PURE INSURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP: Late birdie gives Flesch a comeback win

Steve Flesch gets the pictured Pure Insurance Championship Trophy Award at Pebble Beach on Sun Sep 25, 2022 (@PUREFirstTee photo)

By Jeremy Harness

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Steve Flesch lost his lead on the back nine and appeared to be sunk momentarily but nonetheless hung in there long enough to give himself a chance at the end. And when that chance presented itself, he took full advantage.

He found himself tied for the lead at the par-five 18^th as others fell back late, and he nailed an eight-foot birdie putt to claim the Pure Insurance Championship, his second win on the PGA Champions Tour this season.

“It’s exciting; I’ve always played well here,” said Flesch, who also won the Mitsubishi Electric Classic earlier this year in Hawaii. “It really felt good to get that win. I’m just glad I capitalized on 18.”

Flesch started the final round in a tie for second and didn’t waste any time moving his way up. He birdied each of his first four holes to spring into the lead by two shots. He then added a birdie at the iconic par-3 seventh to add to his advantage.

However, Steven Alker, playing alongside Flesch on Sunday, rolled one in for birdie at the seventh to cut Flesch’s lead back to two. Paul Stankowski, who began the day tied for the lead at eight-under, could not get any traction early on but finally got going when he got back-to-back birdies at the sixth and seventh to join Alker in a tie for second.

Moments later, Ken Duke, who was tied with Stankowski at the top when the day began, made birdie at the par-four eighth to join both men at 10-under before Brett Quigley himself got to that number with a birdie at the par-four 10^th.

He got himself into a tie for the lead at the 14^th after knocking his approach shot stiff and then holing a short birdie putt but fell right back on the next hole with a crippling double-bogey.

Flesch began coming down to earth on the back nine and momentarily lost the lead. He suffered back-to-back bogeys at the 12^th and 13^th holes, the latter being the result of a three-putt. However, he steadied himself following that while others, such as Duke, stumbled.

The low round of the day belonged to Ernie Els, who fired an eight-under round of 64 and capped things off by getting up and down for birdie at the par-five 18^th and ended up in a tie for second. He was actually in position for a playoff had Flesch missed the eventual winning putt.

The final round did not begin until 11:15am PST, as roughly half of the field could not finish their second round on Saturday due to a three-hour fog delay and had to wait until early Sunday morning to do so.

PURE INSURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP: Late birdie gives Flesch a comeback win

By Jeremy Harness

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Steve Flesch lost his lead on the back nine and appeared to be sunk momentarily but nonetheless hung in there long enough to give himself a chance at the end. And when that chance presented itself, he took full advantage.

He found himself tied for the lead at the par-five 18^th as others fell back late, and he nailed an eight-foot birdie putt to claim the Pure Insurance Championship, his second win on the PGA Champions Tour this season.

“It’s exciting; I’ve always played well here,” said Flesch, who also won the Mitsubishi Electric Classic earlier this year in Hawaii. “It really felt good to get that win. I’m just glad I capitalized on 18.”

Flesch started the final round in a tie for second and didn’t waste any time moving his way up. He birdied each of his first four holes to spring into the lead by two shots. He then added a birdie at the iconic par-3 seventh to add to his advantage.

However, Steven Alker, playing alongside Flesch on Sunday, rolled one in for birdie at the seventh to cut Flesch’s lead back to two. Paul Stankowski, who began the day tied for the lead at eight-under, could not get any traction early on but finally got going when he got back-to-back birdies at the sixth and seventh to join Alker in a tie for second.

Moments later, Ken Duke, who was tied with Stankowski at the top when the day began, made birdie at the par-four eighth to join both men at 10-under before Brett Quigley himself got to that number with a birdie at the par-four 10^th.

He got himself into a tie for the lead at the 14^th after knocking his approach shot stiff and then holing a short birdie putt but fell right back on the next hole with a crippling double-bogey.

