AVONDALE, La. – Jonas Blixt and Cameron Smith posted a 10-under 62 in Friday’s four-ball format to move into the lead at the Zurich Classic, which is in its first year of a new team format.

Blixt and Smith have a two-day total of 15-under 129 to lead by one over Patrick Reed and Patrick Cantlay. The K.J Choi-Charlie Wi and Troy Merritt-Robert Streb pairings are tied for third at 13-under.

The four-ball format has each member of a two-man team playing his own ball throughout a round, with only the best score on each hole recorded. The same format will be used Sunday. The first and third rounds have an alternate-shot format.

“Jonas is playing really well at the moment,” Smith said. “You know he’s going to make a birdie or par, so I’m just playing aggressive and letting it all fall into play.”

The change from the alternate-shot approach produced much lower scores Friday, even as heavy winds impacted the TPC Louisiana course.

The Blixt-Smith, Reed-Cantlay and Merritt-Streb duos were among five teams to post a 62. Tyrone Van Aswegen and Retief Goosen teamed up for a 60 to get to 11-under for the tournament.

“We just blended so well today,” Van Aswegen said. “I made birdie and then he made birdie. It was great. It was a privilege out there.”

Those extraordinary low scores caused the two first-round leaders to fall off the pace a bit.

Jordan Spieth and Ryan Palmer had posted a 66 in the first round to share the lead with the Ryan Ruffels-Kyle Stanley duo. Both teams posted a 66 again Friday and fell into a six-way tie for fifth place.

With strong winds expected again as the tournament returns to alternate shots, the scores likely won’t be nearly as favourable.

“Certainly off of (Thursday’s) round, we know that we can have success in that format,” Spieth said. “We also know we need to set expectations a bit different. We had prime scoring conditions yesterday, and tomorrow it will be a bit like today or even more challenging. Anything under par in alternate-shot is a great score tomorrow.”

The Zurich Classic was a standard individual tournament until changing formats this year. This marks the PGA Tour’s first official team event since the 1981 Disney Classic.

Two of the higher-profile teams in this new format weren’t able to advance to Saturday’s third round. Justin Rose and Henrik Stetson ended up at 6-under to miss the cut by one shot. Jason Day and Rickie Fowler also missed the cut at 5-under.

“I think the format is a unique format,” Day said. “Missing the cut is not what we wanted, but walking away from this, I think they’re heading in the right direction with regards to a different format that adds more flavour to the PGA Tour.”

Canadian pair Graham DeLaet and David Hearn—teammates at the 2016 Rio Olympics—sit T23 at 7-under par

AVONDALE, La. – The first team event on the PGA Tour in 36 years has produced the first penalty for slow play since 1995.

PGA Tour officials say Miguel Angel Carballo and Brian Campbell were penalized one shot on the 14th hole of the opening round at the Zurich Classic for their second bad time. They opened with a 74 in foursomes.

They were on the clock when Carballo went over his allotted time on the 12th hole. Then, Campbell had a bad time on the 14th hole.

Typically, a player receives a warning after the first bad time and a one-shot penalty after his second. Because they were a team in foursomes, however, rules specify that a “player” includes his partners.

Until Thursday, the last time a PGA Tour player was penalized one shot for pace of play was Glen Day in the third round of the 1995 Honda Classic.

AVONDALE, La. – Jordan Spieth showed off his stellar short game. Ryan Palmer contributed momentum-saving par putts. They turned out to be quite the team Thursday in the Zurich Classic, the first official team event on the PGA Tour in 36 years.

Spieth hit a bump-and-run from 100 feet to a front pin to set up birdie on the par-5 11th, chipped in for birdie on the 14th and closed out their foursomes round with a 15-foot birdie for a 6-under 66 to share the lead with 18-year-old Ryan Ruffels and Kyle Stanley.

Nick Watney made a 60-foot eagle putt from well off the green at the par-5 18th as he and Charley Hoffman were among four teams at 67.

