06-03-2019, 01:06 AM
KAPALUA, Hawaii -- Jordan Spieth thought the Plantation Course was a blast to play when he arrived at Kapalua. He had even more fun Friday. Coming off a sensational rookie season, Spieth opened the new year by never coming close to bogey and making a 12-foot birdie putt on the last hole for a 7-under 66. That gave him a share of the lead at the Tournament of Champions with fellow newcomer Michael Thompson, Chris Kirk and Webb Simpson. "Its a course that I shouldnt make a lot of bogeys on if you keep the ball in play and just think your way around the course," Spieth said. "Ultimately, I did some good preparation and did a lot of hard work the last two or three weeks getting ready for today, and now just happy to be in good position after the first round." The wind off the west coast of Maui was the biggest surprise, shifting direction and speed throughout the opening round on a mostly sunny afternoon. But with an inch of rain overnight, the Plantation Course was soft enough that only two players in the 30-man field of PGA Tour winners failed to break par. Kirk thought he might be one of them when he first got to this slice of paradise. He had not played since winning the McGladrey Classic at Sea Island two months ago, and his first practice round was a skins game with Matt Kuchar and Scott Brown. Kirk got shut out and figures he shot about 80. When it counted, he was on the money, especially late in the round by closing with five straight birdies. The last two were not easy, especially with the wind blasting into him on the 17th hole, a par 4 that measures 545 yards down the hill. He hit a poor tee shot and had to smash a 3-wood into 30 feet for an unlikely birdie. He had to hit 3-wood and 9-iron for his final two shots on 18 to make birdie. "Some slightly more exciting birdies in the last few holes," he said. For the opening round of the year, where players are still trying to shake off some rust, the leaderboard has rarely been this tight. PGA champion Jason Dufner had four birdies and an eagle on his front-nine 30, only to settle into a string of pars on the back nine for a 6-under 67. Kevin Streelman bogeyed his last two holes and also was at 67, along with Zach Johnson and Ryan Moore. The top 10 players were separated by three shots. Adam Scott, coming off a two wins and a runner-up in Australia, and defending champion Dustin Johnson were among those at 70 On a day like this, experience might have been overrated. "I think the more times you play it, the more advantage you have," Kirk said. "Today was a little bit funny. Today was a day with the wind ... Ive never played in this wind. All the guys who have played here a bunch of times, youre very rarely going to see that wind. So that could throw some people off that were used to it." Even the players at Kapalua for the first time have watched enough of it on television to know how the ball reacts on the ground. Thats why Thompson was so surprised to see that his tee shot on the 18th bounced back a few feet. "From what I understand from guys that Ive talked to, that ball at least rolls 40 yards," Thompson said. "So its playing obviously very different." Spieth is getting plenty of attention going into a new year, mostly to see if he can back up his amazing rookie season. He had no status on any tour at this time a year ago, and by the end of the year he had won a tournament (John Deere Classic), finished No. 7 in the FedEx Cup and played on the Presidents Cup team. He is easing his way into the year, coming out to Maui with only his agent, still finding time to enjoy the Pacific and everything else at Kapalua. "Its almost like a vacation tournament in a sense," Spieth said. "Its been an awesome week so far. Obviously, Im here for this reason, and I dont have my family here with me. So theres definitely more of an emphasis on golf than maybe some other guys are putting into it here. Maybe thats an advantage." DIVOTS: Along with 13 newcomers to Kapalua, there were a few new -- or different -- faces on the bags. Simpson is using the caddie of Bubba Watson because the wife of his regular looper, Paul Tesori, is about to have a baby. The biggest change was with Patrick Reed, whose wife has carried his bag for his entire professional career. She is expecting their first child, so her brother is taking over. ... Kapalua is the toughest walk on tour, especially for the caddies. So it didnt help when Kip Henley, the caddie for Brian Gay, felt the bag heavier than usual on the fourth tee. He searched into the umbrella pocket and found a bottle of red wine that had been in the bag since the OHL Classic in Mexico last November. Gay gave it to his wife, who was in the gallery. SALT LAKE CITY -- Luol