FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — J.J. Spaun is thinking a little bit about his schedule and a lot about his putting while in contention at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial.
The reigning U.S. Open champion believes he's getting both lined up just about right three weeks before he tries to defend his first major title.
Spaun surged with four birdies on his front nine before a couple of late bogeys in a 2-under 68 that put him at 8 under Friday, two shots behind Englishman Jordan Smith and one back of Hideki Matsuyama and three others after 36 holes at Colonial.
Smith took the lead by himself with a 31-foot birdie putt at the par-3 16th, saved par from a bunker on 17 and missed a 9-footer for birdie on 18 to finish at 10 under with a second consecutive 65.
“It’s going to be a new experience for us out here leading for the first time,” said Smith, a 33-year-old PGA Tour rookie who qualified through the DP World Tour and had his best finish at third in the Valpar Championship. “Not going to force anything, not going to rush anything, just going to see what happens and enjoy it.”
Matsuyama, the 2021 Masters champion with 10 other tour victories, and Michael Thorbjornsen had matching 65s. They were at 9 under with Ryan Gerard (67) and 2023 Britisn Open champion Brian Harman (66).
Spaun was joined by Akshay Bhatia (65), Russell Henley (66), Brice Garnett (66) and Alex Smalley (67).
A.J. Ewart had the second hole in two days at the 195-yard, par-3 16th — Brandt Snedeker aced it in the opening round — and followed an opening 70 with a career-best 63, the low round of the day. He was at 7 under with Michael Brennan (66) and Mackenzie Hughes (67).
Gary Woodland, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, was among 11 players at 6 under at Hogan's Alley, where light wins and still-soft conditions led to 154 sub-par scores through two rounds. That tied the previous high of 154 sub-par rounds from when Zach Johnson set the 72-hole scoring record of 21-under 259.
Temperatures reached the mid-90s with a heat index approaching 100, and conditions are supposed to stay that way through the weekend. There is almost no chance for rain.
“It’s drying up just like it probably did a little bit yesterday afternoon,” Harman said. “The fairways will get firm and these fairways will get tougher to hit, and that’s how this place protects itself.”
Defending champion Ben Griffin shot a second consecutive 68 and was 4 under along with Justin Thomas, a stroke above the cut line.
Spaun, who was among six players tied for the lead after an opening 64, missed the cut in six of his first 13 events this year, including the Masters and PGA Championship. He said he changed putters because he was losing confidence on the greens.
The highest-ranked player in the field at No. 9, Spaun kept his hot front nine going with a 15-foot par putt at 17 and was still without a bogey for the tournament before missing a pair of par putts outside 15 feet on the seventh and eight holes.
“It’s nice to see that the putter switch was a good change,” Spaun said. “I found myself kind of resenting my putter at times when I’m out on the course. That’s been the only issue all year. My ball striking’s been pretty solid. The weeks that I putt just slightly better than average, I contend.”
Spaun's other two wins are both at the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio, including last month. He figures the 27 holes on Sunday in a rain-altered event might have contributed to a 74-75 at the Masters, and he shot 70-76 while playing a third consecutive week at the PGA.
After playing the Memorial next week, Spaun will skip the Canadian Open before going to Shinnecock Hills.
“It will be nice to have a week off and then get to Shinnecock and kind of feel fresh, but not like I’ve taken too much time off,” said Spaun, who skipped Colonial's neighboring event, The CJ Cup Byron Nelson, last week.
Smith made 181 feet of putts, including a 40-footer from the fringe on the par-4 12th. The long putt at 16 came two holes after his only bogey of the tournament so far at the par-4 14th.
“The putter’s been hot the last two days, which is nice to see,” Smith said. “Swing still hasn’t felt 100%, but we’ve been hitting a lot of fairways and a lot of greens, which is key out here.”
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Brian Harman watches his tee shot on the ninth hole during the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge golf tournament at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Michael Thorbjornsen walks over a rock footbridge along the 17th hole during the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge golf tournament at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
J.J. Spaun watches his tee shot on the ninth hole during the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge golf tournament at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
PARIS (AP) — There will be a new men’s champion at the French Open after Novak Djokovic followed Jannik Sinner out of Roland Garros in a five-set stunner on Friday.
Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca beat 24-time major winner Djokovic 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 in the third round to follow Thursday’s huge upset, when No. 1 Sinner — last year's runner-up lost to 56th-ranked Juan Manuel Cerundolo.
“Ten minutes after the match I could realize a little bit what I did, what I achieved," the 19-year-old Fonseca said. “How difficult it was and how amazing it was for me."
