Collin Morikawa birdies final three holes to win Barracuda Championship

TORONTO, Ont. – Scottie Scheffler hopes the old trope, “it’s not how you start but how you finish” will come to fruition this week at the RBC Canadian Open. The FedExCup leader shot a 3-under 67 Friday at St. George’s Golf and Country Club after an opening-round 69. His Thursday score came after he made bogeys on No’s 1 and 2 and was immediately behind the eight ball. But thanks to a nifty chip-in on the par-3 16th late Thursday and starting with three straight birdies on Friday, he is firmly in the mix for his fifth PGA TOUR title of the season. “I feel like my game is in a decent spot right now and so if I just kind of keep doing what I’m doing, not overreact to things,” said Scheffler of his first round. “It’s definitely frustrating, but just kind of stayed in it and I had a chance to turn in a really good score yesterday afternoon and I finished with two bogeys too.” “Other than the start and the finish, yesterday was a great round,” he added with a smile. Scheffler has been dominating the par fives so far this week, shooting 6-under on those holes alone through two rounds. “Today they all came in the beginning of the round and so kind of had to come out of the gates firing,” said Scheffler, who is 7th on TOUR in Par 5 Scoring Average this season. “It’s definitely good to be able to take advantage of those.” Two weeks ago, Scheffler and Sam Burns dueled it out in a playoff at the Charles Schwab Challenge with Burns emerging as the victor. Burns trails Scheffler buy about 1,000 points in the FedExCup standings, sitting number two in the season-long race. This week at the RBC Canadian Open – where they’re both making their tournament debuts – they were paired together for the first two rounds. And appropriately, they’re tied through 36 holes as well. Burns shot a 1-under 69 on Friday and the pair is at 4 under heading into the weekend. Neither golfer lost too much ground on the early leaders – something both Burns and Scheffler were happy about. “It’s just difficult to shoot a really low number,” said Burns of St. George’s Golf and Country Club. “I think if you can just kind of plot your way around this place and shoot 2- or 3-under every day you’re going to have a really good chance.” Scheffler, who missed the cut at the PGA Championship, came to Canada after a rest at home last week. He and Burns both said they liked playing the week before a major to get set for the challenge to come. And Scheffler said the way St. George’s was set up was a solid pre-exam. “I kind of like playing into those events. So for me getting a good prep week here where I can get some practice in and the golf course is somewhat similar is really helpful,” he said. “I think for me I prefer to play the week before, especially an event like this. It hasn’t happened in a couple years, and I know the Canadian fans are really excited for us to be here this week, we’re all excited to play,” added Burns. Scheffler and Burns both said the golf course has risen to the occasion as a challenging layout, especially around the greens. The rough, Scheffler said, is up. And the greens, with a lot of pitch in them, are making birdies hard to come by. “There’s definitely a lot of slope (in the greens). I would say these aren’t as fast as Augusta, but there’s definitely a lot of pitch in them,” said Scheffler. “Even when you hit a really good shot, you’re kind of stuck in a position where you got a putt that has just a ton of movement. It’s definitely a challenging course.” But Scheffler has made tricky golf courses look easy all season long, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he finishes off another week with aplomb. Burns, though, will be right there – as he has been frequently of late.

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Brittany Lincicome, twice an LPGA major winner, becomes the first woman in a decade to test her skills against PGA TOUR competition as the fourth-year event makes its debut in its new Kentucky home. Hall of Famer Davis Love III, joined by son Dru, also tops the field along with 2014 FedExCup champion Billy Horschel and nine-time TOUR winner Stuart Appleby. The roster also includes six-time winner Hunter Mahan, making his second start since his wife’s sister died of leukemia. FIELD NOTES: Paul Goydos, who tied for fifth at the U.S. Senior Open earlier this month, crosses over during an open week on the PGA TOUR Champions schedule. … With most of the world’s top players at Carnoustie this week, James Hahn is 62nd in the FedExCup standings and owns the highest world ranking in the field at No. 89. … Dudley Hart, twice a TOUR winner, makes just his second TOUR start of 2018 and fourth in the past 24 months. He briefly led the Web.com Tour’s LECOM Health Challenge two weeks ago after opening rounds of 68-65. … Derek Fathauer, who twice reached the U.S. Amateur quarterfinals while attending Louisville, is among at least a half-dozen golfers with Kentucky ties. That also includes Lexington native Josh Teater and recent University of Kentucky teammates Chip McDaniel and Cooper Musselman. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 300 points. STORYLINES: Lincicome, offered a sponsor invite after twice winning the Barbasol’s sister event Pure Silk LPGA Bahamas, becomes the fourth woman to tee it up in a TOUR event and first since Michelle Wie in 2008. Only Babe Zaharias has made the 36-hole cut, coming at the 1945 Los Angeles Open. … Mahan continues to press on after sister-in-law Katie Enloe – wife of SMU men’s golf coach Jason Enloe – passed away July 3 after a six-month leukemia battle. Mahan made the John Deere Classic cut in his first start back. … Davis Love III and Dru arrive as a tandem for the fifth time since March, though neither survived the John Deere Classic’s cut. It’s Dru Love’s 12th start vs. PGA TOUR competition; he’s made the weekend twice. … With five weeks left in the regular season, time is drawing short for pros to pick up crucial FedExCup points. More than half the field – including Appleby, Mahan, Jonathan Byrd and Chad Campbell – currently sits below 125th on the points list. COURSE: Keene Trace GC (Champions), 7,328 yards, par 72. Located about 20 minutes southwest of Lexington, the Arthur Hills design celebrates its 30th year by landing Kentucky’s first regular PGA TOUR event since 1959. Champions is a top-five mainstay among the state’s course rankings and has served as site for such events as the 1994 U.S. Senior Amateur, 1990 Women’s Western Amateur and Southeastern Conference championships. The course is one of just two on TOUR that end on a par-3, this one requiring a carry of some 200 yards over water to a large but shallow green. 72-HOLE RECORD: 263, Grayson Murray (2017 at RTJ Golf Trail/Grand National). 18-HOLE RECORD: 60, Jhonattan Vegas (2nd round, 2016 at Grand National), Chad Collins (2nd round, 2017 at Grand National), Scott Stallings (3rd round, 2017 at Grand National). LAST YEAR: Murray made the tournament’s final edition in Alabama his first PGA TOUR win, using a 3-under-par 68 on the final day to overtake Scott Stallings and hold off Chad Collins’ late threat. Collins, who tied the Barbasol’s 18-hole record with a 60 in Round 2, had a chance to tie for the lead with a 6-foot birdie chance at No.18 but couldn’t convert. That left it to Murray, who successfully negotiated a two-putt from 50 feet to lock up the victory. Murray won in the 24th start of his rookie season, with only one previous top-10 coming at the Sanderson Farms Championship. Stallings shot 71, falling to a share of third with Brian Gay (65) and Tag Ridings (69). HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 5-8 p.m. (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 4-7 p.m. (GC).

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