TOUR Championship: How they will begin with ‘Starting Strokes’

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Tiger Woods’ revolutionary state-of-the-art entertainment complex PopStroke is set to reveal its first location outside of Florida next week with the 82-time PGA TOUR winner taking to Twitter on Tuesday to confirm the new Houston, Texas location will open on December 16. The complex is a modern take on miniature golf that features two 18-hole putting courses designed by Woods’ TGR Design team along with a restaurant, full-service bar and family-friendly amenities. The Houston PopStroke location will be the fifth fully operational venue, with the first opening in Port St. Lucie, Florida earlier this year and others already running in Fort Meyers, Sarasota and Orlando. Future plans have locations opening in Glendale and Scottsdale, Arizona, as well as Tampa and Delray, Florida, both scheduled for 2023. “Putting is a universal part of golf that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and skill levels,” Woods stated in a press release last year. “It has been rewarding to see the broad and diverse group of guests enjoying their experience at PopStroke, and I look forward to seeing players make those long putts in locations throughout the South and Southwest. Each new location will have a different course design and layout giving players unique putting challenges as they travel across the country.” Gone are the windmills and animatronics of old, replaced by brutal bunkers, swerving undulation, and hole locations fitting the tastes of the 15-time major winner himself. While playing a full-length Tiger Woods’ designed course might break the bank of the average golfer, a full day of play at PopStroke will run around $25 for adults, with discounted rates for children. “Some of my happiest memories are spending time with my pops on the golf course having putting contests,” Woods says via the PopStroke website. “I’m looking forward to others enjoying time with their kids at PopStroke.” Woods will take to the course with his own son, Charlie, at the PNC Championship later this month. The duo will look to win this year after coming in second to John Daly and his son in last year’s event in one of the most popular events of the fall season.

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SILVIS, Ill.  — Patrick Rodgers is 18 holes away from his first PGA TOUR win. But the 25-year-old former Stanford star knows that it’ll likely take a lower score than the one he shot Saturday to secure such a milestone victory. Rodgers shot a 3-under 68 in the third round, maintaining a two-stroke lead in the John Deere Classic. Rodgers had a 16-under 197 total at TPC Deere Run. He’s trying to become the third player in five years to win the Quad Cities event for his first PGA TOUR title. “It’s going to be a shootout because there’s a lot of birdies to be made out here, and I’m going to have to make my fair share in order to stay at the top,” Rodgers said. Daniel Berger had a 63 to match Scott Stallings (64) at 14 under. Nicholas Lindheim (66) was 13 under, and Jamie Lovemark (66), Bryson DeChambeau (70) and J.J. Henry (68) were another stroke back. Area favorite Zach Johnson had a 70 to drop five strokes back. Rodgers, who opened with rounds of 65 and 64, was hampered by a pair of bogeys. But Rodgers also had five birdies, and he saved par on the 17th after hitting his tee shot into the gallery. “I wasn’t as sharp as I was the past couple of days. So, I guess I did a good job mentally to get in at 3-under par,” Rodgers said. “All in all, if you told me at the start of the day that I’d have the same lead I started with, that’s a positive thing.” Berger, who won the FedEx St. Jude Classic last month in Memphis and lost a playoff at the Travelers Championship in his last event when Jordan Spieth holed out a bunker shot, birdied seven of his first 11 holes. Six of those birdie putts came from inside 10 feet. Berger and Rodgers are among four players with a tournament-high 19 birdies. “In Memphis I drove the ball phenomenally. This week I haven’t driven it that well, but I’ve kind of kept it in play for the most part and I’ve made a bunch of putts, which has been the difference,” said Berger, one of only two players in the top 10 in the FedExCup standings in the field. Stallings shot a 30 on the back nine and eagled the par-5 17th hole with a 22-foot putt. He’s shot back-to-back 64s after opening with a 71 on Thursday. “I can’t control what anyone else does. I couldn’t event tell you some of the other guys that are on the leaderboard,” Stallings said. “We’ve gotten ourselves this far, and we’re happy to be in the position we’re in Johnson, a Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native who won at TPC Deere Run in 2012 and notched six top-three finishes in his last eight appearances, again drew the biggest galleries. But he followed an eagle on the 14th hole with a double bogey on No. 15. Bubba Watson’s decision to skip the Scottish Open for the chance to accumulate FedExCup points might not work out in his favor. Watson had a 68 and was tied for 57th at 6 under. Kelly Kraft made arguably the day’s most impressive shot on No. 17. His tee shot landed on a walkway behind a hospitality tent, and Kraft hit his second shot over 200 yards and eventually saved par.

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