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A18   SPORTS
                  Saturday 24 auguSt 2019

            Koepka leads at East Lake as stars get some separation



            By DOUG FERGUSON                                                                                                    his tee shot found the 18th
            AP Golf Writer                                                                                                      fairway, setting up the bird-
            ATLANTA  (AP)  —  A  storm                                                                                          ie he needed.
            delay at the Tour Champi-                                                                                           Thomas,  who  began  the
            onship slowed the momen-                                                                                            tournament with a two-shot
            tum of Brooks Koepka and                                                                                            lead  and  was  tied  at  the
            Justin  Thomas,  right  when                                                                                        top  after  his  opening  70,
            they  were  starting  to  pull                                                                                      quickly got his game back
            ahead in the chase for the                                                                                          in order and went out in 32,
            $15 million FedEx Cup.                                                                                              tied with Koepka.
            The final hour Friday showed                                                                                        “It  would  be  hard  for  me
            how quickly it can change                                                                                           to say that it didn’t kind of
            — and for Rory McIlroy, why                                                                                         stop  my  momentum  be-
            no  one  is  holding  back  in                                                                                      cause  I  was  playing  really
            the season finale.                                                                                                  flawlessly  that  front  nine,”
            Koepka  didn’t  make  a                                                                                             Thomas  said.  “The  course
            birdie on the back nine un-                                                                                         was playing a little different
            til  the  par-5  18th  when  he                                                                                     after  that  delay.  ...  For  as
            hit 5-iron from 239 yards to                                                                                        much as I feel like I scored
            8 feet behind the hole. He                                                                                          well  on  the  front  nine,  just
            had to settle for a two-putt                                                                                        nothing  got  going  on  the
            birdie, a 3-under 67 and a                                                                                          back nine.”
            one-shot lead. Because he                                                                                           He’s  still  one  shot  behind,
            started  the  tournament  at   Brooks Koepka hits out of a fairway bunker on the 13th hole during second round play in the Tour   and finally he has a leader-
            7-under  par  as  the  No.  3   Championship golf tournament Friday, Aug. 23, 2019, at Eastlake Golf Club in Atlanta.  board that makes sense to
            seed,  he  was  at  13  under                                                                      Associated Press  him.
            going to the weekend.        away.  McIlroy  decided  to  7-under 133 over two days,  said. “Whenever you’re on  Thomas said it was strange
            “The  lead  is  always  nice,  choke up on a 5-wood and  the  best  36-hole  score  in  my  side  of  the  tree,  you  for him to see 10 under next
            so  I’ll  take  that,”  Koepka  slice it around a tree some  the 30-man field. So he fig-  could  see  what’s  on  the  to his name as he was start-
            said.  “The  rain  delay  kind  50  yards  in  front  of  him,  ures  he’s  doing  something  right-hand side. I obviously  ing out Thursday, and that
            of  killed  any  momentum  I  then  over  the  water  and  right with his game.        curved  it  a  lot.  I  thought  he had a two-shot lead be-
            had. I didn’t feel like I had  near the green.            The  scoring  for  the  FedEx  that  if  I  flushed  a  5-wood,  fore hitting a shot.
            any  good  golf  shots  after  It came out perfectly, land-  Cup  underwent  a  radi-  it  might  be  too  long.  So  I  “Today  definitely  felt  more
            the  rain  delay,  but  that’s  ing  in  a  tiny  strip  of  grass  cal  change  this  year,  with  really  gripped  down  on  it.  normal,” he said. “It felt like
            part  of  golf.  Everybody’s  behind bunkers. He got up-  players in the highest posi-  In hindsight, I wish I hadn’t  I  was  just  trying  to  build  a
            got to deal with the same  and-down for a 67 and was  tion in the FedEx Cup get-       —  might  have  got  on  the  lead as opposed to yester-
            thing.”                      right  where  he  needed  to  ting a head start in relation  green.                    day.”
            He was one shot ahead of  be.                             to par. Thomas is the No. 1  “Made 4 off a bad tee shot,  Koepka  will  play  in  the  fi-
            Justin Thomas, who played  “I  felt  comfortable  doing  seed and started at 10 un-    so I’m not complaining.”     nal group with Thomas, the
            his final 10 holes in 1 over for  it,” McIlroy said.      der before a shot was even  Koepka     ran   off   three  last  two  to  win  PGA  Tour
            a 68, and McIlroy, who had  Xander     Schauffele   also  hit. Koepka began at 7 un-   straight  birdies  late  on  the  player of the year. McIlroy
            a birdie-birdie finish.      made  a  late  surge  with  a  der, McIlroy started at 5 un-  front nine to tie Thomas for  and Thomas have won the
            And just not any birdie.     birdie-eagle  finish,  holing  der and Schauffele was at  the  lead,  and  then  never  FedEx  Cup  two  of  the  last
            McIlroy, who trailed by four  a  25-foot  putt  on  the  par-  4 under.                got  back  on  track  after  three   years.   Schauffele
            shots  early  on  the  back  5 18th for a 69. He was two  The lowest score to par wins  players  returned  to  the  won  the  Tour  Champion-
            nine,  sent  his  drive  on  the  shots  behind.  Paul  Casey  the FedEx Cup and its $15  range and headed back to  ship two years ago and has
            18th hole so far to the right it  had a 67 and was four shots  million bonus.          the  course.  He  missed  the  yet  to  have  a  round  over
            brought  the  out-of-bounds  behind at 9 under.           McIlroy  didn’t  want  to  green from the 13th fairway  par  in  his  10  trips  around
            practice  range  into  play.  Giving  McIlroy  good  vibes  waste any chances, and all  and made bogey. He had  East Lake.
            He  was  fortunate  to  have  going  into  the  weekend  he saw from the woods was  to  scramble  for  par  from  Halfway  through,  and  the
            his ball in dirt under a pine  was the score no one sees.  opportunity.                short of the 14th green, and  FedEx  Cup  finale  is  really
            tree, leaving him 242 yards  McIlroy  and  Casey  are  at  “I  had  a  little  gap,”  he  behind the 17th green. But  just getting started.q
                                                                      Larsen leads CP Women’s

