Monday, August 26, 2013

Kuchar edges ahead at weather-hit Barclays

Matt Kuchar edged past clubhouse leaders Webb Simpson and Gary Woodland as darkness halted play in the weather-disruptedBarclays, the first event in the US PGA Tour playoffs.
Kuchar had five birdies and no bogeys through 13 holes of his second round and was 10-under for the tournament when play was suspended.
He'll return on Saturday morning to try to seal the 36-hole lead.
Former US Open champion Simpson had made a marathon day look easy, firing a second-round 66 to take the early clubhouse lead on nine-under 133.
He was joined late in the day by Woodland, who notched a sparkling 64 that included eight birdies and a bogey.
"When you're playing well, you feel like you could play 40 holes in a day," said Simpson, who in fact played 29 -- first finishing up his first round after weather delays totalling almost six hours on Thursday.
Simpson and Woodland were two strokes clear of their nearest rivals in the clubhouse.
Masters champion Adam ScottRickie Fowler and Keegan Bradleywere all in on seven-under 135, while England's Justin Rose, the reigning US Open champion, was at seven-under for the tournament through 14 holes.
Fowler set a Liberty National Golf Club course record with a 64, only for Bradley to break it with a 63 -- all before Woodland completed his own 64.
Scott carded a 66. The Australian, who hasn't won since capturing his first major title at Augusta National in April, was also happy to put in a long day. He played 12 holes of his first round before completing his second.
"I'm pretty happy with today's effort," Scott said. "When we went out this morning, the wind was up, and the course played a lot tougher than the few holes I played yesterday."
Nevertheless, he had an eagle, a birdie and one bogey over his 12 holes to conclude the first round, and added five birdies and another eagle in the second.
"Playing 30 holes in a day is good -- if you're playing well," Scott said.
He played in a group with Bradley, whose course-record 63 included eight birdies without a bogey. Fowler had six birdies and an eagle and one bogey in his 64.
Among those who were unable to finish, Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy had seven birdies and two bogeys through 16 holes to stand at five-under for the tournament and world number one Tiger Woods was one-under for the day and five-under for the tournament through 13 holes.
Woods came into the $8 million tournament topping the playoff standings thanks to five US PGA Tour wins this season.
The top 125 players in the standings qualified for this week's field. Only 100 will go on to theDeutsche Bank Championship in Boston. Seventy will then play the BMW Championship in Chicago, with the top 30 on the points list qualifying for the Tour Championship in Atlanta.
The player topping the standings after the four events wins a $10 million playoff bonus.

