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Min Woo Lee inspired by big sister Minjee's PGA Championship triumph as he details shock phone call
Min Woo Lee inspired by big sister Minjee's PGA Championship triumph as he details shock phone call

Daily Record

time6 days ago

  • Entertainment
  • Daily Record

Min Woo Lee inspired by big sister Minjee's PGA Championship triumph as he details shock phone call

Australian star fires in Detriot just days after big sis wins Major Back-to-form Min Woo Lee admits it's been inspiring to see big sister Minjee walk the walk again in women's golf. The Australian's elder sibling chalked up a third Major win of her career last weekend when triumphant at the KPMG PGA Championship. ‌ Lee admits he was shocked to get a call from Minjee on the eve of his outing at the Rocket Classic, but, whatever was said, it worked a treat. The 2021 Genesis Scottish Open champion and this year's Houston Open king produced a stunning 63 in Detroit to charge to the top of the leaderboards. ‌ Lee revealed the chat with big sis prior to teeing-off and smiled: 'Normally, she doesn't check up on me, but it was actually quite nice to get a call from her. I was like: Did you butt dial me? What's going on? She's like: No, I just wanted to check in. I was like, oh, okay. She's awesome. 'I think she had a bit of a night on Sunday with a few of her friends. I think they all had a week off this week, so it's good to see her in a nice mental space and happy on the course. She was going through a tough patch the last couple of years, so it's nice to see her have her swagger back. 'I don't think she learns that much off me. I try to learn off her. She's just a beast when she's playing good. 'She just doesn't do much wrong and you just see that step in her walk. You know she's comfortable with her game and you know she's got control. She's already a ball striker, so it's quite cool to see her walk the walk. It's a very cool thing. We're trying to play as good as we can.' Lee has struggled for form since his win in the Houston with missed cuts at the PGA Championship and US Open on last two Majors outings. But he was back in the zone on day one on a course that suited and said: 'You've just got to take care of what's in front of you. I think it's really easy to be like, hey, I shot nine under, I'm the best player in the world feel-wise. But you've still got to go out there and hit some shots and hit all the shots. There's a comfortability factor of yes, you've been playing well, and although I didn't have the A-plus game, you can still score around here. ‌ 'I think it's just the confidence that you feel when you go out there, but you still need to go from A to B, which a lot of people keep telling me and that's kind of the motto of this game. It's been, honestly, very bad. 'I didn't feel great on the course, especially playing at a course where when you hit it in the rough, you've literally got to hack out. Oakmont, Memorial. 'Most of the signature events are just very, very tough, and you're nearly playing, instead of four majors, you're playing more Majors because they're trying to make it as tough as possible. 'I was really excited for this week. I wanted to get to hit it in the rough and actually hit it onto the green. It seems so close, but I don't even think I did that much different today and I score 10 times better than what I have been scoring, so at the end of the day, just got to keep your head up and keep going. 'In the long term, you want to play the signature events, you want to play those events and you want to hit it as accurate as possible, but still trying to figure it out. Driver was a big part of that, not knowing where the ball was going. Hopefully, the PGA Tour can have more courses like this. It'll be a bit more fun and less stressful!'

Scottie Scheffler is fighting his swing at the U.S. Open. He's hanging around anyway
Scottie Scheffler is fighting his swing at the U.S. Open. He's hanging around anyway

Hamilton Spectator

time15-06-2025

  • Sport
  • Hamilton Spectator

Scottie Scheffler is fighting his swing at the U.S. Open. He's hanging around anyway

OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler arrived at Oakmont with his swing in a good place. Wherever that place was, it's gone. Temporarily, at least. While world's top-ranked player put together his best round of the week at the U.S. Open on Saturday by firing an even-par 70 to remain at 4 over, he knows tracking down good friend and third-round leader Sam Burns eight shots ahead might require the kind of crisp, clean golf Scheffler has struggled to produce over 54 holes. 'Am I in the position I had hoped to be after three days? Obviously not,' Scheffler said. 'But for the way I've swung it and played the last few days, I feel like I could be a lot worse.' Such is the level that the 28-year-old star finds himself at that, during feels like an 'off week,' he will head to the course on Sunday on the front page of the leaderboard, albeit at the bottom. 'For me to be sitting where I am this week, not having really my best stuff, I think is pretty good,' Scheffler said. It's not like Scheffler hasn't been searching for it. He hit the practice range shortly after a 71 on Friday, then proceeded to have an animated session with longtime coach Randy Smith. Scheffler waved his arms at times, clearly frustrated by the results. Asked about it, Scheffler shrugged and called the whole thing 'pretty regular,' and it should be pointed out that the practice range at most tournaments doesn't sit next to the media center as it does at Oakmont. Scheffler admitted the session ended without much progress, though Smith shared some thoughts that 'definitely helped.' Still, the 'silly mistakes' that have dogged him this week prevented him from making a legitimate move. He missed a 2-footer for par on the par-3 eighth. He hit it into the native area along the left side of the ninth fairway, forcing him to take a drop. He bounced back on the back nine. Stuffing a wedge to 10 inches on the par-5 12th for birdie. A drive into the fairway bunker on the par-4 14th led to a bogey, but he responded by birdieing the short par-4 17th. When he tapped in for par on 18, he'd inched up the leaderboard on a day he knew he needed to leap up it. On Sunday, Scheffler might need to go full Johnny Miller in 1973 to track down Burns. Considering the way Scheffler has played this season, maybe there's reason for optimism, even when things aren't coming as easily as he's made it look. 'I've had three days where I haven't really had my swing, and I've been battling out there and still have a chance, albeit an outside chance,' he said. 'But still a chance.' Charging Carlos Carlos Ortiz was in danger of missing the cut when he began the second round by shooting a 5-over 40 on the front nine. Twenty-seven holes and 30-ish hours later, the 34-year-old from Guadalajara, Mexico, will go out in one of the final groups after firing a 3-under 67 in the third round. Heady territory for a player who came to Oakmont having made the cut just twice in nine major appearances. Ortiz, who won the Houston Open in 2020 before joining LIV Golf in 2022, had a nearly flawless card slightly more gettable — by Oakmont standards anyway — course thanks to overnight rain that softened things up a bit. Ortiz birdied both the par-5s and added birdies on the par-3 sixth and the par-4 14th. His bid for a bogey-free round ended when he failed to get up-and-down from a greenside bunker following an errant drive. He shrugged it off afterward, pointing to all the positives instead. He'll wake up Sunday in contention at the U.S. Open. During the tournament's last trip to Oakmont nine years ago, he shot back-to-back 76s to miss the weekend by six. Not this time. 'Different player, same course,' Ortiz said, then added for emphasis, 'same course.' A big putt Philip Barbaree Jr. had a sleepless night for all the right reasons. He had to return to Oakmont on Saturday morning to finish his second round, knowing he had to make a par to make the cut for the first time in the U.S. Open. His final hole was No. 9, the hardest one on perhaps golf's toughest course. 'Probably a lot of pent-up emotion and stress from sleeping last night — or not sleeping last night — just knowing that I pretty much had to come out and make par on one of the hardest holes on the course,' he said. He found the fairway. He hit his approach to 25 feet. He left the uphill putt 5 feet short. And he made it for a 71 to finish at 7-over 147. An hour later, he teed off in the third round with Oakmont's head pro, Devin Gee, as his non-scoring marker. Barbaree had a pair of double bogeys and an eagle in his round of 75. But that par is what mattered. The celebration looked like someone who won the tournament, especially the strong hug with his caddie — wife, Chloe. 'To be able to pull off a shot like that when it matters, and then with her on the bag, it's special,' Barbaree said. His wife knows next to nothing about golf, but Barbaree asked her to caddie for him last year. He immediately started playing better and asked her to stick around. He's on the PGA Tour Americas, a third-tier circuit that splits time between Latin America and Canada. The cut at least exempts Barbaree from having to go through the first stage of Q-school later this year. Barbaree also gets to skip the first stage of U.S. Open qualifying next spring. Big putt, indeed. Not a fan Tyrrell Hatton is rarely one to keep his emotions in check . Yet the fiery Englishman managed to do just that during one particularly difficult moment to keep a round that became a 2-under 68 and thrust him into contention at 1-over on track. Hatton was at 3 under for the day and even for the tournament when his approach to the par-4 15th landed in the grass on a side slope abutting a greenside bunker. Standing awkwardly, he choked down on a lob wedge and was 'delighted' when the ball managed to stay on the putting surface, though that didn't stop him from gesturing angrily in the direction of the bunker after he three-putted for a double bogey. While Hatton would prefer not to have so much thick rough around the bunkers, he knows it's pointless to complain about the setup. 'It doesn't matter if I don't agree with it or every player in the field doesn't agree with it,' he said. 'Everyone has to deal with it. It's just how it is.' Hatton recovered by birdieing the par-4 17th and saving par on the 18th after his drive found a bunker to put him in the mix for his first major. ___ AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson contrubuted to this report. ___ AP golf:

