Reed seizes US Open lead with closing birdie at Winged Foot

For the second time in five editions, the Wells Fargo Championship will be contested on a course other than its primary so that Quail Hollow Club can continue preparing for another premier event. In 2017, Quail Hollow was the host of the PGA Championship. This September, it’ll be the stage for the Presidents Cup. Pinch-hitting is TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm. It hasn’t hosted the Wells Fargo Championship, but it’s not a stranger to the PGA TOUR and its sanctioned circuits. For analysis of the par 70, what the field of 156 can expect and more, continue reading beneath the ranking of projected contenders. RELATED: Play Pick ‘Em Live | The First Look | Inside the Field POWER RANKINGS: WELLS FARGO CHAMPIONSHIP Francesco Molinari, Tony Finau, Webb Simpson, Patrick Reed and Rickie Fowler will be among the notables reviewed in Tuesday’s Draws and Fades. A thorough history of the role that TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm has played for the PGA TOUR can be read in “Five Things to Know”. It’s experienced a variety of changes, and that’s an understatement. After its position as an annual par 71 for the old Kemper Open and its subsequent iterations into 2006, it underwent a full-scale renovation in 2007. That included a revision of overall par to 70. The PGA TOUR Champions made a stop in 2010, and then the Korn Ferry Tour descended twice in an eight-month period stretching in 2013. All who showed were challenged by what was a new, fresh examination. The course returned to the PGA TOUR to host the last two editions of the Quicken Loans National in 2017 and 2018. With a scoring average of 71.458 in the former, it was the hardest par 70 in a non-major that season. Scoring eased to 69.894 the following year when Francesco Molinari was the kind of zone that would make present-day Scottie Scheffler seem like he’s misfiring. (Molinari is committed this week; Scheffler is resting.) Both previous contests were in late June. In 2018, moderate winds gave way to calm, hot air by the final round. No such conditions this week with springtime weather in the mid-Atlantic. (TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm is about 10 miles northwest of Washington, D.C.) With the threat of rain on Friday and Saturday, daytime highs will drop from the mid-70s to potentially no higher than 60 degrees by the weekend. Winds also will freshen. After 2018, the par-5 second and 10th holes were extended by a respective 22 and 31 yards. Now tipping at 641 and 591 yards, respectively, TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm maxes out at 7,160. Bentgrass greens average just 4,265 square feet, and they’ll be ready to run 12½ feet on the Stimpmeter, weather pending. As of Monday afternoon, 44 of this week’s entrants were here in 2017. Of them, 26 returned in 2018 from which there is a total of 51 back this week. Just as it was for them a few years ago, the pair of par 5s will not be a reliable source of par breakers. Overall, for a course with small greens, the challenge to salvage par is multiplied by the combination of fescue and bluegrass rough, the longest of which is trimmed to 2½ inches, but there’s an intermediate cut that’s 1¼ inches high. Although greens are not entirely foreign, they’re relatively unfamiliar with the passage of time, so, just as Molinari showcased during his incredible display en route to an eight-stroke victory four years ago, the premiums to eliminate the big numbers are equal parts splitting fairways and hitting greens in regulation. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.com’s Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Draws and Fades WEDNESDAY: Pick ’Em Preview SUNDAY: Medical Extensions, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Rookie Ranking * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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BRISBANE, Australia — Jack Newton, who lost to Tom Watson in a 1975 Open Championship playoff and tied for second behind Seve Ballesteros at the 1980 Masters before his professional golf career ended in a near-fatal aircraft propeller accident, has died. He was 72. Newton, who had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, died early Friday due to “health complications,” his family said in a statement. “(He) was a fearless competitor and iconic Australian, blazing a formidable trail during his professional golfing career,” his family added. “He fought back from tremendous adversity as only he could.” Newton won the PGA TOUR’s Buick Open in 1978 and the Australian Open in 1979 and three tournaments in Europe before his career —- and nearly his life — ended when he walked into the propeller of a small plane he was about to board at Sydney airport on July 24, 1983. His right arm was severed, he lost sight in his right eye and also sustained severe injuries to his abdomen. Doctors gave him only a 50-50 chance of surviving, and he spent nearly two months in intensive care and required lengthy rehabilitation from his injuries. “Things weren’t looking too good for me. I knew that from the priest walking around my (hospital) bed,” Newton said later. He was 33 at the time of the accident. Despite his near-death experience, Newton and his jovial personality returned to public life. He became a popular television, radio and newspaper golf commentator, golf course designer and chairman of the Jack Newton Junior Golf Foundation, which raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for golf’s up-and-coming players in Australia. The foundation’s annual tournament attracted a who’s who of celebrities and pro golfers in Australia, most of whom dressed up in outlandish costumes as encouraged each year by Newton. Not to be denied from playing the game he loved, he taught himself to play golf one-handed, swinging the club with his left hand in a right-handed stance. He regularly had scores in the mid-80s for 18 holes. That translates to a handicap of about 12 or 14, one that most able-bodied amateur players would aspire to. Newton turned professional in 1971 on the European Tour (DP World Tour) and won his first event, the Dutch Open, the following year. A week later, he won another tournament at Fulford, England and, in 1974, the tour’s match play championship. The Australian’s playoff loss in the 1975 Open Championship at Carnoustie came after Watson had a few rather fortuitous shots. A wire fence kept Watson’s ball in bounds on the eighth hole and the American chipped for eagle at the 14th to claim the Claret Jug by a shot over Newton. “I always felt that if I came into a major with some good form, then I could be dangerous,” Newton had said. “That’s the way I played golf. Once I got my tail up I wasn’t afraid of anybody.” Australian golfer Greg Chalmers said on Twitter: “Every journey starts somewhere, mine was in golf tournaments under the Jack Newton Junior Golf Foundation.” Fellow Aussie pro James Nitties said: “Jack Newton not only an amazing golfer but what he and his family did for charity and junior golf in Australia was truly amazing.” PGA of Australia chief executive Gavin Kirkman praised Newton’s impact on the game Down Under. “Jack has been such an influential figure in Australian golf and his contribution and legacy will live on for many decades to come,” Kirkman said. “He was as tough off the course as he was on it. Yet underlying everything was his deep passion for the game of golf and the positive impact it could have on people’s lives, particularly young people.” Newton is survived by his wife, Jackie, and two children, Kristie and Clint, and six grandchildren. Kristie was a pro golfer and Clint Newton, who was born in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, played rugby league in Australia and Britain and represented the United States at the 2013 Rugby League World Cup. “His passion for sport and contributing to future generations of golfers and the Australian community demonstrates the character of our father, beloved husband, proud brother, adoring grandfather, and maverick mate,” his family said in the statement.

