Kupcho wins first Women’s Amateur at Augusta

Kevin Na chipped in from the rough more than 90 feet away for an incredible birdie to close out an 8-under 62 and take the first-round lead in the Fort Worth Invitational at Colonial on Thursday.

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Saturday at The Honda Classic, the Bear Trap at PGA National awoke from hibernation. Even with the tee moved up to 154 yards at the 15th, where a hole location was cut a few paces off the right edge of the green, there were plenty of golf balls plunking into the water. On the par-4 16th, there were no birdies to be had. Not one. At the par-3 17th, there was one lone birdie yielded to Saturday's contestants. RELATED: Jones handles wind to regain lead | Affect of water balls on the Florida Spring Keegan Bradley was making a great early run on Saturday. He stepped to the 15th hole at 6 under on his round, and 8 under for the tournament, within earshot of the lead. But he rinsed his tee shot at the 15th, made double, and followed with a bogey at 16. He'd shoot 67. Denny McCarthy (74) was even par for his round and tied for third when he got to the tee at 15; when he walked through the tunnel from the 17th green to the 18th tee, he was 4 over, having rinsed his tee shot at 15 (double) and approach at 16 (he did well to make bogey). He tumbled to T18. The 15th hole featured more double bogeys (10) than birdies (8). In order of toughness in the third round, the Bear Trap holes would rank third, fourth and first, respectively, in difficulty. (The par-4 sixth hole ranked second). Leader Matt Jones said he really wasn't trying to hit the green at any of the Bear Trap holes. He played the holes in level par, getting up and down from short left of the green on 15 and 16, then making a beautiful bunker save for par from the left side at 17. "They’re not birdie holes at all," Jones said. "They’re just ‘Don’t-make-the-biggest-mistake' holes, and I managed to play them even par, which is great." J.B. Holmes, who enters Sunday in second place, three shots behind Jones, made birdie at 15 (one of only eight) but surrendered a shot to par at 16. Aaron Wise, who at one point Saturday possessed a six-shot lead, made bogeys at both of the par-3s in the Trap. His bogey on 15 cost him the lead. Sungjae Im, trying to join Jack Nicklaus as the Honda's only back-to-back champion, was 3 under on his round and making a nice move before plugging his tee shot in the left greenside bunker at 17. With water beyond the flagstick, he played well left, away from the hole, with his second, went long, and failed to get up and down. Double. Yes, Saturday was the day that Honda's feared Bear Trap stirred from its slumber. Which meant very little fun for those brave enough to take it on, but fun for those watching in person, and at home. Rest assured, the Bear Trap will have its say on Sunday. "Anything can happen coming down the stretch here in general, and especially with the holes playing all back into the wind it makes it that much tougher," Wise said. "... If you’re in the mix you’re going to have a chance coming down the stretch, because anything can happen." Anything, and everything. What more could we ask for?

