Koepka powers to share of Northern Trust lead

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — Each day at U.S. Open, PGATOUR.COM’s staff writers will dive into the big issues and questions everyone is discussing. Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas each admitted they hadn’t known the USGA changed the playoff format, from an 18-hole Monday playoff to a two-hole Sunday one. What else surprised you from the press conferences so far? Sean Martin, Senior Editor: I appreciated Jason Day’s boldness and honesty. “I think if I want to be the best player in the world, I’ll be the best player in the world,â€� is a quote that really stuck out to me from Tuesday. He definitely seemed inspired. Ben Everill, Staff Writer: Hearing Jason Day talk about Tiger Woods’ “MC Hammer pantsâ€� from 2004 at Shinnecock and then Bubba Watson’s messy burrito habits was something I was not expecting in the lead-up to this tournament. Jonathan Wall, Equipment Insider: Probably D.J. admitting he hit mid irons and even a couple long irons into some of the holes at Shinnecock. And here I thought he carried driver and a bunch of wedges.  Cameron Morfit, Staff Writer: Given the way the ’04 U.S. Open ended, I’m surprised that the only complaining has been about the traffic. But it’s early. Shinnecock’s greens are like upside-down cereal bowls, and once balls start landing in the wrong places and funneling 50 yards away, it’s on. Who is the one player almost no one is talking about who is nonetheless on your radar?  Martin: I don’t think enough people are talking about Tommy Fleetwood. He finished fourth in last year’s U.S. Open and remains very much one of the world’s best players. I think he’ll like Shinnecock Hills’ linksy characteristics. Everill: Lucas Herbert. The 23-year-old Australian dominated the Portland Sectionals and is a highly touted youngster out of Australia. Won’t be overawed and could easily replicate Cameron Smith’s U.S. Open debut from 2015 (T4). Wall: Tommy Fleetwood. He’s finished outside the top 25 three times in 10 TOUR starts this season. And did I mention he was fourth last season at the U.S. Open? He has the game to contend at Shinnecock. Literally no one is talking about him. Morfit: He got injured, so Brooks Koepka fell out of the conversation. Now he’s back. He’s posted 63s in two of his last three starts and said in his presser, “I feel like I always play well at U.S. Opens. I play very conservative, middle of the greens a lot of times, and I feel like major championships are kind of where I shine.â€� I’d be shocked if the defending champ doesn’t finish in the top 10. Dustin Johnson looked strong in winning the FedEx St. Jude Classic by six, but is Shinnecock a course that favors touch around the greens more than power off the tee?  Martin: I think the short game is going to be very important this week. Between the wind and the sloping greens, those chipping areas around the putting surfaces are going to get plenty of work. The last three U.S. Opens here were won by stellar short games. Raymond Floyd was one of the best chippers in the game. Corey Pavin hit less than half the greens when he won here. Retief Goosen hit only six greens in the final round. Everill: It is clearly a mixture of both but there must also be a premium on accuracy. At the end of the day the guy who gets up and down from trouble and makes the clutch par putts will hoist the trophy. Wall: I think you need to have an all-around game to contend. It’s important to find the fairway, but you can’t continually lay back and have mid and long irons into the greens. Even the best short game in the world won’t keep you from making a couple bogeys with that game plan. Morfit: I don’t think a bomber wins, especially as dry as it is this week. Shinnecock is a second-shot course (Goosen was a specialist with the irons), and being crafty and economical around those crazy green complexes counts for a lot, too. Phil Mickelson is making his 27th U.S. Open start, and says he loves the setup. He’s tried just about everything. How would you prepare if you were him?  Martin: I think take it easy and rely on your past work here. He’s played here twice and done well. And energy management is key for Mickelson at this stage in his career, as we saw at THE PLAYERS Championship. Everill: By renting a bigger yacht than Tiger’s and parking it right next door. Phil needs to be Phil – that is relaxed and trying to be funny. Forget all this career slam pressure. Just go out and play. Wall: What he’s doing right now: Resting. Phil played last week in Memphis and needed a recharge. Playing the course in advance of this week meant he didn’t need to grind out practice rounds. Work on the short game and conserve energy for what should be a 72-hole grind at Shinnecock.   Morfit: Golf Channel’s Tim Rosaforte has him practicing and playing off-site at nearby Friar’s Head with, among others, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. I hope they’re taking a cart, because he should do as little as possible to preserve his legs and (admittedly) sporadic ability to drill down and focus. It’s a long week.

