Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Friday, August 11, 2017
PGA Championship
Spieth salvages a 72 as Grand
Slam pursuit begins quietly
By DOUG FERGUSON
Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C. —
Jordan Spieth felt he was
on the verge of shooting
himself out of the PGA
Championship. Instead of
looking at his scorecard, he
considered what he had left
to play at Quail Hollow.
He gunned his putt from
just short of the fifth green
about 10 feet by the hole and
missed that one for bogey.
He did the same thing on
the par-3 sixth hole, and
suddenly he was 3 over for
the round. At that point,
he looked a lot closer to a
weekend off than the final
leg of the career Grand
Slam.
Waiting in the fairway on
the par-5 seventh gave him
time to think.
“I thought to myself:
‘They are not giving birdies
at all. You have to pull off
some solid shots to make
birdies on those holes,’”
Spieth said.
When the green cleared,
he ripped a hybrid from
246 yards over the water
and onto the green, where it
settled 30 feet away on the
fringe to set up a two-putt
birdie. He hit another good
drive on the short par-4
eighth and hit a wedge that
skipped and stopped a foot
from the cup for another
birdie.
A solid par on his last
hole allowed Spieth to
escape with a 72.
It was a reasonable start
to his quest for the career
Grand Slam because it could
have been worse.
“I had a couple of easy
holes left,” Spieth said. “If
I were to finish par-par-par,
PGA Championship
Leaderboard
First Round
Thorbjorn Olsen
Kevin Kisner
Grayson Murray
Gary Woodland
Brooks Koepka
Notables
Rickie Fowler
Jason Day
Dustin Johnson
Phil Mickelson
AP Photo/Chris O’Meara
Jordan Spieth watches his tee shot on the 11th hole
during the first round of the PGA Championship at
the Quail Hollow Club on Thursday in Charlotte, N.C.
I would have thrown myself
out of the tournament. ... If I
was focused on my score, it
might have been a different
story. I was focused on what
we had left.”
His caddie, Michael
Greller, told him to have
three good birdie chances
and see where that left him.
“I had three looks, and
almost got back all the way
to even,” Spieth said.
It was still five shots
behind Thorbjorn Olesen,
who shot 67 to lead the
morning wave. It was four
shots worse than U.S. Open
champion Brooks Koepka,
who almost missed his share
of putts and shot a 68.
Spieth was concerned
going into the week about
his driver, especially with a
7,600-yard course and turf
that had been soft because
of rain.
Turns out it was his
putting.
He didn’t make a putt
longer than 5 feet all day,
though part of that was the
firm, fast nature of the new
greens at Quail Hollow.
“Some of these putts that
I had for birdie are really
one-out-of-five to make,” he
said. “I didn’t make the one
out of five. Instead, I missed
the 10 out of 10 from that
kind of range. If I grabbed
a couple of those, then I
would be pleased.”
Spieth looked like he had
the greens mastered early
on, particular on the 12th
hole when his wedge went
to the top shelf of the green
and the pin was at bottom,
some 70 feet away. He sent
the putt some 25 feet to the
right along a spine, it slowed
as it caught the ridge and
then turned hard to left and
stopped a foot from the hole.
That was as good as it got
all day.
His 125-foot eagle putt
from the front of the 14th
green caught a slope and
the grain and rolled off
the green and into the putt.
Twice more on the front
nine, he had long lags from
just off the green that ran out
10 feet or more and led to
the bogeys.
“His speed was a little
67
67
68
68
68
-4
-4
-3
-3
-3
69 -2
70 -1
70 -1
79 +8
bit off from about 40 feet,”
Koepka said. “He had a
couple putts that he just ran
them 10, 15 feet by. But
he struck it really well. It
was pretty impressive to
watch him play No. 7. He’s
a grinder. It’s impressive to
watch him play. He picks
apart a golf course really,
really well. At that age,
that’s a lot of maturity.”
It’s what has put Spieth
in position to become the
sixth — and at age 24,
the youngest — player to
complete the career Grand
Slam. Spieth won the
Masters and U.S. Open two
years ago, and then added
the British Open last month.
Spieth said he wouldn’t
feel additional pressure
because he already has a
major this year.
“I don’t think I was as
free rolling as I thought I
would be, as you can tell by
some frustration,” he said.
“If I would have shot 1 over
and didn’t strike it well and
everything was average, it
would have been fine. But
when I had the chances that
I had and I just couldn’t
get the ball to go in on the
greens, that is when I get the
most frustrated I can get out
there.”
FOOTBALL: Log
was 12 feet long,
used for team building
Continued from 1B
on eastern Long Island,
according to Suffolk County
homicide detectives. No
other injuries were reported.
The team was partici-
pating in an exercise camp
before the official start of
team training on Monday.
The football season begins
in September.
Carlin Schledorn, a
Sachem East graduate who
played football as a junior,
said carrying the log, which
is about 12 feet (3.7 meters)
long and the diameter of a
utility pole, was an exercise
used for “team building.”
“It’s very big. It’s like a
tree, and it’s a challenge for
people who weightlift,” he
said outside his home, which
is near the high school.
“Five or six people do it at
once. I feel horrific for the
team and coaches because I
know them and they are all
great men.”
School
officials,
including the head coach,
did not comment on the
exercise.
Douglas Casa, executive
director of the Korey Stringer
Institute at the University of
Connecticut, which works to
improve safety for athletes,
questioned the wisdom
of teenagers performing
an exercise that involves
carrying a heavy object and
that was developed for Navy
SEALs, “potentially a very
different clientele.”
He said, “There’s so
much potential for things to
go wrong that I would really
want people to think twice
before doing something like
that.”
