Bubba: 'Who cares' about long drives with Rory?

ATLANTA – Bubba Watson had a concise answer to a question about whom won the “long drive contest” on Thursday between himself and playing partner Rory McIlroy.

“Who cares?” he asked rhetorically. “Ask Rory. He could care less, too. Listen, all we want to do is win. We’re trying to win golf tournaments.”

Watson then evoked the names of a few short hitters who have enjoyed successful careers.

“Jim Furyk’s record, Corey Pavin’s record is a lot better than Bubba Watson. So I wish I hit it like them, I guess.”

 

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McIlroy not firing on all cylinders, opens with 69

ATLANTA – Rory McIlroy opened with a 1-under 69 at the Tour Championship on Friday, good for a share of 11th place, three strokes behind the leaders. He might not be overly proud of that score, but he was proud of the way he played.

“I could have let the round get away from me a little bit, but hung together well,” he explained afterward. “And 1‑under par is not out of it.”

Playing the fourth of four straight weeks in the FedEx Cup playoffs, McIlroy admitted his game hasn’t been up to his usual standards lately.

“I haven’t been firing on all cylinders for the past couple of weeks,” he said. “I feel like I know what I’m doing out there. I know what’s comfortable in my golf game, and I just need to try and feel that for the next three days.”


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He insisted that this was a round that would have been worse a few years ago.

“In years gone by, [I’d be] shooting a 73 or 74. You’re just trying to get around my round as much as possible. And it’s really an important week. It’s not a week to give up. It’s a week to keep hanging in there and having a nice couple par putts and looking forward to the finish.

“Hopefully I can show a little bit more consistency over the next few days.” 

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Kirk, Horschel share Rd. 1 Tour Championship lead

ATLANTA – Chris Kirk and Billy Horschel took a big step Thursday toward the biggest payoff in golf.

Both players already have won FedEx Cup playoff events to earn the top two seeds going into the Tour Championship. Playing together in the last group at East Lake, they both made late birdies and were tied for the lead at 4-under 66.

If either of them were to win the Tour Championship, they would capture the FedEx Cup and the $10 million bonus.

Masters champion Bubba Watson isn’t out of the mix just yet. He made bogey from the bunker on the last hole for a 67 and was one shot behind, along with Jim Furyk, Patrick Reed and Jason Day.

Rory McIlroy made enough par saves to grind out a 69.

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