Flesch began coming down to earth on the back nine and momentarily lost the lead. He suffered back-to-back bogeys at the 12^th and 13^th holes, the latter being the result of a three-putt. However, he steadied himself following that while others, such as Duke, stumbled.

The low round of the day belonged to Ernie Els, who fired an eight-under round of 64 and capped things off by getting up and down for birdie at the par-five 18^th and ended up in a tie for second. He was actually in position for a playoff had Flesch missed the eventual winning putt.

The final round did not begin until 11:15am PST, as roughly half of the field could not finish their second round on Saturday due to a three-hour fog delay and had to wait until early Sunday morning to do so.

PURE INSURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP: Despite delay, Stankowski, Duke pick up the pace

Pure Insurance Championship concludes on Sun Sep 25th at Spyglass Hill at Pebble Beach (PGA photo)

By Jeremy Harness

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Saturday’s second round got off to a slow start, as foggy conditions caused a three-hour delay, forcing roughly half of the field to not be able to finish their rounds, meaning that those groups will resume play early Sunday morning, barring any more fog.

Timothy O’Neal, Steve Flesch and Chris DiMarco closed their first round on Friday tied for the lead, as each player shot a six-under 66.

However, it was Paul Stankowski who overtook all of them on Saturday, as he shot a five-under 67 at Spyglass Hill to vault into a tie for the lead. Since he was one of the few players who was able to finish, he’ll get few more hours of rest, as he would have to wait until the entire field has concluded its second round, which is not expected to happen until Sunday afternoon.

Stankowski birdied the first two holes of the day and then added another birdie at the par-5 seventh. He added two more birdies on the back nine without a single blemish on his scorecard. In addition, he hit all 14 of his fairways while hitting 12 of his 18 greens.

Ken Duke, who was one of the last players to keep his PGA Tour card by earnings alone – the PGA Tour discontinued this following the 2017-18 season – went on a tear on the back nine at Pebble Beach with three birdies, including a birdie at the par-five 18^th to tie Stankowski at the top, shortly after the horn went off to announce the completion of play.

For clarification, when the horn is sounded, a player has the option of either finishing the hole (s)he is on, or simply marking his or her ball and going back to that spot the following morning.

Lee Janzen was briefly tied for the lead after birdieing his 15^th and 16^th holes at Spyglass, but a damaging double-bogey on his 17^th hole, the par-four eighth, dropped him out of the lead and into a three-way tie for third.

Flesch finished his second round one shot behind Stankowski, as his one-under round of 71 placed him in a tie for second with Steven Alker.

Cal grad Charlie Wi matched Stankowski for the low round of the day, as he shot a bogey-free round of 67, including an eagle at the par-five seventh. He is in a tie for third at six-under overall with Brett Quigley.

Play was officially been suspended at around 7pm PDT, and play will commence at 7:30am PST in order for the second round to be completed, with the intention of allowing enough time for the third and final round to be completed.

Cal alum Vaughn returns home for weekend series

The Chicago White Sox Andrew Vaughn rounds the bases after a hitting a home run on Wed Apr 27, 2022 at Guarantee Rate Field in Chicago against the Kansas City Royals. Vaughn made his return to his native Bay Area when he faced the San Francisco Giants on Fri Jul 1, 2022 at Oracle Park. (AP News file photo)

By Jeremy Harness

SAN FRANCISCO – There haven’t been too many bright spots in this disappointing season for the Chicago White Sox, but Andrew Vaughn is certainly one of them.

The 24-year-old outfielder, who grew up in nearby Santa Rosa and spent many weekend afternoons as a kid going to Giants games at Oracle Park, made another trip to the ballpark Friday night, this time as a player in an opposing uniform.

After winning the Golden Spikes Award – annually given to the best amateur baseball player in the United States – in 2018, he was selected by the White Sox with the third overall pick of the draft the following year, signing with the team for $7.2 million.

