Canizares takes 1-stroke lead on Austrian Open opening day

 AUGUSTA, Georgia – The famous Masters scoreboard halfway down the first hole at Augusta National has the flags of 20 nations proudly flying above it. It is a nod to the global reach of the tournament that began with just four international players in the inaugural 1934 tournament (a Canadian and three Englishmen) and will this week see 23 different countries represented. That’s right, they now don’t have enough flag poles to even fit the 23 countries whose players will vie for the coveted green jacket, such is the global boon. The Masters has been very active in reaching corners of the globe not traditionally enamored with golf – pushing their amateur championships through Asia and Latin America. Of the 87 players in the field this year, 47 of them are from outside the USA. Of the 23 countries, 12 of them have never won the Masters. Nine of those have never won a major championship. Six of them have never won a PGA TOUR event. It wasn’t until the 25th playing of the Masters that Gary Player broke the American stranglehold on the event. In 1980 at the 44th Masters Seve Ballesteros pushed the winning countries to three and by the turn of the millennium Germany, Scotland, England, Wales and Fiji had joined the party. Mike Weir broke the drought for Canada 15 years ago and Angel Cabrera gave Argentina a thrill in 2009. And it was five years ago that Adam Scott smashed an Australian curse at Augusta National. With eight previous runner-up results by Australians – Greg Norman personally having three heartbreaking losses – the weight of a nation was bearing down on the Aussies every year. When Scott made his famous birdie on the 72nd hole, he instinctively yelled “C’mon Aussieâ€� in celebration – a cry born in years of frustrations for his nation. “It got annoying and frustrating knowing the same questions were going to come every year,â€� Scott once said. “Without fail all of us would be asked when it would happen, how would it happen, what needed to be done. “So to be the guy to finally do it was pretty special.â€� The history for the 12 nations chasing a first green jacket certainly shape the level of pressure. Australia felt it through past failures and a strong history in golf. It is getting to that point for the Irish who will only be represented by Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy this year. McIlroy has single-handedly ensured Northern Ireland is just a Masters away from a career slam. With the personal pressure dwarfing that coming from his nation, he doesn’t yet see it as the Australians did. McIlroy winning would be huge, but it might not shift the global landscape of golf like some other potential winners. And to this point, given their freshness to golf at the highest level, expectations are not yet high. But as every year passes… the want grows. Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama most certainly does feel the intensity from outside. Barely a tournament goes by without him being asked about being the first player from his nation to break through. He smiles when asked and tries to deflect the so-called pressure. But relief will certainly factor in his emotions if and when he does claim major glory. Joining Matsuyama are Yuta Ikeda, Satoshi Kodaira and Yusaka Miyazato all hoping to create history for Japan. But perhaps an even bigger dent would come if Haotong Li, Yuxin Lin or Shubhankar Sharma could prevail. “China or India – that’s almost three billion people combined. That would be massive,â€� Marc Leishman mused. “That could be insane for the future of golf.â€� Lin, the winner of the Asia-Pacific amateur, is just 17. But he has already seen a marked difference in how golf is in his home country. Olympic participation kick-started things, and now there are two players (Zecheng Dou and Xinjun Zhang) playing on the PGA TOUR. A major winner could push things into overdrive and produce an avalanche of talent. “Back when I started, the facilities and stuff were kind of bad. We were hitting like off mats, and it’s really hard to find a property where you can actually hit off grass, so it’s going to be like really expensive,â€� Lin explained. “But nowadays, the China Golf Association, they’re starting to build some practice bases. Wonderful facilities, it’s just easier for the kids right now to practice. “To win would definitely have a major impact on the sport back in my country.â€� For Sharma, who was given a special invite thanks to his impressive form so far in 2018, becoming India’s first major champion would be epic. But he doesn’t see it as a burden – rather an opportunity. “There’s no pressure at all. I think everyone back home is happy I’m competing at this level, and hopefully I’ll keep coming back here for many years to come,â€� Sharma said. “I’m actually very happy that I’m getting a lot of attention. A lot of people back home are following me, and if I can get a good finish this weekend, maybe even win a green jacket, it will be great for the game.â€� COUNTRIES FIGHTING FOR FIRST MASTERS Thailand – Kiradech Aphibarnrat Japan – Yuta Ikeda, Satoshi Kodaira, Hideki Matsuyama, Yusaka Miyazato Korea – Si Woo Kim China – Haotong Li, Yuxin Lin Northern Ireland – Rory McIlroy Italy – Francesco Molinari Sweden – Alex Noren, Henrik Stenson Chile – Joaquin Niemann Belgium – Thomas Pieters India – Shubhankar Sharma Venezuela – Jhonattan Vegas Austria – Bernd Wiesberger

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PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Max Homa has put a little more practice into his longer putts, and it’s paid off at the Valspar Championship. Homa holed five putts from outside 25 feet in the first two rounds this week. That matches the mark for the most putts made from outside 25 feet in the first two rounds of an event in the ShotLink era (since 2003). Homa made 202 feet, 3 inches of putts Thursday, making him just the second player in the ShotLink era to hole more than 200 feet of putts in a single round at Innisbrook. Homa, who shot 66-68, was tied for the lead after Friday’s morning wave. The winner of this season’s Genesis Invitational started the week ranked 18th in the FedExCup With a win, he’d join Bryson DeChambeau and Stewart Cink as the only multiple winners this season. RELATED: Full leaderboard He has made five of the eight putts he’s faced from outside 25 feet this week. That’s a make percentage of 62.5%. The TOUR has made 5.4% of such putts this season. “I typically putt it quite well, at least start it on my lines. I haven’t made very much most of the season, really, or most of my career outside of like 10, 12 feet,” Homa said Friday. “My inside 6 feet stats are really good, so you would think I would make more from longer. So we have just been putting a little more attention to that, so maybe that’s kind of where the boost has come in. Speed’s been really good, we’re seeing the lines, I feel like Joe (Greiner, his caddie) has been reading them really well and if you start the ball on line they got to go in eventually.” Homa gained more than 5.6 strokes on the greens in the first two rounds at Innisbrook. It’s the second-most strokes he’s gained on the greens in the opening two rounds of a tournament. The only time he gained more? At the 2019 Wells Fargo Championship, which he won. His 3-wood has been nearly as impressive this week. On Monday, he made the first albatross of his career. He almost added another one Friday. Homa hit his 261-yard second shot on the par-5 14th to 5 feet to set up an easy eagle. Though his impressive shot didn’t match his feat from earlier in the week, it was still an exceptional strike. According to ShotLink, Homa has never hit a second shot of more than 250 yards on a par-5 closer to the hole. The TOUR’s measuring system has captured 531 such shots in Homa’s career. He’s hit the green with 39 of them (7.3%) and this was just the third time he hit one inside 10 feet (0.6%). Homa was the first player since 2018 to eagle the Copperhead Course’s 14th with a putt inside 5 feet. He hit a 3-wood into the hole, the same club he used to hole his second shot on the 11th hole of Greystone Country Club in Birmingham, Alabama, the home course of his instructor, Mark Blackburn. “I’ve always hit my 3-wood quite well. It’s typically one of my favorite clubs,” he said Friday. “I know every caddie that’s ever worked for me has said it’s their favorite club, which means it probably should be my favorite club.” Homa couldn’t see his second shot on 14 but he got a thumbs up from the group ahead, so he figured he must have hit the green. He didn’t think it would be that close, however. Homa gained 1.3 strokes on the field with that stroke alone. Now he is contending at Innisbrook after missing the cut in all three of his previous appearances here. “I think I’m just better at golf now,” he said. It’s showing.

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