Winged Foot fights back in round two

NORTON, Mass. (AP) — Dustin Johnson looked dominant as he ever as, and nothing could stop him Sunday in THE NORTHERN TRUST. Not even the weather. Johnson played the final two holes in near darkness after a late storm delay and finished with a birdie for an 8-under 63 and an 11-shot victory over Harris English. It was the 22nd victory of his PGA TOUR career, and he never made it look easier. Johnson won his fifth FedExCup Playoffs event — tied with Rory McIlroy for most — and now leads the FedExCup standings and also returned to No. 1 in the world. He finished at 30-under 254. Staked to a five-shot lead over Harris English going into the final round, Johnson sent a towering 7-iron over the water to a front pin on the par-5 second, the ball settling 8 feet next to the pin for an eagle. Two holes later, his 3-wood was placed perfectly in front of the fourth green for a simple up-and-down for birdie. It was like that all day. It was like that all week. He led by five and went out in 30, stretching his lead to seven shots at the turn. On the 500-yard 12th hole, where on Saturday he hit a tight draw with a 6-iron to a foot, this time he hit a slight fade with a 6-iron to 3 feet for anther birdie. The only drama was whether he could set two PGA TOUR scoring records — 31-under par by Ernie Els at Kapalua in 2003, and the 253 by Justin Thomas at the Sony Open in 2017. But after that birdie on the 12th put him at 29 under, Johnson settled into four straight pars. He is only the third player to finish 30 under, joining Els and Jordan Spieth, also at Kapalua. So he at least owns the record on the mainland. It was reminiscent of Friday, when he was 11 under through 11 holes and the only question was whether he could become the first player to shoot 57. He made seven straight pars for a 60. This closing stretch was different. Johnson cares more about trophies than records, and getting his round finished was all that mattered. It was like that three years ago at Riviera, when he was poised to break Lanny Wadkins’ 72-hole record at Riviera, the longest standing on the PGA TOUR schedule. But he finished with three bogeys over the last 10 holes playing conservatively, and only later said he didn’t know what the record was. Nor did he care. English tried to hold his own, three times matching birdies with Johnson. He finished with a bogey that didn’t matter, shot 69 and moved to No. 6 in the FedExCup. English started the year without a full card. Now he has locked up a spot in the TOUR Championship. There’s just no stopping Johnson when he puts all parts of his game together, particularly the irons. Johnson didn’t miss a green in the final round. Kevin Kisner, who grew up playing junior golf with Johnson in South Carolina, has seen this all before. “He can absolutely dismantle a golf course when he’s on,” Kisner said. “I’ve been watching it for 25 years. I’m pretty accustomed to it. When he’s on, I just step to the side and try to add to my bank account.” Kisner did that part well. He closed with a 66, well enough that he is in good shape in his bid to lock up a spot in the TOUR Championship. He had said all week he wanted to take care of that at the TPC Boston instead of having to deliver next week in the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields, a course he has never seen. The top 70 in the FedExCup advance to the BMW Championship, and there was one shot that mattered when play resumed. Louis Oosthuizen at No. 99 in the standings was in the 18th fairway, easily in range of the green on the par-5 closing hole. He managed a two-putt birdie in the dark to lock up the 70th spot. Robby Shelton closed with a 63, enough for him to be among six players who moved into the top 70. The others were Oosthuizen, Harry Higgs, Alex Noren, Russell Henley and Jason Kokrak. Five of the six players knocked out missed the cut, including Phil Mickelson. The other was Denny McCarthy, who shot 73 on Sunday.

