Taiwan’s Hsu takes LPGA Tour lead at Kingsmill

Rod Pampling won the Boeing Classic on Sunday for his first PGA Tour Champions victory when Jim Furyk and Woody Austin failed to get up-and-down for birdie from greenside bunkers on the par-5 18th.

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Lee Westwood isn’t interested in comparing himself with the player who rose to No. 1 in the world a decade ago. All he knows is he’s playing some of his best golf, and he gets another chance to see if it can hold up against the best field. RELATED: Leaderboard | DeChambeau, Rahm lurk at THE PLAYERS Westwood had all the shots Friday in a bogey-free round at THE PLAYERS Championship, with two birdies at the start and a nifty pitch to a troublesome pin on the par-5 ninth to close with a another birdie and a 6-under 66. That gave him a one-shot lead over Matt Fitzpatrick (68) going into the weekend on the Stadium Course at the TPC Sawgrass, with U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau not too far behind. Westwood, who turns 48 next month, played well enough to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard last week at Bay Hill except that DeChambeau was one shot better in a fascinating duel of generations on a course that favors power. Sawgrass favors no particular style, and it produced an eclectic mix of contenders at the halfway point. “I think to compete in any of these tournaments against the best players in the world, you can’t have any weaknesses in your game,” Westwood said. “I wouldn’t be able to say I’m doing this better or that better. There’s not a shot out there I’m afraid of. There’s not a shot out there I’ll walk up to and think, `I haven’t got this one.’ “I’m comfortable out there with everything.” He was at 9-under 135 and will be part of the All-England final pairing Saturday. Sergio Garcia was another shot back after a 72 that looked like it was a lot worse with so many putts the Spaniard missed, including a 23-inch par putt on the 15th hole that followed a 5-foot par putt he missed on the 14th. Still, the 2008 champion showed plenty of game — and enough par putts that went in — to stay in the hunt. He drilled his approach to inches away on the par-5 11th for his third eagle of the week, which already ties the tournament record. And he finished in style with an approach that danced around the flag and settled 5 feet away for birdie on the 18th. “It was a beautiful roller coaster,” Garcia said. “There were a lot of good things. Unfortunately, a lot of bad things. But more than anything there was a lot of fighting, and that’s one of the things that I’m most proud of because when things are not really happening and you miss a couple putts here and there, it’s easy to kind of let the round get away from you.” When the second round was suspended by darkness, 16 players were within five shots of the lead. DeChambeau was in the group three shots behind after a 69 that began with a double bogey from the trees and a muffed chip out of the rough from behind the green. He was bogey-free the rest of the way on a course that doesn’t let him swing for the fences because of water and cross bunkers and other brands of trouble. “I’m happy with the fact that I’ve still been able to keep myself in it and score well,” DeChambeau said. “I’ve been pretty lucky, for the most part. I don’t think that’ll happen this weekend. I’ve got to make sure that my game is good off the tee, so I don’t have those issues occurring and I don’t have to rely on luck for the most part. I have to get it in the fairway.” Kirk holed out from the first fairway for eagle and closed with back-to-back birdies for a 65. Starting with a chip-in for birdie on the 15th, he played six straight holes in 6 under. Sungjae Im tied the tournament record with six straight birdies, a streak that ended when he missed the green to the left on the par-3 third, and even then he nearly chipped in. He had to settle for a 66 and was three shots behind. Dustin Johnson wasted a good start and shot 70, leaving him eight shots behind. Jordan Spieth made his first double bogey in 411 holes — the longest streak of his career — and shot 74 to make the cut on the number. Rory McIlroy, who opened with a 79, wasn’t much better Friday. He made another double bogey on the 10th hole and shot 75. His 36-hole total of 154 was his highest ever in his 11 appearances at THE PLAYERS Championship. He is the first defending champion to miss the cut since Rickie Fowler in 2016. Four players from the top 10 in the world missed the cut — Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay, Tyrrell Hatton and Webb Simpson, whose hopes ended with one of 13 balls in the water at the island-green 17th.

