Webb Simpson fired seven birdies in a five-under 67 to grab a share of the lead alongside Robert Streb on Friday at the Wells Fargo Championship, where world No. 1 Rory McIlroy was poised for a weekend push.
Simpson’s second straight 67 gave him a 10-under total of 134, tied with first-round leader Streb, who carded a 69.
They were two strokes in front of Martin Flores and Patrick Rodgers, Flores posting a 67 and Rodgers a 68 for eight-under 136.
Photo: AFP
McIlroy, meanwhile, made the most of his good breaks, firing five birdies without a bogey in a 67 that left him tied for fifth on 137 alongside five-time major champion Phil Mickelson (66) and Will MacKenzie (68).
McIlroy opened his round with an impressive birdie at the par-five 10th, where he rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt from off the green.
“It’s always nice to start the day with a putt like that,” said McIlroy, who missed five fairways, but found the green at each of those holes. “Thankfully, it went my way today.”
McIlroy, who captured his first US PGA Tour title at Quail Hollow in 2010, said he thought his score could have been even better, but he was not complaining.
“I think I’ve gotten a lot better at staying patient,” he said. “The way I hit it today, I felt like I could have shot 63 or 64, but [I’m] realizing 67 is still a good score and puts me in a great position going into the weekend.”
McIlroy’s easy confidence could be bad news for the players in front of him.
Simpson grabbed his share of the lead with the help of two chip-in birdies, at the par-four ninth and at the tough par-three 17th.
“They were different,” Simpson said of the birdie chips. “At nine I had a kind of bad lie in the rough and I chunked it out of there and it released for me. At 17 I had a tight lie. It’s a tough shot, but it came out just right — that was a fun atmosphere at 17.”
Streb, who is seeking a second title of the season after winning the McGladrey Classic last year, made his first bogey of the week at the par-four 16th, but clung to a share of the lead with two pars to finish.
“It’s been going good,” Streb said. “My misses haven’t got me in too much trouble with the exception of 16. I’m just kind of hanging around, making some putts. Hopefully I’ll hit it nice and solid over the weekend and keep the putter going.”
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but