Watch: Two of World’s Deadliest Snakes Battle On Golf Course

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – By his own admission, Rickie Fowler hasn’t played much golf. Maybe that’s a good thing. With no expectations but confident after a season that saw him win The Honda Classic among 10 top-10 finishes, Fowler cruised at El Camaleon. He made six birdies and got up and down five times in five chances to keep a clean card in his first round of the new season. “Touch and feel is a big thing coming off of—I think we’ve had roughly a month off, five weeks or so,â€� Fowler said. “So when the feel is somewhat there, it frees you up to know that you can get away with some missed shots and it allows you to swing a bit freer.â€� The highest ranked player in this week’s field (10th), Fowler hit eight of 14 fairways and 13 greens in regulation. He took 26 putts. The 28-year-old has traditionally started his season in Asia, but he skipped the TOUR’s three-week swing in Malaysia, South Korea and China. That left him looking for a place to play, and he had heard glowing reviews of Mayakoba. He hasn’t been disappointed, soaking up the sun with girlfriend Allison Stokke since Saturday. That Fowler’s game seems so well-suited for the 7,000-yard, par-71 Camaleon course has been a bonus. “I had a really fun pro-am group,â€� he said. “I think they ended up going on to win. My crew started off with a win this week, I might as well finish it for the group on Sunday. “But off to a good start. Definitely want to play well down here being my first showing at Mayakoba. Yeah, I couldn’t really ask for much more today.â€� OBSERVATIONS KIZZIRE CITES DUFNER INFLUENCE. The 6-foot-5, Auburn product Patton Kizzire drove into the bunker and bogeyed 18, but his 62 was still his career low by one. It also continued a torrid early-season run in which Kizzire tied for fourth at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and finished T10 at the Sanderson Farms Championship. One of his best results last season? A T5 with partner Jason Dufner at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. “He’s been a good mentor, a good friend,â€� Kizzire said. “He’s taken me under his wing and shown me a few things. We’ll play practice rounds together occasionally and just hang out. We’ll go to football games together and he’s a good one to pick his brain and to play with because he’s awfully confident.â€� MITCHELL SURPASSES FATHER. Keith Mitchell aced the 200-yard 10th hole with a 6-iron on his first swing of the day. It was only 8:30 a.m., and there were so few people around the green that Mitchell and playing partners Tom Hoge and Rob Oppenheim weren’t sure what had happened. “We heard a small clap,â€� said Mitchell, who went on to shoot 5-under 66. “It was pretty subdued.â€� It was his fourth hole-in-one and first since college, and he wasn’t sure where he stood relative to his dad, Jerry, who had made either three or four in his career. Mitchell, a Web.com Tour grad who missed the cut in his first three starts this season, texted his father in North Carolina and went to lunch. He later texted the PGA TOUR the verdict: “1 up.â€�  GOOSEN TURNS BACK CLOCK. Good results have been few and far between for the two-time U.S. Open winner, who was in a large group at 66 despite making bogey at the par-5 fifth hole. Goosen, 48, opened last season by missing seven straight cuts before finishing T2 at the Puerto Rico Open. He wound up 162nd in the FedExCup, and was 176th in strokes gained: putting (-.425). Thursday saw him hit eight of 14 fairways and 12 greens in regulation. He took 26 putts and looked more like the guy who has won seven times on TOUR. HAPPY NEWS FOR CHINA. Xinjun Zhang eagled the par-5 13th hole to join Goosen in the large group at 5-under 66. Zhang and Marty Dou played their way off the Web.com Tour last season to become the first players from China to earn their cards on the PGA TOUR. Now it’s just a matter of staying there. In three previous starts this season, Zhang had finished T37 at the Safeway Open, T44 at the no-cut World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in Shanghai and missed the cut at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. NOTABLES GARY WOODLAND – A year after finishing second to Pat Perez at El Camaleon, Woodland was at it again, lurking after a 3-under 68 that included an eagle at the par-5 13th hole. KEVIN CHAPPELL – After a season that saw him win for the first time and make a successful Presidents Cup debut, he shot a 4-under 67. It’s been a good time for UCLA golf grads; Patrick Cantlay picked up his first win at last week’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. FABIAN GOMEZ – He’s the leading Latin American player after firing a 5-under 66. KEN DUKE – Monday qualifier got off to a solid start with a 68. QUOTABLES “We got here on Saturday, but didn’t touch a club until Tuesday.â€� – Rickie Fowler (65) on how he’s been making the most of the extracurricular activities at Mayakoba. “I knew my game was in good shape.â€� – Keith Mitchell (66), who made a quintuple-bogey 9 in round one of last week’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open but missed the cut by just one. SUPERLATIVES Streaks: Kizzire birdied holes 8-13, bogeyed 18, and signed for a 62. Easiest hole: The 532-yard, par-5 13th. Among the leaders, only Martin Piller (66) failed to make at least a birdie there. Xinjun Zhang (66) was one of a handful of players who eagled the hole. Shot of the day: Mitchell’s hole-in-one on his first shot of the day was the eighth in tournament history, and the second time a player has started the OHL Classic at Mayakoba with an ace. Thomas Aiken did the same thing in 2015, also on the 10th hole and also with a 6-iron. CALL OF THE DAY SHOT OF THE DAY BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Click here to read the full article…

