Khang wins CPKC Women’s Open, first LPGA title

BETHESDA, Md. – Tiger Woods officially changed his putter but the results on the greens remained pretty much the same in a humid opening round of the Quicken Loans National at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm. Woods ranked 92nd of 120 players in Strokes Gained: Putting as he carded a grinding even par 70, leaving him seven shots off the pace set by leaders Andrew Landry and J.J. Spaun and in a tie for 48th place. The 79-time PGA TOUR winner added a TaylorMade Ardmore 3 mallet style putter, ditching the blade style putter he used for 13 of his 14 major championships, after recent poor results on the greens. Despite making just 48 feet, seven inches of putts Thursday – his longest being a birdie from eight feet, 11 inches – Woods said he was dedicated to the change. “I am very committed to it. It’s technology as well. We have the grooves in there just like when I was with Nike, helps roll the ball better, faster, earlier on the greens,â€� he said. “I’ve always struggled on greens that are a little on the slower side and these greens aren’t very quick right now and they won’t be quick in three weeks’ time, either. “So it was a nice thing to move to a putter that rolls a little bit quicker, it has more swing to it.  I’ve always liked putters that have some swing to it.â€� Short of a few misreads on his back nine Woods was adamant he putted well despite missing five putts inside 15 feet, three of which were inside 10 feet. “I rolled it well today, I really did. I hit a lot of good putts early that didn’t go in,â€� Woods claimed. “If I’m hitting putts on my line with my speed, then I’m happy. They’ll go in eventually. It’s been a while since I’ve done that.â€� OBSERVATIONS LANDRY GOES LOW … Last year TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm was the fourth hardest course on the PGA TOUR in its debut as host for the Quicken Loans National. Nick Watney fired a final-round 64 for the low round of the week. That mark was broken Thursday morning this year as Valero Texas Open champion Andrew Landry fired an impressive 7-under 63. J.J. Spaun then matched it in the afternoon for the pair to share the lead. Landry’s bogey free round was a welcome one given he’s missed three cuts, had a WD, and been no better than T65 since his breakthrough win in April.  Just last week he opened with an 81 at the Travelers Championship. “I’ve been working the last few days on doing something a little bit different in my golf swing and getting a little bit further away from it and it’s kind of making my plane a little bit flatter, which is what I need,â€� Landry, who sits 22nd in the FedExCup, said. “It’s definitely helping out and we’ll see how it goes.â€� BRACE SPAUNS RESURECTION … Earlier this season J.J. Spaun was being bothered by a pain in the back of his right hand. It was bad enough for him to WD at the Waste Management Phoenix Open after nine holes. But an MRI showed no problems so he battled on, playing at the Genesis Open and then The Honda Classic. It was in Florida the pain reared up again and Spaun figured enough was enough. So he went to see a hand specialist who works with the Los Angeles Dodgers. “He basically told me my ulnar nerve in my right elbow is compressed and it’s either from overuse or sleeping on it incorrectly,â€� Spaun revealed. “It’s almost sort of like cubital tunnel syndrome, it’s just kind of your arm, your hand goes numb.â€� The diagnosis meant six weeks off as he wore a brace at night to alleviate the condition.    “I had to sleep in an arm brace at night. It keeps my arm dead straight so you can’t bend it or sleep on it, so that was terrible for about a month,â€� Spaun added. “But it’s nice to kind of put that behind me and not really have to worry about it.â€� Although he’s missed five of eight cuts since his return he finished third at the AT&T Byron Nelson and sits tied for the lead after a bogey free 7-under 63 here at the Quicken Loans National. “I was making a lot of good putts from mid-range that I normally haven’t been making. I felt a lot more comfortable over my putter as of late and it’s kind of nice to hit a lot of greens, hit a lot of fairways and see some more putts go in,â€� he said. PUTNAM IN … In his first 120 PGA TOUR rounds, Andrew Putnam had zero scores of 64 or better. In nine rounds since, he has shot 64 four times including his opening round. Putnam missed six cuts in his first 11 starts of this season with no top-10s. In eight starts since, he is eight from eight making cuts with three top-10s including his runner up finish at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. “I’ve been playing good for the last couple months,â€� Putnam, who ranks 53rd in the FedExCup claimed. “You can’t score your best every single tournament, but I’ve made seven cuts in a row or more, so I would say that’s a pretty good streak.â€� NOTABLES MARC LEISHMAN – The 18th ranked player in the world hit just three fairways all day but still managed to shoot a 3-under 67 and sit in a tie for 10th. RICKIE FOWLER – Fowler sat two over through 13 holes but ground his way home with two late birdies to post at even par 70 and in a tie for 48th. KYLE STANLEY – The defending champion opened his account with a 1-over 71 to be T68 FRANCESCO MOLINARI – An impressive opening 67 from the world mo. 17 has him well poised in a tie for 10th. BEAU HOSSLER – His incredible Thursday run continues with a 5-under 65 to be tied fifth. QUOTABLES Sounds so cliché but you’ve just got to be so patient out there because one loose shot and you can really get yourself into some trouble. This course is tough. It penalizes you, except for Leish today. He hit three fairways and shoots 3 under. That’s hard to do on this place. It definitely wasn’t pretty … SUPERLATIVES Low round: 7-under 63 – Andrew Landry, J.J. Spaun Longest drive: 369 yards – J.B. Holmes on the par-4 6th. Longest putt: 60 feet, 1 inch – Marc Leishman nailed a birdie bomb on the par-3 3rd. Toughest hole: Par-4 11th played to 4.292 with just 10 birdies, 25 bogeys, seven doubles and two others. Easiest hole: Par-4 14th. The drivable par-4 played to a 3.658 average with four eagles and 51 birdies. CALL OF THE DAY For play-by-play coverage of the second round of the Quicken Loans National, listen at PGATOUR.COM. SHOT OF THE DAY

