Quick Hitters
Love shoots 63, trails Munoz by 2 at Greenbrier Classic
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — Davis Love III can still get some solid work done in a PGA Tour event.
Heading into the World Golf Hall of Fame in September, the 53-year-old Love shot a 7-under 63 on Thursday in The Greenbrier Classic, leaving him two strokes behind first-round leader Sebastian Munoz.
Love is looking for his first win since the 2015 Wyndham Championship, which made him the thirdoldest winner in PGA Tour history. He would be the oldest if he wins in West Virginia.
Slowed this year by a bad back and a broken collarbone sustained in a January snowboarding accident in Sun Valley, Idaho, Love took advantage of a course softened by overnight rain for his best round of the season. He birdied four of his first five holes in the morning round on Old White, the course that was reconstructed after deadly floods forced the cancellation of last year’s tournament.
His son, Davis Love IV, also is in the field, receiving a sponsor exemption. It’s the second time they are playing the same tournament; the other was the RSM Classic two years ago. The elder Love served as his son’s caddie in the U.S. Open last month.
“I’ve been working real hard the last couple of weeks on trying to fix my swing to kind of swing around a stiff back and a stiff hip,” the elder Love said. “I’ve given up on hitting it a long way. I’m just saying I’ve got to hit it straight, and this is the perfect golf course for me to get it in the fairway. A lot of hard work is kind of starting to pay off.”
Munoz, a 24-year-old Colombian, was boosted by five birdies on the back nine for a 61.
Defending champion Danny Lee was at 64 along with David Lingmerth, Ben Martin, rookie Xander Schauffele, and Canadians Graham DeLaet and Nick Taylor.
Players were allowed to lift and clean their golf balls in the fairway because of the wet conditions. It took a full year after the June 2016 floods that killed 23 statewide to get Old White back to playing conditions.
Indians’ Francona has heart procedure, will miss All-Star Game
CLEVELAND — Indians manager Terry Francona underwent a procedure to correct an irregular heartbeat that sidelined him for a few games and will keep him away from the All-Star Game next week.
The 58-year-old Francona, who had been experiencing dizziness, fatigue and a rapid heart rate over the last month, had a cardiac ablation performed on Thursday at the Cleveland Clinic.
Francona has been hospitalized and undergoing tests since Tuesday, when he was admitted after doctors detected an arrhythmia when reading a monitor the manager has been wearing for several weeks.
The Indians said Friday that Francona is resting comfortably in the hospital and is expected to be discharged in a “day or two.”
His health will prevent him from managing the American League squad in Miami next week. Indians bench coach Brad Mills, who has been filling in while Francona has been ill, will likely manage the AL team, which includes five Cleveland players.
Francona earned the opportunity to manage the All-Star team after guiding the Indians to the World Series last season, the team’s first since 1997.
The Indians said in a statement that Francona is expected to return to his managing duties following the break. The team begins the unofficial second half of the season on July 14 in Oakland to start a sixgame trip.