Day grabs third-round Australian Open lead

AVONDALE, La. — Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown might hold the lead heading to Sunday at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, but more than ever the lead is far from safe. Looking for redemption after last year’s playoff loss to Cameron Smith and Jonas Blixt, the South Carolina duo sit at 20-under par — one clear of the Tony Finau/Daniel Summerhays and Andrew Putnam/Michael Kim teams. They provided a tidy 8-under 64 in Four-ball play on Saturday. But there are 17 teams within five shots of their lead heading to the always unpredictable and volatile alternate shot format. Anything can happen. We already saw this over the opening two rounds where the scoring average went from 65.888 to an incredible 73.863. The opening round leaders Xinjun Zhang and Zecheng Dou backed up a 60 with an 80 to miss the cut. “There is going to be a lot of big stress out there for some guys on that alternate shot,â€� five-time PGA TOUR winner Jason Dufner said. “You could see it Friday, cut day.â€� But Kisner and Brown almost feel immune as they’ve known each other for decades. “We’ve been doing this for 20 years,” Kisner said. “We know each other pretty well. I think that’s why we gel so well together. “He knows I’m not going to be upset if he’s playing bad, or if I hit a bad shot he’s not going to be upset at me. What did they tell us, your bad shots are the other person’s problem, so have fun.â€� Dufner, who along with Pat Perez are one of the teams chasing the leaders, believes the three shots they have to make up could happen in a flash. They were one of the teams to battle on Friday, shooting even par. Of the top 13 teams on the leaderboard heading to Sunday, only Putnam and Kim broke 70 on Friday. “I’m sure there will be a little pressure, but we’ll be relying on each other, and hopefully have a good time there tomorrow,â€� Kim said. “I think we just got to keep our heads down and keep grinding. We’re both playing pretty good golf, so just shoot the best score we can,â€� Putnam added as they chase a maiden TOUR win. For Finau and Summerhays, the key to this week has been relying on their already great chemistry and not getting in each other’s way. “Last year we were kind of all up in each other’s space. Hey, come read this putt. Let’s read together. What do you think here?â€� Summerhays explained. “This year we’ve just completely backed off everything. I called Tony in to read one putt yesterday and that’s basically it. “It’s the underlying trust, right? He’s trying his darnedest to get me in a good spot. I think that’s the great thing about having a close friend. We’ve played so much golf together. There isn’t any of that judgment. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow. I think it’s going to be difficult, but that’s what we do.â€� NOTABLES Jason Dufner and Pat Perez looked dangerous just three shots off the lead. The pair shot 61 on Saturday to rocket into contention. “Everybody is going to have six or seven birdies and probably no bogeys if they’re playing well,” Dufner said. “So just to get those extra couple long ones to drop, I think that was a big key today.” There are a bunch of international teams lurking at 16 under in a tie for eighth looking to keep America off the winners list since moving to a team format. South African Presidents Cup players Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel, countrymen Retief Goosen and Tyrone Van Aswegen, Scotsman Martin Laird and Russell Knox plus Englishmen Tommy Fleetwood and Chris Paisley are all ready to pounce. Olympic Gold and Silver medal winners Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson are an outside chance at 15-under, five shots off the pace. Jason Day and Ryan Ruffels started hot on Saturday and looked like they could make a huge charge. However a double bogey on the ninth hole derailed their run, and they now sit near the back of the pack at 11-under. It was a rough day for Matt Kuchar and Bubba Watson as they sat just one under through 13 holes. Three late birdies added some respectability to the score, but at 13-under and seven shots back they’ll need to go super low Sunday. Denny McCarthy and Joel Dahmen were the last partnership entered this week after Martin Pillar withdrew to be at the birth of his first child. The WD sent Dahmen into a duo with McCarthy and the pair shot 62 Saturday to have an outside chance at 15-under. QUOTABLES I was the horse and he was the jockey. When I got tired he decided to kick in the whip, and he kicked in the whip on himself.When you have hair like this you can pull it off.I had to kind of hold my laugh in while they were hitting. SUPERLATIVES Low Round: 11-under 61 – Three teams: Billy Horschel/Scott Piercy; Jason Dufner/Pat Perez; Brice Garnett/Chesson Hadley. Easiest Holes: Par-5 7th played at 4.250 as did the par-5 11th.  Each had two eagles and 23 birdies. Hardest Hole: Par-4 15th played exactly to par with five birdies and five bogeys.

