Hootie Johnson, former Augusta National chairman, dies

CROMWELL, Conn. — It never entered Brooks Koepka’s mind to pull out of this week’s Travelers Championship. Despite the grind of winning his second consecutive U.S. Open, Koepka is back in action this week at TPC River Highlands. It’s the first time since Justin Rose in 2013 that the U.S. Open winner has played the following week. “If I say I’m going to do something, I’ll do it,â€� Koepka said Wednesday. “I’m not going to pull out just because of last week. “And we’re playing good, so you might as well ride the momentum.â€� A year ago when he won with a record-tying score of 16 under at Erin Hills, Koepka took a month off before resuming his schedule at the next major, the Open Championship. This year, he committed to Travelers before winning last week at Shinnecock Hills with a score of 1 over. His celebration Sunday night didn’t start until just before midnight. Several pizzas were ordered, with family and friends savoring the moment of their man becoming the first player since Curtis Strange in 1989 to successfully defend a U.S. Open title. He then rested the next two days and arrived at TPC River Highlands on Wednesday afternoon, where he promptly went to the range for a quick practice session to loosen up. He tees off at 8 a.m. ET on Thursday with the other two big winners this season — Webb Simpson (THE PLAYERS Championship) and Patrick Reed (Masters). When asked if he was rested, Koepka’s reply was simple. “I guess so,” he said. “I don’t really know. I’m still going on adrenaline.â€�

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Since he won the Barracuda Championship in a playoff on Sunday, Chris Stroud has received 1,400 text messages, 55 voicemails and another 100 or so emails. And he has replied to every single one. “I’m a big believer in that,â€� Stroud said. “I told a few guys after golf is gone and done for me, all you have left is people and the relationships you have. I care more about people than I do about my golf. I was raised that way. I’m grateful. I’m grateful to have a chance to play on the TOUR and stay healthy.â€� The victory, which was the first of Stroud’s career, enabled him to jump 68 spots on the FedExCup list to 76th to secure his playing privileges for two more years. He’s also headed to Maui in January to play in the SBS Tournament of Champions for the first time. The win also prompted another change in travel plans – landing him in the PGA Championship. And he made the most of the opportunity, shooting a 68 that left him one stroke off the lead held jointly by Thorbjorn Olesen and Kevin Kisner. “Today was one of the easiest rounds,â€� Stroud said. “Obviously I’m playing well. I’m swinging it nicely and putting it well. That has a lot to do with it. It’s a deep confidence that I have.â€� Stroud says his caddie was instrumental in Sunday’s victory and played a big role in Thursday’s round, which was the only bogey-free one of the day. Whenever Stroud starts talking about golf these days, his caddie switches the subject. “We talk about science,â€� Stroud said. “We talk about spirituality, baseball, football, Texans, Houston Astros. Anything to keep my mind off golf. As soon as I hit it, I’m talking about something else. If I say something he goes, hey, hey, hey, we don’t care about golf. “It’s just an experiment we tried last week and it absolutely worked.â€� Stroud, who had been on the road for five weeks, had actually planned to go home to Houston this week to see his wife and their two daughters. Next week he was headed to Greensboro to play in the Wyndham Championship. Instead, he and his caddie drove 2 hours from Reno, Nevada, to Sacramento on Sunday night and bought two first-class tickets to Charlotte. He got in late Monday night and slept until about 11 a.m. “I couldn’t tell what time it was,â€� he said. “Open the curtains and it’s bright. I went to bed at like 2.â€� As nice as the texts and emails and phone messages were, Stroud’s parents flew to North Carolina on Wednesday to surprise him. “We had our celebration dinner last night, just us three,â€� the Texan said. “It was a dream. When I was 9 years old, I knew I wanted to be on the PGA TOUR. I got into college, I was 17, 18 years old. I knew I had a chance to be really good and get on the TOUR. “When I got out here, obviously my dream was to win and be as good as I can. It’s at least a 20-year dream come true.â€� At the same time, Stroud admits that he had gotten to the point where he could accept that he’d had a solid career – regardless of what happened. Of course, he wanted to win but he finally realized that he was getting in his own way. “About six months ago I said you know what, I’ve had 10 years of good runs out here,â€� Stroud said. “I’ve played well. I don’t care if I win anymore. I want to win but I can’t let that be on my shoulders all the time. I’m not going to worry about it. “I’m going to play the best I can and let’s just ride this out. I don’t know if I’m good enough. I don’t know if I’m good enough to win or keep my card. And since I surrendered to that, it’s like all of a sudden things got — the weight is off my shoulders. “All these people have told me this for years. To actually do that, I had to get to the bottom to figure that out. I literally just said you know what I’m done. I’m just going to do the best I can and have as much fun as I can. “All of a sudden it falls in my lap.â€�

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After being suspended, Round 1 resumes Friday morning with Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy still on the course. Round 2 of the Masters will get underway Friday afternoon. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Friday, 7:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m., 1 p.m.-5:30 p.m. ET (ESPN); Saturday, 1 p.m.-5 p.m. (CBS); Sunday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. (CBS) Live stream: Click here for the Masters.com streaming schedule. Click here for the live steam. Radio: Thursday-Friday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. ET; Saturday, 12 p.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. (Sirius 208 and XM 92) Note: Augusta National, who owns and operates the Masters Tournament, controls all digital streaming and broadcast rights to this event. PGA TOUR LIVE coverage will resume next week at The RSM Classic. MUST READS Opening round of November Masters was like nothing else Like ‘old' times at Augusta for Tiger DeChambeau bounces back from calamity Casey shoots 65 to take early lead at the Masters Cut prediction: Masters Tournament Player, Nicklaus hit ceremonial first tee shots Remembering Tiger’s win at the 2019 Masters Elder to be Honarary Starter in 2021 Nine things about Augusta National

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