Phil Mickelson trolls Tiger, CJ Cup field, as only he can

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Patrick Cantlay looked just as good Thursday at Pebble Beach as the last round he played 18 days ago. RELATED: Leaderboard | Spieth’s resurgence continues at Pebble Beach Jordan Spieth looked as good as his last tournament, too. Coming off a 61 in the California desert followed by at two-week break, Cantlay opened with seven birdies in eight holes and closed with two straight birdies for a 10-under 62. That tied the course record at Pebble Beach last matched 24 years ago by David Duval, and it gave Cantlay a two-shot lead in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. “I feel like I’m in a groove right now,” Cantlay said. Henrik Norlander and 19-year-old Akshay Bhatia were at 64. Bhatia hit all 18 of the small greens at Pebble Beach, the first player to do that at Pebble since Ryan Palmer in 2008. Spieth moved another round closer to some kind of a groove. He tied for fourth last week in the Waste Management Phoenix Open, his best finish since May 2019 at the PGA Championship. Spieth holed out a wedge on the 10th hole for eagle and finished with three birdies over his last five holes for a 65. It helped being at Pebble Beach, typically the easier course when the weather is dry and relatively calm. Only one of the leading 10 scores was at Spyglass Hill. That came from Will Gordon, who shot a 66. Spyglass played two shots harder. “Today you needed to step on the gas pedal and take advantage,” Spieth said. And then he considered that his 65 was only good enough for a tie for fourth with Nate Lashley. “I got bested by three today,” Spieth said. “I’m going to have to keep my foot on the gas.” Rain was in the forecast overnight and possibly lingering into Friday before returning early in the weekend. Without spectators and without amateurs this year, the tournament is using only two courses instead of three. It was more exposed than usual without grandstands behind the sixth green and overlooking the picturesque par-3 seventh. And the pace of play, with three pros instead of a foursome of pros and amateurs, was quicker. Low scores at Pebble Beach start with good weather and taking advantage of the front nine, and Cantlay had both of those going for him. He one-putted every green on the front nine, and capped off a stretch of four straight birdies with a 7-iron that landed next to the hole on No. 8 and left him a fast 6-footer for birdie. The finish also was impressive, with a 7-iron that settled about 7 feet below the hole on the par-3 17th, and a nifty wedge from right of the 18th green for an up-and-down and his 10th birdie. “I think we got Pebble in pretty much ideal conditions and I don’t think it’s going to be like that the rest of the week,” Cantlay said. “The greens were good this morning and receptive, and so I hit a lot of good shots just right out of the gate and made everything. I didn’t have very many long putts, but the mid-range putts that I did have I made all of them.” Tom Kite also had a 62 at Pebble Beach when he won in 1983. Duval was runner-up when he had a 62 in 1997. Bhatia has been relying on sponsor exemptions since the former Junior PGA champion decided to turn pro right out of high school. He also was at Pebble, starting on the back nine and making his surge late in the round. His last birdie was an approach over a corner of the ocean to 3 feet on the par-4 eighth hole, and he made a 6-footer for par on the ninth. “Hitting 18 greens out here with the greens being small helps,” he said with a smile. Phil Mickelson, a five-time champion at this event, opened with a 74 at Spyglass and will have to hope for equally decent weather at Pebble Beach to make the cut. While Spyglass was tougher, nearly half the 156-man field courses broke par, and one-third of the players shot in the 60s. The courses were susceptible to good scoring, especially Pebble Beach, and it was important for Spieth to find some momentum he has been lacking since his last win at the 2017 Open Championship. He was tied for the 54-hole lead in Phoenix and shot 72 to finish two behind. He’s right back in the mix at Pebble Beach, where he won in 2017. “Pebble presents a lot of precision and you’ve got to really trust what you’re doing,” Spieth said. “When the conditions were going to be easier today, you needed to kind of shoot a low round and make sure you’re in this tournament because it’s going to be a grind the next few days.”

