WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play match previews Day 3

OPELIKA, Ala. — Chad Collins missed a chance for the 10th sub-60 round in PGA TOUR history and third of the season, parring the final two holes for an 11-under 60 on Friday in the second round of the Barbasol Championship. Collins hit his approach to the back fringe on the par-4 18th, leaving a 70-foot downhill birdie try that he hit 5 feet past. “I just got myself out of position off the tee, which you can’t do,” Collins said. “Probably one of the easiest hole locations on the green, so it was kind of unfortunate to not hit the fairway and I probably would have had a better look at birdie there. I gave it a run. I’m not too disappointed at all by 60, so I’ll take it.” After six straight birdies on Grand National’s rain-softened Lake Course, the 38-year-old player from Indiana player missed a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th. “Hit a good shot, but I hit it a little heavy,” Collins said. “I didn’t think it was going to get back there and it must have had a lot of overspin, hit the downslope, chased back there. I wasn’t sure how close it came to going in, but had to come pretty close. And then the putt was a little tricky. We couldn’t quite figure out if it was kind of right center, right edge or left center, left edge. Just kind of lost a little bit of speed and broke off the left edge. ” Jim Furyk shot a record 58 last year in the Travelers Championship in Connecticut and is one of eight players to shoot 59. Justin Thomas and Adam Hadwin shot 59s in January — Thomas in his victory in the Sony Open in Hawaii, and Hadwin in the CareerBuilder Challenge in California. Collins had five birdies in a front-nine 30, parred the 10th and ran off the six straight birdies to get to 11 under for the round. “It kind of crossed my mind probably on the par-5 16th,” Collins said about breaking 60. “Didn’t hit a very good tee shot there, but it was probably going to be a three-shot hole anyway. Then hit a good approach shot in there to 10 feet or so. When I made that, obviously with two holes to go, just needed to make one.” Collins topped the leaderboard at 15-under 127 halfway through the round. He made the 36-hole cut for only the fifth time in 23 events this year. The two-time Web.com Tour winner had missed five straight cuts and 11 of 12. “This year’s been kind of a struggle for me,” Collins said. “I haven’t been playing that well and it’s super nice to see putts fall in, good ball-striking and being in position on the weekend.” Collins had his lowest round on the PGA TOUR and tied the course record set last year by Jhonattan Vegas. “Owe it all to the putter,” Collins said. “I did strike it well, but I made a lot of putts. Made a few that I probably shouldn’t have made, had a stretch going there on my back nine of five or six in a row. Hit some clutch shots, but just made a lot of putts.” He also shot 60 in a 2013 Web.com Tour event in Utah, playing his first nine holes in 9-under 27 with an eagle and seven birdies. “Obviously, the course in Utah, in my opinion, was a little bit more gettable,” Collins said.

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JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Tiger Woods did not show any visible discomfort, but the 81-time PGA TOUR winner still struggled mightily in Thursday’s opening round of THE NORTHERN TRUST as the FedExCup Playoffs got underway. Woods – who complained of back stiffness in the pro-am on Wednesday and limited himself to chipping and putting for half his practice round – scratched together a clunky 4-over 75 at Liberty National. It left the two-time FedExCup champion a distant 13 shots off the hot early pace set by Troy Merritt and better than only one player (Patrick Cantlay) from the morning wave. It’s a much different position than his first two visits to Liberty National, when Woods finished T-2 and just one shot behind the winners in 2009 and 2013. Related: Leaderboard | FedExCup Playoffs primer | Scenarios: How to make the top 70 Woods opened this year’s Playoffs at 28th in the FedExCup points list and is secure for next week’s BMW Championship, where the top 70 players advance to Medinah Country Club. But should he miss the cut at Liberty National – a possibility after his Thursday score – he will likely fall outside the top 30 before heading there. The top 30 players after the BMW Championship advance to the TOUR Championship at East Lake, where Woods secured an iconic victory a year ago. Thursday’s round put his place to defend in serious jeopardy. The struggles for Woods begun early when he pulled a wedge into a greenside bunker on the 12th hole (Woods started his round off the 10th tee). The 43-year-old went from that sand trap to another before making bogey. While he rebounded with a birdie on the 13th, Woods made a critical error on the picturesque short par-3 14th. With the Statue of Liberty in full view, Woods overcooked his tee shot well over the required 140-yards into a penalty area. He eventually walked off with a double bogey. Further bogeys on 15 and 17 left Woods making his turn at 4-over and reeling at the back of the pack. While he managed two birdies on the front side, his second nine also included a 3-putt bogey from 15 feet on the par-4 third as well as a closing bogey on No. 9.

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