First PGA player tests positive for coronavirus

FORT WORTH, Texas — This has been a good week in North Texas for Scott Stallings, first qualifying for the U.S. Open that will be played less than an hour from where he was born and now sharing the lead at Colonial with top-ranked Scottie Scheffler and Beau Hossler. Stallings shot a 6-under 64 without a bogey on a relatively calm Friday at Hogan’s Alley. That put the Massachusetts-born and 206th-ranked player in the world at 9-under 131 along with with Dallas-area resident Scheffler and former University of Texas player Hossler, who both had bogey-free 65s. Scheffler, in one of the last groups of the day after Stallings and Hossler played in the morning wave, tied them with a 14-foot birdie putt at the par-4 17th and saved par at No. 18 after his final drive went left into the rough. “I think I needed to put up a good score with the wind being real low and the greens being not crazy firm,” said Scheffler, without a bogey so far this week. “Yeah, I love that stat. It’s a lot of fun. … I kept the stress off myself for the most part.” It was calm pretty much throughout the day Friday. But hot and breezy conditions are expected for the weekend rounds at the Charles Schwab Challenge, with gusts around 30 mph and temperatures in the mid- to upper-90s in the forecast. Scheffler and Hossler were among the Colonial-record eight players to share the 18-hole lead at 66. Stallings began the second round as one of the seven others within a stroke of that. Patrick Reed matched his opening 66 with another and was alone in fourth place at 8-under 132. Pat Perez (66) and Chris Kirk (67), the 2015 Colonial champion who hasn’t won on the PGA TOUR since, were 7 under. After missing the cut at last week’s PGA Championship like Scheffler did, the 37-year-old Stallings came to the Dallas area to play in a 36-hole qualifier Monday for the U.S. Open next month in Brookline, Massachusetts. He shot 8 under and placed 11th to get into his third U.S. Open and 12th major overall. “That was a huge goal, probably the biggest goal I had of the year, is to play the Open up there,” Stallings said Friday. “Probably the only time in my career I’ll have an opportunity to play a major championship in New England where at least half my family lives, my sister lives just down the road.” Stallings had eight birdies and five bogeys in his first round at Colonial. There were no bogeys on Friday, and no birdies until four in the middle of the round — at Nos. 8, 9, 11 and 12. The three-time PGA TOUR winner added another at No. 14, then finished by rolling in a 28-foot birdie putt. Having the momentum of qualifying for the U.S. Open “carry over into the week was nice to see, and take advantage of a day that we definitely haven’t seen very often here,” said Stallings, who was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, but now lives in Tennessee, where he went to school at Tennessee Tech. Jordan Spieth, another local favorite and No. 9 in the world, shot 66. He birdied his first two holes and had a 35-foot birdie putt when finishing on the ninth hole. Spieth was tied for 12th at 5 under. The 2016 Colonial winner, Spieth was the runner-up at Hogan’s Alley for the third time last year, when he led after each of the first three rounds before falling in a final-group showdown with Jason Kokrak the last day. Kokrak is even par through two rounds this year. Fifth-ranked Justin Thomas missed the cut at 3 over a week after winning the PGA Championship for the second time. His 72 on Friday included going 6 over over a four-hole stretch midway through the round — bogeys at No. 7, 8 and 10, and triple-bogey 7 at No. 9 without going in the water. It is the second year in a row the PGA winner played the following week at Colonial missed the cut. Last year it was Phil Mickelson. Hossler, in his 136th PGA TOUR event and still looking for his first victory, had a more steady second round after the exciting finish Thursday, when he had two eagle 2s his last four holes, though both hole-outs came immediately after bogeys. “Certainly, yesterday was more of an up-and-down round. Today felt frankly, never really stress-free, but as stress-free as it’s going to get,” Hossler said. “It felt like I was in play. I never was that out of position.” Nick Taylor, ranked 244th in the world, took the solo lead for the second day in a row. The Canadian dropped into a share of the first-round lead with a bogey on his final hole, and Friday shot 6-over 41 on his final nine holes after five birdies in his first nine holes to make his turn at 9 under.