Kuchar makes good use of a short day at Barclays

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) -- Matt Kuchar made the most of his short day at The Barclays.
Kuchar didn't tee off until Friday afternoon at Liberty National and knew he had no chance to finish. He could barely see his ball cross the water and set up a two-putt birdie on the 13th hole that gave him the outright lead, and there was enough light coming from lower Manhattan across the Hudson River to hit his tee shot on the 14th.
The horn sounded, and by then, he was ready to go home.
Kuchar was at 10-under par with five holes remaining and had to return Saturday morning to hold his one-shot lead over Webb Simpson and Gary Woodland, who both finished the second round in the rain-delayed tournament.
Simpson had to play 29 holes - 11 holes to finish his first round in the morning, followed by his second round - and he was ready to go more. He ran off six birdies over an eight-hole stretch and had a 5-under 66.
''It's much nicer when you're playing well to keep playing. And when you're playing well, you feel like you could play 40 holes in a day,'' Simpson said. ''My main goal ... I just wanted to get done today. It just felt nice to putt out on 9, knowing that I've got tonight to sleep and catch up on rest.''
Woodland was one of the last players to finish at twilight Friday, and he finished strong. Woodland, back on track after a win at the Reno-Tahoe Open three weeks ago, birdied four of his last five holes for a 64 to join Simpson in the clubhouse at 9-under 133.
''I feel ecstatic right now to be done,'' Woodland said. ''It was a close call coming down the stretch if we would be able to finish. Luckily, I played great today, gave myself a lot of opportunities, and I drove the ball phenomenally and rolled some putts in, especially late.''
As for Tiger Woods, he couldn't get off the course fast enough.
Woods challenged the target set by Simpson with three birdies in five holes - he was two shots behind - and he had a pair of par 5s in front of him. He failed to make birdie on either of the par 5s, and made three bogeys out of the bunker through the 12th hole to fall off the pace. He made birdie on the 13th, the last hole he completed, but was still five shots behind Kuchar, who was in his group.
''I got off to a great start today and then lost it the middle part of the round and made too many mistakes,'' Woods said.
He also said his back remained sore from what he said earlier in the week was due to a soft bed in his hotel that led to stiffness in his neck and bad. He said the pain increased throughout the round and when asked if a specific shot made it hurt, he replied, ''Every one.''
''I'm going to get treatment right now ... and be ready for tomorrow morning,'' Woods said.
It was the second straight year at The Barclays he has said a soft hotel bed caused stiffness in his back. Last year, it caused him trouble in the third round.
Rory McIlroy showed more signs of turning his game around. After three double bogeys on Thursday, he limited the mistakes with some nifty par saves and was at 5 under with two holes remaining, starting with a shot from the 17th fairway after a big tee shot.
Kuchar stopped with his tee shot just short of the green on the par-3 14th, and he had no inclination to finish.
''''I feel like in the morning, they will be perfect greens,'' he said. ''A situation where I'm on 18 and can pretty much have a proper night's sleep and not have to worry about going out, I'll finish on 18. But in this situation ... it was amazing, we were down on the last hole, 13, kind of a little bit down the hole and it was dark. I wasn't sure we were going to tee off on 14. Coming out over the water, it brightened up by a good margin. It's actually a beautiful skyline.
''I think when the sun sets coming off, it was a nice little place to be this time of night.''
It looked even better atop the leaderboard, though there's still a long way to go - and plenty of stars right behind him.
Keegan Bradley set the tournament course record with a 63 and was at 7-under 135, along with Rickie Fowler (64) and Adam Scott, who was tied for the lead at one point until a lazy finish for a 66.
Phil Mickelson, trying to retool his game after his British Open win, had a 69 and was seven shots behind the clubhouse lead.
The last time The Barclays was at Liberty National, Heath Slocum won at 9-under 275. Since then, some of the landing areas were widened and the slopes on the greens were softened. Plus, the course was very little rough this year. And the soft conditions from the rain Thursday is making it easier to make birdies.
For some players, their year was over.
Ben Crane, after opening with a 67, had to withdraw with a lower back injury after playing just four holes of the second round. At No. 125 in the FedEx Cup, he won't be among the 100 players advancing to the second playoff event next week outside Boston.
Lucas Glover withdrew with a hand injury, ending his season.
The cut would not be made until Saturday morning, and Erik Compton needed two more rounds to try to qualify for the next tournament. He did his part, a birdie-birdie finish to get back to even-par 142. That was right on the line for making the cut.

Park, Kerr tied for lead in Canada; Lewis withdraws

World No. 1 Inbee Park shot a 5-under round of 65 at the Royal Mayfair Golf Club on Friday and is tied for the lead with American Cristie Kerr after two rounds of the CN Canadian Women's Open in Edmonton, Alberta. 
 Kerr shot a 4-under round of 66 and the pair is at 8-under, one shot ahead of France's Karine Icher and American Angela Stanford. England's Laura Davies, American Paula Creamer and defending champ Lydia Ko, an amateur from Australia, are two shots off the pace at 6-under. 
 Park is already a six-time winner in 2013, including the first three majors of the year, and played the first two rounds with Kerr. 
"I think it's always good when you're playing with a partner while she's making a lot of birdies and it makes you want to have more birdies," said Park. "It already felt like a final round, and trying to make more birdies and trying to get the momentum going."
Park birdied the first two holes and finished the rounds with just 25 putts. Meanwhile, Kerr's round featured six birdies and two bogeys. The two will tee off in the final group Saturday.
"It's always fun to play with Inbee," said Kerr. "She always plays well, and I enjoy playing with her."
--Stacy Lewis withdrew before the second round, citing illness. The world's No. 2-ranked player, who won the British Open earlier this month before being part of the Solheim Cup rout levied by Europe last week, later took to Twitter to apologize for not finishing the tournament.
"I'm sorry to all my fans, that was the first time I have pulled out of an event. The craziness of the last few weeks finally hit me," Lewis tweeted. "Time to take care of myself!"
--Michelle Wie missed the cut after shooting a 76 on Friday and finishing 9-over through two rounds.

