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HOUSTON (AP) — Jason Kokrak had reason to believe he shot himself out of the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open on the back nine Saturday morning. He played it 10 shots better when it counted Sunday afternoon, making four straight birdies for a 5-under 65 and a two-shot victory. Two shots behind with six holes to play, Kokrak delivered all the right shots to pull away from a fading Scottie Scheffler and Martin Trainer and win for the third time in the last 13 months. “Very blessed to be standing here,” Kokrak said. Kokrak couldn’t help but think back to Saturday morning, when he returned to complete the second round and went the other direction. He played seven holes in 7-over par for a 41 that left him 10 shots behind after 36 holes. What a turnaround on Sunday. Kokrak holed a 12-foot birdie putt on the 13th to get in the mix and then made a 25-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole, the toughest at Memorial Park, to get within one shot. He hit wedge on the 115-yard 15th hole with a front pin to 6 feet to tie for the lead. He had enough mud on his golf ball from rain earlier in the week that he chose to lay up on the par-5 16th, even though he could have reached with a mid-iron. Kokrak hit wedge to 5 feet for a fourth straight birdie. By then, he was on his way and finished at 10-under 270. Scheffler, going after his first PGA TOUR victory, had a two-shot lead when he made the turn. He didn’t hit a green in regulation until the 15th, making three soft bogeys that left him too far behind to make a late run. Scheffler had a long two-putt birdie on the 16th to get within three shots and nearly drove the green on the par-4 17th, only to hit a pedestrian chip and fail to make birdie. He birdied the final hole for a 69 and tied for second with Kevin Tway (68). Trainer, who made only his ninth cut in 71 starts since his victory in the 2019 Puerto Rico Open, took the lead on the 11th hole by rolling in a 70-foot birdie across the green, and then he calmly saved par with an 8-foot putt. But he couldn’t make up ground on the some of the scoring holes, took a bogey on the 14th and then fell back for good with bogeys on his last two holes for a 70. Matthew Wolff was among six players who had at least a share of the lead in opening hour, courtesy of five players being within one shot of Scheffler to start the final round. He fell back with bogeys, and then made a hole-in-one with a 9-iron on the par-3 ninth to get back into the mix, but only briefly. Kokrak went 232 starts on the PGA TOUR before his first victory, and now has three in his last 27 starts dating to THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK north of Las Vegas a year ago in October. He also won at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, in the spring. He moves to No. 7 in the FedExCup standings and No. 22 in the world ranking. He shot 41 on the back nine to complete his second round Saturday morning, when it was cold and “I really didn’t have my best stuff.” Kokrak was bogey-free and shot 31 on Sunday afternoon. “I made some putts,” he said. “That’s what kept me in it.”

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The FedExCup Playoffs present a unique tradeoff as compared to all other events; that is, a participant can go winless and still be crowned champion. The odds are stacked against that scenario, and it would still require a dynamite season leading up to the Playoffs to make it possible, but points leader Jordan Spieth is halfway there with a pair of runner-up finishes. If it happens, you wouldn’t say that any of the winners of the four tournaments in the Playoffs were more or less confident throughout, but it might be tough for Spieth to associate the value of the crown in the absence of a trophy during the series. Whatever happens, it’s compelling theater with bonus drama for the permutations geeks, myself included. Jason Day recorded a wire-to-wire victory at the 2015 BMW Championship at Conway Farms. Like Spieth this week, the Aussie strutted in as the No. 1 in the FedExCup standings. Day then put on a clinic as his splits illustrate below. Two years prior, Zach Johnson overcame Jim Furyk (and a 59) with the kind of laser show on approach with which he’s been synonymous throughout his career. Not dissimilar to how St. Andrews provided a level playing field for the diversified attacks of Johnson and Day in the 2015 Open Championship (when ZJ prevailed in a playoff and Day finished one stroke back), Conway Farms caters to all styles. However, the winner will have executed masterfully in multiple areas of his game. In other words, while the low aggregate projects to be double digits under par, don’t expect a putting contest to break out. With no cut and the probability of low rounds, we’re compelled to invest in scoring statistics. The 2015 field averaged 4.05 par breakers per 11.93 greens in regulation, a ratio that supports the angle. NOTE: Golfers inside the top 20 in each statistic in the FedExCup Playoffs are listed only if they are scheduled to compete in the BMW Championship. * – Finished inside the top 10 at the BMW Championship in 2013 and/or 2015. Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green Rank  Golfer 1  *Dustin Johnson 2  Jordan Spieth 3  Justin Thomas 4  Justin Rose 5  Patrick Cantlay 6  Paul Casey 7  Hudson Swafford 8  Stewart Cink 10  Patrick Reed 11  Marc Leishman 12  Kevin Chappell 13  *Kevin Na 14  *Jason Day 15  Jon Rahm 16  Emiliano Grillo 17  *Charl Schwartzel 18  *Hideki Matsuyama 20  Russell Henley Greens in Regulation Rank  Golfer 1  Patrick Cantlay 3  Marc Leishman 4  Jordan Spieth T5  *Dustin Johnson T5  Gary Woodland 8  Luke List 9  Keegan Bradley 10  Paul Casey T11  Stewart Cink T11  Sergio Garcia T11  *Hideki Matsuyama T11  *Henrik Stenson 16  Louis Oosthuizen 17  Hudson Swafford 18  Brendan Steele T19  *Jason Day T19  *Rickie Fowler T19  Emiliano Grillo T19  Justin Rose Putting: Birdie-or-Better Percentage Rank  Golfer 2  Jordan Spieth 3  Jon Rahm 4  Justin Thomas 5  Kyle Stanley 6  Paul Casey 7  Brooks Koepka 8  *Jason Day 9  Justin Rose T10  *Kevin Na 12  Grayson Murray 13  Sergio Garcia 14  Kevin Chappell 15  Jason Dufner 17  Marc Leishman 18  *Rickie Fowler 19  *Dustin Johnson 20  Robert Streb Scrambling Rank  Golfer 1  Justin Thomas 2  *Daniel Berger 3  Patrick Cantlay 4  Webb Simpson 5  Patrick Reed 7  *Dustin Johnson 9  Jon Rahm 10  Bill Haas 11  Adam Hadwin 12  Rafa Cabrera Bello 14  Phil Mickelson 16  Ian Poulter T17  Lucas Glover 19  Jhonattan Vegas 20  Pat Perez Forty-two golfers in this week’s field of 70 completed 72 holes at Conway Farms in at least one of the previous two editions. Of that subset, 23 are prepping for their third appearance. Not surprisingly, only two in my Power Rankings – Jon Rahm (No. 7) and Patrick Cantlay (No. 14) – are first-timers. That’s because both are making their debuts in the FedExCup Playoffs this season. Finishes of those in this week’s field at the 2013 BMW Championship Sorted by finish (players in bold appeared in both 2013 and 2015) Win: Zach Johnson T4: Jason Day T8: Charl Schwartzel T11: Ryan Moore T16: Keegan Bradley; Jordan Spieth T18: Sergio Garcia; Billy Horschel; Gary Woodland T24: Matt Kuchar; Webb Simpson T28: Bill Haas T33: Phil Mickelson; Justin Rose; Henrik Stenson T39: Rickie Fowler; Russell Henley; Charles Howell III; Marc Leishman T44: Ian Poulter T54: Jason Dufner T59: Rory McIlroy; Patrick Reed 61st: Brendan Steele T62: Kevin Chappell; Dustin Johnson 68th: Charley Hoffman Finishes of those in this week’s field at the 2015 BMW Championship Sorted by finish (players in bold appeared in both 2013 and 2015) Win: Jason Day 2nd: Daniel Berger T4: Rickie Fowler; Rory McIlroy T7: Dustin Johnson; Hideki Matsuyama T10: Kevin Na; Henrik Stenson T13: Zach Johnson; Justin Rose; Jordan Spieth; Brendan Steele; Justin Thomas T19: Bill Haas; Louis Oosthuizen T23: Paul Casey; Kevin Chappell; Robert Streb T28: Keegan Bradley; Ryan Moore; Patrick Reed T32: James Hahn; Billy Horschel; Phil Mickelson T39: Sergio Garcia T41: Kevin Kisner; Matt Kuchar; Pat Perez T47: Tony Finau; Danny Lee T49: Russell Henley; Brooks Koepka T53: Brian Harman; Charley Hoffman; Sean O’Hair; Ian Poulter T60: Gary Woodland T64: Webb Simpson

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Notes and observations from the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Classic, where Matt Every took the lead among the early finishers with a 6-under-par 64, and Scott Brown, Stewart Cink and Colombian Web.com Tour graduate Sebastian Munoz matched him in the afternoon. Charl Schwartzel, making his first start here since 2010, and Australian Matt Jones got around in 65 and were one back. For more coverage from TPC Southwind, click here for the Daily Wrap-up. EVERY LOOKS TO RALLY The winner of the 2014 and 2015 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, Matt Every came into this week 206th in driving accuracy (43.23 percebt) and 223rd in FedExCup points. He had missed 17 cuts in 21 starts, withdrawn twice, and made $33,091. Then came Thursday, when he hit 10 of 14 fairways, and 11 of 18 greens in regulation. He also took just 24 strokes on the greens, making 124 feet, 2 inches worth of putts.  The biggest difference, he said: no more issues with the driver. “I drove it really well today,â€� said Every, 33. “So I’ll just kind of ride that into my next couple days.â€� Still, even after shooting his best score this season by five shots, and just his fourth round in the 60s in what has been a trying year, he didn’t want to look too far ahead. “I haven’t played well in a couple years,â€� he said, “and I’ve been out here for like seven or eight, so I kind of know the drill. Like, one round is not that big a deal. It’s nice to play well, but yeah, they don’t hand out trophies after the first round.â€� SCOTT: NEW SCHEDULE IS WORKING Adam Scott shot a 1-over 71 in his first round at the FedEx St. Jude Classic since 2007. All in all, it was not a particularly memorable accomplishment for the 13-time PGA TOUR winner, who struggled on the greens and racked up an unhelpful 30 putts. Still, Scott said his new scheduling wrinkle this year has paid dividends. Rather than take the week off prior to the majors, he decided to play, which is why he’s here. “I’ve set my practice schedules and my playing schedules all around majors a little different this year, and my plan is to play my way into form,â€� said Scott, 36. “It kind of has given me some good results at the Masters and TPC so far, so hopefully again a good week here, the confidence goes up and go tackle the U.S. Open next week.