Scottie Scheffler is fighting his swing at the U.S. Open. He's hanging around anyway
Scottie Scheffler is fighting his swing at the U.S. Open. He's hanging around anyway

San Francisco Chronicle​

time15-06-2025

  • Sport
  • San Francisco Chronicle​

Scottie Scheffler is fighting his swing at the U.S. Open. He's hanging around anyway

OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler arrived at Oakmont with his swing in a good place. Wherever that place was, it's gone. Temporarily, at least. While world's top-ranked player put together his best round of the week at the U.S. Open on Saturday by firing an even-par 70 to remain at 4 over, he knows tracking down good friend and third-round leader Sam Burns eight shots ahead might require the kind of crisp, clean golf Scheffler has struggled to produce over 54 holes. 'Am I in the position I had hoped to be after three days? Obviously not,' Scheffler said. 'But for the way I've swung it and played the last few days, I feel like I could be a lot worse.' Such is the level that the 28-year-old star finds himself at that, during feels like an 'off week," he will head to the course on Sunday on the front page of the leaderboard, albeit at the bottom. 'For me to be sitting where I am this week, not having really my best stuff, I think is pretty good,' Scheffler said. It's not like Scheffler hasn't been searching for it. He hit the practice range shortly after a 71 on Friday, then proceeded to have an animated session with longtime coach Randy Smith. Scheffler waved his arms at times, clearly frustrated by the results. Asked about it, Scheffler shrugged and called the whole thing 'pretty regular," and it should be pointed out that the practice range at most tournaments doesn't sit next to the media center as it does at Oakmont. Scheffler admitted the session ended without much progress, though Smith shared some thoughts that 'definitely helped.' Still, the 'silly mistakes' that have dogged him this week prevented him from making a legitimate move. He missed a 2-footer for par on the par-3 eighth. He hit it into the native area along the left side of the ninth fairway, forcing him to take a drop. He bounced back on the back nine. Stuffing a wedge to 10 inches on the par-5 12th for birdie. A drive into the fairway bunker on the par-4 14th led to a bogey, but he responded by birdieing the short par-4 17th. When he tapped in for par on 18, he'd inched up the leaderboard on a day he knew he needed to leap up it. On Sunday, Scheffler might need to go full Johnny Miller in 1973 to track down Burns. Considering the way Scheffler has played this season, maybe there's reason for optimism, even when things aren't coming as easily as he's made it look. 'I've had three days where I haven't really had my swing, and I've been battling out there and still have a chance, albeit an outside chance,' he said. 'But still a chance.' Charging Carlos Carlos Ortiz was in danger of missing the cut when he began the second round by shooting a 5-over 40 on the front nine. Twenty-seven holes and 30-ish hours later, the 34-year-old from Guadalajara, Mexico, will go out in one of the final groups after firing a 3-under 67 in the third round. Heady territory for a player who came to Oakmont having made the cut just twice in nine major appearances. Ortiz, who won the Houston Open in 2020 before joining LIV Golf in 2022, had a nearly flawless card slightly more gettable — by Oakmont standards anyway — course thanks to overnight rain that softened things up a bit. Ortiz birdied both the par-5s and added birdies on the par-3 sixth and the par-4 14th. His bid for a bogey-free round ended when he failed to get up-and-down from a greenside bunker following an errant drive. He shrugged it off afterward, pointing to all the positives instead. He'll wake up Sunday in contention at the U.S. Open. During the tournament's last trip to Oakmont nine years ago, he shot back-to-back 76s to miss the weekend by six. Not this time. 'Different player, same course,' Ortiz said, then added for emphasis, 'same course.' A big putt Philip Barbaree Jr. had a sleepless night for all the right reasons. He had to return to Oakmont on Saturday morning to finish his second round, knowing he had to make a par to make the cut for the first time in the U.S. Open. His final hole was No. 9, the hardest one on perhaps golf's toughest course. 'Probably a lot of pent-up emotion and stress from sleeping last night — or not sleeping last night — just knowing that I pretty much had to come out and make par on one of the hardest holes on the course,' he said. He found the fairway. He hit his approach to 25 feet. He left the uphill putt 5 feet short. And he made it for a 71 to finish at 7-over 147. An hour later, he teed off in the third round with Oakmont's head pro, Devin Gee, as his non-scoring marker. Barbaree had a pair of double bogeys and an eagle in his round of 75. But that par is what mattered. The celebration looked like someone who won the tournament, especially the strong hug with his caddie — wife, Chloe. 'To be able to pull off a shot like that when it matters, and then with her on the bag, it's special,' Barbaree said. His wife knows next to nothing about golf, but Barbaree asked her to caddie for him last year. He immediately started playing better and asked her to stick around. He's on the PGA Tour Americas, a third-tier circuit that splits time between Latin America and Canada. The cut at least exempts Barbaree from having to go through the first stage of Q-school later this year. Barbaree also gets to skip the first stage of U.S. Open qualifying next spring. Big putt, indeed. Not a fan Tyrrell Hatton is rarely one to keep his emotions in check. Yet the fiery Englishman managed to do just that during one particularly difficult moment to keep a round that became a 2-under 68 and thrust him into contention at 1-over on track. Hatton was at 3 under for the day and even for the tournament when his approach to the par-4 15th landed in the grass on a side slope abutting a greenside bunker. Standing awkwardly, he choked down on a lob wedge and was 'delighted' when the ball managed to stay on the putting surface, though that didn't stop him from gesturing angrily in the direction of the bunker after he three-putted for a double bogey. While Hatton would prefer not to have so much thick rough around the bunkers, he knows it's pointless to complain about the setup. 'It doesn't matter if I don't agree with it or every player in the field doesn't agree with it,' he said. 'Everyone has to deal with it. It's just how it is.' ___

