Tony Finau, Taylor Pendrith share 54-hole lead at Rocket Mortgage Classic

JACKSON, Miss. — Keegan Bradley likes the way he’s putting. He must really like the idea that the birdie putts he made Friday on his way to a 7-under 65 were not terribly far from the hole. In his debut at the Country Club of Jackson, Bradley made three straight birdies on the back nine to take the lead and closed with another short birdie putt to take a two-shot lead over J.T. Poston and Charley Hoffman. RELATED: Full Sanderson Farms leaderboard | Why Garcia is putting with his eyes closed | Daffue keeps dream in sight Bradley, whose victory in the BMW Championship at Aronimink two years ago was his only title in the last eight years, was at 13-under 131. Poston made five birdies on the back nine for a 67, while Hoffman shot 69. “I had a blast today playing,” Bradley said. “It’s so fun to be done with the round, done with 36 holes and say, `Man, that was a fun time.’ Sometimes it’s not fun at all. What a great day, and I’m bringing a lot to the weekend that I’m happy about.” It hasn’t been much fun in the last year for Bradley, who won the PGA Championship as a rookie. He hasn’t had a top 10 since his runner-up finish at the Travelers Championship in June 2019. But he likes how he’s playing and how he’s putting on the fast, pure Bermuda greens. Also having a blast is M.J. Daffue of South Africa, who gets by on Monday qualifiers and is giving himself another chance. Daffue was a Monday qualifier for the Workday Charity Open at Muirfield Village, birdied his last hole of the second round to make the cut and tied for 22nd. This was his third time Monday qualifying since July. Daffue, a 31-year-old who played college golf at Lamar, goes week-to-week, so it shouldn’t be too difficult for him to avoid looking ahead. “Trying to do everything at once — get all those points at once or trying to win — it will really eat at you,” Daffue said. “So I’m just trying to chip away at it. I’m in a good position. Try to get to a target score for the week and just keep hitting the shots and try to hit good putts.” Kevin Chappell, among four players who shared the lead after the first round, appeared to be on his way to setting a target in the morning and getting some separation. He followed a 64 with five birdies on the front nine — along with a bogey on the par-5 fifth hole — to reach 12 under. But then he three-putted the 10th. He chopped his way along the left side of the par-5 11th and made double bogey on the third-easiest hole at Country Club of Jackson. He dropped another shot on the 12th. Chappell shot 40 on the back nine and had to settle for a 72, leaving him five shots back. “I’ve got as much firepower as I need,” Chappell said. “I’ve got to figure out the bad stuff and limit. I’m physically going to make bad golf swings and hit it in bad places. That’s just kind of where my game is at the moment. But I compounded some mistakes out there and let it get out of hand. Those are the things I’ve got to stop.” He was in the group at 8-under 136 along with Sergio Garcia (68), Anirban Lahiri (70) and Brandt Snedeker (66). Garcia, making his Sanderson Farms Championship, was putting with his eyes closed. He says he has been doing that a majority of the time all the way back to 2017 when he won the Masters, and sounded surprised to get so many questions. It was good news for Jay McLuen, another Monday qualifier who suffered a heart attack three years ago and was treated with shock paddles in the ambulance. Then, his wife nearly died in April when a tractor fell on them. He shot 71 and wound up making the cut on the number. He also made the cut in the Puerto Rico Open, where he was given a sponsor exemption.

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Greetings, gang. Say hello to the beginning of the remainder of the season. The Sentry Tournament of Champions is tournament No. 9 of 46, but it’s the first since Charles Howell III became the last to qualify with victory at The RSM Classic on Nov. 18. The impossibly short, official offseason that exists between the TOUR Championship and Safeway Open contributes to many leagues sitting out the fall. If you’re in one and new to reading this weekly column, I review numerous notables for every tournament even though my little league competes in all 46 tournaments. Whether it was leading off the season (through 2013) or since it’s served as the annual restart in the wraparound era, the limited-field affair on the Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort always has rolled out like a soft open. It’s real business, just sans the stress that goes with what’s at stake beginning with next week’s Sony Open in Hawaii. All 34 in the field on Maui are fully exempt on the PGA TOUR through at least 2019-20 and there is no cut. It’s a time to live large and get fat. They’ve earned it. Customarily eliminating all nine first-time participants, including Rory McIlroy, Kevin Tway, Cameron Champ and Aaron Wise, logic encourages us to throw a haymaker at the piñata with 500 FedExCup points awaiting the one who breaks it open. After all, the likes of Dustin Johnson (twice), Patrick Reed, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas all have prevailed on Kapalua in the last six years, and none was a tournament debutant. Yet, because the event arrives so early in the season, and because you’d