‘Really cool to see’ up-and-coming stars at Travelers Championship

MEXICO CITY — Dustin Johnson watched a six-shot lead shrink to two before putting together enough birdies Saturday for a 5-under 66 and a four-shot lead over Rory McIlroy going into the final round of the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship. Johnson nearly threw away his six-shot lead through eight holes when McIlroy made a 35-foot birdie putt on No. 9, and then Johnson ran into some serious tree trouble on the 10th hole. He hit trees with three consecutive shots and had to two-putt from across the green to salvage a double bogey. It was his first score worse than par at Club de Golf Chapultepec this week. And it was his last of the day. “I didn’t let it bother me because I knew I was playing well and there were plenty of holes I could make birdie,” Johnson said. Johnson answered with two straight birdies, sandwiched two birdies around a big par save, and restored a cushion going into Sunday. McIlroy got no closer than two shots all day and had to settle for a 68. No one else was closer than seven shots of the lead. Tiger Woods pulled within four shots after Johnson’s blunder, but his hopes ended on the greens. Woods had a 5-iron from the middle of the fairway on the par-5 15th, put it into a bunker, blasted out weakly to 25 feet and four-putted for a double bogey, with the last three putts from just outside 3 feet. He followed that with a three-putt bogey on the 16th, and a birdie on the final hole gave him a 70. Woods, who hit 16 greens in regulation, was 10 shots behind and in no mood to speak to anyone after the round. Johnson, the only player to capture all four World Golf Championships, is going for his sixth WGC title and his 20th career victory on the PGA TOUR, which would make him a lifetime member at age 34. McIlroy did his best to hang around. He made back-to-back bogeys on the front nine that put him six behind, and then ran off three straight birdies to close the gap. He missed a 3-foot par putt on the 14th hole and was suddenly left a tall order for Sunday. It’s even tougher on everyone else. Masters champion Patrick Reed finished with three straight birdies for a 64 and was in the group seven shots behind with Patrick Cantlay (65), Sergio Garcia (69) and Cameron Smith (68). Reed started birdie-eagle and missed plenty of short putts. He said he would need as many opportunities on Sunday and even a better score. “It’s going to take a really special day tomorrow,” Reed said. “I don’t think 7 under is going to get it done. I’m thinking it’s going to at least take 10 (under) to maybe even a 59 depending on how he finishes the day.” Johnson had a two-shot lead to start the third round over McIlroy and Matt Kuchar, whose hopes for a Mexican sweep of PGA TOUR events fizzled with a 79. Johnson seized command on the second hole, when he hit a driver over the trees on the 367-yard hole, hopped it onto the green to 4 feet and made the putt for eagle. He holed a 10-foot birdie on No. 5 and kept getting looks at medium-range birdie attempts without making them. The 10th hole was merely a detour. Johnson hit driver off the tee into the trees and had a reasonable gap through the trees. But his lob wedge came out high, hit a tree and bounced into the bushes. Johnson was able to get a free drop from a sprinkler line, but that did him no good. His next shot came out soft and struck a tree trunk, rolling into the bushes. He did well to punch that away from the bunker and onto the far left side of the green. McIlroy smashed his drive and flipped a wedge into short range for birdie, making it a two-shot swing. That was as close as anyone came to Johnson, who looks poised to win for the second time in four weeks after his victory at the Saudi International. Then again, Johnson had a six-shot lead in the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai at the end of 2017 and wound up tying a PGA TOUR record for largest 54-hole lead lost in the final round. He has a 4-3 record on the PGA TOUR when he has the lead. “D.J. is playing very well. He seems to be comfortable on this golf course. He’s going to be very tough to beat,” McIlroy said. “Tomorrow I’m going to have to go out there and probably shoot something similar to what I shot the first day (63) to have a chance.”  

