Fowler’s key to success? Playing with MJ

FORT WORTH, Texas — Beau Hossler earned a share of the lead Thursday while almost no one watched. He kept it Friday in front of thousands. Hossler shot 9-under 66-65 at the Charles Schwab Challenge on two wildly different days at Colonial Country Club. His first round included eagles on two par-4 holes, both of them so late in the day that nearly everyone had vacated the property. His second round was an easier quest — five birdies, no bogeys, barely a sweat on his visored brow — down fairways lined with plentiful spectators getting a head start on the holiday weekend. And that’s exactly what Hossler got, too. He and Scott Stallings took the early lead of the $8.4-million tournament, one of the oldest on the PGA TOUR. “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. Yesterday I was kind of grinding more.” Through 36 holes, Hossler gained more than nine strokes on the field in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green, and nearly six in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green. He ranked first in both categories. He ranked second in scrambling, converting 10 of 11 attempts in the first two rounds. With considerable wind in the forecast for Saturday, Hossler said he hoped his experience at Colonial — the former University of Texas Longhorn estimated he’d played the course more than 20 times since moving to Texas from California — would help his campaign to win for the first time in his five years on the TOUR. In fact, Hossler said, he welcomed menacing conditions. “To be honest, from my perspective, the harder the golf course plays, I think it favors me,” he said. “I’ve never been a player that thrives on shooting 30-under par in a tournament.” Hossler has made two cuts in four starts at the Charles Schwab. His best finish was a tie for 40th in 2019. His current season includes a third-place finish at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and two Top 10s, the most recent at the Valero Texas Open. Hossler had his chances last month in San Antonio, but shot even-par 72 in the final round. He finished in a tie for fourth. May is a different month. Colonial is a different course. “Hopefully it plays difficult,” Hossler said, “and smart strategy and good commitment and good execution is what will come out on top.”

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ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. - Camilo Villegas was dressed in all white on Friday. The only dash of color on his outfit was the rainbow ribbon attached to his hat. That rainbow has been there for months, as a tribute to his late daughter, Mia. RELATED: How the Villegas family has kept their daughter’s memory alive She loved rainbows. Villegas saw one while warming up for the first round of this week's The RSM Classic. "I start thinking about Mia and said, ‘Hey, let’s have a good one,'" he said Thursday. He has. Villegas is in second place, just two shots off the lead, at the tournament's halfway point. The four-time TOUR winner set a personal best with his 12-under 130 (64-66). Villegas is the sentimental favorite this week. How could he not be? A win so soon after an unspeakable tragedy would be an inspiration in the midst of this trying year. Only Robert Streb, who won his lone PGA TOUR title here in 2014, is ahead of Villegas on the leaderboard. "I’m not entirely sure how they cope with it," Streb said. "Obviously it’s horrible and don’t wish that upon anybody, but pretty amazing how well he’s playing." Mia was 22 months old when she passed away in July from cancer. Villegas has displayed incredible strength by simply competing on the PGA TOUR, let alone contending. While many may wonder how he can do it, Villegas wonders what other options he has. He was taken aback when asked what the hardest part about the next 48 hours would be. "I don’t know why you’d be thinking about what’s tough. We do this for a living," Villegas said. "What’s different tomorrow than the other Saturdays that I play golf? It should be the same. Just see what happens." He's seeking his first top-10 in four years and his first win in six. He's competing on a medical extension because of a shoulder injury that caused him to play just once last season. A win would be one of the most emotional the TOUR has seen in a long time. Villegas is focused on the task at hand, however. While he admitted getting emotional when he mentioned Mia in Thursday's post-round interview, he said the difficulty of competing on these windswept courses on Georgia's Atlantic coast keeps his mind from wandering. "When I’m out there, I’m so focused, there’s so much going on, especially under these conditions. I’m there with my brother (Manuel, his caddie) and you just follow a process," Villegas said. Even when he rolled in an eagle putt on his final hole Friday, Villegas responded only with a quick fist bump with his brother. Villegas, who's 14th in Strokes Gained: Approach this season, has hit 15 greens in each round this week. He has just one bogey, on the par-3 11th in the second round. He's been competing at Sea Island since his amateur days and called it one of his favorite stops on TOUR. His last top-10 was a runner-up here four years ago, when he was part of a five-man playoff won by Mackenzie Hughes. The last of Villegas' four PGA TOUR victories came at the 2014 Wyndham Championship. Villegas, who was ranked in the top 10 in the world after winning two of the four FedExCup Playoffs events in 2008, is now 866th in the world. He's made two cuts in five starts this season, with a best finish of T23 at the Sanderson Farms Championship. Villegas doesn't want to think about the larger significance of a win, however. He's focused on the next 36 holes. "We’ve only played half the tournament," he said. "A lot of golf to be played. We’ll do the same thing tomorrow, come out here, try to be free and just add them up at the end of the day."

