Ryder Cup spectator ‘loses sight in one eye and will sue’ after being hit in face by Brooks Koepka shot

Here are nine tidbits from the first round of the TOUR Championship gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. East Lake Golf Club just outside Atlanta plays 7,362 yards to Par-70. Know Thy Enemy These were the top-10 selected golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf game presented by SERVPRO. I included all players who were owned by 20 percent or more. Warm and humid conditions made for excellent scoring conditions. The greens are in perfect shape and there was barely any wind to move the flags. Déjà vu For the second FedExCup Playoff event running Tiger Woods put his name on the top of the leaderboard with the co-low round of the day. He matched Rory McIlroy’s 62 at Aronimink at the BMW Championship and this week his 65 was joint best. After bogeying No. 1 the two-time FedExCup Playoffs champion played his final 17 holes in six-under and capped it off with a 27-foot eagle at the last. The next step is backing this round up tomorrow before I start getting excited. Co-Leader Rickie Fowler rebound from an oblique injury by firing a trio of 65’s over the first three rounds of the BMW Championship last time out. He’s added another 65 after six birdies against one bogey today. His flat stick gained checked in at No. 2 in Strokes-Gained: Putting and he was T2 in GIR (16 of 18). People’s Choice There was no surprise this week that gamers loaded up on the brand-new OWGR No. 1 Justin Rose. After clinching the top spot in the world after losing in a playoff at Aronimink, gamers were quick to jump on the fact that he’s collected top-10 checks in his last five visits to East Lake. He led the field in Strokes-Gained: Off-the-Tee, Tee-to-Green and GIR. Right on schedule! Wrist, Reward? Justin Thomas has never finished worse than T6 in two trips in the last two years but he was healthy in both of those events. A slight wrist issue was taped and bandaged today and a bogey-bogey start had gamers (read: me) running for the Kleenex. He turned in one-over 36 before storming home in 31. Whew. Now, let’s see how it reacts in Round 2. No. 1 Struggles With three wins on the season including two in the FedExCup Playoffs, it’s hardly a stretch that Bryson DeChambeau ended up on the second-most rosters this week. The 25-year old matches the average winning age over the last three years but the front nine won the first battle in Round 1. Going out in 39 dug a nice hole but a clean card with three birdies on the back righted the ship. He’s just six back with three rounds to play so he’s hardly out of it. New Faces Not only is Tommy Fleetwood playing in the TOUR Championship for the first time but he was paired with Woods in the first round. The Englishman circled five birdies but squared four bogeys to check in T12. He hit 14 of 18 GIR but could only get up-and-down once. He leads all of the debutants after one round. … Francesco Molinari didn’t break par but he wasn’t in the black either as he carded 70 in his first loop around East Lake. … Rookie Aaron Wise squared five bogeys but also circled five birdies as he looks to join Xander Schauffele as the only rookie to win at East Lake. He’s also T17 and just five back. Defender Nobody has ever won back-to-back TOUR Championships and nobody has ever defended any event during the FedExCup Championships so the deck is stacked against both Thomas and defending champion Xander Schauffele. These young bucks don’t seem too concerned about history other than making their own as Schauffele did last year. It’s obvious that this course fits his eye as he carded another round in the red with 68 (T8) to get it started in Round 1. Study Hall Round 1 played under-par at 69.3 with 20 of 30 rounds under-par. … As expected, there will be bogeys and nobody turned in a clean card. … Keegan Bradley couldn’t conjure the magic he provided at Aronimink as his card consisted of 15 pars and three bogeys (T28). … If the FedExCup Playoffs ended today, Rose would be the champion. This would mark the fifth time in the last six editions that No. 2 entering the final week would win the title. We’ll see how that washes out in 54 holes!

