English wins Travelers on 8th playoff hole

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Rory McIlroy was 5 over for his first three holes and headed for a rare missed cut at the 101st PGA Championship at Bethpage Black. Then he found his range with the putter. After signing for a 40 on the tougher back nine, the reigning PLAYERS champion birdied holes 4, 5, 6 and 8 as he shot a front-nine 31 to almost certainly make the cut (71, 3 over total) with the afternoon wave still out on the course. “I was just glad to see one ball go in the hole and I got going from there,â€� said McIlroy, twice a winner of the PGA Championship. “I obviously had a very bad start. I didn’t feel like I hit any bad shots; maybe bad decisions more than bad shots.â€� McIlroy made putts of 13, 23, 22 and nearly 19 feet for his four late birdies. It was a welcome departure from his form the day before, when he tallied 35 putts, and a massive improvement from his atrocious start on the back nine early in his second round. As has been the story for many others this week, McIlroy struggled as he opened with the brutal, par-4 10th. He lost his tee shot right, and his second shot went just 91 yards into the trouble left. By the time he finally got to the green, he had 10 feet remaining to save bogey, and missed. Related: Tee times | Spieth sets up career Grand Slam chase | Koepka continues major dominance | Berger back in contention on Long Island “You go from the range and then you get in a car and you’re not hitting another shot for another 25 minutes,â€� he said, echoing what a handful of others have said this week. “So, feel like you could warm up again, basically, so that first tee shot is a little challenging for sure.â€� More right misses off the tee at 11 (bogey) and 12 (another double) completed the horrific start. “I tried over every shot,â€� he said. “And I didn’t let my head get down. I grinded.â€� With eight top-10 finishes in 10 starts coming in, McIlroy was among the pre-tournament picks to win this week. But until his last six holes Friday, he hadn’t looked comfortable at Bethpage. Part of that, he said, was the lies he’s gotten after his misses. Part has been the wind. “I though we got it pretty windy this morning, and we got it pretty windy yesterday afternoon,â€� he said. “So, I’d say that in terms of the scoring between the two sides of the draw, I’d say ours was maybe a shot tougher. We’ll see how that pans out at the end of the day.â€� He started his comeback with a 3-foot birdie putt at the par-5 13th hole, but bogeyed 15. He made the turn and managed only pars at 1 and 2, and was tied for 120th place. What was he playing for at that point? “Pride,â€� McIlroy said. “Just pride. Just trying to play a good round of golf and try to get something that’s close to the best out of myself. And, yeah, I don’t like missing cuts. It’s not something that I’m used to, fortunately, and I wanted to be around for the weekend.â€� McIlroy, 30, is third in the FedExCup and fourth in the world. “It’s just a matter of not pressing too much,â€� he said, “and staying patient and letting the good golf sort of come through. Took a while today, but it eventually got here.â€�

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Matt Kuchar, who has gone more than four years since his last victory on the PGA Tour, is tied for the lead at the Mayakoba Classic with Dominic Bozzelli and Kramer Hickok.

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A drivable par-4 and several of the game’s biggest stars. There’s a lot to love about this week’s PGA TOUR LIVE coverage. Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Justin Thomas and Patrick Reed are among the names that can be seen this week on PGA TOUR LIVE’s broadcast from the Travelers Championship. There will also be plenty of coverage of TPC River Highlands’ most famous hole, the drivable par-4 15th. PGA TOUR LIVE will broadcast between 7 a.m. Eastern and 6:30 p.m. on both Thursday and Friday. The coverage will switch to Featured Holes at 3 p.m. The drivable, par-4 15th and the par-3 16th are this week’s holes. PGA TOUR LIVE also will be available on Twitter for approximately 90 minutes, beginning at 7 a.m. Here’s a look at this week’s Featured Groups. Click here to subscribe to PGA TOUR LIVE. (Note: FedExCup rankings in parentheses) THURSDAY Brian Harman (10), Jim Furyk (137), Rory McIlroy (69): Furyk will play alongside a fellow FedExCup champ and one of this season’s breakout stars as he returns to the site of last year’s historic 58. McIlroy, the reigning FedExCup champ, is making his debut at this event after missing the cut in the U.S. Open. Harman, who finished T2 at Erin Hills, ranks in both the top 10 of the FedExCup (10) and the U.S. Presidents Cup standings (9). He’s finished in the top 10 in four of his past six starts, including a win over FedExCup leader Dustin Johnson at the Wells Fargo Championship and his U.S. Open runner-up. Tee time: 7:50 a.m. Eastern off 10th tee. Justin Thomas (3), Patrick Reed (75), Jason Day (45): Thomas and Reed are fresh off top-15 finishes at the U.S. Open, while Day is trying to rebound from his missed cut at Erin Hills. Thomas (T9) played in the final group last week after an electric 63 in the third round, while Reed (T13) posted his best career finish in a U.S. Open. Day’s top finish this season has been a runner-up finish at the AT&T Byron Nelson. Thomas and Day will see each other at this year’s Presidents Cup, as well, as both players rank second on their respective team’s point list. Reed, who’s nicknamed “Captain America� for his stellar play in international team events, is 11th in the U.S. standings; the top 10 on Sept. 4 will automatically qualify for the team. Tee time: 8 a.m. Eastern off 10th tee. FRIDAY Bubba Watson (109), Marc Leishman (15), Russell Knox (57): Three past winners of the Travelers Championship are in this group. Knox won last year with a dramatic 12-foot par putt on the last hole. Leishman, the 2009 Rookie of the Year, earned his first PGA TOUR win here in 2012. He earned his second victory earlier this year at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. Watson is a two-time winner at TPC River Highlands (2010, ’15) and has finished in the top 10 in half of his 10 starts there. Tee time: 7:50 a.m. Eastern off 10th tee. Jordan Spieth (6), Brandt Snedeker (44), Wesley Bryan (22): Two former PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year, Spieth and Snedeker, are paired with a favorite for this season’s award. Wesley Bryan won the RBC Heritage and has four other top-10s. Spieth, the 2015 FedExCup champ, is making his debut at this event, while Snedeker has finished 11th and 10th in the past two Travelers. Snedeker won the FedExCup in 2012. Tee time: 8 a.m. Eastern off 10th tee.

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