Johnson shoots 7-under 63 to grab lead at FedEx St. Jude Classic

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Cole Hammer would have been happy with pars in the cold and wind on Sea Island. He wound up with more birdies than he imagined Thursday for an 8-under 64 and the low score to par after one round of The RSM Classic. “It was really cool looking at the top (of the leaderboard) and seeing my last name there,” Hammer said. Cool applied more literally to the field, with temperatures in the 50s and feeling even colder with the wind off the ocean. This was a day for wool caps, layers of long sleeves and mittens. As usual at this tournament, that didn’t stop the low scoring. Hammer, who graduated from Texas in May, shared the low score with another Longhorn alum, Beau Hossler, whose 6-under 64 came at the host Seaside course, which played about two shots more difficult to par. “He’s making me look average,” Hossler said when he finished his round and Hammer already was 8 under with three holes to play. Hammer’s big run ended with a bad swing that sent him into the trees right of the par-5 eighth fairway. He took a penalty drop and wound up with a bogey. Callum Tarren of England also had a 64 at Seaside, while Ben Griffin had a 7-under 65 on the Plantation course. Griffin had a great chance at winning in Bermuda three weeks ago until a rough back nine. In the final official PGA TOUR event of 2022, he might get another. For Hammer, a good start was just what he needed. He has been on big stages before, qualifying for the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay as a 15-year-old. He missed the cut. He did fine in a few Korn Ferry Tour starts after getting out of Texas. The PGA TOUR was another matter, as Hammer found himself trying too hard and getting too impatient. The result was six consecutive missed cuts. He thought he was headed for another in the Cadence Bank Houston Open last week, his home tournament, when he opened with a 74. “I missed my first six in a row. It was a pretty dark period,” Hammer said. “I felt like my game was close enough. I was just putting so much pressure on myself early in the tournament. I did it in Houston again, and then came out with a 65 to make the cut. “That really spiked my confidence.” It carried over to The RSM Classic, where Hammer received a sponsor exemption. He only has conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour, so a good week could go a long way. Otherwise, it’s Monday qualifying or writing for sponsor exemptions. “Hopefully, my letter-writing skills will transfer over from my communications degree that I just finished up in May,” he said. For now, he wants to see what he can do over the next three days. Hossler is another player who first made himself known as a teenager in the U.S. Open. That was 10 years ago at Olympic Club, where at 17 he was within four shots of the lead going into the final round. He shot 76 on the last day, and didn’t even get low amateur. That went to another Texas teenager — Jordan Spieth. Hossler is now starting his sixth PGA TOUR season and still looking for his first win. The closest he came was losing to Ian Poulter in a playoff at the Houston Open as a rookie. Even more impressive than his 64 at Seaside in the cold and wind was keeping bogeys off his card, four times scrambling for pars. “It’s a tough course even with no wind and decent temperature,” Hossler said. “To shoot the number I did in these conditions was excellent.” Webb Simpson had a hole-in-one from 219 yards with a 4-hybrid at Plantation on his way to a 5-under 67. Harris English opened with a 4-under 68 at Plantation, a good start to an important week. English missed five months because of hip surgery. He is No. 52 in the world, and a big week could help secure top 50 by the end of the year for a Masters invitation.

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HILTON HEAD, S.C. – Vaughn Taylor and Luke List got the news as they were making the turn on Friday. Nick Watney, who had played with them during the first round of the RBC Heritage, had tested positive for the coronavirus. He is the first PGA TOUR player to test positive since competition resumed last week at the Charles Schwab Challenge after a three-month break due to COVID-19. Clay Neely, a PGA TOUR rules official, stopped the twosome to explain that was why Watney had withdrawn prior to their 12:21 p.m. tee time. The 39-year-old had tested negative upon arrival in Hilton Head but felt minor symptoms on Friday morning and after consulting with a doctor, Watney was tested for a second time which resulted in the positive test. According to protocols put in place by the TOUR, Watney – who was allowed on the grounds at Harbour Town until receiving his test results — will self-isolate and recover as per CDC guidelines and there will be contact tracing to make sure the virus is contained. Jordan Spieth, who is on the PGA TOUR Policy Board, was part of the extensive planning for just such an eventuality. “The whole plan put in place was, not if, but when somebody tests positive, what’s the protocol, and what are the next steps?” Spieth said. “So, I feel confident, just in being on those phone calls, in what the PGA TOUR’s going to do going forward here, and hopefully contact tracing doesn’t lead to anybody else testing positive within the bubble.” Taylor and List said that they would be tested again, as would their caddies. A total of 369 people – players, caddies and other essential personnel – were tested prior to the start of the tournament and all were negative. There were also no positive tests at the Charles Schwab Challenge last week. “I was a little shocked, to be honest,” Taylor said. “Heart started racing, got a little nervous. Just hope Nick’s doing well and we get through this.” Taylor and List, who won the Korn Ferry Challenge at TPC Sawgrass on Sunday, said it was hard not to think about Watney and the positive test as the round wore on. Both are in the field for the Travelers Championship – as long as both test negative. After finishing his round of 69 that left him 6 under for the tournament, Taylor said he was “little nervous” but he does not feel ill. He did not recall being in close proximity to Watney on Thursday. “We kept our space,” he said. “We didn’t shake hands. Right after the round, I washed my hands. Nick never coughed or sneezed. So, I feel comfortable.” Watney, who missed the cut last week and did not fly on the PGA TOUR charter to Hilton Head from Dallas, was on the property at Harbour Town Friday morning. Rory McIlroy talked to him on the putting green before the Northern Irishman teed off – and had a text from Watney when he finished his round. “But we were at a distance,” McIlroy said. “He was just saying, look, I hope I didn’t get too close to you. He feels badly that he was here today at the golf course. I said, look, it’s fine. You never know. “So, I said to him, if I was in your position, I probably would have been here too. Look, at this point, you just have to concentrate on getting better and getting healthy.” McIlroy said he appreciated the text and feels badly for Watney, who obviously is concerned about who he might have exposed. “Look, we’re still in the middle of a pandemic,” McIlroy said. “Until this thing’s over, we all just have to stay vigilant and keep your distance and wear our masks if we’re going out in public and keep washing our hands.” The No. 1 player in the world said he still feels “very safe” and comfortable with the protocols the PGA TOUR has put in place that include frequent testing and the charter flights between tournament sites. “I read a thing today that — look, by the end of the year, there’s going to be 200,000 deaths in the U.S. alone from COVID-19,” McIlroy said. “So, to think that us on the PGA TOUR, none of us were going to get it was very — I don’t think anyone thought that. “I think the consensus was someone is going to get it at some point, and Nick’s the one that’s got it, and he’s self-isolating and doing what he has to do.” Brooks Koepka, who found out about Watney’s positive test on the 17th hole, has traveled with a chef and essentially a private gym while staying in a private residence each of the last two weeks. He said he’s “got everybody on lockdown” and hasn’t had to leave either house since he got to Fort Worth, Texas, last week. “We’re doing what we can as far as players, the TOUR — everybody’s doing what they can to make it safe for us, for everybody,” said Koepka, who saw Watney in the parking lot on Friday morning. “We’ll see what happens. Obviously, testing us every week, and we’re filling out surveys every day. “We’ve got to see what happens. Hopefully — it’s unfortunate Nick got it, but at the same time, hopefully, it stays with just him and doesn’t spread because I think we’ll have a big issue on our hands if it keeps going as the weeks continue.”

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