Tag: Chez Reavie

10 of the best players at the Mexico Open at Vidanta over the last two seasons

These players love this event.

The Mexico Open at Vidanta has been played at Vidanta Vallarta for the last two seasons and a few players have seen more success than others.

Take defending champion Tony Finau for example. Before he beat Jon Rahm by three shots last year, he finished in a tie for second in 2022.

This year’s field is on the weaker side, but that’s easy to understand if you take a look at the PGA Tour schedule. After this week, the Tour heads to the Sunshine State for the Florida Swing, a stretch that includes the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Players, both of which are signature events.

To get you ready for this week, here are 10 of the best players at the Mexico Open over the last two years.

Mexico Open: Picks to win, odds

Once a fixture at WM Phoenix Open, most Arizona State alums now play for LIV Golf

Arizona State men’s golf alumni have traditionally been a big part of the WM Phoenix Open.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Arizona State men’s golf alumni have traditionally been as big a part of the WM Phoenix Open as its crazy costumes and inebriated fans. This year is no different with five former Sun Devils in the field. But it’s the ASU alums not in the tournament who are most conspicuous.

Six former Sun Devils have jumped to LIV Golf, most notably Jon Rahm and Phil Mickelson, who have a combined 64 PGA Tour victories. Mickelson once played 30 consecutive times at TPC Scottsdale.

The five remaining Sun Devils in the Phoenix Open field have a combined five PGA Tour wins (three by Chez Reavie and two by Grayson Murray).

“The ASU presence, I feel like it’s not as much anymore,” Murray said of the Phoenix Open field.

But while LIV has drained the Sun Devil connection to the Phoenix Open, ASU coach Matt Thurmond said he does not believe it detracts from his program.

“While I appreciate everything that the PGA Tour does and has done, and I appreciate everything LIV is doing, I don’t have a horse in the race,” Thurmond said. “What I want is what’s best for our players.”

In 2022, Thurmond’s star player – David Puig – decided it was best for him to leave school early and join LIV. Puig now plays for Fireballs GC alongside Sergio Garcia.

“It got to the point where we felt like it was such a no-brainer for him,” Thurmond said.

Puig initially played in a few LIV events as an amateur while remaining on ASU’s team. But eventually the deal “got even better for him,” Thurmond said. So, Puig turned pro in a groundbreaking development for the upstart golf league. The young Spaniard paid his own tuition to complete his degree at ASU and still lives with three current Sun Devils golfers.

“Our relationship as friends, it didn’t change much,” Puig said.

Puig’s LIV decision foreshadowed the arrival of a far more famous Spanish Sun Devil in Rahm. The reigning Master’s champion and world No. 3 player committed to LIV in a shocking reversal last December.

Like Puig, Rahm still lives in Scottsdale. In his news conference before the LIV Las Vegas event this weekend, he expressed sadness at missing out on the Phoenix Open and said he hopes to play in the event again.

Rahm’s absence casts a shadow over the tournament – and the future of the PGA Tour. But the ASU alums still in the Phoenix Open field say their relationships with Rahm are unchanged.

“Jon is one of my best friends,” said Nicolo Galletti, a former Sun Devil making his first PGA Tour start at the Phoenix Open. “He obviously just went to LIV, and I think it’s awesome for him.

“Make your money. That’s what it’s about. This is a job.”

The players did not believe that ASU alums on LIV were actively pulling other Sun Devils to the breakaway tour.

“I think it was just all on an individual basis,” said Reavie, who has played in 400 events on the PGA Tour since 2002.

Puig agreed that the ASU presence on LIV was not a major factor in his decision. But he did speak to Rahm about LIV before the two-time major winner made the switch.

“I don’t know if our talks helped or not,” Puig said.

Puig and Rahm played golf together frequently this past offseason.

“We have a lot of things in common, which is crazy because he’s a superstar, and I’m just starting my professional life,” Puig said.

While it has poached some of the world’s best talent, LIV still lags far behind the PGA Tour in popularity among fans. When both tours were live last Saturday, the PGA Tour received more than 11 times the viewership than LIV.