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – His playing partners asked him to touch their putters, hoping that some of the magic would rub off. They compared him to Ty Webb. An incredible performance on the greens sent Simpson into unprecedented territory at THE PLAYERS Championship. The Stadium Course may have reined him in on its most infamous hole, but he still tied the course record. Simpson shot 63 in the second round to take a five-shot lead at THE PLAYERS Championship. He put his name in the record books despite a double-bogey at the 17th hole, where an inconsistent wind and inconvenient yardage led to a ball in the water. Simpson’s 15-under 129 also tied the tournament record for low 36-hole score. Friday’s round, the lowest of the day by three shots, was so impressive that it drew the admiration of his competition. Jordan Spieth called it “amazing.â€� Justin Rose called it a “miracle round.â€� When Simpson arrived at the 17th tee late Friday afternoon, he had recorded just 19 putts (he holed two more from off the green). He was 11 under par for the day, seven shots ahead of the field, and the first person with a chance to break 60 on the Stadium Course. “I heard someone yell out, ’59!’ and I was like, ‘What is that idiot talking about?’ said Simpson’s caddie, Paul Tesori. “You don’t expect to get on runs like that on this golf course.â€� Even Pete Dye’s penal design is no match for a man with a hot putter. Simpson needed just 23 putts Friday, and he gained 4.92 strokes on the greens. Of the 10 putts he holed Friday for birdie or eagle, seven of those putts were longer than 14 feet. Three were longer than 20 feet. Only two of them were shorter than five feet, and both of those came on par-5s. “It was a lot of fun. I felt like everything was working today. Putts that I’m just trying to get close are going in. I kind of rode the momentum and kept going,â€� Simpson said. He made the turn in 5-under 31 after an eagle at the par-5 second hole – where he holed a 34-foot putt – and birdies at 5, 7 and 9. All three of his birdie putts on the front nine were longer than 10 feet. Things got silly on the second nine. He made six consecutive birdies on Nos. 11-16, holing two putts from off the green in that stretch. The second one, from long of the 15th green, caused Simpson, Tesori and his fellow competitors to laugh. The ball was running hot when it hit the back of the hole and dropped in the hole. It likely would have run 10 feet past the hole. “Tyrrell (Hatton) wanted me to touch his putter for him on 15,â€� Simpson said, “which I think is within the rules.â€� It was after this putt that Hatton made his “Caddyshackâ€� reference. “I dropped my head and Tyrrell says, ‘I told you so! It’s Chevy Chase. Na-na-na-na-na-na,â€� Tesori said. “This is the moment where I couldn’t believe this is happening.â€� Simpson’s sixth consecutive birdie came after an up-and-down from left of the green on the par-5 16th. He needed birdies on the last two holes to break 60. Nos. 17 and 18 have been the two hardest holes this week, though. Simpson wanted to hit a hard sand wedge to the island green, but the wind changed directions and started blowing into him as he stood on the tee. He knew he had to hit it hard. “So normally my miss with that club when I’m trying to smash it is left, so it was a bit of a surprise that it came out right,â€� Simpson said. The ball bounced off the bulkhead in front of the green and went into the water. “Pete Dye and the golfing gods were watching,â€� said Golf Channel commentator Nick Faldo. His colleague, Terry Gannon, said, “A lot of dreams have been dashed at that cauldron that is 17 through the years. Today is where a possible 59 went to die.â€� But it was still an incredible round. It put Simpson in control of THE PLAYERS Championship.

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