Howell III shares lead at John Deere Classic

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AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tiger Woods walked off the 18th green Friday with a big smile, and who can blame him? A 4-under 68 moved him into weekend contention at the Masters, as he flashed the fiery Tiger of old during a back-nine run. He’ll enter the weekend tied for sixth and in terrific shape to make a run at his fifth green jacket. A look below at his hole-by-hole on Friday. MORE MASTERS Leaderboard | Tales of Tiger’s equipment | Rd. 1 recap: Is 70 a magical number? Tiger hole-by-hole ROUND 2 STATS: 7 of 14 fairways hit, 16 of 18 greens in regulation, 30 putts (1 3-putt) 18 (par 4, 465 yards): His 297-yard tee shot is properly placed, and his approach from 160 yards finishes 14 feet from the pin. But his birdie attempt loses steam drifts to the right, as he finishes with a par and a second-round score of 4-under 68 that leaves him tied for sixth. (Overall: 6 under) 17 (par 4, 440 yards): A 288-yard drive finds the fairway, leaving 163 yards to the pin. Tiger’s approach is terrific, as he knocks it to 8 feet. But just when all the momentum was with him, Tiger misses the birdie putt and settles for par. (Overall: 6 under) 16 (par 3, 170 yards): Tiger’s tee shot doesn’t find the upper level, and he settles for a two-putt par from 39 feet. (Overall: 6 under) 15 (par 5, 530 yards): His 298-yard drive veers left into the rough, and he wedges it in the proper spot, 128 yards from the pin. His third shot into the green comes up 30 feet short of the pin. No worries — he rolls in the birdie putt and again punches the air. (Overall: 6 under) 14 (par 4, 440 yards): In the rain, Tiger releases his hand off the club on his follow-through — never a good sign. His 282-yard drive finds the rough among the trees. He finds an opening and hits a terrific recovery shot that finishes 28 feet away. As he walks back toward the fairway, a security guard, running to hold off the fans, slips and clips Tiger’s right heel. Tiger grimaces, and tests the foot, but it doesn’t look to be serious. His birdie putt is perfect, and Tiger punches the air as he moves into a tie for eighth. (Overall: 5 under) 13 (par 5, 510 yards): His 302-yard tee shot lands in the second cut on the right side. From 193 yards, his second shot settles on the fringe, about 45 feet away. A tough eagle putt finishes 13 feet away, and his birdie attempt needs one more roll. Par. (Overall: 4 under) 12 (par 3, 155 yards): A terrific tee shot to 5 feet … followed by a disheartening birdie miss after play resumed following a brief weather stoppage. A wasted opportunity for Tiger as he taps in for par. (Overall: 4 under) 11 (par 4, 505 yards): A 307-yard drive finds the fairway. His second shot from 209 yards tracks the pin and finishes 13 feet away. Rolls in the birdie attempt. (Overall: 4 under) 10 (par 4, 495 yards): A 328-yard drive finishes on the right side of the fairway. The approach from 174 yards away finds the green, but unlike the previous hole, he can’t get his 33-foot birdie putt to drop and settles for a tap-in par. (Overall: 3 under) FRONT 9 STATS: 3 of 7 fairways hit, 7 of 9 greens in regulation, 15 putts (1 3-putt) 9 (par 4, 460 yards): His 305-yard drive splits the fairway, leaving him 165 yards to the pin. From there, he finds the middle of the green, with the pin tucked back left. He reads the 37-foot putt perfectly and gives it plenty of speed, the ball falling into the bottom of the cup. It’s the second consecutive day he’s finished off his front nine with a birdie. (Overall: 3 under) 8 (par 5, 570 yards): For the second time in three swings of the driver, Tiger finds the fairway bunker. Just like it did at the fifth hole, it forced him to just hit out ono the fairway, leaving him a third shot of 151 yards. He found the green, 38 feet from the pin, but from there, he three-putted, missing a par putt from 8 feet. The bogey is the 10th he has suffered at the eighth in 84 career rounds at the Masters. (Overall: 