VETERAN WESTWOOD TAKES PLAYERS LEAD
Lee Westwood isn’t interested in comparing himself with the player who rose to No. 1 in the world a decade ago. All he knows is he’s playing some of his best golf, and he gets another chance to see if it can hold up against the best field.
Westwood had all the shots Friday in a bogey-free round at The Players Championship, with two birdies at the start and a nifty pitch to a troublesome pin on the par-5 ninth to close with a another birdie and a 6-under 66.
That gave him a one-shot lead over Matt Fitzpatrick (68) going into the weekend on the Stadium Course at the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., with U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau not too far behind.
Westwood, who turns 48 next month, played well enough to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week at Bay Hill except that DeChambeau was one shot better in a fascinating duel of generations on a course that favors power.
Sawgrass favors no particular style, and it produced an eclectic mix of contenders at the halfway point.
“I think to compete in any of these tournaments against the best players in the world, you can’t have any weaknesses in your game,” Westwood said. “I wouldn’t be able to say I’m doing this better or that better. There’s not a shot out there I’m afraid of. There’s not a shot out there I’ll walk up to and think, ‘I haven’t got this one.’
“I’m comfortable out there with everything.”
He was at 9-under 135 and will be part of the All-England final pairing today.
Sergio Garcia was another shot back after a 72 that looked like it was a lot worse with so many putts the Spaniard missed, including a 23inch par putt on the 15th hole that followed a 5-foot par putt he missed on the 14th.
Still, the 2008 champion showed plenty of game — and enough par putts that went in — to stay in the hunt. He drilled his approach to inches away on the par-5 11th for his third eagle of the week, which already ties the tournament record. And he finished in style with an approach that danced around the flag and settled 5 feet away for birdie on the 18th.
“It was a beautiful roller coaster,” Garcia said. “There were a lot of good things. Unfortunately, a lot of bad things. But more than anything there was a lot of fighting, and that’s one of the things that I’m most proud of because when things are not really happening and you miss a couple putts here and there, it’s easy to kind of let the round get away from you.”
When the second round was suspended by darkness, 16 players were within five shots of the lead.
DeChambeau was in the group three shots behind after a 69 that began with a double bogey from the trees and a muffed chip out of the rough from behind the green. He was bogey-free the rest of the way on a course that doesn’t let him swing for the fences because of water and cross bunkers and other brands of trouble.
“I’m happy with the fact that I’ve still been able to keep myself in it and score well,” DeChambeau said. “I’ve been pretty lucky, for the most part. I don’t think that’ll happen this weekend. I’ve got to make sure that my game is good off the tee, so I don’t have those issues occurring and I don’t have to rely on luck for the most part. I have to get it in the fairway.”
The weekend is as much about who’s missing.
Four players from the top 10 in the world missed the cut — San Diego native Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay, Tyrrell Hatton and Webb
Simpson, whose hopes ended with one of 13 balls in the water at the island-green 17th.
McIlroy’s struggles continue
Swinging faster and hitting the ball longer worked for U.S. Open champion DeChambeau.
Rory McIlroy tried to copy him and said it was a mistake.
McIlroy posted his worst 36-hole score since 2013, following his 79 in the opening round with a 75 to miss the cut by 10 shots at The Players Championship. This came one week after a 4-over weekend at Bay Hill cost him a chance to win.
He attributed the problems to trying to be like DeChambeau, minus the protein shakes and 40 additional pounds.
“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t anything to do with what Bryson did at the U.S. Open,” McIlroy said in candid comments following his second missed cut in four events, after going two years without a weekend off.
“I think a lot of people saw that and were like, ‘Whoa, if this is the way they’re going to set golf courses up in the future, it helps. It really helps.’ ”
It hasn’t done much for him.
McIlroy said he was frustrated by swing issues he said dates to October — one month after DeChambeau blasted away at Winged Foot and, with a superb wedge game out of the rough, won the U.S. Open by six shots.
The bulk on DeChambeau was to be able to handle swinging harder and faster to generate more distance. McIlroy said he started doing some speed training and “started getting sucked into that stuff.”
Elsewhere
Jeff Winther claimed a two-shot lead at the halfway stage of the European Tour’s Qatar Masters.
A year to the day after COVID-19 brought the college basketball postseason to a halt, the pandemic continues to disrupt the sport, with three premier programs forced to abandon their conference tournaments because of positive coronavirus tests.
No. 16 Virginia — the most recent national champion — and No. 11 Kansas were forced out of the semifinals of their tournaments on Friday, a day after Duke also dropped out, ending a disappointing season for coach Mike Krzyzewski’s storied program.