Scottie Scheffler is fighting his swing at the U.S. Open. He's hanging around anyway
Scottie Scheffler is fighting his swing at the U.S. Open. He's hanging around anyway

Winnipeg Free Press

time15-06-2025

  • Sport
  • Winnipeg Free Press

Scottie Scheffler is fighting his swing at the U.S. Open. He's hanging around anyway

OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler arrived at Oakmont with his swing in a good place. Wherever that place was, it's gone. Temporarily, at least. While world's top-ranked player put together his best round of the week at the U.S. Open on Saturday by firing an even-par 70 to remain at 4 over, he knows tracking down good friend and third-round leader Sam Burns eight shots ahead might require the kind of crisp, clean golf Scheffler has struggled to produce over 54 holes. 'Am I in the position I had hoped to be after three days? Obviously not,' Scheffler said. 'But for the way I've swung it and played the last few days, I feel like I could be a lot worse.' Such is the level that the 28-year-old star finds himself at that, during feels like an 'off week,' he will head to the course on Sunday on the front page of the leaderboard, albeit at the bottom. 'For me to be sitting where I am this week, not having really my best stuff, I think is pretty good,' Scheffler said. It's not like Scheffler hasn't been searching for it. He hit the practice range shortly after a 71 on Friday, then proceeded to have an animated session with longtime coach Randy Smith. Scheffler waved his arms at times, clearly frustrated by the results. Asked about it, Scheffler shrugged and called the whole thing 'pretty regular,' and it should be pointed out that the practice range at most tournaments doesn't sit next to the media center as it does at Oakmont. Scheffler admitted the session ended without much progress, though Smith shared some thoughts that 'definitely helped.' Still, the 'silly mistakes' that have dogged him this week prevented him from making a legitimate move. He missed a 2-footer for par on the par-3 eighth. He hit it into the native area along the left side of the ninth fairway, forcing him to take a drop. He bounced back on the back nine. Stuffing a wedge to 10 inches on the par-5 12th for birdie. A drive into the fairway bunker on the par-4 14th led to a bogey, but he responded by birdieing the short par-4 17th. When he tapped in for par on 18, he'd inched up the leaderboard on a day he knew he needed to leap up it. On Sunday, Scheffler might need to go full Johnny Miller in 1973 to track down Burns. Considering the way Scheffler has played this season, maybe there's reason for optimism, even when things aren't coming as easily as he's made it look. 'I've had three days where I haven't really had my swing, and I've been battling out there and still have a chance, albeit an outside chance,' he said. 'But still a chance.' Charging Carlos Carlos Ortiz was in danger of missing the cut when he began the second round by shooting a 5-over 40 on the front nine. Twenty-seven holes and 30-ish hours later, the 34-year-old from Guadalajara, Mexico, will go out in one of the final groups after firing a 3-under 67 in the third round. Heady territory for a player who came to Oakmont having made the cut just twice in nine major appearances. Ortiz, who won the Houston Open in 2020 before joining LIV Golf in 2022, had a nearly flawless card slightly more gettable — by Oakmont standards anyway — course thanks to overnight rain that softened things up a bit. Ortiz birdied both the par-5s and added birdies on the par-3 sixth and the par-4 14th. His bid for a bogey-free round ended when he failed to get up-and-down from a greenside bunker following an errant drive. He shrugged it off afterward, pointing to all the positives instead. He'll wake up Sunday in contention at the U.S. Open. During the tournament's last trip to Oakmont nine years ago, he shot back-to-back 76s to miss the weekend by six. Not this time. 