Golf-Johnson commits to U.S. Open warm-up at Congaree

Leishman ready to shed “underrated” label?

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Rickie Fowler is off to a great start in pursuit of his first major title. The 28-year-old Fowler closed out a 7-under 65 with par on the tricky No. 9 at Erin Hills. He finished his first round with seven birdies and no bogeys with six of those coming in his first 11 holes. Fowler’s opening-round 65 tied the record for the lowest round shot in relation to par in U.S. Open history. While Rickie Fowler is making Erin Hills look like something other than a brutal U.S. Open course, Dustin Johnson made it look every bit as tough as advertised. Johnson spent lots of time in the knee-high fescue in his first round as the defending U.S. Open champion. Johnson hacked out of the tall grass on 14 en route to a double-bogey, then had to step into it twice on 17, but managed to save bogey there. Johnson finished his round at 3-over par. Brian Harman, Tommy Fleetwood and Brooks Koepka each carded a 5-under 67 and are two behind Fowler’s lead in a tie for second. Patrick Reed closed his round with a birdie at the last that moved him into fifth at 4-under par. The course is playing at 7,845 yards for the first day.

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OVERVIEW After a season that left him looking for answers, sleeping giant Jordan Spieth instead got more questions in his first two starts of the 2018-19 campaign. At the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas, he opened with a 66 but struggled with a new driver and 3-wood and finished T55. The next week, making his first visit to the Riviera Maya for the Mayakoba Golf Classic, he went back to the driver/3-wood he’d played for the last five years. And he felt encouraged — in the practice rounds. Alas, when it counted, he hit just six fairways in each of the first two rounds, shot 71-69, and missed the cut. Spieth’s dizzying freefall on the greens, where he languished at 136th in Strokes Gained: Putting last season, remains a concern. By comparison, in 2015, when he won the FedExCup, he was 9th in that stat, followed by 2nd and 39th in 2016 and ’17, respectively. Largely as a result of his putting woes, Spieth went winless 2017-18, finished 31st in the FedExCup and, surprising many, including himself, missed the TOUR Championship. Granted, he’s had a lot on his mind. In addition to his equipment travails — Spieth said he would do more testing — he was also wedding-planning (longtime girlfriend Annie Verret), which included giving the boot to his housemates in Dallas, including TOUR rookie Kramer Hickok, a former teammate at Texas. Jordan and Annie were married over the Thanksgiving holidays. The home life is solid. As for golf? There’s work to be done for one of the brightest talents in the game. — By Cameron Morfit Click here to see who else made the Top 30 list. BY THE NUMBERS FEDEXCUP UPDATE Current 2018-19 position: 190th Playoff appearances: 6 TOUR Championship appearances: 5 Best FedExCup result: Won the FedExCup in the 2014-15 season SHOTLINK FUN FACT Jordan Spieth made the longest putt of the 2017-18 PGA TOUR season, rolling in a putt from 90 feet, 8 inches at the Sony Open in Hawaii. INSIDER INSIGHTS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Jordan Spieth in 2019. TOUR INSIDER: Spieth, always precocious, at times looks like he’s having a mid-life crisis at age 25. After toiling on the range at THE NORTHERN TRUST last summer, he said he was working on the wrong thing and had been wasting his time. To his credit, he knows his woes aren’t limited to the greens. Last season he was 54th in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, not bad but a far cry from 2015 (15th in that category). He was 26th in SG: Approach-the-Green after ranking 1st in that category in 2017. The stage is set for a comeback. — By Cameron Morfit FANTASY INSIDER: Maybe only once over the years have I referenced the jazz classic, “I Can’t Get Started,” but I think of it every time a headliner misfires time and again as he did throughout the 2017-18 season. The song was written and composed eight decades ago, but its message is as timeless as it is specific. The ballad settles on the incompleteness of a man who succeeds in everything but love, but it’s not so much a tale of falling short as it is of confusion. The irony, at least in the context of my placement, is that one of the lyrics acknowledges good scores on the golf course. Spieth still doesn’t have any trouble beating par, but he’s endured a falling-out with his putter. Perhaps now as a married man he’ll rekindle his other love starting soon. As much as gamers want to believe that he’ll regain a consistently healthy relationship with it, we really have no choice, particularly salary leaguers who are treated to bottom-dollar sticker price of $2.793 million. — By Rob Bolton EQUIPMENT INSIDER: After using a Titleist 915D2 driver (9.5 degrees) for years, Spieth has finally switched into a new TS2 driver (10.5 degrees), and a new TS2 3 wood. His Titleist Tour Rep says Spieth switched due to higher ball speeds and a higher launch. Both of his new metalwoods are equipped with Graphite Design Tour AD-IZ shafts. What’s less likely for Spieth to change out is his rusted Scotty Cameron 009 putter that he putts with cross-handed (and sometimes not even looking at the ball). Spieth briefly switched to a mallet-style Scotty Cameron in 2017, but he’s currently still gaming the rusted, blade-style Scotty. We’l keep you posted if he makes a switch in 2019. — By Andrew Tursky STYLE INSIDER: Spieth experimented with some new colors and looks in 2018. His pants are now slimmer, more tapered, and are hemmed at the tops of his shoes for a streamlined look. He even worked in a few black-on-black outfits, but he never seemed to find a comfort zone with them. In 2019, I’d like to see Jordan continue to stay up on the modern trends when it comes to fits while finding some other go-to colors besides blue. — By Greg Monteforte

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