Fathauer, Poston, Kraft rise to the top early at Colonial

FORT WORTH, Texas — News and notes from Thursday’s opening round of the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational, with Derek Fathauer, Kelly Kraft and J.T. Poston each shooting 5-under 65 to share the lead by one stroke. Click here for more from Colonial Country Club. KRAFT’S LAST COLONIAL APPEARANCE Kelly Kraft’s first appearance at Colonial in 2012 was memorable for several reasons. It was his first made cut after turning pro just a few weeks earlier. He shot a front-nine 29 in the third round; just 14 players in tournament history have gone that low or lower. “I made everything; it was a lot of fun,â€� he said. He finished the third round with a 64 to start the final round among the leaders … and then crash-landed with a 10-over 80 that taught him some valuable lessons. “Definitely learned a lot since then and had some good tournaments this year,â€� said the Dallas resident. “Whenever I’m up there, I know I can hang.â€� He’s up there again now as one of the co-leaders. It’s the first time he’s been a leader/co-leader after any round on TOUR. He has two top-10 finishes – including a T-3 with Kevin tway in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event – in his 17 starts. He’s also missed nine cuts. “It’s been a little bit of everywhere,â€� Kraft said of his season. “Some really good, some not so good. But I felt like whenever I’ve played well, I’ve been up there and kind of in the hunt.â€� DUSTING OFF AN OLD PUTTER To describe the cord grip on his old Scotty Cameron putter, the one he used in high school and college, Derek Fathauer uses words such as “rustedâ€� and “crackingâ€� and “peeling.â€� There’s a reason the putter is in that condition – it’s been sitting in his closet for more than eight years. But this week, that putter has a more prominent spot – inside Fathauer’s bag. “It was ready to come out,â€� he said. It certainly paid quick dividends. Fathauer’s 5-under 65 in the morning wave Thursday at Colonial set the early pace, and the score was his lowest in three months. On the greens, Fathauer rolled in four putts from outside 11 feet, including a 31-1/2 footer at the par-4 10th. Fathauer had entered this week tied for 64th on the PGA TOUR in Strokes Gained: Putting. That’s not bad, but it’s not to his previous standards in which he’s ranked inside the top 40 in that category. Thus, he felt a club change was needed. He put away the mallet putter he had been using and went back to his old, old blade. “The putting has been a little stale the last couple of months,â€� Fathauer explained. “Just cleaning out my downstairs room and just brought it out.â€� The new/old putter seems to be part of a reset process for Fathauer, whose results have been lacking for awhile now. He tied for third in his second start of the season back in October at the CIMB Classic. But in his ensuring 15 starts, he’s missed the cut nine times and has not finished inside the top 20. During his last tournament, a missed cut at THE PLAYERS Championship, Fathauer visited with sports psychologist Bob Rotella for the first time. Rotella told him to get back to the basics and not compare his tournament prep work to others. “You can walk up and down the range, see guys with Trackman and swing coaches and gadgets and stuff,â€� Fathauer said. “That’s not how I learned to play golf. Just hit the ball, go find it, hit it again … “I’m not far off. I just complicated things. I was working on my swing [but] I don’t need to work on my swing. Just go play golf.â€� Fathauer also has his twin brother Daryl on the bag this week, a partnership that’s happened a few times in his pro career. As for the putter … well, there are no plans to replace the grip with a new one. Fathauer will stick to what he has – cracked and rusted and peeling. Or, as Fathauer put it, “It’s got a little character.â€� G-MAC FINALLY MAKES IT TO COLONIAL Many years ago, someone told Graeme McDowell that Colonial Country Club – much like Harbour Town, site of his 2013 TOUR win — would be perfect for his game. That he would appreciate playing a shot-maker’s course that can’t be dominated by big hitters. Others kept telling him the same thing. But the Northern Irishman is usually in England this time of year, playing the European Tour event at Wentworth. That prevented him from playing Colonial as well as Muirfield Village, site of next week’s Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. This year, G-Mac decided to pursue FedExCup points in a non-Ryder Cup year, so he added the DEAN & DELUCA to his schedule. His 4-under 66 is an early confirmation that Colonial is a good fit for him. “I’ve had guys that I look to for schedule hints and tips, guys like Jim Furyk, (Brandt) Snedeker, Zach Johnson – guys that I would sort of put my game on a similar statistical level,â€� McDowell said. “Guys like that have been telling me for years and year I would love this place.