Golf in these times: California

DALLAS – Trinity Forest members Jordan Spieth and Tony Romo – two of the biggest sports names in Dallas — are seeking progress in their golf games. After two rounds of the AT&T Byron Nelson, each walked away feeling positive steps were made. Only one, however, advanced to the weekend. Spieth, the 11-time PGA TOUR winner, followed his opening 68 with a 4-under 67, leaving him at 7 under through 36 holes. The good news is that just a handful of players are higher up on the leaderboard. The bad news is that leader Sung Kang is 11 strokes ahead of him. “Very pleased,â€� Spieth said after his round. “I felt like I improved on yesterday, which was already a solid day. .. In a position to fire away a little bit on the weekend.â€� Romo, the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback-turned-NFL-analyst, followed his opening 76 with 3-over 74. That left him at 8 over and near the bottom of the leaderboard but given that he’s the only amateur in the field and currently known for his predictions more than his pars, it was a good step. Of his four nines, he played two of them in even par, including his opening nine (he started on the 10th hole) Friday. Asked what his takeaway was in his third start at a PGA TOUR event (and his first in Dallas), Romo – who played on a sponsor exemption this week — replied: “Really just the ability to continue to improve. I think more than anything, I got a sense to be able to hit a lot of high quality shots under what is a pressure situation for me. “That’s encouraging and shows that the work you’re doing holds up when it counts and from there, you just got to find the little things that allow you to keep things going and not derail the round … technique-wise, we’re coming on.â€� Spieth’s first two rounds are his most consistent start since the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, when he opened with 66-68. But on the weekend at Pebble Beach Golf Links, he faded away, shooting 74-75. That’s been a common occurrence this season for Spieth. He ranks T-38th on TOUR in first-round scoring average and third in second-round average. But in third-round average, he ranks T-202nd, and his final-round scoring average ranks 207th. Related: Tee times | In cold weather, Kang produces hot round | A chip-in eagle – and then reality – for Romo | Nine holes blind, but Koepka still walks away with a 65 at Trinity Forest | Leishman withdraws with back injury | Origin story: Arm-lock putting Staying in contention and carrying over his good play into the weekend will be a good sign for Spieth, who has yet to produce a top-20 finish in his first 12 starts this season. “The idea is to try to get better each day,â€� Spieth said. “Sometimes the score reflects that, sometimes it doesn’t. This year, even if I’ve had a poor weekend, I felt like I found something to make me better long-term. … Oftentimes it’s looked at as negative or down, but I don’t see it that way. “I know what I’m supposed to be doing, I know what I’m supposed to be working on and I know over the course of a long career, that whether it’s short-term results or not, it doesn’t matter. It will bring better long-term results.â€� One thing Spieth definitely would like to avoid is a double bogey. He’s had one in each of his first two rounds, which has eaten away at the 14 birdies he’s made thus far. “I’d like to play a bogey-free round here or there and really get something going,â€� he said. “Clearly everybody would like that.â€� As for Romo, well, he will continue to work on his game, try to qualify for the U.S. Open and put himself in competitive situations that test his consistency. He was pleased with the way he struck the ball at times the first two days. “This game is small when it comes to your ability to improve from even one day to the next or one week or one month,â€� Romo said. “You can really make a ton of improvement with the right technique or practice.â€� He did get some golf tips from Nick Faldo, who – like Romo – works at CBS. “I think he knows a little bit about the golf swing,â€� Romo said. “I think we may listen to him a little bit. He’s got some good bits.â€�

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Scottie Scheffler’s pursuit of a second major championship is off to a strong start. The Masters champion recently shot 64 in a practice round at Tulsa’s Southern Hills Country Club, which will host next week’s PGA Championship. It’s a course where Scheffler has been victorious before, having won the 2015 Big 12 Conference Championship at the historic Perry Maxwell design that has undergone a dramatic renovation by Gil Hanse. Scheffler, who holds a sizable lead in the FedExCup after winning four of his last six individual starts, made the trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma, with his Zurich Classic of New Orleans partner, Ryan Palmer, to get a sneak peek at the new-look layout. Scheffler shot an “easy” 64 in last Thursday’s practice round, according to Southern Hills assistant pro Cameron Chhim, who caddied for Scheffler. “He played one ball the entire time, no practice putts, and made it look easy,” Chhim told Golf Oklahoma. “He’s No. 1 in the world and it was pretty easy to see why. It would be hard to say that he’s not going to win (the PGA) or at least be in contention. He hits it far enough and he has just incredible distance control with his irons. Ryan (Palmer) shot 2 or 3 under and looked like he was standing still based on how Scottie was playing.” Chhim said Scheffler’s round included six back-nine birdies. Scheffler, who is trying to become the first player since fellow Dallas resident Jordan Spieth (2015) to win the year’s first two majors, has said Southern Hills is one of his favorite courses, and it’s easy to see why. “His proximity on most was 6 to 8 feet,” Chhim added about the somewhat waterlogged round. “The greens weren’t slow, but they were wet. His speed control was good and just took the break out of a lot of them. He looked like he was converting them easily.” Chhim said Scheffler shot 1 under on the front nine before a rain delay. Then he ran off birdies on Nos. 10-13, 15 and 17. Scheffler is playing the AT&T Byron Nelson this week in his hometown of Dallas. The tournament was the site of Scheffler’s PGA TOUR debut eight years ago, as he made a hole-in-one and finished T22 while still in high school.

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