Sizzling Lucas Glover, ‘strokes stolen’ among 5 things to know at FedEx St. Jude

Lucas Glover was asked to describe the weather on a hot, humid Friday afternoon in Memphis.

“I didn’t get this wet in the shower this morning,” he said.

About the only thing hotter than Memphis in August is Glover’s game of late. The 43-year-old five-time PGA Tour winner fired a 6-under 64 at TPC Southwind in the second round and grabbed the 36-hole lead at 10-under 130. He also improved to 30 under in his last six rounds while making just five bogeys during that span.

Glover won the Wyndham Championship on Sunday to vault from No. 112 in the FedEx Cup point standings to 49^th and make the playoffs. After going low again and with the points awarded to the winner this week bumped up from 500 to 2,000, he’s projected to jump to third.

On Friday, Glover hit 14 greens, leads the field through two rounds in Strokes Gained: Approach and gained almost six shots on the field with his ball striking.

 “It’s just kind of a carryover from the last few weeks. Just trying not to overcomplicate things and just make good, positive swings and stay aggressive. It’s one of those where you just want to keep playing. You’re playing well, keep going,” said the 19-year veteran. “I’m old enough to know it can change the other way in a hurry, too, so kind of ride the wave and just don’t over think it, keep going, and play until it runs out and then figure it out after that.”

Despite feeling that the greens were a little slower than the practice green and taking a few holes to adjust, Glover made over 100 feet of putts in the second round.

Glover has credited Jason Kuhn, a former baseball pitcher who dealt with the yips and a Navy Seal, with helping him overcome his decade-long battle with the putting yips. In May, Glover’s longtime agent Mac Barnhardt, connected the two. Kuhn had helped Atlanta Braves pitcher Tyler Matzek overcome his own issues with the yips. Also contributing to his putting revival: Glover, the 2009 U.S. Open, switched to a long putter and a split-handed grip that he says has re-wired his brain.

“Confidence is high,” Glover said. “Putting seems to be an asset instead of a weakness.”

Here are four more things to know about the second round of the 2023 FedEx St. Jude Championship.

Spieth steals more strokes

One day after he chipped in for eagle, Jordan Spieth pulled another rabbit out of his hat Friday. His tee shot at the par-3 fourth hole sailed over the green and into a dicey lie in the back of a bunker.

“I was surprised to see it so severely on the downslope,” he said. “If it had come down in the middle, it was a pretty cake shot.”

This was anything but a cake shot. From an awkward lie in the back of the bunker, Spieth shifted his weight forward and played the ball farther back in his stance.

“As long as I carried the rough and landed it on the fringe or just on the green, I thought it would be somewhere in the five- to six-foot range, and then when it was tracking, it was right on line, I’m like, ‘Wow. It hit the pin and went in,’” he said. “I did what I could do and relied a bit on luck there for it to actually drop.”

“I just give up!” Golf Channel’s Terry Gannon said.

“This guy is just unbelievable,” his colleague Curt Byrum said.

“I thought he was dead,” said the third man in the booth Frank Nobilo. “Instead of Strokes Gained, he should have Strokes Stolen.”

Spieth, who started his round on the back nine, made two early bogeys but bounced back with four birdies in a seven-hole stretch ending with the hole-out deuce. Spieth lacked the consistency in his ballstriking Friday and dropped shots at Nos. 5 and 6. He bounced back with birdies at Nos. 7 and 8 and narrowly missed a birdie at his last hole. It added up to 2-under 68 and a 36-hole total of 9-under 131.

“It’s funny, I felt like I had better control of my swing today than yesterday,” he said. “I got stuck kind of with a couple numbers where I maybe played the wrong shot, wrong decision, and didn’t play patiently early. Then I made a couple bad swings, as well.”

Spieth is in solo second at 9 under.

Toasty in Memphis

Spieth has been practicing hard in the morning at home in Dallas in preparation for the FedEx Cup Playoffs trying to avoid the suffocating heat that makes practicing on the range no fun at all. All week, he’s been telling caddie Michael Greller that he can handle the hot weather, he’s Texas tough after all, but that was until Friday when it felt as if it was 109 degrees.

“Today I’m like, man, I was wrong. I’m humbled. It’s just a different kind of heat,” he said. “I’ll bring two shirts from now on and change at the turn.”

“So hot out there, golly. It was so freaking hot,” said Tom Kim, who was part of a five-way logjam for third at 8-under 132.

Englishman Tommy Fleetwood, who carded 66 on Friday, didn’t enjoy the hear either, but tried to put a positive spin on it. “Well, it’s better than playing in 50 mile-an-hour winds at Royal Porthcawl how we just saw the other day,” he said. “It’s easier than that. Obviously the disadvantage is just how sweaty it is, how slippy your hands can be and the grips and everything, and clearly energy levels. You’ve really got to focus on that and make sure you’re drinking enough and sort of don’t get ahead of yourself on the golf course.”

Asked if he would have preferred to wear shorts, he said, “I’ve never seen trousers like Denny McCarthy’s today, he was sweating so much. He looked like he had just jumped in a pool.”

Expect more of the same this weekend for those pros walking (and sweating) in Memphis. That’s just fine with Glover.

“Hotter the better,” he said. “I’m old. I get loose easier.”

Moving in, moving out of the top 50

There’s still two rounds to go and a lot can still change in the FedEx Cup standings with the available points increased for the Playoffs, but as Yogi Berra once said, it gets late early. This week is all about finishing in the top 50 and earning a spot in next week’s BMW Championship. Doing so has an added bonus: it guarantees a spot in eight Signature Events in 2024.

Two players have moved into the top 50 and two have fallen out.

Australian Cam Davis, who entered the week at No. 62, remains hot (T-8) that has propelled him to No. 47. Belgium’s Thomas Detry shot 64 and vaulted from No. 52 at the start of the week to projected to be the last man in at No. 50.

Those on the wrong side of the cutline as of now are Harris English, who has slipped to No. 51, and Patrick Rodgers to No. 52.

Checking in on the Big 3

Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy showed a bit what makes them the top three players in the world.

None of them had their “A” game Friday and yet they shot a pair of 66s and a 67.

Rahm, who entered the week in the pole position in the FedEx Cup, played better than Thursday when he shot 73, but his 67 still has him 10 shots off the lead and T-51.

Rahm’s reliable cut has been anything but that. There was no better example than when he drove into the water left on 18.

“He just doesn’t have a go-to shot right now,” Golf Channel analyst Frank Nobilo said. “He doesn’t know where to aim.”

But he knew to throw his arms in the air after holing out from a greenside bunker shot. Rahm counted his strokes on his right hand and realized he’d made par the hard way.

Speaking of numbers, Scheffler is projected to catapult into the top spot in the Cup standings.

He made a birdie at 18 to shoot 66 and improve to 7-under 133. Scheffler, who switched to a new putter this week, has gained strokes on the green both rounds and ranks 15^th (out of a field of 70) for the week in Strokes Gained: Putting (+1.750).

McIlroy may be want to ditch his new putter, which he pulled from his garage for this tournament seeking a different look. Small sample size and he still shot 66 but it hasn’t worked so far. McIlroy has lost strokes with the short stick both rounds and ranked 55^th in SG: putting (-0.778).

“He should at least be within one or two (of the lead) with the way he’s hitting it,” Knost said.

McIlroy, who entered the week at No. 3 in the FedEx, has dropped one spot in the standings.

Story originally appeared on GolfWeek