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PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – By his own admission, Rickie Fowler hasn’t played much golf. Maybe that’s a good thing. With no expectations but confident after a season that saw him win The Honda Classic among 10 top-10 finishes, Fowler cruised at El Camaleon. He made six birdies and got up and down five times in five chances to keep a clean card in his first round of the new season. “Touch and feel is a big thing coming off of—I think we’ve had roughly a month off, five weeks or so,â€� Fowler said. “So when the feel is somewhat there, it frees you up to know that you can get away with some missed shots and it allows you to swing a bit freer.â€� The highest ranked player in this week’s field (10th), Fowler hit eight of 14 fairways and 13 greens in regulation. He took 26 putts. The 28-year-old has traditionally started his season in Asia, but he skipped the TOUR’s three-week swing in Malaysia, South Korea and China. That left him looking for a place to play, and he had heard glowing reviews of Mayakoba. He hasn’t been disappointed, soaking up the sun with girlfriend Allison Stokke since Saturday. That Fowler’s game seems so well-suited for the 7,000-yard, par-71 Camaleon course has been a bonus. “I had a really fun pro-am group,â€� he said. “I think they ended up going on to win. My crew started off with a win this week, I might as well finish it for the group on Sunday. “But off to a good start. Definitely want to play well down here being my first showing at Mayakoba. Yeah, I couldn’t really ask for much more today.â€� OBSERVATIONS KIZZIRE CITES DUFNER INFLUENCE. The 6-foot-5, Auburn product Patton Kizzire drove into the bunker and bogeyed 18, but his 62 was still his career low by one. It also continued a torrid early-season run in which Kizzire tied for fourth at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and finished T10 at the Sanderson Farms Championship. One of his best results last season? A T5 with partner Jason Dufner at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. “He’s been a good mentor, a good friend,â€� Kizzire said. “He’s taken me under his wing and shown me a few things. We’ll play practice rounds together occasionally and just hang out. We’ll go to football games together and he’s a good one to pick his brain and to play with because he’s awfully confident.â€� MITCHELL SURPASSES FATHER. Keith Mitchell aced the 200-yard 10th hole with a 6-iron on his first swing of the day. It was only 8:30 a.m., and there were so few people around the green that Mitchell and playing partners Tom Hoge and Rob Oppenheim weren’t sure what had happened. “We heard a small clap,â€� said Mitchell, who went on to shoot 5-under 66. “It was pretty subdued.â€� It was his fourth hole-in-one and first since college, and he wasn’t sure where he stood relative to his dad, Jerry, who had made either three or four in his career. Mitchell, a Web.com Tour grad who missed the cut in his first three starts this season, texted his father in North Carolina and went to lunch. He later texted the PGA TOUR the verdict: “1 up.â€�  GOOSEN TURNS BACK CLOCK. Good results have been few and far between for the two-time U.S. Open winner, who was in a large group at 66 despite making bogey at the par-5 fifth hole. Goosen, 48, opened last season by missing seven straight cuts before finishing T2 at the Puerto Rico Open. He wound up 162nd in the FedExCup, and was 176th in strokes gained: putting (-.425). Thursday saw him hit eight of 14 fairways and 12 greens in regulation. He took 26 putts and looked more like the guy who has won seven times on TOUR. HAPPY NEWS FOR CHINA. Xinjun Zhang eagled the par-5 13th hole to join Goosen in the large group at 5-under 66. Zhang and Marty Dou played their way off the Web.com Tour last season to become the first players from China to earn their cards on the PGA TOUR. Now it’s just a matter of staying there. In three previous starts this season, Zhang had finished T37 at the Safeway Open, T44 at the no-cut World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in Shanghai and missed the cut at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. NOTABLES GARY WOODLAND – A year after finishing second to Pat Perez at El Camaleon, Woodland was at it again, lurking after a 3-under 68 that included an eagle at the par-5 13th hole. KEVIN CHAPPELL – After a season that saw him win for the first time and make a successful Presidents Cup debut, he shot a 4-under 67. It’s been a good time for UCLA golf grads; Patrick Cantlay picked up his first win at last week’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. FABIAN GOMEZ – He’s the leading Latin American player after firing a 5-under 66. KEN DUKE – Monday qualifier got off to a solid start with a 68. QUOTABLES “We got here on Saturday, but didn’t touch a club until Tuesday.â€� – Rickie Fowler (65) on how he’s been making the most of the extracurricular activities at Mayakoba. “I knew my game was in good shape.â€� – Keith Mitchell (66), who made a quintuple-bogey 9 in round one of last week’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open but missed the cut by just one. SUPERLATIVES Streaks: Kizzire birdied holes 8-13, bogeyed 18, and signed for a 62. Easiest hole: The 532-yard, par-5 13th. Among the leaders, only Martin Piller (66) failed to make at least a birdie there. Xinjun Zhang (66) was one of a handful of players who eagled the hole. Shot of the day: Mitchell’s hole-in-one on his first shot of the day was the eighth in tournament history, and the second time a player has started the OHL Classic at Mayakoba with an ace. Thomas Aiken did the same thing in 2015, also on the 10th hole and also with a 6-iron. CALL OF THE DAY SHOT OF THE DAY BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

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Follow along as Tiger Woods plays his second round at Carnoustie:  Hole 1, par 4/394 yards: Shot 1 in the fairway, Shot 2 on the green, Shot 3 from 20 feet, Shot 4 in the hole for par. Hole 2, par 4/461 yards: Shot 1, left rough

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