Clark wins Pebble Beach after 4th round canceled

Patrick Cantlay hit what he thought was a perfect pitch shot at the 15th hole in Saturday’s third round of the U.S. Open at Winged Foot. But you never know when bad luck will hit. And it hit Cantlay hard.

Click here to read the full article…

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Joohyung “Tom” Kim began the Wyndham Championship with a quadruple bogey on his first hole and wasn’t the least bit bothered. The kid seems to be going places in a hurry. Already assured a PGA TOUR card for next season, Kim overcame his rough start with a 6-under 64 on Friday that gave him a share of the lead with Brandon Wu and Ryan Moore in the final PGA TOUR event of the regular season. Kim, a 20-year-old South Korean, has to win at Sedgefield Country Club to qualify for the FedExCup playoffs because he will not be considered a PGA TOUR member until September when the new season starts. Only a victory gives him instant membership. He doesn’t feel extra pressure to get it done. Considering where he was a month ago, Kim is happy to be where he is. Kim — he goes by “Tom” because of his fascination as a kid with Thomas the Tank Engine in the TV series “Thomas & Friends” — finished third in the Scottish Open, made the cut in the British Open and 3M Open, and then finished seventh last week in the Rocket Mortgage Classic. That gave him enough points to be assured of a card next year. And as he has shown in two days, it takes a lot to stop this train. He took eight shots for his first hole on Thursday. Since then, Kim has made 14 birdies and reached 9-under 131 along with Wu (67) and Moore (67). “If you would have told me after the first hole yesterday where I’d be after two days, I definitely would have taken it, so pretty happy,” Kim said. “It’s just one bad hole,” he said, “Told myself, ‘You know what? I’ve got plenty of holes to bring it back if I just play well on my next 35 holes.’ And that’s exactly what I did. I played better than I thought I was going to, so it’s a bonus.” John Huh, who opened with a 61, had a 71 and was one shot behind along with Russell Henley (65) and Sungjae Im (67). A storm late in the afternoon led to a delay that kept the second round from finishing until Saturday morning, and there will be consequences. Chris Gotterup needed a par on the 18th hole for the cut to be 2-under 138. But he went into a bunker, blasted long and faced a 4-foot bogey putt when he returned in the morning. He will finish no better than 1 under, which could let as many as 23 players into the weekend. Austin Smotherman, however, was 1 under and had a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 8, his 17th hole. Smotherman is the equivalent of No. 125 in the FedExCup, and has to make the cut to keep alive his hopes of getting into the postseason. Moore needs a big weekend, too. Coming off a chronic back injury, nothing short of a solo second will be enough for Moore to regain his full card for next season. He’s not thinking about that as much as taking time off to rest and get his back in shape. He said there is deterioration where the rib joint meets the spine, and swinging a golf club isn’t necessarily the best therapy. But he can see the finish line, and a great result this week would help with his status and confidence going forward. As for the top 125 who qualify for the postseason? “I’m so far out of it, it doesn’t even matter at this point,” he said. “I’ve been dealing with this injury for a while. I know what’s wrong now. I just need time to deal with it. So right now it’s just trying to find a little form, a little confidence to spring me into this fall.” Rickie Fowler is getting time off he doesn’t want. He had three straight bogeys early in his second round and rallied for a 69. That left him at even par for the tournament to miss the cut. Fowler is the equivalent of No. 123 and most likely would fall out of the top 125, missing the postseason for the second straight year. Brian Stuard started at No. 137 in the FedExCup and followed his opening 65 with a 68, two shots off the lead. A strong weekend would allow him to get into the top 125. DIVOTS: Jason Day withdrew because of an illness. He had opened with a 67. … Former Masters champion Danny Willett was headed for a missed cut and will finish out of the top 125.

Click here to read the full article…

OWINGS MILLS, Md. – Rory McIlroy shook off his lackluster second round with a 7-under 65 on Saturday at the BMW Championship, reinvigorating his tournament chances and setting him up for a tilt at what would be a record third FedExCup. McIlroy sits at 17-under for the week at Caves Valley Golf Club, tied for fourth but four shots adrift of co-leaders Bryson DeChambeau (67) and Patrick Cantlay (66). Having started the week at 28th in the FedExCup race McIlroy was in danger of not advancing to East Lake with the top 30 for the TOUR Championship where the FedExCup goes on the line. But the Northern Irishman 19-time PGA TOUR winner currently projects to 20th and is just a place on the leaderboard away from projecting towards the top 10. He joins Tiger Woods as the only players to have two FedExCup titles. Having won the FedExCup in 2016 before the handicap strokes system was introduced and again in 2019 when it was first implemented, McIlroy isn’t daunted about the prospect of starting behind at East Lake. He started five shots back in 2019 and as it stands now, he projects to be eight shots off the leader. “It lets you free-wheel a little more on the first day (when you’re behind). But it’s OK because I go out and shoot 6-under next Thursday and the leader shoots 2-over, and all of a sudden, you’re right in the golf tournament,” McIlroy said. “I like the format. I think that all 30 players going into next week should feel like they have a good chance to win. Even when you are starting 10 back because if you shoot a good one that first day, you’re right back in it.” McIlroy could make a huge leap up the standings should he reel in the leaders on Sunday. He knows he’ll need to start well with the two par 5’s coming in the first four holes on the front nine. “You don’t want to put yourself under too much pressure to get off to a good start, but a good start is really important because then you can get momentum on your side early and try to ride it from there,” he said. FedExCup Notes… With just one round to play only Sergio Garcia currently projects into the top 30 to make it to the TOUR Championship from the outside. Garcia sits T4 after rounds of 65-67-67 and projects from 44th to 27th… With one in, one must be trending out. That distinction belongs to Max Homa who is languishing at T66 and needs an incredible Sunday to have any chance of survival… Hudson Swafford, currently in ninth position, is withing striking distance of also playing his way in. Others to watch out for on Sunday include Erik Van Rooyen (T10), K.H. Lee (T12) and Cam Davis (T22). They will need impressive rounds but can’t yet be discounted… Sungjae Im (3rd) also projects to make a big climb. The Korean entered the week at 25th but currently is trending towards 12th on the standings. MOVING IN Sergio Garcia: 44th to 27th MOVING OUT Max Homa: 30th to 36th

Click here to read the full article…