Herman up a shot in Barbasol Championship
NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. — Helped by President Donald Trump’s putting advice, Jim Herman made two eagles on his way to a 10-under-par 62 Saturday, maintaining a one-stroke lead entering the final round of the PGA Tour’s Barbasol Championship.
“I haven’t been playing bad, I just haven’t been rolling the ball very well,” Herman said. “So to start seeing the balls go in, that’s a confidence booster. You feel like you can make anything.”
Trump’s regular golf partner while working as an assistant professional at Trump National Bedminster in New Jersey, Herman changed to a conventional putting grip and clubhead at the president’s suggestion after a recent round.
“He gave me a good talking-to and told me to use a different style if it’s not working,” Herman said Friday after shooting a second straight 65 to top the leaderboard. “Some great advice, so I appreciate it.”
On Saturday, Herman made an 11-foot eagle putt on the par-5 eighth hole and a 10-footer on the par-5 15th. He also had six birdies to get to 24-under 192 at rain-softened Keene Trace Golf Club.
“I thought the last two days were good, but improved on it,” Herman said. “You just know that you’ve got to go low. … No lead is safe, so you’ve got to keep the pedal down and see how many birdies you can make.”
Kelly Kraft was second after a course-record 61. He also eagled the 15th, holing a 65-footer.
“It was a fun day,” Kraft said. “The hole looked big with the putter. I had a lot of looks. I felt like I was making putts on every hole. It was just one of those days. The putter heated up, and it was a lot of fun.”
Encouraged by Trump to pursue a playing career, Herman won the 2016 Shell Houston Open for his lone PGA Tour title — a victory that followed a friendly round with Trump.
“I’m just driving the ball well. Have had a really good iron game the last three days. And I’m rolling the ball really well,” the 41-yearold Cincinnati native said. “So any time you can have those three, you’re going to be in good shape, so it’s a great place. I guess the tee shots line up for me, and I’m reading the greens really well.”
Austin Cook (63) and Bill Haas (65) were four strokes back in third. Haas saved par with a 20-footer on the par-4 18th after driving into the water.
“Disappointed at that tee shot,” Haas said “That’s my miss. When I seem to get ahead of it a little bit, I hit it right. It’s not the best finishing hole for me with water right, but I felt comfortable over it, just overcut it a little bit, pushed it.”
Tied for fifth at 17 under were Sebastian Munoz (66), Sepp Straka (63) and Josh Teater (64).
Chattanooga’s Stephan Jaeger shot a 65 to jump 30 spots up the leaderboard. The former Baylor School and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga standout was tied for 14th at 13 under after a round in which he offset two bogeys with seven birdies and an eagle on the par-5 fifth. He made an eagle for the second straight day, with Friday’s on No. 15.
Harris English, another former Baylor standout, eagled No. 15 on Saturday on his way to a 68 that included four birdies and two bogeys. He was tied for 37th at 10 under.
David Toms had been just two shots back after a second-round 64, but his 73 dropped him into a tie for 32nd at 11 under. The 52-yearold American is making his third PGA Tour start of the season.
Auburn represented
MIDLAND, Mich. — American golfer Cydney Clanton and Thailand’s Jasmine Suwannapura ran away with the Great Lakes Bay Invitational on Saturday, shooting an 11-under 59 in better-ball play for a six-stroke victory over Jin Young Ko and Minjee Lee.
Clanton and Suwannapura took a five-shot lead into the final round after posting an alternate-shot round of 63 on Friday at Midland Country Club in the LPGA Tour’s first-year team event. They finished at 27-under 253.
“It’s pretty awesome,” Suwannapura said. “I couldn’t ask for a better partner.”
It’s the second LPGA Tour title for Suwannapura, who won the Marathon Classic last year. It’s the first for Clanton, who earned spots the next two weeks in the Evian Championship and the Women’s British Open, both major tournaments.
The first former Auburn University player to win on the tour, Clanton began the season without a full LPGA Tour card after finishing $8 out of the top 100 on the 2018 money list. She has split time this year on the top-tier women’s circuit and the developmental Symetra Tour, winning the El Dorado Shootout in April.
“I couldn’t even dream up to have won a Symetra event earlier this year and then to come out and win with Jasmine,” Clanton said. “It’s so funny — this is the tournament that I wanted to come and play in. I was like, ‘Team event, I’m in, let’s go.’ So I’m blessed for the opportunity, I’m blessed that Jasmine came and let me come play with her.”
South Korea’s Ko and Australia’s Lee closed with a 58.
“We both played better than we did the last time (in the same format),” Lee said. “We just had a better rhythm out there. I think we just fed off each other. Jin Young had so many birdies today, so I just tried to keep up, pretty much.”
Clanton and Suwannapura were both rookies in 2012.
“I’ve had full status before, but it will allow for me to kind of sit back and relax a little bit and kind of set my own schedule,” Clanton said. “I think it’s just going to free me up because it’s been something that I’ve been working on. I guess I was quite down for the first couple years.”
Clanton and Suwannapura each bogeyed the first hole Saturday, then each had eight birdies.
“Felt pretty good on the first tee,” Clanton said. “Didn’t hit a great shot into the green, but I’m not going to lie, the majority of my rounds start with bogeys. So I told Jasmine, I was like, ‘Dude, we’re ready. We’re ready to go. We got it out of the way. We’ll go low.’”
Ariya Jutanugarn and Moriya Jutanugarn, the standout sisters from Thailand, tied for third with South Korea’s Na Yeon Choi and Jenny Shin at 20 under. Both teams closed with a 61. Canadian teammates Brooke Henderson and Alena Sharp were fifth at 19 under after a 61.