Inbee Park birdied three of her last five holes to match Jin Young Ko with a 6-under 65 for a share of the lead in the ShopRite LPGA.
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• COURSE: Royal Birkdale GC, 7,156 yards, par 70. Considered by many to be the fairest of Open Championship venues, Royal Birkdale dates back to 1889 but took its signature path between sand dunes in a 1922 overhaul by J.H. Taylor and Fred Hawtree. A 1940 Open debut was scuttled by World War II, finally getting its host opportunity in 1954. Peter Thomson won the first and last of his five Open crowns at Royal Birkdale, and Arnold Palmer’s 1961 triumph is considered a turning point in the Open’s fortunes. With subsequent wins by Lee Trevino (1971), Johnny Miller (1976) and Tom Watson (1983), five of Royal Birkdale’s eight Open champions are in the World Golf Hall of Fame. • FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 600 points. • CHARITY: The R&A contributes some $6.5 million annually to programs designed to enhance the game worldwide. Particular emphasis is given to junior golf programs, along with growth initiatives in emerging golfing nations. • FIELD WATCH: Dustin Johnson, FedExCup No. 1, has been absent from a tournament weekend since May, heads a roster expected to feature 73 of the top 75 on this week’s Official World Golf Ranking. … Newly crowned U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, now 11th in the rankings, tees it up for the first time since his record-tying march at Erin Hills. … … Openings remain for the John Deere Classic’s highest top-5 finisher yet to qualify, plus the Scottish Open’s three highest top-10 finishers still without berths. … Among the 12 survivors of local qualifying is Ian Poulter, Europe’s Ryder Cup stalwart who sat out last season’s second half with foot woes and saw his world ranking fall out of Open favor. • 72-HOLE RECORD: 264, Henrik Stenson (2016 at Royal Troon). • 18-HOLE RECORD: 63, Mark Hayes (2nd round, 1977 at Turnberry), Isao Aoki (3rd round, 1980 at Muirfield), Greg Norman (2nd round, 1986 at Turnberry), Paul Broadhurst (3rd round, 1990 at St. Andrews), Jodie Mudd (4th round, 1991 at Royal Birkdale), Nick Faldo (2nd round, 1993 at Royal St. Georges), Payne Stewart (4th round, 1993 at Royal St. Georges), Rory McIlroy (1st round, 2010 at St. Andrews), Phil Mickelson (1st round, 2016 at Royal Troon), Henrik Stenson (4th round, 2016 at Royal Troon). • LAST YEAR: Henrik Stenson outlasted Phil Mickelson in an historic Sunday duel at Royal Troon, emerging three shots clear after posting just the second Sunday 63 to win a major championship. Stenson carded 10 birdies to join Johnny Miller (1973 U.S. Open) as the only major champions to shoot 63 on the final day, also setting a new 72-hole major standard at 20-under-par 264. Though Mickelson’s closing 65 was two shots better than anyone else on the course, he still lost two shots to the Swede. All told, the Stenson/Mickelson pairing notched 14 birdies and an eagle, and their best-ball score would have been 59. J.B. Holmes was a distant third – 11 shots behind Mickelson. • STORYLINES: Despite Johnson’s six victories in the past 13 months, his past two outings have produced missed cuts at the U.S. Open and Memorial Tournament. He hasn’t played the weekend at a major, in fact, since last year’s Open at Royal Troon. … Spain’s Jon Rahm, ranked 297th in the world as a newly minted pro a year ago, now stands No. 8 after a stirring six-shot romp at last week’s Irish Open. He owns seven top-5 finishes worldwide since January, including victory at the Farmers Insurance Open. … Jordan Spieth, who just missed a playoff at St. Andrews two years ago, also brings some momentum after his dramatic bunker-holeout win at Hartford. … Rory McIlroy in urgent quest for form, coming to Royal Birkdale off missed cuts at both the Irish Open and Scottish Open. … Stenson has been hot-and-cold since spring, missing four cuts in his past 10 starts worldwide. Three others, though, have resulted in top-10s. • SHORT CHIPS: In a nod to a weakened exchange rate after Britain’s vote to exit the European Union, this year’s prize money will be paid out in American dollars for the first time. The winner will receive $1.8 million from a total purse of $10.25 million. … Eight of the Open’s past 10 champions were age 35 or older. The exceptions: McIlroy in 2014 and Louis Oosthuizen in 2010. • TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 1:30 a.m.-4 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 4:30-7 a.m. (GC); 7 a.m.-3 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 4-7 a.m. (GC); 7 a.m.-2 p.m. (NBC). • PGA TOUR LIVE: None. • RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 2 a.m.-3 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 4 a.m.-3 p.m. (SiriusXM).
