Nine-birdie round gives Mize Sr. Players lead

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Brandt Snedeker couldn’t block out the buzz that surrounded his first-round 11-under 59 at the Wyndham Championship. He refocused just in time to reclaim the lead. Snedeker followed his historic opening score with a 67 on Friday to take a two-stroke lead into the weekend at the Wyndham Championship. A day after becoming the 10th player in PGA TOUR history to break 60, Snedeker moved to 14-under 126 halfway through the final PGA TOUR event before the FedExCup Playoffs. “You hear people telling you every two seconds, `Mr. 59,’ or saying how cool it was to watch it,” Snedeker said. “So, yes, totally on your mind.” D.A. Points shot a 64 to reach 12 under — one stroke ahead of C.T. Pan, who also had a 64. David Hearn, Peter Malnati, Keith Mitchell, Harris English, Brett Stegmaier and Sergio Garcia were 9 under. Snedeker, the 2012 FedExCup champion, won this tournament in 2007 before it moved across town to the par-70 Sedgefield Country Club. He had the tour’s first 59 of the year during the first round. But it wasn’t easy to follow a score like that. Of the nine previous players who have broken 60 on the TOUR, six had to play the next day and only one has shot better than 65 in that round: Justin Thomas, who had a 64 in the second round of last year’s Sony Open. “You can’t ignore it, you can’t try to forget about it,” Snedeker said. “Hardest thing is trying to get back into a rhythm. … Now I’m better equipped for the next time I shoot 59 and play the next day.” By the time Snedeker teed off Friday afternoon, that low score had held up for a one-stroke lead. It temporarily slipped away when he had three bogeys on the front nine. He reclaimed the lead late in his round with some nifty putting. He sank two putts longer than 30 feet, one for eagle on the par-5 15th and another for birdie on the par-4 16th, and wrapped up with the best two-round score at this tournament since Carl Pettersson’s 125 a decade ago. “When I finally convinced myself to hit a few putts, they started going in,” Snedeker said. “Over 72 holes, you’re going to have stretches where balls don’t go in the hole, you’ve got to be able to kind of overcome, be patient, wait for the long ones to fall, and luckily I made a couple coming down the stretch.” Points, who has made only one cut since January and failed to reach the weekend in 19 of his 24 tournaments this season, had a strong front nine with three birdies and an eagle on the par-5 fifth hole, where he sank a 40-foot putt. He has finished in the top 20 at this tournament twice since 2014, and after starting far off the bubble at No. 214 on the points list, could play his way into the FedExCup Playoffs this weekend. “Basically, I know this is possibly my last event of the year, so I haven’t been grinding really hard,” Points said. “It seems to be paying off.” Pan, a 26-year-old from Taiwan, had birdies on three of his final four holes to climb the leaderboard. He sank a 20-foot birdie putt on No. 17 and an 8-footer on the 18th to match the best round of his young career. He also shot 64s last year at the Travelers Championship and The RSM Classic. “I love this course,” Pan said, adding that his “trajectory tends to be lower than compared to other guys, so I think I have an advantage here.” Among the other highlights: Brian Gay had the day’s best round, a 63 tarnished only by a bogey on his final hole on which he missed a 4-foot par putt. And Mitchell opened with five consecutive birdies to briefly raise the possibility of a second sub-60 score in two days, before slipping back later in his round. “It’s definitely a different feeling,” Mitchell said. “But it’s a feeling you try to get comfortable with because you want to be in that zone.” A key subplot at Sedgefield every year is the push by bubble players to earn postseason spots. The top 125 players on the points list make the field for THE NORTHERN TRUST in New Jersey, and everyone from No. 122 to No. 132 is playing this weekend. Bill Haas, who at No. 150 is in danger of missing the FedExCup Playoffs for the first time, made the cut at 3 under. Garcia, at No. 131, also is trying to make it for the 12th straight year. Johnathan Byrd — who at No. 183 probably needs to win or finish alone in second place to earn enough points to qualify — remains in the mix at 8 under. “It’s kind of an easy mentality in a sense,” Byrd said. “Just got to play amazing or go home, or go to the (Web.com Tour) finals.”

