Jack Nicklaus praises Tiger Woods for Trump comments

ERIN, Wis. – News and notes from Friday’s second round of the U.S. Open. CASEY GETS HOT AFTER SNOWMAN Five holes into his round, Paul Casey had just suffered a triple bogey at the par-5 14th. His round, perhaps his entire tournament, was now hanging in the balance. Could he bounce back or would he unravel? His caddie, John McLaren, was unusually quiet. “You all right?â€� Casey asked. Replied McLaren: “Oh, fine. I’m good. Are you all right?â€� Replied Casey: “Yeah.â€� Actually, Casey was more than all right. Although he followed the triple with a bogey on the next hole, Casey was determined not to let one bad hole define his round. He birdied the 17th and 18th holes going into the turn, then kept the hot streak going with three more birdies to start his second nine. The five consecutive birdies – one short of the U.S. Open record — allowed him to salvage a 1-under 71 that leaves him at 7 under entering the weekend as he chases the first major of his career. “Not every day you enjoy a round of golf with an 8 on the card,â€� Casey said, “but I’m a pretty happy man.â€� Casey credited his experience – he turned pro in 2000 – with helping to prevent the wheels from coming off. He didn’t panic. He didn’t rush to make up the shots. And he didn’t dwell on his one bad swing. “I was upset with the score I had made,â€� Casey said, “but it had, in no way, any effect on my attitude or how I was going to then approach the rest of the round or the next shot.â€� That kind of approach should serve him well this weekend. AMATEUR SHOWDOWN: AGGIE VS. LONGHORN Two amateurs have made the cut. One is from the University of Texas (Scottie Scheffler). The other is from Texas A&M (Cameron Champ). Usually, that’s a Hatfields-and-McCoys type of relationship. But not this week at Erin Hills, even though both players will battle for low amateur honors this weekend. “Me and Scottie are really good friends,â€� Champ said. “So it will be kind of fun.â€� The two have known each other since playing together in a junior amateur event in Japan several years ago. “That’s when we became pretty close,â€� Scheffler said. Champ has the advantage going into the third round. He’s 5 under after his 69 on Friday, while Scheffler is at 1 under following a 74. On Erin Hills’ lengthy layout, Champ has been relying on his prodigious length off the tee. He leads the field in driving distance with a 339.3-yard average (two holes are used to measure distance this week). Champ blasted a 355.1-yard drive on the 17th hole Thursday and a 341.4 yarder on Friday. “In college, I normally am the longest,â€� Champ said. “Yeah, I guess I’ve just kind of always been that way. I don’t talk about it much. You’ve still got to make a score. Here if you can hit it long and straight, it’s a great advantage. “I took advantage of it the last few days.â€� Though Scheffler has some ground to make up, he’s not going to spend the final two rounds worrying about how Champ is playing. “Top amateur would be nice, but I’m more focused on how I finish with the entire field,â€� Scheffler said. “It would certainly be very special to be the low am, but I think that will just come with how I play. I’m not really going to focus on that this weekend.â€� MORE LIKE A U.S. OPEN COURSE After a U.S. Open-record 44 rounds under par on Thursday, players expected a more difficult set-up for Erin Hills on Friday. That’s what they got — faster and firmer greens with trickier pin placements. “Definitely a lot more like a U.S. Open today than yesterday,â€� said Marc Leishman, who shot an even-par 72 after his 68 in the first round. “Guess that didn’t like Rickie shooting 7-under yesterday, so they’ll keep reeling it back closer to par,â€� added Harris English, who is also at 4 under after shooting a 68 on Friday. “We knew it was coming today,â€� said William McGirt, who shot a 71 to move to 3 under. “That was no secret.â€� Wind is one of Erin Hills’ primary defenses, but thus far it has not made a major impact on scoring. If the USGA wants to toughen up the course, it will need to rely on other measures. But please, said McGirt — don’t go overboard. “I think the greens are going to get faster and the hole locations aren’t going to get easier,â€� McGirt said. “I think [Thursday] was about as easy as you’re ever going to have it at a U.S. Open. I just hope with the wind direction, they use their head in setting up the tees.