A 2022 survey famously found that only about 22 percent of golf fans approved of LIV. The league recently came under fire for allegedly threatening to imprison bankers that cooperated with the U.S. government investigation into the planned merger between it and the PGA Tour.

But the ASU men’s golf team seems to feel differently about LIV than most golf fans.

“It’s not just ASU, it’s all teams,” Thurmond said. “These kids are really excited about what LIV’s doing.”

The team aspect of LIV is particularly intriguing for college golfers, according to Thurmond.

With three current players ranked among the top 20 amateurs in the world, the Sun Devil presence on LIV could grow even larger in the coming years. Thurmond said he wouldn’t comment specifically on whether his current players – including freshman Wenyi Ding, Preston Summerhays and Josele Ballester – had already been approached by LIV.

“But I will say that they have had or actively have opportunities all the time,” Thurmond said.

Though the most famous ASU alums play elsewhere, the Sun Devils on the PGA Tour continue to have an impact. Rookie Kevin Yu posted two top-10 finishes in January, putting him inside the top 30 of the FedEx Cup standings. Yu accrued the second-best career scoring average (70.46) in ASU history during the Golfstat era, trailing only Rahm.

“One thing that stands out with Kevin is his ball-striking,” Thurmond said. “It’s pretty stunning to watch. He hits it as high and as far and as straight … as anybody I’ve ever seen.”

Murray won the Sony Open in Hawaii earlier this year, earning his second career victory and first since 2017.

Reavie, Galletti and Jesse Mueller – also a volunteer assistant for the Grand Canyon University men’s golf team – round out the Sun Devils in the 2024 Phoenix Open field.

With ASU playing in Hawaii at the Amer Ari Invitational, LIV playing its second event of the season in Las Vegas and the Phoenix Open scrambling to finish after heavy rain delayed the schedule, it will inevitably be a massive weekend for Sun Devils golfers.

“The golf program here has always been just a major part (of the university),” Thurmond said. “Golf is a really big deal here.”

King Jemison is a graduate student at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism.

Chez Reavie watched highlights of himself at the Travelers while at a Cheesecake Factory and everyone loved it

Chez Reavie was spotted by a golf fan and filmed watching himself at a Cheesecake Factory.

Hey, sometimes you’re a pro athlete who happens to be sitting at a Cheesecake Factory.

And sometimes, the bar at said Cheesecake Factory is playing highlights from the round of golf you just played.

And sometimes, those highlights happen to star … yourself.

OK, fine. That doesn’t usually happen. But if you’re Chez Reavie and you were spotted at a Cheesecake Factory over the weekend while in the middle of competing at the 2023 Travelers Championship — he’d finish tied for fourth, for what it’s worth — that’s pretty fun.

Video captured that magical moment, and golf fans everywhere were loving every second of it.

2023 Travelers Championship prize money payouts for each PGA Tour player

It pays to play well on the PGA Tour, especially at designated events.

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It pays to play well on the PGA Tour, especially in designated events. Just ask this week’s winner, Keegan Bradley.

The 37-year-old won the 2023 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut, on Sunday for his sixth PGA Tour victory. Bradley, a New England native, shot a final-round 2-under 68 to claim the title at 23 under, three shots clear of Zac Blair and Brian Harman who finished T-2 at 20 under.

For his efforts, Bradley will take home the top prize of $3.6 million, while Blair and Harman will each leave with $1.78 million out of the $20 million designated event purse. Patrick Cantlay, Chez Reavie and Scottie Scheffler just missed out on the seven-figure mark, as each will earn $841,667 for finishing T-4 at 19 under.

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Check out how much money each PGA Tour player earned this week at the 2023 Travelers Championship.