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Granted, it was a wet first round of THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass, but it was still surprising to hear Keith Mitchell credit a swimmer for the assist after shooting a 5-under 67 to trail co-leaders Tommy Fleetwood and Tom Hoge by one. Over a year ago, Mitchell, 30, was well into a promising career had yielded one PGA TOUR victory at The Honda Classic, but he suspected he wasn’t getting the most out of his game. The culprit: his bad attitude. To address the problem, he reached out to 23-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps, the most decorated U.S. swimmer of all time. “I was not giving it my all,” Mitchell said after his opening round Thursday, which featured an eagle at the par-5 ninth hole. “And he was kind of helping me through some like downs and kind of really hit the reset button about a year ago. That kind of started everything, getting a mentality, getting some coaching, and really just not just feeling sorry for yourself out here.” With weather delays that eclipsed five hours, the first round tested everyone in the field. Mitchell said he had fun hanging out in the locker room and maintained a positive attitude. That hasn’t always been easy, but his work with Phelps, an avid golfer, has helped. Before they began their skull sessions, Mitchell said, he felt beat up, and like he had hit some sort of wall. “We had dinner a long time ago in Phoenix,” Mitchell said, “and he was talking about some really thoughtful things that apply to every sport. I’ll never forget, it really made an impact on me. It’s not just your typical golf stuff like one shot at a time and stay patient. It was more of kind of how to act and focus on the course, which is how you would do in swim meets. “… I just remember feeling like a loser talking to him sometimes,” he continued, “how I felt on the golf course, like pity and sorrow, and this game is hard. He just pretty much said there’s no place for that if you want to be at the top. That was probably a year, year and a half ago, when I was probably the lowest I’ve been in the World Rankings since I got on the PGA TOUR.” Mitchell had dropped all the way to 249th in the world after the Valspar Championship last year but began his comeback with a T3 at the Wells Fargo Championship. Since then, he has made a steady climb, and top-10s at The Honda Classic and WM Phoenix Open have him up to 73rd. Asked how often he sees Phelps, Mitchell said not often, but they still talk on the phone. “One call with him is pretty impactful,” he said. “I can promise you that.”

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HONOLULU (AP) — Different islands, vastly different golf courses, same good play from Brian Harman. One week after Harman shared the 36-hole lead at Kapalua, he ran off three-straight birdies and closed with a 15-foot eagle putt for a 7-under 63 and a three-shot lead going into the weekend at the Sony Open. Harman was at 13-under 127, and no one could catch him on Friday afternoon. Chris Kirk, who shared the 18-hole lead with Harman, opened by pitching in from 25 yards for eagle on No. 10. He ended his day by driving into the canal on the easy par-5 ninth and making bogey for a 67. Kirk was three behind along with Zach Johnson (67), John Peterson (64), Tom Hoge (65) and PGA TOUR rookie Talor Gooch. Except for the tropical warmth, the two golf courses on the Hawaii swing are nothing alike. The Plantation Course at Kapalua was built on the side of the mountain on the west tip of Maui and features fairways that can stretch nearly 90 yards wide and big slopes in the greens. Waialae is at sea level — waist-high hedges along the 16th and 17th holes and behind the 11th green are all that separate grass from the beach — with smaller, flatter greens and fairways framed by trees. “The biggest elevation change here is from the walk down from the hotel,” Harman said. “I’ve always kind of felt like as long as there’s fairways and greens and holes to putt it, then I’m going to be fine.” The Georgia native is playing just as well on Oahu as he did on Maui. He surged ahead in the morning with two quick birdies on the back nine, made the turn in 32 and ran off three-straight birdies early on the front nine. After making his only bogey from a bunker on the par-3 seventh, Harman hit 7-iron from 172 yards to 15 feet on No. 9 for a closing eagle. It’s all just golf to him. “I’m making putts, but I’m also putting myself in position to make those putts,” he said. “I’m getting a bunch of looks. I’m not making everything I’m looking at, but I’m hitting a lot of good putts and made a few. I’m just going to show up tomorrow and try to hit the first tee shot best you can and go from there.” On another glorious day of sunshine and good scoring conditions, Johnson had a nine-hole stretch of eight pars and a bogey until a strong finish. He birdied the par-3 seventh and closed with an eagle to salvage a 67. Defending champion Justin Thomas was closer to the cut line than the lead until he made a trio of 8-foot putts — two for birdies, one for eagle — to close out a 67. He is seven shots behind. Jordan Spieth made the longest putt of his PGA TOUR career — just over 90 feet on No. 5 — but didn’t give himself many good looks. Spieth birdied the last hole for a 68 and is 10 shots behind. “I didn’t think I had enough club,” Spieth said of his long putt. “I considered hitting a lob wedge because I had something like 30 yards to the hole into the breeze.” The putt looked good all the way, though it had some pace. There was some debate among his two playing partners, Xander Schauffele and Daniel Berger, along with caddie Michael Greller on what would have happened had the ball not slammed into the back of the cup. “Xander said it was 4 or 5 feet by. Michael said 6,” Spieth said. “Berger said off the green.” Schauffele birdied his last four holes and was among those at 8-under 132, five shots behind. The cut was at 2-under 138. Harman still looks back to a key tournament last year. He played the Zurich Classic, a two-man team event, with Johnson Wagner and used Wagner’s Titleist golf ball during the alternate-shot portion. Harman put one in his bag the following week at the Wells Fargo Championship and won. The change wasn’t so much about distance as the way he was able to control the trajectory of the ball, especially in the wind. “The wind doesn’t seem to take it as much,” he said. “That’s just a personal thing for me. I feel like I did when I was a kid again. I felt like I was a better ball-striker when I was a kid. … I’m starting to get some of those feelings back.” Harman played in the final group last week and tied for third, though no one was about to catch Dustin Johnson. Peterson is playing on a medical extension because of hand surgery, and he has eight tournaments to make $375,165 (or earn 274 FedExCup points) to keep a full card the rest of the year. He doesn’t sound overly worried, which is not to suggest he’s overconfident. He has a 3-month-old son, one reason he decided to take the entire fall off before resuming his bid to keep his card. “If my attitude is good, I’m going to play good,” he said. “I’ve never been in a better spot lifestyle-wise than I am right now, so that probably has a lot to do with it. I’ve got eight events to make $350,000. If I do, great. If I don’t, who cares? I’m just out here free-wheeling.

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