Beau

Hossler

Hossler started his week at the host course and put on a short-game clinic. He sank four putts from outside of nine feet, gaining 4.4 strokes putting (1st) while also adding a stroke gained around-the-green (9th). “I don’t really have trouble putting that often, usually putt pretty well. Short game’s pretty good generally. I need to get better approach play with wedges and short irons and keep the ball in play off the tee. If I can do those things, I think I have a chance to do really well.” The University of Texas product is making his fourth appearance at the RSM with two missed cuts and a 70th-place finish on his resume.

Of the 156 players who toured The Country Club on Friday, just two managed to do it error-free, Hossler, and World No. 66 Joohyung Kim (68), who played earlier today. On 11 (of 14) fairways and 11 greens in regulation, he ticked three birdies at holes 5, 8 and 9, the latter a hole-out 3 from a greenside bunker, and recorded +1.18 SG: Off-the-Tee, -0.83 SG: Approach, +3.47 SG: Around, and +1.18 SG: Putting with 26 total putts. The University of Texas product, who opened with 69 (2 birdies, 1 bogey), is making his fourth U.S. Open appearance, first as a pro, and first since T58 in 2015 as an amateur. Overall, it’s his eighth major, today’s 67 his low score in 26 rounds, and his best finish is T29 at the 2012 U.S. Open at The Olympic Club, also as an amateur, where he was in the top 10 after each of the first three rounds (70-73-70-76). See link below to post-round comments.

Next week’s start at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., will mark the seven U.S. Open appearance for 39-year-old Stuard, who shot 68-65 on Monday and has qualified for all previous six appearances through the Springfield qualifying site. Also advancing to next week are Beau Hossler (67-68), amateur Maxwell Moldovan, Troy Merritt, Bo Hoag, Sam Stevens and amateur Adrien Dumont de Chassart from Belgium. Nick Hardy finished as first alternate with Jim Herman as second alternate. Missing out on qualifying were world No. 81 Cameron Davis, Scott Piercy, Brandt Snedeker, Robert Streb and Sahith Theegala.

The University of Texas product, playing this season on conditional status and still searching for a first TOUR win in 136 events, opened with 66 and bogey-free 65 to co-lead with Scheffler and playing competitor Scott Stallings (70). With his right wrist already taped, he aggravated whatever the ailment is with a tree-outline second from 211 yards at the par-4 fifth, saving par there, but wound-up squaring three bogey-5s at holes 7, 17 (bogey-save from 10'7") and 18. On six (of 14) fairways and 10 greens in regulation, the 27-year-old lost strokes off-the-tee (-0.546), on approach (-1.427) and with the flat stick (-0.562), posting 2.000 putts per GIR with 30 total putts, and missed two putts from inside of seven feet.

The Texas Longhorn is known for his out-of-this-world putting skills but he’s locked in from tee-to-green this week. He’s split 17-of-28 fairways and landed 25 GIR. In modern terms, he’s leading the field in strokes gained approach (+5.797) and tee-to-green (+9.067). After a cold putter on day one, he did warm that up today with a trio of birdie bombs from outside of 18 feet. If this co-lead holds then it’ll be his fourth career 36-hole lead or co-lead on the PGA TOUR (T43/2018 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am; 2nd/2018 Houston Open; T6/2018 Quicken Loans National). It’s not his first fast start in Fort Worth, either, as he was T6 thru 36 holes of the 2018 edition before fading to T64 over the weekend. He’ll look to avoid that same fate as he readies for a windy weekend and continues to search for his first PGA TOUR title.

Beginning on 10 tee, the University of Texas product was 1-under through 14 holes (2 birdies, 1 bogey) and raced to the finish, camouflaging a bogey-4 at 8 (3-putt from 34'8") with a pair of hole-out eagle-2s at 6 (from 65 yards away) and 9 (from 135 yards out). On eight (of 14) fairways and nine greens in regulation, he lost 1.596 strokes on-the-green but gained 0.986 off-the-tee, 3.497 approaching and 1.896 around-the-green, and is ranked No. 1 tee-to-green at 6.379. This is the 27-year-old’s second 18-hole lead/co-lead in 136 events, first since the 2018 AT&T Pebble Beach, where he was T1 (w/ Kevin Streelman) before fading to T43 (65-67-74-76). See link below to post-round comments.

The Texas alum arrived off three straight missed cuts and four in last five, interrupted by a T4 at the Valero in San Antonio on a sponsor invite, where he was a 54-hole co-leader, led by one at the break in R4, but came home in 2-over. His career-best finish in 133 events is a pair of runners-up back in 2018, including a playoff loss in Houston after being a 54-hole co-leader, and also bagged a solo 3rd earlier this season at the AT&T Pebble Beach, where he was a 54-hole co-leader as well. This week, the 27-year-old has signed for laps of 69, bogey-free 64 and 67, totaled two eagles and 15 birdies against three bogeys, and ranks 18th SG: Off-the-Tee (2.242), 57th SG: Approach (-0.465) and 6th SG: Putting (5.587), despite a -0.231 SGP today.

The 27-year-old and University of Texas product, who drops to 0-for-4 as a 54-hole leader/co-leader, was chasing his first PGA TOUR win in 130 events, and first on any tour, but comes up three swings shy of quad-leader and first-time TOUR winner J.J. Spaun, who carded a 69 one group ahead. He went out in 2-under (3 birdies, 1 bogey), now leading by one, but bogeyed 10 and then doubled the par-5 14th, skulling his second from a fairway bunker 67 yards away 114 yards into the unknown. For the week, the World No. 236 handed in rounds of 73-66, day-tying-low 67 and 72, totaled 22 birdies against eight bogeys and two doubles, and ranked 4th SG: Putting (6.894) and 47th SG: Tee-to-Green (1.849), including a dismal 66th (of 72) in SG: Approach (-1.707), -3.318 of the latter on a wayward Sunday. Playing this season on conditional status, he did salvage a first top 10 in the tourney in five visits and second top 10 of the season in 11 events, joining a solo 3rd six starts ago at the AT&T Pebble Beach, where he was a 54-hole co-leader as well.

The University of Texas product, playing this season on conditional status, matched the low round with three others and will be in the final threesome on Sunday with Brandt Snedeker (67), who he played with today, and fellow Longhorn Dylan Frittelli (70). This is his fourth 54-hole lead/co-led in 130 events, previously 0-for-3 converting, and first since this season’s AT&T Pebble Beach six starts ago, where he co-led with two others and closed with 1-under 71 for solo 3rd. The 27-year-old, who’s chasing his first TOUR win, has finished runner-up two times, both in 2018 as a first-time member (not a rookie), including at the Houston Open as a 54-hole co-leader, where he lost in a playoff to Ian Poulter after closing with 5-under 67. Today, he squared two bogeys, both 3-jacks, outpaced by seven birdies, posting 3.379 SG: Tee-to-Green and 1.329 SG: Putting.