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Twelve high school graduates have been selected to the First Tee College Scholarship Program based on academic performance, length and involvement in First Tee programs, financial need and commitment to volunteerism. This class of scholars includes aspiring engineers, accountants, teachers and environmental activists, all of whom will be attending stand out colleges and universities, including Dartmouth College, University of Pennsylvania, Boston College, Indiana University and other top institutions across the country. Selected from a national pool of candidates, the Scholars represent diverse backgrounds from communities across the First Tee network. The class is comprised of eight females and four males and 59% are ethnically diverse. The Scholars’ average GPA is 4.19 on a 4.0 scale and hold an average of 1,422 out of 1,600 on SAT and 31 out of 36 on ACT. Five of the Scholars will play on their college’s golf team. “I offer congratulations and a warm welcome to our new class of First Tee College Scholars,” said Greg McLaughlin, CEO of First Tee. “I am proud to continue First Tee’s support of these students at such an important time in their lives – through their matriculation and beyond. These outstanding young leaders remind us how bright the future is for them and for the industries and communities they will eventually serve. We are appreciative of donors to the First Tee College Scholarship Program who make this program possible.” First Tee College Scholarship Program extends its impact to alumni by providing support throughout their post-graduate career. Each of the scholars are paired with a dedicated, trained adult mentor who will help encourage and guide them throughout the college experience, including virtual and in-person meetups. The program also provides professional development workshops held in-person throughout the year. Applications were received from participants at 44 chapters in 28 states across the nation. Following an online application process, finalists were selected by a committee for one-on-one interviews. In addition to academic performance, applicants were considered based on financial need, chapter involvement, volunteerism and other criteria. First Tee College Scholarship Program is made possible by donors and corporate partners who stand behind the program and First Tee’s mission, including Astros Golf Foundation, Peter A. Bonanni Scholarship Fund, Chevron Corporation, A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation, Timothy W. Finchem Scholarship Fund, Paul and Ruth Flowers, Morrell Studios, Charles Schwab, TruGreen, Edward and Lisa Vaughan and Delores Barr Weaver Legacy Fund. First Tee’s College Scholarship Class of 2021 includes: (Listed alphabetically; all GPAs are on a 4.0 scale) Claire Alford, First Tee — Central Coast Santa Clara University Graduating with a 4.56 GPA Claire has received many honors and accolades for her hard work and plans to major in Public Health and Biology with a goal of attending medical school. Marion Caldwell, First Tee — Four Corners Dartmouth College Pursuing a future in teaching, Marion is passionate about passing down the knowledge she has obtained throughout her life to the children within her community and will major in both English and History. Natalie Cao, First Tee — Greater Houston University of Pennsylvania Natalie strives for greatness in both the classroom and on the course and will play on the women’s golf team while majoring in economics. Molly Castle, First Tee — Tennessee University of Tennessee Knoxville As a First Tee — Tennessee participant for seven years, Molly has used that experience and her love of golf for helping others within her community. She plans to major in agriculture sciences. Malisone Chanthapanya, First Tee — Fort Worth Texas Wesleyan University With a cumulative 4.0 GPA combined with her success on the course, Malisone plans to continue her golf career at Texas Wesleyan University while double majoring in computer science and accounting. Quincy Crawford, First Tee — Greater Washington, D.C. University of Cincinnati Quincy has plans to study Aerospace Engineering in pursuit of his goal to create fuel-efficient aircrafts, lessoning the overall carbon footprint and possibly slow the rate of climate change. Rebecca Jones, First Tee — Indiana Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Rebecca will be studying environmental engineering and plans to use her degree to focus on land remediation and implementing new systems to reduce pollution. Josh Lendach, First Tee — Triangle University of Cincinnati Josh has earned the privilege to play golf at the University of Cincinnati where he will pursue his passions for golf and environmental/atmospheric sciences. Meghna Mazumdar, First Tee — Connecticut Boston College Scoring a 1430 on her SATs while achieving a 4.12 cumulative GPA, Meghna will study Business Economics where she will pursue her passion for investing in the stock market. Benjamin Nganga, First Tee — Tennessee Indiana University A first-generation college student, Benjamin’s 4.46 GPA has earned him the prestigious Fry Scholarship to attend the University of Indiana Kelly Business School where he will double major in Finance and Computer Science. Kaleb Palm, First Tee — Central Florida Florida Atlantic University Graduating with 4.69 GPA, Kaleb will major in marketing and business while playing on the men’s golf team at Florida Atlantic University. Borina Sutikto, First Tee — Silicon Valley Santa Clara University A nine-year participant at First Tee — Silicon Valley, Borina is graduating with a 4.25 GPA and plans to study Accounting & Information Systems while playing on the women’s golf team.