Travelers Championship prize money

Position Player Score Earnings
1 Keegan Bradley -23 $3,600,000
T2 Brian Harman -20 $1,780,000
T2 Zac Blair -20 $1,780,000
T4 Patrick Cantlay -19 $841,667
T4 Chez Reavie -19 $841,667
T4 Scottie Scheffler -19 $841,667
T7 Denny McCarthy -18 $650,000
T7 Rory McIlroy -18 $650,000
T9 Min Woo Lee -17 $525,000
T9 Justin Thomas -17 $525,000
T9 Corey Conners -17 $525,000
T9 Alex Smalley -17 $525,000
T13 Rickie Fowler -16 $405,000
T13 Hideki Matsuyama -16 $405,000
T15 Lucas Herbert -15 $335,000
T15 Carson Young -15 $335,000
T15 Doug Ghim -15 $335,000
T15 Emiliano Grillo -15 $335,000
T19 Xander Schauffele -14 $245,800
T19 Greyson Sigg -14 $245,800
T19 Adam Scott -14 $245,800
T19 Shane Lowry -14 $245,800
T19 Russell Henley -14 $245,800
T24 Eric Cole -13 $167,000
T24 Aaron Rai -13 $167,000
T24 Ludvig Aberg -13 $167,000
T24 Austin Eckroat -13 $167,000
T24 Chesson Hadley -13 $167,000
T29 Wyndham Clark -12 $134,000
T29 Sungjae Im -12 $134,000
T29 Viktor Hovland -12 $134,000
T29 Zach Johnson -12 $134,000
T33 Luke List -11 $109,000
T33 Cam Davis -11 $109,000
T33 Callum Tarren -11 $109,000
T33 Gary Woodland -11 $109,000
T33 Ryan Palmer -11 $109,000
T38 Nick Hardy -10 $83,000
T38 Chad Ramey -10 $83,000
T38 Kyle Reifers -10 $83,000
T38 Tom Kim -10 $83,000
T38 Kelly Kraft -10 $83,000
T38 Sepp Straka -10 $83,000
T38 Michael Kim -10 $83,000
T45 Davis Riley -9 $61,200
T45 Jason Day -9 $61,200
T45 Tony Finau -9 $61,200
T45 Andrew Putnam -9 $61,200
T49 Kevin Yu -8 $51,533
T49 Russell Knox -8 $51,533
T49 Matt Fitzpatrick -8 $51,533
T52 Sahith Theegala -7 $47,900
T52 Webb Simpson -7 $47,900
T52 Kevin Tway -7 $47,900
T52 Zecheng Dou -7 $47,900
T56 Justin Suh -6 $46,000
T56 Brett Stegmaier -6 $46,000
T56 Harry Hall -6 $46,000
T56 David Lipsky -6 $46,000
T60 Cameron Young -5 $44,600
T60 Harris English -5 $44,600
T60 Tom Hoge -5 $44,600
63 Ben Martin -4 $43,800
T64 Andy Svoboda -3 $43,200
T64 Stephan Jaeger -3 $43,200
66 Ryan Blaum -2 $42,600
67 Andrew Landry 2 $42,200

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Chez Reavie spotted at Cheesecake Factory watching highlights of his third round at the Travelers Championship

Who doesn’t like cheesecake? 

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Who doesn’t like cheesecake?

Chez Reavie apparently does, as he was spotted at the bar of a Cheesecake Factory near TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut, on Saturday night. The best part is, Reavie was watching a replay of his third round that was on a TV.

Reavie fired a 7-under 63 on Saturday to move into solo second at the Travelers Championship. He’s in the final pairing Sunday, playing with Keegan Bradley, who’s at 21 under and has a one-shot lead over Reavie.

However, what better place to go refresh after a long day on the course than Cheesecake Factory? Come Sunday afternoon, Reavie will go for his fourth PGA Tour victory, his latest coming at the 2022 Barracuda Championship.

5 sleeper picks for the 2023 Travelers Championship, including Min Woo Lee at 70/1

Lee tied for 5th last week at the U.S. Open.

The next designated event on the PGA Tour schedule is here as the best players in the world are in Cromwell, Connecticut, for the 2023 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands.

The best field in tournament history is set to battle for a $20 million purse with $3.6 million going to the winner. World No. 6 Xander Schauffele, fresh off a T-10 at the U.S. Open, is the defending champion thanks to his two-shot win over J.T. Poston and Sahith Theegala last season.

Scottie Scheffler is the betting favorite +600, followed by Jon Rahm and Patrick Cantlay at +1100 and Rory McIlroy at +1200.

