Thompson wins, Jutanugarn earns season honors

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Sahith Theegala crashed golf’s biggest party. Playing in the last group off the 10th tee Thursday in his first WM Phoenix Open start, Theegala was 7 under with two holes left when the round was suspended because of darkness. K.H. Lee was second after a 6-under 65. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Get to know Sahith Theegala in 10 stories “The big key for me, like always in my game, is just putting my driver in the fairway,” Theegala said. “I was able to do that early and often.” The 24-year-old former Pepperdine star got into the event on a sponsor exemption. “Super strong field, probably the strongest field I played in so far this year,” Theegala said. “I just figured it was like another free-roll opportunity, might as well take advantage of it and obviously super thankful that I got in.” The fans were back in full force on an 80-degree day at firm and fast TPC Scottsdale, with well over 100,000 on hand and a lot more expected Friday and Saturday. Last year, daily attendance was limited to 5,000 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I always love the fans here,” said defending champion Brooks Koepka, two strokes back after a 66. “I like playing in front of a lot of people. They cheer you when you hit a good one and boo you when you hit a bad one, which is what you deserve.” Theegala opened with a 16-foot birdie putt on No. 10 and made four straight birdies on Nos. 13-16, holing a 15-footer from the fringe on the stadium par-3 16th. “I got off to a pretty hot start,” Theegala said. “It was nice to see one go in on the first hole. That always kind of sets the tone.” The PGA TOUR rookie birdied the par-3 third and ran in a 30-footer on par-3 fourth. He will resume play Friday morning with a 16-foot par putt on the par-4 eighth. “I started hitting my driver a little squirrely at the end, so this is a welcome stop, honestly,” Theegala said. Adam Hadwin and Harry Higgs matched Koepka, also the 2015 winner, at 66. Scott Stallings also was 5 under with a hole left. Top-ranked Jon Rahm topped the group at 67. Lee tied for second last year, then went on to win the Byron Nelson three months later for his first PGA TOUR title. “Great start today, but I have a long way to go,” Lee said. Lee played a three-hole stretch in 4 under on his back nine, hitting to 4 feet on the par-4 12th, chipping in for eagle on the par-5 third and hitting to 3 feet on the par-3 fourth. The South Korean player closed with a 13-footer for birdie on No. 9. Rahm had four birdies in a bogey-free round, failing to birdie any of the three par-5 holes and three-putting the short par-4 17th. The Spaniard starred at Arizona State and lives a few miles from the course. “I’ve been able to win the Spanish Open twice and I carry that with a lot of honor,” Rahm said. “And this is kind of essentially home away from home.” FedExCup champion Patrick Cantlay also was at 67 with Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, Louis Oosthuizen, Charley Hoffman, Alex Noren, Bubba Watson, Stewart Cink, Kevin Kisner and Billy Horschel. Cantlay is making his first appearance in the event. Hideki Matsuyama shot a 68. The Masters champion won in Scottsdale in 2016 and 2017. Hadwin had five birdies in a late six-hole stretch, capped by 20-footers on 16 and 17. After a breezy period in the morning, it was mostly calm in the afternoon, with the firm greens making it difficult to hit shots close. “They were definitely firmer for a Thursday,” Higgs said after his afternoon round. “They don’t have weather here, so this place gets concrete come Saturday, Sunday.” Graeme McDowell also was at 68 after his first round in the event since 2006. “This is a quite the show here, quite the party and quite the atmosphere,” McDowell said. “The golf course is sensational. Not sure I’ve seen a better-conditioned golf course than this one and it’s playing firm and fast, which kind of suits my game a little bit.”

