Palmetto Championship tee times, TV info for Friday’s second round

Last time we saw Jordan Spieth, he was keeping his sense of humor despite some mild frustrations with his game. He joked with the gallery about always being able to find playing partner Phil Mickelson’s ball but not his own, but in the next moment, after an unsatisfactory approach shot at the 10th hole, chided himself: “Come on! Give yourself some looks!” Spieth ultimately missed the cut by two at THE PLAYERS Championship, but he was hardly alone among the game’s bold-faced names who had an off-week. Seventh in the FedExCup standings, Spieth will be back in action at this week’s AT&T Byron Nelson at TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas. So will FedExCup leader Dustin Johnson, defending champion Sergio Garcia (13), and Jason Day, who is fourth in the Official World Golf Ranking. All of them finished outside the top 10 at THE PLAYERS, some well outside, but all have enjoyed way-above-average histories at Las Colinas, which is in its last year hosting the tournament before it moves to nearby Trinity Forest, a Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw design.  “This is my seventh time [playing the Byron],” Spieth said at his press conference Tuesday. “It’s bizarre. Just feels like somewhat of another Byron to me. I know this week being last time being here, that will strike some feels, but it’s still a really fun week that I’ve learned to enjoy more than put that pressure on myself. And even when I’ve been in contention, I’ve learned to enjoy having that with everybody around, and it’s helped me just have a better time this week.” For Spieth, the good times in Dallas roll both on and off the course. He made his PGA TOUR debut at age 16 at the 2010 Byron—and finished T16. Since that auspicious beginning, he has made the cut in all five subsequent starts in this, his hometown event, where he is aiming to pick off his 10th TOUR victory this week at the age of 23. Off the course, Spieth is boarding three other contestants at his Dallas pad this week: Monday qualifier Alex Moon, Spieth’s roommate, who shot a 7-under 65 at Lantana Golf Club; former Texas Longhorn and sponsor’s exemption Kramer Hickok; and Smylie Kaufman. “We had a little pool basketball yesterday,” Spieth said, “but that’s probably done after Monday. We’re just on to tournament week schedule, and everybody is so different.” Spieth isn’t the only star who relishes coming to Las Colinas. So does Dustin Johnson, who is coming off a final-round 68 at THE PLAYERS for a T12 finish—his career best. His play at the Byron has been remarkably consistent, with four top-10 and six top-25 finishes in seven starts. Johnson also boasts the tournament’s best scoring average (67.88) of anyone since 2009. Oh, and don’t forget Day, who won the 2010 AT&T Byron Nelson, and who was fifth in 2011, and who tied for ninth in 2012. (Deep breath.) And Garcia, who is a two-time champion at TPC Four Seasons, most recently last year. Think they’re not thrilled to touch down in Dallas? “I did some really good things last week,” Garcia, who shot rounds of 73-71-67-78 at THE PLAYERS, said Tuesday. “But I also did some things that weren’t that great. I need to make sure I clean that up and, you know, have a solid, solid stretch here in Texas.” No one is more solid in Texas than AT&T ambassador Spieth, who at a kids’ clinic earlier this week drove golf balls into full Coke cans, which exploded in fountains of frothy fizz. Last year, you might recall, he hit a marshmallow into the air and caught it in his mouth. For Spieth, there is something especially sweet about playing a TOUR event at a place where he used to come with his father to watch his boyhood idols. And a victory this week would carry more than sentimental value. It would give him two rare doubles: the AT&T double (Spieth already won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am earlier this season) and the DFW double (he won last year’s DEAN & DELUCA Invitational at Colonial in nearby Ft. Worth). “This one is definitely more home for me being in Dallas versus Ft. Worth,” Spieth said. “But winning both is something that is a lifelong goal for me and I have this one yet to accomplish.” To win, he added, he’ll have to play better on Thursday and Friday. “The problem this year so far has been my opening rounds,” he said. “I just haven’t had it. I’ve been behind the 8 ball too many times.” By his lofty standards, Spieth’s play has been up and down. He tied for 12th at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship, but didn’t make it out of his pod at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and missed the cut at the Shell Houston Open. He was in contention at the Masters (before a final-round 75), and with partner Ryan Palmer finished fourth at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, but shot 73-75 at THE PLAYERS at revamped TPC Sawgrass. What’s odd, Spieth added, is that tee-to-green he’s playing his best golf—2015 included. “My game was in great condition last week,” he said. “I hit the ball phenomenal and putting was great leading in. I just—my one bad day of the week was Thursday, striking the ball, and I recognized what it was. I couldn’t fix it in time for the round, and then I fixed that on Friday but then I just didn’t get any of the putts to go. “… I’m striking the ball as well as I’ve struck it this entire year, which is as good as I’ve struck the ball on Tour, is how I feel. My wedge play and putting are yet to kick into gear and it just takes a bit of momentum on course. I can do all the practice I want, it’s just seeing some go in on course, whether it’s one round or through a streak of two tournaments, just to feel like it’s all the way back to top notch. So, it’s close.” For Spieth, there could be no better week to turn “close” into “close the deal,” no better way to pay tribute to the consummate winner Byron Nelson himself. The DFW double awaits. 

