WATCH: Chiefs’ Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes at American Century Championship practice

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – His playing partners asked him to touch their putters, hoping that some of the magic would rub off. They compared him to Ty Webb. An incredible performance on the greens sent Simpson into unprecedented territory at THE PLAYERS Championship. The Stadium Course may have reined him in on its most infamous hole, but he still tied the course record. Simpson shot 63 in the second round to take a five-shot lead at THE PLAYERS Championship. He put his name in the record books despite a double-bogey at the 17th hole, where an inconsistent wind and inconvenient yardage led to a ball in the water. Simpson’s 15-under 129 also tied the tournament record for low 36-hole score. Friday’s round, the lowest of the day by three shots, was so impressive that it drew the admiration of his competition. Jordan Spieth called it “amazing.â€� Justin Rose called it a “miracle round.â€� When Simpson arrived at the 17th tee late Friday afternoon, he had recorded just 19 putts (he holed two more from off the green). He was 11 under par for the day, seven shots ahead of the field, and the first person with a chance to break 60 on the Stadium Course. “I heard someone yell out, ’59!’ and I was like, ‘What is that idiot talking about?’ said Simpson’s caddie, Paul Tesori. “You don’t expect to get on runs like that on this golf course.â€� Even Pete Dye’s penal design is no match for a man with a hot putter. Simpson needed just 23 putts Friday, and he gained 4.92 strokes on the greens. Of the 10 putts he holed Friday for birdie or eagle, seven of those putts were longer than 14 feet. Three were longer than 20 feet. Only two of them were shorter than five feet, and both of those came on par-5s. “It was a lot of fun. I felt like everything was working today. Putts that I’m just trying to get close are going in. I kind of rode the momentum and kept going,â€� Simpson said. He made the turn in 5-under 31 after an eagle at the par-5 second hole – where he holed a 34-foot putt – and birdies at 5, 7 and 9. All three of his birdie putts on the front nine were longer than 10 feet. Things got silly on the second nine. He made six consecutive birdies on Nos. 11-16, holing two putts from off the green in that stretch. The second one, from long of the 15th green, caused Simpson, Tesori and his fellow competitors to laugh. The ball was running hot when it hit the back of the hole and dropped in the hole. It likely would have run 10 feet past the hole. “Tyrrell (Hatton) wanted me to touch his putter for him on 15,â€� Simpson said, “which I think is within the rules.â€� It was after this putt that Hatton made his “Caddyshackâ€� reference. “I dropped my head and Tyrrell says, ‘I told you so! It’s Chevy Chase. Na-na-na-na-na-na,â€� Tesori said. “This is the moment where I couldn’t believe this is happening.â€� Simpson’s sixth consecutive birdie came after an up-and-down from left of the green on the par-5 16th. He needed birdies on the last two holes to break 60. Nos. 17 and 18 have been the two hardest holes this week, though. Simpson wanted to hit a hard sand wedge to the island green, but the wind changed directions and started blowing into him as he stood on the tee. He knew he had to hit it hard. “So normally my miss with that club when I’m trying to smash it is left, so it was a bit of a surprise that it came out right,â€� Simpson said. The ball bounced off the bulkhead in front of the green and went into the water. “Pete Dye and the golfing gods were watching,â€� said Golf Channel commentator Nick Faldo. His colleague, Terry Gannon, said, “A lot of dreams have been dashed at that cauldron that is 17 through the years. Today is where a possible 59 went to die.â€� But it was still an incredible round. It put Simpson in control of THE PLAYERS Championship.

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BROOKLINE, Mass. – After a second-round 67 at the U.S. Open, Scottie Scheffler was asked by his wife Meredith to name three emotions he felt that day. “Well, I played golf today,” answered Scheffler, “so I was happy and sad.” That sentiment could also be applied in Saturday’s third round at The Country Club. Scheffler, the FedExCup No. 1 and world No. 1, holed out for eagle on the par-5 eighth hole as part of a front-nine 32. Entering the day two strokes off the lead, he led by two strokes as he reached the par-3 11th. But Scheffler went long on the 141-yard hole, leading to a double bogey that was followed by three consecutive bogeys. He steadied the ship to play the final four holes in 1-under, and after a roller coaster of a windy afternoon outside Boston, he ended the day right where he started, two strokes back of two co-leaders. Scheffler signed for a third-round, 1-over 71; he stands 2-under total, two back of Will Zalatoris and Matt Fitzpatrick. Scheffler has earned four PGA TOUR titles this season, including the Masters, and he’s on the verge of joining historic company. Only 10 players have won five TOUR titles and two majors in a single season (17 times overall). Nine are in the World Golf Hall of Fame; the other is Jordan Spieth. Scheffler, 25, has a chance to enter the club Sunday at Brookline. “Anytime you can win a golf tournament, especially a major, is really special,” said Scheffler, who followed his first TOUR title at the WM Phoenix Open with victories at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and Masters. “For me, I’m not thinking about what I did a month ago. I’m not thinking about what I did two months ago. Right now I’m here at the U.S. Open, and I’m going to try to win the golf tournament tomorrow. If I do, it’s going to be really fun. If I don’t, life will go on. “Hopefully this won’t be my last U.S. Open, but you know, you never know. Can’t take anything for granted in this life.” The short par-3 11th – which wasn’t in the routing for the 2013 U.S. Amateur at Brookline, in which Scheffler reached the quarterfinals – proved vexing for the field Saturday. Scheffler was not immune. His tee shot flew into the rough past the back-left hole location, settling on the hazard line. His second shot caught up in the rough before reaching the green, and he couldn’t get up and down. Three bogeys later, his lead had turned into a multi-shot deficit. But he continued to tell himself that he was still in the golf tournament – knowing how demanding the course was playing. With an up-and-down birdie from 35 yards on the short par-4 17th, and a 15-foot par save at No. 18 after finding a greenside bunker upon approach, he proved himself correct. “I think the U.S. Open is very taxing, mentally and physically,” Scheffler said. “I think that’s all part of what makes this tournament so fun. You’re going to get tested all kinds of different ways. “That’s why I show up here. I think that’s kind of the fun of it. If every golf tournament was like this, it would be in for a long season for all of us. A few times a year, I think it was a ton of fun.” Three emotions: happy, sad, fun.

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Dustin Johnson putted for birdie on every hole Friday and shot a 4-under 67, leaving him bogey-free for 36 holes and two shots ahead of Rory McIlroy and Matt Kuchar going into the weekend at the Mexico Championship.

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