The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Led by Todd, ex-Dogs have better day at East Lake
Three consecutive early birdies thrust Brendon Todd into the picture Saturday, but the former Georgia Bulldog failed to build on the momentum and needed a birdie on the 18th hole to shoot 68. That leaves Todd five shots off the lead, tied for eighth at 8 under.
Todd was dialed in when the round began. Those three birdies required a total of 10 feet worth of putts: a 3-footer at No. 2, a 5-footer at No. 3 and a 2-footer at No. 4.
“Pretty solid. A little tired there on the back nine,” Todd said. “Just wasn’t quite as efficient as I needed to be. Seemed like just coming up short on some pretty good shots.”
The other two Bulldogs in the 30-player field were in red numbers, too, but well out of contention. Harris English, who shot 70 in Friday’s first round, shot 69 on Saturday and is tied for 14th at 5 under. Kevin Kisner shot 68, four shots better than Friday, and moved into a tie for 24th at 1 under.
PGA champion preaches patience: Collin Morikawa said the only difference between the 71 he posted
Friday and the 65 on Saturday was patience. Well, that and absence of a double bogey on his scorecard.
The PGA champion blamed a bad reaction to a double bogey on the 17th hole in first round for derailing him. Morikawa said he paid the price for letting the aggravation carry over.
“It kind of bled through the rest of the round yesterday,” he said. “I was just making sure I stayed focused throughout 18 today.”
Having regained his focus Saturday, Morikawa birdied the difficult par-3 ninth hole and completed his second round with a back-to-back birdies. He will begin the final round at 9 under, four shots behind leader Dustin Johnson, but said there are things to clean up.
“I was able to get away with a lot of pars, but was missing greens and had to make a lot of ups-and-downs,” he said. “Hopefully, we just kind of tweak some game-plan strategies for the next two days coming down those holes and we’ll have some better finishes.”
Reed’s a closer: The back nine at East Lake agrees with Patrick Reed.
“Captain America” shot a 4-under 31 there in the second round and is 6 under on that side over the first two days. The highlight may have been the 24-foot birdie at the 226-yard par-3 15th that plays over water.
After making three bogeys on the front nine Friday, the Augusta State product cruised through that outward nine without an issue Saturday. He had the only bogey-free round of the day Saturday.
Reed’s second-round 66 leaves him in 11th place at 6 under, seven shots off the lead.
British Open backlog: Among the many perks that come with making the Tour Championship is automatic entry into the next year’s British Open. But that will not stand in this strangest of years, that tournament’s rulers announced this week.
With the British Open being canceled this year, there’s a big backup at the first tee. The Open is honoring all exemptions already in place, which amounts to 106 spots in a field of 156. The tournament is scheduled for July 15-18, 2021, at Royal St. George’s.
According to a release from the R&A, “With only 50 places left for all qualifiers and new exemptions, there will be a reduction in the number of places available at certain championships and money lists over the year. That includes the Tour Championship this week.”
In this year’s field, 14 players were part of the 2019 Tour Championship and thus exempt into the 2021 British Open. The other 16 may have to find other exemption avenues to reach that major.
This and that: Marc Leishman would like to forget his closing 75 on Saturday, but his third shot at the third hole was quite memorable. The Aussie placed his approach shot from 140 yards on the par-4 third hole just over the front bunker, and it rolled about 6 feet into the cup for an eagle . ... Ryan Palmer may be tied for last place, but he hit a beauty on the par-5 sixth hole when his wedge shot took one hop and bounced into the hole for an eagle.