Young Americans weather Solheim Cup storm to pull even with Europe

Our betting experts give their favorite plays for the 2022 Genesis Scottish Open in one of the most stacked field of the year from the Renaissance Club in Scotland.

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MAMARONECK, N.Y. - Justin Thomas could have shot anything in the second round of the 82nd U.S. Open at Winged Foot on Friday. On a course where you must hit the fairway, he hit just three of them. The putts weren't dropping. He was 5 over for his first 10 holes. It was all slipping away. And then it wasn't. In a bounce-back that may have saved his chances for a second major title, Thomas birdied the long par-3 third hole and went 1 under the rest of the way for a 3-over 73 that left him 2 under, just two back. "Every single person in this tournament is going to go through a stretch where they get a bad run, especially here," he said. "... I wasn’t driving it well and then had a couple putts that easily could have gone in that kind of just stayed out. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Winged Foot fights back in Round 2 "But I just stayed positive" he added, "and kept fighting because I know that a 3 over is better than a 4 over, and today easily could have been a 6 or 7. I’m proud of myself for how I hung in." The second round brought significantly more wind, which sped the course up and made things considerably more difficult. Tiger Woods, one of Thomas' playing partners, struggled to a 77, and he wasn't even close to the worst of the casualties. Sung Kang shot 86, while Davis Thompson, the Georgia amateur who briefly held the first-round lead, shot 78 to miss the cut by one. It was that kind of day; the course bit back. Wayward with the driver, Thomas paid the usual price for inaccuracy at Winged Foot. He and his caddie Jimmy Johnson rolled with it, though, trusting that things would start to turn. "He knew and I knew that we were close to getting something and at least making some pars or throwing in a birdie or two," Thomas said. "He just kind of says to me, ‘Stay patient. Good things will happen. We’ve just got to keep playing our game.' And that’s what we did." Thomas found something with his tee shot at the third, his 12th hole of the day. He later called it the turning point. "I mean, that birdie on three was pretty sick," he said. "I mean, a 5-wood in there, 228 into the wind, and then just it was a really, really tough putt. I mean, I’m sure you could see with kind of the sun hitting the greens they weren’t exactly rolling true, but that’s how poa annua is and everybody has to deal with it in the afternoon. "That was a very quick double breaking putt," he added, "and that was nice. After playing No. 2 perfectly and just having it lip out, to birdie that hole almost feels like an eagle." Exhausted and out of daylight, he was due for some dinner and rest. He'll have some work on the driving range to do in order to straighten out the driver Saturday, but isn't overly worried. And at just two back, he likes his position. "It’s a better position than I’ve been in a U.S. Open before," he said. "This isn’t exactly a place where you go out and try to shoot 6 or 7 under to catch up."

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DUBLIN, Ohio — Tiger Woods is in position to make a run at his 80th PGA TOUR victory and first in almost five years after a second-round 67 at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide on Friday.  He is 5-under and was six behind leader Kyle Stanley when he finished. Woods came from four behind on the final day in each of his last two victories at Muirfield Village. Woods’ round could have been better. He had holed out from 95 yards for eagle at the par-5 11th hole and was eying a birdie putt from inside six feet at the par-3 12th when the horn blew for a weather delay. Play resumed nearly 90 minutes later, though Woods missed that birdie and two others from close range at Nos. 13 and 16. He also missed a par putt from just outside of three feet at the 17th hole.  Woods hit 9-of-14 fairways and 14-of-18 greens in regulation. He took 27 putts, but was deep in negative numbers in Strokes Gained: Putting (-3.676) when he signed his scorecard.  This year has been a pleasant surprise for Woods, who missed all of last year after undergoing back fusion surgery. As recently as last fall he wasn’t sure his body would allow him to resume one of the greatest careers of all time. He has done exactly that, going from 656th to 83rd in the Official World Golf Ranking this year. Muirfield would seem a likely venue for him to break a winless streak that goes back to the 2013 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.  He’s certainly been knocking on the door. In his last start, Woods thrilled audiences with a 65-69 weekend to finish T11 at THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass. The result was part of an impressive body of work this season in Florida, where he also finished second (Valspar Championship), T5 (Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard), and 12th (The Honda Classic). Woods came into this week having amassed 548 FedExCup points (54th), and with a 69.988 scoring average.  Woods got off to a rough start at the Memorial on Thursday, going 4-over for his first seven holes before gathering himself to salvage an even-par 72. He cited mild tightness in his back. He was much better Friday, when he went 5-under through 11. After missing good chances at 12 and 13, he converted from just inside 13 feet at the par-5 15th hole, making him 5-under on the par-5s.

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