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – How do you celebrate the inevitable? The answer is you don’t, certainly not in golf, and certainly not at TPC Sawgrass — even if you’re leading by seven shots with 18 holes to play. History told us Webb Simpson was safe on Sunday, that his advantage was insurmountable, that no one in the history of the PGA TOUR had ever lost when entering the final round with such a cushion. Winning THE PLAYERS Championship would be a mere formality, an 18-hole coronation, a nice Sunday stroll on Mother’s Day. On the surface, that’s exactly what happened. Simpson shot a final-round 1-over 73 marred by a meaningless double bogey at the final hole, to win by a comfortable four strokes over Charl Schwartzel, Jimmy Walker and Xander Schauffele. It was, seemingly, a drama-free day. No mystery here. Move along. And yet … “Harder than I thought,â€� Simpson said. “Longest round of golf I’ve ever caddied in my life,â€� added sidekick Paul Tesori. While Simpson is a past U.S. Open champ (2012), he had not posted a TOUR win in his previous 107 starts. In that span, he had experienced two traumatic moments – one that affected his career; the other, more emotionally challenging one, that affected his life. At one point, those closest to him wondered if the 32-year-old would ever achieve the kind of success that appeared inevitable after his major win at the Olympic Club. The ban on anchor putters starting in 2016 had crippled Simpson’s game. He questioned his ability, with tough nights of self-examination. “I don’t know if he’ll say this, but I’ll say it – I don’t know if we would ever get to experience this again,â€� Tesori said in the afterglow of Sunday’s win. Meanwhile, Sam Simpson – not just Webb’s dad but his best friend — had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Their bond of golf has always been a key part of their relationship, but just when Webb could have used him the most, Sam was simply too sick to offer specifics on how to fix his game. Still, there were much-needed words of encouragement. “He was still helping me through it and mentoring me,â€� Simpson said. It was a year ago that Webb finally found his putting stroke with his new grip, having solicited help from a variety of sources, including Phil Mickelson, Bernhard Langer and THE PLAYERS winner in 2010 Tim Clark. And then in November, Sam Simpson passed away at the age of 74. The loss was tough, but for the faith-minded Simpson, at least there was closure. Winning, though, remained elusive. And so that’s why, even with a seven-stroke lead, neither Simpson nor Tesori let their minds drift beyond the task in hand. No need to tempt the golf gods with a premature celebration of the inevitable. In fact, on Saturday night, Tesori was watching golf highlights with his wife Michelle at their house just a few miles from TPC Sawgrass when the history of safe leads was brought up on TV. Tesori told his wife that no lead was insurmountable. He had grown up in the area, and remembered that Davis Love III shot 64 to win in 2003 and that Fred Couples shot 64 to win in 1996.  If someone shot 64 on Sunday, then Simpson would need to shoot under par. Plus, Tesori had first-hand experience with losing large leads. He was on the bag for Sean O’Hair in 2009 when he took a five-shot lead entering the final round at Bay Hill. After the first six holes, Tiger Woods had tied O’Hair for the lead and eventually went on to a one-stroke win. “I’d much rather be 7 up than 5 up,â€� Tesori said. “But when I saw it on TV, I thought, man, you don’t want to make history that way.â€� So the key would be to not deviate from what got them that lead. For Simpson, that meant staying in his routine. This week, he’s been a frequent visitor at a couple of Starbucks in the area. His favorite drink is a six-shot ristretto espresso that gives him an afternoon boost. But when he has coffee in the morning before a round, it’s always decaf. Well, usually decaf. Before the final round of the 2012 U.S. Open, Webb and his wife Dowd were having breakfast. Webb asked her to order him a cup of decaf, but Dowd forgot and accidentally ordered a regular cup. “It served him well,â€� she recalled with a laugh. On Sunday morning before heading to TPC Sawgrass, Webb was having coffee at the Starbucks in Jacksonville Beach when Dowd called him. She was coming to town to watch the final round, although their four kids stayed back home in North Carolina. She thinks Webb was drinking decaf but “maybe he did have regular again.â€� Dowd and Webb first met as students at Wake Forest. It was, interesting enough, Sam Simpson that set them up. Dowd had attended a party for one of her best friends who had grown up with Webb. Sam was at the party, spotted Dowd across the room and made a bold offer: If she would go out with her son, he would pay her $100. Dowd told Sam, “If he’s half as cute as you, I’d do it for free.â€� As it turned out, she took the money, used it for the date to a local steakhouse. It was love at first sight – all thanks to Sam. “I think he just wanted his dorky golfer son to be seen with an older girl on campus,â€� Dowd said. Dowd had no doubt that her husband would keep the proper focus Sunday after that cup of coffee. Tesori liked his man’s mindset too, albeit a couple of alarming moments on the course. An early three-putt was disturbing. Then a couple of mental errors around the turn. After a bogey on the 10th hole reduced Simpson’s lead to four strokes, Tesori spoke up. “Hey, bud, are you really dialed in? “Yeah,â€� replied Simpson. “I don’t think you are,â€� said Tesori, noting that Simpson was missing his yardage numbers far more on Sunday than the previous three days. That’s when they got back to business. Their mantra all week had been: Be aggressive to conservative targets. At the par-5 11th, Simpson launched a 281-yard tee shot that split the fairway – “The biggest shot of the entire day,â€� Tesori said – and eventually birdied the hole. Crisis averted. Once Simpson landed his tee shot safely onto the island-green 17th, only then could the celebration truly start. “It’s hard not to future cast and start thinking about 7 p.m. (when the tournament ended) and what might happen,â€� Simpson said. “But you do your best to not stay in that place, and I kept reminding myself today that the only thing that matters is the next shot. It’s easy to do on Thursday; it’s a lot harder to do today.â€� It’s even harder to do after a four-year drought and a rollercoaster ride of emotions. In the end, it simply took great putting, the proper focus … and a cup of coffee.

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Shubhankar Sharma holed a 15-foot par putt on the final hole for a 2-under 69 Saturday at the Mexico Championship, leaving him one round away from capping off an amazing rise that saw him ranked No. 462 in the world three months ago.

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