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Xander Schauffele is quickly becoming big everywhere. He’s big in San Diego where he was born and raised and where he honed his golf at high school and college. He’s big in Las Vegas where he recently moved with his wife and was last week awarded the keys to the city. He’s big in Germany where his father Stefan grew up and dreamed of being an Olympic level decathlete before a car accident stunted that. He’s big in Wisconsin after celebrating in epic fashion, perhaps a little too well, with fans in the aftermath of recent Ryder Cup glory. And he’s really big in Japan where his grandparents reside and where he returns this week for THE ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP around two and a half months after winning the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games. But Schauffele has desires of being bigger. The four-time PGA TOUR winner might be small in stature but he’s massive in heart. And he’s a straight shooter. Despite having a career resume some players spend a lifetime failing to achieve, this 28-year-old evaluates his 2021 as barely acceptable. For the second consecutive season he went winless on the TOUR but did pick up the gold medal and was impressive in the Ryder Cup going 3-0 in the team section before losing to Rory McIlroy in Singles. “I feel not that I failed on the PGA TOUR season, but I didn’t really accomplish what I wanted to. And I did get worse in certain categories throughout the year,” Schauffele says. “But I was able to step up to the plate in tournaments that don’t count for the PGA TOUR… it’s an interesting feeling. “I feel like I’ve had success, but then again I missed out on a lot of things that I wanted to accomplish. So, a weird space that I’m in mentally, but overall, I think celebrating the Ryder Cup win with my teammates sort of got me over the edge of feeling like I failed this season.” The categories Schauffele speaks of were his driving stats and his approach game from 80-140 yards. He was eighth on TOUR in 2020 in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee at +0.648 but dropped to 41st and +0.266 in 2021. His driving accuracy fell from 60.31% to 58.83%. As for his approach game – well his approaches from 75-100 yards went from average 16’3” proximity to 18’10” and from 125-150 yards he went from 20’8” to 22’10”. “I usually don’t look at my numbers that soon, but we were at the Ryder Cup and they had all the numbers and I’m guilty of wanting to know what they are, so I just asked them and that’s what they told me,” Schauffele said. “So I told them thank you for the kick in the rear end to be better.” His drive and desire are in his suitcase this week in Japan and he’s hoping the good memories flood back and help him to more success. He will also have the gold medal on hand – or more likely Stefan will have it nearby as it’s been tough to pry it from his super proud father. His next step is winning on TOUR again and where better than Japan. The Olympics helped him smash one bugaboo – that of not being able to close from in front. He held on to the gold medal after having the 54-hole lead. He hasn’t been able to do that in the four occasions he’s led with a round to play on TOUR. “Whether it was a par-3 contest out here on TOUR, me winning with a lead, I just had to get over that hump and I was able to do it,” he said. “And the magnitude of the event in Tokyo, obviously with my family and my dad and everyone there and me wanting it more and more and more as I would fail in final groups, there was a lot of pressure sitting up there. So for me to be able to pull it off, especially in that fashion, was a good feeling.” This week his dad, grandparents and mom will again make the trip to watch him play. And the local support has been generous because of his family ties. Outside the Japanese stars in the field, he may be their next favorite. “Everyone’s kind of done the quarantine and travel rules to support me, which is nice. It is extra special to return to Japan,” he says of his family. “And the fans will be the ones that also sort of make it special or make me relive my good moments. I remember the first time we played the ZOZO, I was paired with JT and Rory and it was like five to eight deep on the first hole and people are going nuts. “The people in Japan love golf and it’s always nice to play in front of them, even if it is a limited number. I’m looking forward to it for sure. It’s always really cool to get announced on the first tee as the gold medalist and that will be like that for quite some time which is just nice and I’ll take full advantage of that.” Given it’s been a hectic year for Schauffele he could almost be forgiven for treating the tournament as a celebration week before taking a break. He says he hasn’t really had a chance to let it all sink in. But his competitive nature doesn’t allow for wasted weeks. “I haven’t really had an off season. My brain’s still been in go mode. So I haven’t really had time to sort of sit back and relax and take it all in,” he says. “But I’m not going to make up the numbers. I’m going to try to win. I’m very competitive, I hate losing. Hopefully we can celebrate after another great week there.” Schauffele’s goals don’t stop there. “A FedExCup, major championships, PLAYERS championship, multiple of those… that’s just what I expect of myself and sort of why I get up and go through all the whole process every day,” he adds. Now that really would be bigger. And golden.