Tiger Woods chips in for birdie at Bridgestone Invitational

Tiger Woods chips in for birdie at Bridgestone Invitational

By Kyle Porter | Golf Writer
More Golf: Leaderboard | Rankings | Schedule | Expert Picks | Equipment | FedEx Cup
This is getting ridiculous.
Tiger Woods chipped in for birdie at No. 13 to get to 16 under on the tournament and double the next closest competitor.
Sunday should be set to "cruise control" on the Tiger dashboard.
For more golf news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnGolf and @KylePorterCBS on Twitter or Google+ and like us on Facebook.

Tiger Woods paired with Love, Bradley for PGA Championship

Tiger Woods paired with Love, Bradley for PGA Championship

By Kyle Porter | Golf Writer
Tiger Woods appears to be ready for the PGA Championship. (Getty Images)
Tiger Woods appears to be ready for the PGA Championship. (Getty Images)
More Golf: Leaderboard | Rankings | Schedule | Expert Picks | Equipment | FedEx Cup
The PGA Championship starts next week and tee times have been released. Here's a look at some of the better groups. All times Eastern.
Sergio GarciaMatt Kuchar, and Rickie Fowler (Thursday: 7:55 a.m., Friday: 1:05 p.m.) -- Garcia and Fowler will take care of the colorful clothes in this group. Kuchar will look like an old man by comparison.
Davis Love IIIKeegan Bradley, and Tiger Woods (Thursday: 8:35 a.m., Friday: 1:45 p.m.) -- So much intensity from Bradley and Woods, so little outward emtion by Love III.
Nicolas ColsaertsJason Day, and Brandt Snedeker (Thursday: 12:55 p.m., Friday: 7:45 a.m.) -- Sneaky great group here. Ok, maybe not "sneaky" but two of the best golfers in the world without a major and the longest hitter on Tour. Should be fun.
Adam ScottJustin Rose, and Phil Mickelson (Thursday: 1:45 p.m., Friday: 8:35 a.m.) -- All three major winners being grouped at the PGA Championship is one of my favorite things.
Graeme McDowellErnie Els, and Bill Haas (Thursday: 8:05 a.m., Friday: 1:15 p.m.) -- Els and McDowell can talk about their off-course pursuits (Els, his wine and McDowell, his bar). I have no idea what Haas will talk to them about.
Rory McIlroyVijay Singh, and Martin Kaymer (Thursday: 1:25 p.m., Friday: 8:15 a.m.) -- Strange group here. One of the most liked guys on Tour (McIlroy) and one of the least liked (Singh).
You can see all the groups here.
For more golf news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnGolf and @KylePorterCBS on Twitter or Google+ and like us on Facebook.

Tiger Woods hits crazy cut shot out of the rough

Tiger Woods hits crazy cut shot out of the rough

By Kyle Porter | Golf Writer
More Golf: Leaderboard | Rankings | Schedule | Expert Picks | Equipment | FedEx Cup
Tiger Woods is blowing away the field at the Bridgestone Invitational as he seems well on his way to an eighth win at this tournament.
This was a cut shot out of the rough at the par-4 No. 8 hole. He cut it about 60 yards back to the right and went on to make par.
I think the elbow is doing all right.
For more golf news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnGolf and @KylePorterCBS on Twitter or Google+ and like us on Facebook.