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Will Zalatoris has withdrawn from the TOUR Championship with two herniated discs in his back. Zalatoris had previously withdrawn from last week’s BMW Championship during the third round. He tweaked his back on the third hole Saturday and attempted to play through the injury, but after vigorous stretching and attempted manipulations, he withdrew after the fourth hole. He was just four strokes off the lead at the time. The 26-year-old entered the TOUR Championship at No. 3 on the FedExCup, set to begin three strokes behind Scottie Scheffler in the Starting Strokes format. Zalatoris will also miss the Presidents Cup next month as he rehabilitates and recovers. Zalatoris’ agent Allen Hobbs released the following statement Tuesday: “After Will’s withdrawal from the BMW Championship on Saturday, his medical team determined that the source of his back pain is two herniated discs. Unfortunately, this means that Will is unable to play this week at the TOUR Championship. He is also very disappointed that he will not have the opportunity to play in next month’s Presidents Cup, where he was hoping to play for Captain Love and represent the United States. Will would like to thank his fans, sponsors, the TOUR, and his team for all of their support. He is fully focused on getting healthy and back onto the course as soon as he is able.” If all 29 players complete 72 holes at East Lake, Zalatoris will finish No. 30 on the FedExCup. The 30th position will receive $500,000 in FedExCup bonus money. No other player’s Starting Strokes will be impacted by Zalatoris’ WD.

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If you play PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO, don’t expect much movement this week. With no cut at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, each of the 73 golfers in the field will hang up a number in every round. So, if you’re chasing, consider injecting as many as four second-tier selections to maximize the possibilities to slingshot (assuming your pacesetter goes chalk). And because there’s no cut, there’s value in holstering starts for the superstars. Also keep in mind that the last two tournaments of Segment 4 (and the 2017-18 season) also do not feature a cut. As a result, your target shifts to being in position to withhold a lead or at least reach out and touch it by the conclusion of the Dell Technologies Championship. We all then roll with the punches of the BMW Championship and TOUR Championship. Unlike the first three majors, next week’s PGA Championship will use ShotLink. The first 154 qualifiers are listed on this dedicated page. The last two exemptions will go to the winners at Firestone and the Barracuda Championship. The first two alternates are Jason Kokrak and Chris Kirk, respectively. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO My roster for the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational (in alphabetical order): Paul Casey Rory McIlroy Jon Rahm Justin Rose Xander Schauffele Tiger Woods You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. Others to consider for each category (in alphabetical order): Scoring: Jason Day; Tommy Fleetwood; Rickie Fowler; Dustin Johnson; Zach Johnson; Brooks Koepka; Alex Noren; Patrick Reed; Justin Thomas Driving: Jason Day; Tommy Fleetwood; Rickie Fowler; Dustin Johnson; Hideki Matsuyama; Alex Noren; Adam Scott; Brendan Steele; Bubba Watson Approach: Rickie Fowler; Dustin Johnson; Zach Johnson; Russell Knox; Matt Kuchar; Andrew Landry; Jordan Spieth Short: Austin Cook; Jason Day; Tyrrell Hatton; Dustin Johnson; Matt Kuchar; Alex Noren; Webb Simpson; Justin Thomas Power Rankings Wild Card Patrick Reed … He’s done nothing wrong to get snubbed from the Power Rankings. Consider him an extension in a terrific field. Opened his Firestone career with a T4 in 2014 and T15 in 2015. Winning the Masters this year was a career-defining experience that he’ll likely enjoy again in some capacity. He’s been solid since, too, with four top 10s, including a T9 in Germany on Sunday. If there’s a knock, he puts too much pressure on his short game, but he’s still 23rd on TOUR in strokes gained: tee-to-green. That’s as much of a quantifier of his confidence as anything. Draws Webb Simpson … First appearance since a T25 in 2015. There’s nothing not to love no matter your angle. In addition to his victory at THE PLAYERS, he’s hung up a top 10 and another two top 20s in the majors thus far. It also can’t go overstated just how strong he’s been with his putting. Patrick Cantlay … Like Tony Finau, Cantlay is finally making his debut in this tournament, the last of the four WGCs for both. Cantlay’s tee-to-green strength should yield numerous opportunities to score. However, as frequent he is in amassing scoring chances, his precision on approach needs to be tighter on large targets. Matt Kuchar … Gasp! A Power Rankings sans the Kooch?! On track record alone, he belongs with the 20 featured, but his relatively massive inconsistency demands pause. So, in reaction to what we do with three missed cuts in his last four starts, remain patient and give him the opportunity to put four rounds together because they’re guaranteed this week. It’s a rare win for course history buffs. Alex Noren … Wholly expected to establish a career-best finish in his fourth