THE PLAYERS Championship, Round 2: Leaderboard, tee times, TV times

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Absurd, improbable, preposterous, unlikely, doubtful. Pick whichever adjective you’d like. When a player is 11 strokes back of the lead with one round remaining, it’s easy to see how winning a tournament might not be front of mind. It just doesn’t happen. That was the plot at the 2019 Players Amateur in Bluffton, South Carolina. Leader Stewart Hagestad, a former University of Southern California golfer, showed no signs of slowing down, posting a score of 21-under through 54 holes at Berkeley Hall Club’s South Course to lead Alex Smalley by five shots. Hagestad looked like he was going to cruise to victory and earn the available exemption into the 2020 RBC Heritage. Spencer Ralston? He was the guy 11 shots back with 18 holes to play. Ralston, a University of Georgia senior-to-be, woke up Sunday on that warm July morning facing a huge deficit, and by that afternoon the seemingly impossible became possible. “When the day started, never did I think I had a chance of winning,� said Ralston. “I started the day with no expectations, and then that ended up happening.� The “that� was Ralston shooting a final-round 63, including an eagle and eight birdies. He signed for a four-day total of 269. Meanwhile, Chris Haack, Ralston’s coach at the University of Georgia, had been getting the play-by-play from rules official and good friend Bob Patton throughout the day as things began tightening. “When (Ralston) got to 6-under, [Patton] started texting me,� said Haack. “He told me that he got to 7-under, and then, wow, he made eagle and got to 9-under. It was exciting and crazy all at the same time.� Imagine how Ralston was feeling. Finishing his round close to 45 minutes before Hagestad’s final grouping, Ralston found a seat in the clubhouse with some other players who were eating lunch and watching Wimbledon on TV. Unbeknownst to Ralston, he was the clubhouse leader. With Hagestad taking a step back, Ralston realized he suddenly had a chance to win the tournament. “I knew I had played a good round but hadn’t looked at the leaderboard. One of the rules officials told me to grab something quick (to eat) and to warm up because I was only one or two strokes back,� said Ralston. That’s when he realized where he stood and that there was the real possibility for a playoff. A rules official joined Ralston on the driving range, and he kept Ralston in the loop via radio communication about what was happening on the course. As Ralston tried to maintain focus, he learned that a Hagestad bogey on hole No. 17 meant the pair was tied at the top of the leaderboard. Preparing for a potential playoff, it didn’t cross Ralston’s mind that on top of the Players Amateur title—and what was looking like a once-in-a-lifetime comeback—a win would also mean an invitation to his first PGA TOUR event. “I knew an exemption into the Heritage was on the line at the start of the week,� said the Bulldog captain. “But on that day, because I didn’t really think I had a chance of winning, it never really crossed my mind.� With Hagestad on the 18th green, Ralston multi-tasked, warming up while anxiously awaiting word from the rules official at the scene. “Three-putt,� Ralston heard, and that’s when he knew the victory was his. Hagestad had bogeyed three of his final six holes, shooting a final-round 75. All Ralston could do was turn around and hug his cousin and caddie Sims Griffith. “We’ll see you in April at the Heritage,� the rules official said to Ralston on his way back to the clubhouse. “That was a really cool moment that I will never forget,� said Ralston. “One of my goals is to play on the PGA TOUR, and I haven’t played in an event yet, so that is the next step. It felt like a big achievement to get that opportunity as an amateur.� Unfortunately, Ralston, like the rest of the world, had to put his plans on hold due to COVID-19. Following the final round of Mackenzie Tour Qualifying Tournament in Dothan, Ala., where he earned conditional status, Ralston learned that the TOUR was postponing the RBC Heritage. The Southeastern Conference had canceled its golf championship, slated for the next week, as well. “Seeing what’s going on around the country and the world, it’s crazy,� said Ralston, who tied for 30th in Dothan. “We got some more details from coaches the next day, learning that our tournaments had been canceled. It seems like every time you look at social media there is something new happening.� For a while, it looked like Ralston would have to wait until the 2021 RBC Heritage to make his TOUR debut in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Fortunately for Ralston, the TOUR rescheduled the RBC Heritage for June 18-21, a spot on the schedule originally belonging to the U.S. Open. With the NCAA canceling all spring sports, including golf, Ralston has been idle from tournament golf. Haack has kept in touch with all his Bulldog players via Zoom meetings throughout the crisis and is looking forward to his captain having the chance to take on Harbour Town Golf Links in June. He’s not surprised at the success Ralston has had since he first took notice of Ralston’s maturity level and skill at a high school recruiting camp Ralston attended. “Every time a guy has a chance to play in a PGA TOUR event, it’s a big deal and stepping stone to see what it’s like at the next level,� said Haack, who has coached six Bulldogs who have gone on to win PGA TOUR events: Brian Harman, Harris English, Russell Henley, Chris Kirk, Brendon Todd and Bubba Watson. “I’ve been telling [Ralston] and the other guys to just stay positive and not to let anything get them down,� Haack continued. “This might be a much-needed break, and they didn’t even know it. There’s always a way to put a positive spin on things.� After proving his ability to overcome a seemingly insurmountable lead this past summer, it likely won’t prove too difficult for Ralston to stay positive ahead of his PGA TOUR debut.

