Brooks Koepka fired a three-under-par 67 for a one-shot lead after the second round of the FedEx St Jude Classic in Memphis on Friday.
Big-hitting Koepka made four birdies and a single bogey to move to nine-under for the tournament, with Austin Cook a shot behind after one of the day’s top rounds, a six-under 64.
“I still feel like I could be five or six-under-par more. I really haven’t been firing on all cylinders, but it’s good enough to be at the top,” Koepka told reporters.
Photo: AFP
Cook is playing on a sponsor’s exemption, but is trying to prove that he belongs on Tour.
“I feel like I should be out here,” Cook said. “My irons were on fire and I holed some putts.”
New Zealander Steven Alker is a shot further back, while a group of seven players are bunched at six-under.
Alker, who started on the 10th, had a hot stretch coming home on the front nine, reaching 10-under-par before finishing with a bogey and double bogey to fall back.
Five-time major winner Phil Mickelson, who heads to Chambers Bay searching for a first US Open win after posting a record six runner-up spots, managed a one-under-par 69 that leaves him at three-under.
LYONESS OPEN
Gregory Bourdy doubled his advantage to a four-shot lead after the second round of the Austria Open on Friday as he targets a fifth European Tour title.
After a first-round 65, the Frenchman carded a 67 to go four clear of compatriot Gary Stal and England’s Chris Wood.
“I have been playing well, so the confidence has been growing, probably since the Spanish Open, but I have been playing well all year — it was just a case of putting it all together,” Bourdy said. “It’s always nice to be leading a tournament and that is why we practice so hard — to compete and to win events. Hopefully I can get a win this week, but I have to stay focused and play shot by shot and see where it takes me on Sunday.”
The 33-year-old Bourdy made five birdies on the back nine after starting at the 10th.
He had a first bogey of the week on the first, before a 13th birdie of the week followed.
Spanish pair Rafa Cabrera-Bello and Carlos Pigem share fourth on seven-under, while home favorite Bernd Wiesberger missed the cut on two-over.
DOG’S BREAKFAST
Russia’s Andrey Pavlov carded a record score, but not the kind he will remember fondly after shooting an embarrassing 17 on the par-five first hole.
Pavlov had hit a respectable 71 in Thursday’s opening round, but Friday’s second round got off to a disastrous start.
He found the water six times on his way to a 17, tying the unwanted record for most strokes at one hole in a European Tour event, which was set by Chris Gane at Gleneagles in 2003.
The all-time worst score for one hole is 20, carded by Philippe Porquier at the 1978 French Open.
Pavlov finished Friday’s round on 90 and a two-round total 161.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB