Golf's silly rules forced an NCAA golfer to go diving for his ball in a pond

Not every pairing is a perfect match

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ATLANTA — With two swings, Justin Thomas showed that every shot counts in the FedExCup, even at the season-ending TOUR Championship. Thomas had six players ahead of him Friday when he smashed a 335-yard drive down the bottom of the hill on the par-5 18th hole at East Lake, and then a 5-iron that settled 6 feet below the cup for a closing eagle. Just like that, Thomas had a 4-under 66 and a share of the lead with Paul Casey and Webb Simpson and was back in control — a loose term the way this tournament is shaping up going into the week — of his chase for the $10 million bonus. “It’s nice to have everything in my own hands and know that if I just take care of what I need to do, then it’s over,” Thomas said. It’s not over yet, not even close. Casey stumbled with some errant tee shots into the troublesome rough for back-to-back bogeys in a 67 that slowed his momentum. Simpson paid for a wild drive on No. 13 with a double bogey and made nothing but pars coming in for a 67. They joined Thomas at 7-under 133. As one of the top five seeds, Thomas only has to win the TOUR Championship to capture the FedExCup. Even a third-place finish might be enough to take home golf’s biggest prize depending on who wins. But that list is plenty deep after two sweltering days at East Lake. Jon Rahm, the No. 5 seed who also has a clear path to the top prize, played bogey-free for a 67. He was one shot behind, along with Patrick Reed (65), Justin Rose (66) and Gary Woodland (67), all of them trying to win for the first time this year. Dustin Johnson, the No. 3 seed, has been sputtering along. He failed to birdie either of the two par 5s, managed only a 69 and still was only four shots behind. “I just want to get within striking distance,” Johnson said. “If I can get it within three, I would be happy.” He was four behind, so it doesn’t require much math to figure out he’s not far away. Jordan Spieth was lucky to still be just four shots behind. The No. 1 seed in the FedExCup missed five straight greens in regulation on the back nine and kept in the game with some crucial par putts. He had to settle for a 70 and headed straight for the practice area. Twenty players from the 30-man field were under par, meaning they were separated by just six shots with 36 holes ahead of them. “It’s the easiest one to win because there’s only 30 guys,” said Kevin Kisner, who shot another 68 and was three behind. “But then I look up there and everyone is 6 under, and it doesn’t look so easy.” Thomas made birdies with a wedge in his hand, failed to save par from a bunker on the fifth hole, and then turned a mediocre round into a solid one with that 5-iron into the 18th for eagle. He already can state his case as the best player on the PGA TOUR this year, with five victories and his first major at the PGA Championship. Thomas outlasted Spieth and Marc Leishman to win at the TPC Boston three weeks ago, and now he’s tied for the lead going into the weekend at East Lake. Much like Spieth in 2015 when he ended his best season with the FedExCup, Thomas would love to have the perfect ending. “I want to win any week,” he said, “but it definitely would be a nice cap.” Casey and Simpson are enduring long droughts. Casey last won at the KLM Open in 2014, while Simpson last won four years ago in Las Vegas. Both overcame a few stumbles on the back nine to share the lead. Casey seems to have done everything but win the last three years, with six top-5 finishes in the last eight FedExCup Playoff events. “It would cap off a very good season, make a very good season a great season,” he said. “Yeah, it would be a lot of satisfaction in that. Hopefully, ask me again on Sunday and I can give you the full explanation. Right now, I’m too busy just trying to focus on trying to string together four great rounds of golf. It’s amazing how this golf course just bunches and you can’t seem to get away. “Guys are right there, sort of biting at your heels,” he said. “So it’s going to be a tough one.”

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AUSTIN, Texas – PLAYERS champion Rory McIlroy could only shake his head late in his highly anticipated Round of 16 showdown with Tiger Woods at the World Golf Championships–Dell Technologies Match Play. As his third shot on the par-5 16th at Austin Country Club came out of a brutal lie with some pace… those in the galleries were diving out of the balls way like it was dusted with the plague. He was shaking his head because just one hole earlier the huge galleries around the 15th hole got in the way of a wayward Tiger Woods drive that was likely heading for water. It was like some of the locals wanted the badge of honor (or perhaps the likely signed glove) that comes with being thwacked by a wayward Woods shot. It was a brutal experience of the Woods effect for McIlroy. McIlroy, who had clawed his way back from a 3-down through 11 holes to be just one adrift of his fellow former FedExCup champion, was forced to take an unplayable lie and return to the scene of his shot. He would eventually lose the hole giving Woods the chance to win it all on the 17th green. The 80-time PGA TOUR winner did just that, drilling in a 13-foot par putt to beat McIlroy 2 and 1 in the much-hyped clash. “It was a tough match for both of us,â€� Woods said before heading out to his quarterfinal showdown with Lucas Bjerregaard. “It was big for us inside the ropes, too. It was a fun match for us. I know that we battled pretty hard against one another and we thoroughly enjoyed it. I was fortunate to come out on top.â€� McIlroy knows he can’t blame a pro Tiger gallery for his loss. His ball ended up in the bad lie to begin with from a poorly executed approach on the 16th. McIlroy had smashed a drive 395-yards and had watched Woods play his third before he was away again. With just 173 yards in and a shot up his sleeve, McIlroy came up short and right. From there the calamity happened. And if not that shot, McIlroy will rue his putting, particularly on the front nine. Having never trailed over his three group matches McIlroy failed to make a 7-foot birdie putt on the fifth hole, allowing Woods the early advantage. The Northern Irishman missed a 12-footer on the sixth to lose another hole and an 11-footer on the seventh that could have halved the deficit. On the par-4 9th McIlroy hit it even tighter, but missed from 7-feet, ensuring he turned 2-down. Perhaps sensing his unease on the greens, Woods failed to concede a three-foot par putt on the 10th hole and McIlroy promptly missed it to fall 3-down. “Rory didn’t make any putts today. I knew that it was going to be a ball-striking match,â€� Woods said. “We were both playing well coming into this match, and the year that Rory has had, he doesn’t do anything poorly. I tried to match him shot for shot with ball-striking and hopefully make a couple of putts here and there.â€� McIlroy did mount a comeback with birdie at the 12th and another at the 13th to set up the grandstand finish, but clutch Woods putts on the 15th and 17th ensured his victory.

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