Koepka (+1) wins second straight U.S. Open

SAN FRANCISCO — Dustin Johnson lost his yardage book and still found his way through an enormous crowd of contenders Saturday, making eight birdies at Harding Park for a 5-under 65 and a one-shot lead in the PGA Championship. Nothing ever comes easily for Johnson in the majors. In this case, his brother had a spare yardage book. Even that might not have stopped Johnson from making his most birdies in any round of a major. RELATED: Full leaderboard And he needed them all. Johnson was among eight players who had at least a share of the lead at some point Saturday, a wild third round of low scores, long putts and endless possibilities. One possibility is Brooks Koepka hoisting the Wanamaker Trophy for the third straight year, which hasn’t happened since Walter Hagen won four in a row in the 1920s when it was match play. Koepka was one shot behind when he made a few careless mistakes, ran off three straight bogeys and had to birdie the 18th for a 69 to stay within two shots. Scottie Scheffler, the PGA TOUR rookie from Texas, bogeyed his last hole for a 65 and was one shot behind with Cameron Champ (67), who grew up in Sacramento and has the most powerful swing on TOUR. Johnson was at 9-under 201 as he goes for his second major title. For all the chances he has had, this is only the second time he has led going into the final round. “I’m going to have to play good golf if I want to win. It’s simple,” Johnson said. “I’ve got to hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens. If I can do that tomorrow, I’m going to have a good chance coming down the stretch. … I’m just going to have to do what I did today. Just get it done.” Among the cast of contenders are major champions like Koepka, Jason Day and Justin Rose, and fresh faces like Scheffler, Champ and Collin Morikawa. Also right there was Bryson DeChambeau, thanks to a 95-foot putt for birdie on his last hole. Turns out he can hit long putts, too. Missing from all this action is Tiger Woods, who didn’t make a birdie until the 16th hole and is out of the mix for the fourth straight major since his emotional Masters victory last year. A dozen players were separated by three shots. Haotong Li, the first player from China to lead after any round at a major, was leading through 12 holes until his tee shot didn’t come down from a tree. He made double bogey, dropped two more shots and finished four shots out of the lead. Johnson didn’t have smooth sailing, either, especially when he couldn’t find his yardage book. He thinks it slipped into the bottom of the golf bag, and he didn’t feel like dumping his 14 clubs all over the ground to find it. Austin Johnson, his brother and caddie, had a spare. Johnson shot 65 even with a double bogey on the ninth hole. Mistakes like that might be more costly on Sunday, the first major without any spectators. There was some concern that so many people in contention and no noise on the golf course might make it difficult for contenders to keep track of what’s going on. Then again, Johnson won the U.S. Open in 2016 at Oakmont without knowing the score as the USGA tried to decide whether he should be penalized.

Click here to read the full article…

SUN CITY, South Africa — Tommy Fleetwood saved his best for last with a final-round 67 to come from behind and retain his title at the Nedbank Golf Challenge on Sunday as he ended a three-year winless drought. The Englishman moved up from a tie for seventh overnight to finish 11 under par overall and win by a stroke from New Zealand’s Ryan Fox (68), who was hoping to go top of the season rankings with a victory in Sun City but just missed out after making a bogey on the last. Fleetwood won in Sun City in 2019 but was the defending champion after the 2020 and 2021 tournaments were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He kept his nerve when others around him faded on the final day, making four birdies on his opening nine and rebounding from a bogey on No. 12 with an incredible eagle on the par-5 No. 14 when he holed out from a bunker. He made pars the rest of the way home to become the first player since compatriot Lee Westwood in 2011 to win back-to-back titles at the Nedbank. Fox was the first-round leader after opening with a superb 64, raising his hopes that he could win in Sun City and overtake Rory McIlroy at the top of the European rankings ahead of the season-ending World Tour Championship in Dubai next week. He would have had a chance if not for the bogey five on No. 18 — his only bogey of the round — that allowed Fleetwood to win. Fox stays second in the season standings behind McIlroy, while Fleetwood is fourth heading to Dubai. McIlroy wasn’t playing at the Nedbank Challenge. Shubhankar Sharma (69) was third. Rasmus Hojgaard and Thomas Detry had shared the third-round lead but couldn’t hold on through a final day that was interrupted by rain. Hojgaard carded a 4-over 76 to finish tied for eighth while Detry’s final-round 77 saw him tumble to a share of 13th. European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald was another man in with a chance at the halfway point but his search for a first European or PGA TOUR title in a decade came undone over the weekend as he shot 73 and 75 in his final two rounds to be one of those tied with Detry in 13th place.

Click here to read the full article…

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Wind swirled, balls went in the water, and teeth gnashed. Round two at the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club on Friday brought brutally difficult conditions for the afternoon starters, who struggled mightily. With a few exceptions. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Inside Max Homa’s mind | Rory McIlroy makes move at Wells Fargo Championship Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz and Abraham Ancer, prospective members of the 2022 International Presidents Cup Team that will take on the U.S. at Quail Hollow, shot 68 and 70, respectively. At 4 under (Ortiz) and 3 under (Ancer) overall, they’re right behind the trio of leaders at 6 under. It was good news for them and good news for 2022 International Captain Trevor Immelman, who hosted a team dinner for prospective team members here earlier this week. “A lot,” Ortiz said, when asked how encouraged he was by his performance at Quail. “You know, Trevor talked a lot to us, and it was pretty inspiring the way he talked and definitely pumped me up. It’s something I’m really looking forward to playing. I mean, I think playing good on this golf course helps.” Ortiz jarred his bunker shot at the first hole, birdied three of his first four, and offset two back-nine bogeys with two birdies. He’s in a five-way tie for fifth in a group that also includes, among others, two-time Wells Fargo winner Rory McIlroy (66). Ancer, who is part of a four-way tie for 10th through 36 holes, also won the 2018 Australian Open in windy conditions. Like Ortiz, he lives in Texas and is no stranger to wind, but said the conditions at Quail on Friday afternoon might have been even tougher than they were in Australia. “Yeah, it was I guess pretty similar, but this golf course, it’s a lot harder with wind like this,” he said. “A lot more water, the rough is high. Over there you can definitely miss in some spots and work with the slopes, and here it’s way, way harder to do that, to play with wind out here. “It’s very – almost no room for error, to be honest.” As for the Presidents Cup, Ancer said he’s starting to think about it. “It was nice to see the guys and have dinner with them and with Captain Trevor,” he said. “I know it’s more than a year and a half from now, but we’ve still got to get ready and get some reps in here. It’s always important, it’s a big golf course and it’s good to practice as much as you can.”

Click here to read the full article…