2 under) 7 (par 4, 450 yards): Tiger’s 312-yard drive settles along the right edge of the fairway. His approach from 135 yards finds the green, pin-high, about 21 feet away. Two putts for par. (Overall: 3 under) 6 (par 3, 180 yards): His 8-iron finds back middle of the green and tries to move toward the pin. He’ll have a 20-foot birdie putt. With a perfect read — at least 4 feet of break — he drains his second birdie putt at a par 3 in this round and is now tied for 13th. (Overall: 3 under) 5 (par 4, 495 yards): His 296-yard tee shot does the one thing you want to avoid doing at the fifth — find the fairway bunker. His ball is in the first of the two deep bunkers, and forces him to lay up, 76 yards from the pin and near the crosswalk. His third travels past the pin, finishing 16 feet away. His par putt just misses left and he taps in for a bogey that was set up by the poor drive. (Overall: 2 under) 4 (par 3, 240 yards): His tee shot tracks the pin the entire way, finding the top slope where the pin is located, leaving him a 7-foot birdie putt. It falls in for his first birdie of the day and moves him into a tie for 10th. (Overall: 3 under) 3 (par 4, 350 yards): Terrific 308-yard drive leaves him just 34 yards to the pin. His pitch shot to the front right pin starts rolling away from the hole, leaving him 16 feet away. His birdie attempts dies to the right, and he taps in for par. (Overall: 2 under) 2 (par 5, 575 yards): Stays in the fairway this time, his 324-yard drive leaving him 249 yards from the pin and on a flat part of the fairway. Takes a step forward after his follow through on his second shot, as his ball finishes in the right greenside bunker. He blasts out 17 feet beyond the pin — about 1 foot too far to catch the slope and slide back to the hole. Had to be careful with his downhill birdie attempt, and he does well to leave himself a 5-footer to save par. (Overall: 2 under) 1 (par 4, 445 yards): Not a great start, as Tiger’s 292-yard tee shot drifts left into the trees, settling in the pine needles. He found an opening with his approach from 152 yards and it trickles just next to the green. His uphill putt comes up 8 feet short, bu)t he buries the par saver. Should be a confidence booster after he missed a few short putts on Thursday. (Overall: 2 under) Pre-round notes BACKING UP 70. Tiger Woods has opened with a 2-under 70 on five previous occasions at the Masters. The first three times, he followed with a round in the 60s — and eventually went on to win (1997, 2001, 2002). In 2009, he followed his 70 with a 72 en route to a T-6 result, while in 2013, he shot 73 after his opening 70 and finished T-4. LATE TEE TIME. There are 29 threesomes teeing off Friday, and Woods is in the 28th group with Jon Rahm and HaoTong Li at 1:49 p.m. ET. In Thursday’s first round, 18-hole leaders Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka both played late and had favorable scoring conditions along the back nine. Woods is hoping to have a similar advantage Friday provided the wind dies.  “Sometimes what happens is you get that lull in the evening, the guys that go off real late, winds start dying down and you get probably a good six, seven holes where the wind is pretty benign,” Woods said. GOLF CHANNEL REVIEWS. Here’s what the experts were saying after Tiger’s opening 70: “I saw a golf swing that was patient. It was rhythmic. When he gets that extra length and time for transition, he seems to swing and play better.â€� — David Duval “The rhythm never changed from 1 to 18. Which is something he’s worked extremely hard on. He was in control of his round.â€� — Frank Nobilo “The guys at the top are hitting on all cylinders. He’s fully confident with his golf swing. It’s just a matter of whether or not he can capitalize on the greens. Because whoever is going to win this tournament is going to have the week of their life on the greens. And thus far he struggled quite a bit today.â€� — Brandel Chamblee

