Warriors’ Steph Curry, Damion Lee attend U.S. Open final round

DUBLIN, Ohio — Tiger Woods is in position to make a run at his 80th PGA TOUR victory and first in almost five years after a second-round 67 at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide on Friday.  He is 5-under and was six behind leader Kyle Stanley when he finished. Woods came from four behind on the final day in each of his last two victories at Muirfield Village. Woods’ round could have been better. He had holed out from 95 yards for eagle at the par-5 11th hole and was eying a birdie putt from inside six feet at the par-3 12th when the horn blew for a weather delay. Play resumed nearly 90 minutes later, though Woods missed that birdie and two others from close range at Nos. 13 and 16. He also missed a par putt from just outside of three feet at the 17th hole.  Woods hit 9-of-14 fairways and 14-of-18 greens in regulation. He took 27 putts, but was deep in negative numbers in Strokes Gained: Putting (-3.676) when he signed his scorecard.  This year has been a pleasant surprise for Woods, who missed all of last year after undergoing back fusion surgery. As recently as last fall he wasn’t sure his body would allow him to resume one of the greatest careers of all time. He has done exactly that, going from 656th to 83rd in the Official World Golf Ranking this year. Muirfield would seem a likely venue for him to break a winless streak that goes back to the 2013 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.  He’s certainly been knocking on the door. In his last start, Woods thrilled audiences with a 65-69 weekend to finish T11 at THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass. The result was part of an impressive body of work this season in Florida, where he also finished second (Valspar Championship), T5 (Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard), and 12th (The Honda Classic). Woods came into this week having amassed 548 FedExCup points (54th), and with a 69.988 scoring average.  Woods got off to a rough start at the Memorial on Thursday, going 4-over for his first seven holes before gathering himself to salvage an even-par 72. He cited mild tightness in his back. He was much better Friday, when he went 5-under through 11. After missing good chances at 12 and 13, he converted from just inside 13 feet at the par-5 15th hole, making him 5-under on the par-5s.

Click here to read the full article…

Xander Schauffele made a putter change at the Dell Technologies Championship, swapping his Odyssey Works Big-T #5 mallet for the putter manufacturer’s O-Works Red #7CH (34.5 inches). The two-time TOUR winner noticed an immediate improvement in his aiming but felt the ball was coming off the Microhinge insert with too much speed.  Working with Callaway Tour rep Johnny Thompson at the BMW Championship, Schauffele went to a version of the putter with a slight counterbalance in the grip. Thompson removed 10 grams of weight from the head and repositioned it in the butt end of the SuperStroke Pistol GTR 1.0 grip. The weight shift essentially helped Schauffele take out some energy at impact and dial in his speed control. While the change was slight, it proved to be a game-changer for Schauffele, who finished the week second in Strokes Gained: Putting en route to a third-place finish that booked his spot at East Lake Golf Club for The TOUR Championship. Day’s driver shaft: Jason Day became the third player on TOUR (joining Pat Perez and Martin Kaymer) to put Accra’s 70-gram prototype driver shaft in play at Aronimink Golf Club. The Aussie, who opened 2018 with a TPT shaft in his TaylorMade M3 driver at the Farmer Insurance Open, tested the prototype on Tuesday and saw ball speeds of 181 miles per hour with a launch of 13 degrees and 315 yards of carry (345 yards total). While the numbers were close to what he was seeing from the TPT shaft, the difference for Day was in the dispersion department, where he noticed a tighter pattern, which led to the change. According to Accra Tour rep Shawn Mullin, the prototype shaft is designed to perform like steel with a softer tip section and very low torque. With a high launch and low spin, the shaft is geared for players with high swing speeds who need the added stability.  Bradley reps his alma mater: The red paint used on Odyssey’s O-Works Red putter wasn’t created specifically for Keegan Bradley. That being said, the color was close enough to St. John’s University red for Bradley to ask for a custom version. Bradley, who spent his collegiate career playing for the Red Storm, asked Odyssey reps if they could create a one-off Works 1W Armlock with the same red paint scheme.  From address, the putter looks like O-Works Red — until you flip it over and realize the sole has Works graphics, platinum paint and a White Hot insert.  Tiger goes back to trusty Newport 2: Tiger Woods hinted during the Quicken Loans National that his run with a mallet could be short-lived. He was right. Woods switched to an Anser-style TaylorMade TP Black Copper Juno at the Dell Technologies Championship and then shelved it one week later for his longtime Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS blade.  “I know the release point and I know how it swings and my body morphed into a position where it understands where it needs to be to release the putter,” Woods said. “I’ve hit hundreds of millions of putts. I’ve had it since ’99. I’ve hit putts with it. I just — my body just remembers it. When I go away from it — and, you know, when I was using the Nike putter I always bring it out and hit putts with it. Sometimes it works but it just feels very familiar to me.” Woods opened with 62 but struggled to replicate the performance over the next three days. He lost more than three-and-a-half strokes to the field with the putter during the second round before closing with two positive Strokes Gained: Putting rounds.

Click here to read the full article…

Click here to read the full article…