How to watch PGA Championship, Round 1: Leaderboard, tee times, TV times, live stream

Click here to read the full article…

Not quite a year after a chance encounter on “Call of Duty,� Harold Varner III finally met gamer pal Arturo at the Mayakoba Golf Classic on Tuesday. Carlos Ortiz, one of seven players representing Mexico here, and Preston Lyon, Varner’s childhood friend and agent – both of whom also know Arturo through the game – were also on site. They’ve spent hundreds, maybe thousands of hours together, but this was the first time they had met in person. “I can’t believe this is happening,� said Arturo, a 22-year-old college student from Mexico, smiling through his braces. He wore jeans and a red Tommy Hilfiger sweater and admitted to being too nervous to have slept much the night before. Varner, 29, giggled like a kid at Christmas. Ortiz, a married father of two whose gaming has taken a back seat to family time, grinned and shook his head at the improbability of it all. The PGA TOUR is full of golfers lending a hand, oftentimes prioritizing the human connection above even wins and losses. As Varner put it at the BMW Championship last summer, “What’s going to matter is how we affected the people in our community and who we reached out to.� He and Arturo hugged on the practice green at El Camaleon Golf Club on Tuesday. Then came Mexico’s Ortiz. They played the video game that afternoon, and Arturo caddied for Varner in the rain-delayed pro-am Wednesday. Oh, and he’s also staying with Varner all week. All parties remain amazed at how this developed. At the start of this year, Varner and Lyon, new to “Call of Duty,� in which gamers play on squads of four, joined Jake Buchanan, a professional baseball player and another friend from their hometown of Gastonia, North Carolina.   “We needed a fourth,� Lyon said, “and ended up with Arturo.� Buchanan got ejected due to a network error, and Lyon and Varner decided to leave the game but changed their minds when they realized the kid they’d been grouped with was very, very good. “I’ve played since 2012,� Arturo said with a shrug. “I was 14 or 15.� Arturo was intrigued by his new friends, even if they weren’t as good, and mentioned them to a bilingual gamer friend named Jorge Chávez, a 31-year-old loan processor in Phoenix, Arizona. “I got home, and they’d just signed off,� Chávez said in a phone interview. “Arturo said, ‘Hey, man, I just played with a group of guys.’ He thought they were baseball players.� Soon, they formed a new four-man team: Varner, Lyon, Chávez (who translated) and Arturo. “It evolved,� Lyon said. “Arturo kind of warmed up, he started trying to speak English, which – he speaks perfect English. I think he and Harold have a lot of similarities in the way they grew up. Both come from good parents, and maybe didn’t have as much but kept a positive mindset. Arturo is in school to be an engineer; he’s got goals just like Harold had goals.� Ortiz soon began to join in, and Arturo learned that he was playing with golfers, not baseball players. He asked if Ortiz and Varner were rich. Could they, for example, order anything they wanted at restaurants? They said they could … and then contemplated the nature of the question. Sensing Arturo’s tenuous financial situation, they bought Arturo new gaming equipment and sent it to him, which was far more of a logistical challenge than a financial one. The relationship deepened in April, when on Arturo’s 22nd birthday his father had a heart attack. The youngest of four, Arturo went to the hospital to be with his dad, and temporarily withdrew from the game. For a few days, his gaming friends didn’t know where he’d gone. And then they did. “On the second day in the hospital, Harold instant-messaged me,� Arturo said. “‘Hey, bro, you good?’ I said, ‘No, I’m good.’ Because I thought I was. I never thought  …� His father spent five days in intensive care before dying at 59. “It was heartbreaking,� Lyon said. “It was tough to see it all go down.� Then, a further complication: Due to a mistake on the death certificate, his father being listed as single, Arturo’s mother couldn’t be transferred vital pension money. He asked Lyon for permission to sell the new gaming equipment to pay for funeral expenses. Lyon said not to do that and sent $800, enough to for Arturo’s family to get by while the paperwork was sorted out. “It became the thing to do right now; who cares if we’ve never seen him?� Lyon said. “That’s the way Harold is; it’s easy to do things like this and impact people. That’s how we grew up. It became a little bit bigger than ourselves; bigger than a video game. It circled back to humanity.� They made plans to meet at Mayakoba, where Arturo, who is beyond grateful, gave the golfers a gift of foods and other items from his hometown. They also gave each other the needle, like they do when they’re wearing headsets and playing the game. Arturo razzed Ortiz for never being able to play now that he has two kids; Varner jokingly complained that school is taking too much of Arturo’s time; Arturo playfully noted Varner’s physique (stout) and hairline (receding). “It’s hard to believe this,� Arturo said. “Because from one match playing with Harold, I am here. I’m a guy who was playing ‘Call of Duty.’ Now I’m here. I love Harold.� He pronounces it “Gerald,� and sometimes searches for the right words in English, but he’s made big strides at learning the language. He’s in his second year of college and aims to go to work for his family just as soon as he completes his architectural engineering degree. Ortiz’s father, who has a construction business, has said he’ll help him get a job right now. “Everyone is like, ‘If you come from here, you have this much percentage chance of making it,’� Varner said. “I don’t care what your percentage is; I just want to give you a chance.�     He, Lyon and Ortiz continue to help Arturo any way they can, even funding his nominal gaming dues (as low as $35 to re-up), which would not be quite so nominal for him. “I think we’ve learned more about life from him,� Ortiz said, “than he has from us. We want to help him. We want to see him grow.� Added Varner, “What’s cool is whenever he makes it, he’s gonna help someone else.� More than striving for trophies, that’s just the Varner way. You might even say it’s his call of duty.

