The First Look: AT&T Byron Nelson

SCOTTSDALE. Ariz. — Tony Finau and Webb Simpson crashed golf’s biggest party with some back-nine fireworks. Finau shot a 9-under 62 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over Simpson in the Waste Management Phoenix Open, making an eagle on the par-5 13th and then, switching to a Kobe Bryant jersey for one hole, a birdie on TPC Scottsdale’s stadium par-3 16th. Related: Leaderboard | Amy paying it forward | Spieth misses cut, continues search for his best “I had a perfect number for a sand wedge and go ahead and fire right at the pin,” Finau said. “Damn near made it. That would have been pretty sweet with the Kobe jersey on. But I like that shot. That was pretty nice.” Simpson had a hole-in-one on the par-3 12th in a 64. Second-round leader J.B. Holmes and Hudson Swafford were two strokes back. Holmes shot 70 and Swafford had a 66. Holmes won at TPC Scottsdale in 2006 and 2008 for the first of his five PGA TOUR titles. Xander Schauffele (66), Adam Long (66) and Scott Piercy (68) were another shot back. Finau began his back-nine charge with a birdie on 12, ran in a 20-footer for the eagle on 13, then settled for birdie on the par-5 15th after missing a 6 1/2-foot eagle try. After the birdie on the rowdy 16th, he three-putted for par from the fringe on the short par-4 17th — missing a 4-foot birdie attempt — and saved par on the par-4 18th after driving left into the first section of the church pew bunkers. “I missed the one on 15 where I stuffed it in there and another one on 17,” Finau said. “It would be nice to have those back, I would have had the low round of my career. But it was a beautiful round of golf.” The 30-year-old from Utah won the 2016 Puerto Rico Open for his lone PGA TOUR title. “I look forward to tomorrow, my game’s in a good place and I always tell myself, `Whatever happens, you’re going to learn from it and get better and stronger as long as it doesn’t kill you,'” Finau said. “I’m still standing here punching and I’m going to do that for the rest of my career. So, I got 18 holes to try and win this golf tournament and my expectation is exactly that.” Simpson used a 7-iron on the 196-yard 12th. The ball bounced and rolled, turning slightly to right as it lost speed. “We figured with all the adjustments and everything, playing 180 yards, which is a perfect 7-iron for me and as soon as I hit it I knew I hit a good shot,” Simpson said. “I quit watching it because I can’t see the green. I can’t really see that well, to gauge how far it was from the hole. I was looking at the crowd and they got more excited and then their hands went up. And at first my first thought was, `That couldn’t have gone in.’ And then it dawned on me they were really excited, so it was fun.” He birdied 14 and 15, then saved bogey on 17 with a 20-foot putt after driving short and right into a bunker and taking three more shots to get on the green. He also scrambled on 18, making a 10-footer for par after driving into the right rough. The 2012 U.S. Open champion has five PGA TOUR victories, the last in 2018 at THE PLAYERS Championship. He lost a playoff to Hideki Matsuyama at TPC Scottsdale in 2017. “The golf course has gotten more firm every day, so it’s going to be challenging tomorrow,” Simpson said. “But guys, I think, are still looking at it as plenty of birdie opportunities. This course is playing shorter, so we’re having shorter clubs in, even though the greens are more firm.” Jon Rahm was tied for 11th at 10 under after a 68, playing alongside Finau. “Can’t make a putt. If I could make a putt, I would be happier,” Rahm said. “But six back, hitting it good, I just can’t seem to roll it in and at this point it just seems like it’s a little bit too far to be able to make it up. This course, it isn’t as easy to make up distance.” Billy Horschel, a shot behind Holmes entering the round, had a 73 to drop seven strokes back. Wyndham Clark, the first-round leader after a 61, also was 9 under after a 74 in the final group with Holmes and Horschel. FedExCup points leader Justin Thomas shot 69 to get to 8 under. Defending champion Rickie Fowler was 5 under after a 69.

