Monday Finish: Jordan Spieth breaks slump in San Antonio

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Kevin Streelman, a lifelong Chicago Bears fan, approached Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers before the start of their first round at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. “I respect the heck out of you,â€� Streelman told Rodgers, “but you’ve been beating the crap out of my Bears for 12 years.â€� On Thursday, Streelman pretty much beat the crap out of everybody who played Spyglass Hill, the toughest of the three courses in the tournament rotation. His 7-under 65 gave him a share of the lead with Beau Hossler, whose 65 came at Pebble Beach. Streelman’s amateur partner is Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. Rodgers is partnering with Packers fans Jerry Kelly. Their group was the first off the No. 1 tee Thursday morning at Spyglass. It couldn’t have been a better day. Streelman not only went low, but he and Fitzgerald combined to go 14 under to lead the team portion by three shots. Plus, it was sunny, the pace of play was quick (by tournament standards) and the banter was light. “It’s a round I’ll remember, just because we played in under five hours in this event, we had a perfect day weather-wise, we were the first group out,â€� said Streelman, who credited a recent putting adjustment as a key to his bogey-free round. “They’re such great guys.â€� Fitzgerald certainly was impressed by his partner’s performance. He and Streelman are members of the same club in Arizona, so they’re quite comfortable as a team. “You just don’t see many people shoot 65 at Spyglass,â€� said Fitzgerald, a 13 handicapper. “That’s crazy.â€� Asked what his gameplan was once he saw Streelman was in the zone, Fitzgerald replied: “Just get out of his way. Don’t do anything that will get him out of his flow.â€� Mission accomplished. Streelman finally gave his Bears a measure of revenge. NOTABLES Defending champion Jordan Spieth shot even-par 72 at Spyglass. He made one early birdie at the fourth hole, gave the stroke back at the sixth hole, then parred out from there. Four-time AT&T Pebble Beach champ Phil Mickelson started off slow, suffering three bogeys in his first seven holes at Spyglass. But he made five birdies in his final eight holes to shoot 69. “A nice way to finish after not getting off to a great start,â€� Mickelson said. “It can be a difficult golf course but it’s also a course you play well, you’ll make some birdies. Unfortunately, I saw both ends of it today.â€� Mickelson was playing with Rory McIlroy, making his tournament debut this week. McIlroy shot 68, with birdies on each of the par 5s. McIlroy is playing with his dad, Gerry. Rory was taking his driver away on the 7th tee when he saw his dad’s shadow move, so he backed off the shot. He then blocked the tee shot way right, then sent his second shot into the water. He gritted his teeth and didn’t say anything to his dad. Rory’s reward? He chipped in for birdie. “So I was like, you’re forgiven,â€� Rory smiled. Jason Day is playing with Bachelor host Chris Harrison. When Day chipped in for birdie at the par-3 fifth at Spyglass, Harrison gave him a rose. “I was pretty happy with that,â€� said Day, who shot 69. Adam Scott, making his first start in this event in eight years, made the turn in 40 en route to a 5-over 77 at Spyglass Hill. “It wasn’t exactly what I wanted today, but it’s a process,â€� said Scott, who’s hoping to fine-tune his game going into next week’s event at Riviera. “The swing didn’t feel too bad, but I hit my clubs the wrong distances at times and left myself in bad spots. Didn’t leave myself easy chips and hit average putts from tough spots so it wasn’t good.” QUOTABLES I’ve definitely been trending in the right direction. I think I’ve kind of been one round away the last few weeks from having a pretty high finish.â€� It was just a full 8-iron and I hit it right where I was looking and it just fell in. Usually most courses, if you hit the fairway and hit the green and make the putt, it turns out all right. But with greens as good as they are here, there’s really not a whole lot of excuse. It’s just the most beautiful place in the world. It’s fantastic. It’s so relaxing to be by the ocean and play a fantastic golf course. It really is special.  