‘Beast of heat’: Nelly Korda gets lightheaded; Thompson’s caddie drops out during steamy Round 1

MCKINNEY, Texas — Jordan Spieth woke up Friday at 4:30 a.m. He felt tight on the range at the AT&T Byron Nelson. He bogeyed his first hole. Spieth found little to like early in the second round, starting his morning slowly on the back nine and playing holes 10 through 13 at TPC Craig Ranch at 1 over. “Losing a couple to the field there got me a little frustrated,” he said. “If you kind of tap the brakes a little when the scores are going to be low you feel like you have to play catchup.” Except that didn’t happen either. Spieth made just three birdies Friday. He lost his share of the lead and finished with a 2-under 70, three behind K.H. Lee. There was little wind when he and longtime friends Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris started play. Spieth hoped for a score around 5 under. That, the Dallas native and resident thought, would keep him at the top of the leaderboard for the weekend at the tournament where he made his first PGA TOUR start when he was 16 years old. But after a birdie on his fifth hole, Spieth stalled. He fought with his patience as he made par after par after par. The putter didn’t cooperate, either. The longest putt he holed was from 11 feet 2 inches on No. 1, his 10th hole. It was for par. “I just had plenty of looks,” Spieth said. “I didn’t make many putts at all today.” It was nothing like Thursday, when he made seven birdies and an exhilarating eagle on the par-5 18th. A substantial share of the 12,500 spectators on the course committed to following the group of three old rivals from the North Texas PGA section junior tour, many of them cheering robustly when Spieth made another putt or saved another stroke or tested the odds, as he did in spectacular fashion on No. 12. After a blocked drive finished in a patch of mud behind a clump of crabgrass, Spieth and his caddie discussed their many options. His ball sat about 245 yards from the hole at the reachable par-5, but tree limbs dangled to his right, forcing him to shape a shot just so to clear a creek that runs through the property. A prudent punch seemed the logical play. But Spieth never wavered. He slammed a soaring hybrid to 10 feet from the hole. The galleries howled, and Spieth seemed invincible. Even that pure joy of playing seemed elusive Friday, he said. “I think yesterday, even when I wasn’t playing a good hole, I was kind of laughing at the miss or chunked it and laughed,” he said. “Today I had a shorter fuse.” After two consecutive birdies Thursday to go to minus 7, Spieth drove short of the green on the par-4 14th. He hit his pitch too heavy and scrambled for par, but chuckled at the mistake. On the tee of the 15th, a long par-3 over water, Spieth thinned his iron and begged for it to find the ground. When it did, he leaned on his club and smiled. That Jordan Spieth never quite made it to the course the next day. The Spieth who did wasn’t nearly as loose, sharp or forgiving. “I’ll just get some better rest tonight and then, like I said tomorrow, will be kind of a fun test,” he said. “There is no reason for me not to trust everything I’m doing. At this point, I’ve got an opportunity to contend here, and if I can get myself a chance on Sunday, that is the best prep for this tournament and also next week.”

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Tiger Woods, a two-time winner of THE PLAYERS Championship, announced via agent Mark Steinberg on Friday he will not tee it up at next week’s tournament at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. Woods personally informed PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan of the decision before news broke on Friday. “Back just not ready,” Steinberg said in a statement, as per ESPN and Golf Digest. “Nothing concerning, just not ready.” The announcement by the 82-time PGA TOUR winner comes amid a longer than usual layoff after he cited back stiffness and opted not to play in this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, a tournament he has won eight times, most recently in 2013. Woods, 44, would move out of a tie with Sam Snead for the all-time wins record with his next victory.  He hasn’t competed since a 68th-place finish at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera, where he has famously never won, on Feb. 16. He finished T9 at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines (where he’s won eight times as a pro) before that. It hasn’t been long, though, since the future World Golf Hall of Famer was in the winner’s circle. Woods won the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP last fall and went undefeated as playing captain at the Presidents Cup. He is 26th in the FedExCup, but did not play at the Arnold Palmer Invitational because of injury for the second straight year. Last year Woods bounced back from a neck injury to finish T30 at THE PLAYERS, and four weeks later rallied to win the Masters Tournament for his 15th major. Woods won THE PLAYERS in 2001 and 2013 and is 11th in the latest world ranking.

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The beginning of the 2022-23 PGA TOUR season marks the end of an era. RELATED: Play Pick ‘Em Live | The First Look | Five Things to Know about the new season This week’s Fortinet Championship opens the last of 10 consecutive wraparound seasons. After the next FedExCup champion is crowned at the TOUR Championship in late August of 2023, there will be break of FedExCup action until January of 2024 when the following season launches. When considering only wraparound seasons, Silverado Resort and Spa’s North Course in Napa, California, has hosted in all but the first. The stock par 72 presents as a warm greeting for the latest Korn Ferry Tour graduating class as well as for returning members. For a brief review of the backdrop and more, continue reading beneath the ranking of those projected to contend. POWER RANKINGS: FORTINET CHAMPIONSHIP Draws and Fades will include reviews of 2020 champion Stewart Cink, Hideki Matsuyama, Webb Simpson, Davis Riley and other notables. Not unlike how East Lake Golf Club is the familiar setting for the TOUR Championship where last season concluded two weeks ago, Silverado sets up customarily for the in-crowd where the new season starts. Because they aren’t neutral sites, there are no surprises to everyone who’s been to either recently, but also there are no tricks for debutants. Silverado is the same as it ever was. Fairways are not overseeded, primary rough stands at three inches and the mostly Poa greens are prepped to measure 11½ on the Stimpmeter. This means that ball-striking among first-timers and hitting greens in regulation for all sets the stage for a chance to go into the books as the first winner of the season. Turning scoring opportunities into par breakers also is required. It’s a simple formula for which execution never is delivered by all 156 commits. Incidentally, because this is the last official stop of the summer in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s also the last maximum-strength field on a singular course for almost eight months. As they are every season, all four of the 156-man competitions in the interim will be contested on multiple courses. Last year’s scoring average of 71.04 at Silverado is essentially average with cooperating conditions. Scores may be higher this week but only marginally. Sustained moderate breezes will yield a few grimaces and wrinkled brows at times, but the weather will be ideal otherwise. Daytime highs in the 70s will accompany a mostly sunny sky throughout. In other words, in the context of the elements, none of the participants will be prevented from putting his best self on display. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.com’s Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Draws & Fades WEDNESDAY: Pick ’Em Preview SUNDAY: Medical Extensions, Qualifiers, Reshuffle * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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