Garcia out in front by 1 in Andalucia

Who will prevail in the final round of the Genesis Open? Check out the latest from our crew on the grounds.

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HAYWARD, Calif. — Stephen Curry missed the cut Friday night against professional golfers on the Web.com Tour. But not before leaving some of golf’s best players impressed that a two-time MVP for the Golden State Warriors could enter their arena and look respectable. Curry opened with a 4-over 74 on the TPC Stonebrae and needed a career round to stay for the weekend. He shot a 74 again on Friday to finish tied for 148th. He missed the cut by 11 shots. Curry bogeyed two of the first three holes on Friday and shot a 39 on his opening nine. He made five straight pars and birdied No. 14 before playing the final three holes at 1-over with two bogeys and a birdie on 17. No matter. “That was awesome what he did yesterday,” said 2015 FedExCup winner Jordan on Friday at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. “I think he certainly beat most everybody’s expectations, but I don’t think that really surprised him. It was pretty cool — really cool — to see. You see him fist-pumping out there, and just him talking about how nervous he was when he heard his name called, it just makes us feel a little better when sometimes some of the stuff he does looks like a robot.” Stanford alum Andrew Yun shot a 62 on Friday and finished two rounds at 8-under 127. Fellow American Brandon Harkins is two shots back after rounds of 64 and 65. One of the highlights for Curry in the opening round was a long birdie putt and telling his caddie to “Go get that” from the cup. That was the famous line Spieth said to his caddie at Royal Birkdale two weeks ago after a 50-foot eagle putt to take the lead. “To be honest, I think it’s pretty special for a two-time MVP to be able to shoot 74 at a pro event and beat other pros,” former PGA champion Jason Day said. No one expected very much out of Curry, who last year played in the pro-am at the PGA TOUR’s season opener in Napa, California. The field included players who have competed in majors this year, and seven players who have won on the PGA TOUR. The question in some corners was how high his score would be. “I was asked if I thought he was going to break 80, and that’s the hand grenade question,” Paul Casey said. “But 4 over is really good. It’s a lot of pressure, and he exceeded my expectations.” Zach Johnson, a two-time major champion, said he has a friend who knows Curry and said he was a good player. The score in the first round was enough to make a believer out of Johnson. “Clearly, he is,” Johnson said. “I don’t know that golf course. Someone said they shoot pretty low there often, but it doesn’t matter. You’ve still got to put the ball in the hole. First round as an amateur in a professional tournament? That’s pretty good.” Johnson vaguely recalled the time Jerry Rice, the Hall of Fame receiver for the San Francisco 49ers, played in the tournament. Rice shot 90. “He’s a good athlete. They’re both good athletes,” Johnson said. “I’m not going to be playing for the 49ers.”

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RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – Bryson Nimmer made a flashy PGA TOUR debut Thursday, and it wasn’t just because of his bright pink pants. Nimmer, a senior at Clemson University, made his first start in a professional tournament Thursday and fired a 3-under-par 69. He bogeyed his final hole of the day but otherwise had a solid debut, he said. “I think I just stayed really patient,â€� said Nimmer. “I hit the ball well, but I missed a few opportunities early and I just didn’t really get mad at myself. I just kind of kept plugging, and I hit some good shots on the back (nine). Obviously didn’t end the way I wanted it to, but it was still really fun.â€� Nimmer just wrapped up a collegiate event in Puerto Rico on Tuesday where he was the co-medalist. He went straight from that tournament to the Coco Beach Golf Club for a practice round and played with former PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year Jonathan Byrd, who is the brother of Jordan Byrd – Nimmer’s assistant coach at Clemson. “He hits it so good. He still hits it amazing,â€� said Nimmer of Byrd. “He taught me a few things… showed me where some pins would be. He’s been really helpful.â€� Nimmer’s co-medalist honor this week was just another in a laundry list of accomplishments as he looks to close out his collegiate career with a bang. Nimmer began taking golf seriously as a young teenager but baseball was his first love. His father Tony never pressured Nimmer to get into golf despite the fact the elder Nimmer led Clemson’s golf team in the 1980’s. Nimmer admittedly struggled when he first picked up golf but a desire to get better fueled him to switch to golf full-time. “When I started out I wasn’t very good and it kind of made me mad. It made me want to get better,â€� said Nimmer. It didn’t take Nimmer very long to improve, and he said he didn’t feel overwhelmed making his PGA TOUR debut Thursday. He works with a sports psychologist at Clemson, and said that work came in handy.  “We just talk about trying to treat every tournament the same,â€� said Nimmer. “So that’s kind of the mindset I took, I did the same routine, the same everything, ate at the same time. I just tried to kind of make it as minimal as possible.â€� It should come as no surprise that Nimmer said his plan once school is finished is to turn professional. He said he looks at TOUR winners Jason Day – who he met earlier this year – and Kyle Stanley – a fellow Clemson Tiger – as guys whose games he tries to emulate. The pants he wore Thursday, however, were all his own. “I had these pants sitting in my closet and I’ve never really worn them,â€� said Nimmer with a smile. “So I was like, ‘What better day than the first day?’â€�

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