SUPERLATIVES Lowest rounds (at each course) – Kevin Streelman’s 65 at Spyglass Hill; Beau Hossler’s 65 at Pebble Beach; Aaron Wise’s 66 at Monterey Peninsula Longest drive – 400 yards by Brendon de Jonge at the ninth hole at Pebble Beach. The next 14 longest drives were all on the 10th hole at Monterey Peninsula, led by Corey Conners’ 391 yards Longest putt – Branden Grace had a 55-foot birdie putt on the third hole at Pebble Beach en route to a 4-under 68 Hardest holes (at each course) – par-3 7th at Monterey Peninsula (3.250 stroke average); par-4 16th at Spyglass Hill (4.231); par-4 10th at Pebble Beach (4.212); Easiest holes (at each course) – par-4 10th at Monterey Peninsula (4.365); par-5 2nd at Pebble Beach (4.365); par-5 11th at Spyglass Hill (4.558). CALL OF THE DAY

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The TOUR says goodbye to Poa annua and welcomes, for some, the return to Bermuda as the four-week Florida Swing kicks off this week in Palm Beach Gardens. The Champion Course at PGA National, host since 2007 has plenty of Bermuda, not to mention sand, water and The Bear Trap, so a soft landing into the Sunshine State this is not. The field of 144 will tackle Tom Fazio’s Par-70 that stretches to 7,125 yards. Jack Nicklaus did some clean-up work and put TifEagle Bermuda on the greens for the 2015 edition. Water will challenge the players on 15 of 18 holes and there are 67 bunkers to avoid as well. The Bear Trap (Holes Nos. 15-17) will test the nerve and precision of everyone, especially late on Sunday. Nicklaus suggests the tournament should be won or lost here! Generous landing areas off the tee and large Bermuda greens suggest the wind is always a factor at PGA National. Missing the fairways and greens comes with over-seeded Bermuda rough at two inches that makes stopping the ball near the pin nearly impossible. On the line is $1.26 million (500 FedExCup Points) to the winner from the $7 million prize pool. RELATED: Power Rankings | Expert Picks RECENT WINNERS 2019: Keith Mitchell (-9, 271) Holed a birdie putt at the last to avoid a playoff with Rickie Fowler and Brooks Koepka and claim his first TOUR win in only his second visit. … Fourth consecutive winner to place in the top seven in driving distance (all holes). … Fourth winner in the last five to place in the top three (first) in Strokes-Gained: Tee-to-Green. … T2 in scrambling and bogey avoidance. … Entered the week MC-MC-73-MC-16 for the season. Notables in the field this week: Wyndham Clark (T7) led after 54 holes and played the final group with K. H. Lee (T7). … Mitchell co-led after 36 holes with Sungjae Im, who shot 64 in Round 2, before finishing T51. … Lucas Glover (T4) opened with 66 and closed with 66. … Ryan Palmer (T4) led the field with 20 birdies and posted the low round of the week, 63, on Sunday. … Vijay Singh (T6) joined Mitchell, Fowler and Sergio Garcia (DNS) as the only four players to post all four rounds par-or-better. … Cut was 2 over. 2018: Justin Thomas (-8, 272) Defeated 54-hole leader Luke List on the first playoff hole for his first victory in four tries here. … Led the field in Strokes-Gained: Tee-to-Green, Scrambling and Strokes-Gained: Approach-the-Green. … Fourth consecutive winner T11 or better in proximity. … Second win of the year (CJ CUP). Notables in the field this week: Tommy Fleetwood (fourth) was a quick learner as he posted all four rounds of par-or-better in his first appearance. … Byeong-Hun An (T5) closed 69-65. … Jamie Lovemark (T5) was two off the 54-hole lead. … Sponsor exemption Sam Burns and birdie leader (19) Emiliano Grillo shared eighth. … Only 11 players broke par for the week. … Cut was 5-over. 2017: Rickie Fowler (-12, 268) The eighth time was a charm as he comfortably won by four shots over Gary Woodland. … Set the 54-hole total record (-13) by two shots. … Only three players since 2013 have posted all four rounds in the 60s. … Fowler (second) is the only winner in the last five years to finish inside the top 23 in Strokes-Gained: Putting. … Fowler didn’t miss a putt inside five feet (57 of 57). … Led the field with 21 birdies. Notables