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Yes, I was going to burn Tiger Woods at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, and I was going to encourage you to do the same. As much as his early withdrawal from the tournament that he’s won eight times disrupts properly laid plans, the key word is “early.” Withdrawals sting all gamers and investors, but when they occur on Mondays, we can get over that frustration quickly. Woods’ WD also swung open the door for a straight-up trade with Rory McIlroy, who defends his title at Bay Hill. Certainly, McIlroy looks good almost everywhere, but the sharpest of his focus over time is on completing the career grand slam at the Masters. One & Doners will love him at Augusta National, but not unlike Jordan Spieth chasing down his career grand slam at Bethpage in May and Phil Mickelson in pursuit of his at Pebble Beach in June, there’s a valid argument to abstain on each of them in those tournaments. At least with your head. If you’re keen on making space for your heart in the decision-making process, then those are your picks for the season’s first three majors. So, suddenly, and pending good health, obviously, Woods presents a bit stronger for the Masters. With him off the board at Bay Hill, McIlroy, in tow with a title defense and torrid form upon arrival, becomes the no-brainer. If McIlroy wasn’t available to me, I’d pull the trigger on Bryson DeChambeau. After runner-up honors here last year, he picked off five victories worldwide. He’s still building a portfolio of reliable sites, but Bay Hill is one of them. Using Future Possibilities below to help sift through the gold in the deep field in Orlando, the API lines up as the top spot for Marc Leishman and Henrik Stenson. Leishman is a former winner (2017), but Stenson’s overall record is stronger. It’s just that Swede’s form at the moment is awful. He’s a trap. The only reason you don’t circle Leishman is because you’re saving him for the Travelers Championship and Bubba Watson for somewhere else (or the lefty is already off your board). Jason Day is percolating, but his win at Bay Hill in 2016 happens to be his only top 15. Given all of the factors involved, it’s smarter to holster him. Note that all four majors are included in his Future Possibilities. I’ve written about it multiple times already, but it’s worth yet another visit. Rickie Fowler is a man on a mission this year. That he exorcised the demons at TPC Scottsdale and prevailed in front of his family for the first time is a boost of confidence like no other. Save him for a major and stick with it. I haven’t made my mind up for the Masters, but the 30-year-old might get the nod. If Woods and Fowler don’t do it for you at Augusta National, then pencil in Justin Rose. His record at Bay Hill is terrific, but he’ll set up even better in five weeks. Brooks Koepka, Hideki Matsuyama and Patrick Reed also are in play this week, but each belongs on your radar in other stops. Look for Reed specifically in two weeks at Copperhead. Caution is the operative advice in weighing your decision for Francesco Molinari. It doesn’t hurt that he’s not lighting the world on fire anymore, but the API won’t be his first live action with the new golf ball. He finished T17 at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship with it and his new clubs, but we still can’t expect him to find paydirt as rapidly as Fowler did with his new ball in Arizona. Ian Poulter doesn’t appear in Future Possibilities, but don’t hesitate if you’re chasing. He’s in a zone and sleeping in his own bed this week. IJP also sets up nicely in two-man formats for which Billy Horschel, Matt Every, Jason Kokrak and Bud Cauley are intriguing. I’d toss Martin Laird into that conversation, but he’s poised to be a weapon in Reno in late July. