Europe Ryder Cup captain Donald has a plan for beating US
One major takeaway from the just-concluded Italian Open at the Marco Simone club outside Rome that will host next year’s Ryder Cup is that the course is being set up to reward accurate tee shots with narrow fairways surrounded by nasty rough and even higher grass beyond.
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Great Scot! MacIntyre battles world No. 1 Johnson to a draw
“It was a tough match,” Johnson said. “Obviously, I was dying to win that match,” MacIntyre said. The Spaniard, whose American home is in Austin, won his second match and thus eliminated Hatton, the No. He missed the birdie putt and Rahm, who would have had a putt from the same range, smile a sigh of relief. Johnson was 10 feet away for eagle, and MacIntyre still had him putt it (Johnson made it).
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Big finish sends Garcia to big lead at Players Championship
Garcia thought he had plenty of time to get from the range to the 10th tee to start his round. Then he fired off a 7-under 65, capped off by a birdie-birdie-eagle finish for a two-shot lead over Brian Harman. AdWhen darkness brought the first round to a halt — 21 players didn't finish — there already were 13 scores of 80 or higher. “For some reason, it just kind of fits my eye,” said Garcia, who won The Players in 2008 and has twice been runner-up. British Open champion Shane Lowry took bogey on his final hole for a 68 and was tied with Corey Conners and Matt Fitzpatrick.
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Conners builds 1-shot lead at Bay Hill as McIlroy lurks
Conners surged into the lead with a 25-foot eagle putt on the par-5 16th hole — his second eagle on that hole in two days — for a 3-under 69 and a one-shot advantage over former Bay Hill winner Martin Laird (67). He was two shots behind, along with Viktor Hovland and Lanto Griffin, who each had a 68. The forecast featured plenty of rain Saturday, which figures to make Bay Hill play longer and tougher, while also keeping the greens from getting as crusty as they were last year when Tyrrell Hatton won with a closing 74. He won at Bay Hill in 2011 on a final round so tough a 75 was enough to get the job done. He played in the morning, had a pair of birdies and came to the 16th, the easiest at Bay Hill.
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Morikawa plays a steady hand to win Workday Championship
BRADENTON, Fla. – PGA champion Collin Morikawa shook off an early mistake and played a steady hand on a Concession golf course known for calamity, closing with a 3-under 69 for a three-shot victory in the Workday Championship. And there was a tribute to Tiger Woods, his golf idol growing up. “We don't say ‘Thank you’ enough,” Morikawa said, referring to how much Woods has raised the profile and prize money in golf. He finished at 18-under 270 and became the 24th player to win a major and a World Golf Championship title since this series began in 1999. “If there was no Tiger Woods, I just the think the tour and the game of golf in general would be in a worse place.
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Morikawa's late stumble gives Workday contenders a chance
Morikawa walked off the 12th hole with his seventh birdie in eight holes, stretching his lead to five shots with two par 5s still to play. He made bogey on both, shot a 5-under 67 and suddenly had four-time major champion Brooks Koepka and Billy Horschel on his tail. “I didn’t play great the last six, but a lot to learn from heading into tomorrow,” Morikawa said. Horschel also had a late rally with an eagle on the par-5 17th hole and shot 69. “I just kept rolling in birdie after birdie.
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Day after rules controversy, Reed wins at Torrey Pines
(AP Photo/Gregory Bull)SAN DIEGO – Showing no effects from a rules controversy a day earlier, Patrick Reed pulled away for a five-shot victory Sunday in the Farmers Insurance Open. Reed closed with a 4-under 68 at Torrey Pines, making an eagle on the par-5 sixth and finishing off his ninth PGA Tour title with a birdie on the 18th. Reed told the official that no one in his group, as well as a nearby volunteer, saw it bounce. AdOn Sunday, Reed jump-started his round with a 45-foot eagle putt on the No. He played par the rest of the way until sinking an 8-foot birdie putt on No.
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Reed dodges controversy to share 54-hole lead at Farmers
(AP Photo/Gregory Bull)SAN DIEGO – Patrick Reed was involved in another rules controversy Saturday in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. Believing the ball didn't bounce, Reed picked it up to see if it was embedded before a rules official arrived. Reed told the official that no one in his group, as well as a nearby volunteer, saw it bounce. “At that point we go with what the rules official said and also with what the volunteers and what we see,” Reed said. Reed shared the lead with Alex Noren after the first round and was one shot off the lead after 36 holes.
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Viktor Hovland vaults into Farmers lead at wet Torrey Pines
Viktor Hovland, left, of Norway, waits to putt on the eighth hole of the South Course during the second round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament at Torrey Pines, Friday, Jan. 29, 2021, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)SAN DIEGO – Viktor Hovland birdied his final for a 7-under 65 on Torrey Pines’ tough South Course on a rainy, miserable Friday, giving him a one-shot lead after two rounds of the Farmers Insurance Open. Reed shot an even-par 72 on the South Course a day after firing an 8-under 64 on the easier North Course. AdThe weather is supposed to clear up for the weekend rounds on the South Course. “I just played really solid and made some putts.”He had just one bogey, on the par-4 15th.