Sam Burns leads by two shots at Vivint Houston Open

Kurt Slattery has dreamt for years about playing in the John Deere Classic. He realized his goal Monday in a manner that he likely never could have imagined. Slattery eagled the par-5 18th at Pinnacle Country Club to shoot 67 in Monday’s qualifier and get in a seven-man playoff for the final spot in his hometown TOUR event, which he earned by holing out from 44 yards to eagle the first extra hole. WATCH- The @JDCLASSIC “Magic” strikes early at the JDC Qualifier! Kurt Slatery’s story is simply awesome @clairp53 @andrewjlehman pic.twitter.com/ZGE7XCNjHG— Matt Randazzo (@MattRandazzo) July 11, 2017 “It’s a dream come true,â€� Slattery told WQAD. “When I was a kid, I would always picture myself getting in the John Deere Classic and trying to play against the best players in the world.â€� Slattery went to Rockridge High School, which is about 35 minutes from TPC Deere Run. He played college golf at Western Illinois and is now an assistant pro at the site of Monday’s qualifier, Pinnacle Country Club in Milan, Illinois. Slattery also gives lessons at TPC Deere Run. This was Slattery’s eighth consecutive trip to the tournament’s qualifier. “Standing on the 18th tee when I was 3 under par, I knew I had to make eagle to do it,â€� he told the Quad City Times. “And I did it. And to cap it off by holing out on the playoff was truly a dream come true. I’m in complete shockâ€� Three players shot 66 to share medalist honors in Monday’s qualifier, including former PGA TOUR member Cliff Kresge and new pro Sam Horsfield. Matt Lee, of Cave Creek, Arizona, also fired 66. Kresge, who posted two third-place finishes in seven PGA TOUR seasons, has made just one start since the end of the 2010 season. The 48-year-old made his last start on the Web.com Tour, where he is a three-time winner, in 2014. Horsfield, who turned pro this year after his sophomore season at the University of Florida, has missed the cut in two TOUR starts as a pro. The 20-year-old won the 2016 Phil Mickelson Award as the NCAA freshman of the year. Lee, 23, has missed the cut in three starts on PGA TOUR Latinoamerica in 2017. He completed his career at the University of Pacific in 2016. Former PGA TOUR winner Matt Bettencourt was among the seven players to take part in Monday’s playoff with Slattery, along with Justin Bryant, Steven Ihm, Sean McCarty, Jack Newman and Aron Price. 2016-17 Monday qualifiers Qualifiers: 75 Made cut: 22 (29.3%) Top-25s: 4 (5.3%) Top-10s: 0 Top finishes this season T11. Keith Mitchell, Valspar Championship T17. Oscar Fraustro, OHL Classic at Mayakoba T17. J.T. Poston, Genesis Open T23. Andres Gonzales, Shell Houston Open The Greenbrier Classic qualifiers T64. Dan Obremski, 69-70-71-71 MC. Y.E. Yang, 69-75 MC. Clayton Portz, 78-73 MC. Ryan Zylstra, 80-73

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GREENSBORO, N.C. – Adam Svensson was in prime position to shoot 59 in the second round of the Wyndham Championship after going 9 under through 13 holes. Alas, he could only manage pars the rest of the way and signed for a 61 that left him tied for the lead at 11 under after the morning wave of players had toured rain-soaked Sedgefield Country Club. He hit 13 of 14 fairways, 16 greens in regulation, and made 132 feet of putts. “Got a little nervous,â€� said Svensson, a 25-year-old Canadian who is 171st in the FedExCup, but projected to move up to 59th. “But I was happy with the way I played.â€� After struggling to 31 putts in the first round, when he ranked 136th in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting, Svensson used his new claw grip to perfection Friday, taking just 25 strokes on the greens. With 59 in play, fans flocked to his group to watch him play the final four holes. Svensson shot 61 at the Sony Open in Hawaii this year, so the round was not a total shocker despite his struggles. Danny Sahl, who also caddies for Vijay Singh, but has been helping Svensson try to keep his PGA TOUR card, was especially unsurprised. This is their fourth week together, and Svensson finished T15 and T18 in the first two, the 3M Open and John Deere Classic, respectively. He worked on switching to the claw putting grip at the Barracuda Championship last week, missing the cut. “Tee to green,â€� Sahl said, “he’s the best I’ve seen besides probably Vijay in his heyday. His demeanor and distance control were still there as we got closer to that famous number.â€� Before the tournament started, Sahl told Svensson to just go out and play, no pressure. That’s a lot easier said than done, but Svensson has responded. He said he was standing in the 14th fairway Friday when it occurred to him that he could shoot 59, assuming Sedgefield was a par 70. Suddenly nervous, he missed the 14th green with his approach, but got up and down for par. He duck-hooked his drive on 15, bouncing back nicely with his next two shots before pushing his short birdie try well right of the hole. He now need to birdie two of the last three. He birdied none. Still, a 61 is nothing to sneeze at, and Svensson makes this the sixth season in the last decade in which a player has shot multiple rounds of 61 or below on TOUR. (Steve Stricker 2009, Troy Merritt 2015, Ryan Moore 2012, Chez Reavie 2017, Troy Matteson 2009.) “Same game plan,â€� he said of his weekend plans. “You know, we play aggressive at some flags and we shoot wedges from other ones. I think I learned a lot from the Sony Open, shooting 61 as well. I just played too aggressive trying to get out front and tomorrow I’m just going to play my normal game.â€�

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