appearance. Last year’s T28 was his first top 50, and it was his first trip in six years. Winner recently in Paris and six straight top 25s upon arrival. Pays off above-average tee-to-green work with phenomenal putting. Tyrrell Hatton … The Brit has performed exceptionally in the WGCs, so he’s comfortable on this stage. Work him into any lineup. Kiradech Aphibarnrat (DFS) Branden Grace (DFS) Charley Hoffman (all) Kevin Na (DFS) Louis Oosthuizen (all) Ian Poulter (DFS) Charl Schwartzel (all) Fades Phil Mickelson … His headline-filled summer is one thing, but a middling recent history at Firestone is more concerning. Since concluding a T15 in the 2014 edition with a 62, he’s signed for only two red numbers after 12 rounds and has averaged 71.42 on the course. Henrik Stenson … He’s a bit of a freak in how well he continues to perform amid injury. You’d never accuse him of hard-selling the maladies to lower expectations, but the results don’t help in ruling that out, either. When he cited the elbow injury in advance of The Open Championship and that he was far from 100 percent, gamers appreciated the alert. He finished T35 with pedestrian execution tee to green. If he finishes T35 at Firestone, it’ll be disappointing given his cachet and a sparkling record on the course. Kevin Kisner … He fooled us. So much for the promise at Carnoustie where he had a piece of the lead after every round before settling for a T2. Marc Leishman … This is entirely relative given his up-and-down summer and just one top-30 finish in five previous appearances. Firestone could serve as the kind of layout that could showcase his all-around game – as TPC Potomac at Avenel did for his T13 – but we can’t ignore the recent regression to inconsistency overall. Sergio Garcia … As I first mentioned in the Facebook Live show on the Tuesday before the RBC Canadian Open, the narrative has evolved into wondering how he’s going to total 15 starts to retain voting privileges and TOUR membership. This week’s WGC is start No. 13. The PGA Championship will be his 14th. The Wyndham Championship would get him to the minimum, but he hasn’t showed at Sedgefield since his title defense in 2013. And at 132nd in the FedExCup standings, even with the guarantee to contribute to his total at Firestone, he’s not yet a lock for the Playoffs. Daniel Berger Rafa Cabrera Bello Bryson DeChambeau Ross Fisher Brian Harman Si Woo Kim Patton Kizzire Luke List Pat Perez Shubhankar Sharma Cameron Smith Kyle Stanley Brandon Stone Gary Woodland Returning to Competition None. Notable WDs Beau Hossler … The wunderkind has been shuffling his schedule the last few weeks. He withdrew early from last week’s RBC Canadian Open as well, but this will happen to a first-time member who gains late entry into The Open Championship and PGA Championship as he has. Sittin’ pretty at 33rd in the FedExCup standings. Nick Watney … Eked into the field for next week’s PGA Championship, so he’s opted to rest and prep. Abraham Ancer … With a solo fifth at Glen Abbey, he rose to 79th in the FedExCup standings. Headed to the Playoffs for the first time. Tyler Duncan … Finally taking a break after eight straight starts. He’s earned it as he’s connected 12 cuts made since the team event in New Orleans. At 103rd in the FedExCup, the rookie has achieved his primary goal. Grayson Murray … This would have marked his first action since the FedEx St. Jude Classic. He’s been sidelined by a sore shoulder. At 108th in the FedExCup standings and fully exempt for next season, the only objective right now is to heal. Bronson Burgoon … Thanks in large part to a T6 at the Quicken Loans National and a T2 at the John Deere Classic, he’s positioned comfortably at 106th in FedExCup points and poised to make his Playoffs debut. Perhaps fully exempt status north of the reshuffle category next season will improve his cuts-made ratio. In two seasons, he’s just 25-for-48. D.A. Points … It’s been a season to forget for the 41-year-old. Just 5-for-24 and 212nd in the FedExCup. However, he’s fully exempt for 2018-19 by virtue of his title at the 2017 Puerto Rico Open. Doc Redman … It’s not often when a non-member in any field on a sponsor exemption withdraws after the commitment deadline, but he’s competing at the Web.com Tour’s KC Golf Classic instead. Last week’s T21 at the Price Cutter Charity Championship yielded this week’s top-25 exemption in Overland Park, Kansas. At 170th in Web earnings, he’s about $50K outside the top-75 bubble to qualify for the Finals. Power Rankings Recap – RBC Canadian Open Power Ranking  Golfer  Result 1  Dustin Johnson  Win 2  Tony Finau  T37 3  Charley Hoffman  T29 4  Brooks Koepka  MC 5  Kevin Kisner  MC 6  Brandt Snedeker  T8 7  Joaquin Niemann  T37 8  Matt Kuchar  MC 9  Ian Poulter  T12 10  Harold Varner III  T17 11  Tommy Fleetwood  T6 12  Bubba Watson  MC 13  Joel Dahmen  T8 14  Jhonattan Vegas  T29 15  Sam Ryder  78th Wild Card  Billy Horschel  MC Sleepers Recap – RBC Canadian Open Golfer  Result Cameron Champ  MC Austin Connelly  MC Martin Laird  MC Keith Mitchell  T65 Steve Wheatcroft  T71 Birthdays among active golfers on the PGA TOUR July 31 … none August 1 … none August 2 … Jonathan Kaye (48); Brian Davis (44) August 3 … Omar Uresti (50) August 4 … Dudley Hart (50) August 5 … Patrick Reed (28) August 6 … none

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