'Different player, same course,' Ortiz said, then added for emphasis, 'same course.' A big putt Philip Barbaree Jr. had a sleepless night for all the right reasons. He had to return to Oakmont on Saturday morning to finish his second round, knowing he had to make a par to make the cut for the first time in the U.S. Open. His final hole was No. 9, the hardest one on perhaps golf's toughest course. 'Probably a lot of pent-up emotion and stress from sleeping last night — or not sleeping last night — just knowing that I pretty much had to come out and make par on one of the hardest holes on the course,' he said. He found the fairway. He hit his approach to 25 feet. He left the uphill putt 5 feet short. And he made it for a 71 to finish at 7-over 147. An hour later, he teed off in the third round with Oakmont's head pro, Devin Gee, as his non-scoring marker. Barbaree had a pair of double bogeys and an eagle in his round of 75. But that par is what mattered. The celebration looked like someone who won the tournament, especially the strong hug with his caddie — wife, Chloe. 'To be able to pull off a shot like that when it matters, and then with her on the bag, it's special,' Barbaree said. His wife knows next to nothing about golf, but Barbaree asked her to caddie for him last year. He immediately started playing better and asked her to stick around. He's on the PGA Tour Americas, a third-tier circuit that splits time between Latin America and Canada. The cut at least exempts Barbaree from having to go through the first stage of Q-school later this year. Barbaree also gets to skip the first stage of U.S. Open qualifying next spring. Big putt, indeed. Not a fan Tyrrell Hatton is rarely one to keep his emotions in check. Yet the fiery Englishman managed to do just that during one particularly difficult moment to keep a round that became a 2-under 68 and thrust him into contention at 1-over on track. Hatton was at 3 under for the day and even for the tournament when his approach to the par-4 15th landed in the grass on a side slope abutting a greenside bunker. Standing awkwardly, he choked down on a lob wedge and was 'delighted' when the ball managed to stay on the putting surface, though that didn't stop him from gesturing angrily in the direction of the bunker after he three-putted for a double bogey. While Hatton would prefer not to have so much thick rough around the bunkers, he knows it's pointless to complain about the setup. 'It doesn't matter if I don't agree with it or every player in the field doesn't agree with it,' he said. 'Everyone has to deal with it. It's just how it is.' Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Hatton recovered by birdieing the par-4 17th and saving par on the 18th after his drive found a bunker to put him in the mix for his first major. ___ AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson contrubuted to this report. ___ AP golf:

Scottie Scheffler is fighting his swing at the U.S. Open. He's hanging around anyway
Scottie Scheffler is fighting his swing at the U.S. Open. He's hanging around anyway

Hindustan Times

time15-06-2025

  • Sport
  • Hindustan Times

Scottie Scheffler is fighting his swing at the U.S. Open. He's hanging around anyway

