Men's college golf team of the week: Florida State Seminoles

FORT WORTH, Texas – Justin Rose would’ve made Ben Hogan proud in his second-round 64 at the Fort Worth Invitational. Rose hit 14 of his first 15 greens Friday and made seven birdies to take the lead after the morning wave completed play. He went low despite making just one putt outside of 10 feet. He is at 10-under 130, three shots ahead of Brooks Koepka and RBC Heritage winner Satoshi Kodaira. Hogan is considered by many to be the best ball-striker in the game’s history, and his presence is strong at Colonial. He won five times at the course that was founded by his mentor and good friend, Marvin Leonard. The clubhouse contains a re-creation of his office and a small museum dedicated to his World Golf Hall of Fame career. A 7-foot-tall statue of him staring down another well-struck shot overlooks the course, as well. Hogan is one of the inspirations for Rose’s longtime swing coach, Sean Foley. The pair put in a solid week of work last week, Rose said, and he added the Fort Worth Invitational to his schedule to gauge the state of his game after being unhappy with his recent form. Rose finished in the top 10 in 13 of 15 starts from last year’s FedExCup Playoffs to the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard in March. He finished 52nd in the Houston Open, 12th in the Masters and 23rd at THE PLAYERS, though. Rose started the final round at TPC Sawgrass in 55th place, but started to see positive signs after a final-round 66. “Sunday at The PLAYERS Championship, I felt like I worked into a slightly different feel, which really helped Sean and I kind of dial in a few things we’ve been working on. We had a good productive week last week training-wise,â€� Rose said. “It was nice to bring as good as you feel on the range to the tournament this week.â€� He hit his first 13 greens Friday. Eleven of those approach shots were within 16 feet of the hole. A pep talk from his caddie helped him keep his frustration at bay after missing three short birdie putts on his first four holes. He birdied five of his next seven holes. “He said, ‘Hey mate, just stay patient.’ From there, I got into a nice rhythm,â€� Rose said. “My first 15 holes today were about as good as I’ve played in a long time.â€� He did miss four of his last five greens, but has still hit 30 of 36 through two rounds. And he played Friday’s final five holes in 1 under par after holing a 35-foot birdie putt on 6 and chipping in on 7. He has made just two bogeys this week. Rose is trying to become the fifth multiple winner this season; Justin Thomas, Jason Day, Bubba Watson and Patton Kizzire have all won twice in 2017-18. Rose is 11th in this season’s FedExCup standings. He could rise as high as No. 2 with a victory.

Click here to read the full article…

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — Joaquin Niemann became the first player from Chile to win on the PGA TOUR, shooting a 6-under 64 on Sunday for a six-stroke victory in A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier. The 20-year-old Niemann entered the final round of the season opener with a two-stroke lead and Niemann held off challenges from Tom Hoge and Richy Werenski. Niemann birdied the final three holes to finish at 21-under 259 at Old White TPC. It marks the first year since 1931 that there has been more than one TOUR winner under 21. Matthew Wolff won the 3M Open in June at 20 years, 2 months. Niemann is the first third-round leader to win at The Greenbrier since its debut in 2010. Hoge shot 65 and finished second at 15 under. Werenski faded to a 69 and finished in a four-way tie for third at 14 under.

Click here to read the full article…

SILVIS, Ill. — J.T. Poston took a four-stroke lead into the weekend in the PGA TOUR’s John Deere Classic, following an opening 9-under 62 with a 65 on Friday at TPC Deere Run. Coming off a second-place tie last week in Connecticut after also opening with a 62, Poston got to 15 under with a birdie on the par-4 13th and parred the final six holes in the afternoon round. “I feel great,” Poston said. “My last few rounds out here have been great going back into last week, so just going to try and keep riding that momentum and doing what I’m doing. Don’t change anything and just kind of take the good looks when they come. And when I don’t have a good number or don’t feel good over it, just be smart about it.” Poston was a stroke off the tournament 36-hole record set by Steve Stricker in his 2010 victory. Denny McCarthy was second at 11 under after a 65, also playing in the afternoon after rain delayed play in the morning. Christopher Gotterup, the former Rutgers player in the field on a sponsor exemption, had a 67 to match Matthias Schwab (65), Emiliano Grillo (64) and Chris Naegel (66) at 10 under. “It was an interesting day,” Gotterup said. “Definitely a bit of an up-and-down day compared to yesterday, where I was kind of more on cruise control.” Poston won the 2019 Wyndham Championship for his lone PGA TOUR title. Last week in the Travelers Championship, he followed the opening 62 with rounds of 70, 67 and 64 to finish two strokes behind Xander Schauffele. “Last week, the one thing I think I learned after playing well Thursday was to try and keep the pedal down,” Poston said. “I think this golf course may yield a few more birdies than last week, but at the same time, you got to go out there and hit some golf shots to stay aggressive. I was able to do that, which is nice.” Iowa native Zach Johnson, the 2012 winner, was 4 under after opening 69-69 in his 20th consecutive start in the event. “Today was much more manageable and gettable,” Johnson said. “Yesterday, I putted better probably as a whole.” Defending champion Lucas Glover missed the cut by a stroke, shooting 74-66.

Click here to read the full article…