Noh wins Founders Cup by 4 for 1st LPGA victory

PUNTA CANA, Domincan Republic – Jhonattan Vegas has lots of reasons to celebrate these days, both on the golf course and off. Vegas – who shot a 3-under-par 69 Thursday in the first round of the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship and was just a few shots back of the early lead – and his wife announced via a video on Instagram just days before the tournament began they were expecting their second child (a boy). This, just a week after the three-time TOUR winner rocked the golf world with his across-the-green putt on the par-3 17th at TPC Sawgrass during THE PLAYERS Championship, en route to a T-3 – his best finish on TOUR since THE NORTHERN TRUST in August 2017. At 69 feet, 7 inches, Vegas’ long birdie putt on the island green was the longest in PLAYERS history. He admitted he didn’t realize how loud it was until after he watched the replays. “I was so tuned into the moment, to the putt,â€� he said. It was such an unreal moment, pretty much, that happened there at 17, that I didn’t notice people. I didn’t notice how loud it was.â€� Vegas said his result at THE PLAYERS two weeks ago gave him the confidence he needs – and made a big difference in his game – as he looks ahead to the Presidents Cup later this year. He said making the International Team captained by Ernie Els is his biggest goal for 2019. “It’s been on the radar since I got done in New York that Sunday,â€� he said. Vegas has made four of his last five cuts – and three straight – with both of his top-10’s on the season occurring in that span. He kept that momentum going Thursday in Punta Cana and was 3-under through his first seven holes. He made bogey on the par-3 9th before birdied the long par-5 12th. He had a short birdie try on the par-4 18th but it just slid by. Still, Vegas said he was pleased with his effort on the much harder back nine. “The back nine is really hard here… five holes on the back nine you’re just really happy to make pars (on). I tried to manage a birdie or two on the other ones. That’s kind of how the course is going to play all week,â€� he said. “The front nine, you have more gettable holes, which we did early, and played solid on the back and it’s a decent score.â€� But as Vegas looks to the second round in Punta Cana, he can’t help but be excited at the prospect of being a father for the second time. He says his daughter, who’s three, is already excited to be a big sister. He said, with a proud-papa smile, she’s already thinking about giving her baby brother a bottle and singing him a song if he cries. Vegas comes from a family of all boys, and although he said he would have been thrilled with another girl, he said he can’t wait to be the father of his own son. “I’ve had such an amazing experience with my daughter, but I think the boys are fun, too,â€� said Vegas. “We can push them more and kind of be athletes like we were when we were a kid, so it’s a way to live childhood through them.â€�

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Brendon Todd’s first two victories of the season were the feel-good story of the fall, but he’s proving to be more than a sentimental storyline at the World Golf Championship-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Todd sits atop a field of the game’s elite. Some stellar short-game play helped him shoot 11-under 129 (64-65) for his first two trips around TPC Southwind. Todd now has 10 rounds of 65 or lower this season, tied with Bryson DeChambeau for most on TOUR. RELATED: Full leaderboard | New coach helps Koepka Todd will start the weekend with a two-stroke lead over Rickie Fowler. Brooks Koepka is in third place, lurking four shots off the lead, along with Presidents Cup participant Byeong-Hun An and Chez Reavie. A win this week would undoubtedly be the culmination of Todd’s incredible comeback from a four-year slump. This is just his seventh WGC start. A win would make him the first three-time winner this season. Todd’s two wins in the fall – at the Bermuda Championship and Mayakoba Golf Classic – proved that not only could he survive those difficult seasons, but become better than ever. He could move as high as No. 2 in the FedExCup standings with just two weeks remaining in the regular season. “In my whole life, this is definitely the most confident I’ve ever felt with my golf game. It’s probably the most versatile I’ve ever been ball‑striking‑wise,” Todd said Friday. “I still don’t hit it far, but I feel like I’m able to shape shots a little bit. And my short game’s solid, so it just kind of comes down to how the putting is.” Todd ranks 68th in the 78-man field in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee but is in the top 10 in the other three Strokes Gained categories. He has just one bogey this week despite missing 12 greens. His putting has been even better, calling it “as good as it gets.” Todd holed a 46-footer Thursday and added a 50-footer Friday. He’s missed just one of his 12 attempts from 4-8 feet, as well. Todd leads the field in Strokes Gained: Putting. He’s gained 6.8 seven strokes on the greens in the first two rounds, setting a new career-high for the first two rounds of an event. His previous record for the opening two rounds was +6.04 in the 2014 AT&T Byron Nelson, which was the first win of his career. Todd had to wait five years after that Nelson win to re-enter the winner’s circle. In between his first two wins, he finished outside the top 180 in the FedExCup in four consecutive seasons and made just five cuts from 2016-18. He had to return to the Korn Ferry Tour to regain his card. Fowler hasn’t had a top-10 since January, but is pleased with his ball-striking after some recent work with swing coach John Tillery. Koepka hasn’t hoisted a trophy since winning at TPC Southwind last year, but he shot 62 on Thursday. He reached 10 under par and was in the lead when he made the turn Friday, but stumbled to 38 on the final nine holes. A duel between Todd and Koepka would be a contrast in styles. Koepka is 21st on TOUR with an average driving distance of 307.2 yards. That’s more than 35 yards longer than Todd, who ranks ahead of just seven players in the driving-distance statistic. Koepka can overpower a golf course, though his length often overshadows his stellar iron play and underrated short game. He leads the field in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green this season. Todd, on the other hand, relies on his putter to overcome his lack of length. This won’t be the first time since the season’s resumption that Todd has gone toe-to-toe with one of the game’s big bombers, though. One month ago, Todd took a two-shot lead over Dustin Johnson into the final round of the Travelers Championship. Todd opened the final round with 11 straight pars as he watched several birdie putts slide by the hole. He was still just two back before playing the final seven holes in 5 over, including a triple on the 12th hole. Todd said he wasn’t intimidated by his final-round foe, though. “Sunday at Travelers was a tough day for me, but I felt prepared for that round. I felt like I handled it really well. I was calm, I was confident, I hit awesome shots for the first 11 holes and really even for the last six holes, but 1 through 11 I burned five or six edges,” Todd said. “I was hitting really good putts and it just wasn’t my day on the greens and it was Dustin’s on the greens. He kept making putt after putt after putt and put pressure on me. “I think that was just a day that just didn’t go my way and kind of spiraled the wrong way.” Now Todd has a chance to make amends and walk away with the biggest title of his career. “It would be really, really satisfying,” he said. “I feel like as a junior golfer, college golfer, I was always winning big events. Now I’m capable of winning big events on the professional stage. I’m really excited to have the confidence now and the tools in my game to compete for these titles. Just having a chance to win one is a big deal right now.”

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