Aon Risk Reward Challenge will tempt players on two Tours this season

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico — Jon Rahm faced the wind and handled it just as well Friday in the Mexico Open at Vidanta, making eight birdies on his way to a 5-under 66 that staked the world’s No. 2 player to a two-shot lead over Alex Smalley. RELATED: Leaderboard | Inside the Field: Wells Fargo Championship Rahm birdied all four of the par 5s, including the 18th hole at Vallarta Vidanta with a 4-iron from light rough to just short of the green, a pitch to 6 feet and one last putt. He was at 12-under 130 going into the weekend. Smalley was playing on the other side of the course, where he did most of his work. The highlight was holing out from 165 yards on the par-4 third hole for eagle. He had eagle chances on consecutive holes late in his round, two-putting from 35-feet on the par-5 sixth and driving the 291-yard seventh hole to 30 feet for another two-putt birdie. He finished with a 66 and will be in the final group with Rahm. Rahm was two shots higher then his opening round, in which the Spaniard never had to deal with the wind until the final four holes. This was one felt even better. “I feel like I might be a little bit more satisfied with today’s score than yesterday,” Rahm said. “Yesterday I felt like I was really under control and relatively speaking stress free. Today was a bit more of a grind, but still a really good round of golf.” Patrick Reed ran off two late birdies and was poised to close out his round with a third in a row until a pedestrian pitch from just short of the green on the par-5 18th. He had to settle for par and a 66, leaving him in a large group that was three shots behind. Cameron Champ, who played alongside Rahm and handled the wind with his penetrating ball flight, had a 66 to reach 9-under 133. Champ and Reed were joined by Trey Mullinax (69), Adam Long (66) and Andrew Novak (67). Rahm played a superb shot from a waste area well right of the green on the par-5 14th to about 3 feet. What really pleased him was his 6-iron on the par-3 ninth, over water while trying to navigate the gusts. “The 6-iron was perfect. And having 3 feet for birdie there, it’s a huge bonus,” Rahm said. “I think my iron game was really, really good today. It was really under control and in those windy conditions I was hitting it really, really solid so. I was never really too surprised where my ball was ending up and I was always in a good position.” Smalley, a Duke graduate in his rookie year on the PGA TOUR, had a runner-up finish in the Dominican Republic a month ago. Both courses have the same kind of grass on the greens, and Smalley said he picked up plenty of experience playing in the final group on the weekend, starting with the belief he can compete on TOUR. He also was a quick study on the wind, that made some of the par 4s more difficult to reach than some of the 600-yard par 5s. Smalley had a 5-iron for his second shot into the 608-yard sixth. Two holes later, he had 3-wood for his second shot on the 515-yard eighth hole, barely reaching the front of the green. That led to a beautiful lag from 65 feet for a par. “That’s what happens when you have winds that are gusting 25,” Smalley said. “I was able to keep the ball in play and was able to get out of those holes that were playing really long, and happy I’m done with them.” Scott Brown, Jonathan Byrd and Davis Riley, who lost in a playoff at the Valspar Championship earlier this year, were in the group at 8-under 134, four shots behind. The cut was at 2-under 140. Among those making it to the weekend were the Ortiz brothers of Guadalajara — Alvaro shot 69 and was at 5-under 137, while Carlos, a PGA TOUR winner, had a 69 and was at 3-under 139. Abraham Ancer, part of 10 Mexican players in the field and No. 20 in the world ranking, had a 69 and made the cut on the number. The task for everyone is chasing Rahm, going for his first victory of the year. “I’ve been playing really good,” he said. “I can’t really complain about anything I’m doing right now, so hopefully I can keep that good ball-striking going and keep rolling it the way I have.”