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CROMWELL, Conn. — Jordan Spieth continues to play just a little better than anyone else at the Travelers Championship. The 23-year-old Texan closed with a 20-foot birdie putt for a 4-under 66 on Saturday, giving him a one-stroke lead for the third straight round at TPC River Highlands. After predicting earlier that it would take a score of 16 under to win, the two-time major champion took a 12-under 198 total into the final round. Boo Weekley was second after a 65. The 43-year-old Weekley, playing just in front of Spieth, birdied five of the last eight holes, basking in the chants of “Boooo! Boooo!” from the raucous gallery. Spieth bogeyed Nos. 13 and 14, but matched Weekley with three birdies on the final four holes, capping it with the final shot of the round from below the hole. “It’s in the shadow,” Spieth said. “I’m looking to hit the putt at the right speed. If it goes in, great, if it doesn’t, so be it, tap it in. With a few feet to go it was going to have a chance and it curled right in the middle. That was a loud roar, and those are really fun to experience. Weekley is looking for his fourth tour title and first since 2013. The colorful Floridian said he’s been dealing with personal issues, but declined to elaborate. His had a season-best tie for 37th at the Puerto Rico Open in March and has made just eight cuts in 21 events. Spieth is looking for his 10th tour win and second this season after a victory in February at Pebble Beach. Weekley acknowledged that makes for an odd final pairing Sunday. “He loves to fish, so we’ve got a little in common there,” Weekley said. “So we can talk about that.” Daniel Berger, looking for his second victory of the month, was three strokes back after a 66. C.T. Pan (64), David Lingmerth (65) and Paul Casey (66) were 8 under. Because of morning showers, the players went off in threesomes from both the first and 10th tees. But the breeze helped the greens quickly dry out and play faster than had been expected. Pan, who went out just after the rain ended, and shot a bogey-free round. The 25-year old former University of Washington star is looking for his third top-10 finish this season and his first since finishing second at Torrey Pines in January. “It wasn’t as windy, so I made birdies on three of my first four holes,” Pan said. “That really helped my mindset and keep my momentum going.” Spieth hit his first six fairways and got his first birdie of the day on the sixth hole, when he chipped in from 30 feet behind the green. He made another birdie on the next hole, before giving a shot back at No. 9. He repeated that pattern on the back nine, making birdies at 10 and 11 to go up by two strokes, then put his tee shot into the water at 13. He bogeyed that hole and 14. But on 15, his chip from the greenside bunker landed inches from the hole and he had another birdie. Spieth has a chance to join Phil Blackmar (1985) as the only players to win in their first start at the Connecticut event. He’s also trying to become the first player to lead wire-to-wire alone in the event since Tim Norris in 1982 at Wethersfield. Peter Jacobsen had at least a share of the lead after every round in 2003. Berger had just one bogey, at the 17th, but came back with the last of his five birdies on the final hole. He won in Memphis two weeks ago before missing the cut at the U.S. Open, which was won by his Florida State teammate, Brooks Koepka. Another former Seminole teammate, Chase Seiffert, was in contention at 4 under after qualifying for the tournament Monday. Rory McIlroy remained at even par. He’s been trying to find his short game this week and decided to switch Saturday from the putter he began using while at the U.S. Open. He spent time before his round on the practice green with several different putters before picking a new one. The change didn’t seem to help. His first putt Saturday, a birdie attempt from 12 feet, went 3 feet past the hole and he needed 33 putts during his round of 70. He was even par overall.