Click here to read the full article…

DUBLIN, Ohio – Notes and observations from the wild third round of the Memorial Tournament Presented by Nationwide, where Daniel Summerhays (68) surged into the lead while Jason Dufner (77) swooned, bringing several players into the tournament. Matt Kuchar, the 2013 champion here, shot 67 and was in second at 10 under, three back, while Bubba Watson (68) and Justin Thomas (69) joined Dufner at 9 under. For more coverage from Muirfield Village, click here for the Daily Wrap-up. SUMMERHAYS EYES BREAKTHROUGH Daniel Summerhays, 33, has swung from being completely under the radar to just mostly under the radar. When he left BYU for his Mormon mission to Santiago, Chile, where he perfected his Spanish and swung nothing but a taped-up broom from 2003 to 2005? Totally under the radar. He has been just mostly under the radar during his 10-year career on the PGA TOUR. Until this year. Summerhays came into this week 157th in the FedExCup standings, his best result a T16 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. He was working on his swing, but all that work wasn’t showing up in his scores. He was a non-factor. Ironically, a missed cut at last week’s DEAN & DELUCA Invitational at Colonial sent him to Muirfield Village on a high note. “He called me and said, ‘Bro, I played good, it’s clicking,’â€� said Boyd Summerhays, Daniel’s older brother by four years and also his coach. (He also coaches Tony Finau.) A swing change to improve his iron game was working, and kept working Saturday. Paired with Dufner, whose game was by his own admission “pathetic,â€� Summerhays played his own game and hit a rock-solid 12 of 14 fairways and 15 greens in regulation at Muirfield Village on Saturday, which marked his best performance of the week so far from tee to green. That he is vying for his first win in his 185th career start might be a surprise to some, but not to Boyd or the other members of the small contingent of Utahans on TOUR. Summerhays has finished in the top 100 in the FedExCup for each of the past five seasons, and last year finished T8 at the U.S. Open and third at the PGA Championship. He is sneaky good. He also has some good career mojo in Ohio, having won the Web.com Tour’s 2007 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational at the Scarlett Course at OSU Golf Club. While the world was atwitter over Tiger Woods winning the 2012 Memorial Tournament, Summerhays finished T4. “Last summer was a big deal for me, playing in the final two, three groups at the U.S. Open,â€� he said. “That was probably the most nervous I’ve ever felt. That and trying to keep my job back in 2011 after my rookie year at Q-School.â€� He played through nerves, as well, in contending at the PGA at Baltusrol, won by Jimmy Walker.