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Round 1 belonged to Kevin Streelman and Beau Hossler, who fires a flawless, 7-under 63s to tie for the lead after 18 holes. TOUR rookies Julian Suri and Aaron Wise trail by just a stroke, while Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson all postes sub-par rounds early. Another day, another course in Monterey. Who shines in Round 2 at Pebble Beach? THE STARS ARE OUT: Tony Romo, Aaron Rodgers, Justin Verlander, Larry the Cable Guy and all the other celebrity faces. FULL FIELD: Defending champion Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and more! Round 2 tee times Round 2 leaderboard HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN TELEVISION: Friday, 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 2-3:30 p.m. (GC), 4-7 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, 1-2:30 p.m. (GC), 3-6:30 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Friday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-6 p.m. (featured holes). Saturday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. (featured holes). Sunday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. (featured holes). RADIO: Friday, 12-6 p.m. ET. Saturday, 1-7 p.m. Sunday, 1-6:30 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com) NOTABLE PAIRINGS (All times Eastern) * – Notable amateur PEBBLE BEACH GOLF LINKS Pat Perez, Vaughn Taylor 11:11 a.m. off the 10th tee Jon Rahm, Patrick Cantlay 11:22 a.m. off the 1st tee Bubba Watson, Aaron Baddeley 12:50 p.m. off the 1st tee Bryson DeChambeau, Jim Herman 1:01 p.m. off the 1st tee SPYGLASS HILL Patrick Reed, Paul Casey 12:50 p.m. off the 1st tee Graeme McDowell, Sangmoon Bae 12:50 p.m. off the 10th tee Beau Hossler, Cameron Davis 1:01 p.m. off the 10th tee MONTEREY PENINSULA Brandt Snedeker, Matt Kuchar 11:11 a.m. off the 1st tee Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy 11:11 a.m. off the 10th tee D.A. Points, Chris Stroud, Bill Murray*, Darius Rucker* 11:22 a.m. off the 10th tee Russell Knox, Jimmy Walker, Justin Verlander* 12:06 p.m. off the 1st tee Mac Hughes, Kevin Na, Steve Young*, Alex Smith* 12:17 p.m. off the 10th tee Jerry Kelly, Kevin Streelman, Aaron Rodgers*, Larry Fitzgerald* 12:39 p.m. off the 10th tee Jason Day, William McGirt, Alfonso Ribeiro* 12:50 p.m. off the 1st tee Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Wayne Gretzky*, Jake Owen* 1:01 p.m. off the 10th tee Keith Mitchell, Tom Lovelady, Ray Romano*, Larry the Cable Guy* 1:12 p.m. off the 10th tee

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Cameron Young didn’t win The 150th Open at the Old Course at St. Andrews on Sunday, but he still accomplished a lot. By carding a final-round 65, including a 17-foot eagle putt at the last to reach 19 under par – solo second, one short of playing partner Cameron Smith (64) – Young took a step toward potentially winning PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year honors. The Wake Forest product may also have inched closer to making the U.S. Presidents Cup Team, which will play the International Team at Quail Hollow Club this fall. “I think I gave myself a really nice chance (to win),” said Young, 25, who three-putted the first hole for bogey but mostly dazzled with seven birdies and an eagle. “Frustrating to come up short, but, overall, I think I had a really good week, and I think I hung in there really well today.” Other than his rough start, his only other misstep was a drive into an unplayable lie at the ninth, leading to another bogey. Otherwise, Young showed no rookie nerves. He was vying to become the 11th player, and second straight after Collin Morikawa last year, to win in his Open debut. Although fellow Wake Forest alumnus Will Zalatoris has gotten more publicity for his clutch play in the majors, Young may be developing that reputation, too. He tied for third at the PGA Championship in May and has been flirting with his first TOUR win all season. He finished T2 at the Wells Fargo Championship, T3 at the RBC Heritage, T2 at The Genesis Invitational, and T2 at the Sanderson Farms Championship. He knew he needed something special for the fourth round of The Open. And he produced it. Alas, so did Smith, who made eight birdies and no bogeys. “It probably hurts a little worse to come up one shot short,” said Young, who is projected to move from 18th to 13th in the FedExCup standings, tops amongst the rookies with three tournaments remaining in the regular season. “If you lose by eight you don’t really care. But, yeah, I played well today.” He knew that even an eagle at the last might not be enough, what with Smith on a roll. “I would have signed up for 65 this morning,” he said. “And to watch Cameron shoot what he did, it was pretty amazing. I think I handled it pretty well. Not as much as some of those other guys, but I’ve at least been around the lead a lot this year. On the PGA TOUR. In a major. So it’s not the first time I’ve been in that situation. “And the more I put myself there,” he continued, “I think I said at the PGA (Championship), one of these times I’ll shoot 5 under on the back and that will be enough. And today I did. And it wasn’t. So I guess one of these times I’ll shoot 6 (under) on the back on Sunday and that will be enough.”

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