May 7 2012

6:47 PM

Shots of the Week

Wells Fargo, Insperity Championship

Check out the top five shots of the week from the Wells Fargo Championship and the Insperity Championship featuring highlights from Steve Flesch, Rickie Fowler, Rory McIlroy, Arnold Palmer, and Webb Simpson.


September 30 2011

6:33 PM

Early Round 1 leaders set to take course

Before Jhonattan Vegas, William McGirt, Hunter Haas and anyone else inside the current top 10 took the course Thursday, the guys listed below were your leaders. The majority of the 10 listed below are fighting for spots inside the top 125 on the money list. Below are the players who posted scores of 65 or better in Round 1 that have afternoon tee times Friday. Track them all afternoon to see who can string together back-to-back good rounds at TPC Summerlin and regain their position near the top of the leaderboard.
Player Money
rank
Score Tee time Starting
hole
Shot Tracker
Nathan Green 178th 7 under 3:17 p.m. ET No. 10 Click to follow
Steve Flesch 122nd 6 under 2:39 p.m. ET No. 1 Click to follow
Matt Jones 121st 6 under 2:49 p.m. ET No. 10 Click to follow
Rod Pampling 119th 6 under 2:49 p.m. ET No. 1 Click to follow
Harrison Frazar 64th 6 under 2:58 p.m. ET No. 10 Click to follow
Nick Watney 3rd 6 under 2:58 p.m. ET No. 1 Click to follow
Derek Lamely 194th 6 under 3:17 p.m. ET No. 10 Click to follow
Vaughn Taylor 148th 6 under 3:17 p.m. ET No. 1 Click to follow
Blake Adams 82nd 6 under 3:46 p.m. ET No. 10 Click to follow
Garrett Willis 141st 6 under 3:46 p.m. ET No. 10 Click to follow

September 29 2011

1:08 AM

Wrapping up Round 1

Jhonattan Vegas and William McGirt, two PGA TOUR rookies, find themselves atop the leaderboard after the first round of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Vegas, who won early this season at the Bob Hope Classic after finishing No. 7 on the 2010 Nationwide Tour money list, is one of six rookie winners on the PGA TOUR this season. McGirt, a 2010 q-school graduate, hit his stride late in the season as he escaped the FedExCup bubble to qualify for The Barclays and the Deutsche Bank Championship. Nathan Green, who held the lead for much of the afternoon, ended up one shot off the pace. Charlie Wi birdied two of his last three holes to get to 7 under and tie Green for third place. There are 11 golfers (including Nick Watney, Steve Flesch, Matt Jones and Tim Herron) tied at 6 under, two shots off the pace. Click below to see some of the best shots from Thursday's opening round at TPC Summerlin.
Watch: Round 1 Highlights

Jhonattan Vegas shoots an 8-under 63 to tie William McGirt for the overnight lead.


8:24 PM

Flesch’s gameplan: Play aggressively

By Chris Dunham, PGATOUR.COM At No. 122 on the money list, Steve Flesch knows he has work to do to be fully exempt on the PGA TOUR next season. He also knows that dozens of golfers will be chasing him for his spot inside the top 125. Flesch opened with a 6-under 65 at TPC Summerlin that has him one shot off the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open lead. His round featured eight birdies against two bogeys, and was one shot shy of his best showing at TPC Summerlin since 2004.
Live Report Image
Flesch
“If you don't get off to a good start here, you feel like you're just trying to play catch up the whole week,” he said. “My mindset is I've got nothing to lose the last few weeks, so I'm going to play all four (Fall Series events), see what happens. I'm going to play aggressively. That's how you have to play in Vegas.” Flesch’s aggressive play paid off Thursday. He birdied five of his first 10 holes at TPC Summerlin and hit 83 percent of his greens in regulation despite missing five fairways. Flesch had been hitting 59 percent of his greens up to this point in the season. “If you do hit it in the rough you have to think about what you're doing,” Flesch said. “And a couple of guys in our group did not have pitch-out lies but they had lies where they could not get to the green from about 160 yards. It's sketchy in spots but you still have to drive it in the fairway.” The four-time PGA TOUR winner is in search of his first victory since the 2007 Turning Stone Resort Championship -- the first event in the history of the Fall Series. His best finish since that victory was a tie for third at this year’s Reno-Tahoe Open.

