Thomas birdies 2nd hole of playoff to win CJ Cup

LOS ANGELES - Sam Burns put on a show worthy of Hollywood, but reigning FedExCup champion Dustin Johnson sits poised in a log jam for second place heading to what promises to be a hard and fast weekend at The Genesis Invitational. Burns backed up his opening 64 with a 5-under 66 to set a tournament record 36-hole mark of 12 under at Riviera Country Club. It gave the 24-year-old former college standout a five-shot cushion over his four nearest competitors. Burns is rightfully confident his game can match it with anyone but if there is a player to fear at Riviera world No. 1 Johnson is likely the man. DJ is coming off a European Tour win a few weeks ago, but perhaps more threateningly has an incredible record at Riviera. Johnson won the tournament in 2017 and has nine top-10 finishes from his 13 appearances. And he has proven he can go low at the iconic course which stands to get tougher over the final two rounds. Johnson has more rounds of 66 or better than any player at this event over the last 14 years with 12 - a whopping seven more than the nearest competitors. He now has 211 birdies since 2008 at Riviera and is cumulatively 90-under. It's why DraftKings has Johnson at +250 to win the tournament, only slightly behind Burns at +225, despite the five-shot buffer. "I like my position. I’m five back, but on this golf course there’s only one guy in front of me," Johnson said. "I like where I’m at and I do like this golf course, and hopefully I can drive it a little bit better on the weekend and give myself a few more chances." Johnson leads the field in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green (+7.267) despite being somewhat uncharacteristically wayward off the tee. He has hit just 10 of 28 fairways to rank 102nd in a 120-man field in driving accuracy. But a text from his coach Claude Harmon pointing out a slight adjustment needed on his takeaway has Johnson even more confident he can surge ahead on moving day. Johnson's biggest bugbear came in the form of par-5 scoring. He has made just one birdie on the three par 5s over the opening two rounds despite the three holes playing as the easiest on the property. It leaves him ranked T94 on those holes. Burns is 5-under on the same holes. "One under is not going to get the job done over the weekend (on those holes). Definitely need to take advantage of the par 5s the next couple days," Johnson said. "But other than that I feel like I’m swinging my irons really well, I’m rolling the putter nicely, so looking forward to the weekend." While Johnson will fight it out for the title, fellow big hitters Bryson DeChambeau, Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas won't be around for the weekend after a tournament to forget. DeChambeau rebounded from his opening 75 with a 2-under 69 but was still two shots shy of further play while McIlroy (73-76) and Thomas (77-73) were well off the pace.

Click here to read the full article…

Round 2 begins today at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The strong field includes Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele and Hideki Matsuyama. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. ET (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (NBC). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 9:15 a.m.-7 p.m. ET (Featured Groups). Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. ET (Featured Groups), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Featured Holes) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 1 p.m.-7 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). NBC Sports EDGE BetCast: Get a bettor's view with insights and analysis, plus live odds powered by PointsBet. Thursday-Friday, 3:45 p.m. – 6:15 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 2 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. ET TOURCast: Get shot-by-shot info in real time with shot tracks and video with TOURCast. TOUR Pulse: Get the PGA TOUR app to utilize TOUR Pulse, which provides users the ability to experience a mix of content, such as video highlights, written hole summaries and stat graphics on every player after every hole they complete. FEATURED GROUPS Si Woo Kim, Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler Daniel Berger, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele Harris English, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas Webb Simpson, Gary Woodland, Hideki Matsuyama Click here for the Featured Groups roundtable. MUST READS Stricker turns back clock in Phoenix NeSmith, Hubbard share first-round lead A quieter Waste Management Phoenix Open Cut prediction: Waste Management Phoenix Open Inside the PGA TOUR’s nuttiest hole-in-one Why Webb Simpson is an outlier among golf’s elite Harry Higgs: ‘I just do it with a smile’ Justin Thomas optimistic about personal growth How missing crowds have affected scoring CALL OF THE DAY

Click here to read the full article…

PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Eight times this season, Sam Burns has been atop the leaderboard after every round except the one that mattered. That changed, finally, at the Valspar Championship. RELATED: Leaderboard | Winner’s Bag: Sam Burns, Valspar Championship Burns got some help from Keegan Bradley hitting into the water on the 13th hole, and then the 24-year-old from Louisiana took it from there with two big birdies that led to a 3-under 68 and a three-shot victory Sunday. Burns won for the first time on the PGA TOUR after twice failing to convert 54-hole leads in the Vivint Houston Open last fall and the Genesis Invitational at Riviera in February. The victory moves him into the top 50 in the world, 14th in the FedExCup and all but assures a spot in the U.S. Open, along with his first trip to the Masters next spring. Burns was wiping away tears when he tapped in for a meaningless bogey on the final hole, especially to see his wife, parents and other family members pour onto the green to celebrate the moment with him. “I’ve worked so hard for this moment,” Burns said. “They’ve all sacrificed so much.” He had reason to believe this moment could have come sooner. Burns wasted a good start at the season-opening Safeway Open. He closed with a 2-over 72 to tie for seventh in the Houston Open. He lost a two-shot lead at Riviera, coming up one shot short of a playoff. “Those moments in the past, you really learn a lot,” Burns said. “This week coming down the stretch, I tried to stick to our process.” Bradley and Burns were tied through 36 holes and 54 holes, and they stayed that way through 12 holes on another blistering day at the Copperhead course. That changed with one swing. Bradley came up well short on the par-3 13th and went into the water, leading to double bogey. Burns saved par with an 8-foot putt for a two-shot lead. Burns was three shots ahead through 13 holes on Saturday and he struggled to retain a share of the lead, so he knew what was possible. This time, though, Bradley had no chance. Burns followed with a wedge that stopped next to the hole for a tap-in birdie on the par-5 14th. He put Bradley away with a 7-iron to 18 feet and a birdie putt that brought the most emotion he showed all day, a hard fist slam. He had a four-shot lead with two holes to play, the water and worst hazards behind him. No one else had much of a chance. Max Homa briefly tied for the lead with a birdie on the par-5 opening hole. He didn’t make another birdie the rest of the day, missing several chances around the turn and ending his hopes with a double bogey on the par-3 15th without hitting into the water. He shot 74. Cameron Tringale was lurking but never seriously challenged. He shot 68 and shared third with Viktor Hovland, whose had a 65 but started too far back at the start of the day. Abraham Ancer (69) finished fifth. Burns built a quick two-shot lead on the front nine Sunday. Bradley answered with a pair of birdies, and then made a 15-foot birdie putt from the fringe on No. 9 to take a one-shot lead to the back nine. The final round started to take shape on the par-5 11th, both hitting wild tee shots and good escapes from the trees. Burns won the wedge contest, making a 15-footer for birdie, to tie for the lead. Bradley fell back with his double bogey and never caught up.

Click here to read the full article…