Texans on top at Byron Nelson
Scottie Scheffler says he tries not to put too much emphasis on winning one tournament over another, even when his hometown AT&T Byron Nelson is in play.
Ryan Palmer isn’t keeping any secrets. Win the Nelson not far from his home in another Dallasfort Worth suburb, knowing it would qualify the 46-year-old Texan for next week’s PGA Championship?
“I’d win this tournament and stay home next week, to be honest with you,” said Palmer, who lives in Colleyville but was born and raised in Amarillo in West Texas. “That means more to me.”
Scheffler shot his second consecutive 7-under 64 on Friday for a one-shot lead over Palmer and Mackenzie Hughes. Palmer’s 65 and a 64 from Hughes put them at 13-under 129. Si Woo Kim shot 66 and was 11 under.
S.Y. Noh, who tied the course record with an opening-round 60, birdied his first two holes before playing the final 16 in 5 over. The South Korean had three 6s in a round of 74 and was 8 under, six shots back.
Two-time defending champion K.H. Lee made the cut on the number at 4 under, but the South Korean’s bid to become the first player in 12 years to win a tournament three consecutive times is all but gone. Lee birdied three of his final six holes just to make the weekend.
Aaron Wise, the 2018 Nelson winner, will be around for the weekend in his first tournament in two months after saying he needed to take time off to focus on his mental health. Wise was 4 under after two rounds.
Ko, Kemp share lead at Founders Cup
Two-time LPGA Tour player of the year Jin Young Ko shot her second straight 4-under 68 on Friday in the Founders Cup and shared the halfway lead with 37-year-old non-winner Sarah Kemp.
Kemp, whose best finish on tour is a tie for second in 2019, had a one-stroke lead with three holes to play but pulled her drive on the par 4 16th at Upper Montclair Country Club.
The Australian was short of the elevated green on her second shot and missed a long par putt after a chip from a tough stance. She had a 65 to match Ko at 8-under 136.
Kemp’s best finish this year in six events — including a team event — was a tie for 13th in the JM Eagle LA Championship.
Defending champion Minjee Lee (69), South Korean rookie Hae Ran Ryu (70) and Aditi Ashok (68) of India, were a shot behind the leaders and one ahead of American Cheyenne Knights (70).
Grace opens with 61 at LIV Tulsa
Branden Grace couldn’t miss with his irons or his putter Friday on his way to a 9-under 61 to build a twoshot lead after one round of LIV Golf Tulsa.
Grace finished with three straight birdies at Cedar Ridge, a course in the Tulsa suburbs that last hosted the LPGA Tour in 2008. He needed them to hold off Dustin Johnson, who showed signs of shaking off some rust by finishing with five straight birdies.
Johnson and Brendan Steele each shot a 63.
Matt Wolff led the six players with LIV who went to college in Oklahoma. Wolff, who starred at Oklahoma State, shot a 66. Talor Gooch, another former Oklahoma State player coming off two straight LIV Golf titles, shot a 68.
Grace, who won the second LIV Golf event when the Saudi-backed circuit began last year, is best known for the lowest score in a major when he shot 62 at Royal Birkdale in the 2017 British Open.