Spieth ends West Coast swing with a missed cut

Jason Kokrak birdied all the par 5s at Riviera and shot a 7-under 64 to build a one-shot lead over Chez Reavie going into the weekend at the Northern Trust Open.

McIlroy, like Watson a player who loves to picture shots in his mind before shaping them, was delighted to play well in his first competitive round at Riviera, which is consistently ranked by players as one of the top courses on the PGA Tour.

Camilo Villegas, who opened with a 63, made double bogey on his second hole and wound up with a 74. As he said, “I made everything I was supposed to”. He only made good on half of that plan: His eight birdies were offset by five bogeys in his round of 3-under 68, not almost enough to make the cut.

The world number 210 has yet to break his duck on the PGA Tour but he is in a good position to end a long wait for a title on the American circuit, having turned professional back in 2008.

Johnson said he didnt play golf from the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas on December 6 until he arrived in Kapalua almost a month later.

This was one shot he didn’t call right.

SPIETH’S BAD DAY: Spieth was never under par at any point, failing to birdie the easy par-5 opening hole and making two bogeys before making an 18-foot birdie on No. 7.

All but two of his drives went at least 300 yards, and one stood out in particular.

The world number one seemed to have found his touch as he began his back nine with another birdie at the first.

“Having length is an advantage, I think, on most golf courses”, Kokrak said. But only when he went to clean off the sole and noticed a different set of spikes did Harrington realize the right shoe was different from the left.It didnt affect his play, although he surely left Riviera wondering who was wearing his other shoe.

“I’m excited to be here”, four-times major champion McIlroy told reporters on Wednesday after playing in the pro-am competition.

Pacific Palisades: Anirban Lahiri fought back on the back nine with three birdies against no bogeys to ensure that he is around for the weekend at the Northern Trust Open on the PGA Tour at the Riviera. “I had no idea if I would shoot 80 or 66, so I just went out with no expectations and it worked out”. John Huh (La Crescenta) shot a first-round 79 and 72 in the second round to miss the cut….

I am always interested when Villegas plays well because I have a little history with him. Its a lovely course, ” Johnson said.

“Yeah, definitely. I can fire at pins”, Spieth said. England’s Danny Willett, coming off a victory two weeks ago in Dubai, had a 69 to top the group tied for third at 8 under.

“A bogey from the middle of the fairway at 13 and then to three-putt 15… two unforced errors there”. He missed four cuts in last year’s record-breaking season on 25 starts, including back-to-back to open the FedExCup Playoffs at The Barclays and the Deutsche Bank, before T13 at the BMW Championship and his win at the TOUR Championship.