By Joel Beall
Tyler Duncan made just one bogey in his second-round 66 at the rain-delayed AT&T Byron Nelson. Unfortunately for the 29-year-old, the bogey cost him more than a shot on the scorecard.

Duncan’s approach at the par-4 13th at Trinity Forest sailed to the right of the green on Friday and hit a spectator. A spectator that Duncan holds close to his heart.

“Today I hit my wife in the head on that hole,” he told reporters after Round 2. “Took a big bounce and hit her, I guess.”

Duncan said he was not aware that it was his wife until after the round, meaning he can’t use the incident as an excuse for failing to get up-and-down on the hole. “I had a little mud on the ball, little unfortunate timing there and shot out to the right,” he explained.

The craziest part? This wasn’t Maria’s first golf-related accident.

“Not long after we started dating, she actually got hit in the head by another ball, a random ball from the driving range,” Duncan said. “She’s dodged two hits to the head. I’m sure most people can’t say that.”

Luckily, Duncan said Maria wasn’t hurt. Duncan, who tees off at 6:40 p.m. ET on Saturday, is currently in a tie for second place. His best career finish is a T-5 at the Safeway Open, and a win would double his career earnings. Just spitballin,’ but he might want to set aside some of that cash for an apology gift.

The post PGA Tour player accidentally hits wife in head with errant shot at AT&T Byron Nelson appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Ryan Herrington
Adam Scott’s streak of playing in 67 straight majors, the second longest current run behind just Sergio Garcia, remains in jeopardy after the Aussie failed to qualify for the U.S. Open on Sunday under one of the handful of remaining exempt categories. But it was not for a lack of trying.

Sitting a No. 65 on the World Ranking, Scott, 37, added the AT&T Byron Nelson to his schedule with the knowledge that if he was 60th or better after play ended at Trinity Forest, he would be exempt through sectional qualifying to compete at Shinnecock Hills in June. And while Scott closed strong on Sunday, shooting a bogey-free 65, including a birdie on the final hole, to grab his first top-10 finish in almost a year, he only managed to jump to 61st on the ranking, with Chesson Hadley sitting in 60th.

“I tried to make the most of really favorable conditions today, and I did a pretty good job of it. Just never really got a hot run going,” said Scott, who went 67-65-72-65 for a T-9 finish. “I feel like I struggled on the weekend reading the greens well enough to really get it going, but I think everyone but the leaders did that, too. They’re not the easiest greens to read.”

Scott had been scrambling for the last few weeks to try to earn a way into the field at the U.S. Open, playing in the Wells Fargo Championship and the Players ahead of the Byron Nelson.

All is not lost for Scott. There is another cutoff for players inside the top 60 in the world after the FedEx St. Jude Classic (June 11), just as U.S. Open week begins.

He’ll also be competing at this week’s Fort Worth Invitational and is prepared to play the Memorial and the FedEx St. Jude Classic if needed to earn his trip. He is not, however, scheduled to compete in sectional qualifying.

“I’ll play next week and hopefully play really well, and give myself a bit of cushion so I can take a week or so off and try to prepare the best I can for the U.S. Open,” Scott said.

Scott’s major streak began in 2001 at the Open Championship. During his run, he has one win (2013 Masters), eight top-five finishes, 16 top-10s and just 15 missed cuts.

The post Adam Scott’s consecutive major streak in jeopardy after just missing earning U.S. Open spot appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Alex Myers
Rare is the scenario in which you can confidently say a golfer should win a certain PGA Tour event. The nature of the game is too unpredictable and fields are too deep to expect a victory these days. But if there was ever a week to do that, it’s this one. Jordan Spieth is hands down the class of the field at this week’s AT&T Byron Nelson, which has drawn only five of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking. On top of that, Spieth is one of the few players familiar with the tournament’s new venue, Trinity Forest, a Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw design that’s being hailed as a modern masterpiece.

While we look forward to seeing the a few of the top players take on this track, and we look forward to seeing Spieth finally win the tournament he contended at as a 16-year-old amateur. Kidding. Sort of. Anyway, here’s our fab foursome for this week:

Related: Read the convincing letter that secured 16-year-old Jordan Spieth his first PGA Tour invite

Jordan Spieth: Forget about that ugly quad on 18 at TPC Sawgrass (Although, boy, that was ugly), Spieth has third-place finishes in his two previous starts. Would I bet on him at 4.5-to-1 odds? No. But I’d have to be crazy not to plug him into the lineup this week. Speaking of betting, how about our Supreme Court coming through and opening the door for nationwide legalised gambling?!

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WATCH NOW HOW JORDAN SPIETH PLAYS GOLF AT HOME

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Adam Scott: Amazingly, Scott is not one of the five top-50 golfers in the field (he’s currently No. 65). But he finally may be back on track after switching back to the long putter at the Players and finishing T-11. Besides, at a venue where most players will be unfamiliar with the greens, Scott’s putting disadvantage shouldn’t be as pronounced.

Branden Grace: Photos I’ve seen of Trinity Forest remind me of Chambers Bay. And when I think of Chambers Bay, I think of Grace, who nearly won the U.S. Open there in 2015. Grace also shot 62 at last year’s British Open, so the man knows his way around a links-style course.

Beau Hossler: Like Spieth, Hossler is another Trinity Forest member and he’s got a great chance to pick up a first PGA Tour title after having his maiden victory snagged away by Ian Poulter in Houston last month. When I touted Beau on the Golf Digest Podcast, he was listed at 40-to-1 odds at Westgate Las Vegas Superbook, but now he’s down to 30/1. Either a lot of people are listening to the podcast or Vegas wised up. I’m guessing it’s the latter.

And for more AT&T Byron Nelson talk, a Players Championship recap, and a fun chat with Webb Simpson’s caddy, Paul Tesori, please have a listen to that podcast:

https://soundcloud.com/user-96678684/webb-simpson-caddie-paul-tesori-surviving-tpc-and-tigers-latest-run

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