Click here to read the full article…

Instead of a 13 hour flight to Korea it will be a 10 mile drive south for those who played last week at TPC Summerlin in week two of the Las Vegas Daily Double. The invitational field of 78 will tee it up at The Summit Club for the first time as they take on Tom Fazio’s 7,431 yard (Par-71) track perched above The Strip west of downtown. The Summit Club will debut with a defense of elevation changes and perched greens. Water is in play on seven holes and there are 62 bunkers to avoid. Bermuda rough is over seeded with ryegrass and will play three inches and upward. Players will enjoy a ton of room to swing it off the tee (44 acres of fairway) and will have plenty of targets to aim for as the Dominator bentgrass greens are almost 6,600 square feet on average. The Par-72 is standard with four Par-5 holes and should be open for business in the scoring department. Bentgrass greens also mean plenty of true, aggressive putts to the hole. This is the second consecutive CJ CUP in Las Vegas, thanks pandemic, and the second consecutive season on a Fazio track. Shadow Creek was the scene last year as Jason Kokrak, a frequent Las Vegas player, used his course knowledge to pick up his first TOUR win. He’s back to defend and according to reports he’s played The Summit Club more than once. On the line is a purse of $9.75 million with the winner taking home $1.755 million plus 500 FedExCup points. Horses for Courses will be quite literal this week as The Summit Club is making its debut on TOUR. Instead I’ll look back at the recent Tom Fazio tracks, plural, used on TOUR recently and over time to try and find clues and angles for the players entered this week. We saw THREE Fazio courses in use for the first time on TOUR last season and can always default to his major redesigns such as Quail Hollow Club, or even Augusta National. Recent Event Winners on Tom Fazio tracks KEY STAT LEADERS Top golfers in each statistic on the PGA TOUR (thru 2021 season) are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week. Horses for Courses – SUMMIT HFC FAZIO CLASSICS

Click here to read the full article…

The current fortnight on the PGA TOUR correlates to and aligns with the administration of final exams across the country right now. It wasn’t the original plan but the rescheduling of the Valspar Championship immediately preceding this week’s Wells Fargo Championship has set up a pair of the toughest tests for membership. Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, is poised to host 156 who have registered. Scroll past the projected contenders for its similarities to Copperhead, how it sets up this week, how Max Homa prevailed in 2019 and more. RELATED: The First Look | How the field qualified POWER RANKINGS: WELLS FARGO CHAMPIONSHIP Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider will include Patrick Cantlay, Patrick Reed, Joaquin Niemann and former Wells Fargo Championship winners Rickie Fowler and Jason Day among the notables. When both Copperhead and Quail Hollow last staged their respective competitions in 2019, they ranked a respective 1 and 2 among the hardest par 71s of all non-majors. Further consider that Quail Hollow’s scoring average of 71.762 reflected a significant drop from its 72.132 as the hardest par 71 in a non-major during the 2017-18 season. It had served as the backdrop for the 2017 PGA Championship for which it debuted as a par 71 after playing to a par of 72 as host of the Wells Fargo Championship from 2003-2016. (Eagle Point Golf Club in Wilmington, North Carolina, hosted the 2017 edition of the WFC.) Quail Hollow also is the longest par 71 on the PGA TOUR, although this year’s maximum walk of 7,521 yards reflects a reduction of 33 yards, all as a result of the decision not to use the back tees on the par-3 17th hole that now tips at 190 yards. Like Copperhead’s closing three holes dubbed The Snake Pit, the last three at Quail Hollow Club also has a nickname. It’s The Green Mile. The par 4-3-4 sequence averaged a collective 0.780 strokes over par in 2019. As compared to all holes on the course, they ranked third, first and second, respectively. No. 17 was the fourth-hardest of 197 par 3s in all of 2018-19, while the finisher was 24th-hardest of 522 par 4s. Given the challenge nearest the finish line, whoever prevails will want to be the front-runner when he pencils in his score on the par-5 15th hole on Sunday. Max Homa birdied the last of the trio of par 5s in his final round before closing bogey-par-par for a three-stroke breakthrough victory. For the week, he scored 2-over on The Green Mile. The length of the course in conjunction with greens that are slightly above average in size promotes the bomb-and-gouge equation, and that has had merit over time, but Homa converted on his coronation with his shortest sticks. He finished inside the top 25 in distance of all drives, greens in regulation and proximity to the hole, and then led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting and ranked second in scrambling. He also paced it in par-4 scoring and ranked T2 in par-5 scoring. Inclement weather early this week will have moved on by the time balls are in the air on Thursday morning. Primarily sunny skies and probably dry conditions will allow for zero interruption throughout. It also means that the bermudagrass greens will have an opportunity to reach 13 feet on the Stimpmeter. This elevates the importance of avoiding the primary rough measuring two-and-a-half inches. Extremely comfortable daytime highs in the 70s will get shoved away with a high in the mid-80s for the finale. It’s also when wind will most influence decisions. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers; Fantasy Insider SUNDAY: Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Rookie Watch * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

Click here to read the full article…