He was called up by the big club in 2021 and finished the year with a .235 batting average, and he has really stepped it up in his second big-league season.

He entered Friday’s game with a .307 average with seven homers and 33 RBI, and he currently leads the majors with a .369 average on the road.

He made some loud contact on Friday but did not get much out of it in the beginning. He hit a hard liner in the top of the first, but it was right to shortstop Donovan Walton, who snatched it out of the air for the putout.

In his next at-bat, he hit a chopper to short and had a chance for an infield hit, only to be denied by Walton again, as he bare-handed it and made a perfect throw to first that beat Vaughn by a step.

Vaughn, however, broke through against Giants reliever Dominic Leone in the eighth, as he lined one into the gap in left-center for an easy double. He was then pulled for a pinch runner, ending his night.

HERE TODAY, GONE, WELL, TODAY: Warriors forward Damion Lee, who was best known this postseason by getting cooked by Dallas forward Davis Bertans in the Western Conference finals, threw out the first pitch at Friday’s game.

Mere minutes later, while he was still inside the ballpark, it was confirmed that Lee had agreed to a one-year deal to join the Phoenix Suns next season.

This is part of a rather-tumultuous early free-agency period for the Warriors, as they have seen Juan Toscano-Anderson sign with the Lakers while Gary Payton II signed with the Portland Trail Blazers in recent days.

FINALLY, A HIT: To say that Brandon Belt has been scuffling would be putting it lightly. The first baseman came into Friday night hitless in his previous 15 at-bats and was hitting only .087 with 11 strikeouts in his past nine games.

However, he started a two-out rally in the bottom of the first with a sharp single to left-center, and that led to the Giants loading the bases. The surge was stopped in its tracks, when an overzealous Tommy La Stella struck out swinging while attempting to put the Giants ahead, 4-0.

Fans smack Pham with jeers; Vocal payback for slapping Giants Pederson

Cincinnati Reds pitchers Luis Castillo (left) and Tyler Mahle (right) Mahle sports a Pham! T shirt relating to Reds outfielder Tommy Pham who slapped San Francisco Giant outfielder Joc Pederson over a Fantasy Football game where Pham said Pederson was stashing injured players and was being disrespectful about it. Mahle wore the shirt before the Fri Jun 24, 2022 game at Oracle Park in San Francisco (photo by the Cincinnati Enquirer)

By Jeremy Harness

SAN FRANCISCO–It’s time to revisit The Slap Heard ‘Round Major League Baseball.

Under normal circumstances, a three-game weekend series between a third-place team and a cellar-dweller is really nothing to get all worked up about. However, Friday night hit a little different, as this was the first time the Reds and Giants have seen each other since Cincinnati outfielder Tommy Pham slapped Giants outfielder Joc Pederson over, yes, a fantasy football dispute, prior to a May 27 contest between the two teams.

Reportedly, Pham had accused Pederson of cheating the rules of the league. Meanwhile, Angels star Mike Trout, said league’s commissioner, has gotten caught in the crosshairs, as Pham has called him the “worst commissioner in fantasy sports.”

The confrontation occurred in Cincinnati, and Friday marked the Reds’ first visit to San Francisco this season. So this was the perfect time for Giants fans to return the pettiness, and those in attendance at Oracle Park made it clear that they were here for it.

Boos rained down for Pham when the starting lineups were announced, and when he strode to the plate in the top of the first, the crowd really let the dude have it.

And they weren’t about to let it slide after the first at-bat, either. They kept the same energy with each plate appearance, and during his second trip to the plate in the third, boos were accompanied with “he’s a bum!” chants. To their utter delight, Pham hit into an inning-ending double play moments later.

Since the, well, minor incident, Pham has started to make contact with the baseball. He is hitting .316 with five home runs and has driven in 16 runs in his last 21 games to increase his season average to .253.