â€� McDowell is missing the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth for just the second time since 2003 (the first time happened when he was wife was pregnant). McDowell’s bogey-free round Thursday made it easier to accept his decision. “I don’t want to have to answer the question, did I make the right decision to come here or should I be in Wentworth?â€� McDowell said. “Looking at the sunny skies in London this morning and watching a little bit of the golf on TV, yeah, looked beautiful there. “But I’m here for all the right reasons and not really here to prove anything to anybody … I’m here because I want to be here and I want to chase some FedExCup points.â€� It doesn’t sound like this will be a one-time appearance. “Let’s be honest – going forward, this really is where my focus is,â€� he said. “My family are here (in Florida). I love the product that’s the PGA TOUR and the FedExCup. It’s hard not to play a lot of your golf over here at the moment. “Of course, I will keep my European Tour card and continue to play some back there, but the FedExCup is so lucrative, and I’ve never made it to Atlanta [for the TOUR Championship]. I would like to make it there sometime.â€� BAD END OF A DRAW – AGAIN A year ago, Jordan Spieth was on the wrong end of the draw at the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational. It didn’t matter. He still won. He’s facing the same challenge this week. Spieth shot an even-par 70 in the much windier afternoon conditions Thursday. The afternoon scoring average was 72.67 – more than two strokes higher than the morning wave (70.49). “We knew ahead of time we were going to get the kind of raw end of the deal this week,â€� Spieth said. “It happens. It evens out over time. It’s a bit of a bummer when it happens. … It doesn’t mean you can’t come through.â€� Spieth’s round was certainly a rollercoaster one – six birdies, four bogeys and one double. After dropping three shots at holes 15 and 16, he bounced back with two birdies to end his round and get back to even par. He’ll start Friday tied for 34th. “A great finish,â€� he said. “Kept me in the tournament. If I was a couple over, you know, in the back of my mind I would be wondering about the cut line.â€� But he’ll need to make a push Friday. “I’ve got to be inside of five shots going into the weekend, I think, to have a chance,â€� he said. CALL OF THE DAY RAHM INSPIRED BY ASU WOMEN A four-time All-American at Arizona State – and a two-time winner of the Ben Hogan Award that recognizes the outstanding amateur and collegiate golfer of the year – Jon Rahm is a proud Sun Devil alum, having graduated a year ago with a degree in communications. So he was ecstatic to see the Arizona State women’s team win the NCAA golf title this week, the eighth in school history. ASU’s Monica Vaughn also took the individual title. “That’s the closest I’ll ever be to experiencing something like that,â€� Rahm said. “I’m happy for them. The cool thing is from now on to the rest of their days, they’re going to wake up [as] National Champions. Nobody can take that away from them. “It’s something I’m jealous about but extremely happy and proud to be a Sun Devil.â€� Rahm, the emerging superstar from Spain, celebrated in his own fashion Thursday – shooting a 4-under 66 in which he used his driver 12 times in 14 opportunities. The day before during his practice round, he struggled off the tee, but on Thursday, he hit a respectable eight fairways. He said the Sun Devils’ victory helped fire him up. “To be honest, that energy and positivity helped me today,â€� he said. “If they could do what they did, why couldn’t I play good today?â€� ODDS AND ENDS Two-time winner Phil Mickelson, making his first appearance at this event since 2010, ended his round with three consecutive birdies to shoot a 3-under 67. His last birdie putt was from 33 feet. He got a good read from playing partner Matt Kuchar. “That was thoughtful of him to hit his ball just behind mine. I appreciated that,â€� said Mickelson, who put a new grip on his putter this week. … Rookie J.T. Poston hit 15 of 18 greens en route to his 65. “This is honestly one of the first rounds I feel like my ball-striking was the way it can be and should be,â€� said Poston, who – like Kraft – has a co-lead for the first time at a TOUR event. … Scott Brown was 6 under through 17 holes and had the solo lead. But after finding the fairway with his drive at 18, his approach landed in the greenside bunker – he said the wind changed on him mid-swing — and it took two shots to get out. The double bogey left him with a 66. “Unfortunately that’s kind of what happens in this game,â€� Brown said. “Won’t be the last, but hopefully not one for awhile.â€�… G-Mac said he planned to visit the Hogan Room in the Colonial clubhouse and check out the memorabilia of the club’s most famous member. “I was a big Hogan fan; read his biographies,â€� McDowell said. “It’s tough not to be pretty intrigued by the man.â€� SHOT OF THE DAY BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

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