Djokovic’s latest quest for a record 25th Grand Slam singles title was ended and it was just the second time he lost from two sets up, the other also coming in Paris in 2010.
Along with Daniil Medvedev, Marin Cilic and Stan Wawrinka, all the men's major winners are out, thus guaranteeing that a new pair of hands will raise the Coupe des Mousquetaires trophy aloft on June 7 on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
“Of course, Jannik and Djokovic out, there’s more chances,” said Fonseca, who next faces two-time runner-up Casper Ruud, who beat Tommy Paul 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (4), 7-5.
Second-seeded Alexander Zverev, the 2024 runner-up, also advanced to the fourth round with a 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win late Friday over Frenchman Quentin Halys.
The 39-year-old Djokovic faded as the court slowed in the evening cool.
“Tough one for me to lose,” Djokovic said. “I was barely standing on my legs toward the end of the match."
In the final game, Djokovic had a break point for 6-6 but Fonseca served out with three consecutive aces and became the first teenager to beat Djokovic at a Grand Slam tournament.
“I just enjoyed being on court and what a pleasure it was. It’s my first stepping on court against him,” Fonseca said. “We still think he’s 20. At the end of the match I think he was more fit than me, that’s crazy.”
Fonseca wished his mother in the crowd happy birthday and thanked all the Brazilians who turned up to watch.
This wasn't as big an upset as Sinner's loss because Djokovic came to Paris with doubts.
After he lost the Australian Open final to Carlos Alcaraz, a shoulder injury limited his clay-court buildup to one competitive match and Djokovic labored for at least three hours in each of his previous two rounds before facing the full fury of Fonseca's booming forehand.
“Taking everything in consideration and all the circumstances, I think the level was really good," said Djokovic, whose last major title was the 2024 U.S. Open.
The heat that stressed Sinner also got to Djokovic, who applied ice packs on both sides of his face during changeovers. Djokovic snapped at a television camera operator for getting too close to his face at one point.
By the fifth set he couldn't hide his fatigue: He hunched over the advertising boards, his forearms dangling; slumped back in his chair with a towel on his head; grabbed his head with his hands.
He was gracious in defeat.
“I told him (after the match) that he deserved to win and he should be proud of himself," Djokovic said. "We’ve all seen today why there is hype around him."
Djokovic said he was unsure if he would play at the French Open next year, although he said the same after his semifinal defeat to Sinner last year.
Still unbeaten on clay this season, Marta Kostyuk reached the fourth round for the second time and set up a big match against four-time champion Iga Swiatek in the women's draw.
The 15th-ranked Ukrainian extended her winning streak on clay to 15 matches with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Viktorija Golubic on yet another hot day in Paris.
She lost to Swiatek in the fourth round in 2021. A rematch is coming up next after Swiatek defeated fellow Polish player Magda Linette 6-4, 6-4.
Swiatek has won in straight sets all three times against Kostyuk and boasts a 43-3 record at Roland Garros.
Seventh-seeded Elina Svitolina was another Ukrainian woman to advance. She beat Tamara Korpatsch 6-2, 6-3.
Also advancing was 36-year-old Sorana Cirstea, who routed Solana Sierra and became the oldest player in the Open Era to claim a 6-0, 6-0 win in a Grand Slam tournament. She next faces China's Wang Xiyu, who has still not dropped a set.
Eighth-seeded Mirra Andreeva progressed with a 6-4, 6-2 win against Czech opponent Marie Bouzkova and leads the women’s tour with 32 victories this season.
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Alexander Zverev of Germany celebrates winning the third round men's singles tennis match against Quentin Halys of France at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
Iga Swiatek of Poland, left, and Magda Linette of Poland hug after their third round women's singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Novak Djokovic of Serbia leaves the court after the third round men's singles tennis match against Joao Fonseca of Brazil at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
Novak Djokovic of Serbia, left, and Joao Fonseca of Brazil hug after their third round men's singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Joao Fonseca of Brazil celebrates winning the third round men's singles tennis match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Novak Djokovic of Serbia, left, and Joao Fonseca of Brazil hug after their third round men's singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Joao Fonseca of Brazil celebrates winning the third round men's singles tennis match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Novak Djokovic of Serbia cools himself during a break of the third round men's singles tennis match against Joao Fonseca of Brazil at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Joao Fonseca of Brazil returns to Novak Djokovic of Serbia during their third round men's singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Iga Swiatek of Poland celebrates winning the third round women's singles tennis match against Magda Linette of Poland at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns to Joao Fonseca of Brazil during their third round men's singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Andrey Rublev of Russia, bottom, serves to Nuno Borges of Portugal during their third round men's singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