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Dustin Johnson was spotted with a TaylorMade M5 (10.5 degrees) driver while on site at the 2018 Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua in Maui, Hawaii, on Monday. TaylorMade has not officially revealed any information on the M5 yet, but there are a few things that the photos reveal. Let’s see what we can uncover. The original M1 and the M1 2017 drivers both utilized T-tracks for CG (center of gravity) adjustability, with the cross section of the “T� near the face. The 2018 M3 driver, on the other hand, used a Y-track, with the top of the “Y� located toward the rear portion of the sole. It’s clear from the photo that the T-track has returned in the M5, except it’s flipped. The cross section of the “T� is on the rear portion of the driver’s sole. One can expect this means higher MOI (moment of inertia) capabilities for more overall forgiveness. Additionally, it seems there is a sole slot behind the face, but it appears to cover more space behind the face than the M3 driver’s hammerhead slot did. The previous hammerhead slot of the M3 worked to increase ball speeds across the face. Written near the slot behind the face are the words “Speed Injected.� Could this have something to do with the red screws we’ve seen in the face from TaylorMade’s Tweet? Also, from the photos, it seems TaylorMade is sticking with carbon panels in the sole and a carbon fiber crown like the M3. The photo of Johnson’s driver also shows an adjustable hosel, but it remains to be seen what the retail versions will offer. As soon as we hear official word from TaylorMade on the M5 driver, we’ll report back.

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Before the week began at The RSM Classic, Joaquin Niemann pledged the entirety of this week's winnings — as well as an additional $5,000 for every birdie and $10,000 for every eagle — toward a costly infusion that his one-month-old cousin will need in order to survive. Niemann earned $136,450 toward the cause, an admirable sum that drew the family closer to its ultimate goal. The only problem is that Niemann and his relatives need more than $2 million in total for the coveted medicine they so desperately require. This is the stark reality that faces Niemann and his family, who are in a race against time to save the life of Rafita Calderon, whose father, Felipe, is the cousin of Niemann's mother. Rafita, born on Oct. 21 in Talcahuano, Chile, was recently diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, which essentially is a breakdown of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. It is one of the leading genetic causes of infant death. "I'm just thinking about him," an emotional Niemann said Saturday, after taking a minute to compose himself. "I love him and his family, they're really nice. It's sad to see things like this happen. So it's kind of like a mission for me to help out for them. They've been so nice to me since I grew up, since I was a kid, so I just feel good by helping back." A week after his birth, doctors discovered Rafita was battling hypotonia, or low muscle tone, which led to a series of consultations and tests until specialists eventually determined his diagnosis. The rare disease — which affects roughly 1 in every 6,000 to 10,000 babies, according to the Cleveland Clinic — can lead to difficulty moving, eating, breathing and swallowing. Luckily, there are solutions available that can save Rafita. But the price tag is significant. "When they told me he was going to have a really bad disease, I didn't realize what it was," Niemann admitted. "I didn't put much attention on it, and then a couple days go on, they tell us the bad news, and that this medicine was this much amount of money." Only palliative treatments that would delay the advance of the disease existed until last year, when a game-changing drug known as Zolgensma first entered the market. Available predominantly in the United States and Europe, the one-time injection — which was approved by the FDA in 2019 — is billed as the best treatment yet to give children a chance at a normal life. Naturally, this scientific breakthrough comes at a steep cost — $2.1 million, to be exact, according to the Calderon family. Making matters even more complicated, it is only available to children under 2 years old. Rafita's parents say that the best possible outcome for his well-being would be to receive the drug before he turns 100 days old. Time is of the essence. "After they told me that news," he added, "I probably seemed like I was going crazy. Like, what can I do to help out?" The answer lied in both Niemann's own financial contributions and the desperate plea for aid he and his family have begun in both Chile and in the United States. In addition to this week's contributions, the 22-year-old superstar will again donate his earnings from the Mayakoba Golf Classic presented by UNIFIN to the cause. He will continue donating $5,000 for every birdie and $10,000 for every eagle. Back in Chile, the family's situation has garnered national media coverage, and professional soccer players have also pledged to donate for the cure, Niemann said. More is sure to be required. As such, the one-time PGA TOUR winner and Presidents Cup member is anxious to spread the story amongst his fellow peers on Tour and the fans that follow him. The family has launched a campaign, #SALVEMOSARAFITA, to raise money for the cure. In the U.S., Niemann has started a GoFundMe page that fans can donate to here, which through Sunday afternoon had raised more than $47,000 "If I’m able to help," Niemann said, "it would be amazing. It would be a dream come true for me." And for Rafita.

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