Round 4 - Cody Gribble claims first PGA Tour win

October 31, 2016

Cody Gribble and his caddie talked a ton during the final nine holes of his impressive run to a Sanderson Farms Championship victory. Very little was about golf.

They talked about Gribble's Texas Longhorns and their big win in football over Baylor on Saturday. They talked about the Chicago Cubs and the World Series. They discussed their upcoming trip to Las Vegas.

Anything to keep Gribble's mind off the incredible run he was making.

''I knew I was in a good spot and I knew I was playing well,'' Gribble said. ''It's hard not to sit there and look at the scoreboard, look where you're at and how you're doing.''

The small talk worked. Gribble finished with a 7-under 65 - which included five birdies on a spectacular back nine - to turn a tight fight into a four-stroke victory and his PGA Tour title.

The 26-year-old rookie started the day a stroke behind playing partners Chris Kirk and Luke List.

Gribble had two birdies on the front nine to stay in contention, then ran off birdies on Nos. 11, 13, 15, 16 and 17. He finished at 20-under 268.

Gribble looked as if he might have trouble just making the cut at the Country Club of Jackson after an opening 73. He bounced back with a 63 in the second round to jump into contention - one shy of the course record - and followed it up with a 67 on Saturday.

On Sunday, Gribble started slowly, but picked up steam on an unseasonably hot day in Jackson where the temperature pushed 90 degrees. He made a short birdie putt on 11 and then hit a difficult downhill 18-foot putt for birdie on 13.

Then he was rolling, making three more birdies on 15, 16 and 17 to pull away.

Kirk and List each shot 70 to tie for second with England's Greg Owen (68).

''Cody played unbelievable,'' List said. ''He definitely deserved to win. I was happy to scramble around and get a couple under out of it.''

Kirk won the tournament in 2011, back when it was called the Viking Classic and played at nearby Annandale Golf Club. He was in contention again at the Country Club of Jackson after shooting a 65 in the third round, but nobody was able to keep up with Gribble's torrid pace on Sunday.

''It was definitely impressive watching Cody play that back nine,'' Kirk said. ''I wish that I could have given him a little better run. I was just a little bit off, I guess.''

Gribble played in college at Texas and is the second member of the school's 2012 national championship team to win a PGA Tour event. The other is Jordan Spieth.

Gribble obviously has a way to go to match the accomplishments of Spieth, who is among the world's best players, but the Sanderson Farms win is certainly a good start. He earned $756,000, 300 FedExCup points and exempt status on tour through the 2018-19 season.

The four-stroke win was the second largest in tournament history, trailing Frank Conner's five-stroke win in 1988.

Round 3 - Chris Kirk & Luke List share lead

October 30, 2016

Chris Kirk fired a seven-under 65 to take a share of the third-round lead at the Sanderson Farms Championship alongside fellow American Luke List.

The 31-year-old Kirk, who is seeking his fifth career PGA Tour title and second win in this event, had eight birdies and a bogey in his round on Saturday at the Country Club of Jackson in Jackson, Mississippi.

List had seven birdies in his bogey-free 65.

"The greens are tricky to read and they're quick, but I feel like my speed has been pretty good so far this week," said Kirk, who is the highest ranked player in the field at 76 in the world. "Once you get out there on Sunday it's anybody's game.

"Hopefully I'll be a little bit more comfortable out there but I'll be just as nervous as everybody I'm sure."

Kirk won this event in 2011 when it was known as the Viking Classic.

List, also 31, equalled Kirk's 54-hole score of 14-under 202 after draining five of his seven birdies in a span of eight holes.

List's lone professional win came at the 2012 South Georgia Classic on what is now the Web.com Tour.

"I was fortunate today to avoid the rough for the most part," List said. "Certain holes I could take advantage of my length and certain holes had to throttle back but swinging really nicely today.

"For me it's just being really patient. The more chill I can be tomorrow the better off I'll play. Of course I'll be nervous."

Former US Open champion Lucas Glover shot 68 and was one stroke back in a tie for third with Canada's Graham DeLaet, who had four straight birdies on the back nine for a 68, and Cody Gribble, who shot 67.

Grayson Murray, who led at the halfway point, stumbled to a double-bogey six on the 15th hole en route to a 72.