Even in the tough alternate-shot format, benign conditions at the TPC Louisiana allowed for good scoring with 43 of the 80 teams breaking par, and 18 teams in the 60s.

“Alternate-shot format with these conditions, anything 3 under or so was a solid score,” Spieth said. “Grab a few extra and be in pole position , it’s fantastic. We’re just going to try and have as much fun as we had today.”

The partnership of Spieth and Palmer, close friends who live in Dallas, took root late last year when Palmer’s caddie, James Edmondson, said they would have to play together if Edmondson beat Spieth in a friendly match. He got Spieth on the last hole, and Spieth decided to add the Zurich Classic to his schedule.

Spieth said his partner didn’t miss a shot over the first 10 holes, and Palmer pitched in with key putts. They hit only two of the last seven greens in regulation and still played that stretch in 3 under par.

“It’s great watching his short game,” Palmer said. “It’s one of the best in the world. And when the putter is rolling, it makes it not has hard to make those 5-footers. We both had our fair share, and we poured them in.”

Palmer made a 6-foot par putt on the 13th hole and, after Spieth chipped in on the 14th, Palmer made a 12-foot par putt on the 15th.

Ruffels, who turns 19 on Saturday, was an amateur in Australia when he played with Stanley at the Australian Masters. They got along well, are now represented by the same management firm and decided to play together in New Orleans.

Ruffels had never played foursomes until nine holes of practice on Tuesday, but it sure didn’t show. Starting on the back nine, they began the round with four straight birdies, with Stanley making three of those putts.

“We both keep it in play, and we both hit it quite long, and we gave ourselves a lot of opportunities,” Ruffels said. “So all it took was someone to start rolling a few putts in, like we both did.”

Some teams getting most of the attention didn’t fare too well.

Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson, the gold and silver medallists at the Olympics last summer in Rio, played the par 5s in 2 over and opened with a 72. Jason Day and Rickie Fowler, who have a corporate relationship with Zurich, could only manage a 71.

The cut will be made after Friday fourballs to the top 35 teams and ties. The winners will each get credit for a PGA Tour victory, just as it was in 1981 at the Walt Disney World National Team Championship in 1981, the most recent official team event.

Brian Stuard, who won the Zurich Classic last year on his own, has Chris Stroud as a teammate. They had a chance to tie for the lead on their final hole, the par-3 ninth, until Stuard hit into the water. He made a 20-foot putt to at least escape with bogey and a 68.

Also at 68 were Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly, a pair of 50-year-olds from Wisconsin who still have full PGA Tour status. They also had a chance to join the leaders until Kelly missed a 3-foot par putt on the 17th.

Brooks Koepka and his younger brother, Chase, who received a sponsor exemption, were among those at 69.

Spieth headed to the practice range after the round, and then the two-time major champion and Palmer had plans Thursday night. New Orleans coach Sean Payton invited them to the Saints’ team room for the NFL draft.

Both are Cowboys fans, but Palmer is friends with the coach and played the pro-am with Payton and quarterback Drew Brees.

“It’ll be really cool just kind of sitting in the back and watching that process take shape,” Spieth said. “I’ve always wondered what it’s like.”

While it’s often said that hard work and dedication pays off, there’s another saying that closely correlates which suggests that patience is a virtue – and for 29-year-old Adam Hadwin, his breakthrough success this year on the PGA TOUR serves as a prime example.

After turning pro in 2009, Hadwin – who was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan and raised in Abbotsford, British Columbia – made a successful progression from the Vancouver Golf Tour to the Web.com Tour and onto the PGA TOUR by the 2014-2015 season.

While his first two seasons on the PGA TOUR have been respectable, the University of Louisville alum has elevated his game to another level this year.

“My observation is he is much more patient and composed than in past years.  That comes from maturity and from having a good team around him.  And he’s putting incredibly well which can’t hurt,” noted Canadian men’s national team head coach, Derek Ingram.

