Bezuidenhout secures Alfred Dunhill title

Round 3 of the Valero Texas Open takes place Saturday from TPC San Antonio. It’s the 100th anniversary of the event. Ryan Palmer takes a two-shot lead into the weekend and looks to pick up his first TOUR title since 2019. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action, including Featured Groups for PGA TOUR LIVE and newly expanded and extended coverage on ESPN+. Click here for more details. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 4 p.m.-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 1 p.m.-3:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3:30 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 1 p.m.-2 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 1 p.m.–7 p.m. ET. Saturday, 3 p.m.–6 p.m. Sunday, 1 p.m.–6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR PGA TOUR LIVE PGA TOUR Live is available exclusively on ESPN+ • Main Feed: primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course • Marquee Group: new “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group • Featured Groups: traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups • Featured Holes: a combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes FEATURED GROUPS SATURDAY Marquee Group Jordan Spieth, Chad Ramey, Jim Herman Featured Groups Maverick McNealy, Zach Johnson, Aaron Baddeley Richy Werenski, Keegan Bradley, Andrew Putnam Featured Holes: No. 3 (par 3), No. 7 (par 3), No. 13 (par 3), No. 16 (par 3) BONUS ESPN+ COVERAGE Jhonattan Vegas, Peter Uihlein, Rasmus Hojgaard Doc Redman, J.T. Poston, Henrik Stenson MUST READS Ryan Palmer holds two-shot lead at Valero Texas OpenTop 10 Valero Texas Open events Ben Martin sees bigger picture at Valero Texas Open Inside the history of the Valero Texas Open Q&A: Ben Crenshaw

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CROMWELL, Conn. – A few ticks of the clock may have cost Zach Johnson a share of the second-round lead at the Travelers Championship. With his 18-foot birdie attempt at the 424-yard par-4 third sitting on the edge of the cup Friday, Johnson walked up to the ball, counted off the 10 seconds he could legally wait under the rules, and then was about to tap in. But then the ball started to wobble, so he held up. It eventually dropped into the cup – but by then, at least six more seconds had elapsed. So instead of a birdie, Johnson had to settle for a par en route to a 68 that left him at 9 under and in a three-way tie for second, one shot behind 36-hole leader Brian Harman. “You can call it unfortunate. You can just call it the rules of golf,� Johnson said. “I really don’t know. I’m not going to lose one second of sleep. I don’t want to say it’s irrelevant. It’s just the way it goes.� While still on the third green, Johnson consulted PGA TOUR rules official John Mutch. He also met with Mutch and Vice President of Rules Mark Russell in the scoring trailer after his round. Johnson wondered what would have happened had he marked his ball. Would he get another 10 seconds? Does a wobbling ball reset the 10-second clock to zero? “Even if the ball is moving, it’s deemed to be at rest because it’s on the lip,� Johnson said after the discussions. “Don’t ask me why, but that’s just the way it is. So even if I would have hit a moving ball there, it would not have mattered. Technically, I wouldn’t have to tap it in either, I guess, because it’s a one-shot penalty. Once the ball’s in the hole, the ball’s in the hole.� Rule 16-2 addresses a ball overhanging a hole, stating: “When any part of the ball overhangs the lip of the hole, the player is allowed enough time to reach the hole without unreasonable delay and an addition 10 seconds to determine whether the ball is at rest. If by then the ballhas  not fallen into the hole, it is deemed to be at rest. If the ball subsequently falls into the hole, the player is deemed to have holed out with his last stroke and must add a penalty stroke to his score for the hole; otherwise, there is no penalty under this rule.� Russell was asked how long the entire process lasted once the 10-second countdown began. “About 16 to 18 seconds, something like that. Well over 10 seconds.� Russell added, “If that would have happened with eight seconds once he had reached the hole, he would’ve made a 3.� Russell said the 10-second countdown only begins “once you reach the hole and you’re in a position where you can tap it in.� Theoretically, then, Johnson could have taken his time reaching the hole, buying a few more seconds in hopes the ball would legally drop for birdie. “I could have walked really slow to the ball, yeah,� said Johnson, noting that the 10-second rule was there to address pace of play issues. “But I’m not so sure I would have felt good about that.� While the rules may have cost Johnson a stroke at the third hole, he did use the rule book to his advantage at the par-4 17th. After his tee shot found the water, Johnson utilized one of the five options under a lateral water hazard rule to drop near the 16th tee box, some 232 yards from the hole. He said it was a better option than dropping in the rough, where he’d just wedge out and play for a bogey. “It was kind of hard to determine where the ball crossed, but I think my playing partners and I were fairly conservative,� Johnson said. “I don’t like to push it on that. “So we took the mark and I used the rule to my advantage and went lateral, which was towards 16 tee box. There was kind of a brown area there that was within two club lengths, so I dropped it there and I thought, you know what? If I get a decent lie, I can maybe give it a whirl because there’s really not a whole lot there between me and the hole, and maybe I can get it around the green and make a 5. If I don’t get a good lie, I’ll just wedge it out on the fairway and try to get up-and-down for 5.� Instead, he opened up a 4-hybrid, started his shot over the grandstands, and heard the gallery reaction as the ball finished inside 8 feet. He then made the par putt. “If felt good to get away with that 4,� Johnson said. “That’s as good of an up-and-down as I’ve witnessed or performed.� As for the other 16 holes Johnson played Friday? Fairly benign. A couple of birdies on a bogey-free round. “A lot of good out there,� Johnson said. “There was a lot of boring fairway, green, missed putt golf. But there were a couple of incidents that were highlights and/or asterisks. I don’t know how you’d label it.�

