Curry 3000-1 to win first pro golf tourney

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OPELIKA, Ala. — Scott Stallings birdied the final hole for an 11-under 60 and a one-stroke lead Saturday in the PGA TOUR’s Barbasol Championship. Stallings’ 12-foot putt on the par-4 18th caught the right edge and dropped in for the second 60 in two days in sweltering conditions at Grand National’s rain-softened Lake Course. “I just tried to stay as cool as I could temperature-wise,” Stallings said. “It’s brutal hot out there. … I think that was a good distraction for me. I knew I was playing well, but just trying to drink as much water as I could and try to eat when I could, and when it was my turn to hit, be ready to go. It’s pretty easy to lose your train of thought. I definitely ran into that yesterday.” Grayson Murray was second after his second straight 64. Stallings hit all 18 greens in regulation and birdied the final three holes to tie the course record set last year by Jhonattan Vegas and matched by Chad Collins on Friday. The three-time PGA TOUR winner had the lowest round of his TOUR career and broke the tournament 54-hole record at 19-under 194. “The golf course looks good to my eye,” Stallings said. “I played a bunch of junior golf and college golf on Robert Trent Jones courses. You drive it in play, you’re going to have lots of opportunities to hit it close just with the bowls and the sections they have on the greens. Just tried to do whatever I felt off the tee to feel comfortable and put the ball in play and kind of go from there.” Stallings played the first five holes in 5 under, holing a 15-foot eagle putt on the par-5 fifth. He bogeyed the par-3 sixth, birdied Nos. 8 and 9 for a front-nine 29, and added birdies on Nos. 11 and 13 before the late run. “The lead or whatever is sort of irrelevant to me,” said Stallings, coming off a fifth-place tie last week in the John Deere Classic. “All that stuff will take care of itself. I’m just happy to be playing the way I know I can, put myself in position and the rest will kind of take care of itself. I can’t control what anyone else does. I can control my attitude and the effort that I put forward and that’s really all I can take care of.” Murray had four birdies in a six-hole stretch on the back nine, with the two pars coming on par 5s. “The scores are out there,” Murray said. “You saw Stallings, I think, shot 60 today. Obviously, you’ve got to be on all cylinders and hit fairways to do that. If I take care of the par 5s like I normally do, I would be in the lead. You can’t look at it like that. I played well.” The TOUR rookie won last year on the Web.com Tour and topped the Web.com Tour Finals money list. Collins followed his 60 with a 69 to drop into a tie for third with Tag Ridings (63) at 17 under. Rory Sabbatini shot a 62 to jump from 54th to a tie for 14th at 11 under. Jim Furyk, the only player to shoot two sub-60 rounds in PGA TOUR history, had his second straight 68 to get to 8 under. The 47-year-old U.S. Ryder Cup captain is playing the event after failing to qualify for The Open.

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JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Dustin Johnson has missed nine birdie chances from 10 feet or closer at Liberty National, which ordinarily might annoy him. He’s hitting it so well that he still leads THE NORTHERN TRUST. Johnson birdied three of his last six holes Friday, finishing with an approach to eight feet on the 489-yard closing hole, for a 4-under 67 that gave him a one-shot lead over Jordan Spieth (64) going into the weekend. Johnson has won this FedExCup Playoffs opener twice at other courses. He was at 12-under 130. “I’ve got a lot of control with the golf ball and hitting a lot of really nice shots and rolled in a couple putts today which is nice, but still feel like I left quite a few out there,” Johnson said. “I’m in a good position heading into the weekend, and if I can keep swinging the way I am, I think it’s going to be a good weekend.” The weekend does not include Masters champion Tiger Woods, and neither did Friday. Woods, who opened with a 75, withdrew a few hours before his second round was to begin because of what he described as a mild strain to the oblique that he says was causing pain and stiffness. It’s the first time Woods withdrew in the middle of a tournament since February 2017, two months before fusion surgery on his lower back. He said he was hopeful to play next week at Medinah. Spieth might be finding some form at just the right time. Winless in more than two years, he started the PGA TOUR’s Playoffs at No. 69 in the FedExCup with no assurance of staying among the top 70 who advance to next week at Medinah. He might be one round away from thinking more about winning. Spieth was on the same score (131) that he was going into the weekend last week at the Wyndham Championship, where he followed with a 77 and missed the 54-hole cut. His shots have been tighter, his misses not that severe and he even got some good fortune on his final hole that led to a birdie and a spot in the last group with a familiar face. Johnson and Spieth have played together at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am each of the last five years. The opening Playoffs event has a strong cast of contenders, with Jon Rahm and Patrick Reed two shots behind, and Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy among those another shot back. McIlroy was just happy he wasn’t farther behind. He walked off the par-3 14th with a double bogey because of a two-shot penalty from the bunker. McIlroy went to remove a small stone next to his ball, but realized when he touched it and it disintegrated that it was a clump of wet sand from a brief storm delay. The original ruling was a penalty. The PGA TOUR reviewed it as McIlroy played the last four holes, spoke to him after the round and determined that was no intent to improve his lie. His 70 became a 68. “The reason I called someone over is I don’t want anything on my conscience, either,” McIlroy said. “I feel like I play the game with integrity and I’m comfortable saying that I didn’t improve anything. I thought it was a rock. It wasn’t. I moved my hand away, and then I was like, `I don’t know if I’ve done anything wrong here.’ “It came down to me and they said, `OK, are you comfortable telling us you didn’t improve your lie?’ And for me, I am comfortable saying that.” Missing the cut meant the end of the season for at least two dozen players who would not be among the top 70, which includes Bubba Watson. Sergio Garcia would appear to be a casualty having started at No. 65 and not making it to the weekend. The first step for Spieth was to make sure he stayed in the top 70. Now it’s about contending. “The important thing for me is not to get ahead of myself,” Spieth said. “Historically, I’m a very consistent player. I’ve lost a bit of that. I still have the firepower but that consistency is what I’m trying to get back, and there’s certainly going to be times where I’m out of position over the weekend. It’s about limiting mistakes. One bogey over 36 holes is somewhat unrealistic week to week. But if I can hold it close to that for the next 36, again, that firepower is still there. And it would certainly shoot my confidence up.” Johnson’s year has been quiet since winning a World Golf Championship in Mexico City for his 20th career victory. Another year passed without winning a major. He was runner-up in the first two majors, but he hasn’t finish better than 20th since the PGA Championship. He feels the consistency in his swing is returning. And while he’s not making everything, he’s making enough and likes the way he’s rolling it. “I feel like I’m stroking it well right now,” he said. “I worked on the stroke a lot the last couple weeks and feel good and I have confidence in it.”

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