“It takes so much longer on the men’s side on average.  It is just so deep and difficult.  29 is not old; but probably closer to the norm,” Ingram added.

It was in January at the CareerBuilder Challenge when the former Canadian national team member garnered the attention of the entire golfing world by carding a 59 – only the ninth sub-60 round in PGA TOUR history.

In a sport where so much is played between the ears, the sub-60 round undoubtedly provided the talented 5 foot 9 inch Canadian golfer with a higher level of self-belief and confidence which translated nicely to his first career PGA win at the Valspar Championship.

After claiming the title last month and over US$1.13 million for his efforts, Hadwin spoke candidly about his journey as well as the dedication and patience required along the way.

“I can’t say that I’ve been through a lot, but I’ve worked my butt off to get here,” pointed out Hadwin, who married his longtime girlfriend, Jessica, and bought a house within three weeks of his first PGA victory.

“I’ve slowly improved each and every year. I’ve won at every TOUR level that I’ve been on – and now I can call myself a PGA TOUR winner.”

On a recent Golf Canada conference call, Hadwin also spoke about what has contributed to his breakthrough win in 2017.

“What’s made me successful this year is that I stay aggressive, but I’m conservatively aggressive.  I think I’ve done a great job especially on par fives this year,” he said.

“When it calls for it and when it warrants it, I’m aggressive. When I feel comfortable with the shot, I’m aggressive.  Otherwise, I just lay off.”

Given his outstanding start to 2017, perhaps finishing in a tie for 36^th spot was not the result he was hoping for in his recent Masters debut.

Still, as the only Canadian to play into the weekend at Augusta National, there were plenty of reasons for Hadwin to be optimistic – including a 2 under par final round where he posted seven birdies.

Besides striving for the opportunity to showcase his “A” game at the other majors this year, the former national team member also has his sights set on securing a spot on the International Team for the Presidents Cup.

“I think it’s kind of firmly planted in there as a goal for the rest of the year.  I have September 4^th marked on my calendar – that’s the last day to qualify. I want to make sure that I’m in the top 10… I don’t want to rely on a captain’s pick,” Hadwin pointed out.

“It would be the icing on the cake of a great year.  If I can stay inside the top ten, if not move up further, it would be a tremendous honour to represent Canada on such an international stage,” he added.

With six Canadians competing on the PGA TOUR and many talented prospects in the pipeline, Hadwin acknowledges that Canadian golf fans have plenty of reason to be optimistic.

“We’ve got guys playing well on the Web.com Tour and are ready to take that next step; and guys in behind that are moving up in to the Web.com Tour… I think Canadian golf is in great hands and I think it’s just going to continue to get better,” noted Hadwin.

Ingram acknowledges the achievements of 2003 Masters champion Mike Weir combined with the recent success of the five full-time Canadians on the PGA TOUR does a lot to inspire the younger golfers in the pipeline.

“Especially when guys like Mac (Hughes), Nick (Taylor) and Adam – who were all national team athletes – break through, it has deepened the belief in others that are up and coming,” noted the head coach of the Canadian men’s national squad.

Specifically on Hadwin’s stellar start to 2017, Ingram says it just serves as a simple reminder that with a little bit of patience, hard work does indeed pay off.

“Adam has really matured and grown as a person and player and his hard work and dedication over the years has paid off,” he said.

“Lots of the guys on the national team know Adam and like him.  They love seeing another Canuck play great; and more and more players are starting to realize that they can also do it.”

SAN ANTONIO – Kevin Chappell made an 8-foot putt on the final hole to win the Valero Texas Open by one stroke on Sunday.

Chappell had a 4-under 68 in the final round to finish at 12 under for the tournament, edging Brooks Koepka at TPC San Antonio to earn his first PGA Tour victory in his 180th career start.

“A big relief,” the 30-year-old Chappell said. “There’s been quite the monkey on my back for some time now about getting that first win. And to take that off and not have to answer those questions anymore is nice.”

