Stars rise up in FedEx Cup opener
OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. - Two swings cost Dustin Johnson the lead. It wasn’t long before Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler caught up to him in The Northern Trust, setting up a weekend of star power in the opening FedEx Cup playoff event.
Johnson, finally looking like the No. 1 player who looked unstoppable in the spring, appeared on the verge of building a big lead at Glen Oaks Club until consecutive tee shots wound up on the wrong holes and forced him to scramble just to escape with bogey.
Fowler made up a fiveshot deficit in six holes playing alongside Johnson, making a 15-foot birdie on the last hole for a 66 to join Johnson and Jhonattan Vegas (65) atop the leaderboard. And then Spieth put together a stretch Friday afternoon reminiscent of his British Open victory in a 65.
Spieth began the back nine with five straight birdies. It ended with a bogey on the par-3 15th when his tee shot rolled into the water, but then he answered with a 40-foot birdie putt on the 16th.
Spieth made pars from the bunkers on the last two holes to join the others at 6-under 134.
He wasn’t alone in running off a string of birdies. Matt Kuchar looked as though he might miss the cut until his caddie encourage him to try to get back to even par. Kuchar ran off four straight birdies and kept right on rolling, ending his round of 64 with eight birdies on the last 10 holes.
Kuchar and two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson (68) were one shot out of the lead.
Watson is at No. 113 in the FedEx Cup, and only the top 100 after The Northern Trust advance to the next playoff event at the TPC Boston.
Watson says he won’t play the rest of the year once he is eliminating.
A big finish this week could delay that another month, a nice problem to have.
Jon Rahm had a 68 and was 2 shots behind.
OTTAWA, Ontario - In Gee Chun took the lead Friday in the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open.
Chun closed with a birdie on the par-5 ninth for her second straight 4under 67, giving the South Korean player a twostroke lead over Mo Martin, Brittany Lincicome and Marina Alex.
— Wire services