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ORLANDO, Fla. – Rory McIlroy is a well-read man, and he likes to tell people that he knows “a little about a lot.” On golf, on business matters of the PGA TOUR, and even about the golf course at Bay Hill Club & Lodge, home to this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, he could hold an advanced doctorate. It took McIlroy some time to get to Arnie’s Place, but once he visited, played, soaked in the meaning and was able to spend some quality time with the tournament namesake before Palmer’s passing in 2016, he was sold on everything about it. Course conditions the past few years have been firm, dry and windy – it’s a little softer so far this March – and Bay Hill can be an intimidator, the way that Palmer always wanted it. But the mop-haired McIlroy, now 32, just seems to whistle along at this venue. For him, the course is one in which he can stay within himself, take care of the friendly par 5s, play smartly on the tougher holes and more often than not produce a good score. Seven times in seven years he has fired 66 or better, including a final-round 64 in 2018, when he won. McIlroy has finished T11 or better in six of his seven visits. His winning total of 16-under 270 in ’18 stands as the lowest 72-hole score at Bay Hill since 2015. With his trophy and winner’s share ($1.6 million then, $2.16 million this week, along with 550 FedEx Cup points) came the champion’s red cardigan sweater, a nod to Palmer’s fashionable side. It remains a treasured piece of McIlroy’s “trophy” collection. “I haven’t broken it out since then – it’s a little scratchy and wouldn’t be comfortable on the skin,” McIlroy said of the alpaca sweater. “The tradition, the cardigan, I think it’s one of the coolest trophies that we have in golf. I wish Arnold would have been around to be with me on the 18th green then. That would have been the icing on the cake.” McIlroy, a 20-time PGA TOUR winner who is ranked fifth in the world, does not have much in terms of a sample size to his 2021-22 season. That will change soon with a handful of bigger events looming, starting with the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and THE PLAYERS Championship next week, and running up toward the Masters, the lone major standing between him and the Career Grand Slam. His two official PGA TOUR starts this season include a victory at THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT, and a tie for 10th at The Genesis Invitational two weeks ago, where he shot 67-68 on the weekend. His reunion with his longtime swing coach, Michael Bannon, after the two were apart for most of 2021, has led to McIlroy being more cognizant of what his left arm is doing in his backswing, and he has tried to become more “neutral” at the top. That’s the golfspeak of his world. More simply, he wants to contend more often and regain the uber-confidence that made him world No. 1. He aims to become more consistent, and to win major championships again. Major No. 4 (his last) was at the PGA Championship in the summer of 2014, a considerable drought. He has won two FedExCups and THE PLAYERS since, but his Career Grand Slam quest continues. “I’ve driven the ball pretty well,” McIlroy said. “I’ve seen a bit of improvement in iron play. My short game’s been really good. If anything, just getting the consistency to a point where I feel like I can play like that day in and day out. But the game feels good, so just sort of trying to keep doing what I’m doing.” On Wednesday afternoon, after his pro-am and a few media obligations, McIlroy was headed to the chipping area next to the practice green behind the Bay Hill clubhouse, where pictures of Palmer adorn the walls. This year’s course setup at API includes replacing some of the tightly-mown runoff areas near the green complexes with thick rough. Greens can be hard to hit at Bay Hill; McIlroy said the new setup “is definitely a different test than the one in previous years.” McIlroy had shared his Bay Hill game plan with world No. 1 Jon Rahm, who is here for the first time. He told Rahm how he could play conservatively as long as he attacks on the par 5s. Rahm could hit iron off the tee at the par-4 10th, for instance, and maybe on a few other holes, McIlroy advised. The two stood together on the tee at Bay Hill’s par-5 sixth because of a backup on Wednesday. Rahm: “I said, Rory, where are the irons? I’m hitting driver on every single hole!” (Later, Rahm would add, “It’s a great golf course. I can see why Tiger won so many times here.”) In McIlroy’s group on Wednesday was former Major League Baseball knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, who showed off a World Series ring to the group. Wakefield is a pretty decent golfer. When he received a call on Tuesday night that informing him of the pairing, he immediately phoned his wife, very excited, much the way a 10-year-old kid might. “HEY, GUESS WHO I’M PLAYING WITH TOMORROW!!!” he started. “Impressive,” was the word that Wakefield kept using to describe McIlroy after their round. Wakefield was asked if he was surprised that so much power can be generated by a player so relatively small in stature – McIlroy is 5 feet 10, and weighs 160 pounds, but was second on TOUR in Driving Distance last season (319.3 yards). He wasn’t. “He knows how to generate the power with what he has,” Wakefield said. “I’ve pitched against guys his size who hit homers a long ways. It’s all a matter of timing, and how he does it.” McIlroy’s emergence as a marquee regular at Arnie’s Place has been about great timing, too. He will be a crowd favorite this week, a thoughtful player with boatloads of charisma. (Sound familiar?) McIlroy is glad he is here. He gets it. The meaning of the week, and Arnold Palmer, isn’t lost on him. He’d absolutely love another one of those itchy red sweaters. “We all know what Arnold Palmer means to the PGA TOUR, and to the game of golf in general,” McIlroy said. “So, it’s always nice to be here and try to sort of remember his legacy, and remember what he meant to everyone. He was probably the catalyst with maybe a few other guys of why we’re here today, and why the game of professional golf is at such a high level.” At Bay Hill, Rory McIlroy knows a lot about a lot.

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