Koepka, a member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team last year, was looking for his second PGA Tour win. He had the best round of the day at 7-under 65. Before Chappell came down the 18th hole, Koepka had birdied the hole with a 3-foot putt to tie him.

“It’s hard to win out here – everybody knows that,” Koepka said. “I’m knocking on the door to get my second win. It’s nice for Kevin to get his first win. That’s pretty cool.”

Second-round co-leader Tony Finau got in a position to tie Koepka when he birdied four of five holes on the back nine. But his par-bogey finish left him to settle for a final-round 69 and a third-place tie with Kevin Tway (69) at 9-under.

Australian Aaron Baddeley fired 68 to finish fourth at 8 under.

Brian Gay (70), Sung Kang (68), Ryan Palmer (71) and Cameron Smith (71) were tied for sixth at 7-under, five shots behind Chappell.

Nick Taylor (74) of Abbotsford, B.C. was the top Canadian. He finished 2 under in a tie for 22nd place. Ottawa’s Brad Fritsch tied for 69th and Adam Hadwin, also of Abbotsford, tied for 72nd.

Koepka, trailing Chappell by a shot coming up the 18th, took a 3-metal out of his bag and considered taking a crack at reaching the 606-yard par-5 in two. But he had 293 yards left with a slight uphill shot into the wind with a creek fronting the green.

“I really wanted to go for it – I really wanted to,” Koepka said. “But my caddy was kind of pulling the reins back and he wanted me to lay up, and it was probably a good thing that we did.”

He put the club back in his bag and laid up to create a 90-wedge approach. He stuck that to about three feet and made the birdie to go into the clubhouse tied with Chappell.

Chappell had almost the same distance for his approach on 18, and he landed it past the hole to set up the winning putt.

“I wouldn’t want it any other way,” said Chappell, a Californian who had been runner-up six times in his career. “Brooks kept me honest out there today. He made me had to do it the right way. There wasn’t any question I was going to make 4 (birdie) and win the golf tournament.”

Finau closed with birdies on four of five holes coming to the 17th. He was just a shot behind Chappell’s lead, but he parred there and drove next to a cactus bush on the 18th. He punched out to the fairway, removed cactus needles from his leg, then put his approach into the creek. He took a penalty drop, and his bogey ended his chances.

Chappell clung to a one-shot lead after Koepka birdied No. 11 with a 23-foot putt and another one at the next hole putting inside seven feet.

Koepka let a scoring opportunity get away at the 14th, a reachable par-5 at 567 yards. He tagged a 328-yard drive, but he found the rough and failed to get to the green with his second shot, and then missed a 4-foot birdie putt.

“It was an awkward little putt,” Koepka said. “I probably didn’t read enough break. It was probably the worst putt I hit all week and the worst I’ve hit in a long time.”

About 45 minutes later, Chappell came to the hole and sent his second shot 221 yards, about pin high on the green. Even though he lipped out the 11-foot eagle, his tap-in birdie gave him two strokes over Koepka.

Chappell gave Koepka new life when he bogeyed from a greenside bunker at the 15th, and it took until the 18th for Koepka to finally equalize.

Gay, who made it into the field thanks to a 27-event medical exemption due to thumb surgery, earned enough money to make good on the exemption and regain full status on the Tour.

Chappell had a one-shot advantage over first-round leader Branden Grace and John Huh entering the day, the first time he has led after 54 holes on the PGA Tour. Koepka, who won two years back at Phoenix, was four back and had 10 players between him and the lead.

But Koepka made the charge with birdies on his opening two holes, then a streak of three more starting with a 20-foot birdie putt at No. 6. He followed with birdie of almost 40 feet on the seventh green and knocked in one from 10 feet at the eighth to tie Chappell.

But while Chappell stuck his tee shot on the 189-yard seventh inside five feet and made birdie to get to 10-under, Koepka would make bogey even after hitting the green at the tough par-4 ninth. He left his putt from 42 feet well short and missed the 9-foot par putt he had remaining.

