Golf Roundup: Harry Hall stays in front at Colonial despite Harris English’s ace

Published 7:15 pm Friday, May 26, 2023

Englishman Harry Hall kept a comfortable distance from the field Friday by shooting a 4-under-par 66 to hold the 36-hole lead at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth.

Hall had a 62 and a three-shot lead Thursday, a margin he maintained by making six birdies and two bogeys in his second time around Colonial Country Club. He now stands at 12-under 128.

Harris English remained in second thanks to a hole-in-one on the par-3 eighth, part of a bogey-free 66. He is three back at 9-under 131.

Emiliano Grillo of Argentina shot a 65 to leap into third place at 8 under, and Byeong Hun An of South Korea (66 Friday), Adam Schenk (67) and Robby Shelton (67) are tied for fourth at 7 under.

Hall began his afternoon round on the back nine and stumbled early with a bogey at the par-3 13th. But he rebounded and broke free from the pack with five birdies in a six-hole stretch from No. 15 to No. 2, including four in a row.

“I kind of did it without knowing I did it really,” Hall said. “I just was in the moment out there and taking one shot at a time, and I did that really well.”

Hall, 25, has just three top-10 finishes in his young PGA Tour career.

“I don’t think I’ve played my best golf this year on the PGA Tour yet, and I think it’s arrived this week, and hopefully I can keep it going for the next two days,” Hall said.

English, coming off a 65 Thursday, had 170 yards to the flag at the eighth hole. His ball took one high hop before bouncing straight into the cup.

“Just a really good number today,” English said. “Just one of those shots where I had to hit a 9-iron really full, and it came off just like I wanted to and luckily went in the hole.”

Once a top-10 player in the world, English is beginning to make a comeback after undergoing hip surgery in February 2022.

“I like golf courses like this where par is a good score,” he said. “With the greens firming up, it’s getting pretty tough to control your ball, and I like it when it gets tough.”

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is in shouting distance of the lead after firing his second straight round of 67. He’s tied for seventh at 6 under with Andrew Novak (66) after making 15 pars and three birdies, including a chip-in from behind the green at No. 15.

“I didn’t really know whether or not to chip or putt it,” Scheffler said. “It looked like a lot of fringe for me to go through to putt it, so I decided to chip it. … I hit probably 15 really good putts today that didn’t go in and I hit one good chip and that went in. If somebody figures out this game, if they can let me know what they’re figuring out.”

The Dallas native made his 17th consecutive cut at an official event and hasn’t finished lower than a tie for 12th since October.

Notable names to miss the cut line of 1 over par included Tony Finau (2 over), Sungjae Im of South Korea (2 over), Tommy Fleetwood of England (2 over) and Jordan Spieth (4 over). Spieth has been battling through a left wrist injury, and while he managed to play all four rounds at the PGA Championship last week, the Texan missed the cut at Colonial for the first time in 11 starts.

Michael Block, the 46-year-old club professional who tied for 15th at the PGA and became a household name in the golf world, followed up an 81 by shooting 74 Friday. His 15-over 155 was good for last place out of 120 golfers in the field. Block was playing on a sponsor’s exemption and will appear next at the RBC Canadian Open June 8-11.

Harold Varner III uses two eagles to take lead at LIV D.C.

Harold Varner III made two eagles en route to an 8-under-par 64 at Trump National Golf Club Washington, D.C., to take the first-round lead at LIV Golf D.C. in Sterling, Virginia.

Varner is two clear of James Piot (6-under 66), with a group tied for third at 4-under 68 featuring Cameron Smith of Australia, Mito Pereira of Chile, Kevin Na and Andy Ogletree.

Varner opened his round with a bogey at the par-3 fourth hole but shrugged it off quickly. After a birdie brought him back to even, he made an eagle 2 at the 317-yard, par-4 ninth hole.

His second eagle came four holes later at the par-5 13th hole. He followed that with two birdies for a 4-under run in three holes. He picked up birdies at the final two par-5s (Nos. 18 and 3) to set the pace.

Varner, 32, is seeking his first win on the Saudi-funded LIV circuit. He has had a fine career thus far and tied for 29th at both the Masters and the PGA Championship this season, but his last win came in February 2022 at the Saudi International on the Asian Tour.

Piot and Ogletree are former U.S. Amateur winners among the younger pros hoping to make a mark in the PGA Tour’s upstart rival league. Piot had seven birdies and one bogey Friday, while Ogletree had five birdies and one bogey.

Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed were among the names tied at 3-under 69. Bryson DeChambeau and Spain’s Sergio Garcia, among others, shot 2-under 70.

Brooks Koepka, coming off his fifth career major title on Sunday at the PGA Championship, opened with an even-par 72.

Phil Mickelson is in 44th place after an opening 2-over 74.

Varner’s RangeGoats GC are tied with Iron Heads GC for the lead in the team competition at 10 under. Varner, Talor Gooch (70) and Belgium’s Thomas Pieters (72) had their scores count for RangeGoats, while Iron Heads were fueled by captain Na, Scott Vincent of Zimbabwe (69) and Danny Lee of New Zealand (69).

Padraig Harrington grows lead to three at Senior PGA

Padraig Harrington expanded his lead at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, shooting a 4-under-par 68 to get to 12-under 132 after two rounds of the senior major on Friday in Frisco.

The three-time major champion from Ireland is halfway home to winning his second senior major in as many years. Harrington, 51, leads Japan’s Katsumasa Miyamoto by three shots.

Harrington carded a 64 during Thursday’s first round and Miyamoto made a 66. The scores at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco weren’t as low Friday but Harrington wasn’t hindered, and he remained bogey-free through 36 holes.

“You know, there is a lot of danger out there, but sometimes — like I hit my first three tee shots down the left rough because there’s hazards down the right,” Harrington said. “That’s what you do when you’re leading the tournament. You kind of got to get away from that as well.

“You know, it’s hard to do, but you want to be a little bit freer and take a few more chances. But sometimes when you’re leading you just get a little bit cautious.”

Miyamoto had a colorful card on Friday, with seven birdies, two bogeys and one double bogey adding up to a 4-under 68. The 50-year-old is a veteran of the Japan Golf Tour and rarely played in the United States.

In third place is Stewart Cink, who shot a 68 for the second straight day to get to 8 under. Steve Stricker had an eagle during his 5-under 67 and sits fourth at 7 under.

Stricker, whose five senior major titles include the Regions Tradition earlier this month, holed out from 88 yards away for an eagle 3 at the par-5 14th.

“I feel confident enough in my wedge play just to kind of lay it back there and wedge it in there,” Stricker said. “I did that well. But to hole it out, you don’t expect to do that.”

Paul Stankowski (2 under) posted the round of the day with a 6-under 66, while Stricker had the lone 67 in the field.

Defending champion Steven Alker of New Zealand (69 Friday) is part of a tie for ninth at 5 under.

The low PGA club professional through two rounds is Cameron Doan, who has gone 72-73 for 1-over 145.