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NEWTON SQUARE, Pa. – It’s not often that Rory McIlroy gets a momentum bump from a pro-am round. Wednesdays generally are not a productive scoring day for him “My stroke average in pro-ams is probably about 75.7,â€� he acknowledged. But this Wednesday at the BMW Championship was different. McIlroy played his final nine holes of the pro-am at Aronimink in 8-under 27, including a stretch of seven consecutive birdies. McIlroy was still on fire a day later. He played his first 14 holes in Thursday’s first round in 9 under, reeling off six straight birdies at one point. By the time he got to his 15th hole, the par-4 sixth, he was thinking 59. A couple of late bogeys dashed those dreams, but his 8-under 62 still was good enough to share the first-round lead with Tiger Woods. And that 23-hole stretch over two days in which he shot 17 under? “Oh, that’s pretty good,â€� McIlroy said. Two weeks ago, McIlroy sat out the FedExCup Playoffs opener in order to work on a few things. Last week, he tied for 12th, shooting 67-66 in his middle two rounds at TPC Boston. On Thursday, he was in full Rory mode, hitting 11 of 14 fairways, 16 of 18 greens and averaging 24 feet, 3 inches proximity to the pin – second-best average of the day. “It’s a golf course that just seems to fit my eye,â€� McIlroy said. “I like the greens. You can work the ball in off the slopes. You got to hit it pretty wild to start missing fairways. So if you get your ball in the short stuff, you can get it going.â€� McIlroy’s 62 was his lowest round of the year by two strokes and is just one off his career low. But through 14 holes, it looked like he was headed for the record books. Asked if he was disappointed not to have shot 59, McIlroy could only smile. “Geez, Debbie Downer here,â€� he said. “… I’m not going to say it stinks too bad because I’d much rather shoot 62 today and win the golf tournament Sunday than shoot 59 today and maybe not win.â€� No matter how things turn out the rest of the week, though, perhaps McIlroy will take a new approach toward pro-ams. “Maybe I should try a little harder on Wednesdays,â€� he said. “It seemed to work this time.â€� NOTABLES One person who did not play in the pro-am was Tiger Woods, who took off on Wednesday after playing nine holes with McIlroy on Tuesday. “I needed it, I really did,â€� Woods said after his 62, his lowest score on the PGA TOUR in five years. “I just played a lot of golf in the last six weeks and I needed a day to recover and make sure I was fresh for today.â€� Woods is the co-leader after 18 holes for the first time since the 2013 World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship. Rickie Fowler missed the first two FedExCup Playoffs events with an oblique injury, but it certainly didn’t impact him Thursday. He shot a bogey-free 5-under 65, his round getting off to a quick start with a birdie putt from just inside 12 feet. Fowler hit 12 of 14 fairways and 13 of 18 greens. “I’m happy we’re back this early as far as coming back from the injury,â€� Fowler said. “You never know exactly how long those things are going to last, and especially with our sport being very rotational-oriented, having the oblique was a little scary. But happy that we’re in a good spot now. Speaking of Fowler … he worse custom-made yellow shoes that honored the late Jarrod Lyle. The shoes included the birth and death dates for Lyle, along with his initials on the back of one shoe and an image of his bucket hat on the other. Fowler said he was hoping to wear the shoes on the weekend at the PGA Championship (Lyle died the day before the first round) “but I didn’t have anything to wear them with, so I couldn’t really make it work. … Obviously we don’t want to ever forget Jarrod.â€� Although admittedly tired after winning the first two FedExCup Playoffs events, points leader Bryson DeChambeau spent more than an hour on the practice green after signing for a 3-under 67. DeChambeau missed a birdie putt inside 10 feet early in his round but likely was more frustrated with missing a 6-foot par putt at the par-3 eighth for his only bogey of the day. DeChambeau is assured of No. 1 status after this week, no matter how he fares. Jordan Spieth played in the same threesome as Tiger Woods and Rickie Fowler. Those two got off to hot starts, but it took longer for Spieth to heat up, as he birdied three of his last four holes to shoot a 3-under 67. “The toughest part is when there’s that many birdies within the group, him and Rickie, it’s tough not to force it when I was out of position all day,â€� Spieth said. “So I thought my 3 under was fantastic from places I played today.â€� Due to the threat of inclement weather Friday afternoon, tee times for the second round have been moved up. Play will begin at 7 a.m. ET, with threesomes off two tees. QUOTABLES My body just remembers it.That was weird, right? All three of us.I’m not very old but I feel like I shouldn’t be making those mistakes, second year veteran out here. SUPERLATIVES Lowest rounds: The 8-under 62s shot by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. Combined, they made 1 eagle, 17 birdies and 3 bogeys. Bogey-free rounds: Rickie Fowler (65), Brian Gay (66), Henrik Stenson (66), Paul Casey (69). Longest drive: Brooks Koepka’s 361-yard tee shot at the par-5 ninth. Koepka also had a drive of 354 yards at the seventh hole. Longest putt: Beau Hossler’s birdie putt from 70 feet, 1 inch at the par-4 15th. Hardest hole: The 246-yard par-3 eighth played to a stroke average of 3.420. Just three birdies were made by the 69 players in the field (Justin Rose, Ian Poulter and Chris Kirk). Easiest hole: The 542-yard par-5 16th played to a stroke average of 4.304. Six eagles and 38 birdies were made there, while just two players suffered bogeys (Chesson Hadley, Brandt Snedeker). CALL OF THE DAY For play-by-play coverage of the second round of the BMW Championship, listen at PGATOUR.COM. SHOT OF THE DAY

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