He fell into a tie for sixth with Cameron Smith of Australia, who sank a seven-foot eagle putt on the 11th hole in a 67, and Seamus Power of Ireland and Greg Owen of England, who both posted 70s.

Round 2 - Grayson Murray takes over lead

October 28, 2016

Grayson Murray and his caddie had a discussion before his final hole that centered on playing it safe or using his driver.

It was a short conversation.

''Driver, man,'' Murray said as he recounted the conversation. ''Let's try to make birdie.''

Turned out to be another good decision in a day full of them. After a solid drive on the 416-yard par 4 and a nearly perfect wedge from 89 yards, the 23-year-old PGA Tour rookie made a short birdie putt for a 7-under 65 and a two-shot lead in the Sanderson Farms Championship.

Murray started his day with a bogey at No. 10, but then made eight birdies to take a two-shot advantage over Greg Owen and Seamus Power. The leader was at 12-under 132.

Owen, a 44-year-old Englishman who has never won a tournament on tour, has shot back-to-back 67s to put himself in contention.

''It's a good start - I'm happy,'' Owen said. ''It's nice to get out this year and get back playing and playing decent and holing some putts. But there's a long, long way to go.''

Power had a 69. Lucas Glover (69), Trey Mullinax (70), Graham DeLaet (69) and Brandon Hagy (68) were three strokes back.

Kevin Streelman had a two-shot lead after shooting a 63 in the first round, but struggled to a 73 to fall four strokes behind Murray. Cody Gribble was one of the big movers, shooting a 63 to pull within four shots.

But the story on Friday was about Murray, who is on the PGA Tour just a few years after a nomadic college career that included stops at four schools - Wake Forest, East Carolina, UNC Greensboro and Arizona State.

Now he's leading a tour event going into the weekend in just his third career tournament.

''We practice to get in this position,'' Murray said. ''We don't practice to make cuts, we practice to win golf tournaments. I know I have the game to win a golf tournament.''

Murray said he expects plenty of competition over the weekend with 13 players within four shots of the lead. Nearly ideal conditions at the Country Club of Jackson have led to plenty of birdies.

''There's a lot of good players, there's a lot of birdies to be made on this course,'' Murray said. ''But there's also some bogeys if you're not in the fairways. So just keep it in the short grass, give myself as many chances as I have done on the first two days.''

Round 1 - Kevin Streelman leads with opening 63

October 28, 2016

Kevin Streelman, fired up by the World Series appearance of the Chicago Cubs, grabbed 10 birdies in a nine-under par 63 on Thursday to take the first-round lead at the US PGA Tour Sanderson Farms Championship.

Streelman hit 13 of 14 fairways in regulation and 17 of 18 greens on the Country Club of Jackson layout in Mississippi. He was two strokes in front of Sweden's Carl Pettersson, Ireland's Seamus Power and American Trey Mullinax.

Pettersson holed out from 161 yards for an eagle at the par-four 16th to join the group on 65.

Japan's Hiroshi Iwata, Colombian Camilo Villegas, Canadian Graham DeLaet and former US Open winner Lucas Glover were among a group of seven sharing fifth place a further stroke back on 66.

"Obviously I putted great," Streelman said. "I hit it well.

"I got a little video from my coach, he gave me one or two things to think about today and one of them really clicked," added Streelman, who is in search of his third PGA Tour title and his first since the 2014 Travelers Championship. "I'm just trying to feel a little bit more rotational and not so under -- and I was just peppering the flags all day."

The 37-year-old Streelman, an Illinois native and fan of baseball's Chicago Cubs, said he was motivated by the team's 5-1 win over the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday night that levelled the World Series at one game apiece.

The Cubs are trying to win baseball's championship showcase for the first time since 1908.

"The Cubbies had a good night last night -- felt inspired waking up," Streelman said.

The tournament follows the US PGA Tour's 2016-17 season-opener in Napa, California, last week and runs opposite the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, where the game's biggest names are in action this week.

Chris Kirk, ranked 74th in the world, is the highest-ranked player in the field.

Defending champion Peter Malnati carded a 71. England's Ian Poulter, who missed almost five months in 2016 with a foot injury, continued his comeback with a two-under 70 that left him seven off the pace.

Scores

 

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