Page 18 - ARUBA TODAY

A18 SPORTS
Saturday 18 auguSt 2018

Snedeker follows 59 with 67, takes 2-shot lead at Wyndham

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — six had to play the next day stretches where balls don't
Brandt Snedeker couldn't and only one has shot bet- go in the hole, you've got
block out the buzz that ter than 65 in that round: to be able to kind of over-
surrounded his first-round Justin Thomas, who had a come, be patient, wait for
11-under 59 at the Wynd- 64 in the second round of the long ones to fall, and
ham Championship. He last year's Sony Open. luckily I made a couple
refocused just in time to re- "You can't ignore it, you coming down the stretch."
claim the lead. can't try to forget about Points, who has made only
Snedeker followed his his- it," Snedeker said. "Hardest one cut since January and
toric opening score with thing is trying to get back failed to reach the week-
a 67 on Friday to take a into a rhythm. ... Now I'm end in 19 of his 24 tourna-
two-stroke lead into the better equipped for the ments this season, had a
weekend at the Wyndham next time I shoot 59 and strong front nine with three
Championship. play the next day." birdies and an eagle on
A day after becoming the By the time Snedeker teed the par-5 fifth hole, where
10th player in PGA Tour his- off Friday afternoon, that he sank a 40-foot putt. He
tory to break 60, Snedeker low score had held up for has finished in the top 20 at
moved to 14-under 126 a one-stroke lead. It tem- this tournament twice since
halfway through the final porarily slipped away when 2014, and after starting far
PGA Tour event before the he had three bogeys on off the bubble at No. 214
playoffs. the front nine. on the points list, could play
"You hear people telling He reclaimed the lead late his way into the playoffs this
you every two seconds, in his round with some nifty weekend.
'Mr. 59,' or saying how cool putting. He sank two putts "Basically, I know this is pos-
it was to watch it," Snede- longer than 30 feet, one for sibly my last event of the
ker said. "So, yes, totally on eagle on the par-5 15th and year, so I haven't been
your mind." another for birdie on the grinding really hard," Points
D.A. Points shot a 64 to par-4 16th, and wrapped said. "It seems to be pay-
reach 12 under — one C.T. Pan, of Taiwan, waves after making a birdie on the 18th hole up with the best two-round ing off." Pan, a 26-year-old
during the second round of the Wyndham Championship golf
stroke ahead of C.T. Pan, tournament in Greensboro, N.C., Friday, Aug. 17, 2018. score at this tournament from Taiwan, had birdies
who also had a 64. David Associated Press since Carl Pettersson's 125 on three of his final four
Hearn, Peter Malnati, Keith a decade ago. holes to climb the leader-
Mitchell, Harris English, Brett tournament in 2007 before first round. "When I finally convinced board. He sank a 20-foot
Stegmaier and Sergio Gar- it moved across town to the But it wasn't easy to follow myself to hit a few putts, birdie putt on No. 17 and
cia were 9 under. par-70 Sedgefield Country a score like that. Of the they started going in," an 8-footer on the 18th to
Snedeker, the 2012 FedEx Club. He had the tour's first nine previous players who Snedeker said. "Over 72 match the best round of his
Cup champion, won this 59 of the year during the have broken 60 on the tour, holes, you're going to have young career.q

Salas shoots 62 to tie course record, take Indy LPGA lead

By MICHAEL MAROT year's inaugural tourna- at the 2016 JTBC Founders And with more rain in the
AP Sports Writer ment with a 63, one shot off Cup. forecast Thursday night and
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Li- of Mike McCullough's 62 in Yin also tied the third-lowest Friday, the scores could go
zette Salas' waited 77 min- the PGA Champions Tour's nine-hole score in relation even lower as a star-stud-
utes to line up her 4-foot 1999 Comfort Classic. to par in tour history. ded cast chases down Sa-
putt to take the lead Thurs- But the way the saturated Her only bobble came with las, Yin and Hataoka.
day at the Indy Women in 6,456-yard course played a bogey on No. 13 and she Four players, including
Tech Championship. Thursday, Salas needed closed out her best career Kang and Jane Park, are
She refused to let the virtually every putt of her round with a birdie on No. three shots behind.
weather delay get to her. career-best round to reach 18. Seven players, including
When the 29-year-old Cali- the top of the leaderboard. "I have never done that be- last year's tournament run-
fornia player returned to The morning starters took fore," she said. "I had nine ner-up Lydia Ko, are four
the course, she quickly advantage of overnight putts, I think, on the front shots back. Ko was tied
rolled in the birdie putt, fin- rain by shooting right at the nine, which is incredible. with Yin for the lead — until
ished her round with anoth- pins. I've never had that many she knocked her tee shot
er birdie at No. 18 and took And nobody made a big- little putts. But it just felt on the par-4, 16th into the
a two-shot lead over An- ger early splash than Yin, good. Everything was work- water. She wound up with
gel Yin and Nasa Hataoka the 19-year-old Californian ing." a double bogey and bird-
with a course record-tying Lizette Salas chips to the who finished second in last Last year's runner-up for ied the final hole to finish
10-under 62. 13th green during the first year's rookie of the year rookie of the year has nev- with 66.
round of the Indy Women
"I didn't even think about it in Tech Championship golf race. er won an LPGA Tour title in Top-ranked Ariya Juta-
the entire time," Salas said. tournament, Thursday, Aug. She opened with five her home country though nugarn was eight shots
"I was hanging out with 16, 2018, Indianapolis. straight birdies and shot she did win in a playoff at back.
Danielle (Kang) and she 8-under 28 on the front Dubai on the Ladies Euro- After taking a monthlong
was giving me her silly dad icing on the cake." nine. Only a par on No. 6 pean Tour. break to recover from
jokes. So it definitely kept It's the lowest score by a prevented her from be- Everybody seemed to find physical and mental ex-
my mind off of it. I was re- female player at the Brick- coming the sixth LPGA their groove Thursday. haustion, Thompson looked
ally excited to be back and yard Crossing. player to shoot 27 on nine Eighty-eight of the 143 relaxed and comfortable
to finish off with a birdie, Defending champion Lexi holes. South Korea's Mi Hy- players shot under par and in her return to the course.
from off the green, was the Thompson opened last ang Lee did it most recently 54 were 3-under or better. She shot 68.q