Monahan: Saudi talks ‘enhanced’ but no timeline

ORLANDO, Fla. – It is an impressive gathering atop the leaderboard at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard – a heady group of PGA TOUR tournament winners, major champions and highly-ranked names. Between Henrik Stenson – who leads Bryson DeChambeau by one – and one of those tied for 10th, Tiger Woods, the standings include names that would surely please the late Mr. Palmer – Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Ryan Moore, Charley Hoffman and Rickie Fowler. Forget Woods’ 79 PGA TOUR wins; the other seven names have won 41 times on the PGA TOUR and on 41 occasions worldwide. So, it’s a stout list of talent, though one name stands out if you invite a conversation about pure ball-striking: Stenson. “Oh, he hits it good. It’s nice; it’s really nice,� marveled McIlroy, a glimmer of admiration in his Irish eyes because when it comes to striking a golf ball, the best in the world know who the best are. Having played alongside Stenson’s rounds of 64 and 69 to open this API, Adam Scott – no slouch as a ball-striker – nodded his approval. “It’s quite a lethal combination he has, that strong 3-wood and those irons that drop from the sky,� said the Aussie. In Saturday’s third round, the “lethal combination� was again on display – Stenson hit 11 fairways and 11 greens, including five of the last six – and had the putter not let him down his lead, would likely be three or four. Instead, he shot 1-under 71 and at 12 under will start Sunday’s final round one clear of DeChambeau (72), two in front of McIlroy (67), and three ahead of Rose (67) and Moore (69). Fowler (70), tied with Hoffman, Talor Gooch (73) and Byeong-Hun An (72), is four back, while Woods shot 69 – 209 and is tied for 10th and five behind. “I could have a two- or three-shot lead, which would have been a nice cushion,� said Stenson, “but I’ve been in the mix a few times and I’m back here trying to give it a go tomorrow.� That’s a reference to finishes inside the top 10 in four straight yeas (2013-16), but while he came up short each time, rarely does he have to cite ball-striking. “I’ve watched him hit a lot of golf balls (at Lake Nona, across town) and he’s one of those guys, when he’s in the mood, he’s unstoppable,� said Graeme McDowell. Having worked with heralded swing coach Pete Cowen, who also mentors Stenson, McDowell has seen plenty of the Swede. “He’s such a big man. He’s the typical Viking from that part of the world – you can imagine 6-foot-5 bearded guys with an axe in their hand coming at you. That’s pretty much what Stenson would look like coming at you.� Even out on the PGA TOUR, where the talent is deep and the list of possible winners goes on endlessly, Stenson stands out on a short list of premier ball-strikers – but of them, the way he goes about it is unique. “He’s such a big man, he creates so much elevation,� said McDowell. “Pete talks about it all the time, pressuring the ground and dropping the arms to creating so much downward pressure on the back of the ball. He’s one of the best 3-wood players on the planet. Just a phenomenal ball-striker – and when he gets the putter warmed up, he’s unstoppable.� Late Saturday afternoon, the putter didn’t heat up – missed birdie chances from 12 feet at the 13th, 7 feet at the 15th, 12 feet for eagle at 16, and another 7-footer at 18. Still, in possession of a one-stroke lead, Stenson shrugged, smiled, and declared himself satisfied. “Especially with the way I played coming in. I think that I didn’t really miss a shot the last six holes.� In other words, status quo for Stenson.

Click here to read the full article…

Click here to read the full article…

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland — The way golf has been going the last few years, it would be reasonable to see the name “Johnson” atop the leaderboard and assume it belonged to the No. 1 player in the world. But not necessarily at The Open Championship. Zach Johnson — not Dustin — already has his name on the claret jug. And the way he handled the rain Friday in his round of 4-under 67, he might have a chance to see it on that precious silver trophy again. Johnson holed a 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th and had a one-shot lead over Tommy Fleetwood at the midway point of the second round. Fleetwood, the top player on the European Tour last year, put together the best round of the week at Carnoustie with a 65. Rory McIlroy had another 69 and was two shots behind. Johnson was at 6-under 136, and had to wait to see if it would hold up. Kevin Kisner, the 18-hole leader, was among the late starters. The light rain from overnight never let up. It wasn’t enough to turn the color of grass from brown to green, just enough to be a nuisance playing in rain gear, with towels hanging from the inside of umbrella to stay dry and putting surfaces that were slightly slower. Johnson overcame a bogey on the opening hole with birdies on the third and fourth holes, and he never put himself under too much pressure the rest of the way. Already a two-time major champion with titles at St. Andrews and Augusta National, the 42-year-old from Iowa now has made the cut 12 straight times at The Open, a streak that began at Carnoustie in 2007. His low ball flight, grinding nature and good putting give him the right ingredients. As for that other Johnson? Dustin Johnson was headed toward being the first No. 1 player in the world to miss the cut at The Open since Luke Donald in 2011 at Royal St. George’s. He appeared to keep it together with a tough par save from the bunker on No. 12, followed by two straight birdies. But he had another poor finish, closing bogey-double bogey for a 72 and is at 6-over 148 for 36 holes. Even as Tiger Woods was piecing together a level round, and late starters like Kisner and Jordan Spieth were still on the course, the cut figured to be about 3-over, plus or minus one shot. Zach Johnson and Dustin Johnson, one of golf’s most powerful players, share nothing in common but a surname. That hasn’t kept the casual fan from occasionally calling Zach Johnson by the wrong name. “I certainly am not the No. 1 player in the world that ends in ‘Johnson,” he said. “I’ve been called Dustin many times. I doubt he’s been called Zach that many times. Zach Johnson has more than held his own. In the power era of golf, he is more of a pistol than a cannon. And yet he has still won 12 times on the PGA TOUR, along with majors at the Masters and The Open. Fleetwood and McIlroy were playing a few groups ahead of Johnson, and it was a race to see who would wind up on top for much of the late morning until Johnson made his birdie putt on the final hole. Fleetwood shot 63 at Carnoustie last year in the Dunhill Links, but that was a European Tour event. In more difficult conditions, his 65 felt just as good, especially the birdie on the 18th that put him atop the leaderboard until Johnson finished. McIlroy, meanwhile, was within one shot until a long three-putt from just off the 12th green. He gave another shot back on the 15th when he pulled his second shot toward the gallery, though he made enough birdies to stay within range. “Under those conditions, I would have taken that score today going out,” McIlroy said. “It wasn’t that bad, but it was just damp enough and cold enough that the game plan that I was trying to adapt to be aggressive and hit driver a lot, I just couldn’t do it. … So a lot more irons off tees and a lot more conservative, but ended up being the same score.” Dustin Johnson wasn’t alone in his struggle this week. The No. 2 player in the world, Justin Thomas, also was headed toward a weekend off. Thomas was 2 under for the tournament when it took him two shots to get out of a pot bunker in the sixth fairway and three putts from long range on the green, leading to double bogey. He then made double bogey on the next two holes and wound up with a 77 to finish at 4 over.

Click here to read the full article…