WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. (AP) Kelly Kraft is about to find out whether he’s ready to handle the lead entering the weekend for the first time on the PGA Tour.

Kraft shot a 7-under 63 in the second round of A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier on Friday to take a one-stroke edge over first-round leader Webb Simpson and Anirban Lahiri of India.

Kraft posted his career-best round at the Old White TPC. He was at 13-under 127.

Kraft is looking to turn around a season that has included missed cuts in seven of his 10 previous tournaments, including last week at the Quicken Loans National. But he has had some success in West Virginia, where he tied for fifth last year.

”I’ve kind of changed my attitude a little bit starting with last week,” Kraft said. ”I just feel like I’m ready to keep playing good.”

Kraft made four birdies on the front nine and didn’t let a bogey on the par-5 12th hole derail him. He added birdies on the next two holes and took the lead with a six-foot birdie putt o..

DONEGAL, Ireland (AP) Ryan Fox of New Zealand, Matthieu Pavon of France and Dutch golfer Erik van Rooyen shared the lead after the second round of the Irish Open on Friday, while Danny Willett’s return to form catapulted him into contention at Ballyliffin Golf and Country Club.

Willett reached a career-high ranking of ninth after claiming his first major title at the 2016 U.S. Masters, but slumped to 442nd after missing his ninth cut in 12 events at last week’s French Open.

The 30-year-old Englishman added a 2-under 70 to his opening 68 to lie two shots behind Fox (69), Pavon (68) and Van Rooyen (65).

Joakim Lagergren is one off the lead on 7-under, with Willett joined on 6-under by Sam Horsfield and Zander Lombard. Lee Westwood is on 5-under, while tournament host Rory McIlroy is seven off the pace after a disappointing 73.

”It’s been tough to see somebody that good struggle for that amount of time but today was the Danny Willett of old and it’s nice to see,” European Ryder Cup ca..

Are golfers athletes? It's an age-old debate that tends to get very heated, very quickly. On one hand, of course they are! Have you seen Brooks Koepka's biceps? Ever watch Dustin Johnson stroll to the first tee in person? Did you watch Tiger Woods during his prime? These guys aren't pro cornhole players, they are well-oiled machines.
RELATED: Watch Russell Knox come up clutch when asked to repeat his winning putt from Travelers Championship
On the other hand, John Daly plays golf, which could hurt the argument depending on how you view John Daly. Personally, I think the man is a flexible freak of nature that's enjoyed a few beverages in his day, but I could see why some wouldn't consider him an athlete.
Unfortunately, the golfers are athletes argument took a big hit on Friday at the Irish Open when Russell Knox attempted to toss an apple into the rough at Ballyliffin Golf Club. Let's just say he doesn't have the arm of Phil Mickelson:
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This documentary series from the R&A is now in its third season and offers some of more fascinating stories about past Open Championship winners

NEW YORK (AP) Golf.com is reporting that Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods are contemplating a $10 million winner-take-all exhibition match.

The report says Mickelson was hopeful the match would have taken place on July 3 in Las Vegas, except that negotiations with a television network and corporate support could not be worked out in time.

Mickelson says they are working on a different date.

Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, declined to comment on the report.

Woods was involved in made-for-TV exhibitions some 15 years ago. They evolved from singles matches with David Duval and Sergio Garcia to team matches, one of them a mixed team exhibition. Mickelson was part of just one of those matches.

Mickelson playfully hinted at such a match when he and Woods were in the same group at The Players Championship.

While you were slurping down your fifth rocket pop and celebrating America by throwing a bean bag through a hole in a piece of wood until you need Tommy John, Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp play-by-play maestro Roger Hoover was having, and we quote, “one of the worst days I've had in quite some time.” That's because Hoover, during the Jumbo Shrimp's July 4th matchup against the Mobile BayBears, was on the receiving end of a big, fat middle finger from the universe, when a foul ball came straight back into the booth, smashing his laptop to literal pieces in the process. Here's his hilarious call:
Here's the less than hilarious result:
https://twitter.com/Roger_Hoover/status/1014684111401897985
Here's hoping the Jumbo Shrimp step up and comp Hoover a new MacBook, because this guy is nothing if not the employee of the month. Working on the 4th is one thing, but getting your computer killed and still managing to recover in time to call nothing and two on Walsh? Wel..

There's going to be a lot of talk about the potential high-stakes showdown between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson that's causing golf nerds everywhere to lose their minds on Friday. That should be cute, but the only showdown that matters occurred on Thursday night during an NBA Summer League game, of all places.
RELATED: Why Grayson Allen was one of the most important players in college basketball
Sure, that may be a slight exaggeration, but any time Grayson Allen goes full Grayson Allen it's going to turn heads. Add Trae Young, one of college basketball's other more polarizing players last season, into the mix and we've officially got pay-per view material. Allen's Jazz and Young's Hawks faced off in Summer League on Thursday, and early in the third quarter the two met up at the top of the key for a battle of which player will be a bigger bust in the NBA. Allen, as he's prone to do, was actually playing some hard defense, which Young did not tak..

ONEIDA, Wis. (AP) Katherine Kirk hadn’t won a tournament in seven years until capturing last year’s inaugural Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic. Now, she’s back to defend her title and end another slump.

In her last six tournaments, she missed the cut five times and tied for 61st in the other. At last week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, she shot a second-round score of 11-over 83 to miss the cut. It was the worst round of her professional career.

On Thursday, she shot the best round of her career, a 10-under-par 62 to take the first-round lead.

What is it about Thornberry Creek that brings out the best in Kirk?

”It is kind of generous off the tee (and) I’ve never been a very straight driver of the golf ball,” she said with a laugh. ”There’s kind of a human element in there, right? Golf is funny. When you’ve played it as long as I have professionally, you realize that some days are going to be good and some days are going to be bad.”

Kirk wasted no time in picking up from where she l..

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. (AP) Webb Simpson shot a 9-under 61 for a one-stroke lead over Whee Kim after the first round of A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier on Thursday.

Simpson posted his career-best score after shaking off a two-hour weather delay with six holes left in his round.

Kim had back-to-back bogeys on the front nine on the Old White TPC, and then ran off five birdies over a seven-hole stretch. The South Korean had a career-high 10 birdies overall.

Teenager Joaquin Niemann of Chile was another stroke back at 7-under 63 and Kelly Kraft was at 64.

Phil Mickelson shot 66 in his first tournament since the U.S. Open, when he intentionally violated golf rules by hitting a moving ball on the 13th green in the third round. He later apologized.