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A14 sports
Monday 14 March 2022
Burns, Hoge share 36-hole lead at frigid TPC Sawgrass

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. not one of them."Burns did
(AP) — Sam Burns bundled his part after a sloppy start
up to fight near-freezing to his back nine, including
temperatures at the start what he described as one
and closed out his sec- of the worst shots he ever
ond round with a 75-foot hit, a 7-iron that went 126
eagle putt and an 18-foot yards into a bunker on the
par to share the lead with 10th hole.
Tom Hoge after 36 holes The bonus was his eagle
in the rain-delayed Players putt on the 16th after a
Championship. shot that avoided water by
Hoge has been atop the some 5 yards and left him
leaderboard for four days a putt from the front of the
at the TPC Sawgrass. He green to a back pin.
played golf on only two Kevin Kisner was among
of those days. The Pebble those on the wrong side
Beach winner opened with of the draw, and his only
a 66 on Thursday and be- wish was that players on
cause of rain delays, didn't Sunday morning suffered in
start his second round until the cold weather. That wish
Sunday morning. was granted. Hoge found
The temperature was 35 himself layering up with
degrees Fahrenheit (1.6 de- three sweaters and even
grees Celsius) in the morn- Sam Burns hits from the pine straw on the 18th fairway during the second round of play in The Play- that wasn't enough.
ing with a light wind. Hoge ers Championship golf tournament Sunday, March 13, 2022, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. But he played good golf,
closed with a pair of tough Associated Press too, playing bogey-free for
pars for a 71. Burns made the final 17 holes.
his eagle on the par-5 16th a late start — noon on Sat- par, hit two shots into the the early-late side of the Even with the realization
and his big par on the final urday — to get the course water on the island-green tee times, meaning they that it was Sunday after-
hole for a 69. They were at ready. 17th and made a quadru- faced mostly calm and noon, the tournament was
7-under 137. Sunday at TPC Sawgrass ple-bogey 7 that knocked rain-soaked conditions more like a Friday after-
Erik van Rooyen, the South typically decides the win- him to 2 over. Piercy bo- on Thursday and avoided noon. There's still a long
African who played his ner. This time it was all about geyed the 18th and wound the ferocious wind that way to go, and 32 players
college golf at Minnesota, who got to keep playing up missing the cut. wreaked havoc on the Sta- were within five shots of the
holed a wedge for eagle into Monday evening. Others didn't get off so dium Course on Saturday. lead. That included Jon
on the par-5 ninth hole to Rory McIlroy and Scottie easy. The strongest field Burns was watching most of Rahm, who played Sunday
close out his 67 and leave Scheffler can count them- of the year won't include Saturday on TV. morning and shot 72, and
him one shot behind with selves among the fortu- three of the top 10 players "I just felt bad for the guys Dustin Johnson, who had
Harold Varner III, who had nate. They finished the in the world — Collin Mori- that had to play," he said. a 73 on Saturday that felt
a 69. second round Saturday at kawa, Patrick Cantlay and "You never wish that upon much better.
This week is all about the 2-over 146 and appeared Xander Schauffele. your opponents. It's unfor- The average score was
weather. Four inches of rain certain to miss the cut with One thing made clear at tunate. Over your career, 74.46, about a full stroke
that saturated the Stadium the final two groups finish- the halfway point was who you have good waves and lower than it was at the end
Course led to five hours of ing up the round. lucked out on the tee times. bad waves. ... There's only of Saturday to reflect how
delays on Thursday, four And then Scott Piercy, who The top 15 players going so much you can control much better the conditions
hours of play on Friday and appeared safe at 2-under into the third round all had out there, and weather is were, even in the cold.q
Brent Sass maintains lead as Iditarod reaches Bering Sea ice

to lead the Iditarod Trail las Seavey, who tied Rick (28.35 grams) of gold nug-
Sled Dog Race on Sunday, Swenson for the most Iditar- gets, worth about $2,000.
but he must hold off the od victories at five with his He's previously been
defending champion as 2021 Iditarod win. awarded several cash
mushers have reached the But the GPS data on the prizes, artwork and a gour-
Bering Sea sea coast and race's Iditarod Insider web- met meal for being the first
its treacherous ice. site also showed Seavey musher to reach check-
Sass breezed through the running at a faster clip points dotting the trail from
checkpoint in the village of even though he is mushing the Anchorage area to the
Shaktoolik on Sunday morn- with two fewer dogs than Gold Rush town of Nome.
ing, staying only eight min- the 12 Sass has in harness. Sass turned down the gour-
utes. The village is 754 miles Aaron Burmeister was in met meal, however, be-
(1,213 kilometers) into the third place, but about 40 cause he didn't have time
nearly 1,000-mile (1,609-ki- miles (64 kilometers) behind to eat it.
lometer) race, and the win- Seavey. The world's most famous
ner is expected to cross the Sass picked up another sled dog race began with
Musher Brent Sass speaks to reporters after completing the
nearly 1,000 mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Nome, Alaska finish line in Nome on Tues- award late Saturday when 49 mushers on March 6 in
on March 12, 2012. day or Wednesday. he was the first musher Willow, about 75 miles (121
Associated Press According to GPS trackers to reach the Gold Coast. kilometers) north of An-
each musher carries, Sass Among the prizes present- chorage.
By MARK THIESSEN ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) had a lead of just over 10 ed to him in the community Since then, four have with-
Associated Press — Brent Sass continued miles (16 kilometers) on Dal- of Unalakleet was 1 ounce drawn from the race.q