Jim Herman earns second PGA TOUR victory at Barbasol Championship

KAPALUA, Hawaii — Jon Rahm is starting to get used to low scoring on the Plantation Course at Kapalua. He can only hope this start leads to a better finish in the Sentry Tournament of Champions. One year after he was 33-under par and still finished second, Rahm birdied three of his last four holes for a 9-under 64 and shared the lead Thursday with Colin Morikawa and J.J. Spaun in an idyllic start to the year. Morikawa began the back nine with six straight birdies, his longest such streak on the PGA TOUR. Spaun, at Kapalua for the first time, had four straight birdies on the back. Last year’s 34 under winning score was a PGA TOUR record to par during a week of hardly any wind. Such was the case Thursday on a course that was firm and played even shorter because of severe slopes that can make shots roll much longer on the ground than they fly in the air. Billy Horschel was the only player in the 39-man field who failed to break par. shooting 76. Xander Schauffele scratched out a 70 while dealing with a back issue that has surfaced for the second time in a month.

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CROMWELL, Conn. — It never entered Brooks Koepka’s mind to pull out of this week’s Travelers Championship. Despite the grind of winning his second consecutive U.S. Open, Koepka is back in action this week at TPC River Highlands. It’s the first time since Justin Rose in 2013 that the U.S. Open winner has played the following week. “If I say I’m going to do something, I’ll do it,â€� Koepka said Wednesday. “I’m not going to pull out just because of last week. “And we’re playing good, so you might as well ride the momentum.â€� A year ago when he won with a record-tying score of 16 under at Erin Hills, Koepka took a month off before resuming his schedule at the next major, the Open Championship. This year, he committed to Travelers before winning last week at Shinnecock Hills with a score of 1 over. His celebration Sunday night didn’t start until just before midnight. Several pizzas were ordered, with family and friends savoring the moment of their man becoming the first player since Curtis Strange in 1989 to successfully defend a U.S. Open title. He then rested the next two days and arrived at TPC River Highlands on Wednesday afternoon, where he promptly went to the range for a quick practice session to loosen up. He tees off at 8 a.m. ET on Thursday with the other two big winners this season — Webb Simpson (THE PLAYERS Championship) and Patrick Reed (Masters). When asked if he was rested, Koepka’s reply was simple. “I guess so,” he said. “I don’t really know. I’m still going on adrenaline.â€�

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Weekly 18: Losses lead to wins — just ask Kizzire, who edged Fowler

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