Johnson birdies 18th to win APGA Championship

Francesco Molinari won The Open on Sunday, outlasting a star-studded field at Carnoustie to clinch his first career major championship.

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NAPA, Calif. — Tyler Duncan chipped in from the fringe for eagle on the par-5 18th hole Friday to take the second-round lead in the season-opening Safeway Open. Making his second career PGA TOUR start, Duncan shot a 6-under 66 for a one-stroke lead over defending champion Brendan Steele at Silverado Resort and Spa. Duncan, the Web.com Tour graduate who shared the first-round lead with Steele and Tom Hoge, also had seven birdies and three bogeys to reach 13-under 131. “It’s crazy, it’s nothing I could have ever dreamed of,” said Duncan, whose only other PGA TOUR event was as a regional qualifier in the 2015 U.S. Open. “I don’t think it’s sunk in yet, to be honest. It’s something I’ve dreamed about for a long time. I’m just happy to be playing here and to be in the lead is something special.” Steele had six birdies and a bogey in a 67. He’s 30 under is his past six rounds in the event. “It was really a solid day, very similar to yesterday,” Steele said. “I hit a lot of good shots, rolled and a lot of good putts and was able to watch Chesson go crazy.” Chesson Hadley, who began the second round seven shots behind the leaders, broke the course record with a career-best 61 to get within two strokes. He parred the final two holes. “It’s just one of those days everything was going my way,” said Hadley, the 2014 Puerto Rico Open winner who regained his TOUR card through the Web.com Tour. “I was hitting great shots, good putts and got some good breaks. When you get that of momentum, things just go your way. He had an eagle, 10 birdies and a bogey. His previous career best was a 64 in the opening round of the 2015 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Zac Blair (66) and Tony Finau (65) were 9 under, and Graham DeLaet (67) and Brian Davis (66) were another stroke back. “I just had a lot of good looks,” said Blair, who doesn’t have a bogey through 36 holes. “I made 17 greens out there, left myself in some good spots, made a few of them and it was just kind of easy out there.” Emiliano Grillo, who won the event two years ago, was 7 under after a 70. Phil Mickelson, seeking his first win in since 2013, shot his second 69 to reach 6 under. “I expected to score a little bit better today, but I had some good chances today,” said Mickelson, who had six birdies, one bogey and a double bogey. “I drove it a lot better, I hit quite a few more fairways and gave myself some good birdie chances. But I let a few opportunities slide.” Mickelson, playing in his 91st PGA TOUR event since his last win, finished eighth in the tournament last year and has six straight rounds in the 60s at Silverado. “A low round is out there,” said Mickelson, who birdied three straight holes after double-bogeying the 14th — his fifth hole of the day. “I feel like I’m getting close to it.” John Daly, the two-time major winner who in May won his first PGA TOUR Champions title and is playing via a sponsor exemption, birdied the 18th for second-round 69 to make the 1-under cut at 143. Daly had missed the cuts in his past 12 PGA TOUR events.

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Matt Every, Scott Brown, Stuart Cink and Sebastian Munoz each shot 6-under 64s on Thursday to share the lead after one round at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. Charl Schwartzel and Matt Jones were each one stroke back at the final tuneup before the U.S. Open. Two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen and Chez Reavie each shot a 66 on the par-70 TPC Southwind course. The 33-year-old Every has two wins on the PGA TOUR, but none since 2014. He’s only made two cuts this year and hasn’t finished better than a tie for 62nd at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard in March. “I haven’t played real well in a couple years, and I’ve been out here for like seven or eight, so I kind of know the drill,” Every said. “Like one round is not that big a deal. It is nice to play well, but yeah, they don’t hand out trophies after the first round.” Every had four birdies during his round and an eagle on the par-5 16th, sticking his second shot about 10 feet from the flagstick before sinking the putt. He closed his round by making a 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th. “Middle of the round got a little away from me, but I saved some shots and I haven’t been doing that lately,” Every said. “Then I played pretty solid the last few holes. So it was just a good day. I was kind of due for one.” Cink, Brown and Munoz joined him by making afternoon charges up the leaderboard. “I’ve been striking it nicely now for a few months and just the putter’s kind of been a little inconsistent,” Brown said. “Hot some days, cold some days. … If I can keep the putter rolling, should be kind of in the mix for the week.” Cink, a 44-year-old, six-time winner on TOUR and 2009 Open Championship winner, birdied three straight holes late in his round, including one from about 10 feet on the par-4 5th. He bogeyed the next hole, then closed his round with a birdie on No. 9 to catch Brown and Every. “The key to my round today was the key to anyone’s round who plays well here and that is you’ve got to keep the ball in front of you,” Cink said. “Meaning, you don’t have to hit every fairway, but you can’t really be off too much.” Munoz, a 24-year-old, third-year pro from Colombia who’s chasing his first victory on TOUR, was bogey-free during the best round of his career. He had six birdies, including two in a row on Nos. 15-16. DIVOTS: Billy Horschel used a fairway wood to putt on his final hole after he broke his putter a hole earlier. After missing a 2-foot putt on No. 8, he flipped his putter in the air and the head snapped off when it struck the ground. According to PGA rules, he wasn’t allowed to use a new putter because it didn’t break during the course of play. He finished with a 72.

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