Despite the plethora of superstar power in the field, there are a few names to keep an eye on further down the odds list.

Here are five sleeper picks for the 2023 Travelers Championship.

Travelers: Odds, picks to win

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Chez Reavie wins 2022 Barracuda Championship, becomes oldest golfer to win on PGA Tour this season

Chez Reavie adds the Barracuda Championship to his PGA Tour resume.

TRUCKEE, Calif. — After several lead changes on the back nine, Chez Reavie clamped down when he needed to and emerged as the champion.

Reavie picked up his third win on the PGA Tour when he took the Barracuda Championship on Sunday at the Tahoe Mountain Club’s Old Greenwood golf course.

Reavie finished plus-43 points after picking up 6 in Sunday’s final round. He edged Alex Noren, who was second with plus-42.

Reavie, 40, is the oldest player won in the PGA Tour this year. This was his third career win on the Tour. He also had the lead after three rounds in his two previous wins.

Reavie had plus-37 points after Saturday’s round, but struggled a bit on his front nine Sunday.

He said staying patient was the key.

“I knew I was going to have to. I knew some guys were going to make a lot of birdies early. I was hoping to be one of those guys, but the putter was kind of letting me down early,” Reavie said. “Just tried to keep it as close as I could to the hole and give myself some good looks.”

2022 Barracuda Championship
Chez Reavie kisses the championship trophy after winning the 2022 Barracuda Championship at Tahoe Mt. Club’s Old Greenwood in Truckee, California. (Photo: Tom R. Smedes/Special to Reno Gazette-Journal)

Reavie said he didn’t look at the score until after the first nine, but then started checking every other hole.

He picked up 300 points in the standings and moved up to 49th in the FedEx Cup rankings with the win. He also won $666,000 for his efforts.

He also won the 2008 RBC Canadian Open and the Travelers Championship in 2019.

Noren scored 14 points on Sunday. He was making his 132nd PGA Tour start and was trying to become the Barracuda’s sixth straight first-time winner.

Noren, from Stockholm, Sweden, turned 40 last week. He had been the first alternate at the British Open, but decided to play in the Barracuda, thinking nobody would drop out at St. Andrews.

He said the Old Greenwood course was a little tricky Sunday as the wind picked up early and held steady most of the day

“It’s been a roller coaster of a week, obviously, but when you make the cut, you think, well, this is a great week anyway, and then I played good on the weekend and had a blast,” Noren said. “If it was another tournament, I might not have gone there, but I just love this week, and I wanted to have a vacation at home with the kids before the Playoffs start. I wanted to be able to grab some points, either at the Open or here. I didn’t want to just sit out the Open and then having to add a week.”

Martin Laird was third with plus-38 points; Mark Hubbard took fourth with plus-37 and Scott Gutschewski was fifth with plus-35.

Reavie is the first player 40 or older to win on the PGA Tour since Lucas Glover at the 2021 John Deere Classic.

He finished 43rd last year at the Barracuda and his best finish in the event was 42nd in 2009.

The Barracuda went to the Modified Stableford scoring system in 2012.

This was Laird’s best finish of the season.

He played with Reavie on Sunday and said the wind gusts made it a little tougher than earlier in the week.

Both Reavie and Laird said they plan to play in the 3M tournament in Minnesota this week.

Laird said getting away form the golf course for a while earlier in the week paid off for him.

“I feel like my game has been pretty good for a while. It was funny this week, my family has been out and I’ve literally not done any practice, just had a very relaxed week and had my best week of the year. There’s a lot to be said for that,” Laird said. “Sometimes we kind of get stuck in a rut and almost try and practice our way out of it, and sometimes it’s the opposite; you just need to kind of get away. I’m kind of going to take that philosophy the next few week and just kind of be a lot more relaxed and go and enjoy it.”

It was his first time playing at Old Greenwood.

“I really enjoyed the old venue, but this Old Greenwood golf course is fantastic. It’s a really good fun golf course for this format, so look forward to coming back,” he said.

What about 2023?

The dates for next year’s Barracuda have not been set. This is the last year on the current contract with Barracuda as the tournament title sponsor.

