Sony extends sponsorship of Sony Open through 2022

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FORT WORTH, Texas — Jordan Spieth has started playing well again just about everywhere he goes. He has always felt comfortable close to home at Colonial, where he is in the lead. RELATED: Leaderboard | PGA champ Phil Mickelson misses cut by 1 at Colonial PGA champion Phil Mickelson was headed home to California after he bogeyed two of his last three holes, missing the cut at the Charles Schwab Challenge by one stroke. Spieth was bogey-free again Friday, with a 4-under 66 to take the lead after the second round at 11-under 129 at Hogan’s Alley. The Dallas native was one shot ahead of Jason Kokrak, who had his second consecutive round of 65. “I’m in a good spot at a familiar place,” Spieth said. Mickelson, who turns 51 on June 16, became the oldest winner of a golf major at the PGA Championship last weekend. But Lefty finished 2 over at Colonial after his second-round 69, which included three birdies in a four-hole stretch to end his front nine. But Mickelson’s 7-foot par chance at the par-3 16th rolled over the left edge and did a half-circle around the cup without going in. With the sun shining through the clouds, his have-to-make 10-footer on No. 18 slid just left of the hole. Mickelson left the course almost immediately after that, telling a PGA TOUR official on his way out that he enjoyed his time at the tournament. The two-time Colonial champion said he hated that he wouldn’t be around for the weekend. Sergio Garcia (69), the first-round co-leader with Spieth whose first PGA TOUR win came at Colonial 20 years ago, was tied for third at 8 under with Sebastian Munoz and Patton Kizzire, who both shot 65 Friday. Munoz had six birdies on the back nine, including the final three holes after a double bogey at No. 15. Kokrak, Garcia and Munoz were in the morning wave of players who all finished before a weather delay of 2 hours and 26 minutes during the afternoon. A steady drizzle started about the same time Spieth, Mickelson and defending champion Daniel Berger teed off at No. 1 to start their second round together. Mickelson had a bogey on the opening par-5. The rain had pretty much stopped before play was suspended because of lightning nearby from a weather system producing heavy storms south of the course. At that point, Mickelson was in a greenside bunker at No. 3, with Spieth 23 feet from the cup on the same hole. Mickelson’s first shot when play resumed nearly 2 1/2 hours later was a blast to set up a par-saving 7-foot putt. Spieth rolled in his second consecutive birdie. “I came out of the rain delay and I made a nice putt on 3, and really felt like I had a chance to birdie almost every hole on that front nine and even into the back nine,” Spieth said. “But I didn’t swing it as well. I wasn’t really completing it and it wasn’t feeling great. I knew I was going to kind of have to manage my way around the golf course a little bit, and fortunately did a really great job of that.” Spieth is playing in his 11th tournament since missing the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open at the end of January. His seven top-10 finishes since then match his total in 40 events the previous two seasons combined. He won the Valero Texas Open, his first victory since the 2017 Open Championship. He won in 2016 at Colonial, where he has two runner-up finishes and three others in the top 10. Kokrak still hits the ball a long way, and now has a long putter when on the greens. The 35th-ranked player in the world, who is 6-foot-4 and has made the FedExCup Playoffs the past eight seasons, switched to a putter with a 36-inch shaft this season.. “I was 190th in putting but I was a top five ball-striker, so I concentrated more on the putter as of late, and you know, it’s been hot,” he said. “But you know, I still want to concentrate on the ball-striking. I’ve been struggling with the driver, so I think finding a driver this week that I’m comfortable with, it’s gone a long way.” His best back-to-back rounds this year, with six birdies and a bogey in each round, are on the Colonial course where he had his best finish last season. He tied for third last June in the Charles Schwab Challenge that marked the PGA TOUR’s resumption of competition after a 12-week pause because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the 36-year-old Kokrak got his first career victory in the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas in October. The low round of the day was a season-best 62 by Charlie Hoffman, who overcame an early bogey at No. 3, when his approach missed the green after a drive into the rough. He had four consecutive birdies, at Nos. 14-17, before a par-saver with a chip to 2 feet at No. 18. Hoffman, who had an opening 71, was tied for sixth at 7-under 133.