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Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, and Norton, Massachusetts (August 30, 2017)  – PGA TOUR professional and Houston resident Chris Stroud led an announcement today from the TOUR’s Dell Technologies Championship, pledging support for those affected by Hurricane Harvey and the resulting flooding.  Stroud committed $10,000 toward the relief efforts and plans to add an additional 10 percent of his earnings from this week’s event.  TOUR players, fans and tournaments can further assist the American Red Cross through PGA TOUR Charities’ Together, anything’s possible platform.  Additionally, fans on site at this week’s event in Norton, Massachusetts – where players will wear red, white and blue ribbons (colors of the Texas flag) to raise awareness – can donate via kiosks in the Dell Technologies Championship Fan Experience.  Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas coast on Friday, August 25, and torrential rainfall has submerged thousands of homes and forced unprecedented evacuations. “It has been a tough week, but in some ways a very rewarding week,â€� said Stroud.  He is one of the more than 30 players on the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions and Web.com Tour who live in the Houston community, and the area is also home to the PGA TOUR’s Houston Open and the Insperity Invitational on PGA TOUR Champions. “To see all the people and organizations around the country eager to pitch in and help is inspiring.  I hope the efforts of the PGA TOUR and my fellow players will spur more people to join in and help make a difference to those who are in need.â€� Fans wishing to assist in the relief and recovery efforts can stop by the Dell Technologies Championship Fan Experience, or by making donations through PGA TOUR Charities’ “Together, anything’s possibleâ€� website by clicking on the red GIVE button. Starting on August 30, all donations via the site will be distributed to American Red Cross Hurricane Harvey Relief. Additionally, fans can make donations directly through the American Red Cross by visiting www.redcross.org or by texting HARVEY to 90999 to make a $10 donation. “Our thoughts are with all of those impacted by this terrible storm and flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey,â€� said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan, who pledged $250,000 on behalf of the TOUR to the American Red Cross. “We hope our collective efforts help bring comfort and aid to the victims and that it will spur our players, tournaments and fans to join the cause and help out.â€� “Thanks to the generosity of the PGA TOUR and its partners, the Red Cross will be able to continue to provide our needed services to those impacted by Hurricane Harvey. Currently, Red Cross is focusing on providing safe shelter and feeding people. After the storm passes, we will be offering emotional support, health services, and distributing emergency relief supplies such as comfort kits and cleaning supplies. Red Cross plays a critical role in helping families and communities get back on their feet and we are very grateful for PGA TOUR’s support,” said Anna Trefethen, Vice President Humanitarian Services Southeast & Caribbean Division. About Together, anything’s possible Together, anything’s possible, is the PGA TOUR’s charity platform that brings together all of the TOUR’s stakeholders – players, tournaments and sponsors, volunteers, charities and fans – to tell the story of the tremendous impact that their collective efforts are having on communities throughout the world. Since the first donation of $10,000 was made in 1938, PGA TOUR events have generated significant funds for local charities. In fact, the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Web.com Tour have surpassed the $2.46 billion mark in overall charitable contributions. To learn more about tournament and player charities and how to donate to these causes, visit the PGA TOUR’s charity web site at www.pgatour.com/together.

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