Tiger Woods builds momentum with 66 in final round at THE NORTHERN TRUST

DALLAS – In many ways, Sung Kang’s performance this week at the AT&T Byron Nelson resembled his play two years ago – and 230 miles south down Interstate 45 – at the Houston Open. He tied the course record in the second round. He separated himself from the field entering the weekend. And he went into Sunday a little bit fatigued and facing an early tee time, all the while wearing a target on his back. It did not go well two years ago. Kang played conservative those last 36 holes, watched Russell Henley make 10 birdies in the final round, and had to settle for second place. It was his best result on the PGA TOUR, but the lesson was a cruel one. And yet oh so valuable. What Kang learned two years ago, he put into action Sunday at Trinity Forest. RELATED: Final leaderboard | Winner’s bag | Updated FedExCup standings Knowing the scores were going to be low in the soft, windless conditions making this course defenseless, Kang knew he could not play conservative. And knowing it would be a long day – thanks to Saturday’s rain delay, he woke up early Sunday to play the remaining nine holes of his third round, followed by 18 more in the final round – Kang was determined to prevent fatigue (both mentally and physically) from impacting his score. So he asked caddie Jason Shortall to keep the between-shot banter light, to “just keep telling me about the funny things and that I can laugh and forget about the golf for awhile,â€� said the 31-year-old South Korean. The payoff came on the back nine, as Kang eventually broke away from playing partners Matt Every and Scott Piercy to win his first TOUR event in 159 career starts, shooting a final-round 4-under 67 to win by two. That victory moves Kang to 21st in the FedExCup standings and also improves his resume as a potential International Team member for this year’s Presidents Cup. “Dream come true,â€� said Kang, who lives in Coppell, Texas, about 30 minutes from Trinity Forest. “When I just started playing golf, I really dream about this, winning PGA TOUR event and it finally happened.â€� Kang set up his victory after tying the course record with a 61 on Friday. Two years ago, he shot a second-round 63 that tied the course record at the Golf Club of Houston and gave him a six-shot lead. But he shot 71-72 that weekend. Anything in the 70s this weekend in South Dallas would not be good enough. So Kang started the back nine of his third round Sunday morning with three birdies in his first five holes, leading to a 68 that gave him a three-shot lead over Every and five on Piercy and Brooks Koepka. Once the leaders teed off in the final round, it didn’t take long for Kang to be caught. Piercy birdied six of his first eight holes; Every was 4 under on his first six holes. Meanwhile, Kang was even par on his first seven holes and lost the lead. This time, he was determined not to be left in the dust. He rolled in an 8-foot birdie putt at the eighth, nearly holed his approach shot at the ninth, then birdied the 10th with a 14-footer to reclaim the lead. A poor tee shot at the par-3 12th left him in thick rough, and he hacked out into a greenside bunker. But he bounced back from that bogey with another three-birdie run, starting with a two-putt birdie at the par-5 14th and a 22-1/2 foot birdie putt at the par-4 15th. Piercy had a similar line on a longer putt, and Shortall raced over to check it once Piercy struck the ball. When Every bogeyed, Kang led by two. “I knew that was going to be the most important putt for this week,â€� Kang said. “… I had a read from him and I was really going to make this one in. This probably will give me the trophy. I really focused. I just saw the picture and went in.â€� It was the par-4 16th where Kang then put the tournament away. He and Every both had approach shots inside 100 yards from the same side of the fairway. Kang stuck his to 7 feet, setting up his third straight birdie; Every could not match, finishing 28 feet from the pin. “I kind of gassed it a little coming in on 15,â€� Every said. “Couple of those left pins, I like to fade it, wind off to the left, just disaster left, which is not a good set-up for me. I could have hit better shots.â€� But Every, looking for his first TOUR victory since his second consecutive Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard victory in 2015, was impressed by what he saw from Kang. They were paired for all 72 holes this week. “Sung played really good,â€� Every said. “It would have been tough to beat him.â€� Kang now becomes the 10th different Korean player to win on the PGA TOUR. The best of them, K.J. Choi, an eight-time winner, gave Kang a call going into the weekend. His advice? “Just play your game. Don’t change anything,â€� Kang recalled. Things, however, will change now. They always do for first-time TOUR winners.