â€� BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA Erin Hills looking like a good venue so far, plenty of good scores & plenty of bad ones – always a good sign in my book #usopen— Luke Donald (@LukeDonald) June 16, 2017 Father’s Day weekend goals ðŸ�Œï¸�👀☺ï¸� pic.twitter.com/fVfAwa4Ha7— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 16, 2017 Just … perfect. 👌https://t.co/zVykOCPblH— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 16, 2017 Cut looks like it’s gonna be at least 2 shots lower at the US Open than it was at Colonial… 😳— Justin Thomas (@JustinThomas34) June 16, 2017

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Because you can’t win if you don’t play, the most important piece of advice for the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP is an alert. Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in Chiba, Japan, is 13 hours ahead of the Eastern Time Zone in the United States. Adjusting for the time difference, the tournament is scheduled to being on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET with threesomes off split tees. That’s 4:30 p.m. on the West Coast. Unlike like THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT where upwards of three or four lineups of chalk were possible, all gamers will want to lean heavily on the much smaller handful at the ZOZO. If you try to get cute in this field, it’s going to backfire. My strategy is to have the obvious four golfers rostered and blend with two others for whom I’d feel lucky if they paid off – Joaquin Niemann and Jhonattan Vegas. But if I end up with the default foursome as my starting lineup in the final round, so be it. Each of the last four tournaments of Segment 1 include a cut, so the plan is to do more damage then. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf My roster for the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP (in alphabetical order): Hideki Matsuyama Collin Morikawa Joaquin Niemann Xander Schauffele Jhonattan Vegas Will Zalatoris You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. POWER RANKINGS WILD CARD Erik van Rooyen (+3000) … While the top four in the Power Rankings were gimmes, where to cut off for No. 15 presented as one of the more challenging exercises in memory. No one would have griped if EVR would’ve edged Maverick McNealy, so it’s one of those weeks when the Wild Card acts as a 15a or 16. The South African has done EVeRything asked of him and more since his first child was born over the summer. There’s been no regression since the breakthrough victory at the Barracuda Championship. If anything, he’s fulfilled the hype he brought as a first-time member last season. Sensible in every format at Narashino. DRAWS Charley Hoffman (+4000)… What do he, Cameron Tringale (Power Rankings) and Sung Kang (Sleepers) have in common? They’re the only golfers who cashed in each of the first four tournaments of 2021-22. Hoffman opened with a T22 at Silverado but his results grew progressively worse, so he’s relegated to this section. While it’s not as attention-grabbing as the other two, it still plays for the veteran who has sustained an impact for much longer than the first four events. A return to the top 25 is reasonable. Emiliano Grillo (+4000)… I’ve always cautioned never to base expectations on one good or one bad round at a specific time. However, if you’re going to lean in on any of the permutations, it doesn’t get better than the ball-striking Argentine in a no-cut invitational in the wake of a field-low 61 on Sunday in Vegas. While he’s still better suited for long-range formats, he’s been teasing and, at times, delivering on his promise throughout 2021. Branden Grace Mackenzie Hughes Yuki Inamori K.H. Lee Adam Schenk Matt Wallace Odds sourced on Tuesday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. ET. For live odds visit betmgm. FADES Ryan Palmer (+6600)… There always are exceptions, but this puts to the test his profile as a streaky talent. In advance of the first