Koepka powers into a share of lead at Northern Trust
Brooks Koepka showed some muscle and unleashed a monstrous finish Friday to share the lead in the Northern Trust.
Tiger Woods missed yet another putt and was relieved to still be playing.
Koepka spent most of the second round trading birdies and bogeys, going nowhere. One swing changed everything on the 631-yard 13th hole at Ridgewood Country Club. From just under 310 yards, he swung 3-wood as hard as he could and saw the tight draw that had been missing all day. It stopped 20 feet from the hole, Koepka made it for eagle and then closed with three straight birdies for a 6-under 65.
He tied Jamie Lovemark, who shot a 66.
“I wasn’t happy the first 11 holes the way I hit it,” Koepka said. “When I hit that 3-wood, it all clicked. I felt like I was finally able to release the golf club. Just tried to hit as hard as I could, big draw. Aimed at the tree on the right and tried to draw it back to the flag. When I did that, everything started to click.”
The U.S. Open and PGA champion took it from there.
Lovemark, winless in 135 starts as a pro, made five birdies in a six-hole stretch around the turn and was the first to reach 10-under 132.
Before long, a list of contenders lined up behind them in an entertaining start to the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Adam Scott, building on his confidence from playing in the final group at the PGA Championship, had a 64 for the low round of the tournament and was one shot behind. Another shot back was Dustin Johnson, the world No. 1, who had another 67 that for the second straight day featured a triple bogey on his card.
Bryson DeChambeau had a 66 and joined Johnson at 134. The group at 7-under 135 included Sean O’Hair, who is No. 112 in the FedEx Cup and needs to get to No. 70 by the third playoff event at the BMW Championship.
Woods was not part of the action, even though he hit the ball beautifully. Woods had a birdie putt on every hole until the par-3 15th, when his tee shot rolled just off the green against the collar. All he had to show for it was two birdies, giving him four birdies in 36 holes.
Czech Masters: Gavin Green boosted his chances of becoming the first Malaysian to win on the European Tour after the second round of the Czech Masters on Friday, while John Daly followed his opening 64 with a poor 3-over 75.
Five bogeys in his round meant that former British Open and U.S. PGA Championship winner Daly slipped to a tie for 36th place on 5-under 139 after the 52-yearold American had started the day in a share of the lead with Green, Callum Tarren and Thomas Pieters.
Green took first place outright after seven birdies, one bogey and a double bogey gave him a 4-under 68 and a one-stroke advantage over Jeff Winther of Denmark, who also returned a 68 at the Albatross Golf Resort near Prague.
Sharing third position on 134, two shots off the pace, were Pieters (70), Padraig Harrington (68), Andrea Pavan (69) and Tapio Pulkkanen (69).
Five Texas State walk-ons received football scholarships Thursday night wide receiver Hutch White, cornerback Dennis Johnson Jr., linebacker Malik Alley and long snappers Tommy Simmons and Justin Warner.
White, a junior out of Kerrville Tivy, was fourth on the team last season in receptions (15) and receiving yards (196) while also returning every punt for the Bobcats.
Entering his senior year, Johnson joined the Bobcats last season after playing at Dodge City Community College. He was a receiver at Dodge City and at Texas State last season but is now expected to start at corner after switching in the spring.
His 6-foot-4 height gives the Bobcats added length for a defensive backfield that yielded zero interceptions last season.
Alley walked on in 2016 after transferring from Midwestern State. A junior inside linebacker, he played in all 12 games on special teams last season, accumulating seven tackles.
Simmons, a senior who started at Kilgore College, appeared in five games as the deep snapper on punts. Warner, a junior, walked on in coach Everett Withers’ first year and appeared in five games his freshman season and 11 last year as a field-goal snapper.
Soccer team 1-1: The Bobcats split two games last weekend, dropping the first one at Louisiana Tech 2-1 in double overtime last Friday before beating UTSA at home 1-0 Sunday.
Junior forward Kaylee Davis scored the Bobcats’ only goal in the first minute against Louisiana Tech.
The Bulldogs tied the game at the 19:02 mark before taking the final lead at 102:26. Kaylee Zettler scored both of Louisiana Tech’s goals.
The Bobcats bounced back the next day by beating the Roadrunners. Davis once again scored the Bobcats’ lone goal, this time with less than three minutes left.
Texas State is on the road this weekend, at McNeese
Throwback game: The athletic department announced a football “throwback game” Oct. 27 against New Mexico State in San Marcos. For the first time since changing from Southwest Texas State to Texas State in 2003, the Bobcats will wear Southwest Texas State uniforms.
At the first fall practice earlier this month, Withers expressed a desire for banners to be put up at Bobcat Stadium honoring the 1981 and 1982 Division II national champion Southwest Texas State teams.