Kuchar shoots 64 to lead Riviera by three strokes

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Unlike the first stop during this fortnight through Texas, Colonial Country Club has required the combination of course experience and success before reaching the top of the leaderboard. Since Sergio Garcia prevailed in his debut at the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational in 2001, among the tournament’s champions, only Adam Scott in 2014 hadn’t recorded at least one top-15 finish in a prior edition, and only Steve Stricker (2009) also hadn’t logged at least one top 10. Until Jordan Spieth prevailed at Colonial last year, the other commonality among winners post-Garcia’s title was age, or aging to emphasize the message. All of the previous 14 winners were at least 30 years old. Five were at least 42, including Kenny Perry twice (2003, 2005). The average age among them was 37.86. Spieth was 22 but already in his fourth appearance. Age 23. Fifth appearance. Defending champ is 4-for-4 with a one-stroke loss in 2015 as well. Scoring average at Colonial is 67.31.  Age 33. Fourth appearance. T5 in 2015 and T10 in 2016. Averaged 67.75 in last eight rounds here. Ranks 15th in strokes gained: tee-to-green and 16th in proximity. Age 22. Tournament debut. Generational talent has a win, a second, a T3, a fourth and a T5 in last nine starts. Second on TOUR in strokes gained: tee-to-green. Age 41. Twelfth appearance. Four top 10s, including a T5 in his last trip in 2015. Currently fifth in FedExCup points with a win, a T2, a T3 and a T4 among nine top 20s. Age 40. Ninth appearance. Three top 10s at Colonial consist of a second, a P2 and a T6 (2016). Eight top 25s among 11 straight cuts made; T13 at the AT&T Byron Nelson. Age 37. Eighth appearance. The 2001 champ. First trip since 2012. Sixth in GIR; third in strokes gained: tee-to-green. Inconsistent in both starts since Masters breakthrough. Age 38. Tenth appearance. Three top 10s, including a runner-up in 2013 and a T6 last year. T9 at last week’s AT&T Byron Nelson where he led the field in greens in regulation. Age 41. Twelfth appearance. Two-time winner and all-time earnings leader at Colonial has never missed a cut. Middling 2017 has still yielded four top 20s in 11 starts. Age 29. Third appearance. T5 (2015) and T22 (2016); scoring average of 68.25. Fourteen straight cuts made. Sits 17th in strokes gained: tee-to-green and fourth in scrambling. Age 40. Fourteenth appearance. Colonial member has three top fives here since 2012. Connected three top 15s in April after late start. Sits 10th in strokes gained: tee-to-green. Age 27. Fourth appearance. Placed T14 in 2013 and T21 in 2014. Struts in having recorded top 10s in four consecutive starts with consistently strong tee-to-green execution. Age 32. Eighth appearance. Prefaced 2015 title with a 5-for-5 slate that included a T5 in 2012. Ended months-long slump with a T12 in his last start at THE PLAYERS. Age 33. Seventh appearance. Hasn’t missed a cut. All three top 30s at in last three visits; T13 last year. T13 last week. Thrives in wind. Let it blow, let it blow, let it blow. Age 36. Seventh appearance. Perfect record here includes a co-runner-up in 2015 and another pair of top 20s. Five top 20s in last nine starts. Battling sore left hand. Age 30. Tournament debut. Reputation as a streaky player is put to the test on unfamiliar territory. Led the AT&T Byron Nelson in strokes gained: putting en route to victory. RANK PLAYER COMMENT POWER RANKINGS: DEAN & DELUCA INVITATIONAL Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider will include two-time DEAN & DELUCA winner Phil Mickelson, 2016 runner-up Harris English and THE PLAYERS champion Si Woo Kim among other notables. Contributing to the narrative that varied experience is a prerequisite for success at Colonial, other than the winners-only SBS Tournament of Champions and World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship, no tournament that has existed as long at the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational has gone this long without a first-time winner. Garcia is its last. As Tuesday’s Comfort Zone will illustrate, the value of experience at Colonial supersedes a particular style that performs well on the course, but because it’s a par 70 tipping at 7,209 yards, it wouldn’t be wrong to label it as a second-shot track. It’s a skill that will be absolutely necessary with what Mother Nature has cooking this week. Sustained breezes from 10-20 mph will be the norm during the first two rounds, but there’s unlikely to be much abatement on Saturday. The finale sets up as the best day for scoring, but the threat for rain and thunderstorms is greatest on Sunday. It would also be a surprise if every daytime high temperature doesn’t reach or eclipse 90 degrees. In similarly warm, windy and humid conditions last year, the field averaged 70.197. That’s in line with recent history at Colonial. With a birdie-or-better percentage of 25.93 (10th-lowest of the season) and a scrambling clip of 57.06 percent (17th-lowest), the premium is, indeed, on hitting greens in regulation. Last year’s field averaged 11.83 per round for the week. Bentgrass greens have been prepped to touch 12 feet on the Stimpmeter this week. Bermudagrass is grown everywhere else and will measure as long as two-and-three-quarters inches in the primary rough. ROB BOLTON’S WRITING SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Columnist Rob Bolton will be filing his usual staples leading up to this week’s event. Look for the following columns this week. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Comfort Zone, Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done, Expert Picks-PGA TOUR Champions One & Done presented by SERVPRO THURSDAY: Ownership Percentages in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, One & Done and Champions One & Done presented by SERVPRO * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO, which also publishes on Tuesdays.