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ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Cameron Smith had just given up his 36-hole lead at The 150th Open. It was time for his caddie, Sam Pinfold, to give a pep talk and help turn the tide. When Pinfold was finished, Smith smiled at his good friend and, without skipping a beat, replied, “Three or four back, … don’t worry. … We needed to give them a head start anyway.” RELATED: What’s in Smith’s bag? | Final leaderboard This is the confidence of the young Australian who produced a stunning 64 on Sunday to win The Open, becoming just the fifth Australian to win the Claret Jug and first since 1993. His first major triumph added to wins earlier this year at THE PLAYERS and Sentry Tournament of Champions. He’s moved to No. 2 in both the FedExCup and world ranking in a year that saw him become the only player other than Jack Nicklaus in 1978 to win THE PLAYERS and The Open in the same year. In his Sentry win in January, Smith set the TOUR record for lowest score in relation to par, shooting 34 under. At St. Andrews, he matched that mark for majors and recorded the lowest score ever shot in an Open at St. Andrews, a 20-under 268. And he closed with a remarkable 30 on the back nine, the lowest ever shot by an Open champion. But back to Smith’s joke. It was a light-hearted response. But there was some wisdom hidden inside it. Smith is – with all due respect – like a mongrel dog fighting over the first bone he’s seen in a month. He’s the ultimate underdog, determined to prove doubters wrong. Starting Sunday four shots off the lead was enough of a challenge. The fact one of the leaders was Rory McIlroy, Great Britain’s great hope who the crowds were eager to coronate, was a red rag to a bull. Smith is from Queensland – the northeastern state in Australia known for its beautiful beaches, the Great Barrier Reef, and an ethos of never-say-die toughness. That determination is born out of Smith’s favorite sport other than golf – rugby league – where the Queensland Maroons face the powerhouse New South Wales Blues three times a year in an epic and brutal series of games called State of Origin. It’s tribal. Queensland is known for often winning against the odds. It has a smaller talent pool to draw from, yet somehow rises above itself when putting on the jersey. One State of Origin game fell on The Open’s eve, and Smith insisted on playing his last nine-hole practice round early in the morning so he could stream the match on his phone at St. Andrews. The Maroons, missing three key players because of COVID and injuries, were underdogs. Then, in a frenetic opening few minutes of the game they lost two more to concussion. Despite the obstacles, they won 22-12. Pinfold confirmed Smith “drew a lot from that.” “Never a doubt,” Smith joked about the match at his pre-tournament press conference afterwards. “It’s just another example of the Queensland spirit. I’ll be thinking of that this week for sure.” The underdog emerged on Sunday at the Old Course. Smith scripted a maroon shirt ahead of his attempt to chase down the local favorite. After a solid 34 on the front nine, Smith looked up to see he’d only clawed back one shot on McIlroy. The time had come to put up or shut up. “You’ve got to try and win. That’s what we’re all here to do. I really needed to make something happen,” said Smith, whose gallery included former tennis star Ash Barty and two-time Moto GP champion Casey Stoner. And so Smith went to work. He nearly drove the par-4 10th to make the first of five straight birdies that put him one ahead of McIlroy. The best one came at the 13th – a hole that had nearly ended his chances a day earlier. “Those guys are great players. They weren’t going to give it to me. I had to take it,” Smith added. “It was a good thing that I was behind. My mindset would have been a touch different coming in, especially on that back nine, if I was ahead.” “My second shot into 13 was really when I thought that we can win this thing.” Pinfold also caught some flak about Saturday’s double bogey on 13. Many suggested he should have called Smith off a risky shot where he attempted to hit his ball while standing in a bunker with the ball above his feet. That shot sailed into a gorse bush, resulting in a double-bogey. “You don’t mess with a confident player with his skill level,” Pinfold explained. “I’m just so proud of him. His game plan was awesome; he was just really confident and he’s got so much belief it makes my job easy. “I don’t have to think about a second option, it’s just what’s the best shot, what’s the best option, then point, shoot and go. He just has the balls and courage to stand up and do it.” Another of those moments came Sunday at the infamous Road Hole, which ranks as the TOUR’s toughest each time The Open comes to St. Andrews. Smith’s approach came up short, and the hole’s famous greenside bunker stood between his ball and his target. Smith calmly putted his ball up the slope against the edge of the trap, then buried the 10-foot par putt. When he calmly birdied the last to post 20 under, one shot better than playing partner Cameron Young, only a McIlroy eagle could beat him. But the four-time major winner failed to chip in from just short of the green and victory was secured. “I feel like I can’t breathe,” he said. “These last four or five holes aren’t easy around here, especially with the wind up off the left. I’m just really proud of how I knuckled down today and managed to get it done.” “To win an Open Championship in itself is probably going to be a golfer’s highlight in their career. To do it around St. Andrews, I think is just unbelievable. This place is so cool.” Making birdie on the first five holes of the back nine was parallel to how he won THE PLAYERS earlier this year. He birdied the first four holes of TPC Sawgrass’ back nine en route to that win. “He loves to fight,” Pinfold said. “Put him in a fight, three or four back, and he’s going to step up his game and go for it.” Another celebration, like the one that followed his PLAYERS win, is expected. “I’m definitely going to find out how many beers fit in this thing,” he said about the Claret Jug. “I’m going to guess two, two cans of beer. … I’ll probably have about 20 Claret Jugs.” He certainly earned it.

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