Click here to read the full article…

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Magnolia Lane. Amen Corner. Butler Cabin. “Hello, friends.â€� The Season of Championships continues with the year’s first major. This week’s Masters has a field of 87 players from 22 countries, with six amateurs and 17 first-timers at Augusta National. A couple of guys named Nicklaus and Player will get it all started with their ceremonial first tee shots Thursday morning. THE FLYOVER Don’t be surprised if the 18th green utilizes a new hole location this week. Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley said the recent rebuild of that green has “recaptured some areas on the back part of the green that had been lost to encroachment. … The back right, I think, is going to give us an opportunity for a really good hole location. There’s plenty of room back there, but it kind of looks like it’s almost tucked, almost in the bunker, when you’re in the fairway.â€� Ridley said he received some positive feedback during Tuesday’s Champions dinner. Of course, before reaching the green, players must first find the fairway on this uphill dogleg right hole protected by two fairway bunkers on the left. Two more bunkers guard the green. LANDING ZONE Statistically, the hardest hole at Augusta National is the 495-yard par-4 10th. Since 1942 when the Masters began calculating stroke averages per hole, the 10th has played at 0.31 strokes over par. But it’s not the longest par 4 on the course – the 505-yard 11th has played to a cumulative average of 0.30 strokes over par. And in recent years, the 11th has been more difficult than the 10th. The last time the 10th was the most difficult hole was in 2001; since then, the 11th has ranked as the most difficult 11 times, including last year when it played to a stroke average of 4.400 (compared to the 10th’s 4.082, which was its lowest average in tournament history). Here’s a look at the 11th, which starts Amen Corner. WEATHER CHECK From the Masters official forecast: “Thursday’s first round will feature partly cloudy skies, while clouds increase later in the day. Easterly winds at 6-12 mph in the morning, turn southeast at 10-15 mph during the afternoon with gusts up to 20 mph possible late day. A warm front lifts into the area on Friday, bringing a chance for scattered showers and thunderstorms. The front hangs just to the north on Saturday, keeping isolated showers in the forecast. The main cold front associated with this system is expected to approach Sunday afternoon, bringing increasing chances for showers and thunderstorms. After a breezy Friday with gusts of 15-20 mph possible, winds settle down for Saturday, and then pick back up ahead of the front on Sunday when the strongest winds of the week are expected.â€� For the latest weather news from Augusta, Georgia, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK This event, is so different, and is so unique. It’s pure golf. You know, it’s just player and caddie out there playing. We’re prepping together and there’s no other distractions inside the ropes. BY THE NUMBERS (AMEN CORNER EDITION) 3.63 – Jon Rahm’s stroke average at the par-4 11th in eight career rounds. That’s the lowest of any player in the field. 2.96 – Hideki Matsuyama’s stroke average at the par-3 12th in 26 career rounds. That’s the lowest of any player in the field with 25-plus rounds at Augusta National. 4.24 – Phil Mickelson’s stroke average at the par-5 13th in 98 career rounds. That’s the lowest of any player with a minimum of 25 rounds at Augusta National. In case you’re wondering, Tiger Woods’ stroke average at that hole in 82 career rounds is 4.39. SCATTERSHOTS Need a fast start: If you’re not in the top 10 after Thursday’s first round, you can probably forget about winning a green jacket. Since 2006, every winner has been T-10 or better after 18 holes. The last player who wasn’t? Tiger Woods, who opened with a 74 in 2005, which had him sitting T-33 on Thursday night. Woods rallied the next day, shooting 66 and was solo third headed into the weekend. “Obviously you’ve got to get off to a good start in a major and at least build some confidence and kind of get it rolling,â€� said Brooks Koepka, winner of three of the last seven majors but still searching for his first Masters victory. Mickelson’s 100th: On Friday, Phil Mickelson will play his 100th round at Augusta National. “I didn’t even know that until you brought it up,â€� he said when asked about it on Tuesday. “I’ve been fortunate to play a lot of rounds here, and I cherish and love every one of them, even the practice rounds.â€� Challenging prep work. With two inches of rain falling on Augusta National since the start of this week, the course has played softer and the greens have been slower during practice rounds. But with Augusta National’s sub-air system, and no rain expected until Friday, the course conditions could be completely different for Thursday’s first round. That means the players will need to lean on previous experience than on this week’s prep work. “Gotta pull on a lot of history,â€� said Brandt Snedeker. “… Kind of a little tough to get fully prepared.â€� Softer conditions=more contenders. Jordan Spieth said that softer conditions at Augusta National might widen the number of players who could win the tournament. “I think there’s less strategy when it’s softer,â€� he said. Spieth won in soft conditions in 2015, but he’s also contended in firm conditions in 2014, his first Masters start when he tied for second. “I think either way, you just have to step up and play some really good golf,â€� he said. FedExCup leaders: All 30 players who qualified for last year’s TOUR Championship are in this week’s field. In addition, 24 of the top 30 players in the current standings will tee off Thursday, including Corey Conners, who moved from 64th to 13th in the standings after winning the Valero Texas Open. Just two players have won the Masters after winning the PGA TOUR’s event the previous week – Sandy Lyle in 1998 and Phil Mickelson in 2006.

