Walking makes a comeback in golf

LAS VEGAS — Rory McIlroy was trying to illustrate how deep the talent pool is on the PGA TOUR by sharing a story about how impressed he was with Keith Mitchell the first time they played together. RELATED: Leaderboard | Rory McIlroy’s prediction coming true at THE CJ CUP Mitchell is providing McIlroy and everyone else with plenty of more fodder through two rounds of THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT. One day after matching his career low with a 62, Mitchell followed that with an 8-under 64 on Friday to build a five-shot shot lead going into the weekend at The Summit Club. Jordan Spieth had eight birdies and an eagle to counter a few soft bogeys for a 65 and was tied for second along with Harry Higgs (67) and Seonghyeon Kim (63), one of eight South Korean players who will be in the second stage of Korn Ferry Tour qualifying next week. Joining them was Adam Scott, who had two eagles on his last five holes and played his last seven holes in 8 under for a 63. Mitchell was at 18-under 126, breaking by five shots his best 36-hole score on TOUR. “I spent a lot of time in the last few days leading up to this tournament working hard on my game and it’s showing,” said Mitchell, whose lone victory was in the Honda Classic two years ago. “I’m very thankful for that. Just shows you that hard work pays off as long as you’re doing the right things.” Not much has gone wrong for Mitchell. He was between clubs on No. 10 and had to scramble for par. That indecision carried over to the tee on the par-3 11th where his worst swing of the day led to his lone bogey. He answered with three birdies the rest of the way to widen his lead. “If I’m sitting here saying I’m 18 under with only two bad swings, I’m going to take it every time,” Mitchell said. Scores were even lower than the opening round, at least for most players in the 78-man field. That wasn’t the case for Robert Streb, who opened with a 61 and was six shots behind when he started his round. Streb was 11 shots worse with a 72. Abraham Ancer made an albatross by holing out from the fairway on the par-5 14th with a shot that rolled onto the green and broke some 30 feet to the left and right into the cup. Dustin Johnson nearly had one on the par-5 third. His second shot banged into the middle of the spin and settled a few inches away. The world’s No. 2 player started with a 74, shot a 66 and actually lost ground. He was 14 shots behind. Spieth hit a 3-wood so pure that he told his caddie as the ball was in flight that it was a shot he couldn’t have hit last year when he was struggling with his game. That led to an eagle on the par-5 sixth, and while he’s still five back, he is in range. “Everybody would have signed for 18 through two rounds,” Spieth said. “I think the hardest part is regrouping and almost feeling like you start fresh to put your foot on the gas pedal versus tapping the brakes.” Spieth would rather be five shots ahead, though he doesn’t mind a five-shot in one respect. “That will help me keep the foot on the gas pedal,” Spieth said. That’s the only way to fly around The Summit, which doesn’t provide too much stress as long as shots are kept in the grass instead of the desert. McIlroy brought up Mitchell at the start of the week when the topic turned to how hard it is to win on the PGA TOUR. He thought back to the Wells Fargo Championship in May, when he played the final round with Mitchell, trailing by two shots. “He came out and he hits it in the left bunker on 1, hits an unbelievable 7-iron to like 10 feet and holes he putt,” McIlroy said. “People wouldn’t maybe pick a Keith Mitchell to win a tournament at the start of the week, but you play with him in a final round on a Sunday, he stopped me in my tracks. I was like, ‘He is a hell of a player.’ “People don’t realize … I mean, you could say that about 100 guys out there,” McIlroy said. “That’s the thing. You turn up to a PGA TOUR event, you feel like three-quarters of the field have a chance to win.” The best chance belongs to Mitchell, who knows a thing or two about depth on the tour. Anyone can low at any minute, especially in conditions like this. Ian Poulter played with Mitchell and had rounds of 66-67. He was seven behind. “We’re trying to birdie every hole on the golf course and you can’t be any more aggressive than that,” Poulter said. “It’s just the first two rounds that Keith has played is pretty impressive. Eighteen under for two days is some good golf.”