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Webb Simpson tees it up for the first time since his runaway at THE PLAYERS Championship, joining favorite son Jordan Spieth to headline a strong roster as the PGA TOUR makes its 73rd visit to venerable Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. Jon Rahm and Justin Rose also are in the field, choosing Colonial over the European Tour’s BMW PGA Championship, while Rickie Fowler gives the tournament four of the top 10 in the current world rankings. Kevin Kisner is defending champion. FIELD NOTES Rose tees it up at Colonial for the first time since 2009, telling reporters he chose the event to fulfill a TOUR regulation requiring members to play one stop they haven’t visited in the past four years. U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka makes his third start since returning from a wrist injury. He tied for 11th at THE PLAYERS Championship. In all, the Colonial field features 13 of the top 30 in the rankings. Keith Clearwater, the 1987 champion, is set to make his 30th start at Colonial. That’ll move him within three of Ben Crenshaw’s all-time record. Chilean teen Joaquin Niemann, making his fourth professional start, tops a wealth of young talent also on display. Niemann placed sixth in his pro debut at the Valero Texas Open. The list of young guns also features Sam Burns – already a winner on the Web.com Tour – and former No.1 amateur Maverick McNealy. FEDEXCUP Winner receives 500 points. STORYLINES Spieth, whose 2016 title stands as his only win in his home state, remains in search of his first win since last year’s sizzling Open Championship finish. Though his closing 64 at the Masters is one of five scores of 66 or better since late March, he also has three cards of 74 or higher. Ryan Palmer, a Colonial member, owns four top-15 finishes in the past six years, including a share of third in 2016. He also tied for fifth in 2012 and ‘14. Kisner seeks to join Ben Hogan as the only man to record back-to-back wins at Colonial. Hogan did it twice – 1946-47 and 1952-53. Eight of the past nine winners have done so in come-from-behind fashion, with Spieth the lone exception. Barring a late WD, Matt Kuchar, Peter Uihlein and Jhonattan Vegas will be the only players to tee it up in all five Texas stops this year. It’s the 15th anniversary of Annika Sorenstam’s historic entry, becoming the first woman to tee up in a PGA TOUR event since World War II. The Invitational returns next year with a new title sponsor in Charles Schwab investments, a longtime sponsor of the PGA TOUR Champions season race. COURSE Colonial Country Club, 7,209 yards, par 70. A staple on the PGA TOUR schedule since 1946, only Augusta National has served a longer uninterrupted tenure as host. The 1936 Perry Maxwell/John Bredemus design is a timeless shotmaker’s layout, challenging golfers with tight fairways and several doglegs. It also was the first Texas club to install bentgrass greens. Colonial welcomed the U.S. Open in 1941 – the first Open contested south of the Mason-Dixon Line – and the TOUR settled in five years later. Colonial also staged the second edition of THE PLAYERS in 1975, along with the 1991 U.S. Women’s Open. 72-HOLE RECORD 259, Zach Johnson (2010). 18-HOLE RECORD 61, Keith Clearwater (2nd round, 1993), Lee Janzen (4th round, 1993), Greg Kraft (3rd round, 1999), Kenny Perry (3rd round, 2003), Justin Leonard (4th round, 2003), Chad Campbell (3rd round, 2004). LAST YEAR Kisner captured his second PGA TOUR victory, capping a 4-under-par 66 with a clutch par save to hold off Sunday challenges from Spieth, Rahm and Sean O’Hair. Three straight birdies to start Colonial’s back nine moved Kisner to the front, adding another at No.15 for a two-shot advantage before a bogey at the par-3 16th. Spieth’s challenge went wayward off the tee at No.18, and Rahm’s 10-foot try for a closing birdie just skirted the hole. Kisner’s approach at the 18th rolled off the back of the green, but he putted up the slope to 5 feet and converted the par save as Spieth stood on a chair to see the finish. Kisner’s victory followed runner-up weekends earlier in the spring at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Zurich Classic. HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 4-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. (featured groups), 4-7 p.m. (featured holes). RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 1-7 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).

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