6:35 PM

Flesch takes clubhouse lead … for now

Off in the second group this morning, Steve Flesch posted a score for the rest of the field to look at Thursday morning. Flesch posted a 6-under 65 that has him leading in the clubhouse at TPC Summerlin. Three players currently on the course are also at 6 under with anywhere from one to four holes to play. The former Kentucky Wildcat started on the back nine at TPC Summerlin and turned after bogey-free 4-under 32. He alternated birdies and bogeys on his first four holes on the front nine before closing with three pars and two more birdies -- upping his Round 1 count to eight. Flesch, who entered the week at No. 122 on the money list, is making his 11th start in this event. He has two top-10 finishes including a tie for sixth in 2003, but hasn’t finished inside the top 50 in six Vegas starts since then.

6:10 PM

Update: No one breaking away early

At first it looked like Steve Flesch would go low at TPC Summerlin. Then, if only for a brief couple holes, Billy Mayfair was on 59 watch. With much of the morning wave on its back nine now, the leaderboard is shaping up much like a 2010 Thursday leaderboard that featured five players tied for the 18-hole lead at 7 under and five others one shot off the pace. Currently, there are eight players -- Flesch, John Merrick, Matt Jones, Rod Pampling, Nick Watney, Robert Garrigus, Nathan Green and Paul Stankowski -- tied atop the leaderboard at 5 under with six checking in one shot off the pace at 4 under. Much can, and will, change between now and tonight’s conclusion of play but early indications are that tonight’s leaderboard may be just as packed, if not more crowded, than last year’s.

4:35 PM

Fall Series opens with birdie barrage

TPC Summerlin, the site of this week’s Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, surrendered 1,800 birdies and 44 eagles (including a walk-off ace) in the 2010 event. It looks as though this year’s field is picking up right where last year’s left off. Steve Flesch is the early co-leader in Las Vegas after making a birdie on No. 1, his 10th hole of the day, to reach 5 under for his opening round. The 44-year-old is no stranger to early Fall Series success. He won the first event in Fall Series history at the Turning Stone Resort Championship in 2007. Flesch, who ranks No. 122 on the PGA TOUR Money list, is 17th all-time Fall Series earnings. Joining Flesch atop the leaderboard is Billy Mayfair. The 2010 q-school medalist just eagled the drivable par-4 15th to reach 5 under through his first six holes. One shot off the pace is Tom Gillis, who has birdied four consecutive holes to reach 4-under through five.

August 26 2011

8:15 PM

Flesch fourth to withdraw

EDISON, N.J. – Steve Flesch has become the fourth player to withdraw from The Barclays, stopping after nine holes of his second round while suffering from a sinus headache.

Flesch came into the week ranked 121st and will not earn any FedExCup points. So he will miss next week’s Deutsche Bank Championship and the rest of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.

Stuart Appleby and Chris Couch withdrew prior to the start of their second rounds, citing back injuries. Pat Perez withdrew on Thursday after his first round.


August 7 2011

11:55 PM

Perez pulls even with Piercy

Leader Scott Piercy tried to drive the reachable par-4 14th at Monteux, potentially setting up an eagle in the final round of the Reno-Tahoe Open. Instead, he pulled hooked his three wood on the 332-yard hole and made a bogey, dropping him into a tie with Pat Perez, who is on the course at 15 under. Steve Flesch, 13 under, is currently in a tie for third place. If he were to remain in that position, he would move inside the top 125 in the FedExCup to No. 119. Josh Teater, 13 under, and Billy Mayfair, 9 under, are also projected to jump into the top 125 in the FedExCup standings.

10:51 PM

Piercy leads by two shots at turn

Scott Piercy shot a front-nine 33 to get to 16 under and take a two shot lead to the back nine at the Reno-Tahoe Open. Piercy is now 14 under through his last 27 holes. Piercy is trailed by his playing partner Josh Teater, 14 under, and Pat Perez, 13 under. Steve Flesch, Blake Adams and Chris Riley are also on the course at 12 under. So far, the low round of the day belongs to Matt McQuillan, who shot a 6-under 66 in the final round to move to 11 under. He is currently tied for seventh with Steve Elkington and Nick O’Hern.