It gave Chappell a two-shot lead with nine holes to play.

SAN ANTONIO – Kevin Chappell found his swing late and moved a step closer to his first PGA Tour win.

Chappell birdied three of his final five holes and finished with a 1-under 71 on Saturday, giving him a one-stroke lead after three rounds of the Valero Texas Open. He is 8-under through 54 holes. He was runnerup six years ago in the event and is ahead of first-round leader Branden Grace, who rallied with 2-under 70, and John Huh. After an eagle-birdie finish, Huh shot 71.

“It was about finding a rhythm,” Chappell said. “I knew when I found it, I could extend it. You can get it going on the finishing stretch.”

Ryan Palmer, a West Texas native who cut through winds as strong as 25 mph, had the round of the day with 4-under 68. He’s joined at 6-under by second round co-leaders Bud Cauley (74) and Tony Finau (74), Sweden’s Carl Pettersson (71), 2013 Texas Open champ Martin Laird (71), Kevin Tway (72) and Australian Cameron Smith (73).

Chappell tied for seventh with Rory McIlroy at the Masters this month, and he got his late charge going Saturday after leaving an eagle putt short at the par-5 14th. He tapped in to gain a stroke, and he made good two holes later with a 12-foot birdie. He chipped to two feet on the downwind, 318-yard 17th and had another tap-in birdie.

Chappell, 30, flirted with trouble on the 18th when his second shot rolled next to a brook, but he had enough room for a full swing and reached the green to set up a 2-putt par.

“I knew my game was in a good place,” said Chappell, who took the week off after Augusta to celebrate the second birthday of his oldest son, Wyatt. “I had played some really good rounds of golf.”

Grace lost his early tournament lead with a 2-over 73 in the second round. But the South African rallied Saturday and had a lead until a bogey at No. 15.

“It was pretty irritating out there,” Grace said. “Pars out there are good. Just have to be patient.”

Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., shot 71 for a 4-under total. Ottawa’s Brad Fritsch (76) is 3 over and Adam Hadwin (82), also of Abbotsford, is 8 over.

Gusts that blew past 20 mph kept scores high – there were 14 scores below par Saturday. On Friday 49 rounds were under par, and 69 sub-par scores were recorded Thursday.

As notable as Palmer’s round was in the windy conditions, it fits with the Texans’ profile at this course. Since the tournament moved to TPC San Antonio’s Greg Norman-designed Oaks Course seven years ago, Palmer’s got three top-10 finishes including his best of a fourth-place tie last year.

“As hard as it was blowing today, and as exposed as this course can be, it made for a challenging day,” he said. “Fortunately, I’ve had success out here when it’s blowing this way. I knew what to expect. I stayed patient and made a lot of putts.”

With the wind at his back, he drove the 318-yard 17th hole but was faced with a 93-foot eagle putt. He sank a 56-foot putt to birdie earlier at No. 6, so he 2-putted for the birdie at 17 and ran in another birdie at 18.

Palmer, originally from Amarillo, hasn’t won since Hawaii in 2010.

“The bomb at No. 6 went in like it was a 2-footer,” Palmer said. I felt like I could take it and run with it. You make a putt like that and it can get your momentum going.“

With these conditions, it didn’t take long for the second-round leaders to back up. Cauley bogeyed the first hole, and his co-leader Finau parred until bogey at No. 7 and a double bogey on the next hole after he was chipping for birdie from right in front of the green.

Cauley later was penalized a stroke when he double-chipped at No. 12 – he hit the ball a second time on the follow through of his greenside chip. He putted from 13 feet to save bogey.

SAN ANTONIO – Tony Finau arrived at the 18th tee with a chance at a course record, but his approach splashed in the water and his bogey dropped him into a second-round tie for the lead with Bud Cauley at the Valero Texas Open on Friday.

A birdie at the par-5 final hole would have given Finau a share of the course record, but he settled for a 7-under 65 and is tied with Cauley at 8 under through 36 holes at TPC San Antonio.