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2018-19. The numerical values in parentheses represent the order of relative confidence of where to use each golfer if multiple sites are listed (e.g. 1 for strongest, 2 for next-strongest and so on). To present weighted confidence in real time, numerical values will not change all season no matter how many tournament remain listed for each golfer. All are pending golfer commitment. Byeong Hun An … Memorial (1) Daniel Berger … Travelers (1) Keegan Bradley … Memorial (5); Travelers (4) Rafa Cabrera Bello … PLAYERS (1); Wyndham (4) Jason Day … Arnold Palmer (5); PLAYERS (7); WGC-Match Play (11); Masters (4); Wells Fargo (6 defending); PGA Championship (3); U.S. Open (10); Open Championship (9) Bryson DeChambeau … Arnold Palmer (3); Heritage (1);  Memorial (2; defending); Travelers (4); John Deere (7) Jason Dufner … PLAYERS (7); Valspar (4); New Orleans (1); Charles Schwab (6); Memorial (5); U.S. Open (2); Wyndham (8); TOUR Championship (10) Rickie Fowler … Arnold Palmer (8); Masters (2); Wells Fargo (6); PGA Championship (9); Memorial (5); U.S. Open (10) Bill Haas … WGC-Match Play (8); Heritage (4); Charles Schwab (2); Wyndham (6) Adam Hadwin … Valspar (2); John Deere (5) Brian Harman … Arnold Palmer (7); Charles Schwab (1); Travelers (5); John Deere (4) Charley Hoffman … Arnold Palmer (2); Masters (4); Heritage (7); Valero (3); Charles Schwab (6); Travelers (1) J.B. Holmes … Wells Fargo (5) Billy Horschel … Arnold Palmer (7); Valero (2); New Orleans (3; defending); Wyndham (6); TOUR Championship (1) Zach Johnson … Arnold Palmer (7); Valero (4); Charles Schwab (5); John Deere (1); Open Championship (2); TOUR Championship (8) Si Woo Kim … PLAYERS (3); Heritage (1) Chris Kirk … PLAYERS (5); Valero (3); Charles Schwab (2) Kevin Kisner … Heritage (3); New Orleans (5); Charles Schwab (2); Memorial (6) Brooks Koepka … WGC-Match Play (3); Masters (7); PGA Championship (2; defending); Charles Schwab (6); U.S. Open (1; two-time defending); Open Championship (8) Martin Laird … Valero (5); Reno-Tahoe (2) Marc Leishman … Arnold Palmer (1); Byron Nelson (6); Memorial (4); Travelers (3); Open Championship (8) Hideki Matsuyama … Arnold Palmer (11); PLAYERS (9); Masters (4); PGA Championship (13); Memorial (8); U.S. Open (14); Wyndham (7); TOUR Championship (5) Rory McIlroy … Arnold Palmer (2; defending); Masters (4); Wells Fargo (3); Memorial (5); Travelers (8); Open Championship (1); TOUR Championship (6) Phil Mickelson … Masters (9); Wells Fargo (2); Open Championship (8); WGC-St. Jude (3) Francesco Molinari … Arnold Palmer (2); PLAYERS (3); Wells Fargo (6); PGA Championship (4); Open Championship (1; defending) Ryan Moore … Valspar (3); Valero (7); Masters (13); Memorial (11); Travelers (6); John Deere (8); Wyndham (2); TOUR Championship (9) Kevin Na … Valspar (6); Charles Schwab (3); Wyndham (5) Louis Oosthuizen … Valspar (3); WGC-Match Play (1); Masters (2); U.S. Open (5); PGA Championship (4) Scott Piercy … New Orleans (1; co-defending); Canadian (7; last winner at Hamilton in 2012) Patrick Reed … Valspar (1); Masters (5; defending); PGA Championship (4); U.S. Open (3); Travelers (7) Justin Rose … Arnold Palmer (3); Masters (1); PLAYERS (10); Charles Schwab (7; defending); Memorial (4); Open Championship (8); TOUR Championship (2) Brandt Snedeker … Masters (10); Heritage (6); Charles Schwab (7); U.S. Open (5); Travelers (9); Wyndham (1; defending) Brendan Steele … Valero (8); Wells Fargo (9); Travelers (4); Reno-Tahoe (3) Henrik Stenson … Arnold Palmer (1); THE PLAYERS (9); Valspar (3); Masters (5); PGA Championship (4); Open Championship (6); Wyndham (8); TOUR Championship (7) Kevin Streelman … Valero (9); Heritage (5); Memorial (4); Travelers (7) Jimmy Walker … Valero (2); Byron Nelson (6) Bubba Watson … WGC-Match Play (6; defending); Masters (5); Memorial (7); Travelers (2; defending); TOUR Championship (8)

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