Canadian open suspended due to weather

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Defending champion Brooks Koepka matched his career-best with an 8-under 62 on Thursday to take a one-stroke lead over Rickie Fowler in the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Koepka had nine birdies and a bogey on a windy day at TPC Southwind, a week after missing the cut in Minnesota in the 3M Open. Koepka also will defend his PGA Championship title next week at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, and his coaches helped him realize last weekend how much he was favoring his injured left knee. He sure seemed to have found something at TPC Southwind, where he turned in his lowest round of the year and best in seven events at this course. This was his eighth time shooting under par in his last nine rounds here. RELATED: Full leaderboard Fowler, who last missed the cut at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, chipped in from 30-feet to tie Koepka for the lead with a hole to play. But Fowler two-putted for bogey after putting his tee shot in the left rough on his final hole to finish at 64 and tied with Brendon Todd. Sung Kang shot 65. Justin Thomas shot a 66 and was tied with Matt Kuchar, Chez Reavie and Max Homa. Jon Rahm, playing his first event since becoming No. 1 in the world with a win at the Memorial, shot 70. Rory McIlroy also could move back to No. 1 with a win. He opened with a 73. Koepka, teeing off in the next-to-last group, made clear his injured left knee won’t slow down his title defense. He birdied his first four holes to shoot up the leaderboard and went to 4 under to share the lead with Bryson DeChambeau after rolling in a 23-footer for birdie on the par-3 No. 4. Koepka bogeyed No. 7. when he missed a 10-footer. But he hit his tee shot on the par-3 No. 8 within 7 feet and made the birdie putt. He used his putter again for a second straight birdie, rolling in an 18-footer on No. 9 to make the turn with the best front nine of the day with a 30 that tied him for the lead at 5 under. DeChambeau’s renowned power off the tee put him into trouble on his back nine. He bogeyed No. 5 after hitting his tee shot into the left rough, and he wound up in the right rough on No. 6 after a 382-yard drive. But DeChambeau put his shot within 4 feet but had to settle for par. Koepka kept rolling. He birdied two of his first four on the back nine, and he sunk a 7-footer on No. 13. He had a chance for eagle on the par-5 No. 16 but had to tap in for birdie. He finished with a 67.

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In honor of the spookiest weekend of the year, we look at some of sports world’s biggest curses and jinxes – and how and why they’ve come about.

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Cameron Champ was born in a state best known for the glitz and glamour of Hollywood and the Silicon Valley’s innovative technology but as it turns out, he’s a country boy at heart. “It’s funny because I’m from California but I live in Texas and my friends always make fun of me because I drive a big truck and wear boots and Wranglers,â€� Champ explains with a shy smile. That truck is a lifted 2016 Chevy with a Duramax engine that Champ recently had rebuilt. Someday, he wants to be able to do all the work himself – he calls it his “escapeâ€� — but right now the PGA TOUR rookie is too busy winning golf tournaments to spend his days picking up a wrench and looking under the hood. Champ turned plenty of heads last week with a bevy of powerful drives that lifted him to victory at the Sanderson Farms Championship in only his second start on TOUR. But don’t look for him to splurge on a Ferrari or a Porsche any time soon. “I’m different,â€� Champ says. “I’d rather build something versus like guys going out and getting (a fancy car). “Obviously that’d be nice luxury to have but I’m more of like build an old classic like a ’69 Camaro or a ’78 Charger … or even an early 2000s decent car but then build up faster than those. I’m just that kind of guy.â€� Champ’s cousin Brian Wolf and a family friend he calls Uncle Tim who used to drag race fostered his interest in tinkering with cars. Several of his friends in the Lone Star State – Champ attended Texas A&M and has settled in San Antonio – like working on diesels, too. One thing he has noticed in working around cars is that there is always something better, bigger and faster on the horizon. “It’s almost like a cult in a sense,â€� Champ says with a grin. “Just because it’s like, they always want to do something. There’s always something wrong. Always something that you want to fix. “So, yeah, it’s been fun. It’s kind of like I said, my escape when I’m home. That’s kind of all I look forward to.â€� On the rare occasion these days when Champ is home in Texas he likes to study how engines go together. His cousin, who can take an engine apart and put it back together in a matter of days, is a valuable resource. “I’m still in that learning aspect of doing all that myself,â€� he explains. “When I’m home alone, I’ll just look up how to do things just to learn because I haven’t fully built an engine myself yet which is something I want to do one day.â€� Eventually, Champ plans to get a builder car that he can find ways to enhance. He finds the work “peacefulâ€� and says he’s always enjoyed putting things together, even as a child. “I just kind of finished mine and it’s more of a daily driver,â€� Champ says. “But I want something faster. That’s how everyone I know in the racing industry is the same way. So it’s just kind of like a second love besides golf.â€� Champ has seen videos of Uncle Tim drag racing, and he’s also been to Sonoma Raceway several times. He likes Formula One racing and will watch NASCAR events, although he’s not as much of a fan of that sport. Television shows like the Discovery Channel’s docu-reality series “Street Outlaws,â€� which offers an inside look at drag racing both on the road and behind the scenes in cities across the country, are also among Champ’s favorites. “So it’s just kind of all just added up,â€� Champ says simply. Down the road, the 23-year-old sees himself potentially collecting cars. The low-key rookie would just like to add to his bank account before making any big purchases, though. “It’s a very expensive hobby,â€� Champ explains. “So I say just starting slow with my own and just kind of go from there.â€� The way things are going right now, though, he might be able to add to his collection sooner rather than later.    

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