Ian Poulter, Europe’s Ryder Cup star, missed the cut and lost his fully exempt status on the PGA Tour. He fell about $30,000 short of the required earnings to keep his status through a medical exemption because of a foot injury last year.

Cauley, a former NCAA standout at Alabama who’s yet to win through six seasons as a pro, had a lead at the halfway point after his 66 in the morning.

Cauley and Finau, winner last year at the Puerto Rico Open, both lead by one over 23-year-old Australian Cameron Smith, Kevin Chappell, Robby Shelton and veteran 1994 Texas Open winner Bob Estes.

Smith shared low round with Finau at 65, Chappell shot 68, Shelton had a 69, and 51-year-old Estes had a 69.

John Huh is 6 under after a 71, and he’s joined by Kevin Tway (68) and Jonathan Randolph (70).

Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., is the top Canadian at 3 under. Abbotsford’s Adam Hadwin is 2 under while Ottawa’s Brad Fritsch is 1 under. David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., missed the cut at 9 over.

There are seven players at 5 under, including first-round leader Branden Grace (73) and former Texas Open champs Jimmy Walker (69) and Martin Laird (67).

Walker, winner of the PGA Championship last summer, said he’ll start treatment for Lyme disease after this event. It may keep him from playing at New Orleans next week.

Finau holed a wedge shot from 105 yards for eagle on No. 11. A 22-foot birdie putt at 16 and a tap-in birdie on the next hole had him looking at tying the course record.

After his approach landed in shallow water in the creek fronting the 18th green, Finau played it out and chipped it past the green, rather than take the penalty drop.

“I did the same thing yesterday after going for the green (in two),” Finau said. “About half of the ball was out of the water. I got up-and-down yesterday. I know lightning doesn’t always strike twice.”

After a par at the first, Cauley’s early birdie streak included a 38-foot putt at 2. He avoided bogey all day, including a near 3-putt by sinking a 12-footer at No. 17.

“Putting saved me a lot today,” Cauley said, “and the putt (to save par) at 17 was huge. It was windy, and I knew I was going to miss some greens. When I did, I was able to leave it in a relatively easy spot and get up and down.”

Cauley is coming off his second top 10 of the year, a ninth place at RBC Heritage after a first-round 63 at Hilton Head.

After opening the tournament with even-par 72 Thursday, Smith jumped 68 spots on the leaderboard and finished with eagle-birdie. The eagle was a 90-yard blast from a bunker. He also chipped in from off the green for three birdies.

“Everything I hit, whether it was a rubbish shot or a good shot, kind of went close to the hole,” Smith said.

Cauley played through a medical exemption to keep his Tour card last year after shoulder surgery. It didn’t work for Poulter, the Englishman who’s played in five memorable Ryder Cup events for Europe.

“I’m healthy,” Poulter said. “I’m still going to be able to play golf. It doesn’t mean to say that the clubs are going to go away and you’re never going to see me again.”

Besides Poulter, notables missing the cut included U.S. Amateur champ Curtis Luck (73-72 in his pro debut), Billy Horschel (73-74), Luke Donald (76-72), Zach Johnson (74-74) and Keegan Bradley (77-74).

Defending champion Charley Hoffman, who shared the lead at the halfway point of the Masters this month, birdied his 17th hole to get to 1 under for the tournament and one shot inside the cut number.

South African Branden Grace had a 6-under 66 and leads by a stroke after the opening round of the Valero Texas Open on Thursday.

Grace had a season-best 11th-place finish last week in defense of his RBC Heritage title. He leads the 5-under 67s of Steven Alker, Stewart Cink, John Huh and Will MacKenzie at TPC San Antonio. Alker, a journeyman New Zealander who played in the final group of the day, birdied the final three holes.

There are 13 players packed two shots back at 4 under. That includes 2010 U.S. Open champion Graham McDowell and 2016 U.S. Ryder Cup member Brooks Koepka.

