After slow start, Tiger (64) surges to lead in Japan

HOUSTON – LPGA pro Danielle Kang had some choice words for her boyfriend, PGA TOUR rookie Maverick McNealy, after he shot a third-round 73 on Saturday at the Houston Open. Or as McNealy described it, “Got a talking-to yesterday on the phone.� But Kang – who has two wins and 30 top 10s in her LPGA career and recently played in her second Solheim Cup for the U.S. – also provided some advice for McNealy to use during Sunday’s final round at the Golf Club of Houston. The message was received loud and clear. McNealy went out Sunday and shot a 7-under 65 that included a stretch of five consecutive birdies. In his fifth tournament this season, he finished at 8 under for the week and is headed for his best finish, potentially inside the top 20 once the final leaderboard shakes out. Related: Leaderboard | Time for Griffin to turn consistency into victory | Wu in contention in first TOUR start as a pro Evidently, Danielle knows what she’s talking about. “My best round on TOUR,� McNealy said. “I can build on this.� So what exactly did Kang tell McNealy, who started the week nicely with a 68 before sliding down the leaderboard with middle rounds of 74 and 73? “She wanted me to do three things today,� said McNealy, who then provided the specifics. 1. Don’t look at the leaderboards. “So I intentionally did not look at a single leaderboard today,� McNealy said, a difficult task on the back nine given his big move that at one point had him inside the top 10. 2. Be stronger and stricter with the mental scorecards. “I did that with my 95% of my shots today,� McNealy said. “I only had two shots that I wasn’t fully focused or in the zone or committed on, so I was really happy with that. If I can keep it to two or less, it’s going to be a good day.� 3. Say two good things to himself after every shot. “So it was a very positive day out there for me,� McNealy said. Consider his best shot of the round, a tee shot at the par-3 165-yard 16th. McNealy arrived on the tee with plenty of momentum, having reeled off four consecutive birdies. But the 16th had not been kind to him, as he bogeyed it the previous two rounds, including the second round when he found the right-side bunker. Plus, with a bit of wind in his face, he was between clubs. He knew 9-iron wasn’t enough, so he needed to hit a soft-cut 8-iron. “It’s just a shot I’ve been struggling with,� McNealy said. “I hit some poor shots there earlier this week and it was an awkward number.� But with his positive vibes, he pulled off the shot Sunday, following it by converting the birdie putt from just outside 10 feet to make it five straight birdies. The two positive things he told himself after the tee shot? “That I really committed to starting it left and hitting a hold-off cut,� McNealy said, “and that I hit it flush in the center of the face.� Kang wasn’t the only one who’s giving advice to McNealy, who earned TOUR membership via the Korn Ferry Tour last season. McNealy is working with Kang’s coach, Butch Harmon, who is being honored by the Houston Open this week. For the last two weeks, they’ve been working on flighting the short irons. On Sunday, Harmon and McNealy were both sporting huge smiles outside the scorer’s trailer. “That was the most important part of my game this week,� McNealy said. “Really, really happy with how we stuck with it. He’s really helped me build up my confidence.� But now it’s time for McNealy to rest. He’s played tournaments in 17 of the last 21 weeks, and he’s tired. He’ll take the next two weeks off, then play the new Bermuda Championship and the fall-ending The RSM Classic. His number is not good enough to get into the Mayakoba Golf Classic, but he’d definitely accept a sponsor exemption. Still, he’s excited for the future, as his results have improved in each of his five weeks this season. “I’m really excited about the way I’m trending,� he said.

