The Latest: Playoffs are all the rage at Match Play
17 green during a third round match at the Dell Technologies Match Play Championship golf tournament Friday, March 26, 2021, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)AUSTIN, Texas – The Latest on the Dell Technologies Match Play (all times local):4:55 p.m. The Dell Technologies Match Play already has a No. ___4:30 p.m.Kevin Na lectured Dustin Johnson and then sent him home from the Dell Technologies Match Play. 64 seed to advance since the Match Play switched to group play in 2015.
Sungjae Im shoots 65, takes lead at The American Express
Im shot a 7-under 65 on Friday at The American Express to take a one-stroke lead over first-round leader Brandon Hagy and four others. “Visually from the tee box, it’s a course that I really like and enjoy to play, so I felt really comfortable throughout the round,” Im said. Emiliano Grillo (66), Francesco Molinari (66) and Doug Ghim (68) were two shots off the lead, and eight more were at 8 under. After splitting the first two rounds over two courses, the players will all play the once-feared Stadium Course for the final two rounds. Taylor, who also led the Sony Open after two rounds last week, shot a 66 with six birdies on the Stadium Course.
Familiar place, unfamiliar faces at Kapalua to start year
No one has ever gone more than a year without winning and ended the drought at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Winning is the only way to get to Maui at the start of the year, so Schauffele and 15 other players ordinarily wouldn't be here. “I got an asterisk for winning the Tour Championship that counted in certain things and not in others,” Schauffele said. Horschel said the tour has crunched numbers and in a normal year, it would add eight to 10 players to Kapalua. The tour has contemplated an expanded field over the years, such as giving a two-year exemption to Kapalua for winning a tournament.
Masters field at 84 players heading into the final 3 months
55 after closing with a 77 in the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai to drop to a tie for 23rd. That he accumulated the most world ranking points (463.54) was no surprise. Johnson received credit for the victory with the staggered start based on the FedEx Cup (he tied for third in world ranking points). DIVOTSDustin Johnson earned an average of 25.75 world ranking points in his 18 starts worldwide in 2020. That's more than the total ranking points Tiger Woods earned (19.08) in the nine tournaments he played.
Not good enough: Smith runner-up despite four rounds in 60s
On the heels of shooting 67, 68 and 69 over the first three rounds, Smith finished with a 15-under total that would've been good enough to win most years. “It would have been cool to do that and win,” Smith said “I would take 15 under around here for the rest of my career. Smith, playing up ahead in the next-to-last threesome, brilliantly scrambled for birdies at the seventh and ninth holes, leaving him two behind at the turn. “I wouldn't say I brought my best stuff, especially my longer stuff,” Smith said. Unfortunately for Smith and Im, Johnson was even better.
Final round: Johnson's toughest opponent could be himself
“See ball, hit ball, see putt, hole putt, go to the next,” he said. A moment later, McIlroy added, “I think he’s got one of the best attitudes toward the game of golf in the history of the game. “I know what it takes,” Johnson said after Saturday’s round. I’ve been in the situation a lot of times.”The third round began with 10 players separated by one shot. In complete command of nearly every other facet of his game, Johnson sounded like a golfer looking forward to the final round of a member-guest instead of the Masters.
Dustin Johnson's pursuers at Masters hardly a Murderers' Row
Mexico's Abraham Ancer, South Korea's Sungjae Im and Australia's Cameron Smith were at 12-under 204 through 54 holes, four shots behind Johnson's pace-setting score. Ancer and Im are playing the Masters for the first time, which doesn't bode well for their chances. But he was hardly a contender, going to the final round 11 shots off the lead. “Anyone with a four-shot lead is expected to win,” Smith said. “I watched the Masters growing up so many times that I feel like I’m used to playing this course,” Im said through a translator.
Johnson plays like No. 1 and seizes control at the Masters
They were among four times he had at least a share of the 54-hole lead in a major without converting. “If I can play like I did today, I think it will break that streak,” Johnson said Saturday. He has not converted two 54-hole leads, nor has he won at two majors where he shared the 54-hole lead. “I’m very comfortable with having the lead going into tomorrow. I’ve been in this situation a lot of times,” Johnson said.
Rahm joins the lead and the large pack chasing green jacket
Tiger Woods remains in the mix with one birdie and seven pars to complete a 71, leaving him four shots behind. As the sun broke through the clouds when the second round ended, it revealed a Masters that even without spectators was shaping up to be as exciting as always. Rahm joined the lead pack at 9-under 135 with a wedge to 5 feet for birdie on the par-5 13th to resume his second round, but the next par 5 meant just as much. The cut was at even-par 144, a Masters record and a reflection of how rain has affected this Masters in November. That included Woods, who won his fifth green jacket last year by coming from behind for the first time in a major.
The Latest: Johnson ties Masters' 54-hole record at 16 under
He quickly distanced himself from the pack with an eagle on the second hole, then followed with birdies on Nos. Mickelson drove into a batch of pine trees, then actually went backward when his second shot ricocheted off one of the trees. ___12:30 p.m.Dustin Johnson eagled the second hole at Augusta National to move into the lead alone in the Masters. On the 575-yard, par-5 second hole, Johnson followed a 363-yard drive with an approach that ended up 3 feet from the pin. ___8:10 a.m.Vijay Singh has withdrawn from the Masters because of illness after completing 10 holes in the second round.