edition of the ZOZO at Narashino, he had been performing nicely. It was only six months after he and Jon Rahm partnered to prevail in New Orleans when Palmer finished T10 here, but he had been rising on leaderboards in the interim, too. Now he arrives with only one top-25 finish in the same time frame (T4, Scottish Open). Robert Streb (+6600)… Shocked the world with that 7-under salvo on his first six holes en route to an opening 61 at THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT but he’d settle for a T9 and as the only golfer in the top 24 with fewer than three sub-70s for the week (61-72-65-70). It was a reminder to everyone who flourished and failed as a result of the rounds that golf happens. Garrick Higgo (+8000)… He’ll cash this week but it’s been a struggle for the lefty since breaking through at Congaree four months ago. In his last 10 starts worldwide, he’s missed seven cuts, withdrew from the WGC-St. Jude (due to illness) and didn’t post a top 40 in the other two. Doug Ghim Brandon Hagy Kramer Hickok Sebastián Muñoz Doc Redman Brendon Todd RETURNING TO COMPETITION Pat Perez … Had to walk off TPC Summerlin during his second round two weeks ago with a sore foot. He’s been battling discomfort in his lower extremities for a few years, but it didn’t prevent him from finding the gas pedal late last season when he walked off with four top 20s in seven starts. The firepower is still there, so it’s encouraged to sprinkle him into DFS considerations. Wesley Bryan … It’s unusual for any touring professional to end a hiatus from competition extended as long as his five months at a no-cut, limited-field invitational. Toss on the layers that he’s in the field at Narashino on a sponsor exemption and has status on the PGA TOUR via a Major Medical Extension for which he needs just 124.760 FedExCup points to retain status, and it’s all kinds of rare. Of course, the beauty is that he’s guaranteed to contribute to the objective. Green-light special. NOTABLE WDs Sungjae Im … Say it isn’t so! When he opts out early, it looks like fake news. However, the recent winner of the Shriners also elected not to make the trip to England for The Open Championship, so his decision not to travel to Japan during a pandemic isn’t unprecedented. Kevin Na … Like Im, he also passed on The Open over the summer, but Na recently has been dealing with an injured rib. He finished T49 last week at The Summit Club. Paul Casey … He’d have been a popular selection in every format at Narashino where he finished T17 in 2019. Harold Varner III … Opened his career as a father with a T32 at THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT and extended his consecutive cuts-made streak to seven, five of which went for a top 20. Charl Schwartzel … The all-or-nothing narrative continued at The Summit Club where he was the only golfer who completed 72 holes worse than par, and he was at 7-over 295 to boot. Continue to stick with complementary roles in deeper leagues in which you can surround him with consistent production. Jimmy Walker … He’s opened a surprising 2-for-2 on the season with a T24 in his last start at TPC Summerlin. RECAPS – THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT POWER RANKINGS Power Ranking Golfer Result 1 Collin Morikawa 2nd 2 Dustin Johnson T45 3 Justin Thomas T18 4 Xander Schauffele T18 5 Marc Leishman T38 6 Sungjae Im T9 7 Tony Finau T45 8 Louis Oosthuizen T38 9 Sam Burns T5 10 Tyrrell Hatton T18 11 Brooks Koepka T38 12 Rory McIlroy Win 13 Shane Lowry T54 14 Viktor Hovland T18 15 Cameron Smith T9 Wild Card Jason Kokrak T54 SLEEPERS Golfer (GolfBet prop) Result Emiliano Grillo (top 20) T18 Joohyung (Tom) Kim (top 20) T49 Alex Noren (top 20) T59 Kevin Streelman (top 20) T49 Jhonattan Vegas (top 20) T14 GOLFBET Bet Result OUTRIGHT: Collin Morikawa (+1600) 2nd PROP: Collin Morikawa Top 10 (+160) 2nd PROP: Alex Noren Top 10 (+600) T59 BIRTHDAYS AMONG ACTIVE MEMBERS OF THE PGA TOUR October 19 … Ryuji Imada (45); Louis Oosthuizen (39) October 20 … none October 21 … Alex Smalley (25) October 22 … none October 23 … none October 24 … Marc Leishman (38) October 25 … Troy Merritt (36); Xander Schauffele (28)

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