Deng better be ready to run because Kyrie Irving thinks the Cleveland Cavaliers play best when they play fast. Irving shines in the open court and says the Cavaliers can win if they can run. They got out on the break Friday night, and Irving had 25 points and eight assists in a 113-102 victory over the Utah Jazz. "We were just feeding off of one anothers energy. We picked up our pace on both ends of the floor. We got multiple stops and that led out to our fast-break points," Irving said. In Dengs first game with the Cavaliers, Irving scored 17 points in the third quarter to turn a three-point deficit into a 15-point lead as Cleveland snapped Utahs season-high four-game home winning streak. Deng had 10 points in his Cleveland debut. "He may have tried to press too much, but we want him to get in his rhythm with the rest of us," Irving said. The rest of the Cavs were certainly in a rhythm against Utah, one game after scoring 111 points against Philadelphia. The NBAs worst-shooting team hit 54 per cent against the Jazz, including 63 per cent in the second half. "We kept preaching to our guys to push the pace, push the pace, push the pace," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said after his players set a season high with 39 third-quarter points. Tristan Thompson had 18 points and 15 rebounds, while C.J. Miles and Dion Waiters each scored 17 to help the Cavs win their first road game since a 109-100 victory in Orlando on Dec. 13. Playing without leading scorer Gordon Hayward, sidelined by a strained hip, the Jazz were paced by Richard Jeffersons 18 points. Trey Burke had 17 points and six assists, but picked up his fourth foul in the third quarter right before Irving sparked Clevelands key surge. "I started being more aggressive and taking advantage of what they were giving me," said Irving, who missed three games with a bruised knee but has returned with extra energy and a sharp touch. Shooting 43 per cent on the season, he was 6 of 9 in the win Tuesday against Philadelphia and then made all three of his 3-point attempts against the Jazz. After a root canal Thursday, Irving showed no ill effects as he scored from a variety of spots on the floor and pushed the Cavaliers to 21 fast-break points. "In the first half, I was just too slow. Playing fast not only helps me, it helps the team. Everybbody was running the lane, everybodys running for easy baskets and thats what we need," Irving said.dddddddddddd. Deng played more than nine seasons with the Chicago Bulls and was an All-Star the past two before he was acquired Tuesday for Andrew Bynum and three future draft picks. Averaging 19 points and 6.9 rebounds in Chicago, Deng appeared to be searching to find his place in the Cleveland offence as he played only 21 minutes and had four turnovers. "Its been so strange. Even coming in today and getting the jersey on and seeing it say Cavaliers, it hit me again. But I looked in the mirror and checked the colours out and it looked pretty good," Deng said. Hayward, coming off a career-high 37 points, missed his first game this season because of a muscle strain in his left hip flexor. He will be a game-time decision Monday against Denver. This one was back and forth with 14 lead changes and 11 ties until Irving and the Cavaliers took charge in the third quarter. "He got his rhythm and hes that kind of player. He decided to take it upon himself to pick it up there and we didnt match his intensity," Utah coach Ty Corbin said. Trailing 49-46 at halftime, the Cavaliers started the third with a 10-2 run to take a 56-51 lead. When Burke was whistled for his fourth foul and headed to the bench, the Jazz were down 65-62. Irving took full advantage and scored 17 points, including consecutive 3-pointers, in the third quarter to spark another Cleveland run. Jarrett Jack, who has been bothered by back spasms, capped a 15-2 surge with a 3-pointer and a jumper to make it 87-70. "Obviously, Kyrie Irving got going. His team feeds off of him, and once he hit a couple of 3s and got to the line, thats when they went on a run," Burke said. Miles, after scoring a season-high 34 points and setting a Cavaliers record for 3s in a game with 10, kept up his strong shooting by going 6 of 7. Miles played his first seven years in Utah and greeted Corbin with a warm embrace just before the opening tip. NOTES: The Cavaliers had lost six in a row at Utah before winning the last two. ... After starting 1 of 6 from the field, Utah F Marvin Williams took off the face mask hes been wearing since he broke his nose in November and played without it. ... Anderson Varejao had two points and 14 rebounds for the Cavs, who outrebounded the Jazz 45-34. 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