without wind, it’s a pretty fine line,” said Fowler, who sits at even par. “You start adding wind to the equation (and) it makes this place, to the average golfer, almost impossible.” These aren’t your average golfers, but they’ll face a tough task Sunday if they want to walk away with THE PLAYERS Championship.

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