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SANYA, China — Malaysian professional golfer Arie Irawan died Sunday morning at his hotel with early indications his death was from natural causes. The coroner has not completed his report. Irawan was here competing in PGA TOUR Series-China’s Sanya Championship, where he missed the 36-hole cut but had remained on-site. Irawan was staying at the Sheraton Sanya Resort across the street from Yalong Bay Golf Club, site of this week’s tournament. His roommate, American Kevin Techakanokboon, who had already awoken and was getting ready for his final round, noticed Irawan was unresponsive in his bed. Techakanokboon called fellow player Gunn Charoenkul, who came to the room. American player Shotaro Ban also arrived and immediately began administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation, while Charonekul’s wife, Vichuda, fluent in Mandarin, called local emergency services. After 45 minutes of continued revival efforts, medical personnel pronounced the 28-year-old dead. “This is just a terrible tragedy that affects all of us who are part of a very tight-knit family here in China� said Greg Carlson, PGA TOUR Series-China Executive Director. “Arie played with us in 2018, his first full year on our Tour, and I know he was excited about this season as he continued his professional golf pursuits. We are incredibly saddened by this news, and we extend our sincere condolences to his wife and family.� Irawan was close with Techakanokboon, the two often rooming together. After missing the cut at the 2018 Zhuhai Championship, Irawan volunteered to serve as Techakanokboon’s caddie on the weekend, helping lead Techakanokboon to his first PGA TOUR Series-China victory. Following the win, Techakanokboon credited Irawan for steadying him and assisting him during the triumph. “He was just an incredibly popular player, well-liked by fellow players and staff,� Carlson continued. “The fact he would caddie for his friend like he did in Zhuhai typifies the kind of guy Arie was. His smile brightened whatever room he was in, and everybody liked being around him. This is a significant loss for so many of us and for our Tour.� Irawan, a native of Kuala Lumpur, made his PGA TOUR Series-China debut in 2016, at the Clearwater Bay Open in Hong Kong. A year ago, he played his first full season, appearing in 10 tournaments and recording one top-10 finish, a tie for fourth at the Guilin Championship. He earned full 2019 status by finishing inside the top 50 on the 2018 Order of Merit. He had missed the cut at the season-opening Chongqing Championship prior to missing the cut this week. As a teenager, Irawan left Malaysia to attend the University of Tulsa on a golf scholarship, in 2008. He played all four years for the Golden Hurricane, was a member of the Conference USA All-Freshman team and was an Academic All-American during the 2010-11 school year. He graduated with a degree in management information systems. Irawan turned pro in 2013 and returned to Asia to pursue a professional golf career. He played events on the Asian Tour, the Asian Developmental Tour, PGA Tour of Australasia as well as PGA TOUR Series-China during his seven-year career, winning two Asian Developmental Tour events. Irawan is survived by his wife, Marina, his parents, Ahmad and Jeny, and his sister, Wan Edna. Memorial services are pending.

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When you hand over the tees of a course with no trees, no water, no rough and greens that average 13,500 square feet to talent on the PGA TOUR, the history books brace for revisions. This was the reality when Trinity Forest Golf Club debuted as host of the AT&T Byron Nelson last year. After reviewing the ranking of those projected to contend for this week’s title, continue reading for what transpired last year and much more. Jordan Spieth, Henrik Stenson, Patrick Reed and Branden Grace will be among the notables reviewed in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider. As noted at the top, Trinity Forest is a property of extremes. As a result, wind is the only true defense for the three-year-old par 71 south of downtown Dallas. Yet, when the Texas winds aren’t howling, even the undulations on the massive Champion bermudagrass putting surfaces don’t pose much of a challenge to the quality of skill taking aim on them because they’re governed to run no longer than 11 feet on the Stimpmeter. That’s to guard against the course getting out of control on a breezy day. In its inaugural edition as host to the 156-man field last year, Trinity Forest surrendered a scoring average of 69.415. That landed as second-lowest among all par 71s played all season. Gigantic landing areas off tees yielded a fairways-hit percentage of 79.50 (or 11.13 of 14 per golfer per round), highest since SilverRock co-hosted the 2011 Desert Classic. The field also averaged 13.83 greens in regulation per round, second-highest of 51 courses last season. Then-rookie Aaron Wise played it like a video game on beginner mode. En route to his breakthrough title, he missed only six (of 56) fairways and only six GIR, fewest for any PGA TOUR winner since Willie Wood missed only five when he prevailed at the 1996 Sanderson Farms Championship (then known as the Deposit Guaranty Golf Classic). Wise also ranked ninth in distance of all drives, third in proximity to the hole, second in strokes gained: tee-to-green and seventh in strokes gained: putting. Where Wise didn’t make noise was on the set of four par 3s. Rolling over for an average of 2.96, they ranked as the second-easiest among all courses in 2017-18. The champ beat the field average, but he did the bulk of his work by leading the field on the par 4s. The par-3 eighth hole averaged -0.354 strokes to par to establish the record for lowest scoring average among all par 3s since recordkeeping launched in earnest in 1983. However, expect aggregate scoring on the par 3s to rise this year. Thanks to new tees, No. 8 is 20 yards longer and capable of reaching 160 yards, while the par-3 12th can now stretch to 220 yards, an increase of 15 yards. Overall course yardage is down nine yards to 7,371 as the par-4 16th will be prepped to tip at 385 yards, a reduction of 44 yards from last year. As membership continues to learn how to further capitalize on the course – as of midday Monday, 77 from last year’s field are committed this week – the weather will promote the extension of aggressive thinking. Moderate winds will all but disappear by the weekend and the persistent threat of rain will keep the track soft and gettable. Daytime highs in the 70s will help sustain physical energy in the humidity. Bottom line, for all pros headed to next week’s PGA Championship, the AT&T Byron Nelson presents as a terrific opportunity to build confidence while staying fresh. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done THURSDAY: Champions One & Done * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesdays.

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