Tournament director Chris Hoff told the Reno Gazette-Journal that negotiations are ongoing and he said it is likely that Barracuda will return as the title sponsor.

“We’re in renewal talks with them right now,” Hoff said. “We’re optimistic and they’ve had a great time this week and the last nine years have been incredible.”

The deal to hold the tournament at the Tahoe Mountain Club’s Old Greenwood course runs through 2023.

In August 2021, it was announced that from 2022 onward, the event would become a co-sanctioned event with the European Tour.

Scoring

The Barracuda Championship is employing the Modified Stableford scoring format, the first PGA Tour event to use the format since The International in 2006. Players are allocated points based on the number of strokes taken at each hole with the goal of achieving the highest overall score. Albatross +8, Eagle +5, Birdie +2, Par 0, Bogey -1, Double bogey or worse -3. It’s the only PGA Tour event to use the scoring format.

Streak broken

The last six winners of the Barracuda Championship were first-time PGA Tour winners.

  • 2016 Greg Chalmers
  • 2017 Chris Stroud
  • 2018 Andrew Putnam
  • 2019 Collin Morikawa
  • 2020 Richy Werenski
  • 2021 Erik van Rooyen

It was the longest streak on Tour.

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‘I didn’t think anybody would withdraw’: British Open first alternate Alex Noren, who skipped St. Andrews, is in contention at Barracuda Championship

Alex Noren: “Golf is a long career, and I’ve played a lot of British Opens, and I’ll get to play it again.”

TRUCKEE, Calif. — Chez Reavie continues to tear up the golf course, and Alex Noren has some added incentive this week.

Reavie leads the PGA Tour’s Barracuda Championship with plus-37 points at the Tahoe Mountain Club’s Old Greenwood course, where they are using the Modified Stableford scoring system.

Martin Laird is next with plus-31 and Noren is tied with Cam Davis, both at plus-28 points.

But Noren was oh-so-close to playing in the year’s final men’s major, the British Open at St. Andrews.

Noren had been the first alternate for the British Open, but decided to fly to California to play in the Barracuda instead.

“I didn’t think anybody would withdraw,” Noren said Friday. “They actually did, and sad for them, but also I wanted to play this.”

When Justin Rose withdrew from the Open, that opened a spot that would have gone to Noren. Instead that spot went to Rikuya Hoshino. Erik van Rooyen, who won the Barracuda in 2021 to earn a spot in the 2022 Open Championship, also withdrew before the Open started.

“I wanted to get some more points. I’ve got three weeks of training after this before the [FexEx Cup] playoffs, and I wanted to play this week, and maybe that mindset made me have a little less patience that I needed this time. Golf is a long career, and I’ve played a lot of British Opens, and I’ll get to play it again.”

Noren tried to forget about what might have been and simply went to work at Old Greenwood, posting a score of plus-28 points through three rounds.

He admits it’s hard to escape the British Open, because it’s on TVs everywhere he goes around Truckee.

He said being contention in the Barracuda, somewhat eases the pain of missing The Open.

“Every time they show ‘The Open’ on TV, I get frustrated, but I love coming here. I think it’s one of the best courses on the Tour and a great tournament. It’s very enjoyable to play,” Noren said.

Noren, 40, is ranked No. 66 in the world, No. 75 in the FedEx Cup rankings.

Reavie, meanwhile, had his first bogey of the Barracuda on No. 15 on Saturday, this after he had five birdies in the third round. He said he expects to feel some nervousness on Sunday, while he waits for his afternoon tee time.

“I have to spend an hour or two at home just calming myself down because I’m so looking forward to coming out here and competing,” Reavie said. “I can come out here and try too hard if I get too excited.”

Reavie, who played golf at Arizona State, is one of only two PGA Tour golfers from that school who have not defected to the LIV Tour, along with John Rahm. Fellow former ASU golfers Phil Mickelson, Paul Casey, Pat Perez and Matt Jones have all jumped to the LIV.

Big leap

Michael Thompson had nine birdies, and nine pars, and totaled 18 points on Saturday. He has plus-26 points heading into Sunday’s final round.