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SYDNEY – Rory McIlroy was heading toward the end of 2013 feeling pretty ordinary after a winless year. Jordan Spieth was doing the same in 2014. And now Jason Day, who started 2017 as No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking but now sits 12th on the global list, is heading into the holiday season without a new trophy to admire. On each occasion, the criticism had started. The questions about what was wrong with them had well and truly begun. We hold our superstars to a high standard you see. Under pressure, McIlroy headed to Sydney in his off-season to play the Australian Open and ultimately won it by taking down a red-hot Adam Scott on Sunday. Scott had won the Masters at Augusta that season and was coming off wins at the Australian Masters and Australian PGA Championship in earlier weeks. But McIlroy came over the top of the national hero on Sunday and ultimately went on to dominate in 2014, winning The Open Championship, the PGA Championship, the World Golf Championships–Bridgestone Invitational and the BMW PGA Championship on the European Tour. He was PGA TOUR Player of the Year and laid some credit on his Australian win for the resurgence. “I did take a lot from that victory,â€� McIlroy said as he lined up for his title defense in Sydney in 2014. “It was my one and only victory of 2013 but it ended the year for me on a high and gave me momentum going into 2014.â€� But that week in Sydney wouldn’t go the same way for McIlroy. Instead, it was Spieth’s turn. The Texan shot a still much talked about 8-under 63 in brutal winds on Sunday to bury the demons he was facing for not being able to close out multiple chances to win on the PGA TOUR that year. The following season, just like McIlroy, he would win two majors and be Player of the Year. Spieth actually won five times and claimed the FedExCup in a sensational season. “The Australian Open may have been the most important tournament that I’ve ever played in because at the time, it had been maybe a year and a half since winning the John Deere in that playoff where I kind of squeaked in, luckily,â€� Spieth said. “Going there to an elite field with the world No. 1 player (McIlroy at the time) and obviously with the local favorite Adam (Scott) and with a venue like The Australian, to put myself in a position and just have a level of patience that I had not had when I was in contention prior to that was important.â€� So now, it is Day’s turn. After a year to forget that has seen his standing in the OWGR slide quickly, the now 30-year-old has a chance for his first win since THE PLAYERS Championship 2016. Through two rounds at The Australian Golf Club the 10-time PGA TOUR winner Day sits at 8-under and just one shot behind 21-year-old leader Lucas Herbert. Cameron Davis, a 22-year-old, is a shot back at 7-under with Anthony Quayle, at 23 at 6-under. Clearly Day is the favorite with two rounds to go with TOUR winners Cameron Smith and Matt Jones five off the lead and Spieth eight shots adrift. The chance to create a springboard to a comeback season has not been lost on him. “I haven’t won this year. But this would be a nice little end of the year cap, just to know that it wasn’t such a disappointing year,â€� Day said. “This is a huge kind of confidence builder for me this week and if I can somehow pull the win off, that would be great. “A win is a win, regardless of where you are, where you play. To have the Stonehaven Cup on the mantel would be great. It would be a good kick start going to next year’s season, back on the PGA TOUR. “I just know how Jordan’s done from having the confidence coming from this event and going forward and winning two majors the year after and having a lot of confidence going to the start of the year.â€� Speaking of Spieth, Day won’t rest despite the healthy gap between the pair. While those closest to Day have merely fractions of experience in winning big events, Spieth is still a factor. “If he gets something going on the weekend he can hole a lot of putts and make a lot of birdies and make a charge, and usually he does make a charge on the weekend,â€� Day said. “Seven strokes is obviously not enough but I’d like to keep pushing forward and hopefully I don’t see him in my rear view mirror at all.â€� If Day does surge ahead this weekend, be sure to remember it when picking your 2018 major winners.

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Despite published reports that indicate he is leaving the PGA Tour for the rival LIV Golf circuit, Australia’s Cameron Smith said Tuesday that he’s preparing to win the FedEx Cup playoffs and is a “man of my word.”

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