Two weeks ago, Grace was over par but still survived the cut at the Masters. He played the weekend in 3 under, and his best scorecard last week at Hilton Head was 68. The 66 on Thursday was his best round since Hawaii in January.

“That’s the one round I was waiting for,” Grace said. “I’ve been shooting the 69s and 70s, but not getting that one low round. This is nice.”

His day took off with three consecutive birdies mid-round, including a 22-foot putt at the ninth after missing his only fairway of the day.

It almost wasn’t as nice for McDowell, who’s won twice on the PGA Tour since his U.S. Open title at Pebble Beach seven years ago.

“I made bogey at 11 from the middle of the fairway, (and) I ripped it down the middle of the 12th fairway right in the middle of a divot and duffed it out short of the green and made bogey there,” he said.

“To recover after that with a great birdie at 13 and a nice up-and-down at 14 for birdie, it was nice to bounce back.”

Ian Poulter needs to at least make the cut to keep his PGA Tour card for the remainder of the season. That’s in doubt now – no birdies until his 17th hole and a 75 has him well outside the top 100. He’s playing on a major medical exemption granted after a foot injury caused him to miss most of last season, and he needs to earn $30,624 before the exemption ends this week.

Patrick Reed, who was born in San Antonio and was runner-up here a year ago, is three shots out of the lead after a 69. Ryan Moore, Reed’s Ryder Cup teammate and who tied for ninth at Augusta this month, is another shot back with a 70.

Defending champ Charley Hoffman, co-leader at the halfway point at the Masters, shot 71 and sits just outside the top 50.

U.S. Amateur champion Curtis Luck of Australia opened his first round as a pro with three bogeys, but he holed a bunker shot from 75 yards for eagle later in his round to help him to a 1-over 73.

Two days after saying his back was progressing, Tiger Woods has had a fourth back surgery to alleviate pain and is likely to go through another year without playing a major.

Woods said on his website Thursday the operation was done at the Texas Back Institute outside Dallas.

He was in Missouri on Tuesday to announce plans to design a public golf course at Big Cedar Lodge, and Woods even tried hitting a few shots to a par 3. The first one rattled around in the rocks, and the second shot was about 10 feet from the flag.

The announcement on his website said typical recovery from single-level fusion surgery is six months.

“The surgery went well, and I’m optimistic this will relieve my back spasms and pain,” Woods said. “When healed, I look forward to getting back to a normal life, playing with my kids, competing in professional golf and living without the pain I have been battling so long.”

Woods first had back surgery – a microdiscectomy – a week before the 2014 Masters, and he tried to return in three months. He sat out three months at the end of 2014 to let his body fully heal. But after a 2015 season in which he missed the cut in three majors, he had back surgery in September and another one in October.

He went 15 months without competition before returning in December at his Hero World Challenge. Woods missed the cut at Torrey Pines in January, then withdrew from the Dubai Desert Classic on Feb. 3 after opening with a 77, citing back spasms.

And now he’s gone through a fourth surgery.

Questions about the 14-time major champion have shifted from if he will win another major to if he will play another major.

The statement on his website said Woods’ bottom disc in his lower back has severely narrowed, causing sciatica and severe pain in his back and legs. Woods opted for a fourth surgery when more conservative therapy, such as rest and injections, failed to solve anything.

The surgery was described as “anterior lumbar interbody fusion” at the L-5 and S-1 of his spine. It was performed by Richard Guyer of the institute’s Center for Disc Replacement, and involved removing the damaged disc and lifting the collapsed disc space to normal levels.

“After he recovers from surgery, he will gradually begin his rehabilitation until he is completely healed,” Guyer said on the website. “Once that’s accomplished, his workouts will be geared to allowing him to return to competitive golf.”

Guyer said the bottom of the spine is the best place for single-level fusion to occur.

“Some individuals are born with one less vertebrae, which would be similar to someone who had a single-level fusion,” he said.