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Here are nine tidbits from the second day of pool play at the World Golf Championships – Dell Technologies Match Play that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Austin Country Club plays 7,108 yards (par 71). Know Thy Enemy These were the top-10 selected golfers selected to win the bracket challenge. Friday, as usual, we’ll reveal the PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO selections. Inside the Numbers As I learned on the telecast, Marc Leishman was the only player to lose in the second match last year and win his pool. After beginning pool play 0-2 this year, he won’t repeat that feat. As you’ve learned by watching this week, just about anything is possible in this format. Remember, players that are tied for first in their pools after tomorrow’s matches will have a playoff. There is no head-to-head tiebreaker. There are no tiebreakers. You want drama? We’ve got drama. Last year there were five pools that were settled by a playoff. People’s Choice: Dustin Johnson (1) When the most-selected pool winner and bracket champion loses the first two matches, that just reinforces the chaos theory. Johnson, who never trailed en route to victory here last year, never got it going this week and was beaten 4 and 3 on Thursday. His elimination leaves Tiger Woods as the only player to repeat at this event and he did it when the format was single elimination. Power Pool Finals Jordan Spieth (4) and Patrick Reed (19) read the script and will give gamers the box office pool finale we all hoped to see as they both moved to 2-0 in Group 4. It’s funny to note the Spieth was a large underdog entering the week as Reed was picked in 20 percent more of the brackets to win the pool. … Sergio Garcia (7) and Xander Schauffele (20) will also square off in a winner-take-all match in Group 7. After Schauffele’s rookie season, I’m not sure much is going to bother him, even a bit of #NappyFactor! … Justin Thomas (2) and Francesco Molinari (21) will also put their perfect records on the line to settle Group 2. Thomas has been bothered by wisdom teeth removal recovery but he birdied the last two holes to see off Patton Kizzire (48) 3 and 1. Luke List (60) stuck a new putter in his bag today but that didn’t help as Molinari was the one holing putts, winning 3 and 2. Steamroller: Biggest Win Englishman Tommy Fleetwood (9) bounced back after his loss yesterday to take his frustrations out on Kevin Chappell (33) 7 and 6. I counted only three birdies and two concessions in the 12 holes but Fleetwood isn’t eliminated, yet. He’ll need to win tomorrow and have Chappell knock off undefeated Ian Poulter (58) to get into a three-way-playoff. If Poulter wins, his result doesn’t matter. Bracket Disrupters: Biggest Upsets Jon Rahm (3) has been eliminated before the final pool match as he lost 1-up to Chez Reavie (43). The momentum from his halve on the final hole in Round 1 didn’t carry over. With a record of 0-1-1 (.5 pts), not even a victory (one point) can see him overtake Kiradech Aphibarnrat (28) who is a perfect 2-0. … There goes Charles Howell III (59) again! Last year he needed a three-man playoff to win his pool and did so as No. 61 seed. He’s 2-0 and a win Friday vs. 0-2 Satoshi Kodaira (40) means he’s through without any issue. He’s pool players Phil Mickelson (14) and Rafael Cabrera-Bello (17) will be rooting for Kodaira to win but if the two highest seeds halve, it won’t matter, as they are both 1-1. Know Thy Enemy: Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship These were the top-selected golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. The Corales Course stretches to 7,670 yards (par 72). Friday, as usual, we’ll reveal the PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO selections. Where is Everybody? There are 15 players T10 or better and only of them from the list above is in the mix! That shouldn’t be surprising as most birdie fests open the door to just about everyone in the field. The last two years this was an event on the Web.com Tour. The top 40 players annually were all double-digits under-par. The winning score was 24-under-par in 2016 and 20-under last year. Corey Conners, the only representative from the most-selected list above, birdied half of the holes to post 64 (-8) and sit one shot of the lead. Study Hall Round 1 in the Dominican Republic belonged to Brice Garnett as he went out in a windless morning wave and missed tying the course record of 62 by a shot. Garnett, who made as many as birdies as Conners but didn’t square a bogey, won twice in 2017 on the Web.com Tour. He posted winning scores of 21 under and 18 under so he knows what it takes to go low. His best finish on TOUR this year in 12 events was T17 in the season-opening event at the Safeway Open. … Emiliano Grillo (T73) began even-par and will need a low one tomorrow. Last year the cut was 5-under 139. … Kelly Kraft continues his very solid run of form as he opened with 68 and sits T16. … Jim Furyk also opened with 72 (E) but I’m nervous that almost 7,700 might be a bit much in the afternoon Friday. I’m erring on the side of caution. #BenchLife. … There were nine, bogey-free rounds and the scoring average was 71.326.

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