NAPA, Calif. (AP) — Patton Kizzire hugged a tree on the way to the first tee Friday as part of a mental exercise, then patiently worked his way around Silverado to take the lead into the weekend in the FedEx Cup Fall series opener.
Working with a new mental coach who has him embracing a more relaxed and even approach, Kizzire shot a 7-under 65 for a one-stroke advantage over David Lipsky in the Procore Championship.
Kizzire joked about some of the things his new mental coach has him doing, like walking around barefoot and hugging trees.
“It’s been really cool to just get organized and try to be more playful out there and be unflappable,” Kizzire said.
Kizzire had seven birdies, six on the back nine, as he seeks his first victory on the PGA Tour since 2018.
“I didn’t have my best stuff today, especially off the tee or into the green, but I putted well again,” Kizzire said. “My patience in the mental game and my putting have really kept me in it and allowed me to play really well.”
Kizzire had a 13-under 131 total on the picturesque course in the heart of Napa Valley wine country.
Lipsky, the first-round leader, had a 67 that included eight birdies, an eagle, three bogeys and a double bogey.
Patrick Fishburn was 11 under after a 65. He had six birdies and an eagle to overcome a bogey on his 17th hole.
Matt Kuchar and J.J. Spaun were 10 under. The 46-year-old Kuchar, who caused a bit of controversy at the Wyndham Championship in August when he walked off the course because of darkness then returned the next day to finish his final round, had nine birdies and a bogey to tie for the best round of the day with a 64. Spaun shot 65.
Defending champion Sahith Theegala was four shots back after a 66.
Kizzire got off to a slow start and was sputtering off the tee and with his approach shots before heating up with six birdies on the back nine. He capped his afternoon with two long putts, one from 28 feet and the other from 13.
“I could have gotten frustrated or talked about a bad shot or worried about, ‘Well why am I not hitting it like I want to?’” Kizzire said. “I just chose not to do that. I still didn’t play my best on the back nine but I capitalized whenever I had an opportunity and made a few good putts.”
Lipsky was in good shape after holing out for an eagle on No. 16. He hit a gap wedge with his second shot that hit past the flag, bounced then spun back in the hole.
After three consecutive birdies on the back nine put him atop the leaderboard at 14 under, Lipsky picked up a penalty stroke when his tee shot on No. 8 sailed out-of-bounds.
“A little bit of everything but overall I’m really happy,” Lipsky said. “My game plan was to still stay aggressive and not back off at all. That’s sort of what I did.”
Two-time tournament champion Max Homa failed to make the cut. Presidents Cup International team captain Mike Weir, 2020 tournament champ Stewart Cink and Wyndham Clark also dropped out.
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Patton Kizzire hits from the eighth tee during the first round of the Procore Championship PGA golf tournament at the Silverado Resort North Course in Napa, Calif., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea said North Korea blew up the northern parts of inter-Korean roads no longer in use on Tuesday, as the rivals are locked in rising animosities over North Korea’s claim that South Korea flew drones over its capital, Pyongyang.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a brief statement that North Korea blew up parts of the roads on Tuesday.
It said South Korea’s military is bolstering its readiness and surveillance posture but gave no further details.
The explosions came a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called a meeting with his top military and security officials. During the meeting, Kim described the alleged South Korean drone flights as the “enemy’s serious provocation” and laid out unspecified tasks related to “immediate military action” and the operation of his “war deterrent” for defending the country’s sovereignty, the North's state media reported earlier Tuesday.
North Korea earlier put frontline artillery and other army units on standby to launch strikes on South Korea, if drones from South Korea are found over North Korea again. South Korea has refused to confirm whether it sent drones but warned it would sternly punish North Korea if the safety of its citizens is threatened.
Destroying the roads would be in line with leader Kim Jong Un’s push to cut off ties with South Korea, formally cement it as his country’s principal enemy and abandon the North’s decades-long objective to seek a peaceful Korean unification.
During the previous era of inter-Korean detente in the 2000s, the two Koreas reconnected two road routes and two rail tracks across their heavily fortified border. But their operations later were suspended one by one as the Koreas wrangled over North Korea’s nuclear program and other issues.
Last week, North Korea said it would permanently block its border with South Korea and build front-line defense structures to cope with “confrontational hysteria” by South Korean and U.S. forces. South Korean officials said North Korea had already been adding anti-tank barriers and laying mines along the border since earlier this year. They said North Korea has also planted mines and removed lamps along its sections of the inter-Korean roads and taken out ties on the northern side of the railways.
Follow AP's Asia-Pacific coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific
South Korean visitors look at a map which shows a border area of two Koreas with a railroad line between Munsan city in south and Kaesong in north, at the Imjingak Pavilion in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Barricades are placed near the Unification Bridge, which leads to the Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone in Paju, South Korea, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A North Korean soldier stands guard at the North's military guard post as a North Korean flag flutters in the wind, as seen from Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
South Korean army soldiers patrol along the barbed-wire fence in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
