Matt Kuchar on Thursday caught fire on the back nine, firing a seven-under 64 for a one-shot first-round lead over defending champion Hideki Matsuyama and Brendan Steele at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Olympic bronze medalist Kuchar opened birdie-birdie at TPC Scottsdale, but he did his real damage coming home with three birdies and an eagle at the par-five 13th, where he rolled in a 20-footer.
He surged past Japan’s Matsuyama, who was in the clubhouse on six-under 65, where he was later joined by Steele.
“I drove the ball really well, which around here you have to do,” Kuchar said. “From there I just played good, steady golf. [I] had a lot of chances.”
“It was a fun round of golf,” he said. “To play in front of so many people to get the energy and the buzz that’s out here, it was fun.”
Kuchar is making his first start since the unofficial Hero World Challenge in early December last year, but showed no signs of rust.
Matsuyama said that while he is not at the level he was in late last year, he is hoping he can get there.
He certainly looked sharp in picking up where he left off last year with a birdie at his opening hole, the par-four 10th.
“I wish I knew why I play well here, but I did hit the ball very well today — hit a lot of greens, a lot of good shots,” Matsuyama said.
Steele had twice gained the solo lead at seven-under, but back-to-back bogeys dropped him back to five-under before he gained a share of second with a birdie at the eighth, his penultimate hole. It was his seventh birdie in a round that also included a hole-out for eagle at the 14th.
South Korea’s An Byeong-hun was among a group of five players tied for fourth on five-under 66, along with Americans John Peterson, Robert Garrigus, Scott Brown and Chris Kirk.
Rickie Fowler, beaten by Matsuyama at the fourth playoff hole in Phoenix last year, headed a big group on four-under 67 that also included J.B. Holmes, Steve Stricker, Brooks Koepka, Alex Ceijka, Martin Laird, Webb Simpson and Graham DeLaet.
South Korea’s Kang Sung was four-under through 17 holes when darkness halted play, with nine players still to finish.
Taiwan’s Pan Cheng-tsung carded a one-over 72 to finish the round tied for 76th.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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