Korda, Noh and Nordqvist share lead at LPGA Texas event

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Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau plans to return to Bay Hill after navigating a few injuries through the early part of the 2021-22 season. He’s joined by a field full of the game’s biggest names include two-time FedExCup champion and past Arnold Palmer Invitational winner Rory McIlroy and world No. 1 Jon Rahm. FIELD NOTES: Bryson is back. DeChambeau, who won the 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, has been battling some injuries early this season. His agent, Brett Falkoff, told PGATOUR.COM that DeChambeau will “continue to rehab” and is hopeful to compete … Recent winners who are returning to Bay Hill include Rory McIlroy – a winner already this season – along with Tyrrell Hatton and Marc Leishman … World No. 1 Jon Rahm is set to tee it up … FedExCup leader Hideki Matsuyama is returning to action as he inches closer to his Masters title defense … Scottie Scheffler is back in action. He earned his maiden PGA TOUR victory at the WM Phoenix Open and backed that up with a T7 at The Genesis Invitational … Lee Westwood returns to Bay Hill after a runner-up last season … 2021 U.S. Amateur winner James Piot is in the field. It’s the PGA TOUR debut for the Michigan State product … Will Zalatoris will forever be connected to Arnold Palmer. Zalatoris, who is teeing it up at Bay Hill, played at Wake Forest on the Arnold Palmer Scholarship and won the 2020-21 Arnold Palmer Award as TOUR Rookie of the Year … Sponsor exemptions include a wide mix of TOUR veterans and fresh faces. Former FedExCup winner Brandt Snedeker in addition to major winners Graeme McDowell, Henrik Stenson, Padraig Harrington and Danny Willett are all in the field. They’re joined by Nicolai Hojgaard – who made his TOUR debut at The Honda Classic – John Pak, Davis Thompson and Min Woo Lee, among others … Texas A&M’s Sam Bennett earned his way into the field as the Arnold Palmer Cup representative from 2021. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 550 FedExCup points. COURSE: Bay Hill Club & Lodge, par 72, 7,466 yards. The Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard has been held at Bay Hill every year on TOUR since 1979. The mostly flat layout challenges the TOUR’s best mostly with water that comes into play on many of the holes. The last two years have seen some blustery conditions as well, resulting in tough scoring conditions. For example, Tyrrell Hatton’s winning total of 4-under 284 was the highest since 1983, while last season’s final-round scoring average of 75.49 was the highest in a final round since 1980. STORYLINES: The biggest question heading into Bay Hill is how Bryson DeChambeau will fare, as he recovers from a pair of injuries – to his left hip and left hand. This marks his first PGA TOUR start since missing the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open. He was scheduled to play The Genesis Invitational, as well, but withdrew before the event began … DeChambeau was the first American winner at Bay Hill since Matt Every six years prior. International players had won in five consecutive tournament iterations … The winner at Bay Hill earns a three-year PGA TOUR exemption instead of the usual two due to the event’s elevated status … There is plenty of firepower set to tee it up at Bay Hill, with five of the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking in the field. That number includes world No. 1 Jon Rahm, who announced on social media last week that he and wife Kelley are expecting their second child. Rahm finished T21 at The Genesis Invitational, his first finish outside the top-15 in the 2022 calendar year. 72-HOLE RECORD: 264, Payne Stewart (1987). 18-HOLE RECORD: 62, Andy Bean (Round 2, 1981), Greg Norman (Round 2, 1984), Adam Scott (Round 1, 2014). LAST TIME: Sunday at Bay Hill proved to be one of the toughest days on record, so it should have been no surprise that Bryson DeChambeau overpowered the field the best. DeChambeau shot a final-round 71 a year ago, matching the low score of the day. No one broke 70 on Sunday at Bay Hill for the first time since 1980. It was DeChambeau’s second win of the season. He opened with a bogey, but he made birdie on Nos. 4 and 6 – after a 377-yard drive over water on a memorably aggressive line at the par-5 sixth – and stayed steady the rest of the way home. Lee Westwood shot a 1-over 73 and finished runner-up. He and DeChambeau were never separated by more than one shot over the final 15 holes. Corey Conners finished in third alone, while Andrew Putnam, Richy Werenski and Jordan Spieth rounded out the top five. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 12:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2:30 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12–6 p.m. ET. Saturday, 1–6 p.m. Sunday, 1-6:30 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR PGA TOUR LIVE PGA TOUR Live is available exclusively on ESPN+ • Main Feed: primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course • Marquee Group: new “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group • Featured Groups: traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups • Featured Holes: a combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes

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DUBLIN, Ohio — Jason Dufner wanted to put together more than just a few good rounds this week at the Memorial. The first two put him in the record book. Dufner holed out from 176 yards on the 18th hole for an eagle, and then added three more birdies on the front nine at Muirfield Village for another 7-under 65. That put him at 130 and gave him the 36-hole scoring record at the Memorial. Scott Hoch in 1987 and Rickie Fowler in 2010 previously shared the record at 13-under 131. Neither went on to win the tournament. Dufner had a six-shot lead over Fowler when he finished, and then had to wait to see what kind of margin he would have going into the weekend. He played Friday morning in warm, sunny and pristine scoring condition on greens that are pure as any on the PGA TOUR. Jordan Spieth, one shot behind Dufner after the opening round, was among those playing in the afternoon. The shot that got the most attention was Dufner’s 6-iron that he holed on No. 18 for his eagle. With a back left pin, the shot fit what he was trying to do, and he said the bonus was that it found the bottom of the cup. The key to his great play was his putting, something Dufner rarely says. When asked about it at Kapalua to start the year, Dufner said: “I’ve been putting bad for 17 years. It’s tough to change.” He managed with the help of a friend who sent him some research from a doctor who works with snipers in the Marines, and how they focus primarily on their breathing and their heartbeats. Dufner found his worst trait in putting was not having a consistent routine and getting too fast, almost as if he wanted to get it over with quickly. “I think the one thing that also helps is it gives me something to think about other than my stroke or holing this putt or the situation I’m in,” Dufner said. “Subconsciously, I’m just putting. But I’m more focused on my breathing and I’m at with that.” He said the goal presumably is to keep his heartbeat low, a real challenge for a guy who barely has a pulse in the first place. “I’ve never had anybody measure it,” he said. “But I know that there’s been times with my putting that the thought process and my actions have felt like they’ve been sped up and too quick. And I’m trying to slow down and focus on that breathing. It’s been working. I’ve been using it all year. This is the first time I’ve said anything about it. Some days I’m better with it than others. You think it would be pretty easy to be consistent with that, but some days it’s not.” Fowler started the tournament with a triple bogey on his second hole and he was 3 over through four holes when he turned it around Thursday for a 70. He was back out Friday morning and shot 66 and walked off the course the closest player to Dufner, even if it wasn’t very close. Fowler and Dufner lived under the same roof during the winter months when Dufner came down to Alabama to play some golf. They are good friends with personalities as different as hard rock and easy listening. “We got to spend a decent amount of time together and that was fun,” Fowler said. “He’s one of a kind. He’s one of the best guys I know out here. … Because he’s fairly quiet on the course, you don’t get to really see who he is as a person. He’s one of the funniest guys out here, too. But fan-wise you wouldn’t really see that. The way he carries himself is pretty chill and mellow.” He very quietly took only 130 shots over two days. Dufner, who grew up in northern Ohio, missed the cut the first two times he played Muirfield Village. He skipped the next three chances at the Memorial, but didn’t have a choice in 2013 when he won the PGA Championship and earned a spot in the Presidents Cup that was held on the course Jack Nicklaus built. Dufner spent that week asking his teammates how they played the course. Dufner posted a 3-1 record that week, and when he returned to the Memorial in 2014, he was at par or better over his next six rounds. He still doesn’t have a top 10, but he has figured something out. He would need a 67 to break the 54-hole record set by Hoch in 1987. Posting one low score after another is never easy, and Dufner isn’t sure what to expect Saturday.

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