Monday qualifiers: Sony Open in Hawaii

FORT WORTH — Scott Stallings has seen some birdie putts fall this week in Texas. He saw eight of them Thursday in the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge, where he shot 3-under 67 to end in a share of seventh. He took only 26 putts on a warm and breezy afternoon at Colonial Country Club. Some of them he would like to have back. “Made a lot of birdies,” Stallings said. “Made a lot of bogeys.” (Five, to be exact.) “Part of it, man,” he said. Also part of it: making birdies when they really matter personally. Stallings watched plenty of those Monday in Dallas, where he shot 8 under in a U.S. Open qualifier at Lakewood CC and Royal Oaks CC. His solo 11th-place finish got him into the season’s third major at The Country Club outside Boston. He tweeted a photograph of his official notification from the USGA and added: “This one means a little bit more.” “That day was something I had circled,” Stallings said Thursday. The U.S. Open represents a homecoming for the three-time PGA TOUR winner. He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, less than an hour from Brookline. He left as a youth and now lives in Tennessee. But he has family there, he said, and he looks forward to playing in front of them in June. “That was probably my biggest goal of the year, to play the U.S. Open,” Stallings said. “That’s somewhere that’s near and dear to my heart.”

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AUGUSTA, Ga. - Jon Rahm warned us that he could leave next week's Masters at any moment. He wasn't going to miss the birth of his first child, even if it meant withdrawing from the year's first major. Now he won't have to worry about that scenario. Instead, he'll arrive at Augusta National as a new father. Rahm's wife, Kelley, gave birth to a son early Saturday. Kepa Cahill Rahm was born at 12:15 a.m. on Saturday. "Momma Kelley is doing great and recovering. Kepa is also in great health. Without a doubt the greatest day of my life!" Rahm wrote on Instagram. Rahm called Kepa, who weighed in at 7 pounds, 2 ounces and was 20.5 inches long at birth, a "big boy from Basque country." Rahm, 26, is ranked 12th in the FedExCup and and third in the world ranking. He and defending champion Dustin Johnson are the only players to finish in the top 10 in each of the past three Masters. Rahm said at last week's World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play that Kelley was due between April 10-12, a range that fell from the Masters' third round through the Monday after. "All I can say is if anybody’s thinking of a betting on me on the Masters, maybe think about it twice because there’s a chance I have to just turn around and leave that week," Rahm said in Austin. "I’ve said it before; if I have to leave any event, I’ll leave. Being a father is much more important than any golf event would ever be, so that’s my head right now." Rahm's situation evoked memories of Phil Mickelson, who finished second in the 1999 U.S. Open while awaiting the birth of his first child. He said he would leave as soon as his beeper sounded but his wife, Amy, didn't give birth until the following day. Rahm won't have to worry about such a situation. He'll be able to compete at Augusta National with a clear mind.

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DALLAS — Marc Leishman shot a 10-under 61 on the new links-style Trinity Forest course to take the first-round lead Thursday in the AT&T Byron Nelson. Jordan Spieth was eight-shots back in his hometown event, which returned to Dallas after 35 years at the TPC Four Seasons in suburban Irving. Defending champion Billy Horschel shot 68. Leishman opened with an eagle, started the back nine with three-straight birdies and reached 9 under with another eagle at the 14th. The 34-year-old Australian, a three-time PGA TOUR winner, had chances to go lower but settled for a 10-foot birdie putt at the par-3 17th for the lowest round of his PGA TOUR career. He was a stroke shy of the Nelson record. J.J. Spaun and Texan Jimmy Walker shot 64. Spaun had six birdies in a span of seven holes for a 30 on his second nine — the front nine on the undulating layout with no trees or water hazards a few miles south of downtown Dallas.

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