Brandt Snedeker fired an 11-under 59 in the opening round of the Wyndham Championship, becoming the ninth player to break 60 in PGA Tour history.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – I feel for Akshay Bhatia. The 16-year-old golfer from Wake Forest, N.C., deserved to be playing Thursday morning in the Round of 32. Nothing against his first-round opponent, Bradford Tilley, but Bhatia was sent home Wednesday at the U.S. Amateur because of an unfortunate rules violation made by his caddie – and that’s not right. Bhatia’s caddie, local Chris Darnell, technically broke a rule when he accepted a cart ride from a volunteer after using the restroom as Bhatia played Pebble Beach’s par-5 14th hole. Bhatia, who also used the restroom but walked back, went on to make birdie while Tilley made par. However, a rules official informed Bhatia and Darnell of the violation.

The job description for Tiger Woods’ caddie apparently now includes going to great lengths to defend the 14-time major champion from verbally abusive fans. Joe LaCava, Woods’ caddie since 2011, got so fed up with one persistent heckler following Woods during the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio, a tuneup before last weekend’s PGA Championship, he approached the spectator looking for answers. And initially, LaCava thought he had one in the form of a simple payoff. “I said, ‘At the end of the day if you affect [Woods’] performance here, it affects my bottom line,” LaCava said Wednesday of his interaction with the fan on ESPN Radio’s “Golic and Wingo.” “So he calls me a couple names and

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – You could say Jacob Bergeron has a love-hate relationship with his 4-iron. But on Wednesday morning at Pebble Beach, that club helped him keep his U.S. Amateur title hopes alive. As he warmed up for Wednesday morning’s 24-for-1 playoff for the final match-play spot, Bergeron hit a “solid bucket” of 4-irons to prepare for the 220-yard shot he’d face on the first playoff hole, Pebble’s difficult par-3 17th. The practice paid off. Playing in the third of six foursomes, Bergeron stuck his tee shot to about 5 feet and made the first birdie of the playoff, eliminating 11 players with one stroke of his putter, including Vanderbilt’s Patrick Martin, Oklahoma’s Garett Reband and

Already suggestions have been made locally that the area should go after an annual tour event or a major championship - or both. Brad Fabel, a member of the PGA Players Advisory Council, said Sunday that he was so impressed with the reception St. Louis gave to golf that he will recommend to the PGA Tournament Policy Board that the area be considered as an addition to the tour schedule. Jerry Ray is owner of Paradise Valley Country Club and one of 13 district directors of the PGA of America, the organization that administers the PGA Championship. He and others took a pragmatic look at what would be best for the area, what realistically could be available and what golf's significant voices are

Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry believes his love for golf may have influenced the Minnesota Timberwolves and their decision not to select him in the 2009 NBA Draft. Curry – a two-time MVP and three-time NBA champion – was taken with pick seven by the Warriors nine years ago. The 30-year-old guard who made a $25,000 donation to golfer Scott Harrington as his wife Jenn battles Hodgkin Lymphoma after missing the cut at the Web.com Tour's Ellie Mae Classic.

An opening round of 15-over is never ideal at a Mackenzie Tour/PGA Tour Canada event. Mark Scheifele, an alternate captain for the Winnipeg Jets, exchanged his stick for a driver at the Players Cup on Thursday. By the time he left the Southwood Golf & Country Club in Winnipeg, he had posted a birdie, six pars, seven bogeys, three double bogeys and one triple for an 87.

It’s difficult for most of us to imagine what it’s like to be extraordinary at a young age. To be driven since grade school to be the best in the world. To have everything in your life point toward a goal of greatness. At the age of 23, the prodigious Lexi Thompson needed a break.  It just so happens that it’s difficult for the game’s top American to take an extended break during summer golf without the world noticing. Too many majors to juggle and titles to defend. She’d have to explain herself, which she did on social media, saying that she needed to recharge and focus on herself away from golf. “I’m not just a robot out here,” Thompson said during her pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday

Rickie Fowler said he was playing hurt during last week’s PGA Championship, and it’s serious enough to keep him out of the first FedEx Cup playoff event of the season. Fowler, who finished T-12 at the PGA Championship after a disappointing 1-over 71 in the final round, suffered an oblique injury during the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone and played through it at Bellerive. After some testing, Fowler announced Wednesday that he’ll sit out of next week’s Northern Trust at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J. “News got out last week that I was dealing with an oblique injury the past two tournaments,” Fowler said in an Instagram post. “It was confirmed yesterday, via MRI, that I have

The USGA and R&A’s investigation into the distance topic, the so-named “Distance Insights” project, will now employ an outside market research firm to ask golfers and non-golfers alike around the world what they think about distance. Of course on the other, using an outside research firm also will at the very least ensure that whatever decision might be made by the ruling bodies is not going to have the appearance of being a foregone conclusion concocted in the halls of Golf House in New Jersey and the R&A clubhouse in St. Andrews.