The third round of the Barbasol Championship takes place on Saturday from Keene Trace. Here’s how to follow all the action. Round 3 leaderboard Round 3 tee times HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 5-8 p.m. (Golf Channel). Saturday, 4-6 p.m. (GC). Sunday, 4-7 p.m. (GC). PGA TOUR LIVE: None. RADIO: None. FEATURED GROUPS (ALL TIMES LOCAL) Peter Uihlein, Jhonattan Vegas: 9:35 a.m. Anders Albertson, Jason Dufner: 10:35 a.m. David Toms, Kramer Hickok: 1:25 p.m. D.J. Trahan, Kelly Kraft: 1:35 p.m. Jim Herman, Bill Haas: 1:45 p.m. MUST READS Merrick’s incredible ace Herman takes 36-hole lead Toms has ‘prime opportunity’ this weekend Poston ties course record in Round 1 Roach shoots opening-round 64, seeing hard work start to pay off Hickok off to solid start in quest to maintain PGA TOUR status Expert Picks Power Rankings

Click here to read the full article…

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Jim Herman was being coy on Friday when he talked about “someone from pretty high upâ€� giving him a putting tip recently. The Ohio native, who had only cashed a check in three of his previous 19 starts this year, had just shot his second straight 65 to seize a one-stroke lead over Bill Haas at the midway point of the Barbasol Championship. The matching rounds of 7 under are Herman’s best of the year by two strokes. And now for the rest of the story. Herman changed his grip and his style of putter on the advice of President Donald Trump, his friend and former employer at Trump National in Bedminster, N.J. The two played golf together several weeks ago, and the chief executive had some pointed words for the struggling pro. “He gave me a good talking to and told me to use a different style if it’s not working,â€� Herman said. “…. He gave me a little quick tip and get some conventional putting going and see what happens.â€� So, Herman, who says he’s used nearly every kind of grip, went back to as “conventional a grip as you can haveâ€� with a standard Bettinardi BB1 putter. He didn’t make the changes until this week, though, prompted by a “terribleâ€� week on the greens at the John Deere Classic. “I had nothing else to lose,â€� Herman said. “I had to change something up.  That was his main advice:  If it’s not working, change it. Put a lot of time in on the putting green this last week with the new style and new grip.  It’s just rolling the ball nicely.â€� This week, Herman has made 15 birdies and just one bogey – which was caused by an errant drive and second shot, not a three-putt. He has made 219 feet of putts, including 139 on Friday and ranks 11th in Strokes Gained: Putting, compared with his yearly average of 177th. “Everything seems to be working this week,â€� Herman said. “Nice change‑up.  I haven’t been playing very well or had the best results lately. … Hitting a lot of greens and making some putts and that’s always a good combination.â€� Herman played with Trump, who was seven months away from winning the 2016 presidential election, shortly before he picked up his only PGA TOUR victory at the Shell Houston Open. “Seems like I played pretty well after I played with him,â€� Herman said. “… So maybe that’s a sign to come, hopefully.â€� Herman marks his ball with Presidential dollar gold coins selected each week by Steven Wyder, his roommate from his days working as an assistant pro. Wyder, who teaches U.S. history in high school, makes the picks based on the tournament’s location and interesting dates. This week’s ball marker features Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president, who was born in 1809 in Hodgenville, Kentucky. The coins even have their own Twitter handle — @POTUSBallMarker – which has taken due notice of Herman’s position at the top of the leaderboard. The 41-year-old Herman came to Kentucky ranked 232nd in the FedExCup and in real danger of losing his PGA TOUR card for the second straight year. After the Barbasol Championship, only two events remain to move into the top-125 to secure playing privileges and make the FedExCup Playoffs. A win on Sunday at Keene Trace is worth 300 points, which wouldn’t quite move Herman inside the magic number, but it would be a huge step closer. He’s hoping that his play over the first two rounds will help break the cycle of futility that this season has become. “I haven’t been in this spot in a while,â€� Herman said. “I know I can do it. I’ve won, been in the hunt a couple times as well. It’s just nice to be playing the weekend, having a chance. “It’s not a lot of fun when you’re missing cuts and going week to week on a negative vibe.  So, a lot of positive energy going forward and just kind of keep going.â€�

