Who clinched a PGA TOUR card Sunday at Albertsons Boise Open

J.J. Spaun was probably 4 or 5 years old the first time he ever set foot inside the Magic Kingdom and rubbed elbows with the likes of Mickey Mouse and Pluto. “My parents recorded it on VHS,â€� Spaun says. “… I remember my sisters and parents being there and the styles of the early ’90s.â€� Little did he know that he’d still be spending time – a lot of time, at that — at Disneyland two decades later. In fact, Spaun owned a season pass for five years before his recent move to Scottsdale, Arizona. “It’s a fun place for us to go to,â€� Spaun says. “It’s what we did as kids.  Kind of helps us get away from the hustle and bustle of the TOUR, to go out and enjoy ourselves.â€� Sure enough, Spaun squeezed in a three-day trip to Disneyland and its sister California Adventure theme park when the 27-year-old, who is ranked 91st in the FedExCup, took a few weeks off earlier this summer. Before moving to the Arizona desert, Spaun only lived about 15 minutes from the happiest place on earth. The Californian acknowledges that he and his girlfriend, Melody Means, “get bored a lot, pretty easily,â€� so they made good use of their season passes. “It was cool,â€� Spaun said. “On a Wednesday night, if we had nothing to do, we could shoot over to Disneyland and ride a couple of rides for the night. “Good thing about having a pass is you don’t feel like you have to be there all day and getting your money’s worth.â€� Not even a broken foot that required surgery kept the couple, who met through mutual friends four years ago, away from the Magic Kingdom. “Oh, my gosh, we would go almost every day,â€� Means recalls. “…  He would take me in the wheelchair and wheel me around.  I wouldn’t have anything else to do.  I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t work. “He would take me and help me get in the ride and helped me get out.  We could cut the lines. He was very protective of me.â€� As might be imagined, Spaun and Means are connoisseurs of the entire Disney experience. But when he was a kid, Spaun wasn’t as attracted to the rides as he was the overall experience. He loved seeing the cartoon characters brought to “life,â€� as well as the performances and the bands and the shops. Spaun says “basically it was like being in a Disney movie “when he went there as a kid. “I was actually afraid of rides for a long time,â€� Spaun says. “… It’s just like the ambiance and the culture and stuff.  The rides came hand in hand with it, but it was more the surroundings which made it fun.â€� “I think he started going on the bigger rides to impress me a little bit,â€� Means adds. Now, every trip to Disneyland starts with a jaunt on Pirates of the Caribbean, which is the last ride the late filmmaker Walt Disney had a hand in designing – and turned 50 this year. Spaun has come to enjoy the iconic Space Mountain, an indoor celestial roller-coaster at Disneyland. Soarin, the popular flight motion simulator, at California Adventure is another favorite. “Disneyland is really old school,â€� Spaun says. “They don’t have many crazy rides where it’s loops and stuff.  Space Mountain is probably like I guess the most daring ride they have there, because it’s in the dark and lot of turns and it’s really fast.â€� And Soarin’ is not to be confused with Screamin’, California Adventure’s steel roller-coaster that can reach speeds of 55 mph. That’s the one Means likes best. “I like the fast roller-coaster loops, which was hard to get him on at first,â€� Means says. “…  He’s afraid it’s going to break down or he’s going to get stuck on it.â€� Small wonder, then, that some of the rides at other theme parks – like the Twisted Colossus at Six Flags Magic Mountain, a roller-coaster that features a 128-foot drop – are a “little out of my comfort zone,â€� Spaun acknowledges. Not to worry, though. Spaun can find plenty of things to entertain him at Disneyland. In fact, he and Means are already planning their next trip to the Magic Kingdom after the FedExCup Playoffs. And don’t be surprised if there are more visits before the end of the year. “When they decorate for Christmas, it’s really cool,â€� Means says with a smile.

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LOS ANGELES — Joaquin Niemann couldn’t find a fairway over the final two hours at Riviera and it didn’t matter. He still pieced together a 3-under 68 to set the 54-hole record and build a three-shot lead in The Genesis Invitational. Cameron Young, the 24-year-old PGA TOUR rookie, tried to keep it closer until taking two shots to get out of a plugged lie in the bunker in front of the par-3 16th green and making double bogey. He had a 69 and was three behind. Joining them in the final group will be 24-year-old Viktor Hovland, who had eight birdies in his round of 65. That only got the Norwegian within six shots of Niemann. Niemann, a 23-year-old from Chile, was poised to win for the second time on the PGA TOUR and needed only one more round in the 60s to break the tournament scoring record, which has stood longer than any other 72-hole record for a PGA TOUR event. Niemann was at 19-under 194, breaking by two shots the record last held by Justin Thomas in 2017. Thomas had said there was a long way to go when he started five shots behind with 36 holes ahead of them. He started with a birdie and then made 10 straight pars before a pair of bogeys that sent him and other past major champions going in the wrong direction. Thomas birdied his last two holes for a 70. He was seven behind. Adam Scott opened with two birdies until he lost momentum and shot 73 to fall 10 shots behind. Ditto for Jordan Spieth, who had only one birdie in his round of 73 to fade from contention. The final group Sunday will feature three players from three continents who were born after tournament host Tiger Woods won his first Masters in 1997. Niemann has been playing at a different level this week, relying on a mix of great iron play, putting on hard, fast greens and managing trouble when he gets out of position. After a pair of birdies late on the front nine, Niemann had one of those moments that made it look like it would be his week. His drive on the iconic, reachable 10th caught the left edge of the green and barely rolled off. Using a putter, he holed it from just outside 20 feet for an eagle and was up by four. He was 2 over the rest of the way, however, as he failed to hit another fairway, two of them leading to bogey. He also missed on the 18th when Young had a chance to cut into the lead. But the Chilean hit a beautiful fade around the edges of the eucalyptus trees to the back of the green and a chip with perfect pace to save par. Young twice left shots in the bunker, starting with the par-5 opening hole that led to par. He was rock-solid the rest of the way until the 16th, where his tee shot was so badly buried in the sand his best option was to leave in there for a better lie. He blasted out a little long and missed a 6-foot putt. For a tournament stacked with 10 of the top 10 players in the world, the one leading the charge is Niemann, who is just outside the top 30 and whose only win was at The Greenbrier in the fall of 2019. This is only the third time he has had at least a share of the 54-hole lead. He converted one of them into his Greenbrier win, and the other time he lost in a playoff last summer at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Young is playing only his 12th time on the PGA TOUR, including a U.S. Open appearance as an amateur at Pebble Beach in 2019. He was a runner-up in Mississippi last fall, and he played with remarkable poise amid high-profile company while trying to keep in range of Niemann.

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When golf tries to come back in June, will there be fans? Widespread testing? Limitations on players and caddies? We go through all the answers so far, and the ones that still need sorting out.

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