Leaderboard: Track Tiger Woods at Honda Classic

DETROIT – Troy Merritt (67, 14 under par) hasn’t been in the hunt in a while, and as an Iowa native is trying to keep the trophy in the Midwest. Joaquin Niemann (68, 14 under) finished second in the first two tournaments of 2021 – once in a playoff – and would be winning one for Santiago, Chile. Thanks to Merritt’s first-ever hole-in-one on the PGA TOUR, a 5-iron that one-hopped into the hole at the 219-yard 11th, and Niemann going bogey-free through 54 holes, those two are tied for the lead with one round remaining at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. But it could be a wild Sunday at birdie-friendly Detroit Golf Club with 14 players within four of the lead. “Yeah, the big thing is when you get out in front, don’t go back to the guys behind you,” said Merritt, 35, who won 21 tournaments at Boise State and will be aiming for his third win on TOUR. “Make them come and get you. “I know that we’re tied now,” he added, “so the mindset will be to make a few birdies but don’t give any away, make them work to come and get us and hopefully it’s good enough in the end.” Niemann is a perfect 13 for 13 in scrambling, and has 14 par saves from four feet or longer this week. The last player to go bogey-free and win on TOUR was J.T. Poston at the 2019 Wyndham Championship, and he was the first to accomplish it since Lee Trevino in 1974. Niemann was in danger of giving a shot back when he got out of position at the par-5 14th hole but made what he called “a huge save” from a greenside bunker to keep his streak going. The FedExCup No. 25 and world No. 30, Niemann, who has made 21 cuts in 22 starts this year,has already won once on TOUR at the tender age of 22. But that win total could easily be two or three by now had things broken differently for him at the Sentry Tournament of Champions (playoff loss) and Sony Open in Hawaii (T2) in January. He contends he got over it quickly. “You’ve just got to be patient,” he said. “I think everybody’s going to have their own moment and I had my moment pretty early. And then I was trying to find my moment, I went into a playoff in Hawaii, finished second the week after also. “But I took it pretty easy,” he continued. “I just wanted to keep going. I knew that when everything went well, I would win again, so I just didn’t want to put myself in that stress.” Sunday is expected to bring warmer temperatures, where conditions the last two days have been fall-like. The course is still soft from copious rain and has historically yielded low scores. Bryson DeChambeau shoot a final-round 65 to win last year. Nate Lashley shot 25 under to win in 2019. If you assume that anyone as far back as five shots still has a chance, that brings in a massive group at 9 under, including Rocket Mortgage ambassador Rickie Fowler. “Obviously the leaders, they’re all pretty close, right next to each other,” Niemann said, “so I know that I need to go low tomorrow to give myself a chance to win.” Added Hank Lebioda (66, one back), a lefty whose T5 at the Travelers Championship last week was his only top-10 finish in 19 previous starts this season, “The way this course is playing, it’s (yielding) quite a few birdies. It will probably be the same tomorrow, so I’ll get my cracks.” Merritt, 35, won the 2015 Quicken Loans National and 2018 Barbasol Championship but came into this week at 101st in the FedExCup. He said putting was the problem, but leads the field in Strokes Gained: Putting (+6.659) and is second in driving accuracy (36/42) through three rounds. “Last couple Sundays for sure – U.S. Open and Memorial and last week Travelers – haven’t been anything special,” he said, “so we’re due to get back on track so hopefully that’s this week.”

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NICHOLASVILLE, Kentucky – Saturday will be a fingers-crossed kind of day at the Barbasol Championship. Severe weather on Friday set the schedule of play back significantly and there is a 70 percent chance of a repeat performance by Mother Nature when the new day dawns. Troy Merritt was one of the lucky ones. He waited out the first delay and then scooted in with a 67 that gave him a two-stroke lead about 30 minutes before play was called for the second time at 3:25 p.m. Billy Horschel also was able to finish, firing a 66 that left him in solo second at 13 under. Richy Werenski and Tom Lovelady weren’t so lucky, both stranded on the 18th hole when the siren sounded. The second storm was particularly furious. Tornado warnings were posted as thunder rumbled, lightning strafed the sky, rain came down with a vengeance and tree limbs fell to the ground. The Military Outpost hospitality tend ended up in the pond on the eighth hole. Homes and hotels in the vicinity lost power and nearby streetlights went on the fritz. At 5:50 p.m. tournament officials made the decision to suspend play overnight. A total of 23 players in the afternoon wave had yet to tee off, including Brittany Lincicome, the eight-time LPGA champion who is just the sixth woman to play in a PGA TOUR event. “We suspended for the day because of rain that was still expected and maintenance would need a couple of hours to get the golf course ready – which would be dark,â€� said Steve Carman, the PGA TOUR Tournament Director. Play is scheduled to resume at 7:30 a.m. Carman estimates that approximately 5 hours and 40 minutes are necessary to complete the second round. Once that’s done, the cut will be made and the third round will begin in threesomes off two tees. With any luck, the third round could be completed by Saturday night. “We played enough golf today that it could be accomplished,â€� Carman said. “But we’ve got to get a break from Mother Nature. “The forecast is for a 70 percent chance of pop-up thunderstorms similar today but hopefully not as severe.â€� Fingers crossed. “Just hoping to start the next round,â€� Merritt said. “That’s about all I’m thinking about. … We just have to see what the weather does. We can’t get ahead of ourselves. There is no sense really in setting a number when you don’t know exactly what the weather is going to do. “Just do the best I can do is try to stay ahead of whoever is behind me.â€� NOTABLES Hunter Mahan has fond memories of Kentucky as a member of Paul Azinger’s victorious Ryder Cup team. The 2008 matches were held at Valhalla, which is about 80 miles from Keene Trace Golf Club, and marked just the second American win in the last seven meetings between the U.S. and Europe. To say the partisan crowd was loud would be an understatement. “It was unlike anything I’ve seen or been a part of,â€� Mahan said. “It didn’t feel like golf. Felt like a rock concert half the time. Just great intensity, fire, but so much fun.â€� Mahan would like to make another great memory in the Bluegrass state this week at the Barbasol Championship. He fired a 68 on Friday had moved to 10 under and within four strokes of Troy Merritt’s lead when play was suspended due to impeding storms. The six-time PGA TOUR, whose last win came in 2014, is looking for his first top-10 since he tied for fourth at the 2015 Deutsche Bank Championship. “Once your technique goes and you can’t swing the way you normally have, no amount of confidence or whatever is going to help,â€� Mahan said. “No amount of practice, if you’re doing something wrong, you’re just going to keep doing it wrong. Finally feeling comfortable, finally feeling like I know how to attack pins and I know how far I’m going to hit the shot and all those things that encompass being confident on the golf course and not having any fear of the result. Troy Merritt started the second round where he left off, making an 8-footer for birdie on No. 1 and two-putting from 45 feet for another at the par-5 second. He went on to follow that sizzling 62 with a solid 67 that left him at 14 under and owning a one-stroke advantage. Friday’s round wasn’t without the occasional miscue – he had gone bogey-free in tying the course record the previous day – but Merritt wasn’t complaining. “We had a lot more lengthy birdie putts today than we did yesterday, but all this all pretty solid day,â€� he said. Merritt played with Mahan and said seeing all those putts go down – he made seven birdies while Mahan had five – helped him keep the pedal down. “It’s always nice to play with a guy that’s making birdies, especially if you’re keeping up or maybe doing slightly better, just because we want to see good golf, too,â€� he said. “We’re golf fans. We want to see guys play well because it’s going to make us play well.â€� Like Mahan, Merritt is hoping to end a victory drought – his last came in 2015 – and play his way into the FedExCup Playoffs for the first time in two years (CK). (Merritt is currently 131st in the standings.) Josh Teater grew up and still lives in Lexington, Kentucky, which is about 45 minutes from Keene Trace. So it’s not surprising that the Morehead State graduate has many friends in the gallery and a host of sportswriters hanging on his every word. Teater spent the better part of six years on the PGA TOUR and is currently playing the Web.com Tour in hopes of getting his card back. He ranks 31st on the money list and could be playing in the Web.com Tour event in Omaha this week but when he was offered a sponsor’s exemption for the Barbasol Championship it was a no-brainer to say yes. He’s making the most of the opportunity, too, firing a 66 on Friday that left him in a tie for fifth when play was suspended due to inclement weather. “This is kind of my major,â€� said Teater, who won the 2004 Kentucky Open on the Champions course. “Has been since they announced it, you know. Top 25 on the Web does get you on the TOUR, but a win here also does. That’s what we’re shooting for. I wouldn’t miss it unless I was across the pond.â€� QUOTABLE It was huge. I saw kind of the note on the scoreboard, and I didn’t even really think about it when I had that one-footer to tap in. Sometimes you’ll mark them; sometimes you won’t, but I’m glad I tapped it in.

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