Pederson, on the other hand, has been slapping it around all year. He has 16 homers in 2022, which is eighth-most in the National League, to go along with 38 RBI. Furthermore, he has hit .321 since May 24 with nine homers while knocking in 24 runs, and his 1.088 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) is the fifth-highest in the majors.

Neither man had much success on Friday, however, as both men finished the night by going 0-for-4 with a strikeout.

Pederson has said he has not spoken to Pham since the now-infamous occurrence, so at this point, there is no telling how long this beef will go on. But one thing is for sure: the fans inside Oracle Park made sure that it wouldn’t die down very quickly.

Giants-Dodgers keeps that same energy

San Francisco Giants’ Darin Ruf, left, is congratulated by third base coach Mark Hallberg (91) after hitting a home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the eighth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Fri Jun 10, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jeremy Harness

SAN FRANCISCO – It doesn’t matter.

Doesn’t matter where these two teams are in the standings. It could be a rather-meaningless game in June or Game 5 of the National League Division Series. Heck, the Warriors could be playing in the NBA Finals at the same time.

One thing remains constant. The rivalry between the Giants and the Dodgers has withstood the test of time, and it will continue to do so. Till death do them part, these two squads will continue hating each other.

They resumed their eternal battle Friday night, as the Dodgers made their first trip to Oracle Park this season. The atmosphere mirrored that of a postseason matchup, which was clearly visible when Even Longoria and Brandon Crawford had back-to-back RBI hits to give the Giants a 2-1 lead in the second inning, en route to a 7-2 win to kick off a three-game weekend series.

Orange towels waving all around the ballpark, quickly followed by the “Beat LA” chants. It all felt like last October’s epic playoff series, which isn’t what you get with a midseason series with, say, the Rockies or the Padres.

Again, these are the Dodgers we’re talking about here.

Los Angeles entered Friday’s game on top of the National League West with a 37-20 mark, while the Giants came in 6 ½ games behind the Dodgers. Furthermore, the Dodgers had taken each of the first two games between the two teams when they linked up in SoCal last month.

The Giants didn’t exactly come into this weekend with guns blazing, either. They had lost five of their previous eight games, including two of three against Colorado at Oracle Park, a team they typically dominate at home.

None of that seemed to matter during Friday’s weekend series opener. It took the Giants’ bats a couple of innings to warm up against Dodgers starter Walker Buehler, who was 7-1 with a 2.55 ERA in his career against the Giants, including a 6-2 overall season mark.

Following the second-inning surge, Darin Ruf came up in the fourth and smashed a solo homer to give the Giants a 3-1 lead, and by the fifth inning, Buehler was out of there.

Friday was in no way consistent with the way the two teams have played leading into this weekend. The only thing that lined up was what has been there over the years, dating back to the early years in New York: the simmering rivalry and the energy that comes along with it.

Offense showing a little life

San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler (left) greets Luis Gonzalez after scoring against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park back on Mon Apr 25th . It’s something the Giants manager is hoping to see more often out of the team that had been struggling at the plate (AP file photo)

By Jeremy Harness

SAN FRANCISCO – One of the big questions for the Giants heading into Friday’s game was whether or not they could tally as many runs as they have active COVID cases.

Early in the season, there were plenty of runs to go around, but as player absences have piled up and the competition has gotten a little tougher, scoring has been scarce, to say the least.

The Giants didn’t exactly set the world on fire with their bats on Friday against the St. Louis Cardinals, but they did show some signs of coming out of their slump. They mustered a pair of runs on Friday in a 3-2 loss at Oracle Park, which isn’t very much, but considering what has transpired lately, it is an improvement.

After starting the season 14-7 and thus owning one of the best records in baseball, the Giants have since hit the skids hard. In fact, they had lost four straight games prior to Friday, and they had scored exactly one run in each of the past three contests.

“One of the things we did very well last year was kind of kept the line moving,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “We found ways to get on base, even when we weren’t driving the baseball, via the walk or a clean single here and there.

“We’re not seeing the string of base hits, we’re not seeing the string of walks. Right now, we’re not string together our best at-bats consistently enough.”