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KAPALUA, Hawaii — Jon Rahm matched the low score of his career, tied the course record at Kapalua and played his last 12 holes in 11-under par for a 61. He needed it just to catch Cameron Smith in the Sentry Tournament of Champions on Saturday. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Justin Thomas lights up Kapalua with course-record 61 In an outrageously low-scoring start to the new year on the PGA TOUR, Rahm and Smith pulled away from the rest of the winners-only field by going shot-for-shot, putt-for-putt across so much of the back nine on the defenseless Plantation course. Rahm capped off his birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie finish with putts from just inside 30 feet and 15 feet for his 12-under 61. That tied the course record set a few hours earlier by Justin Thomas, who was one shot behind when he finished and nine shots back when the day was done. The average score of 67.7 was the lowest at Kapalua since the Tournament of Champions moved to the west end of Maui in 1999. The previous record was 67.8 set the day before. There’s nothing to stop these guys except themselves, and that wasn’t happening. Rahm and Smith were at 26-under 193, five shots clear of Daniel Berger, who had a third consecutive round of 66. That wasn’t nearly good enough for this perfect week of warm weather, very little wind and extraordinarily low scoring. Ernie Els set the PGA TOUR record for lowest score to par at 31 under in 2003 at Kapalua. That’s very much in jeopardy. “Some really good golf from both us,” Smith said. He had a three-shot lead at the start of the third round, was still three shots ahead through six holes and then was 8-under par over his last 12 holes — and he lost the outright lead. Rahm, the No. 1 player in the world and looking likely to keep the ranking, was at his best in his first competition since the middle of October. He closed out the front nine with three straight birdies and started the back nine with two straight birdies. The only holes were he had to settle for par were No. 12 (where he missed a birdie putt from just inside 12 feet) and No. 13 (he left a 10-foot putt short). His best was a second shot into the par-5 15th to rolled to 4 feet for an eagle. That pulled him within one shot after Smith had to settle for a two-putt birdie. They matched birdies the rest of the way, both making from just inside 30 feet on No. 17, until the closing par 5. Both came up short, not unusual with a front pin and the grain running severely away from them. Smith narrowly missed from 15 feet, while Rahm holed his 8-foot birdie putt. As for the other 36 winners in the field? Not all of them are out of it. Patrick Cantlay was trying to stay with the leaders until his wedge to a back pin on the 16th came out hot and found the rough behind the green, leading to a bogey that felt much worse. He wound up with a 66 and fell six shots back, along with Matt Jones (62) and Sungjae Im (65). Thomas had a 74 in the opening round and had little reason to like his chances until he pulled away by playing his last seven holes in 7 under. That gave him a 61 and at least some hope, just not for very long. All 38 players were under par, with Jason Kokrak bringing up the rear at 5-under 214.

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