Jason Kokrak, Kevin Na birdie 12 of last 13 holes to win QBE Shootout

LAS VEGAS - It's hot in Las Vegas but Rickie Fowler is not in the mood for a swim after his chances at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open were sunk by three water balls in four swings on Friday. Fowler led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting during a 4-under 67 on Thursday afternoon, and it looked like his birdie on the drivable par-4 15th, his sixth hole of the second round, could have been the start of a push up the leaderboard. Instead, he imploded on the next two holes at TPC Summerlin to drop five shots and ultimately miss the cut. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Fowler makes putter switch After a great drive down the par-5 16th, the former Las Vegas resident was left with just 218 yards to the hole. His second shot found the pond that guards the front of the green, however. After taking a penalty drop 104 yards from the hole, he dumped his next shot in the water as well. His third attempt found dry land, but he walked away with a triple-bogey 8. The 31-year-old then stood on the par-3 17th tee and promptly pulled his tee shot left into another water hazard to card a double-bogey. It was the second straight day Fowler made 5 on the 17th hole after hitting his tee shot in the water. Fowler's troubles have come during a time he's been trying to implement swing changes. It has seen his accuracy desert him at times. "It definitely has been tough," Fowler said Wednesday before the tournament. "Anyone that goes through changes or even just dealing with struggles, low points, it happens at some point for everyone." The swing changes have been a work in progress for about a year but Fowler still trusts they will cement in soon enough and bring renewed success. "I've never doubted it just because there has been some rounds or some tournaments here and there where seeing the work kind of come through," Fowler said. "Just haven't been able to piece everything together and really put it into a really efficient, consistent form yet. But that is coming. We're just beating down the door." Fowler tried valiantly to make up for his two hole meltdown on Friday, making three birdies in the first seven holes of the front side to give himself a chance at making the weekend. But bogeys on his final two holes, as he tried to press, resulted in a 3-over 74 and an end to his tournament. Fowler won't be the only high profile player finishing up early at Shriners. Jason Day (68-72) will join him and Francesco Molinari (70-68) will need help from the afternoon wave to make his first tournament in seven months extend a further two rounds.

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida and TOKYO – PGA TOUR and ZOZO Inc. officials today announced that the 2021 ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP will be played as scheduled, October 21-24, at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in Chiba, Japan. In 2019, the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP was launched as Japan’s first official PGA TOUR event, with Tiger Woods securing a three-shot victory over Hideki Matsuyama en route to tying the all-time record of 82 TOUR victories held by Sam Snead. The 2020 event was played at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California, after being relocated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Patrick Cantlay secured a one-shot win over Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas for the first of four victories during a breakout 2020-21 PGA TOUR season in which he won the FedExCup. “After moving the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP to the U.S. last year, we are excited to return to Japan this October. This decision is timely as it coincides perfectly with the game’s continued growth and increased participation in Japan following Hideki Matsuyama’s historic triumph at the Masters Tournament in April,” said PGA TOUR Executive Vice President, International, Ty Votaw. “We sincerely thank ZOZO for its terrific partnership with the PGA TOUR and for its strong commitment and dedication to stage the event again in Japan. The TOUR would also like to acknowledge the Japanese government for its guidance in enabling the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP to be held in Japan.” Tournament officials will continue to work closely with the Japanese government to come up with a health, safety and prevention plan which will allow golfers to travel into Japan and compete in the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP. All aspects of the tournament, including a decision on whether spectators will be allowed on site, will be made in due course following close consultation with the Japanese government, local prefectural and city governments. “We are honored to announce that we will be welcoming the PGA TOUR stars back to Japan and we are confident our tournament will showcase world-class golf once again. We would like to express our gratitude to Chiba Prefecture, Inzai City, and all other related parties for their cooperation. We believe that our mission is to deliver excitement and hope to the athletes and fans by providing safe and secure tournament management so that they can truly enjoy themselves. As the title sponsor of the long-established and prestigious PGA TOUR’s ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, we will continue to spread the power of the sport of golf, which is loved beyond generations, genders and nationalities, as well as working towards realizing our corporate philosophy, “Inspire the world. Deliver joy every day,” said ZOZO Inc. President/CEO, Kotaro Sawada. This year’s ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, which will offer a US$9.95 million purse, will be comprised of 78 players including the leading players from the 2020-2021 FedExCup, players designated by the Japan Golf Tour Organization, the top finishers of the Bridgestone Open and sponsor exemptions. The tournament will be broadcast to 216 countries and regions around the world. In Japan, TV Asahi will broadcast the event live on their terrestrial, BS and CS channels throughout the four-day tournament, while GOLFTV powered by PGA TOUR will provide coverage on its digital platform. As in previous years, part of the tournament’s proceeds will be donated to charitable causes. As a full FedExCup tournament, the winner of the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP will earn 500 FedExCup points and will be fully exempt through the PGA TOUR’s 2023-24 Season. The event will be co-sanctioned once again with the Japan Golf Tour Organization. For more information on the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, please visit ZOZOCHAMPIONSHIP.com.

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