Bubba is up, Spieth is down
Bubba Watson, momentarily distracted by a rare warning for taking too long to play a shot, recovered with a birdie on the 18th hole at Plainfield Country Club for a two-under-par 68 and a one-shot lead going into the weekend at the Barclays.
Jordan Spieth not only lost out on a chance to play the weekend at the opening event in the FedEx Cup playoffs. He also lost his No. 1 ranking.
On an otherwise sleepy afternoon in Edison, N.J., at a course where no one could get some separation, two peculiar moments stood out — a bad time for Watson, bad golf from Spieth.
Spieth shot a 73 and missed the cut by five shots, the first time since the Tour Championship last year that he had consecutive rounds over par. That means Rory McIlroy, who isn’t playing this week, returns to No. 1.
Watson, at seven-under 133, is in good shape through 36 holes to claim his own No. 1 ranking — a victory would move him to the top of the FedEx Cup. Much like the world ranking right now, that figures to change by the week.
Ultimately, what matters to Watson, Spieth and others is winning the Tour Championship to capture the $10-million bonus.
British Open champion Zach Johnson made five birdies to go with four parsaving putts from outside eight feet for a 65. He was one shot out of the lead, along with Henrik Stenson (66), Tony Finau (69) and Jason Dufner (68).
Watson was given a time warning on No. 16 when he took more than 40 seconds to play. One more bad time would have led to a one-shot penalty. Watson said he rushed his next shot from the fairway and came up 30 yards short of the green, leading to bogey.
LPGA
Taiwan’s Yani Tseng closed with an eagle and a birdie for an eight-under 64 and a one-stroke lead in the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic at Prattville, Ala.
Tseng reached 10-under 134 on the Senator Course with her lowest round since a 63 in the 2013 LPGA Thailand. Formerly No. 1, the 26year-old has slipped to 75th and is winless in 85 events since the 2012 Kia Classic.
Austin Ernst was second after a 65. Thirty-nine players were unable to finish the round.
Champions
Paul Goydos and Gene Sauers shared the firstround lead at six-under 66 in the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open at Endicott, N.Y. John Huston, who won this tournament four years ago, was a stroke back, along with former Masters champion Ian Woosnam.
Peter Senior, a late addition to the field, was another shot back and tied for fifth with Bob Friend, Steve Jones, Rod Spittle, Jeff Maggert, and Willie Wood, who won here in 2012. Defending champion Bernhard Langer had a 71.
Schwab Cup points leader Colin Montgomerie is not playing for a second straight week because of commitments in Europe, giving Maggert and Langer a chance to take over the top spot.