Perry shoots 7 under, takes 1-shot lead at Dick's

JOHN KEKIS (AP Sports Writer) August 16, 2013AP - Sports

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Kenny Perry watches his tee shot on the first hole during the second round of the 3M Players Championship …

ENDICOTT, N.Y. (AP) -- Kenny Perry's magical ride continues.

Chasing his third victory of the year on the Champions Tour, Perry shot a 7-under 65 on Friday to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the Dick's Sporting Goods Open.

Perry, the Senior Players and U.S. Senior Open winner this summer, had three birdies over the final four holes to surge past Bart and Brad Bryant and Joel Edwards.

Esteban Toledo, Jeff Freeman, Rick Fehr, and Russ Cochran were tied for fifth at 67 as more than half the field broke par at the short-and-narrow En-Joie Golf Club under nearly ideal scoring conditions.

Perry's round turned with a brilliant shot at the par-5 12th hole. He holed a 6-iron from 187 yards for eagle. He also had six birdies to go with one bogey, hitting 15 fairways and putting just 26 times.

''I was 3-under par, playing nicely, cruising along,'' said Perry, who leads the Champions Tour in money winnings with over $1.5 million. ''You have a lightning bolt hit you like that - 'Hey man, we can shoot a low score.' It really pumped me up. It really got me excited. It got me motivated. It made me more aggressive.''

Just one shot behind, it felt like the good old days for the Bryants - save the aches and pains. They were tied for the lead until Perry came along in the final group.

''Someone looked at the scoreboard and said, 'Man, that Bryant, he must be good,'' Brad said, smiling broadly. ''He's leading the tournament and went back out for 18 more (holes).' ''

Bart, at 50 a rookie on the senior tour, is trying to recapture a lot of what he lost at the end of his PGA Tour career, when two wrist surgeries kept him away from the game for three years.

''It was frustrating. It was tough. I was out for a good three years and well over two that I couldn't even putt or chip or anything,'' Bart said. ''Honestly, I really thought that I was probably done. It was a long three years. Just to be out here playing, it just feels so good.''

Bart birdied No. 2, hitting sand wedge to about 10 feet right of the hole and made a good putt after missing one on the opening hole. At No. 12 he hit to 6 inches out of a greenside bunker and made another birdie, then hit 5-iron at the par-3 14th hole to 15 feet and made that. He capped the round with a 30-foot birdie putt on the closing hole.

''When I first came out here this year, I didn't have a lot of game,'' said Bart, whose best finish so far this year is a tie for fourth two weeks ago at the 3M Championship. ''My golf muscles were not built back up. I just wasn't back at the level that I was when I left, or even close. As the year's gone on, I've gotten a little bit stronger, I've lost a little bit of pain, and I'm starting to get some of those shots back in my arsenal, so I feel like I'm kind of creeping in on some really good golf and maybe having the ability to compete. To win out here is very tough.''

If not for a bogey at the par-3 fourth hole, Brad Bryant would have had a share of the lead. Still, despite a bad right foot that hobbled him all last year and an operation that has not provided any improvement to his health, Brad had a stellar round. He made three putts inside 6 feet, chipped in from 18 feet for birdie at the par-3 14th hole, and closed his round with a 12-foot birdie putt at No. 18.

Happy with his round. Even happier with that of his brother.

''Seeing Bart up there is always a good thing. He's world-class,'' Brad said. ''It was really unfortunate that his wrists basically disintegrated. All the cartilage just went away and the doctors couldn't figure out why.

''I had a nice career on the PGA Tour, but I never was good as Bart. He was top 30 in the world for a couple of years. If he could get back physically, just healthy, every time he's been healthy he's really played well.''

Edwards started strong, rolling in a 20-foot birdie putt at No. 2, then smoked the back nine with four birdies to match his best round of the year. Since tying for seventh at the Principal Charity Classic in early June, his best finish has been a tie for 35th at the U.S. Senior Open.

''It was a good, solid round. It was very important for me mentally to get that under your belt and see if you can do it again,'' the 51-year-old Edwards said. ''It's been a long time since I played that well. That's exciting.''

Golf-Putter magic on slick green earns Els a surprise par

 

August 16, 2013

By Andrew Both

 GREENSBORO, North Carolina, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Former world number one Ernie Els needed a moment of magic with his putter to salvage one of the most unusual pars of his career at the Wyndham Championship on Friday.

 Playing the par-four 10th hole during the second round atSedgefield Country Club, Els hit his second shot into the back fringe, 37 feet from the cup.

He was above the hole and the lightning-fast green left him with little option but to hit his first putt almost 90 degrees left of the cup, in the hope it would eventually break sharply right and trickle down close to the hole.

Unfortunately for the big South African, he slightly misjudged the putt and his ball stayed in the fringe, stopping 26 feet above the hole.

It was a somewhat embarrassing misjudgement by the four-times major winner, but he more than made amends by trickling his equally fast second putt into the hole for an unlikely par.

"It was one of those deals where I had absolutely nothing (with the first putt)," Els told Reuters after carding a two-under-par 68.

"I had to go almost 90 degrees and I missed my little target by half a foot and then I was really stuffed. I was trying to lag (my second putt) and not make six and I hit a perfect putt in the hole."

 Even though Els used his putter twice at the 10th, statistically it will be recorded as a no-putt because thePGA Tour counts only putting strokes made from on the green.

Later, a rules official tried chipping a ball from the same spot where Els had hit his first putt, and was unable to stop the ball on the ultra-slick green.

Els made an equally important par putt at the last, albeit from less than four feet, to make the cut with nothing to spare.

He knew he needed to sink the putt to qualify for the final two rounds, and was hugely relieved to make it right on the number.

"I was grinding all day," Els said after his 68 left him at one-under 139, a distant 10 strokes behind tournament leader Patrick Reed.