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While the enthronement ceremony is happening in Japan, the PGA TOUR will look to crown its first-ever champion on Japanese soil at the brand-new ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP. Located east of Tokyo in Chiba, Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club is a composite track that doesn’t even stretch to 7,100 yards and will play (34-36) Par-70. With five Par-3 holes, water and tree-lined fairways, those who keep it in play this week should thrive. Gamers, you aren’t seeing double, as each hole will have two green complexes. The design was to ensure that perfect green conditions, regardless of season, would be in play. The TOUR will NOT be using both greens during play, with the exception of one hole to honor this tradition. As is the case with new tracks used on TOUR, everyone will be learning on the fly, especially on the greens. With a field of only 78 (no cut) again, I’d expect the quickest learners, the elite, to make the most noise this week again. On the line is another $9.75 million purse, with the winner taking home $1.75 million and 500 FedExCup points. RELATED: Expert picks | Daily fantasy advice | Sleeper picks Key stat leaders Top golfers in each statistic on the 2018-19 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week. Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green  1  Rory McIlroy  2  Justin Thomas  3  Hideki Matsuyama  4  Adam Scott  6  Paul Casey  7  Byeong-Hun An  9  Corey Conners 11 Xander Schauffele 13 Tommy Fleetwood 14 Jason Kokrak 15 Emiliano Grillo 16 Gary Woodland 18 Matt Fitzpatrick 19 Kevin Streelman 21 Tony Finau 23 Joaquin Niemann 25 Lucas Glover Strokes Gained: Putting  2  Jordan Spieth  4  Graeme McDowell  5  Andrew Putnam  8  Wyndham Clark  9  Vaughn Taylor 14 Pat Perez 16 Billy Horschel 20 Kevin Kisner 24 Ian Poulter 24 Rory McIlroy 30 Jason Day Greens in Regulation  1  Corey Conners  4  Paul Casey  6  Justin Thomas  7  Charles Howell III  9  Scott Piercy 15 Kevin Streelman 16 Jason Day 20 Hideki Matsuyama 28 Gary Woodland 30 Adam Scott Recent Winners on TOUR (entering this week) CJ CUP AT NINE BRIDGES: Justin Thomas (-20, 268) 11th win on TOUR. … Won for the second time in three events at NINE BRIDGES. … 27 birdies were two better than anyone else. … T3 GIR with 61/72. … Fired 63 in Round 2, tied for the lowest of the week. … T12 or better in his last eight worldwide starts. CJ CUP Notables: Danny Lee (2nd) was one of three players to put all four rounds in the 60s. … Gary Woodland (T3) picked up his best finish since winning the U.S. Open last summer. … Local favorite this week Hideki Matsuyama closed with 65 to share the final podium spot. … First round leader Byeong Hun An cashed T6. … Wyndham Clark, Ryan Moore and Jordan Spieth shared T8. Shriners Hospitals for Children Open: Kevin Na (-23, 261) Local resident posted 62-61 in the middle two rounds to claim his second victory on TOUR in 22 weeks. … Made a TOUR record of over 558 feet of putts. … Also posted 62 in his earlier victory at Colonial. … Defeated Patrick Cantlay in a playoff, even after taking a triple on the back nine. Shriners Notables: Pat Perez (3rd) skipped the Houston Open and cashed T31 last week. … Adam Hadwin (4th) is looking for his third-straight top-10 payday after solo second the week before at Silverado. … Joel Dahmen (T9) knocked the rust off for T43 last week. … Tony Finau (T9) also carded a 62. … Lucas Glover (T9) will be happy to see tight fairways this week. A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier: Joaquin Niemann (-21, 259) First win on TOUR came by six shots as he co-led after 36 and was the 54-hole leader. … Shot 62 in Round 2. … Only the third international to win on TOUR at 20 years of age, joining Ballesteros and McIlroy. … Second in GIR. Greenbrier Notables: Nate Lashley (T3) kept his red-hot summer going as he picked up his second podium after winning the Rocket Mortgage Classic in June. … Viktor Hovland (T10) kicked down the back door as his final round 64 tied Niemann for the best on Sunday.

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