Woods’ first surgery in 2014 was in Park City, Utah, by neurosurgeon Charles Rich, who also did the second operation. This is the first time Woods has gone to the Texas Back Institute.

Woods was to begin therapy and treatment after several weeks of rest.

He won his 79th PGA Tour event in August 2013 at the Bridgestone Invitational. Three weeks later, he was in contention late in the final round at the Barclays when he dropped to his knees after experiencing what he described as back spasms.

Woods is exempt for life at the Masters and PGA Championship, and until he is 60 at the British Open. He has a 10-year exemption for the U.S. Open from his 2008 victory at Torrey Pines, which was his 14th and last major. He had reconstructive knee surgery a week later.

He has started just 19 events worldwide since that first back surgery, and he has completed 72 holes in just nine of them. His best finish was a tie for 10th in the Wyndham Championship in August 2015, a month before his second back surgery.

With so many injuries and inactivity, Woods now is No. 788 in the world ranking.

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Wesley Bryan rallied to win his home-state RBC Heritage for his first PGA Tour title, closing with a 4-under 67 on Sunday for a one-stroke victory over Luke Donald.

Bryan, a South Carolina native who played college golf for the Gamecocks, was four shots behind entering the day and moved into contention with four consecutive birdies on the front nine. He took the lead with a birdie on the 15th hole and finished at 13-under 271.

Donald shot 68 in his latest close call at Harbour Town Golf Links – it was his fifth second-place finish here since 2009.

The 27-year-old Bryan tapped in for par on the closing, 18th lighthouse hole to make the former trick-shot artist the first South Carolinian to win the state’s lone PGA Tour event.

Ollie Schniederjans, Patrick Cantlay and William McGirt tied for third, two strokes behind Bryan.

Schniederjans shot 68, Cantlay 67 and McGirt 69.

Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., finished in a tie for sixth after a 2-over final round. Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C. tied for 22nd and David Hearn finished in a tie for 59th.

Bryan was largely known as a YouTube sensation, he and brother George IV, another Gamecocks golfer, pulling off often unbelieveable trick shots – like chipping the ball 20 yards to a waiting Bryan brother to belt away before it hits the ground.

There were no tricks to Wesley Bryan’s round this time, the first to win at Harbour Town in his first try since Boo Weekley won the first of his two straight RBC Heritages in 2007.

Bryan got it going with his front-nine run, with birdies on the fourth, fifth, sixth and seven holes. After Bryan moved in front on the 15th, he sweated out three straight two-putt pars.

The 23-year-old Schniederjans, five shots behind when the round began, made it all up and was out front with five front-nine birdies. Competing for his first PGA Tour win at the tricky Pete Dye layout proved too daunting for the inexperienced Schniederjans. He missed makeable birdie tries on the 13th, 14th and 15th, then failed to get in for par after hitting into the bunker on the par-3 17th.

Donald appeared done after driving out of bounds on the second hole and leaving the birdie-able par-5 with a double-bogey seven. Then Donald, a modern-day Harbour master, made five birdies in a 10-hole stretch to tie for the top before Bryan moved in front

Dufner had hoped to channel Master winner Sergio Garcia’s approach of lowering expectations in the final round and let the talent shine through. Dufner was 14 under after a birdie on No. 2, but bogeyed three of the next six holes to fall back. He scrapped back within a shot before his chances ended for good on the 13th hole.

Dufner’s approach landed in the bunker up against the wood facing and he had to chip sideways, remaining in the bunker, before blasting out and taking double bogey.

Dufner plopped his tee shot on the par-3 14th into the water and finished with a 5-over 76 – 12 shots more than his third-round 65 that put him in front through 54 holes.

Just like last week at the Masters, Matt Kuchar used a Sunday run to make a move up the leaderboard.

Kuchar had a 5-under 67 in the final round at Augusta National to finish fourth after starting the day six shots behind. At Harbour Town, Kuchar shot a 64 – the day’s best round – to improve 52 spots and tie for 11th.