MEMPHIS (TNN) — J.J. Spaun believes he is just getting started on the FedExCup final. Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth have yet to be determined. Jason Day’s season is over. Spaun shot a three-under 67 for a one-shot advantage Friday in FedEx St. Jude Championship. This was the first event of the PGA TOUR postseason and it does not have three of its top stars for the weekend at TPC Southwind. Scheffler, the Masters champion as well as No. Scheffler, the Masters champion and No. 1 player over the last five months never recovered from what he described as an “out of body experience” with his putting. He missed birdie opportunities on two of the three last holes, and his 68 was just one shot away from making the weekend. Scheffler stated, “Obviously it’s frustrating coming into the playoffs.” “I practiced really hard at home and was actually playing very well. But I showed up to the playoffs and had the worst day of putting ever. Sometimes, golf can be brutal. McIlroy was able to go from rough to gallery, fringe to bogey on the last hole to score a 69. This was only his second missed cut for the year. Spieth’s hopes to play the weekend came to an abrupt halt with a shot from the tee into the water on the par-314th, which resulted in a score of 74. They will play next week at the BMW Championship. The standings are high enough that they won’t lose too much sleep over this. Day started with a 65, and was optimistic of a big finish in order to make it into the top 70. The former world No. 1 was defeated. The former world No. 1 shot 74, and lost five shots in the final eight holes. Day was one of 31 players who began outside the top 70 FedExCup players and failed to make the cut. This means that their season is over. Rickie Fowler came in at No. 125. He shot 71 and ended the back nine (double-bogey). He was tied for 33rd. He was still around for two days, but needed to fight to advance. Spaun was at 11-under, 129 and only looked ahead. Sepp Straka was one stroke ahead of Spaun, who birdied his final three holes for a score of 66. Troy Merritt had a 65. Merritt started at No. Merritt started at No. 64 in the standings. This was exactly what he needed to ensure he would keep moving forward. Spaun was just as proud of Friday’s 67 as he was of Friday’s 64. Spaun says he is feeling his game improving after a lull that followed his Valero Texas Open title in April. It’s hard to consistently be at the top level. There are some guys who do it that way, such as Tiger McIlroy or McIlroy. Spaun stated, “It’s amazing how great they are for so many years.” Straka understands the feeling. Since the Memorial Tournament in June, Straka had not been able to make it to the weekend. He opened with rounds 64-66. “Hadn’t played great going into this week. Straka stated that he missed a lot of cuts when he came in. In Straka’s case, six consecutive rounds would count as a bunch. “But that’s golf. It’s going to be a lot of ebbs, and you just have to accept it. He was off, especially at the final round, where he had three consecutive birdies to reach 10 under. Tony Finau, who had two consecutive victories, shot his 11th consecutive round at par 68 or less since the last round of The Open. He was three shots behind with his 68 on Friday. Spaun felt like he didn’t have much of a lead — he was only one shot behind the leader and there were 15 other players with four shots or less. There are 36 holes left. He laughed and said, “It’s anybody’s weekend, it’s going my weekend.” For many players, the first step was to get to the weekend. Ryan Palmer and Lucas Glover were two of the players who took advantage of the opportunity. Palmer is No. 110 in the FedExCup. He shot 67 to join Finau, Cam Smith (The Open champion), and others at 8-under132. Glover is No. 121. His 68 was four shots behind the leader, despite a bogey on the final hole.
By: The Associated Press
Title: J.J. Spaun leads Playoffs opener; Scheffler, McIlroy miss cut
Sourced From: www.pgatour.com/daily-wrapup/2022/08/12/fedex-st-jude-championship-tpc-southwind-round-2-jj-spaun-scottie-scheffler-rory-mcilroy.html
Published Date: Fri, 12 Aug 2022 16:00:00 -0400
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