need to emerge victorious to think that burning a behemoth was worth it, only those in pursuit should consider the option. Otherwise, holstering the like of DJ, Thomas, Jason Day and Brooks Koepka for the majors and Playoffs is smart. Note that I didn’t loop Reed into that short list. As roster gamers would be quick to explain, and given how his ownership percentages have tracked over time, he’s not a guy who’s expected to contend for victory often. He’s the guy who’ll get you a top 15 or top 25. However, at Kapalua and in the One & Done, he’s an easy endorsement. Jon Rahm already has built a portfolio of sites at which we’re more comfortable than where Reed presents strongly, but the Spaniard is comin’ in hot. With last year’s (distant) runner-up finish at Kapalua, he’s also one of the rare success stories in a first appearance. This sets up to be a banner year, so he’ll continue to attract our attention, but he’s not quite at the level of the others in whom we have more trust on the bigger stages. Marc Leishman sits No. 1 in my Power Rankings, but note that the Sentry TOC doesn’t even qualify as one of his sensible spots in Future Possibilities. Perhaps next year. The same goes for Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Webb Simpson and Francesco Molinari. Holster. Bubba Watson is making his season debut this week. The tournament slots third among his targets, but there’s a massive drop-off after the Genesis Open (1) and Travelers Championship (2), both of which he’s defending this season. Reduce your pick to one of those two. Because of the format and the depth eventually reached over the course of the season, two-man gamers are not instructed to dismiss first-timers. Combined with guaranteed FedExCup points and earnings, the limited field warrants consideration for Champ or Wise to ride shotgun. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2018-19. The numerical values in parentheses represent the order of relative confidence of where to use each golfer if multiple sites are listed (e.g. 1 for strongest, 2 for next-strongest and so on). To present weighted confidence in real time, numerical values will not change all season no matter how many tournament remain listed for each golfer. All are pending golfer commitment. Keegan Bradley … Farmers (2); Memorial (5); Travelers (4) Paul Casey … WGC-Mexico (6); Honda (10); Valspar (7; defending); WGC-Match Play (8); Masters (2); Wells Fargo (9); Travelers (1); TOUR Championship (3) Jason Day … Sentry (8); Farmers (2; defending); Pebble Beach (1); Arnold Palmer (5); PLAYERS (7); WGC-Match Play (11); Masters (4); Wells Fargo (6 defending); PGA Championship (3); U.S. Open (10); Open Championship (9) Bryson DeChambeau … Waste Management (5); Arnold Palmer (3); Heritage (1);  Memorial (2; defending); Travelers (4); John Deere (7) Billy Horschel … Honda (4); Arnold Palmer (7); Valero (2); New Orleans (3; defending); Wyndham (6); TOUR Championship (1) Charles Howell III … Sony (3); Desert Classic (4); Farmers (1) Dustin Johnson … Sentry (4; defending); Pebble Beach (2); Genesis (3); WGC-Mexico (5); Masters (8); PGA Championship (11); Memorial (10); U.S. Open (1); WGC-St. Jude (6); TOUR Championship (7) Brooks Koepka … WGC-Match Play (3); Masters (7); PGA Championship (2; defending); Charles Schwab (6); U.S. Open (1; two-time defending); Open Championship (8) Matt Kuchar … Sony (3); Waste Management (4); PLAYERS (5); Valspar (9); Masters (6); Heritage (2); Charles Schwab (7); Memorial (1); Open Championship (8) Marc Leishman … Farmers (2); Arnold Palmer (1); Byron Nelson (6); Memorial (4); Travelers (3); Open Championship (8) Rory McIlroy … Arnold Palmer (2; defending); Masters (4); Wells Fargo (3); Memorial (5); Travelers (8); Open Championship (1); TOUR Championship (6) Francesco Molinari … Desert Classic (5); Arnold Palmer (2); PLAYERS (3); Wells Fargo (6); PGA Championship (4); Open Championship (1; defending) Kevin Na … Genesis (2); Valspar (6); Charles Schwab (3); Wyndham (5) Scott Piercy … Sony (3); New Orleans (1; co-defending); Canadian (7; last winner at Hamilton in 2012) Jon Rahm … Sentry (2); Desert Classic (3; defending); Farmers (6); Waste Management (4); Masters (5); Charles Schwab (1); TOUR Championship (7) Patrick Reed … Sentry (2); Pebble Beach (6); Valspar (1); Masters (5; defending); PGA Championship (4); U.S. Open (3); Travelers (7) Xander Schauffele … Genesis (6); PLAYERS (5); U.S. Open (3); Open Championship (4); TOUR Championship (1) Webb Simpson … Sony (3); Desert Classic (11); Waste Management (2); Honda (10); PLAYERS (5; defending); Heritage (6); Wells Fargo (7); Charles Schwab (8); Travelers (9); Wyndham (1) Brandt Snedeker … Sentry (4); Farmers (3); Waste Management (8); Pebble Beach (2); Masters (10); Heritage (6); Charles Schwab (7); U.S. Open (5); Travelers (9); Wyndham (1; defending) Justin Thomas … Sentry (6); Sony (4); WGC-Mexico (2); Honda (7; defending); PLAYERS (11); PGA Championship (9); Memorial (8); TOUR Championship (3) Bubba Watson … Sentry (3); Waste Management (4); Genesis (1; defending); WGC-Match Play (6; defending); Masters (5); Memorial (7); Travelers (2; defending); TOUR Championship (8) Gary Woodland … Sony (1); Farmers (2); Waste Management (3; defending); Memorial (4)

