Immelman to be Official World Golf Ranking chair

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Tom Hoge maintained a share of the lead Friday at the Wyndham Championship, this time alongside Si Woo Kim, Talor Gooch and Billy Horschel. Hoge, tied for the first-round lead with Harold Varner III and Roger Sloan, kept in front with a steady 2-under 68 to get to 10 under par. RELATED: Leaderboard | Simpson, Todd feed off friendly energy | Projected FedExCup standings Hoge, whose best-ever TOUR finish was a second at A Military Tirbute at The Greenbrier this season, was asked what it would take for his first PGA TOUR win. “There’s a lot to that question,” he said. The answer could be as simple as regaining his first-round form when he had seven birdies, an eagle and one par. This time, Hoge was more up and down with five birdies and three bogeys. Kim, whose first TOUR victory came here in 2016 and made history a year later as the youngest-ever winner of THE PLAYERS Championship, shot a 65 to move up. Kim got it going on the front nine (his final nine) after starting with nine consecutive pars. He had six bogeys coming in, including the final two holes to move on top. Kim’s approach shots down the stretch were on target — his final five birdie putts were all from 12 feet or closer. He said the rough at Sedgefield Country Club was “more sticky and deep” this year. “It helps more to hit fairway, that’s really important,” Kim said. “That’s why I hit it more, try to focus on … the fairway.” Like Hoge, the 28-year-old Gooch is seeking his first TOUR victory. Like Kim, Gooch shot 65 to get into the foursome on top. It was the first time on TOUR Gooch, who opened with a 65, had multiple rounds that low in the same event. He had six birdies, including two of his final three holes, to move up. “Anytime you shoot 65, it does’t matter who, what, when, where, why, you’ve done some good,” he said. Horschel shot 64 and had birdies on four of last six holes, including a tricky 7-footer on his final one, the ninth, to join the lead group. Horschel won the 2014 FedExCup and said this time of year charges him up. “I like it when the pressure’s on and everyone’s looking at you and you need to step up and doing something special,” he said. The four were a stroke ahead of Harris English (67) , Varner (69), Andrew Landry (65), Doc Redman (64) and the Open champ Shane Lowry, who shot a 63 to tie for Friday’s low round with Jason Kokrak. Lowry did not get to defend his major when the tournament was cancelled due to the pandemic. He also entered the week at 131 in FedExCup points, outside of the upcoming Playoffs. After a bogey on his second hole, Lowry had six birdies and an eagle to move into contention. “Obviously, I’m outside the FedExCup number and out of Boston next week, so I need to keep playing some good golf and try and polish off a good week,” he said. Kokrak was in a group of seven one shot further back along with past Wyndham champ Webb Simpson, who shot his second straight 66. Those three strokes back included Patrick Reed (68), Paul Casey (66) and Tommy Fleetwood (64). A pair of major champions in the thick of last week’s PGA Championship in Brooks Koepka and Justin Rose did not make the cut. Koepka had a 70, including a triple-bogey 7 on the 10th hole, to finish at 2 over, 12 shots behind. Rose rallied to a 67 after an opening 73, but his even-par was not enough to continue. “Not physically tired, more mentally,” said Koepka, who’s played in sixth straight tournaments with the Playoffs ahead. “But I’ve got the weekend off.”

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A small wooden bridge at the base of this week’s trophy on the PGA TOUR symbolizes the bridge to the 18th hole at Jeju Island’s most famous golf course. That’s appropriate, because if you want to win THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, the last bridge is arguably the most important to cross in style.  “It’s bizarre,â€� Justin Thomas said of the 568-yard, par-5 finisher, which features two fairways separated by trees and native area, and ends at a green surrounded by sand, rough and water. “The wind changes it a lot.â€� RELATED: Tee times | Who’s comfortable at NINE BRIDGES | Power Rankings Nine Bridges is a 7,253-yard, par 72 with four par 5s. It features black-rock outcroppings and volcano views and is sometimes compared to Maui, but the real dazzler is the 18th, one of the wildest holes on TOUR. For starters, it’s basically two holes in one.   The aggressive line at the signature hole is to carry the two pot bunkers on the left to reach the lower landing zone, giving yourself the shortest distance to reach the green in two. Thomas got there with only a pitching wedge in 2017. But only with the wind at your back is it even possible to reach that left fairway from the tee. Wind, the X factor at Jeju, demands a different approach. Literally. Into the wind, the target is the right fairway – it’s easier to reach, but leaves a much longer second shot with anything from a long iron to a 3-wood. Often, the prudent play from the right fairway is to not even go for the green in two.   “When it’s into the wind, I mean, I don’t go for that left fairway,â€� said Thomas, who won the inaugural CJ CUP two years ago. “I hit 3-wood up top (to the right), and if I can go for it, I do. It’s very, very weird lay up if you have to lay up.  “It’s a funky finishing hole, but it can provide for some fireworks if it’s close.â€� Simply put, the hole rewards length. “It’s a big advantage for a long hitter if he’s coming to the 18th needing a birdie,â€� said Adam Scott, who played it in 3 under last year but isn’t in the field this time around. Abraham Ancer calls the hole “unique,â€� while both Gary Woodland, last year’s runner-up to Brooks Koepka, and Marc Leishman go so far as to call it “a great risk-reward hole.â€� This, despite the fact that Leishman splashed his second shot in the water on 18 to lose to Thomas on the second playoff hole two years ago. The 18th gave up 25 eagles and 123 birdies last year, and was the second easiest on the course with a 4.58 stroke average. There were also 27 bogeys, four doubles, and two “others.â€� The wind dictates everything. David Dale of Golfplan Dale & Ramsey Golf Course Architects, in Santa Rosa, California, said he designed the hole to give players an option off the tee, but didn’t foresee the day when someone would play it driver, wedge, putt. “It was heroic to reach in two, but not anymore for the pros,â€� Dale said. “The way the hole plays now, it’s on its knees begging for wind.â€� If he’d known how technology would change the game, he added, he would have added another 25-30 yards and crowned the green slightly to repel shots. When Koepka eagled 18 to shoot 64 and win by four last year, it was his second eagle of the week on the hole as he played it in 5 under. But it was Thomas’ opening-round drive in 2017 that first opened eyes. “He can throw it on with that drive,â€� Rich Lerner said on the Golf Channel telecast. “He took it over everything,â€� Frank Nobillo added, not bothering to hide his awe. “You’ve gotta see this hole to believe where that drive went.â€� Thomas hit wedge to the green on the way to an eagle, completing a 29 on his first nine – the back – as he stormed out of the gate with a 63. Then things got hard.  He bogeyed the hole the next day, and by the last day, the wind had switched 180 degrees and howled into the players’ faces. Forced to go down the right fairway, he and Leishman scratched out pars on the first extra playing of 18. On the second, Thomas had 243 yards to the green in two, and hit an epic 3-wood to the front collar. Leishman tried a similar shot and found the water.   “I wouldn’t really call it a split fairway because it’s not like you have the option every time you play,â€� Thomas said. “It’s like 320 to that (left) fairway. If it’s downwind, I’d say 90% of the guys are hitting it left, but if it’s into the wind, 10% are hitting it left.â€� Added Leishman: “It gets pretty windy there, and a lot of the time you can’t even think about going left. If you have to go right, it’s actually a pretty tough tee shot. And it obviously makes the second shot a lot longer; you’ve got to hit a really good shot to get on the green in two.â€�  He paused, rethinking the comment. “Two really good shots, actually,â€� he said.

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