There’s no guarantee that Kansas or Virginia will be back for the NCAA Tournament, potentially depriving the sport’s annual showcase of two title contenders as well as the five-time national champion Blue Devils, who were unlikely to make this year’s field.
Although the Atlantic Coast Conference and Big 12 tournaments continued without the virus-affected schools, Friday’s developments were an eerie reminder of of March 12, 2020, when both leagues ended their tournaments as teams were warming up for the first of a full day’s worth of games.
That day turned out to be the end of the college basketball season.
The ACC announced the positive test and subsequent contact tracing and quarantining in Virginia’s program less than 12 hours before the Cavaliers were set to play Georgia Tech in the first of two semifinal games. The Yellow Jackets advanced to the finals, where they await Florida State.
Hours later, Kansas announced its withdrawal from the Big 12 Tournament, leading to the cancellation of its semifinal matchup with No. 13 Texas. The Longhorns will play No. 12 Oklahoma State for the title. The Jayhawks said in a statement they would continue preparing for the NCAA Tournament, which starts Thursday.
Cavaliers coach Tony Bennett described the outcome of the tests as a “gut punch.”
“I’m hurting for our players, especially our seniors,” Bennett said in a statement. “We are exhausting all options to participate in the NCAA Tournament.”
ACC
No. 15 Florida State 69, North Carolina 66: Anthony Polite hit the goahead 3-pointer with 2:06 left, and Florida State (16-5) held off North Carolina (18-10) in the semifinals. That sends the Seminoles to the championship game to face Georgia Tech.
Big Ten
No. 4 Michigan 79, Maryland 66: Michigan
coach Juwan Howard was ejected midway through the second half after getting into a shouting match with the Maryland (16-13) bench, and the Wolverines (20-3) won to reach the semifinals.
No. 9 Ohio State 87, No. 21 Purdue 78 (OT): Seth Towns scored six of his season-high 12 points in overtime,
and Ohio State (20-8) beat Purdue (18-9) for the right to face Michigan in the semifinals.
No. 3 Illinois 90, Rutgers 68: Ayo Dosunmu scored 23 points and Illinois (21-6) easily beat Rutgers (15-11) in the quarterfinals.
No. 5 Iowa 62, Wisconsin 57: Luka Garza scored 24 points, Joe Wieskamp made two key baskets late and Iowa (21-7) fended off Wisconsin (17-12) for the right to play No. 3 Illinois in the semis.
SEC
No. 6 Alabama 85, Mississippi State 48: Jahvon Quinerly scored 14 points off the bench, Jaden Shackelford had 13 points and Alabama (22-6) blew out Mississippi State (15-14) in a tourney quarterfinal in Nashville, Tenn.
Tennessee 78, Florida 66: Santiago Vescovi scored 14 points to lead five Volunteers in double figures, and Tennessee (18-7) beat Florida (14-9) to advance to the semis, where they will take on Alabama.
No. 8 Arkansas 70, Missouri 64: Reserve JD Notae scored a season-high 27 points and Arkansas (22-5) overcame a 10-point deficit to beat Missouri (16-9) to advance to the semifinals. The Razorbacks will take on the LSU in the semis
LSU 76, Mississippi 73: Trendon Watford scored 24 points, including a key tip with 23 seconds remaining, as LSU (17-8) held off Mississippi (16-11).
Big 12
No. 12 Oklahoma State 83, No. 2 Baylor 74: Cade Cunningham scored 25 points, Avery Anderson III added 20 and Oklahoma State (20-7) was nearly perfect from the foul line down the stretch in beating Baylor (22-2) in the semifinals. OSU will play No. 13 Texas for the title tonight.
Big East
Georgetown 66, Seton Hall 58: Jamorko Pickett scored 19 points, Chudier Bile made big plays on both ends down the stretch and eighth-seeded Georgetown (12-12) reached its first Big East championship game in 11 years by beating The Hall (14-13).
No. 17 Creighton 59, UConn 56: Marcus Zegarowski made two key baskets in a decisive nine-point run late in the second half as Creighton (20-7) held off Connecticut (15-7) and will face Gerogetown.
Pac-12
Oregon State 75, Oregon 74: Ethan Thompson scored 16 points, Rodrigue Andela added 13 and Oregon State withstood a late rally to beat top-seeded Oregon in the semifinals. The fifth-seeded Beavers (16-12) will take on the winner of Friday’s late game, No. 23 Colorado vs. No. 24 USC in tonight’s championship game.
American
No. 7 Houston 77, Tulane 52: DeJon Jarreau had Houston’s first career triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, helping Houston (22-3) to a victory over Tulane (10-13) in the quarterfinals.