There are a couple of theories to kick around here, the first of which has to do with the team’s recent health woes. Third baseman Evan Longoria has yet to suit up for the Giants this season while recovering from hand surgery, and leadoff hitter LaMonte Wade, Jr. made his season debut Friday night after recovering from knee inflammation he had been dealing with since spring training.

“LaMonte’s swings were really on time,” Kapler said. “I know he didn’t end up with hits or walks, but his swings were excellent and was very aggressive in the batter’s box.”

Meanwhile, several key players have recently contracted COVID-19 and have also been out of the lineup. First baseman Brandon Belt and reliever Dominic Leone both tested positive for the virus last Friday and are both on the active COVID list. Outfielder Mike Yastrzemski was forced to miss seven games due to his own battle with the virus before returning to the lineup Friday night.

Another factor has been a significantly-tougher schedule. The first two weeks of the season saw the Giants feast against teams such as Miami, San Diego and Washington, clubs not exactly known for their pitching prowess.

However, this week has been a completely different story, when the Giants were swept in a two-game series in Los Angeles and have dropped the first two of a four-game weekend series here against the Cardinals.

Despite losing Friday night’s contest, an encouraging sign came in the bottom of the sixth, when Darin Ruf’s pinch-hit single drove in two runs and tied the score at 2-2.

“It’s good to have a little more depth, so that we have some explosiveness off the bench,” Kapler said.

Kapler validating MOY honors

San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler looks for some skin after Luis Gonzalez slugged a go ahead home run in the top of the ninth against the Milwaukee Brewers on Mon Apr 25, 2022 at Miller Park in Milwaukee. Kapler was the National League Manager of the Year for 2021 (AP News file photo)

By Jeremy Harness

SAN FRANCISCO – You see it all the time in sports. Star players of successful teams either get traded or simply walk away as free agents, and those teams often experience a drop-off. It’s a major factor of the ebbs and flows of a pro sports franchise, and it all just comes with the territory.

There are exceptions to the rule, of course. Over the course of the past 20 years, head coach Bill Belichick has guided the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl wins and only missed the playoffs three times in that span, despite losing key players along the way.

Belichick and his staff implemented what is called “The Patriot Way,” a culture that has pointed the way for a countless number of unheralded players to rise to the occasion and fill key roles that had previously been vacated.

It may be too early to tell, but thus far, Giants manager Gabe Kapler appears to have his squad on a similar path.

There was plenty of speculation when Kapler took over for the retired Bruce Bochy in 2020, especially considering his firing as the Phillies’ skipper the year before and that he was stepping in for a legend who had guided the Giants to three World Series titles.

After just missing the playoffs in a pandemic-shortened 2020 season, the Giants won a franchise-record 107 games in 2021 with a roster mostly made of relative unknowns – with the exception of mid-season trade acquisition Kris Bryant, shortstop Brandon Crawford and the recently-retired Buster Posey – and came within a game of reaching the NLCS before falling to the hated Los Angeles Dodgers.

As a result of that run, Kapler was named the National League’s Manager of the Year, both by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America as well as the Sporting News. The Giants also rewarded him with a two-year extension through the 2024 season.

The Giants have since parted ways with Bryant as well as emerging stars such as starter Kevin Gausman and infielder Donovan Solano, all of whom left the club via free agency. Kapler, however, has made sure the train never left the tracks, as the Giants entered Friday’s game with a 13-6 mark, which is second-best in the majors.

Just as the case with the Patriots, relatively-unknown commodities have stepped up and made an impact in this young season.

Right fielder Luis Gonzalez, who was waived by the Chicago White Sox last August and has been on the Giants’ major-league roster for exactly a week, entered Friday night with a .316 average with five RBI, including his first big-league homer on Monday, a go-ahead two-run shot in the team’s win at Milwaukee.