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GREENSBORO, N.C. — Ryan Armour shot a career-best 9-under 61 on Friday for a share of the lead with Webb Simpson after two rounds at the Wyndham Championship. Armour and Simpson were at 13-under 127 halfway through the PGA TOUR’s final event of the regular season. Simpson shot a 64. Henrik Stenson was a stroke behind them after a 66. Ollie Schniederjans and Vaughn Taylor and were 11. Schniederjans shot 63, Taylor had a 66. First-round leader Matt Every followed his 61 with a 72 to slip six strokes off the lead. The field at Sedgefield Country Club is once again full of players trying to force their way off the bubble and qualify for the postseason. The top 125 players on the points list earn berths at THE NORTHERN TRUST next week in New York. At No. 187 on the list, Armour isn’t even close to the bubble. “Could turn your life around,” Armour said. “I had some goals at the beginning of the week. I knew where I stood and, you know, right now the goals are attainable.” The 41-year-old who has yet to win on tour and has bounced between the big tour and the Web.com Tour throughout his 14-year professional career, had nine birdies — five on his first nine holes, then four in a row on Nos. 5-8 — to quickly climb the leaderboard. His round was two strokes better than his previous best of 63 nine years ago in Milwaukee. Simpson, a North Carolina native who won here in 2011 and named his third child Wyndham, put himself in position to contend for his first victory since 2014. He had four birdies on the first six holes of his back nine, pulling even with Armour at 13 under after his birdie on the par-5 15th. “Keep making birdies, stay aggressive and know that there’s plenty of good golfers behind me,” Simpson said. “I got to keep the hammer down.” Stenson, who started on the back nine, offset his lone bogey of the round — he missed a 15-foot par putt on the par-4 18th — with three birdies during the four-hole span between Nos. 4-7. “The game plan is there,” he said. “I got the set-up in the bag to give me those numbers off the tee that we need and it’s just about going out there and playing, continue making birdies and giving myself birdie chances. It’s a low scoring golf course … keep it going.” Among bubble players, No. 125 Geoff Ogilvy played his way to the weekend late in his round. He had birdies on five of his final six holes to move to 4 under for the tournament — good enough to help him beat the cut line of 3 under. And No. 141 Johnson Wagner had the shot of the tournament so far, with an albatross on the par-5 fifth, using a 5-iron to hole out his 215-yard second shot from the right fairway. It was the first albatross at the tournament since Fabian Gomez had one on No. 15 in 2011. “I had a bunch of family that’s up by the green and they started going bananas,” Wagner said. “Pretty clear it had gone in.” Wagner shot a 64 to move to 9 under. Some others weren’t so fortunate: No. 129 Daniel Summerhays was at even par while No. 126 Cameron Tringale was 1 under.

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