OWINGS MILLS, Md. – Rory McIlroy shook off his lackluster second round with a 7-under 65 on Saturday at the BMW Championship, reinvigorating his tournament chances and setting him up for a tilt at what would be a record third FedExCup. McIlroy sits at 17-under for the week at Caves Valley Golf Club, tied for fourth but four shots adrift of co-leaders Bryson DeChambeau (67) and Patrick Cantlay (66). Having started the week at 28th in the FedExCup race McIlroy was in danger of not advancing to East Lake with the top 30 for the TOUR Championship where the FedExCup goes on the line. But the Northern Irishman 19-time PGA TOUR winner currently projects to 20th and is just a place on the leaderboard away from projecting towards the top 10. He joins Tiger Woods as the only players to have two FedExCup titles. Having won the FedExCup in 2016 before the handicap strokes system was introduced and again in 2019 when it was first implemented, McIlroy isn’t daunted about the prospect of starting behind at East Lake. He started five shots back in 2019 and as it stands now, he projects to be eight shots off the leader. “It lets you free-wheel a little more on the first day (when you’re behind). But it’s OK because I go out and shoot 6-under next Thursday and the leader shoots 2-over, and all of a sudden, you’re right in the golf tournament,” McIlroy said. “I like the format. I think that all 30 players going into next week should feel like they have a good chance to win. Even when you are starting 10 back because if you shoot a good one that first day, you’re right back in it.” McIlroy could make a huge leap up the standings should he reel in the leaders on Sunday. He knows he’ll need to start well with the two par 5’s coming in the first four holes on the front nine. “You don’t want to put yourself under too much pressure to get off to a good start, but a good start is really important because then you can get momentum on your side early and try to ride it from there,” he said. FedExCup Notes… With just one round to play only Sergio Garcia currently projects into the top 30 to make it to the TOUR Championship from the outside. Garcia sits T4 after rounds of 65-67-67 and projects from 44th to 27th… With one in, one must be trending out. That distinction belongs to Max Homa who is languishing at T66 and needs an incredible Sunday to have any chance of survival… Hudson Swafford, currently in ninth position, is withing striking distance of also playing his way in. Others to watch out for on Sunday include Erik Van Rooyen (T10), K.H. Lee (T12) and Cam Davis (T22). They will need impressive rounds but can’t yet be discounted… Sungjae Im (3rd) also projects to make a big climb. The Korean entered the week at 25th but currently is trending towards 12th on the standings. MOVING IN Sergio Garcia: 44th to 27th MOVING OUT Max Homa: 30th to 36th

Click here to read the full article…

Woods started the third round just four shots off the lead and in the mix. Then his game stalled and his body began to give out. Here’s how his third round, and hopes of another Masters title, fell away.

Click here to read the full article…