“There will definitely be nerves,â€� Summerhays said of his expectations for Sunday’s final round. “I’ll probably hit a few putts with the hands shaking and everything like that. But it’s nothing that I haven’t experienced before.â€� DUFNER FALTERS Jason Dufner could do no wrong while shooting a tournament-record 14 under (65-65) through 36 holes. Alas, Saturday was a reminder that some days are diamonds, some days are stones. “Today was pretty pathetic on all accounts,â€� said Dufner, who bogeyed four of his first five holes, missed a 2 foot, 9 inch putt at the fifth, and ranked -4.799 in strokes gained: putting. “So [I] have to play better tomorrow.â€� After righting the ship to go 1-under from holes 6-10, Dufner laid up at the 11th hole only to spin his approach shot into the water and make double-bogey 7. His sudden struggles gave new life to the chase pack, some of whom were surprised to find themselves back in the tournament. “I will say this: super classy, Duf—he was nothing but class out there, always,â€� Summerhays said. “He was always cheering me on. ‘Good shot. Great job.’ So that’s definitely a good lesson for me to learn. It went about as bad as it could for him today, and he was nothing but class.â€� CALL OF THE DAY BUBBA BACK IN THE MIX Bubba Watson continues to obliterate the back nine at Muirfield Village. One day after he toured the inward nine in 31 strokes, he got through it in 30 strokes to post a third-round 68 and move into position to end his slump. A nine-time TOUR winner and two-time Masters champion, Watson came into this week at 118th in the FedExCup standings. The free-swinging lefty and his caddie Ted Scott have had to stay patient all season, and Saturday was no exception, as Watson made no birdies and shot 38 on the front nine. Then he birdied the 10th hole and eagled the par-5 11th, and the floodgates opened even as he dealt with a heckler for part of the back nine. “We knew that a birdie would come eventually,â€� Watson said, “and somehow it just came in bunches, so it worked out.â€� Watson was second in strokes gained: putting (+2.798) in round three, and is seventh for the week (+3.792). “I feel good,â€� he said. “It’s always nice to have a chance.â€� HAHN SHOOTS ‘DISAPPOINTING’ 65 James Hahn started the day in a tie for 60th place, but after a two-putt birdie at the par-5 15th hole he was 9 under par on the day. He had just reeled off 10 birdies in a span of 13 holes, he seemed to be threatening the course record (61) as he walked to the 16th tee. A young boy held his arm over the rope and urged him to finish strong. Hahn smiled and slapped the kid’s hand and continued onto the tee, out of earshot. “I jinxed him,â€� the boy said. “He jinxed him,â€� the boy’s father said, chuckling and shaking his head. Yep, he jinxed him. Hahn bogeyed 16 and 17 before his 13-foot birdie putt on 18 lipped out, giving him a 65 that left him “disappointed,â€� he said, for what might have been. At 5 under, he is eight off the lead. “I guess any sport is very mental,â€� Hahn said, laughing at the high-five moment. “Walking from 15 to 16, a little kid just kind of gave me a high five and said, ‘You’re going to break the course record today.’ I said [in my head], ‘Are you serious?’ The first time we talked about it the whole day.â€�

The pin at 16 was back-left, and Hahn played it safe but watched as the wind blew his tee shot into the right greenside bunker. He blasted out to just under five feet but missed the putt. “I don’t know how that doesn’t go in,â€� he said.
 He split the fairway at 17, but left his 190-yard approach right of the green. He misjudged the chip shot, his ball rolling 14 feet too far, and bogeyed again. Poised to end on a high note, he watched as his 13-footer for birdie lipped out on 18.

“Those are the ones—it just happened to be a coincidence,â€� Hahn said. “But you never know what would happen if the little kid didn’t call me out. It’s almost like a baseball pitcher and guys saying, ‘Hey, you’re pitching a perfect game! Did you know that?’ It’s like, No.

“He looked like 8, 9, 10 years old. Probably 12 years old. But it’s all fun. We’re here to entertain.â€� ODDS AND ENDS Justin Thomas, tied for third and just four off the lead, would take the FedExCup lead with his fourth victory this season. He is currently third in the FedExCup, 415 points behind leader Dustin Johnson and 10 behind Hideki Matsuyama. Johnson missed the cut, and Matsuyama sits T65. A win comes with 500 FedExCup points. … Kuchar, who won the 2013 Memorial Tournament, would join Hale Irwin, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman and Tom Watson as two-time winners of the tournament. Kenny Perry has won the Memorial three times, while Tiger Woods leads the pack with five victories at Jack’s place. … Rickie Fowler shot what he called a ho-hum even-par 72, remained at 8 under par—and gained a shot on the leader (Summerhays at -13 as opposed to Dufner at -14). Fowler finished second here in his first start in 2010. … Pat Perez, who is 17th on the list to make the U.S. Presidents Cup team that will play at Liberty National Sept. 28-Oct. 1, had a chance to impress captain Steve Stricker as the two played together Saturday. Perez did just that, as they each shot 69. “I like Pat,â€� Stricker said. “I think he’d be great in the team room. He tells you what he thinks. You could tell he wanted to play well today. I told him he’s going to have to go on a good run.â€� … Hideki Matsuyama, David Lingmerth and William McGirt were first-time TOUR winners as they won the last three Memorials, respectively. Of the top 10 on this year’s leaderboard only Summerhays and Jamie Lovemark (70, T6) haven’t won and would keep the streak alive. … Si Woo Kim, who won THE PLAYERS Championship three weeks ago, withdrew after hurting his ankle hitting a bunker shot on the 17th hole. He was 5 over par at the time. … Stewart Cink’s 4-under 68 in round three marked his 54th round of par or better. Another such round Sunday would put him in a tie with three-time Memorial Tournament winner Kenny Perry, at 55. The record belongs to Jay Haas, who has 68 rounds of par or better at this event. SHOT OF THE DAY BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Click here to read the full article…