Click here to read the full article…

NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. — Jim Herman shot his second straight 7-under 65 on Friday to take the second-round lead in the PGA TOUR’s Barbasol Championship. Herman had a one-stroke lead over Bill Haas at rain-softened Keene Trace. He won the 2016 Shell Houston Open for his lone TOUR title. Haas followed his opening 65 with a 66. He made a 45-foot eagle putt on the par-5 eighth, his 17th hole. David Toms was two strokes back at 12 under after a 64. The 52-year-old Toms made a 13-foot eagle putt on the par-5 fifth, his 14th hole of the day. D.J. Trahan, Kelly Kraft and Kramer Hickok also were 12 under, each shooting 67. Jose de Jesus Rodriguez (65), Austin Cook (66), Sebastian Munoz (68) and Wes Roach (69) were 11 under. Tom Lovelady played the first six holes on the back nine in 7 under, capped by a 10-foot eagle putt on the par-5 15th. He bogeyed the par-3 16th and parred the last two for a 65 to top the group at 10 under. J.T. Poston, the first-round leader after a 62, had a 73 to drop into a tie for 18th at 9 under. Canadian Nick Taylor, a stroke behind Poston after an opening 63, also was 9 under after a 72. John Daly missed the cut with rounds of 71 and 72. Fighting osteoarthritis in his right knee, the 53-year-old Daly was playing his first PGA TOUR event since he was approved for a cart last fall. Denied a cart by the R&A for the Open Championship, he has been approved for a cart at PGA TOUR events until the end of the year. The winner will receive a spot in the PGA Championship.

Click here to read the full article…

LEXINGTON, Ky. – David Toms didn’t know exactly what to expect this week. The 52-year-old had entered the Barbasol Championship because he wanted to stay sharp. Toms doesn’t plan to play the Senior Open Championship next week, and he didn’t want to take a four-week break before PGA TOUR Champions returns for its final 11 events of the season. His son Carter was playing in a tournament, too, so there wasn’t really time for a family vacation. So, Tom’s wife Sonya and their daughter Anna said they’d make the four-and-a-half-hour drive to Kentucky from their home in Shreveport with him. So far, it’s been well worth the trip. Toms fired a 64 on Friday that left him tied for third at 12 under, just three strokes off Jim Herman’s lead entering the weekend – with a chance to become the second-oldest winner on the PGA TOUR. Sam Snead, who won the 1965 Greater Greensboro Open at the age of 52 years, 10 months and 8 days, is the first. He has Toms by a matter of four months and nine days. “That would be kind of cool, but I’ve got a long way to go,â€� said Toms, who remembers spending time with Snead at the Masters. “See if we can play well enough tomorrow not to be too far back on Sunday and have a chance.â€� Toms, a 12-time winner on the PGA TOUR, has been his usual patient and steady self during the first two rounds at the Champion Course at Keene Trace Golf Club, a course he’s played several times before in U.S. Open qualifying. The 2001 PGA champion has hit 21 of 28 fairways and 29 of 36 greens in regulation. He’s made one eagle, 14 birdies – pitching in three times Friday from just off the green — and dropped just three shots to par, including on the last hole Saturday that kept him from a share of second. “My first goal was just to play Saturday and Sunday really, and then I started feeling good about it yesterday, the way I was playing, and obviously it carried over to today,â€� Toms said. “So, I’m in good shape. But I’ll have to go really low on the weekend like everybody else is going to have to do. “It’s a longer golf course for me, so it helps that it’s drying up a little bit. So, I don’t have as many scoring opportunities as some of the other players, but if I can take advantage of the ones I do have, I’ll be okay.â€� This is just the third TOUR event he’s played this season, tying for 31st at the Charles Schwab Challenge and missing the cut at the U.S. Open. Toms has three runner-up finishes on the PGA TOUR Champions, though, including in his title defense at the U.S. Senior Open and at another major, the Regions Tradition. “Had opportunities, haven’t been able to get it done,â€� Toms said. “But like I said, everybody out there are champions, all the guys that are playing, so they know how to win. “You have to go out there and do it and I haven’t been able to this year. We still have a lot of tournaments left.  Our fall is pretty important as a player out there, a lot of tournaments. So, I have some opportunities, I just have to get close and see if I can have something go my way.â€� He’s got a prime opportunity this weekend, too.

Click here to read the full article…