Joshua Creel had two eagles on Saturday, on holes No. 8 and 16 and picked up 11 points on the day. He has plus -26 points through three rounds.

Harry Higgs also earned 11 points on Saturday, thanks to three birdies and an eagle. He is at plus-26 points heading into Sunday. Higgs said he is better off if he can avoid chipping.

“I’ve hit a lot of good iron shots and holed some kind of bonus putts. The first day I just hit a few balls just into a spot where I had to chip out,” Higgs said. “But this format is kind of fun. You can kind of get away with that.”

He enjoys the feeling of smashing the ball on his tee shots and watching it fly farther than it does at most golf courses he plays at.

“It’s fun when it gets in the fairways, too; you can hit a long, long way out here, bouncing and rolling and flying a little further with the altitude,” Higgs said.

Higgs said he has not played well this season and is worrying too much about the little things going wrong.

“I’ve just not been sharp, not been playing good golf, not been kind of playing like myself,” he said. “My attitude has been horrible. I’ve been pissing and moaning about little things that go wrong and then that builds and builds and builds. Been playing on the cut line way too much all year. I view myself as much, much better than that. But obviously there comes a time where talk is cheap and you’re now going to have to show it, more so to myself.”

Scoring

The Barracuda Championship is employing the Modified Stableford scoring format, the first PGA Tour event to use the format since The International in 2006. Players are allocated points based on the number of strokes taken at each hole with the goal of achieving the highest overall score.

Albatross +8, Eagle +5, Birdie +2, Par 0, Bogey -1, Double bogey or worse -3.

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Chez Reavie has blistering round Friday, takes lead at 2022 Barracuda Championship

He was one of the first players on the course and Chez Reavie did not waste time.

TRUCKEE, Calif. – He was one of the first players on the course and Chez Reavie did not waste time.

Reavie scored 19 points in Friday’s second round and surged into the lead at the PGA Tour’s Barracuda Championship at the Tahoe Mountain Club’s Old Greenwood golf course.

Reavie, 40, from Wichita, Kansas, who played his college golf at Arizona State, has plus-28 points after two rounds. Mark Hubbard and Henrik Norlander are tied for second with plus-25 points.

Reavie had seven birdies and an eagle on No. 6, and no bogeys on Friday.

The eagle, his second of the week, came after he chipped in from just off the green.

He said it was a little colder out, starting so early. Reavie teed off at 7:18 a.m. local time Friday, and his shots were not flying quite as far as they did Thursday when he started later in the day.

“Fortunately we kind of noticed that on the range and adjusted for it, and I was lucky enough to just trust the numbers, the clubs that we picked, and then as it warmed up, it kind of gradually kind of started getting closer to what it was yesterday afternoon,” Reavie said.

He said staying in the fairways and out of the rough is key to doing well at Old Greenwood because the greens are so firm.

Hubbard, 33, had seven birdies and two bogeys on Friday, en route to scoring 12 points.

He played basketball at San Jose State and had a few friends from there up at Old Greenwood to watch him play golf this week.

Hubbard is winless on the PGA Tour. He was third last week in Kentucky in the Barbasol Championship.

Hubbard agreed with Reavie that the early start Friday morning took some adjusting.

“It was tough early, man, with the cold and the elevation. It’s hard to know how far the ball is going, and it seemed like every pin on our front nine, the back nine, was front with water short, so you couldn’t really play with it,” he said. “So it was just tough to get the ball close early. Once it heated up and started going another 10 percent I started making some birdies.”

2022 Barracuda Championship
Martin Laird putts on the 18th green during the second round of the 2022 Barracuda Championship at Old Greenwood in Truckee, California. (Photo: Jason Bean/Reno Gazette Journal)

Norlander, who has been working with a sports psychologist, is in his best position after 36 holes this season.

“First of all, I’m pretty excited to not make travel plans on Friday afternoon. That’s been sort of what I’ve been doing every Friday the last few weeks,” Norlander said. “But yeah, it’s a lot of pressure. I’m going to be nervous, but I believe I’m ready for it. … That’s why I practice, and I’m ready for the challenge.”