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FORT WORTH, Texas – Justin Rose has spent a lot of time in the trees at the Fort Worth Invitational. His tee shots haven’t sent him there. His ballstriking has been superb thus far at Hogan’s Alley. The temperatures in the upper-90s have. Even the quickest respite from the scorching sun is welcome. “My caddie has done a great job of just literally handing me water bottle after water bottle. It seems relentless, to be honest with you,â€� Rose said. “I haven’t even seen the inside of a restroom yet, so you can’t drink quick enough.â€� He admitted that his focus started to flag on Saturday’s final holes as the mercury almost touched 100 degrees. “From that point, I was really trying to put one foot in front of the other and stay committed,â€� he said. The heat has been the biggest challenge for an elite player who appears to be in complete control of his game. Rose has put on a ball-striking display that would make Ben Hogan proud to build a four-shot lead after the first three rounds at Colonial. Rose shot 66 on Saturday and stands at 14-under 196. Emiliano Grillo (69) and reigning U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka (67) are tied for second. They’re the only ones within five shots of Rose. His four-shot lead matches the largest lead of his PGA TOUR career. He was victorious the previous two times that he started the final round four strokes ahead (2010 The National, 2011 BMW Championship). He knows that plenty of work remains, though. In November, he won the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions after Dustin Johnson lost a six-shot lead. Rose started the final round eight back of Johnson, but shot 67 to Johnson’s 77. “It is a big lead, but it isn’t big enough,â€� Rose said. “It’s not big enough to be counting the holes away. You have to go out and play good. You have to go out positive. You have to continue to make birdies and keep going forward.â€� Low scores are available at Colonial, where the bentgrass greens have to stay soft to withstand the heat. There have been 14 scores of 64 or lower this week. The scoring average was 68.5 on Saturday. “He has to go out and shoot under par,â€� Grillo said. “He’s got 50 guys behind him trying to reach him.â€� Rose will achieve history if he can convert. A victory would be his ninth on the PGA TOUR, matching Nick Faldo for the most by an Englishman (since 1983, when the TOUR started keeping victory records). A win would make Rose the fifth player with two wins this season and move him to No. 2 in the FedExCup. Rose has impressed after spending last week practicing with coach Sean Foley. Rose is playing Colonial for the first time in eight years to get a better gauge on where his game stands entering the summer. He closed 2017 with 10 consecutive top-10 finishes, and finished outside the top 10 just twice in 15 starts dating from the 2017 FedExCup Playoffs to this year’s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. But he sandwiched a T12 at Augusta National between two lackluster performance, a T52 at the Houston Open and a T23 at THE PLAYERS, where he started the final round in 55th place. A final-round 66, including seven birdies in an eight-hole stretch, showed him things were moving in the right direction. “I really feel like I keyed into something,â€� Rose said about his last round at the Stadium Course. “We kind of made a few changes about a year ago, but the last few weeks, things have simplified a touch. Sometimes it can take that long before you understand a change or it begins to feel natural.â€� He leads the field in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green (+2.64 strokes per round) and is tied for first in greens in regulation (43 of 54, 79.6 percent). He’s amassed this large lead despite making just one putt outside of 20 feet. In other words, he’s hit his irons well enough that he hasn’t needed to rely on a hot putter. He’s seventh in proximity to the hole this week, averaging 26 feet, 2 inches. The shortest club in the bag is also the most fickle, and it often deserts a player under Sunday pressure. Rose’s iron play has been rock solid for much of his career, though. All of his ballstriking stats confirm that he’s in complete control. He’s fourth in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee (+1.16), sixth in fairways hit (28 of 42) and fifth in driving distance (286 yards). He hasn’t had to save par very often, but he feels like his short game has been there when he’s needed it. He’s made just three bogeys this week. And, he’s made 10 of 16 putts from 5-10 feet, helping him convert on so many of those strong iron shots. “Quite often, there’s one aspect of the game that doesn’t always feels good on the day, and you need something to back it up,â€� Rose said. “I feel like everything this week has been working at some point.â€� Grillo said the opening holes would be crucial to his chances Sunday. Rose birdied the first three to build a four-shot lead. He added another birdie at the sixth hole, then made just one birdie and one bogey the rest of the way. “You have to get off to a good start here,” Koepka said. “If you can birdie the first two, at least, put some pressure on Rosey, you’ll be just fine.” Rose was five shots ahead after Grillo’s bogey at the 15th hole, but Rose gave one back with a three-putt from the fringe on the 16th hole. Grillo had a chance to draw closer on the last hole, but missed an 11-foot birdie putt. Rose closed the day by sinking a 5-footer for par. “You can see how things can go both ways really quick,â€� Rose said. “That’s why there is no point in getting too far ahead of myself.â€�

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