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PGATOUR.COM: This year marks the sixth year of the Morgan Stanley Eagles for Impact Challenge – can you tell us a little more about this initiative and First Tee, your new charitable partner? Alice Milligan: Morgan Stanley has a longstanding commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and providing the next generation of diverse youth with the tools they need to succeed. When we became a Proud Partner of THE PLAYERS, we developed the Eagles for Impact Challenge which has allowed us to celebrate great golf shots while giving back. Inspired by Morgan Stanley’s Institute for Inclusion – which was launched in June of 2020 to accelerate an integrated diversity, equity and inclusion strategy driving change within our firm and beyond – we have focused our Eagles for Impact initiative on increasing representation through access and education. The Eagles for Impact initiative now lives within our broader campaign platform, Everyone Deserves a Shot. The campaign strategy is centered on the idea that a more inclusive and representative society starts with increasing education opportunities and opening doors for the next generation. This year, we have teamed up with First Tee, a youth development organization that shares our goal of growing access to the game. PGATOUR.COM: Given the new focus of Eagles for Impact, can you share details about the program and how your donations will support First Tee’s mission? Alice Milligan: For every eagle made throughout the tournament, Morgan Stanley will donate to First Tee to help support the recruitment, development and retention of diverse coaches. These dollars will directly support First Tee in providing continued training for diverse coaches so all participants can see and learn from representative role models. Coaches are the backbone of First Tee programming – they help create character-building experiences to prepare kids for any challenges they may face, and First Tee continues to make it a priority for their coaches to represent all current and future participants. To date, Morgan Stanley has donated over $1.2 million through the Eagles for Impact program. We’re looking forward to counting eagles again this year to further our impact. PGATOUR.COM: Are there any on-site events this year that you’re particularly excited about? Alice Milligan: Yes, Morgan Stanley will host a special event at THE PLAYERS on Tuesday, March 8th with First Tee. During the event, we will host 20 young women from First Tee-North Florida, where they’ll have the opportunity to hear from a variety of industry experts on their career journeys, walk the TPC Sawgrass course and view the practice rounds. Their final stop will be at the Morgan Stanley Eagles for Impact venue, where they’ll be the first to play three special putting greens they helped us design for fans to enjoy during the tournament and pick up exclusive Morgan Stanley swag. PGATOUR.COM: Can you tell us a little more about the firm’s broader efforts in the diversity and inclusion space? Alice Milligan: Commit to diversity and inclusion is the firm’s fifth core value – it is a key area of focus for our employees and our clients. Most recently, Morgan Stanley announced the Institute for Inclusion’s Equity in Education and Career Consortium. In collaboration with partner organizations, this initiative will support high school and college students to achieve stronger career and financial outcomes. Funded by an initial commitment of $20 million, EECC helps address systemic inequities in education and career outcomes for young adults from low-to-moderate income backgrounds with a focus on ethnically diverse students. Other key initiatives include the HBCU Scholars Program, which provides 60 four-year full ride scholarships at Howard Harvard, Morehouse College and Spelman College, over a 5-year period. In 2021, the Firm announced the first cohort of 12 students selected for the scholarship at each school and we’ll be announcing our second cohort this summer. Finally, The JumpStart Initiative, which was created in partnership with LEAD (Lead, Education and Development), a non-profit that works with high-potential youth from diverse backgrounds, develop their professional knowledge, find mentors and gain access to educational resources that might otherwise be out of reach.

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Round 3 of the RBC Canadian Open takes place Saturday from St. George’s Golf and Country Club. Wyndham Clark leads the RBC Canadian Open by one stroke with a score of 7-under-par. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action, including Featured Groups for PGA TOUR LIVE and newly expanded and extended coverage on ESPN+. Click here for more details. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS) Radio: Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR PGA TOUR LIVE PGA TOUR Live is available exclusively on ESPN+ • Main Feed: primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course • Marquee Group: new “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group • Featured Groups: traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups • Featured Holes: a combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes FEATURED GROUPS Marquee Group Carlos Ortiz, Corey Conners Featured Groups Mackenzie Hughes, Dylan Frittelli Trey Mullinax, Cameron Smith Featured Holes: No. 3 (par 3), No. 6 (par 3), No. 13 (par 3), No. 16 (par 3) MUST READS Wyndham Clark leads by one heading into the weekend at the RBC Canadian Open Burns, Scheffler in weekend mix at RBC Canadian Open McIlroy brings old friend off the bench to caddie in Canada Mackenzie Hughes aims to break Canadian drought at RBC Canadian Open Five Things to Know: St. George’s Golf and Country Club Best Canadian golfers ever

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