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Eighteen holes remain in the topsy-turvy 3M Open outside Minneapolis, and there is so much on the line over such a tiny window of time. A trophy, a huge seven-figure winner’s check, coveted points for FedExCup Playoffs positioning … it all is in the offing as the tournament screeches around the corner toward a final day. RELATED: Leaderboard | Chase for top 125 in the FedExCup heats up at 3M Open | TPC Twin Cities’ par-5 finishing hole anything but a snoozer Cameron Tringale posted a mistake-free, 5-under 66 on Saturday – it included a 4-foot eagle putt at the par-5 12th, set up by a beautiful 3-wood from 262 yards – to wrestle away the 54-hole lead. He has plenty of company nearby as he looks to land his first PGA TOUR victory on Sunday. There are 10 players within two or fewer shots of his lead, and four more lurking only three shots behind. The best part, at least for those without clubs in their hands? There is a great deal of drama awaiting at the finish line. Really, if the first three days have taught us a lesson, it is that anything – anything! – can happen on that dastardly, water-guarded par-5 18th hole at TPC Twin Cities. It plays just a smidge under 600 yards, is reachable in two for most with two well-struck shots, and has a penchant of proving memorable for nearly all. There aren’t many par-5 holes on the PGA TOUR that so openly sneer back at the game’s top players. On Saturday, No. 18 played a half-stroke over par (5.486) and ranked as the toughest hole on the entire course. It even featured a Jean-van-de-Veldian moment as the last group finished, with Bo Hoag, the second-year TOUR member who had performed so well for much of the day, rolling up his pants and wading into the water behind the 18th green to attempt to extricate his fourth shot. Hoag, who played his last four holes in 4 over to shoot 72 (the finish included a double-bogey at the par-3 17th), would chop his ball out of water on his way to a scrambling, closing bogey-6. It still was half a dozen shots better than Sung Kang, who rinsed four balls in the water and made 12, and bettered the efforts of Rickie Fowler and J.T. Poston, who made 8s. “Is this a par 6?” analyst Mark Immelman asked on the CBS broadcast late Saturday afternoon. Hey, it was a legit question. There aren’t many par-5 holes on the PGA TOUR that play over par. The overall recipe for the 3M finish – lots of interesting names in contention, from major winners to those seeking their first PGA TOUR victory, alongside the potential for lots of two-way traffic on Sunday with water lurking on 15 holes – sets up Sunday as one of the most stirring, edge-of-your-seat final rounds we may witness on the PGA TOUR this season. Gary Woodland (67) and Maverick McNealy (68) each missed birdie chances from 8 feet at the 18th, and they’ll each start the final round a shot out of the lead. Woodland, who will be alongside Tringale in the final pairing, is a seasoned player who won the 2019 U.S. Open; McNealy, 25, is looking for his first TOUR triumph. Tringale, 33, stands at 12-under 201. The group of players two shots back at 10-under 203 includes major champions (Charl Schwartzel, Jimmy Walker), long bombers (Jhonnattan Vegas, Cameron Champ), and veteran players thirsty to win again (Chez Reavie, Ryan Armour, Pat Perez). Also in the group chasing is Canadian Roger Sloan (70), who held the lead on his own for part of Saturday and is trying to win for the first time, not to mention improve his FedExCup standing. He currently sits at No. 147 in season points. Keith Mitchell showed everyone early on that there were birdies to be made at TPC Twin Cities. Heading off on No. 10, he birdied his first seven holes, lipping out for his eighth straight at the 17th. (Mitchell shot 66.) By day’s end, winds were picking up (in the 15 mph range) and the finish got tricky. Tringale did well to avoid disaster, or at the very least, steer clear of bogeys down the stretch. Many of his peers could not. “I’m happy with kind of everything, honestly.” Tringale said. The 3M marks his 307th PGA TOUR start; since 2009, no player has played in that many events without winning. “What I want to do better tomorrow is hit my spots on the greens a little better, my approaches. But, I mean, I’m putting … I don’t know where I’m at statistically, but I’ve liked just about every putt I’ve hit. Hopefully, I’ll continue to do that tomorrow. “Just try not to overthink it. That’s the key, isn’t it?” Tringale is hoping to pull some momentum out of his closing round at TPC Twin Cities a year ago, when he shot 66 and climbed into a tie for third at 3M. “I birdied 18 last year, I remember that,” said Tringale, who needed only 25 putts on Saturday. “I’m just going to have fun. I remember last year’s round really well, and I’m excited. I feel like I’m doing everything well in my game for the most part, so just keep my head on straight and try and have some fun and not overthink it.” So many players stuck their mugs into contention on Saturday. Inclement weather was expected to arrive in the Minneapolis area Saturday afternoon, which led to tournament officials moving up third-round tee times. Players teed off both nines in threesomes. But it turned out to be a Chamber of Commerce-type day, with lots of sunshine and calm – at least before players stepped to that tee at the formidable 18th hole. Sung Kang reached the 18th hole 1 under par and shot 77, making a 12. Fowler, seeking his first TOUR victory since 2019, made a nice early run up the leaderboard, playing his first 12 holes in 6 under before slipping with back-to-back bogeys on 13 and 14. He still was very much in the tournament picture. Then he came up short on his third shot at 18, his ball splashing down into water, hit his next shot long, and made 8. Hoag, the man on the FedExCup bubble at No. 125, took his bogey at the finish in stride on Saturday. He’ll hope to do better in the final round, and knows he needs a good showing to help out his FedExCup standing with the Playoffs only three weeks away. He is doing his best. “I’ve played under pressure my whole life,” Hoag said, smiling, after walking off 18. “It’s just what I do.” At the 3M, he is not alone.

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