â€� Since 1934, just 11 players have won on TOUR and then won a major the following week, among them Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson. But not Scott. With his new scheduling wrinkle this year, he finished T9 at the Masters, and T6 at THE PLAYERS Championship. As for his putting at TPC Southwind on Thursday, he planned to spend some time on the practice green. “No wind, pretty soft, good scores are out there,â€� Scott said. “… It was good scoring out there this morning. I just didn’t make any putts, which is disappointing.â€� THORNBERRY LIVING LARGE Amateur Braden Thornberry, 20, saw plenty of familiar faces in his gallery Thursday. He is from Olive Branch, Miss., which is only about a 45-minute drive southeast of TPC Southwind, and if he didn’t exactly light up the course with a 1-over 71, that was fine. The newly minted NCAA individual champion and Haskins Award winner, he’s done more than enough lately. “It was cool,â€� he said of his first TOUR start. “It was pretty much what I was expecting. A little less nerves off the first than I was expecting. Hit that one down the fairway and kind of went from there, so actually it went pretty well.â€� He made two birdies and no bogeys on the first nine holes of his TOUR career, but struggled with three bogeys on his second. The first Ole Miss Rebel to win the NCAA title, Thornberry tied the school record with seven wins in his sophomore season. Still, there’s college golf and then there’s TOUR golf, and on Thursday he found himself sneaking looks at the stars he grew up watching on TV. “Phil was on No. 2,â€� he said, “and I saw the crowd following him so I wanted to watch him hit a shot or two, so that’s still pretty cool. But trying to stay in my own lane.â€� FEDEX ST. JUDE A MALNATI MAJOR Knoxville resident Peter Malnati admits the FedEx St. Jude may be about as close as he gets to a hometown tournament on the PGA TOUR. And while 32 players in this week’s field have qualified for next week’s U.S. Open at Erin Hills, not so for Malnati. So when Malnati opened his tournament with a double-bogey 6 at the 468-yard 10th hole, where he advanced his second shot, from the right rough, just 26 feet, and later missed a 3 ½-foot bogey putt, he wasn’t about to give up. He made no bogeys and five birdies the rest of the way for a 67, a solid start in his bid to improve his FedExCup number from 186. “I’ve told everyone that kind of where I am in my career, every PGA TOUR event feels like a major to me,â€� said Malnati, who won last year’s Sanderson Farms Championship but has yet to find his form this season, his best being a T27 at the Sony Open of Hawaii. “How many majors have you played? Well, they all feel like a major to me,â€� Malnati continued. “This is my home-state event so it definitely has a little extra kick and it’s fun to see people out. There’s some familiar faces, just people that I’ve known growing up and playing amateur events here in the area, so it’s really cool.â€� ODDS AND ENDS Munoz, 24, would have been in the lead alone had he converted a 10-foot birdie putt on 18. At 197th in the FedExCup, the Bogota native’s 64 was surprising, but he specializes in surprises. The former University of North Texas golfer needed a sponsor’s exemption to get into the Web.com Tour’s Club Colombia Championship Presented by Claro last season—and won. He finished 22nd on the regular season Web.com Tour money list to earn his TOUR card. … Stewart Cink is 60th in the FedExCup race and punched his ticket to the U.S. Open at the 36-hole sectional qualifying Monday. Tired? Nah. Cink, 44, made nine birdies at TPC Southwind on Thursday. One of the keys, he said, has been putting coach Craig Welty, with whom he has been working for about a year. “The thing that was missing though was the exceptional rounds weren’t there before, and now I’m getting a few rounds every now and then like today where it was really rolling,â€� Cink said. He made nearly 120 feet of putts. … Phil Mickelson, who has three top-three finishes in his last four starts in Memphis but has never won the FedEx St. Jude Classic, was frustrated with his play after hitting just five of 14 fairways on the way to a 1-under 71. “This is a successful day in the sense that it’s a round that I could have easily shot 3, 4, 5 over, but I got it under par,â€� he said. … Rickie Fowler, who was coming off a T2 at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, got off to a disastrous start. Beginning his round on the back nine, he made a double-bogey 6 at the 13th hole and a triple-bogey 7 at the 15th on the way to a 4-over 74. He hit just six of 14 fairways and has work to do just to make the cut. … CALL OF THE DAY SHOT OF THE DAY BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

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