                                                                      Open after 2nd straight 66




                                                                      AURORA,  Ontario  (AP)  —  Nicole  Broch  of Canada was three shots back after a
                                                                      Larsen shot her second consecutive 6-un-   69 along with Pajaree Anannarukarn (69)
                                                                      der 66 on Friday for a one-shot lead over  and  Yu  Liu  (67).  Amy  Olson,  who  has  an
                                                                      top-ranked Jin Young Ko midway through  outside  shot  at  making  the  U.S.  Solheim
                                                                      the CP Women’s Open.                       Cup team in the final week of qualifying,
                                                                      Broch  Larsen,  who  started  on  the  back  had a 68 and was another shot behind.
                                                                      nine, birdied three of her last four holes to  Brittany Altomare, who currently holds the
                                                                      push ahead of Ko and post 12-under 132  eighth and final U.S. Solheim Cup qualify-
                                                                      at Magna Golf Club. Ko shot a bogey-free  ing  spot  on  points,  holed  a  wedge  from
                                                                      67.                                        the fairway for eagle on the par-5 12th and
                                                                      Broch  Larsen,  of  Denmark,  is  winless  in  holed a bunker shot for another eagle on
            Nicole Broch Larsen, of Denmark, tees off on the 10th hole during   three seasons on the LPGA Tour and came  the  par-5  14th.  But  she  double-bogeyed
            the second round of the CP Women’s Open in Aurora, Ontario,   in 89th in the points standings.       the par-3 17th and settled for a 66 to finish
            Friday, Aug. 23, 2019.
                                                     Associated Press  Defending  champion  Brooke  Henderson  at 7 under.q
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