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Lee Westwood isn’t interested in comparing himself with the player who rose to No. 1 in the world a decade ago. All he knows is he’s playing some of his best golf, and he gets another chance to see if it can hold up against the best field. RELATED: Leaderboard | DeChambeau, Rahm lurk at THE PLAYERS Westwood had all the shots Friday in a bogey-free round at THE PLAYERS Championship, with two birdies at the start and a nifty pitch to a troublesome pin on the par-5 ninth to close with a another birdie and a 6-under 66. That gave him a one-shot lead over Matt Fitzpatrick (68) going into the weekend on the Stadium Course at the TPC Sawgrass, with U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau not too far behind. Westwood, who turns 48 next month, played well enough to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard last week at Bay Hill except that DeChambeau was one shot better in a fascinating duel of generations on a course that favors power. Sawgrass favors no particular style, and it produced an eclectic mix of contenders at the halfway point. “I think to compete in any of these tournaments against the best players in the world, you can’t have any weaknesses in your game,” Westwood said. “I wouldn’t be able to say I’m doing this better or that better. There’s not a shot out there I’m afraid of. There’s not a shot out there I’ll walk up to and think, `I haven’t got this one.’ “I’m comfortable out there with everything.” He was at 9-under 135 and will be part of the All-England final pairing Saturday. Sergio Garcia was another shot back after a 72 that looked like it was a lot worse with so many putts the Spaniard missed, including a 23-inch par putt on the 15th hole that followed a 5-foot par putt he missed on the 14th. Still, the 2008 champion showed plenty of game — and enough par putts that went in — to stay in the hunt. He drilled his approach to inches away on the par-5 11th for his third eagle of the week, which already ties the tournament record. And he finished in style with an approach that danced around the flag and settled 5 feet away for birdie on the 18th. “It was a beautiful roller coaster,” Garcia said. “There were a lot of good things. Unfortunately, a lot of bad things. But more than anything there was a lot of fighting, and that’s one of the things that I’m most proud of because when things are not really happening and you miss a couple putts here and there, it’s easy to kind of let the round get away from you.” When the second round was suspended by darkness, 16 players were within five shots of the lead. DeChambeau was in the group three shots behind after a 69 that began with a double bogey from the trees and a muffed chip out of the rough from behind the green. He was bogey-free the rest of the way on a course that doesn’t let him swing for the fences because of water and cross bunkers and other brands of trouble. “I’m happy with the fact that I’ve still been able to keep myself in it and score well,” DeChambeau said. “I’ve been pretty lucky, for the most part. I don’t think that’ll happen this weekend. I’ve got to make sure that my game is good off the tee, so I don’t have those issues occurring and I don’t have to rely on luck for the most part. I have to get it in the fairway.” Kirk holed out from the first fairway for eagle and closed with back-to-back birdies for a 65. Starting with a chip-in for birdie on the 15th, he played six straight holes in 6 under. Sungjae Im tied the tournament record with six straight birdies, a streak that ended when he missed the green to the left on the par-3 third, and even then he nearly chipped in. He had to settle for a 66 and was three shots behind. Dustin Johnson wasted a good start and shot 70, leaving him eight shots behind. Jordan Spieth made his first double bogey in 411 holes — the longest streak of his career — and shot 74 to make the cut on the number. Rory McIlroy, who opened with a 79, wasn’t much better Friday. He made another double bogey on the 10th hole and shot 75. His 36-hole total of 154 was his highest ever in his 11 appearances at THE PLAYERS Championship. He is the first defending champion to miss the cut since Rickie Fowler in 2016. Four players from the top 10 in the world missed the cut — Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay, Tyrrell Hatton and Webb Simpson, whose hopes ended with one of 13 balls in the water at the island-green 17th.
“It’s hard enough to win one week in a row out here, let alone two.”