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ATLANTA – Brooks Koepka has the confidence to pose for nude photos. He has the composure to withstand the final-round pressure in golf’s biggest events. There may not be a more intimidating figure in the game today. But Koepka admitted that he was “freaking outâ€� about his game on Tuesday. He was in “full-panic modeâ€� on Thursday after sailing a tee shot 75 yards right of the 10th fairway. And yet, Koepka is the leader at the halfway point of the TOUR Championship. He was trailing Justin Thomas by three shots when play got underway at East Lake. Now Koepka is one stroke ahead of Thomas and Rory McIlroy with 36 holes remaining in the season finale. Xander Schauffele is two back. Related: Leaderboard | Casey pulls wrong club on 18 | Koepka discusses Body Issue After winning three times this season, including a major and World Golf Championship, Koepka has all but clinched a second consecutive Player of the Year Award. He’s two days from authoring the perfect ending to another dominant season. Koepka said late Friday his game is headed in the right direction heading into the weekend. He made that statement with his words and two 5-irons he hit on East Lake’s closing holes. The first came on the 229-yard 15th, where he laced his tee shot to the middle of the island green to set up a two-putt par on the day’s most difficult hole. Three holes later, he scared the hole with his 239-yard second shot, leaving himself just 9 feet for eagle. He missed the putt, but the birdie was enough to take the solo lead. Koepka shot 67 in each of the first two rounds at East Lake. “I feel better. I don’t feel like I’m clicking 100%, but it’s definitely close,â€� Koepka said. “There are shots where it’s like, ‘How did I just do that?’ And there are some shots where I’m like, ‘Man, why can’t I do that every time,’ like on 18.â€� He’ll play alongside Thomas in Saturday’s final group. The pairing will feature the past two PGA TOUR Players of the Year. Two years ago, Thomas’ capped a five-win campaign with a FedExCup triumph. He didn’t win the TOUR Championship, finishing second to Schauffele, but still claimed the season-long prize. That scenario doesn’t exist anymore. Under this year’s new format, the man atop the leaderboard Sunday afternoon will win both the FedExCup and TOUR Championship. Thomas shot 70-68 on Thursday and Friday, but is just one back thanks to the starting strokes he was awarded as the leader of the FedExCup. He won last week’s BMW Championship to take the top spot in the FedExCup standings. That earned him a two-stroke lead over the field at the start of the week. “I thought it was going to be easy for me to just play a tournament. It wasn’t. At least for me it wasn’t,â€� Thomas said about playing Thursday with a pre-tournament lead. “I thought it was difficult to stay aggressive, but then again, I wasn’t driving it very well, so I couldn’t be aggressive. “I don’t know, it was odd, but today definitely felt more normal.â€� He drove the ball better Friday, but his momentum was interrupted by a weather delay that hit just as the final groups were making the turn. Thomas and Koepka were both 13 under, and three shots clear of the field, when play was halted. Thomas missed just one fairway on the front nine while focusing on shortening his backswing. He only hit one on the back nine, though, and failed to make a birdie. He had to scramble just to shoot 1-over 36 on the last nine. There was a flop shot to save par on the 15th, and then a good bogey save at the 17th, where he bladed a fairway-bunker shot over the green. He missed a 6-foot birdie putt on the last hole after a good wedge shot. “It would be hard for me to say that (the delay) didn’t kind of stop my momentum because I was playing really flawlessly, I felt like, that front nine,â€� Thomas said. He has hit less than half his fairways this week (13 of 28) to rank 25th in the 30-man field in driving accuracy. He insists he’s driving it better than the statistics indicate, but the rough is so penal at East Lake that one foot can make a big difference. He had to lay up on 18 after his tee shot just trickled into the rough. “That’s the difference between me being able to hit a 4-iron and trying to make a 3 and then I’m just trying to get it over the water,â€� Thomas said. “That’s a big difference at East Lake.â€� Thomas and McIlroy are trying to join Tiger Woods as the only two-time champions in the FedExCup’s 12-year history. McIlroy won the TOUR Championship and FedExCup in 2016. He started the week five off the lead but shot 66-67 in the first two rounds. McIlroy finished Friday’s round by saving par from a greenside bunker on 16, sinking a 15-foot birdie putt on 17 and hitting a 25-yard chip to 3 feet for a closing birdie. “When they cleared the course. I was even par, sort of neutral, a nice thing for me to reset, and I thought, ‘OK, let’s give myself a goal here. Let’s play the last nine holes at 3 under par,’ and I was able to do that. It worked nicely for me.â€� McIlroy has 13 top-10s this season, including wins at THE PLAYERS and RBC Canadian Open. He leads the TOUR in Strokes Gained: Total, as well. He said before the tournament started that he believes a FedExCup victory could give him a case for the Player of the Year Award. He’ll have to earn it, though. Three of the game’s top players sit atop the leaderboard as the TOUR Championship heads to the weekend.

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