Jordan Spieth starts strong at Valero Texas Open

Click here to read the full article…

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Reigning FedExCup champion Justin Thomas is still without his regular caddie at this week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. Thomas will go with his coach Matt Killen on the bag while Jimmy Johnson continues to rest at home. The veteran caddie had a right foot injury and was forced out of action midway through the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua earlier this month. Thomas went the rest of the way with his dad, Mike, on the bag. Jim (Bones) Mackay, who caddied for Phil Mickelson before the two went separate ways last summer, took Thomas’ bag at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Thomas is coming back from a two-week break at the Waste Management.  “He’s doing better,� he said of Johnson, who began suffering the effects of plantar fasciitis at the CIMB Classic in October. “I talked to him yesterday. He said he probably could have gone this week, but he didn’t have an option. I told him he wasn’t allowed to caddie this week, just because I want him back to 100 percent starting whenever he starts. “I told him whether it’s L.A., or if it’s Match Play, or Masters, whatever it is, I just, I don’t want him coming back too soon and then having to take another month off. I think he has his boot off, he had a cortisone shot, so he said that was really fun, and he’s just going through therapy every day. He’s just kind of doing exercises and stretches for it. It sounds like he’s going to be good to go for [the Genesis Open in] L.A., so [it will] be good to have the man back.� Thomas and Killen have known each other since they were boys, and Killen caddied for Thomas when he tied for fifth at the 2015 John Deere Classic. Given all that, and given the fact that Jason Day won the Farmers Insurance Open with boyhood friend Rika Batibasaga on the bag on Monday, could having a new caddie on the bag wind up being a refreshing change? “I’ll let you know at the end of the week,� Thomas said, setting off laughter in the interview room. Although Mackay is a seasoned pro, Thomas added, it took some time for them to get used to working together. That’s to be expected, he said, when changing dance partners on the PGA TOUR. As for Killen, Thomas added, he’s not especially worried. “He’s know me since I was about 8 years old,� Thomas said, “and kind of watched me growing up and playing a lot of golf, so he knows my game pretty well.�   

Click here to read the full article…

NAPLES, Fla. — Jason Kokrak and Kevin Na birdied 12 of their last 13 holes Sunday in fourballs and closed with a 12-under 60 to rally from at three-shot deficit and win the QBE Shootout. Kokrak and Na were five shots behind after a bogey on the par-3 fifth hole when they ran off nine straight birdies, seven of them by Na. And then it was Kokrak’s turn down the stretch, and he finished off the one-shot victory with a 6-foot birdie putt. Four teams had a chance to win over the final two holes. Kokrak blasted a drive down the fairway and had a wedge he hit into 6 feet below the cup. His final birdie staked the team to a two-shot lead, meaning the last two teams behind them had to hole out from the fairway to force a playoff. Billy Horschel chipped in for birdie from near the water hazard as he and Sam Burns shot 61 to finish one shot behind. Horschel and Burns did not have a score worse than 62 all week. Marc Leishman and Jason Day, who opened with a 56 and led all week, couldn’t keep pace. Leishman made a 10-foot eagle putt on the par-5 17th to get within one shot, but then Kokrak in the group ahead made birdie and the Australian duo had to settle for par. They shot 65 and tied for third with defending champions Harris English and Matt Kuchar, who closed with a 62. Na and Kokrak didn’t look to be part of the picture when they were even for the round through five holes. They made birdie on every hole but the 15th the rest of the way. “We got off to a poor start,” Na said. “We kept telling ourselves there are plenty of birdie holes out there. I started making some birdies and we got hot.” Na and Kokrak share a swing coach in Drew Steckel and often play practice rounds together. Lexi Thompson, the only LPGA Tour player in the field, who also played Tiburon Golf Club last month in the LPGA Tour’s season-ending Tour Championship, teamed with Bubba Watson and had to settle for a 68. They finished ninth in the 12-team field.

Click here to read the full article…