Thomas, Kokrak share lead after first round
Golfers eying $15-million prize next weekend
MEDINAH, Ill. — On the range, Justin Thomas had no idea where the ball was going. Some five hours later, he had a share of the course record at Medinah.
Ultimately, all that mattered Thursday in the BMW Championship was taking a good step toward an important goal. Thomas already is set for the Tour Championship next week and the chase for FedEx Cup and its $15 million prize. That’s not what interests him.
“I don’t give a crap about the money,” he said. “It’s about winning tournaments.”
He made his first birdie after hitting a tree on the fourth hole, leaving him a 5-iron he hit to 2 feet. His last birdie was a putt from about 60 feet on the fringe from the back of the 16th green. He did enough right in between for a 7-under 65 and a share of the lead with Jason Kokrak.
The others to post 65 at Medinah were Tiger Woods, Mike Weir and Skip Kendall at the PGA Championship in 1999 and 2006.
Woods won both those majors. Winning the second FedEx Cup playoff event might be a lot tougher.
One week after he withdrew with a mild oblique strain at Liberty National, Woods could only manage a 71 that felt feeble compared with everyone else. All but two players in the 69-man field were at par or better on a Medinah course that was soft from bursts of rain earlier in the week.
Woods is projected to need a top 10 this week to advance to East Lake, where he is defending champion. After one round, he was tied for 50th.
“It’s just not sharp,” Woods said. “I’m trying to make changes in my swing, and it’s just not quite there yet.”
The
good news
for Woods? He says he didn’t his oblique.
“I just need to clean up my rounds and get going,” he said. “Seems like the whole field is under par.”
That starts with Thomas, who has not won since the World Golf Championship at Firestone a year ago. He wouldn’t have thought such an opportunity might exist the way he warmed up on the range Thursday morning.
“I probably would say that I had the worst warmup I’ve ever had in my life this morning,” he said.
The goal heading to the first tee was to find something that would allow him to get around without doing too much damage.
“I’ve had that happen plenty of times, just not quite that extreme,”
feel any
tightness
in Thomas said. “I’m usually pretty good at finding my way around a golf course and finding something, but definitely didn’t expect that today.”
Kokrak does have the Tour Championship on his mind. Along with a chase for the $15 million, just getting to East Lake includes an invitation to the Masters, and he’s never been. He played the par 5s in 5 under — including an eagle on No. 10 when he holed a 30-yard shot from the rough — and made only one bogey.
Kokrak, who has never won in 207 starts as a pro on the PGA Tour, is No. 32 in the FedEx Cup. The top 30 after this week advance to the Tour Championship, where there will be a staggered start based on par for the final event.
The leader will start at 10 under. The 30th player will start at even par.
The there.
“I thought about doing some number-crunching and seeing what I had to finish, but I think putting myself in a good position to win a golf tournament is going to get the job done,” he said. “I don’t think I need to worry about where I need to finish in the tournament. I’d rather go out and try to win.”
They had a one-shot lead over 49-year-old Jim Furyk, a former FedEx Cup champion who hasn’t been back to East Lake in five years. Patrick Cantlay, Joel Dahmen, Lucas Glover and Brandt Snedeker also
goal
for
Kokrak
is
to
get were at 66, while the large group at 67 included Adam Scott, Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa.
Dahmen and Morikawa have different outlook.
Morikawa was finishing up at Cal just over two months ago and had limited time just to try to secure a PGA Tour card. He did that with a victory at the Barracuda Championship, and along with his runner-up finish in Minnesota, he comes into this week at No. 57 with an outside shot at the Tour Championship.
“It’s definitely a goal of mine now,” Morikawa said. “Just because I reached those goals for this summer doesn’t mean I’m going to stop here. I’m not satisfied with just ending my season here. Obviously, it’s very fun and I’m grateful to be here after the win. But it doesn’t stop here.”
GREEN TAKES LEAD
a
VYSOKY UJEZD, Czech Republic — Gavin Green of Malaysia shot an 8-under 64 for a one-shot lead after the opening round of the Czech Masters on Thursday.
Hoping to become the first Malaysian to win a European Tour trophy, Green birdied eight of the first 12 holes to top the leaderboard. He bogeyed the 13th but returned to the leading position with a last-hole birdie at the Albatross Golf Resort near Prague.
He also shared the lead last year after matching the course record with an opening 64.
“I don’t know what it is about this place,” Green said. “The course suits me well and it helps if you hit it a little longer and a little higher. It helps to be able to stop the ball on the greens. If you get a good drive away you just have a wedge in your hand and you can take advantage of that.”
Erik van Rooyen and Lee Slattery shot 7 under to tie for second.
South Africa’s Van Rooyen had a bogey-free round with seven birdies while Englishman Slattery finished with an eagle, six birdies and a bogey.
Edoardo Molinari was among six golfers tied for fourth after a round of 66.