"I'm fighting a couple of things in my swing, trying to get my head around certain things. I'm going through a bit of a tough time so hopefully I have a good weekend."

Els has recorded only one top-10 in 15 starts on the 2013 PGA Tour, a tie for fourth at the U.S. Open in June.

"That was a good battle to have and I made some putts under pressure," he said of his efforts during the second round. "On these speedy greens, to make those putts makes you feel good." (Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)

Putter magic on slick green earns Els a surprise par

 

Andrew Both August 16, 2013

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South Africa's Ernie Els reacts after his par on the 10th green during the first round of the 2013 PGA …

By Andrew Both

GREENSBORO, North Carolina (Reuters) - Former world number one Ernie Els needed a moment of magic with his putter to salvage one of the most unusual pars of his career at the Wyndham Championship on Friday.

 Playing the par-four 10th hole during the second round atSedgefield Country Club, Els hit his second shot into the back fringe, 37 feet from the cup.

He was above the hole and the lightning-fast green left him with little option but to hit his first putt almost 90 degrees left of the cup, in the hope it would eventually break sharply right and trickle down close to the hole.

Unfortunately for the big South African, he slightly misjudged the putt and his ball stayed in the fringe, stopping 26 feet above the hole.

It was a somewhat embarrassing misjudgement by the four-times major winner, but he more than made amends by trickling his equally fast second putt into the hole for an unlikely par.

"It was one of those deals where I had absolutely nothing (with the first putt)," Els told Reuters after carding a two-under-par 68.

"I had to go almost 90 degrees and I missed my little target by half a foot and then I was really stuffed. I was trying to lag (my second putt) and not make six and I hit a perfect putt in the hole."

 Even though Els used his putter twice at the 10th, statistically it will be recorded as a no-putt because thePGA Tour counts only putting strokes made from on the green.

Later, a rules official tried chipping a ball from the same spot where Els had hit his first putt, and was unable to stop the ball on the ultra-slick green.

Els made an equally important par putt at the last, albeit from less than four feet, to make the cut with nothing to spare.

He knew he needed to sink the putt to qualify for the final two rounds, and was hugely relieved to make it right on the number.

"I was grinding all day," Els said after his 68 left him at one-under 139, a distant 10 strokes behind tournament leader Patrick Reed.

"I'm fighting a couple of things in my swing, trying to get my head around certain things. I'm going through a bit of a tough time so hopefully I have a good weekend."

Els has recorded only one top-10 in 15 starts on the 2013 PGA Tour, a tie for fourth at the U.S. Open in June.

"That was a good battle to have and I made some putts under pressure," he said of his efforts during the second round. "On these speedy greens, to make those putts makes you feel good."

(Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)

Dustin Johnson engaged to Gretzky's daughter

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August 19, 2013AP - Sports

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) -- PGA Tour player Dustin Johnson and Paulina Gretzky have taken to Twitter to say they're getting married.

Johnson tweeted Sunday that ''she said yes!!!'' and included a picture of a large diamond ring on the daughter of hockey great Wayne Gretzky. She retweeted it, along with several congratulatory messages from friends and family.

They first were linked at the start of the year when she was in the gallery at Kapalua, where Johnson won the Tournament of Champions. Gretzky and his wife, Janet, joined their daughter the following week in Honolulu at the Sony Open.

Johnson and Wayne Gretzky were partners in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

The 29-year-old Johnson already has seven wins in his first six years on the PGA Tour.

Europe complete Solheim Cup win in record style

 

August 19, 2013

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Caroline Hedwall of Team Europe tees off of the 15th as opponent Michelle Wie of Team USA (L) watches …

(Reuters) - Europe completed a record-breaking Solheim Cup victory on Sunday when they blew away the United States in an 18-10 triumph to retain the trophy they won two years ago in Ireland.

The victory was Europe's first in the United States and also set a new mark for biggest margin of victory, topping Europe's 17.5-10.5 rout of the Americans in 2003.

Needing only 3.5 points to retain the Cup for the first time, the Europeans instead made a statement by seizing 7.5 points during Sunday's closing singles at Colorado Golf Club.

Swede Caroline Hedwall became the first player to win five matches in Solheim Cup history and appropriately clinched the victory when she hit an approach shot within a few feet to defeat Michelle Wie 1-up.

"I am so proud of my team," Europe captain Liselotte Neumann, also Swedish, told reporters.

"Caroline really stepped up to the plate, winning five which has never been done."

A weather delay due to lightning in the area postponed what was a European coronation late in the day in Parker, Colorado, but it could not prevent the inevitable.

The record margin of victory was sealed in the day's final match when Frenchwoman Karine Icher fought back from a late deficit to earn a half-point against Cristie Kerr.

It was another bitter moment for Kerr after she and Icher were involved in a heated 30-minute dispute on Saturday over a ball drop in the fourballs.

The European team, which featured six rookies, maintained the momentum they established when they grabbed a 10.5-5.5 advantage following Saturday's matches.

Briton Charley Hull, at 17 the youngest player in the event's history, showed poise and few nerves during a strong performance, easily dispatching Paula Creamer 5 and 4.

"I didn't feel nervous," Hull said. "I am not going to die if I hit a bad shot. So I just hit it, find it, and hit it again."

No team had ever rallied from more than two points behind to win the trophy and the U.S., captained by 18-time LPGA Tour winner Meg Mallon, failed to fire as they suffered a second straight loss in the event.

"This one is completely different. We just got outplayed," said British Open champion and world number two Stacy Lewis, who finished with a record of 1-2-1.

Wie, a high-profile captain's pick, picked up two points over the week but it never looked like being enough to keep her team in the 13th version of the biennial competition.

(Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles, editing by Nick Mulvenney)