GOLF ▶Brooks Koepka shoots 66 to take one-shot lead over three at Workday Championship.
He sinks three straight on way to 6-under 66 for 1-shot edge heading into the weekend
Brooks Koepka hit one of his worst tee shots of the day that barely cleared the water on the 15th hole. That turned out to be the start of three straight birdies that led to a 6-under 66 and a one-shot lead Friday in the Workday Championship.
In some respects, that’s how his recent surge has been.
Coming off a pair of missed cuts, Koepka won the Phoenix Open to end an 18month drought. And now he’s starting to hit his stride with the first major of the year creeping up quickly.
Koepka hit a chip 9-iron to 6 feet for birdie on No. 15, nearly holed his wedge on the next hole and then birdied the par-5 17th with a splendid bunker shot across the ridges and down the slope to tap-in range.
He closed with a bogey by avoiding a deceptive pin near the water on the closing hole at The Concession. Koepka, who finished at 11-under 133, had a one-shot lead over Cameron Smith, Billy Horschel and PGA champion Collin Morikawa, who made up ground quickly with six birdies over his last 10 holes.
“Usually I can never find my game until The Players. That’s kind of when it starts to feel like it’s coming around,” Koepka said. “But the fact that it’s here a little bit early is nice.”
Koepka spent most of his offseason with trainer Derek Stone in San Diego. It was all about getting his left knee healthy.
A dozen players were separated by five shots going into the weekend of this World Golf Championship, which moved from Mexico City this year because of COVID -19 circumstances and is providing a vastly different test.
Players have gone from mile-high altitude to flat Florida, with fairways lined with water hazards and palmetto bushes and greens with wild slopes and contours.
Even with a 71-man field, first and last
was separated by a whopping 22 shots. Morikawa matched the low score of the tournament with a 64. The other 64 belonged to Bryson Dechambeau, who was 13 shots better than the opening round.
PGA: Brandon Wu birdied the final two holes for a 5-under 67 and the second-round lead in the Puerto Rico Open. Wu played the back nine in 4 under. He birdied the par-4 12th, par-5 15th, par-4 17th and par-5 18th to reach 11-under 133. The 24-year-old former Stanford player got into the field through the Korn Ferry Tour points list. He won the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in August, and tied for 14th last week in Florida in the first Korn Ferry event since early October. Greg Chalmers was a stroke back after a 68. The 47-year-old Australian also birdied his final two holes, the par-3 eighth and par-4 ninth. Home star Rafael Campos and South Africa’s Branden Grace were 9 under.
LPGA: Annika Sorenstam went more than 12 years without playing on the LPGA Tour. Now she gets two more days. Sorenstam made three birdies after making the turn Friday at Lake Nona and posted a 1-under 71 in the Gainbridge LPGA. And even with the wrong ruling the previous day that led to an extra stroke, she still made the cut on the number. She still was 12 shots out of the lead as Lydia Ko posted a 3-under 69 and took a one-shot lead over Nelly Korda (68).
Champions: Phil Mickelson made a birdie after hitting out of the mud on the par-5 15th hole during a 3-under 70 at the Cologuard Classic, putting him in contention for a third straight victory to open his Champions career. Mickelson was five behind Scott Verplank, who holed out from a greenside bunker for a birdie on the par-4 ninth hole to close out a 65. Mike Weir shot a bogey-free 66.