Noren rallies to win BMW PGA Championship

JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Troy Merritt isn’t obsessed with his position in the FedExCup and what he needs to advance in the PGA TOUR’s Playoffs. He figures the best solution is good golf, and he delivered his best round of the year Thursday in THE NORTHERN TRUST. Merritt began with a 10-foot par save, followed with a pair of 20-foot birdie putts and took advantage of calm, rain-softened Liberty National by tying the course record with a 9-under 62 for a one-shot lead over Dustin Johnson. It wasn’t a career low — Merritt twice has shot 61 on the PGA TOUR — but it might have been his best round hardly anyone saw. The storm was so fierce on the eve of the FedExCup Playoffs opener that the public was not allowed in until 10 a.m., nearly three hours after the round began. And when the fans arrived, most of them were watching the action — what little there was — two groups behind him with Tiger Woods. Woods, in only his third round since the U.S. Open, made double bogey on the shortest hole on the course, three-putted from 15 feet and had three bogeys from the fairway in a listless round of 75. Along with being 13 shots out of the lead, he was in danger of missing the cut for the first time in the FedExCup Playoffs, which also would jeopardize a return to East Lake for the TOUR Championship. “We all knew it was soft out here with the rain last night,” Woods said. “I knew I had to go get it, post a low one, and didn’t do it. It’s certainly out there. Greens are soft. Fairways are soft. You can play aggressively and not have any real ramifications for playing aggressive.” Johnson ran off four straight birdies near the end of his round for a 63, a good start in a tournament he already has won twice. Kevin Kisner and Jon Rahm were at 64, while the group at 65 included Rory McIlroy and the suddenly hot Webb Simpson, who posted his sixth straight round of 65 or better dating to the final round of the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational two weeks ago. The wind arrived in the afternoon, slowing the onslaught of low scores, with no round better than the 66 by Justin Rose. “Got a bit tricky this afternoon,” Rose said. “I didn’t pay too much attention to this morning’s scores. Saw a scoreboard at one points — 9 (under), 8, 7s, 6s — and I knew it was on. This golf course, if you’re playing well, you can take it on and challenge it. … If you’re not 100 percent on your game, you have to play conservatively.” Merritt is No. 72 in the FedExCup, with the top 70 advancing next week to the BMW Championship at Medinah. Points are quadrupled in the Playoffs. “I know good golf will take care of itself,” he said. “You just try to play the best you can. Obviously, I’ll be watching throughout the weekend, but just getting off to a good start, put that to the back of the mind and try to win a golf tournament.” Johnson has no such worries as the No. 7 seed, though this time of the year means a lot to him only because of past failures. He narrowly lost out on the FedExCup in 2016 when he had a share of the 54-hole lead, shot 73 and still could have won the Cup if anyone but McIlroy had won. McIlroy won in a playoff. Four other times he went to the TOUR Championship among the top five seeds and didn’t get it done. “Absolutely — especially with what they’re paying this year,” he said with a smile, referring to the $15 million payout. “That’s like winning five majors.” His math was a little off, but point taken — his interest level is high, and his game was sharp. Even with a 63, Johnson couldn’t help but recall four birdie putts of inside 10 feet in a five-hole stretch around the turn that didn’t fall. Brooks Koepka, who has won four majors in the last three years, still hasn’t found his groove in the FedExCup. Koepka is the No. 1 seed. In 15 playoffs events, he has managed only two top 10s — his best is sixth place at the TOUR Championship two years ago — and he didn’t get off to a great start at Liberty National with only three birdies in his round of 70. Either way, he’s assured of being in East Lake. That isn’t the case for the likes of Phil Mickelson at No. 34, who opened with a 72. And it’s never been this big of a struggle for Jordan Spieth, who is No. 69 and can’t even bank on next week. He played bogey-free for a 67 in the afternoon. “I don’t like starting where I did this Playoffs, and I don’t plan on ever starting this far down again,” Spieth said before he paused to smile. “Last year I said that, and then I did. But things are improving. Today was a good day.”

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SAN DIEGO – Earlier this week, Justin Gilbert took his first airplane ride, which was a tad bit scary at first but ended up being tons of fun for the rambunctious 6-year-old. He got up-close-and-personal with sea lions, too. But what he really wanted to do was see his buddy, Rickie Fowler, who had made a surprise visit to Justin’s Houston home last year to help his parents rebuild after Hurricane Harvey. And on Tuesday at Torrey Pines, Fowler rolled out the red carpet for his young friend at the Farmers Insurance Open. Fowler, who is a Farmers ambassador, first met Justin and his parents, Daniel and Yessica, last March. He was part of a team from the global insurance company and SBP Americorps deployed that day to help with the on-going project to resurrect the Gilbert’s home from damage caused by floodwaters when Harvey hit. Not only did he pick up a paintbrush and get to work that day, Fowler came equipped with golf clubs to give Justin, who got an impromptu lesson from the golfer ranked No. 11 in the world outside the house. And he gained a lifelong fan in the process. “He’s my favorite character,â€� Justin says simply. His parents agree, although they had never heard of  Fowler before that encounter at their home. “With the way he was and the way he approached us, we definitely looked into him and how he really does help,â€� Yessica says. “He’s really big with kids and that’s lovely about him.â€� “It really gave us hope back in how he humbled down to come and help us,â€� says Daniel, who has played golf once in his life. “Ever since then, you can see my son, Justin, he enjoys it. “That one day of support that he showed us, he’s got fans for life.â€� Fowler and Farmers decided to bring the Gilberts to San Diego for a reunion. He was given his own locker near Fowler’s that was full of Puma gear and also got a behind-the-scenes tour of Cobra truck. He was among about 50 kids at the youth clinic Tuesday afternoon where he met Ben Crane, Billy Horschel and Brayden Thornberry. “I was doing golf with Rickie,â€� the breathless 6-year-old says. Wednesday saw Justin inside the ropes with Fowler during the pro-am. And he’ll undoubtedly be in his gallery the rest of the week. “It’s great to reconnect here,â€� Fowler says after signing every hat and towel thrust his way when the clinic was over. “I’ve had contact with Daniel off and on since when I spent time with them at their house and they’ve been super appreciative of us going over there. We were only there for half a day or so, but we were just going over there to show that we cared and wanted to help out.â€� Like many Houstonians, the Gilberts certainly needed that help after the destructive Category 4 storm dumped more than 3 feet of water over parts of Texas in four days, a year’s worth of rain in Houston alone. Daniel, Yessica and Justin were out to dinner when the rains began. Instead of going home during the onslaught, they headed to Daniel’s mother’s home. It would be days before they could return to their house to survey the damage. “You still needed like a jet ski to go into the neighborhood,â€� Yessica recalls. “The current was real bad,â€� Daniel says. “The streets looked like rivers. The freeways looked like boat ramps. I’ll never forget it.â€� Their home, which the Gilberts had bought six years ago shortly after they got married, was flooded. It smelled, too. Their furniture was soaked and had to be thrown out. But the full extent of the damage wasn’t evident until the soggy drywall and sheetrock was torn down. The electrical wiring needed to be replaced, and there was extensive termite damage and mold inside the walls. “If we wouldn’t have seen (the mold) how long would that have been there,â€� Daniel wonders aloud. “It would have slowly creeped without us knowing it. We would have just been breathing it in. The mold hides. It was an eye-opening.â€� The biggest concern, though, was Justin, who has a congenital heart defect and had already undergone four surgeries. Yessica says there was a 50-50 chance of a fifth on the horizon and having a safe home was definitely a priority. “You can’t tell from his energy, from his past,â€� Daniel says of his cousin and adoptive son. “But he’s a strong little kid.â€� “It was big for us because … we were committed to Justin and giving him a better life and a better environment because of his heart condition,â€� Yessica says. “We adopted him and with that environment not safe, we felt, not that we’d failed but it was more like, okay, now you have to work twice as hard because this is for him and this is what he needs to be in for a better environment.â€� Fortunately, that summer the couple found out that Justin wouldn’t need another operation. The family, who was living with Daniel’s mother, turned its attention to trying to figure out how to make the repairs necessary to return home. Daniel saw on social media that the JJ Watt Foundation had given $8 million to SBP Americorps to help families like his, who had no flood insurance. So, he made the call and volunteers from SBP and Farmers responded, working on his home for two months to get it livable again. The workers came from all over the country; in fact, all over the world – Puerto Rico, Australia, even China. College students. Families. Businessmen. Just people called to help. “It meant a lot,â€� Daniel says. Daniel, who was there working every day as well, says the couple even has a map with pins noting where the volunteers came from – “places we didn’t even know the name of,â€� he says. They have been safely in their home since last May, and couldn’t be more appreciative of the help they received. “It was just so much pressure lifted,â€� Daniel says. “How can I say, just something real heavy, it just felt like a relief. A real big relief. Where, I guess, you’re able to breathe better. You’re happy. “It just took a big load off of us. It’s unexplainable.â€�

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Round 3 of the Farmers Insurance Open takes place today from Torrey Pines. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action. Round 3 leaderboard Round 3 tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 3-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 1-2:45 p.m. ET (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. ET (CBS). Sunday, 1-2:45 p.m. ET (Golf Channel), 3-6:30 p.m. ET (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: (Featured Groups, Featured Holes) Thursday-Friday 12 p.m. – 7 p.m. ET. Saturday, 10:30 a.m.- 6 p.m. ET. Sunday, 11:15 a.m.-6:30 p.m. ET. Radio: Thursday-Friday, 1 p.m.-7 p.m. ET. Saturday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. ET. Sunday, 1 p.m.-6:30 p.m. ET (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). FEATURED GROUPS & NOTABLE TEE TIMES (ALL TIMES ET) Tiger Woods, Tyler McCumber, Chris Baker Saturday: 10:55 a.m. ET (No. 1 tee) Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama, Tony Finau Saturday: 11:05 a.m. ET (No. 1 tee) Ryan Palmer, Brandt Snedeker, J.B. Holmes Saturday: 12:45 p.m. ET (No. 1 tee) MUST READS Familiar faces top leaderboard at Torrey Pines Tiger claws back from four putt to card 71 Win probabilities Spieth, Day set for 2020 turnaround Tiger eyes win No. 83 at Farmers Insurance Open Morales relishes the time he took down Tiger at Torrey Pines Eighty things to know as Nicklaus turns 80 San Diego police officer retiring after long run at Farmers Insurance Open Sign-up and play Fantasy Golf CALL OF THE DAY

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