OAKMONT, Pa. — Scottie Scheffler arrived at Oakmont with his swing in a good place. Wherever that place was, it's gone. Temporarily, at least. While world's top-ranked player put together his best round of the week at the U.S. Open on Saturday by firing an even-par 70 to remain at 4 over, he knows tracking down good friend and third-round leader Sam Burns eight shots ahead might require the kind of crisp, clean golf Scheffler has struggled to produce over 54 holes. 'Am I in the position I had hoped to be after three days? Obviously not,' Scheffler said. 'But for the way I've swung it and played the last few days, I feel like I could be a lot worse.' Such is the level that the 28-year-old star finds himself at that, during feels like an 'off week," he will head to the course on Sunday on the front page of the leaderboard, albeit at the bottom. 'For me to be sitting where I am this week, not having really my best stuff, I think is pretty good,' Scheffler said. It's not like Scheffler hasn't been searching for it. He hit the practice range shortly after a 71 on Friday, then proceeded to have an animated session with longtime coach Randy Smith. Scheffler waved his arms at times, clearly frustrated by the results. Asked about it, Scheffler shrugged and called the whole thing 'pretty regular," and it should be pointed out that the practice range at most tournaments doesn't sit next to the media center as it does at Oakmont. Scheffler admitted the session ended without much progress, though Smith shared some thoughts that 'definitely helped.' Still, the 'silly mistakes' that have dogged him this week prevented him from making a legitimate move. He missed a 2-footer for par on the par-3 eighth. He hit it into the native area along the left side of the ninth fairway, forcing him to take a drop. He bounced back on the back nine. Stuffing a wedge to 10 inches on the par-5 12th for birdie. A drive into the fairway bunker on the par-4 14th led to a bogey, but he responded by birdieing the short par-4 17th. When he tapped in for par on 18, he'd inched up the leaderboard on a day he knew he needed to leap up it. On Sunday, Scheffler might need to go full Johnny Miller in 1973 to track down Burns. Considering the way Scheffler has played this season, maybe there's reason for optimism, even when things aren't coming as easily as he's made it look. 'I've had three days where I haven't really had my swing, and I've been battling out there and still have a chance, albeit an outside chance,' he said. 'But still a chance.' Carlos Ortiz was in danger of missing the cut when he began the second round by shooting a 5-over 40 on the front nine. Twenty-seven holes and 30-ish hours later, the 34-year-old from Guadalajara, Mexico, will go out in one of the final groups after firing a 3-under 67 in the third round. Heady territory for a player who came to Oakmont having made the cut just twice in nine major appearances. Ortiz, who won the Houston Open in 2020 before joining LIV Golf in 2022, had a nearly flawless card slightly more gettable — by Oakmont standards anyway — course thanks to overnight rain that softened things up a bit. Ortiz birdied both the par-5s and added birdies on the par-3 sixth and the par-4 14th. His bid for a bogey-free round ended when he failed to get up-and-down from a greenside bunker following an errant drive. He shrugged it off afterward, pointing to all the positives instead. He'll wake up Sunday in contention at the U.S. Open. During the tournament's last trip to Oakmont nine years ago, he shot back-to-back 76s to miss the weekend by six. Not this time. 'Different player, same course,' Ortiz said, then added for emphasis, 'same course.' Philip Barbaree Jr. had a sleepless night for all the right reasons. He had to return to Oakmont on Saturday morning to finish his second round, knowing he had to make a par to make the cut for the first time in the U.S. Open. His final hole was No. 9, the hardest one on perhaps golf's toughest course. 'Probably a lot of pent-up emotion and stress from sleeping last night — or not sleeping last night — just knowing that I pretty much had to come out and make par on one of the hardest holes on the course,' he said. He found the fairway. He hit his approach to 25 feet. He left the uphill putt 5 feet short. And he made it for a 71 to finish at 7-over 147. An hour later, he teed off in the third round with Oakmont's head pro, Devin Gee, as his non-scoring marker. Barbaree had a pair of double bogeys and an eagle in his round of 75. But that par is what mattered. The celebration looked like someone who won the tournament, especially the strong hug with his caddie — wife, Chloe. 'To be able to pull off a shot like that when it matters, and then with her on the bag, it's special,' Barbaree said. His wife knows next to nothing about golf, but Barbaree asked her to caddie for him last year. He immediately started playing better and asked her to stick around. He's on the PGA Tour Americas, a third-tier circuit that splits time between Latin America and Canada. The cut at least exempts Barbaree from having to go through the first stage of Q-school later this year. Barbaree also gets to skip the first stage of U.S. Open qualifying next spring. Big putt, indeed. Tyrrell Hatton is rarely one to keep his emotions in check. Yet the fiery Englishman managed to do just that during one particularly difficult moment to keep a round that became a 2-under 68 and thrust him into contention at 1-over on track. Hatton was at 3 under for the day and even for the tournament when his approach to the par-4 15th landed in the grass on a side slope abutting a greenside bunker. Standing awkwardly, he choked down on a lob wedge and was 'delighted' when the ball managed to stay on the putting surface, though that didn't stop him from gesturing angrily in the direction of the bunker after he three-putted for a double bogey. While Hatton would prefer not to have so much thick rough around the bunkers, he knows it's pointless to complain about the setup. 'It doesn't matter if I don't agree with it or every player in the field doesn't agree with it,' he said. 'Everyone has to deal with it. It's just how it is.' Hatton recovered by birdieing the par-4 17th and saving par on the 18th after his drive found a bunker to put him in the mix for his first major. Golf Writer Doug Ferguson contrubuted to this report. golf: /hub/golf

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