‘Rocks stifle Bulldogs
Rori Martinez leads YC with a game-high 15 points; team moves to 3-0 on the year
A combination of quick turnovers and unselfish play were on display Thursday night at Yuma Catholic.
YC’s ability to create 20 steals produced numerous offensive opportunities in its 62-23 victory over Kingman.
“Our goal is to get better, no matter who we’re playing,” YC head coach Bob McGalliard said. “We’re playing against ourselves, not necessarily a team. Once we got the lead, we tried to work on some things.”
The Shamrocks (3-0 AIA) controlled the game early before racing out to a 14-0 lead to start the game. YC’s athleticism was too much for a Kingman team that had difficulty breaking the Shamrocks’ full-court press.
“We want to set the tone,” McGalliard said. “We want to push the pace of the basketball. We knew they were a half-court team and we tried beating them with our quickness and we got off to a great start.”
YC’s suffocating press and half court zone limited Kingman’s opportunities for clean looks. The Bulldogs (1-1 AIA) settled for difficult shots all night, contributing to them shooting just 24% from the floor as a team.
to Marc Fleishman year.
Reed shot an even-par 72 on the South Course a day after firing an 8-under 64 on the easier North Course. Rahm shot a 5-under 67 on the North Course.
Also at 8 under were Tony Finau, who had a 5-under 67 on the North; Ryan Palmer, who carded a 2-under 70 on the North; Adam Scott, who had a 3-under 69 on the South; and Lanto Griffin, who shot 2-under 70 on the South.
The weather is supposed to clear up for the weekend rounds on the South Course. The course will host the U.S. Open in June for just the second time.
Hovland lives in Stillwater, where he played at Oklahoma State. He said he’s been practicing there recently.
“That’s helped me for this week. It got really cold, obviously raining and hail, so being Norwegian I think that also helps,” he said. “I just played really solid and made some putts.”
He had just one bogey, on the par-4 15th.
Hovland, who won the Puerto Rico Open last year for his first tour victory, said he has confidence going into the weekend.
“I think especially playing a tough course like the South Course, you can’t really fake it, especially in these conditions,” he said. “Playing a hard golf course and then playing well, that I think is what gives me the ultimate kind of belief that last
I played really well today. You just can’t really fake it. But it’s another day tomorrow and we’ve got two more rounds left, so it’s definitely not going to roll over and give anything to you.”
Rahm also had just one bogey. He said it was much more difficult Friday than the opening round, which was played in nice weather.
“Those fairways are narrow enough as it is. When you start adding the side wind, it’s just not fun,” Rahm said.
“I can’t really stress how hard it can get,” he added. “North is easier. South today is brutal, I mean absolutely brutal. Every shot counts out there. Even being on the fairway some shots are not easy and with this wind and rain coming in and out, for those who played the North today, we should be really fortunate to play that course today.”
Rahm shot a 3-under 69 on the South Course on Thursday.
DIVOTS
San Diegan Phil Mickelson birdied his final two holes to just make the cut at 1 under. He shot par on the South . ... Another San Diegan, Xander Schauffele was at 2 under after shooting par on the South . ... Rory McIlroy shot 1-under 71 on the North and was a 5 under . ... Notables missing the cut were Jordan Spieth, who shot 3-over 75 on the South, and two-time Farmers champion Jason Day, who followed a 4-over 76 on the South with a par 72 on the North.