Tom Combs, executive
director of the athletic orga-
nization that oversees high
school sports in the county,
said offseason practices are
permitted as long as they are
not mandated and are open
to everyone.
“What exercises that
are conducted are the privy
of the school district and
individuals running the
workouts,” he said. “Our
thoughts and prayers go
out to the family and the
Sachem school district.”
Mileto was an 11th grader
at the school. A person at his
home declined to speak with
reporters.
Police said he was in the
middle of a group of about
five players carrying the
log over their heads when
the accident happened
shortly before 9 a.m. About
a half-dozen coaches were
on the field at the time, said
Suffolk County Assistant
Police Commissioner Justin
Meyers. In an unrelated
incident, another player fell
and hit his head Wednesday
at the school during training,
police said. His injuries
were not life-threatening.
Teammates
gathered
outside
Stony
Brook
University Hospital, where
Mileto was pronounced
dead. They didn’t comment.
Sachem Superintendent
Dr.
Kenneth
Graham
extended condolences to
Mileto’s family and friends
and said support services
will be offered “for as long
as needed.” The statement
on the district website did
not describe how the acci-
dent occurred.
“He was my best friend.
We grew up together. We
knew each other since we
were 2,” said classmate
Olivia Cassereli. “He cared
about everyone else. He put
others before himself and
everyone loved him and was
friends with him.”
RODEO: Only one bull rider out of nine entries turned in a qualified ride
Continued from 1B
blazing time of 17.20 seconds
for the fastest time of the night
and it also shot her to the top
of the overall leaderboard.
“I have good friends
that take care of me during
this week and also during
Pendleton (Round-Up) and
I just have a good vibe here,
I guess,” Wall said of her
success.
As the fourth rider of the
night, Wall had a few chances
to study her fellow cowgirl
and know what she needed to
do. Once she came speeding
into the arena, she rounded the
first two barrels with ease and
made a quick turn around the
third barrel before Foxy did
all the work to cross the line.
Wall said that the third barrel
had been giving her troubles
recently, but tonight’s run was
about as perfect as she could
have hoped for.
“I really wanted to get my
third barrel really tight and
(Foxy) smoked it tonight,”
Wall said, smiling. “I was
really proud of the run.”
In
bareback
riding,
Cowley, Wyoming’s JR
Vezain
and
Carthage,
Texas’ Tilden Hooper did
not have much competition
as they were the only two
competitors of the night due
to no-shows by the other six,
likely to travel issues. Hooper
made the most of the pared
down field and took the top
spot of the night and the $100
bonus as he rode Calgary
Stampede’s Not Crystal for
80.5 points.
And for a guy sitting No.
24 in the world standings
and needing to make up
some ground for a spot in the
National Finals, he’ll take any
money he can get.
“That was a young horse
and you know when you get
on a Calgary they’re really
going to try and do something
to you and this one was no
different,” he said of his ride,
which places him in third
place overall. “He came out
strong, really bucking and I
probably should have given
him a better ride for some
more points but it’s good.”
Hooper also spent some
time prior to his ride taking
in the new arena at what he
called “one of my favorite
rodeos around.”
“I love coming here and
always seem to have pretty
good luck. The crowd’s great,
good money, they bring in a
lot of good horses here and
really go above and beyond.
It’s a small town in the middle
of nowhere, but it’s dang sure
a big-time rodeo.”
Staying at the bucking
chutes, Canadian cowboy
Layton Green has put together
a very successful season
and sits No. 4 in the world
standings for saddle bronc
right now. So it was a little
disappointing to him when
his first ride on Thursday
scored him just 65 points, but
he jumped at the chance for a
re-ride when it was offered to
him.
And Green made the most
of his re-ride, as he took on
Calgary’s Weary Joke and
spurred him to a 85.5 point
ride to take the top ride of
the night and also move into
a tie for first place overall.
Weary Joke made it tough on
Green out of the chute, jolting
him for a few seconds before
smoothing out and giving
Green a fantastic finish.
“He’s a little harder for
the first couple and then after
that he just stacked up and
bucked,” Green said. “He
was a good one to have for a
re-ride, that’s for sure.”
Only one bull rider out of
nine entries turned in a qual-
ified ride on Thursday, and
it was Browning, Montana’s
Dakota Louis who took on
Corey & Lange’s Cowah
Bunga for a rough 72 point
ride that featured Louis
getting banged and pinned
up against a gate for a short
second.
In tie-down roping, it was
Redmond, Oregon resident
Roger Nonella that took home
the $100 bonus for the top
time of the night, as he tied his
calf in 10.4 seconds. His time
also put him into a tie for first
place overall after his 10.2 in
slack earlier in the day.
Then in team roping, it was
the duo of Matt Sherwood
of Pima, Arizona and Walt
Woodard of Stephenville,
Texas that roped the best of the
night, getting both ends of the
steer knotted at 4.7 seconds.
Hermiston resident Jake
Stanley and his partner Brent
Falon of Yakima, Washington
registered a no time, as did
Pendleton’s Phoenix Everano
and his partner David Motes
of Tolar, Texas.
Action picks back up on
Friday night with Mutton
Bustin’ at 7:25 p.m. and then
the rodeo begins at 7:45 p.m.
sharp.
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Hilden Cooper, of Carthage, Texas, rides Y Not Crystal Thursday night in bareback riding at the Farm-City Pro
Rodeo in Hermiston. Cooper’s 80-point ride was enough to win the night.
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Heath Thomas, of Hemphill, Texas, wrestles his steer Thursday during the Farm-City Pro Rodeo in Hermiston.