Matsuyama fires course-record 63 in Tour Championship
Hideki Matsuyama has never missed the Tour Championship since his first full year on the PGA Tour. He played Friday like he doesn’t want the streak to end.
Outside the top 30 in the FedEx Cup for the first time at the BMW Championship, Matsuyama made five birdie putts from 15 feet or longer and broke the course record at Medinah (Ill.) with a 9-under 63 for a one-shot lead going into the weekend.
He started his second round with a 30-foot birdie putt. He ended the round with a 30-foot birdie putt.
Tiger Woods made only two putts longer than 6 feet, made a pair of bogeys from the bunkers late in the round and had to settle for another 71. Woods, who needs a top 10 to advance to the Tour Championship, was tied for 49th.
“I left quite a few shots out there,” Woods said.
Matsuyama was at 12-under 132, one shot ahead of Patrick Cantlay (67) and Tony Finau (66). Justin Thomas made six birdies to offset three bogeys in his round of 69, leaving him two shots behind.
JIMENEZ, BARREN TIED FOR LEAD >> Miguel Angel Jimenez birdied three of the final six holes for a 7-under 65 and a share of the first-round lead with Monday qualifier Doug Barron in the PGA Tour Champions’ Dick’s Sporting Goods Open in Endicott, N.Y.
Jimenez had eight birdies and a bogey at En Joie Golf Club.
Motor sports
HAMLIN TAKES BRISTOL POLE >> Denny Hamlin won the pole, his first of the season, for tonight’s NASCAR Cup race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, a critical short-track showdown for drivers trying to qualify for the playoffs.
The Daytona 500 winner turned a lap at 129.230 mph in his Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing in Friday’s qualifying session. His effort bumped Kyle Larson to second and Larson is not locked into the 16-driver playoff field with three races remaining to fill the final seven slots.
Winless on the season, Larson is ranked 13th in the standings and briefly held the pole until Hamlin’s fast lap.
Martin Truex Jr. qualified third in a Toyota for Gibbs, while Chip Ganassi Racing had two Chevrolets in the top four as Kurt Busch will be lined up behind teammate Larson at the start of the race. Aric Almirola was fifth.
REDDICK COMES FROM WAY BACK TO WIN >> Tyler Reddick drove from last to first and won the Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway after leader Justin Allgaier hit the wall late.
Reddick, the Xfinity Series points leader and defending series champion, had to start last in the field because his car failed inspection four times before the race.
Reddick still managed to drive his way to the front and pounced when Allgaier bounced off the wall with 11 laps remaining. Allgaier led 131 laps but dropped to eighth.
Kyle Busch led 137 laps and won the second stage but immediately went behind the wall with an engine failure. He finished 29th.
Chase Briscoe was second, followed by John Hunter Nemecheck, Jeremy Clements and pole-sitter Austin Cindric.
Basketball
TUCKER BOWS OUT >> Houston Rockets forward P.J. Tucker, citing a minor left ankle issue, has withdrawn from consideration for USA Basketball’s World Cup roster, meaning 14 players remain in consideration for 12 spots.
The Americans will leave for Australia today for three exhibition games and several practices before cutting the World Cup roster down to 12 and heading to China.
Tennis
BARTY MOVES ON, OSAKA RETIRES >> Top-seeded Ashleigh Barty reached the semifinals of the Western & Southern Open in Mason, Ohio for the first time and moved closer to regaining the No. 1 world ranking by beating Maria Sakkari 5-7, 6-2, 6-0. With one more win, she can move into the top spot for the U.S. Open, taking it back from Naomi Osaka.
Osaka had much bigger concerns after dropping out of her quarterfinal match because of a knee injury.
After splitting sets with Sofia Kenin, Osaka took a timeout early in the third set to have her left knee examined and wrapped. She played only two more points before retiring, sending Kenin into the semifinals.
Last week in Toronto, Kenin knocked off Barty on her way to the semifinals, allowing Osaka to jump ahead of Barty for No. 1. Now they’re in position to swap spots again.