Another example is third baseman Jason Vosler, who is hitting .211 this season after finishing 2021 with a .178 average in 41 games with the Giants, who stepped up in the second inning and blasted a two-run homer off Washington starter Aaron Sanchez to cut the Nationals’ lead to 3-2.

However, the next couple of weeks will certainly test the Giants’ mettle, as it was learned hours before Friday’s game that five Giants players had tested positive for COVID-19. At press time, which players had tested positive was not disclosed, nor how long they are expected to be out of the lineup.

SAFEWAY OPEN: Cink roars back to win

Stewart Cink takes a swing on the second tee in the final round at the Silverado North Course. Cink was the winner of Sunday’s Safeway Open PGA Golf Tournament in Napa. (AP News photo)

By Jeremy Harness

A lot has happened since Stewart Cink’s last win on the PGA Tour, which came at the Open Championship in 2009, when he upended the legendary Tom Watson.

His wife, Lisa, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016, and then Stewart himself was diagnosed with skin cancer. Both, however, have since been given clean bills of health, but it took a lot of courage to get to this point.

Fast forward to this weekend, as Cink shot rounds of 65 on Saturday as well as Sunday, and he came away with the win at the Safeway Open, with his birdie at the par-5 18^th being the decisive blow.

He got off to a nice start and never really turned off the momentum. He recorded back-to-back birdies at the fourth and fifth holes and the followed that up with birdies at the eighth as well as the ninth.

He added a chip-in for birdie at the par-3 11^th before going birdie back-to-back at the 15^th and 16^th holes.

However, he did suffer a hiccup at the par-4 17^th, as he could not get up and down and dropped a shot. He got that shot right back at the final hole, as he hit two good shots and wound up just past the back fringe.

He pulled out a putter and got it to about four feet and then drained the birdie putt to give himself a two-shot lead with two groups left on the course.

“Well, it has been emotional,” Cink said. “You can’t go wire to wire in the FedExCup year without winning the first one, I would like to point that out right now. In a way that was kind of a goal this week. No, it’s been an awesome time. My son Reagan caddying for me, Lisa was here. This is a really special place, I love being in Napa and I just had a really phenomenal time this week. And on top of that my golf ball was pretty agreeable most of the way, so it was a really great experience top to bottom all week.”

At that point, there were only two guys with a chance to tie Cink, Brian Stuard and Harry Higgs. Higgs was two back and needed an eagle, and his chance evaporated when his third shot landed way right of the hole.

“I would have loved to have hit a tee ball in the fairway on 18. I felt like I needed 3, especially seeing Stewart in the fairway when we got back to that tee,” Higgs said. “I can’t believe the putt on 17 didn’t go in. I was back and forth between does it straighten at the hole, does it keep breaking. I hit it exactly how I wanted to.

“All in all, super positive week obviously. Had a chance to win, great start to a new season. I felt like this was a really, really good chance, and it was nice to be in it at the end versus the last time I finished second.”

As for Stuard, who was four back when Cink sank his final putt, he needed even more. His chance fell through when his birdie attempt at the 17^th burned the edge.

SAFEWAY OPEN: Three-way tie for lead

Alameda native and Cal grad James Hahn is in a three way tie for the lead at the Safeway Open in Napa on Saturday (photo from golfweek.com and usatoday.com)

By Jeremy Harness

There are three players who are tied at the top of the leaderboard at the Safeway Open, and there are a total of 11 guys who are within two strokes of each other.

That is the current situation after three rounds at Silverado, and at this point, anything can happen.

One of those players is Alameda native and Cal grad James Hahn, who shot a five-under bogey-free round of 67 to vault himself into a three-way tie atop the leaderboard.

He recorded back-to-back birdies at the second and third holes, but he picked things up on the back nine with a birdie at the par-3 11^th, sticking his tee shot to about three feet in the process. He again got back-to-back birdies at the 16^th and 17^th holes.

