Sleeper picks: Charles Schwab Challenge

PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic – A trio of golfers lead at 6-under after the first round of the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship. Past TOUR winner Matt Jones, Joel Dahmen, and Paul Dunne all shot matching 66’s on a windy Thursday at Corales Golf Club. Jones, who won the 2014 Shell Houston Open in a playoff over Matt Kuchar, said his 6-under was “probably the worse scoreâ€� he could have shot. Teeing off early, the wind was down and the course was more scoreable than it was later in the day. That didn’t stop Dahmen and Dunne from posting solid numbers. Jones said his iron game and distance control were the keys to his success Thursday. The Australian finished T-28 here a year ago, and is in the midst of one of his more solid PGA TOUR seasons in recent memory. He’s made his last five cuts in a row, and has notched two T-13 finishes, tied for his best results of the season. The 38-year-old held off Jordan Spieth and Adam Scott to capture the Australian Open on his childhood course in 2015, and although he said he rarely thinks about that victory, the good memories are there if he needs them this week. “That’s a long time ago and I’ve got a lot of war wounds since then out here on this Tour,â€� he admitted. “But if I get in that position again with a chance to win, I’ll probably lean on that experience.â€� Dahmen, meanwhile, came into the week having made his last two cuts – after a run of four-straight misses – including a T-13 at THE PLAYERS Championship. He said his season has been “better than it looks on paper,â€� as his Thursday 66 was his best round since a matching 66 at the Sony Open in Hawaii in January. “At THE PLAYERS I was close, just a couple bogeys on the back nine that really could have had me in the hunt there,â€� said Dahmen, whose usual caddie is at home with a week off before a busy stretch. “Leading up to the first round last week, my game’s close and hopefully we can keep it going through three more rounds.â€� The last time Dahmen held a piece of a first-round lead was at the 2017 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, but he went on to finish T-48. He drained a 23-foot birdie try on the par-3 9th – his final hole of the day – to get to 6-under, and the 2014 Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada Player of the Year said he wouldn’t be changing his approach for Friday. “I’m not a range rat as it is,â€� said Dahmen. “So we’re going to have a cold beer, put the feet up and just enjoy this place.â€� Rounding out the threesome at the top is Irishman Paul Dunne, who finished T-5 in Punta Cana in 2018 and managed to parlay that top-10 result into a T-8 at the Houston Open the following week. He also played The Open Championship and the PGA Championship last year, but this week marks his first start at a PGA TOUR event since last August. He’s played six European Tour events so far this year, finishing third at the ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth. “It’s been fairly average,â€� Dunne said of his year. “Things are starting to get better, I’m starting to get back in the swing of tournaments. “It’s nice to fill the gap there with a great event and hopefully I can make the most of it.â€� Dunne, who got a Sponsor Exemption this week, was 1-under through his first nine holes, but turned it on late. He played his second nine (the front) in 5-under. He said he was feeling some good vibes from last year early on. “I feel comfortable here,â€� said Dunne. “The couple of loose tee shots I normally hit in a round I can get away with here, so play to my strength a little bit. The breeze blowing for the week is nice, we’re used to that.â€� Sungjae Im, who has finished in the top-5 in two of his last three tournaments and is the top-ranked golfer in the FedExCup standings in the field this week, is one shot back of the leaders at 5-under. Sam Burns, who won on the Web.com Tour exactly a year ago this week, leads a group of six golfers at 4-under, rounding out the top-10.

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Tour rookie Maria Torres shared the four-way lead Friday after two rounds in her second major tournament. Top-ranked, two-time major winner Sung Hyun Park has the weekend off.

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The World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play is back. Thursday’s second round is the second of three days of group play. After Friday, the player with the best record in each of the 16 four-man pools will advance to knockout play (ties will be broken via sudden-death playoff). Two rounds apiece will be played Saturday and Sunday to crown a champion. This is the only PGA TOUR event where players go mano-a-mano, and Austin Country Club is a perfect site for this format thanks to its offering of risk-reward holes. There will be 32 matches conducted on Thursday, and this file will be updated live at the conclusion of each match to keep you apprised of the action from the TOUR’s only match-play event. Return here often to learn about the latest upsets, comebacks and nail-biting finishes. THURSDAY RECAPS (Click here for live scores) GROUP 10 COREY CONNERS (2-0-0) def. LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN (0-2-0), 2 and 1 When people talk about the vagaries of match play, Oosthuizen should be presented as Exhibit A this week. He has made 11 birdies in the last two days and is winless. Oosthuizen hit a silky approach to 10 feet on the second hole to make birdie and take the lead, then matched birdies with Conners on the fifth hole. But Conners won the sixth, eighth and ninth holes to turn at 2 up and although Oosthuizen tied the match again on 13, an untimely tee shot on 16 coupled with a birdie from 8 feet by Conners on the par-3 17th hole closed the match quickly. “It was a hard-fought battle,” Conners said. “I felt like I played really well on the front nine. Got myself into the lead making the turn, kind of struggled in the first few holes on the back nine and was able to escape not losing too many holes and then won a couple at the end.” Oosthuizen is scheduled to play Paul Casey on Friday, although Casey has conceded both of his previous two matches. Conners will play Noren. Both are 2-0, with one win coming against Oosthuizen and the other via concession from Casey, meaning the winner of the match will advance to the Round of 16. ALEX NOREN (2-0-0) def. PAUL CASEY (0-2-0), concession Casey conceded his match for the second consecutive day, this time against Noren. Again, Casey said that his back was continuing to spasm, just as it was on Wednesday when he stopped his match on the second hole against Corey Conners. Casey told reporters that he has not decided if he will play in his Friday match against Louis Oosthuizen, but at 0-2 with two concessions, he has no chance to advance into Saturday’s Sweet 16. Meanwhile, Noren has the day off and is 2-0. He outlasted Oosthuizen, 1 up, on Wednesday in a match where Oosthuizen made seven birdies and never led at any point.

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