Andrew

Putnam

Putnam split 10-of-14 fairways and landed 12 GIR today. He top 25 in the field in both categories today. That steady striking allowed his short game to do the talking, gaining 1.1 strokes around-the-green and 2.2 strokes putting. This isn’t his first taste of success at Colonial as he arrived with a trio of top 20s in five starts at the course. He’s now been T21 or better after 10 (of 17) rounds at the course. His recent results include a mid-tournament WD at the Wells Fargo Championship and a missed cut at the PGA Championship but he’s back on track at a more classical design that suits his game.

Putnam split 8-of-11 fairways today but landed just seven greens in regulation. From there, he lost 3.3 strokes putting. It was an all-around putrid day for the Pepperdine product. This will go in the books as just his second career mid-tournament WD, in 174 total starts.

Putnam ranked just T87 in fairways hit and T82 in GIR this week. Those aren’t the numbers you’d expect to see from a top-5 finisher but he led the field in putting, gaining 10.5 strokes over the course of the week. That will be the second time in his career that he’s gained more than 10 strokes putting in a week with the other instance also coming at Waialae Country Club (+10.9 SGP en route to a runner-up finish at the 2019 Sony). With this finish, he climbs from 16th to 12th in the early FedExCup race.

While the other two co-leaders faced the Seaside Course, Putnam’s 7-under effort came on the easier Plantation Course and included a run of four straight birdies on Nos. 5-8 before a closing bogey on No. 9, his lone dropped shot of the day. At 12 under he’s atop a crowded leaderboard, with three other players one shot back, as he looks to win on Tour for the second time. He’s the first player to hold at least a share of the 36-hole lead at multiple events this season, having already done so at the Zozo Championship en route to a runner-up finish. Putnam has now made the cut in eight straight starts to begin the new season, the longest such run of his career, and has not missed a cut in a stroke-play event since the Memorial in June.

Putnam started the day one shot off the lead, but he was tied at the top with Keegan Bradley heading to the 17th hole Sunday in Japan. But while Bradley found a way to make birdie, Putnam carded an ill-timed bogey that left him two shots off the lead and essentially cemented the win for Bradley. Putnam’s birdie on No. 18 cut the final deficit in half and gave him runner-up honors alongside Rickie Fowler. While he fell short of win No. 2 to go along with his 2018 Barracuda Championship title, Putnam still recorded his second top-10 finish since February and his best result since a runner-up in Reno last year.

Putnam started the day with a share of the lead at Narashino CC but was relatively quiet, turning in Even after a bogey on No. 9. He got that shot back on the very next hole and then added a final birdie, his fourth of the day, on No. 18 to reach 12 under. It was a timely tally because now it will be Putnam, and not Viktor Hovland, in Sunday’s final group alongside Keegan Bradley (-13) and 54-hole leader Rickie Fowler (-14). Putnam has been solid in recent weeks, including a T-12 finish last week in Las Vegas, and now will look to capture his second career PGA Tour victory after his maiden triumph at the 2018 Barracuda Championship.

Putnam fired an 8-under 62 Friday at Narashino CC, a score that would have tied the course record had John Huh (61) not gone one shot lower on the same day. Putnam heads into the weekend at 10 under, tied for the lead with Rickie Fowler and one shot clear of Keegan Bradley as he looks to win for the second time on Tour (2018 Barracuda Championship). He tallied four birdies on each side Friday, including three in a row on Nos. 13-15. Putnam credited a hot putter for his recent success, having built upon the momentum of last week’s T-12 finish in Las Vegas. It’s actually been a solid few months for the veteran, as Putnam has finished outside the top 30 just once in his last seven starts dating back to the 3M Open in July. That includes a T-5 result at the first playoff event, and it’s likely he’ll continue that streak this week in Narita as he looks to match Kim’s feat last week of going bogey-free en route to victory.

Putnam went out early in the morning in some chilly conditions but battled his way to the top of the board. “The course is playing tough in the morning. It was really cold. Felt like a winter day and breezy. I’m from Tacoma, Washington, so I’m kind of used to the cold weather. It was fine for me.” A hot putter certainly helped his case as he walked off the course gaining 3.6 strokes putting (2nd) despite a three-jack bogey at the ninth which was one of just two blemishes on his card. It can’t be overlooked that he also pelted 16 GIR. If this lead holds then it would go in the books as his first time posting a first-round lead or co-lead on the PGA TOUR.

The Pepperdine product started the week at 87th in the FedExCup race, needing to jump 17 spots to play his way into next week’s BMW Championship. He accomplished that, and more, with four straight sub-70 rounds at TPC Southwind. It was a steady diet of pars that got the job done this week. Putnam ranked just T31 in total birdies (16) but still managed a T5 finish thanks to just five bogeys on his card all week (and no big numbers). This will be Putnam’s tenth top-5 finish on the PGA TOUR and second at TPC Southwind (solo second at the 2018 St. Jude Classic).