Friday, August 9, 2019
Troy Merritt outplayed the big guns in the first round of the Northern Trust Championship yesterday, firing a 9-under-par 62, but only holds a one-stroke lead heading into today's second round at the Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City. Dustin Johnson is all by himself in second, one stroke ahead of Jon Rahm and Kevin Kisner.
But Merritt had to share the headlines with Tiger Woods, who withdrew from the first event in the FedEx playoffs after posting a 4-over-par 75. Tiger explained his withdrawal is due to a mild oblique strain that didn't respond to treatment this morning, but he still expects to play in the second event next week, the BMW Championship at Medinah. After the points are awarded Sunday evening, he'll drop out of the top 30 in the standings, which would make it necessary for him to play in the BMW or not be eligible for the Tour Championship in Atlanta, an event he won last year.
Sitting three strokes off the lead at 6 under are Justin Rose, Tony Finau, Webb Simpson and Rory McIlroy. The early projected cut is set at 2 under.
It wasn't a good day for Seminoles and Gators, with Brooks Koepka's 1-under 71 leading the group. Matt Every and Billy Horschel are both at 1 over, and Brian Gay is at 2 over. Phil Mickelson also shot 1 over.
ALEXANDER VYING FOR TOUR CARD - Former Gator Tyson Alexander of Gainesville has been battling to get to the PGA Tour for years, and he put himself in good position yesterday at the WinCo Foods Portland Open, first event in the Korn Ferry playoffs. The 31-year-old son of former Gator coach Buddy Alexander shot a 7-under 64 at the Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains, Oregon, and is tied for fourth, three strokes behind leader Robby Shelton's blazing 10-under 61.
Tyson played in 16 regular-season events on what is now called the Korn Ferry Tour, formerly the Ben Hogan, Nike, Buy.com, Nationwide and most recently, Web.com Tour. He earned $88,848, which put him in 53rd place on the money list and 57th on the points list. The top 25 on the points list at the close of the season earned Tour cards, and 25 more are up for grabs in the playoffs. Tyson had three top 10s during the season that just ended, and prepped for the playoffs with his best finish, a tie for fourth in the Ella Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae (69-63-65-69-266), 14 under par.
Among the others vying for cards in the $800,000 opener is Gator and former PGA player Brett Stegmaier, who played in 19 events and earned $71,602, getting 69 points. Brett went through the same scenario in 2015, barely sneaking into the top 75 to make the playoffs in the final event of the season. His game soared in the post season, and he made the coveted top 25, graduating to the PGA Tour for 2016.
Brett continued to excel as a rookie, collecting $1,086,714 in his first full season on tour while stunning the TV analysts via his admitting that not too long before he ate just breakfast and dinner because he couldn't afford to buy lunch. Eating is no longer a problem for him - he's earned $1,663,352 on the PGA Tour and $509,681 on the lower tours.
In his attempt to return to the big time, Brett began with a 5-under 66 yesterday and is tied for 14th. Seminole Jack Maguire struggled to a 1-over 72, while Dan McCarthy, two-time winner of the Ocala Open (2015-'16) at Ocala's Candler Hills, is at even-par 71. Wade Binfield, the 2017 Ocala Open winner, is tied for 32nd at 4 under 67.
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