Round 2: Green jackets brace for more red numbers at Masters
The green jackets who run the Masters knew moving the tournament from April to November meant ceding some control. The scoring average for Round 1 — which wasn’t wrapped up until Friday morning — settled at 71.41, the lowest ever at the Masters. His tee shot found a muddy stretch well left of the fairway, but after a search he couldn’t find the ball. He bogeyed the next two holes, turning the rest of his round into a desperate rescue effort. Afterward, Rahm, one of his playing partners, was asked whether he was involved in the search for DeChambeau’s wayward tee shot at the third.
Johnson, Thomas part of 4-way share atop Masters leaderboard
What two days have shown is that Masters experience only goes so far on a soft course with rye grass that isn't grown in quite the way it usually is in April. Another Masters rookie, Sungjae Im (70), was in the group another shot behind that included Patrick Cantlay (66), who contended for the green jacket last year. “You have to really throw all the past knowledge out the window this week, as weird as it is,” Thomas said. Johnson quickly became the first player this week to reach 10 under with three birdies around Amen Corner. The two-time Masters champion shot 68 in the morning on a long, soft course.
The Latest: Johnson shares Masters lead, play suspended
Play has been suspended in the second round of the Masters, with 48 players yet to finish. While the second round won’t be completed until Saturday morning, Langer is assured of getting through. Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Cameron Smith and Abraham Ancer all have a share of the lead after finishing the second round at 9-under 135. ___11:50 a.m.Dustin Johnson is pulling away from the field in the second round of the Masters. The second round is underway at the Masters, and the first round hasn't quite finished up yet.
The Masters in November gives golf a big sendoff
It's November, and I think everybody just has to embrace that we're here and we're playing and that's a great thing." In some respects, this Masters is a celebration of what golf has done and a sendoff the sport has never had. For many, it signaled the start of golf season, whether that meant playing or watching. “All the Masters I've watched over the years in Ireland, the golfing season started normally the weekend of the Masters,” British Open champion Shane Lowry said. “I think when The Open Championship was canceled, I had serious doubts we'd play a Masters this year in 2020,” McIlroy said.
Laird redeems himself in playoff to win again in Las Vegas
He had to return to the par-3 17th in a three-man playoff to finish the job with a birdie. “It's been a while since my last one, and you have some doubts at times whether you're going to get another one,” Laird said. To see that putt go in, it was pretty special.”It was the third time Laird has been in a playoff in Las Vegas, all of them involving three players. He still had status that carried over because of the shutdown, but fell so far down the list that he needed as sponsor exemption for Las Vegas. Laird needed a pair of top-10 finishes in opposite-field events at the end of the 2019 season just to keep his card.
Rahm has 65 to catch up to Johnson at Tour Championship
I kind of stole that tournament last week from him and he started with a two-shot lead. He said later it felt awkward to start the tournament with a two-shot lead before hitting a shot. Johnson and Rahm spent most of the day playing out of the rough, which makes it harder to get it close. Rahm holed one from 20 feet on the par-3 second hole, and Johnson matched him from 6 feet. I feel like I was doing most of the pushing because I made pretty much every single birdie putt before he did, Rahm said.
Rahm has 65 to catch up to Johnson at Tour Championship
(AP Photo/John Bazemore)ATLANTA Five days later, Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm are still going at it. Rahm, whose 65-foot birdie putt beat Johnson in a playoff at Olympia Fields last week, had a 5-under 65 that allowed him to make up the two-shot deficit at the start of the round that was awarded Johnson as the No. Johnson and Rahm spent most of the day playing out of the rough, which makes it harder to get it close. Rahm holed one from 20 feet on the par-3 second hole, and Johnson matched him from 6 feet. I feel like I was doing most of the pushing because I made pretty much every single birdie putt before he did, Rahm said.
Thomas assured $2 million bonus as tour heads to postseason
He has not made it to the Tour Championship since 2017, the year of his last victory. CLUTCH PARFormer Masters champion Charl Schwartzel had reason to celebrate on Friday without ever being in the hunt at the PGA Championship. That got the attention of the PGA of America, which gave him an exemption into the PGA Championship. The LOCALiQ Series for players on the Canadian, China and Latin America circuits for the PGA Tour now has a conclusion. STAT OF THE WEEKIn the last five years of the PGA Championship, players have posted all four rounds in the 60s without winning 16 times.
Paul Casey tuned in for more than golf in PGA Tour's return
Casey watched plenty on TV, and he was watching more than the golf. PAIRINGS WITH A PURPOSEThe PGA Tour has four groups of featured pairings for its PGA Tour Live," and then the rest of the field is supposed to be relatively random depending on a player's category. Oak Hill last hosted the PGA Championship in 2013 won by Jason Dufner, while Tiger Woods won his fourth PGA Championship at Southern Hills in 2007. DIVOTSHilton Head has some of the smallest greens on the PGA Tour, and Abraham Ancer hit 65 out of 72 of them in his runner-up finish. FINAL REBUTTALFascinating stuff. CBS analyst Nick Faldo, watching Koepka tee off on the 18th hole and telling viewers he would listen to what Koepka had to say.
Simpson celebrates a Fathers Day win at Harbour Town
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. Nothing can top the first time Webb Simpson won on Father's Day, a U.S. Open title eight years ago at Olympic Club and hearing his father's laughter on the phone to share the joy. Crazy day, Simpson said. "U.S. Open on Father's Day, Ill never forget calling my dad after on the way to the press conference, and when he picked up the phone, he just was laughing. So Im going to miss that laugh today for sure. Simpson, Ancer, Joaquin Niemann and Tyrrell Hatton were tied at 20 under at one point late in the round.