DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Tom Lehman might finally get an elusive senior victory in Iowa after so many close calls.

Lehman shot a 7-under 65 on Saturday to take a two-shot lead into the final round of the PGA Tour Champions’ Principal Charity Classic.

Lehman eagled the par-5 eighth and played a 10-hole stretch in 7 under before dropping a stroke on the par-4 18th. He had a 13-under 131 total, the best two-round score at Wakonda Club.

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From neighboring Minnesota, Lehman has finished in the top 10 in each of his first six appearances in Iowa, but the 1996 British Open champion has never won the event.

”I made my share of putts. Made some longer putts I wasn’t expecting, kept the ball in the fairway (and) did a lot of things right,” Lehman said.

First-round leader Bernhard Langer had a 69 to fall into a tie for second with Glen Day (68), Woody Austin (68) and Scott Parel (66).

The conditions were warm but uncharacteristically calm, which dried out the course ..

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) Such is the stature of century-old Shinnecock Hills that it seems everyone can’t wait for the U.S. Open.

”Shinnecock looks epic,” Russell Knox said after he qualified.

Phil Mickelson has been critical at times for how the USGA prepares a golf course for what it calls the ”ultimate test.” He was runner-up at Shinnecock Hills in 2004, when only three players broke par on the weekend, none on Sunday. Asked if it was unfair, Mickelson said that day, ”I played some of the best golf of my life and still couldn’t shoot par. So you tell me.”

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He has been back to the Long Island gem twice in recent weeks and was raving about it.

”I think it’s the greatest setup I’ve ever seen in a U.S. Open,” he said.

No one is more excited about a return to Shinnecock Hills than the USGA, which has tradition on its side for the 118th U.S. Open championship. As much as it tries to present the ultimate test, lately it has seemed more like a trivia quiz.

Tw..

It's hard to find a golfer in the top 50 on the World Ranking who hasn't suffered at some point from an injury. Why? It isn't easy to explain

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) The U.S. Open prefers to be looked upon as the ultimate test in golf, which can be an invitation for trouble.

Mike Davis knows that as well as anyone.

He was at Shinnecock Hills early Sunday morning in 2004 – two years before he took over setting up U.S. Open golf courses – when word began spreading that the green on the par-3 seventh hole was unplayable. Davis couldn’t immediately contact the USGA president, Walker Driver, or the man in charge of setup, Tom Meeks. So he walked onto the green, removed the flag and suspended play.

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Before long, officials had no option but to put a light spray of water on the green, at first between groups, gradually with less frequency.

The U.S. Open returns to Shinnecock Hills, and it brings back as many memories of No. 7 as Retief Goosen one-putting his way to victory over Phil Mickelson.

Davis, now the chief executive of the USGA, brought it up before anyone could ask him about it.

”You saw som..

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) A capsule look at the four previous U.S. Open golf championships held at Shinnecock Hills:

Year: 1986

Winner: James Foulis.

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Score: 152.

Margin: 3 shots.

Runner-up: Horace Rawlins.

Prize: $150.

Summary: James Foulis of Scotland won the second U.S. Open as golf was just starting in America. He shot a 74 in the final round to break out of a six-way tie for the lead on a Shinnecock Hills course that was only 4,423 yards. There were 35 players in the field, and only 28 finished the 36-hole championship. Most memorable about this U.S. Open was a petition several players signed in support of John Shippen, an African-American, and Oscar Bunn, a Native American. Shippen, a caddie at Shinnecock, was tied for the lead after the first round and still in the mix until taking 11 on the 13th hole. He tied for sixth. Rawlins won the inaugural U.S. Open a year earlier at Newport.

Notable: Shinnecock Hills, one of the five founding golf clubs o..

Rickie Fowler's pursuit of a first major championship will continue next week at the U.S. Open. For now, he's content celebrating one of life's major milestones.
The World's seventh-ranked golfer proposed to girlfriend Allison Stokke on Friday, and sorry, ladies, but she said yes. After all, it's Rickie Fowler. And has a beach proposal ever not worked?
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Well done, Rickie. Both for the location and springing for a rock the size of a golf ball:
FacebookPinterestFowler will be one of the favorites to win the U.S. Open when he tees it up on Thursday at Shinnecock Hills. He will play the first two rounds with Hideki Matsuyama and Marc Leishman.
The four-time PGA Tour winner and Stokke, a professional pole vaulter and model, were first seen in public together last April at a motocross race. Stokke shared the news on Instagram as well.
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Congrats to the happy couple.
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Dustin Johnson wants to sharpen his game for the U.S. Open. Moving back to No. 1 in the world would just be a nice bonus because the only way he can do that before Shinnecock Hills is by winning the St. Jude Classic.

Johnson knows what he wants.

”I just want to win,” Johnson said.

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Johnson shot 7-under 63 for his lowest round this year and grabbed a one-stroke lead Friday after 36 holes at the St. Jude Classic. He had four of his seven birdies and an eagle on his back nine for a 29 and finished with a 10-under 130 total.

Ryan Blaum and Andrew Putnam each shot 64 and were tied second, and C.T. Pan (65) and Wesley Bryan (66) followed at 8 under.

Brandt Snedeker shot his best round this year with a 62 that was one stroke off the course record. He was at 7 under.

Irishman Seamus Power, who came in with a one-stroke lead, shot a 69 to reach 6 under. Defending U.S. Open champ Brooks Koepka (69) was at 5 under, and Phil Mickelson (70) was ..

SCARSDALE, N.Y. (AP) Lilia Vu and Kristen Gillman led the United States to a 4-2 lead over Britain and Ireland in the Curtis Cup on Friday at Quaker Ridge.

Vu and Gillman beat Alice Hewson and Lily May Humphreys 4 and 3 in the morning four-ball matches, then joined other partners in the afternoon foursomes for two more victories. Vu and Jennifer Kupcho edged Hewson and India Clyburn 2 up; and Gillman and Alabama teammate Lauren Stephenson beat Paula Grant and Humphreys 4 and 2.

”We know each other’s games really well and have similar games,” Stephenson said about Gillman. ”We hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens and give ourselves a lot of chances. That makes us a very successful team in alternate shot. We only had one bogey and it was a three-putt.”

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Olivia Mehaffey and Sophie Lamb earned 1 1/2 points for Britain and Ireland. They halved with Kupcho and 15-year-old Lucy Li in the morning, and beat Mariel Galdiano and Andrea Lee 3 and 2.

Also in the mo..

Jennifer Kupcho and Lilia Vu talk after Friday's action in the 2018 Curtis Cup from Quaker Ridge Golf Club, in Scarsdale, N.Y.

Olivia Mahaffey and Sophie Lamb talk after Friday's action in the 2018 Curtis Cup from Quaker Ridge Golf Club, in Scarsdale, N.Y.