Late birdie run saves Rory McIlroy’s day, week at PGA Championship

While there is a winner in every PGA TOUR event, it’s infrequent for any golfer individually to capture a victory. Now consider how rare it is to successfully defend a title. Or maybe not. RELATED: Play Pick ‘Em Live | The First Look Beginning with Viktor Hovland answering his 2020 title at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba with another a year ago, seven have turned the trick for the treat, including Max Homa (Fortinet Championship) and Rory McIlroy (THE CJ CUP at South Carolina) already this season. No matter your success, you’re always chasing something or someone. Scroll past the projected contenders to learn who’s in Hovland’s crosshairs, why it was unlikely that he won at all at El Camaleón Golf Course, and more. POWER RANKINGS: WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY Collin Morikawa, Jason Day and former champions Harris English (2013) and Matt Kuchar (2018) will be among the notables reviewed in Draws and Fades. Hovland is embarking on a goal that the previous 12 two-time defending champions have failed to fulfill – win three consecutive editions of the same tournament. It hasn’t been accomplished since Steve Stricker triumphed at the John Deere Classic in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Hovland was 13 years old when Stricker converted the threepeat. It already was unusual when Hovland took the title at El Camaleón the first time. A cursory glance at the champions on the course suggest that only ball-strikers of a certain age prevail. They found what Ponce de León never did – the Fountain of Youth. When Hovland was crowned the winner in 2020, he lowered the average age of the winners to 34. Granted, the tournament has evolved from an additional event in late winter (2007-2012) into a stand-alone competition in the fall (since 2013) but given how the peak years of talent have been getting younger, that’s still one for the old guard. When Hovland successfully defended, the emphasis on average age of the winners contributed more to the historical narrative than the overall direction of guys expected to be lifting the limestone chameleon trophy on Sunday. That said, the Norwegian, who turned just 25 in September, fulfills the archetype that has been rewarded time and again in the tournament. El Camaleón is a par 71. Paspalum blankets the property. In part because Mayakoba is a resort but also because winds off the Gulf of Mexico can be unforgiving, greens are managed to release no longer than 11 feet on the Stimpmeter. So, when the breezes are light and because the routing tips at just 7,034 yards (which reflects an increase of 17 yards from last year, all on the par-5 seventh hole), the tournament becomes a green-light special. Primary rough remains trimmed to just over two inches. In his title defense, Hovland established the tournament record by completing 72 holes in 23-under 261. The field’s scoring average of 69.097 also was a new mark. With largely favorable conditions forecast this week, at least after the opening round during which rain and storms are promised to threaten, that’s a fair target for the field of 132. Wind will affect a few shots at times, but it won’t be a primary challenge. Neither will be the par 3s. Once again, they were the easiest set of 50 courses all of last season. Hovland average 2.75 on them, but he also paced the field in par-5 scoring at a tidy 4.08. Although tee-to-green proficiency is priority A in every shootout, capitalizing on the par 5s will be necessary to linger on the leaderboard. NOTE: ShotLink is not utilized for this tournament. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.com’s Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Draws & Fades WEDNESDAY: Pick ‘Em Preview SUNDAY: Payouts and Points, Medical Extensions, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Rookie Ranking * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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SAN ANTONIO (AP) — First-round leader Si Woo Kim used a late-round hole-in-one Friday to build a four-shot lead at the halfway point of the Valero Texas Open. Kim, the 2017 THE PLAYERS Championship winner, led by one heading into the second round before shooting a 6-under 66. Kim aced TPC San Antonio’s 16th hole and is 12 under through 36 holes. He leads six players at 8 under, including Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth. Fowler led on the back nine until consecutive bogeys late in the round. Joining Fowler and Spieth — both shot 68 — are Harold Varner (66), Adam Schenk (66), Kyoung-Hoon Lee (67) and Monday-qualifier Corey Connors (67). Kim’s ace at the 167-yard 16th bounced up toward the flagstick, landed next to the lip of the cup and dropped in. He’s gone 26 holes without a bogey and has nine birdies along with the ace. Byeong Hun An (68), Matt Jones (68), Rory Sabbatini (68), Scott Stallings (69), Brian Stuard (70), Josh Teater (68) and Jim Knous (67) are 7 under. Graeme McDowell, who won for the first time since 2015 last week at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, has shot consecutive 69s and is joined at 6 under by Scott Brown, Hank Lebioda, Ryan Moore and Jhonattan Vegas. Brown had a 67, Lebioda and Moore 70s and Vegas a 71. Fowler, who drove the green at the 327-yard fifth hole and eagled, held a lead early on the back nine. After the eagle, he made birdie putts of 43 feet, 10 feet and 25 feet. But he three-putted from 23 feet at the 15th and barely got out of a greenside bunker on the 16th, leaving a chip and putt for another bogey. He got a stroke back with a birdie at the 17th, but his attempt to reach the par-5 18th in two landed him in a stream in front of the green. He chipped up and finished with a par. Spieth had no late-round hiccups. Instead, he holed out from 113 yards for an eagle on his 17th hole. Earlier in the day, he chipped in from off his second green. Kim surged to a two-shot lead when he chipped to a foot away on the par-5 14th hole and tapped in for birdie. He got up-and-down from a bunker at the 15th, putting from almost 10 feet to save par. He wouldn’t need the putter on the 16th.

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