in the field this week: Billy Horschel (T4) put all four rounds at par-or-better. … Jhonattan Vegas (T4) made an ace and closed with 64. … Fowler is the only player to finish in double-digits under-par since the 2014 renovation. … Cut was even-par. Key stat leaders Top golfers in each statistic on the 2018-19 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week. * – previous top 10 finish here since 2017 Strokes-Gained: Tee-to-Green 7 *Byeong-Hun An 9 Corey Conners 12 *Brooks Koepka 13 *Tommy Fleetwood 14 *Jason Kokrak (T9, 2019) 15 *Emiliano Grillo 16 *Gary Woodland 19 Kevin Streelman 23 Joaquin Niemann 25 *Jim Furyk (T9, 2019) 27 *Jhonattan Vegas Proximity 1 Corey Conners 3 *Jim Furyk 4 Ryan Armour 4 Jason Dufner 4 Vaughn Taylor 7 *Russell Knox 8 Chesson Hadley 10 Louis Oosthuizen 10 Joaquin Niemann 10 Keegan Bradley 14 Brian Stuard 15 Talor Gooch 17 Josh Teater 21 *Russell Henley 21 *Lucas Glover 24 Kyle Stanley 24 *Brooks Koepka Scrambling 1 *Tommy Fleetwood 5 *Lucas Glover 6 Matt Jones 7 Sungjae Im 9 Denny McCarthy 9 Brian Stuard 13 *Jim Furyk 14 Bud Cauley 15 Kiradech Aphibarnrat 18 Rory Sabbatini (2011 winner) 19 Ryan Armour 20 CT Pan 21 Vaughn Taylor 22 Si Woo Kim 24 Jimmy Walker Horses Rickie Fowler: All-time leading money winner has learned how to balance winning golf during a home game. T2-MC-WIN-T6 the last four seasons suggests more than balance! Lucas Glover: Hasn’t missed in his last seven attempts and the last three have cashed T4-T17-T21. Billy Horschel: Florida born, bred and living, the former Gator has rattled off T16, MC, T4 and T8 in his last four visits. Russell Henley: The 2014 champ has cashed in six of seven with T20 and T24 in his last two visits. Cut makers at PGA National Lee Westwood: Five straight but first appearance since 2015. Nick Watney: Five straight. Gary Woodland: Seven straight. Stewart Cink: Nine straight. Jason Dufner: 10 straight.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kevin Kisner survived a calamitous finish at the PGA Championship thanks to a good bounce off a bridge that allowed him to escape with a bogey and take a one-shot lead into the final round at Quail Hollow. Kisner already gave up a two-shot lead with a shot into the water on the 16th hole. He nearly did it again on the 18th until the ball hit the concrete bridge, sailed high in the air and disappeared in thick grass on the hill above a creek. He did well to chop that out onto the green and two-putt from 45 feet for a 1-over 72. He wasn’t alone in his struggles at the end of a long day of oppressive heat. Chris Stroud, the last player to qualify for the PGA Championship with a playoff victory last week in Nevada, three-putted for bogey on his final two holes for a 71 and will play in the final group with Kisner. Also one shot behind was Hideki Matsuyama, who had a 73. Jason Day was right there with them until a peculiar decision likely cost him a reasonable chance. Stuck behind a tree right of the 18th fairway, Day chose not to pitch out to the fairway and tried hooking it around the tree and the gallery to the right. The club clanged off the pine and the ball went into the bushes. He took a penalty drop, found the rough, came up short of the green and ended with a quadruple-bogey 8 for a 77. Day was seven shots behind. Rickie Fowler got within three shots of the lead until a three-putt bogey on the 16th hole, a tee shot into the water on the 17th for a double bogey, and a three-putt bogey on the last hole. That sent him six shots behind. Through all that chaos, Matsuyama kept alive his chances to bring Japan its first major. Matsuyama made his share of mistakes, and while he failed to convert two good birdie chances, he played the last five holes bogey-free for a 73. Kisner was at 7-under 206 as he goes after his first major championship. Of the 15 players who remained under par, Louis Oosthuizen is the only one who has won a major, and that was seven years ago. Oosthuizen saved par from a similar spot Day was in on the 18th hole and shot 71. He was at 5-under 208, along with Justin Thomas, the son of a PGA professional who played bogey-free over his last 12 holes and posted a 69.

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