“I just had a goal in mind today, just to kind of have a clean scorecard,” Hahn said. “It would have been nice to birdie a couple of the par 5s, but anytime you birdie three out of the four par 3s I think you’re doing something good.

“It’s good to have a lot of family and friends up here. Unfortunately, there’s no fans, but it would be nice to win the first one.”

Brian Stuard also had a bogey-free scorecard on Saturday, with three birdies in a row at holes three through five, and he scattered three birdies on the back nine for a three-under round of 66.

“This is a course that fits my game,” Stuard said. “You’ve got to drive it straight, you’ve got to kind of shape the tee ball once in a while. It’s important to be on the right side of the fairway to some pins, I think. Reminds me a little bit of Hilton Head in that way and I think that’s another one of my favorites. It should fit my game, yes.”

Forty-six-year-old Cameron Percy did not have as clean a scorecard as Hahn’s, but it was good enough for a share of the lead heading into the final round on Sunday. He had a bogey-free front nine that saw him scatter three birdies, but he ran into trouble on the back side with bogeys on each the 11^th and 14^th holes.

However, he rebounded by picking up shots on both the 16^th and the 17^th for a third-round of 68, and with that, comes with a chance to pick up his first win on the PGA Tour.

“It would mean the world to me,” Percy said. “Yeah, it would be fantastic. It would mean I get to go to Augusta (for the Masters in November), which is a goal. I’ve never been to Augusta, which is the biggest goal you have when you come over here. I just thought I’d get there, I haven’t got there yet, so it’s a big deal.”

SAFEWAY OPEN: Burns takes over lead with second-round 65

(photo from pgatour.com) Sam Burns who has a two shot lead at the Safeway Open on Friday in Napa 

By Jeremy Harness

Sam Burns shot a seven-under round of 65 and grabbed a two-shot lead at the Safeway Open Friday afternoon during the second round of play.

Burns, who finished last season 111^th in the FedEx Cup race, was only one shot behind the lead after the first round, but he did not start out very well. After making par at his starting hole, the 10^th, he suffered a damaging double bogey at the 11^th.

That seemed to give him a jump start, as he birdied three holes in a row and then went on to birdie two of the next four holes. He kept that momentum going with four more birdies on his second nine.

“Yeah, I think it pissed me off a little bit, woke me up, I guess,” Burns said. “It was early, cold. It was kind of like it picked me up, like hey, let’s go. Just kind of stuck with it and the golf course opened up for me the rest of the day.”

He is two shots ahead of Harry Higgs, who made a huge charge on Friday. He had the shot of the day at his very last hole, when he holed out from 230 yards out at the par-5 ninth for a double eagle, otherwise known as an albatross.

Before that, he had a special, bogey-free round going, with six birdies on his first nine, including four birdies in a row at holes 15 through 18. His back none was rather quiet, other than a birdie at the par-4 third, before firing the big shot at No. 9.

He carded a 10-under round of 62, which was the low round of the day and launched him right into the thick of things at Silverado.

“What a wonderful way to end the day,” Higgs said. “(But) I was looking forward to a nap all day long, but now I might be too jacked up now to actually fall asleep.”

Russell Knox, who was the leader after the first round, shot a second-round 69 and is now three behind the lead, along with Cameron Percy and D.J Trahan.

“I hit the ball well today. I played fairly conservative into some holes,” Knox said. “I was kind of in between yardages, but I felt like I played well. I could have shot a lower score than I did. I didn’t really hole the putts today, but to finish birdie-birdie 3 under was very satisfying.”

NOTES: Five-time PGA Tour winner John Daly, who currently plays on the PGA Champions Tour, was diagnosed with bladder cancer.

The 54-year-old said he has undergone a procedure to remove the cancer as well as eight days of chemotherapy, and he was reportedly positive about the treatment despite an estimated 85 percent chance that it will eventually come back.

He is in the field at the Sanford International in Sioux Falls, S.D, and he is currently tied for 11^th after a two-under round of 68 in the first round.