Under the Modified Stableford scoring system, players receive eight points for albatross, five for eagle and two for birdie. A point is deducted for bogey and three taken away for double bogey or worse.

Kevin Tway is in fourth with plus-21 points, followed by Nino Bertasio, Maverick McNealy and Martin Trainer, each on the leaderboard with plus-19 points.

The cut was at plus-7 points with 70 players making it to keep playing on the weekend.

Noren was been the first alternate for the British Open this week, but decided to fly to California instead to play in the Barracuda.

When Justin Rose withdrew from the British Open, the final major of the year, that opened a spot that would have gone to Noren. Instead that spot went to Rikuya Hoshino.

Noren played nine holes of a practice round at St. Andrews, before flying to California.

“I didn’t think anybody would withdraw. They actually did, and sad for them, but also I wanted to play this,” Noren said. “I wanted to get some more points. I’ve got three weeks of training after this before the playoffs, and I wanted to play this week, and maybe that mindset made me have a little less patience that I needed this time. Golf is a long career, and I’ve played a lot of British Opens, and I’ll get to play it again.”

Erik van Rooyen, who won the Barracuda Championship last year, also withdrew from the British Open.

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You have to go low to get high on the leaderboard at 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities

The TPC Twin Cities speedway is running like the Indy 500 as players maximize the RPMs in search of red numbers.

BLAINE, Minn. – Par is not always your friend.

Not at the 3M Open at the TPC Twin Cities speedway, which is running like the Indy 500 as players maximize the RPMs in search of red numbers to keep up with all others. With scoring conditions on the optimal side – manageable wind, course a touch on the soft side, generous fairways, getable pins and plenty of wedges in hand for approach shots – a long stretch of pars tests the patience and does little to boost the scorecard.

Shoot even-par 71 here and you’re getting lapped.

“You only have one option. You know you’re going to have to shoot a good round or else you’re going to get left behind,” said Bo Hoag, who followed up his opening-round 67 with a 66 on Friday. “There’s no real guessing game. Just got to be pretty aggressive with the scoring clubs in your hands and try to make some birdies out there.

“Played a good round yesterday and it’s nice to get back out and put another one with it. Sometimes it’s easy to kind of back off and just maybe play a little more conservatively when you get off to a good start, but I kind of kept the pedal down today and gave myself a lot of birdie opportunities.”

3M Open: Leaderboard | Photo gallery

Hoag, who shot four rounds in the 60s in last week’s Barbasol Championship to end up in a tie for 11th, stands at 9 under through 36 holes and shares the clubhouse lead with Chez Reavie (67), Roger Sloan (69) and Jhonattan Vegas (69). Rickie Fowler and Troy Merritt, who each shot 64 in the first round, are at 8 under through six holes.

The cut currently is hovering at 2 under.

“It’s hard, it’s really hard, but at the end of the day, and especially coming off a good round, you’ve just got to try to piece another good round together,” Vegas said of needing to go low to keep up with the pace car. “Obviously, the conditions are not super easy, you still have to hit really good shots around this place.”

For the most part, Vegas did just that. The two-time PGA Tour winner reached 11 under before his errant approach from 193 yards using a 6-iron on his final hole wound up in native area and he needed to take a penalty drop and made double.

“Should have hit a cut to hold it into the wind and decided to hit it straight and kind of came across and hit it long left and I was completely dead from there,” Vegas said. “It’s golf, sometimes you’ve got to put those behind and focus on what’s coming. I played solidly. I can’t really complain too much.”

Sloan wasn’t complaining too much after making his only bogey of the week on the par-5 18th when his second shot wound up in the water. In fact, by his way of thinking, it could prove beneficial.

“Tough to end with a bogey, but at the same time it was nice to get that bogey out of the way. We don’t have to think about being bogey-free anymore, so it sets us up for a good week,” he said. “I didn’t really think about it until my caddie and I were walking off the green. He just said, ‘Well, we don’t have to worry about going bogey free anymore,’ and it kind of loosens you up a little bit. So, maybe donating a shot back there at the last could help us play a little bit more freely on the weekend.”

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