Click here to read the full article…

DETROIT — Troy Merritt took off his cap and briefly bowed his head to acknowledge a roaring crowd after the first ace of his PGA TOUR career. RELATED: Leaderboard | Inside the Field: John Deere Classic He didn’t get to enjoy the moment for long. Merritt’s hole-in-one gave him a three-shot lead, but he gave a stroke back on the next hole with a bogey and shot a 5-under 67 on Saturday. Joaquin Niemann took advantage of the opening to share the third-round lead at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Niemann, who shared the 36-hole lead with Tom Lewis, pulled into a tie by two-putting from 46 feet at 17. He parred the final hole, the toughest one on Detroit Golf Club, for a 68. Hank Lebioda (66) and Cam Davis (67) were a stroke back, and Brandon Hagy (68) was another shot behind. Lewis (71) was among six players three shots back with a legitimate shot on the relatively short course with receptive greens. “The mindset will be make a few birdies, but don’t give any away,” Merritt said. “Make them work to come and get us and hopefully it’s good enough in the end.” Rickie Fowler (68) was in a pack of 10 five shots back, while first-rounder leader Davis Thompson (72) was six shots back. After opening with a course-record tying 63, Thompson has played the last 36 holes in 1 over with rounds of 73 and 72 The 35-year-old Merritt made his first hole-in-one on the PGA TOUR — from 219 yards with a 5-iron off one bounce — to give him a three-stroke advantage. Merritt was fired up, and the fans were, too, a year after no spectators were allowed to attend the 2020 Rocket Mortgage Classic due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s awesome to have the fans back out here, whooping and hollering the good shots,” he said. “Commiserating with the bad shots and even hearing some of the comments you probably don’t want to hear.”” After his bogey, he closed with with six straight pars. Merritt, who is from Iowa, won his second PGA TOUR title at the 2018 Barbasol Championship. The next year, he missed two months of competition due to a surgery that removed a rib after he had blood clot that run from his chest to his left elbow. He entered this week with three top-10 finishes this year — including a pair of them in May — to put him within one of matching the most he has had in a year since making his PGA TOUR debut in 2010. Merritt moved atop the leaderboard quickly after starting his round Saturday at 9 under, one shot off the lead. He had four birdies through seven holes and lamented not having another, missing a 14-foot putt on the ninth hole. His ace on the par-3 11th put him at 6 under for the day and he may have had a hard time composing himself. “We had time to settle down before the next tee shot,” Merritt insisted. Merritt, though, missed the fairway to the right on the 493-yard, par-4 12th. Then, he was long on a chip and 14-foot putt, giving him a bogey and cutting his lead to a stroke. The 22-year-old Niemann had two birdies over his last five holes to put him in a position to win for the second time on TOUR. He became the first player from Chile to win on the PGA TOUR at The Greenbrier in 2019. “Everybody’s going to have their own moment and I had my moment pretty early,” said Niemann, who has four top-10 finishes this season.

Click here to read the full article…