Swirling winds lead to chaotic outcomes in Match Play event
AUSTIN, Texas — Phil Mickelson hit a simple chip toward the hole that never stopped until it was off the other side of the green and into the water. GOLF
Jordan Spieth felt a gust of wind as his tee shot was in the air and began pleading for it to get down. He stopped talking only when he heard the crowd cheer and saw the ball 2 feet from the hole.
Brandt Snedeker brought a touch of class to an exasperating at the Dell Technologies Match Play. He watched Andy Sullivan roll a putt to within 2 feet of the hole, only for the wind to blow back 7 feet away.
Snedeker gave him the putt to halve the hole. “Pure class,” Sullivan said It was pure chaos Thursday at Austin Country Club, where 30 mph gusts raged through the edge of Hill Country and made conditions so brittle and blustery that holes were won with bogeys.
And it was just as wild trying to keep score thanks to two more players withdrawing.
Soren Kjeldsen and Alex Noren won their groups, one round before group play is even finished. Rory McIlroy took the day off, and he’s already guaranteed the weekend off.
The wind had nothing to do with a domino-effect of withdrawals that allowed Kjeldsen and Noren to get a day of rest Friday.
PGA — At Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, five days after getting married, Trey Mullinax ran off nine birdies and saved par with a 15-foot putt on his last hole for a 9-under-par 63 to take the lead at the Puerto Rico Open.
The first round was suspended when showers turned into heavy rain at Coco Beach Golf & Country Club and the course was too wet to continue.
Mullinax had a one-stroke lead over D.A. Points.
UNLV product Bill Lunde, playing for the first time in five months, and Xander Schauffele were two strokes off the pace.
LPGA — At Carlsbad, Calif., Cristie Kerr, Mo Martin and In Gee Chun each shot a 6-under 66 to share the lead after the opening round of the Kia Classic at Aviara.
Tied at 4 under were Marissa Steen, Alison Lee, Karine Icher, Mirim Lee, Hyo Joo Kim and Moriya Jutanugarn.