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PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – It’s been seven years since Vijay Singh last appeared in the final group on Sunday at a PGA TOUR event. That’s no surprise – at age 56, Singh has gradually shifted his focus to PGA TOUR Champions. It’s been, well, never since Wyndham Clark played in the final group of a TOUR event. That’s no surprise, either — he’s just a rookie making his 11th start of the season and 19th of his young career. So raise your hand if you expected Singh and Clark to tee off last in Sunday’s final round of The Honda Classic. Anyone? Anybody? Didn’t think so. But there they will be, two players 31 years apart in age, each looking for a victory that will define their careers in completely opposite ways. Tee time will be 1:35 p.m. ET at PGA National. “It’s just fun being in contention,â€� said Clark, who is at 7 under and owns a one-shot lead after shooting a 3-under 67 on Saturday. “I love the moment. I love playing in front of fans and I love to win. “So I want to be there on Sundays, and the fact that I am is great.â€� Singh is one of three players tied for second at 6 under, along with Keith Mitchell and Kyoung-Hoon Lee. Unlike Clark, Singh has been there plenty of times on Sunday; after all, he has 38 career PGA TOUR wins, won the FedExCup in 2008 and already has been enshrined in the World Golf Hall of Fame. His last TOUR victory was 11 years ago – specifically, 3,835 days ago — when he won the first two events of the FedExCup Playoffs. If he can pull off the win Sunday, he would replace Sam Snead (age 52) as the oldest winner in TOUR history. MUST READS: Round 3, The Honda Classic What you need to know about Wyndham Clark 56-year-old Vijay Singh in contention for record-breaking win Tape job on arm helps JT bounce back Adam Schenk on penalty: ‘Intention was never to cheat’ “I don’t know what I found, but I’m going to see if it’s still there tomorrow,â€� said Singh, who tied for sixth in his last appearance at PGA National in 2016. The last time he was in the final group at a TOUR event was the 2012 BMW Championship, when he finished eighth. New NBC analyst Paul Azinger is three years older than Singh. “Vijay is a miracle man and he has still got it,â€� Azinger said. “Nobody hits more balls than Vijay Singh. At age 56, I bet he’ll be a little nervous tomorrow.â€� Clark – who made the field this week thanks to his top-10 finish at last week’s Puerto Rico Open — has torn up the front nine at PGA National, with 12 birdies against one bogey. If he can control his nerves, he might get out to a quick start. Meanwhile, Singh has managed to deal with the infamous Bear Trap – holes 15, 16 and 17 – in impressive fashion. He’s 2 under in that stretch, with the rest of the field a collective 0.578 over par on those holes. Of course, if either stumbles, there are plenty of others lurking, including some of the field’s notable names. Rickie Fowler shot a 66 on Saturday that he called a “great roundâ€� and is in solo fifth at 5 under. Brooks Koepka is tied for sixth at 4 under and has to feel good about his position considering, “I haven’t hit the ball very well this week.â€� Fowler won The Honda Classic in 2017; another former Honda winner is Michael Thompson in 2013. He’s in the group with Koepka and has been on a roll lately – top-15 finishes in each of his last four starts, including a T-7 at the Genesis Open. “I’ve got a really great swing thought that I’ve been riding,â€� Thompson said. Fowler and Thompson know what it takes to win on PGA National. Koepka knows what it takes to win on tough courses. “No lead is safe here, really,â€� Fowler said. “I should know – two years ago, I was four shots clear, and there’s a lot of water around this place. There’s a lot of things that can happen. … “Big thing for me tomorrow is keeping it as clean as possible. I’m going to have to come from behind and with that, you can’t really make mistakes. … There’s not a big enough cushion out here.â€� Added Koepka: “If you’re nervous, it’ll show up.â€� There’s every reason for Clark and Singh to be nervous in the final group Sunday. A breakthrough win is possible for Clark; a record-setting win is within grasp for Singh. On Saturday night, Clark said he plans to play cards with his caddie, something he does to relax each night during a tournament. Not until Sunday afternoon will he truly know the hand he’s been dealt.

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