Niemann pulls away for first PGA Tour victory

PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic – After battling nerves early, former NFL quarterback Tony Romo fought back for a respectable opening-round score of 7-over-par 79 at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship. Making his second TOUR start in the Dominican Republic, Romo had a tough day off the tee, hitting just 21 percent of his fairways. He missed a few short putts early – and bogeyed three of his first four holes – before getting into a bit of a groove. He lost his tee-shot on the tough par-4 8th, leading to a triple-bogey 7. However, on the tougher back nine at Corales, Romo was just 1-over. He said after his round there were some “signs of life.â€� “I got comfortable and the last 10 holes or so (and) hit some good shots. Just got to keep getting comfortable and playing golf in these types of situations and it starts to get easier,â€� he said. Romo’s coach, Andy Traynor, was out following his pupil all 18 holes. He said Romo could out-work anyone, and was playing very well coming into the week. But Romo admitted after his round that tournament golf is just a different animal. “I think a lot of this is just tournament golf in general. We work on stuff and then all of a sudden you have a different wind direction, it’s a little down and it’s a front flag and it’s like it needs to be flighted a different way than you normally would, stuff like that,â€� said Romo. “It’s just a little harder than what you see.â€� Romo played with Texan Kramer Hickok (1-under 71), who he’s played with a few times at home, and Denny McCarthy (3-under-par 69), who he played with in 2018. McCarthy – who said he had a combination of confidence and knowing he played well here a year ago (he finished T-7) as contributing factors to his hot start – said Romo didn’t have his best day, but it was evident that he eased into the round. “He played great after the 8th hole. He even mentioned it, he was a little tentative and nervous but played carefree coming in,â€� said McCarthy. “I got to know him pretty well last year and we had some nice conversations out there. It was a comfortable pairing for all of us.â€� Romo said he has improved a lot in certain areas of his game since 2018 and he’s eager for another crack at Corales on Friday. “I feel like I always want to be improving, but the score doesn’t always show that,â€� he said. “But for me the progression is going well and just have to stay at it. I think I’m going to play better tomorrow.â€�

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The Farmers Insurance Open returns to Torrey Pines’ two courses this week, with world No. 1 Jon Rahm coming in as one to watch after having won the Farmers in 2017 – his first of six PGA TOUR wins and counting – and the U.S. Open last summer at Torrey’s South Course. Patrick Reed is defending after a five-shot win at last year’s Farmers. Both the South and North courses at Torrey Pines are used for the TOUR’s annual trip to this municipal facility perched on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Torrey Pines has hosted the Farmers every year since 1968. Players play one round apiece on each course before the 36-hole cut, with the final two rounds taking place on the famous South Course, which has been host to many memorable moments. Torrey Pines may be best known for Tiger Woods’ success here – it is where he won the Junior World championship and eight PGA TOUR titles, including his dramatic playoff win over Rocco Mediate in the 2008 U.S. Open – and the three Farmers wins by San Diego’s native son, Phil Mickelson. But one could argue that the biggest star is the venue itself, with its sumptuous, sweeping views that mark the TOUR’s return to network television each year and stoke the passions of snowed-in golf fans during the dead of winter. The cornerstone of San Diego-area golf, Torrey Pines has hosted the San Diego City Amateur, Junior World, U.S. Amateur Public Links, California State Amateur, Farmers Insurance Open, and last summer, for the second time, the U.S. Open. In a twist that’s new this year, the Farmers will begin on Wednesday and end on Saturday, making room for the APGA Tour, which is dedicated to diversity in golf, to stage its own final round at Torrey South on Sunday. It will be the first APGA event televised on Golf Channel. Here are Five Things to Know about Torrey Pines. 1. WHAT’S IN A NAME? The Torrey pine – which is featured in the Farmers Insurance Open’s trophy – is native only to this 36-hole golf complex, the neighboring Torrey Pines State Reserve and Santa Rosa Island, located up the California coast near Santa Barbara. The tree features clusters of five pine needles and, because it is protected, when some 30 Torrey pines were removed during a renovation of the South Course, they were simply relocated and transplanted. Although early Spanish explorers certainly knew of the tree, Dr. Charles Christopher Parry, a botanist for the U.S.-Mexico Boundary Survey, officially discovered it. He named it for his mentor, Dr. John Torrey, who had co-written “A Flora of North America” and was the solo author of “A Flora of New York State.” Torrey never visited the region, but Parry sent him samples of the tree. 2. TRAINING GROUNDS Camp Callan opened on what is now Torrey Pines Golf Course in 1941, just prior to the Pearl Harbor invasion. It was used for anti-aircraft artillery replenishment, and roughly 15,000 people lived on site. There were movie theaters and chapels, among other conveniences. After World War II, the government sold the land and buildings back to the city of San Diego. Lumber from the buildings was used to build housing for veterans. 3. RE-DEFINING ‘DRIVER’ The term ‘driver’ once meant something completely different at Torrey Pines. After Camp Callan, the land was repurposed to build a grand prix racecourse, hosting car-racing contests that included some of the biggest names in driving. Among them were Carroll Shelby, who was played by Matt Damon in the movie “Ford vs. Ferrari.” The last race was held in 1956. 4. A FATHER-SON TEAM Torrey Pines was designed by a father-son team that was named “California’s First Family of Golf Course Design.” William P. Bell, who was born in 1886 and apprenticed under Willie Watson and George C. Thomas, Jr., was a turf consultant for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during World War II, and shortly after that was joined by son William F. Bell in the family golf course design business. A special city election in 1956 led to the dedication of roughly 100 acres of the former Camp Callan being set aside for the creation of a golf course. William P. had the original vision for Torrey Pines, but he had died by the time Torrey Pines was built. His son, William F., oversaw its creation in the late 1950s. William P. also worked with Thomas on the Bel-Air, Riviera and Los Angeles country clubs, and William F. was involved in the building of Sandpiper and Industry Hills golf clubs, and Bermuda Dunes Country Club. Riviera is the annual host of the Genesis Invitational, which is hosted by Woods, while LACC is slated to host next year’s U.S. Open. 5. A WORK IN PROGRESS In the spring of 1999, the City of San Diego Parks and Recreation began a five-year capital improvement program for the courses. Rees Jones moved four green structures and added 10 new tees to stretch the course from 7,000 to nearly 7,600 yards. He made smaller changes in 2019, and as a result is the architect most responsible for transforming the South. But he’s not the only one. Billy Casper and architect David Rainville oversaw the first redesign in the mid-1970s. Stephen Halsey and Jack Daray, Jr., redid it in ’88. Tom Weiskopf, who won what would become the Farmers in its first year using Torrey South in 1968 – the tournament had mostly been at Stardust C.C. – redesigned the North Course in 2016. As for changes to the South, a new tee and two new bunkers down the left side have added a new wrinkle to the 612-yard, par-5 13th hole. A new tee has added 37 yards to the par-4 15th hole, as has a new low chipping area front-left of the green, which will collect errant shots. A new tee has been added to the left of the previous tee on 17, creating a new angle that favors a draw into the fairway. The hole features the shallowest par-4 green, 26 yards. The fairways and rough are still mostly kikuyu, the greens poa annua. Devlin’s Billabong, the small pond fronting the 18th green, is still the only water hazard (other than the Pacific Ocean). The 387-yard second hole is still the only par 4 under 400 yards. Additionally, the picturesque, 195-yard third hole, which plays downhill into the prevailing wind, is still the signature par 3. With multiple teeing areas and wind directions, it can call for anything from a pitching wedge to a long iron. The dogleg-right sixth hole, a par 4 for the U.S. Open, plays as a 560-yard par 5 for the Farmers. The easiest hole is usually the 568-yard, par-5 18th, the site of Tiger Woods’ do-or-die putt at the 2008 U.S. Open, and Dan Hicks’ call: “Expect anything different?” It often decides the tournament, too – just ask Jon Rahm. He holed a long eagle putt on the 72nd hole to win the Farmers in 2017 and birdied both 17 and 18 last summer to win his first major.

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BLAINE, Minn. – Dustin Johnson withdrew from the 3M Open on Thursday, citing a back injury, after shooting 78 in the first round. The round of 7 over followed a pair of 80s and a missed cut at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide last week for the world No. 4, who won the Travelers Championship last month. Johnson started on the back nine Thursday and actually was 1 under through his first six holes. But his troubles began when he bogeyed No. 16 and hit his tee shot at the par-3 17th into the water on the way to a double bogey. “I just hit a poor shot on 17,” Johnson said. “I hit it a little heavy in the water, made 5 there.” The 18th was a disaster, though. A good drive on the curving, dogleg-right par 5 left him 208 yards from the flag – a “perfect” 6-iron, Johnson later said – but that went into the water. So did two more balls, and suddenly he was signing for a quadruple bogey. “Hit it right at it and never once did I think it was going to go in the water,” Johnson said. “That never crossed my mind when it was in the air. Just went in the water and I hit two more shots in the water, then I hit a good one, made a tap-in for a 9.” Johnson made two more bogeys on the front nine before sinking a 19-foot birdie putt on No. 9 to finish off his round. Johnson placed the blame for his recent spate of poor play on his iron game. He hit 9 of 14 fairways on Thursday but just 13 of 18 greens in regulation. “I feel like I’m driving it well, but the iron play, first six or seven holes hit it close and then the rest of the day kind of struggled a little bit with iron play,” Johnson said. “Kind of the same last week, I just struggled with my iron play and makes it difficult.” At Muirfield Village, Johnson was similarly beset by big numbers. He had two doubles and three triples, along with nine bogeys, in two rounds at the Memorial.

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