FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2019 The Boston Globe Sports C3
ByDougFerguson
ASSOCIATEDPRESS
ATLANTA — Xander
Schauffele was six shots behind
before he ever hit a shot Thurs-
day in the new scoringformat
for the Tour Championship.
His goal was to keep his head
down, play good golf and see
where he stood to par at the
end of two days.
The TV cameras following
his every move on the back
nine at East Lake were the first
hint it was going well.
A leaderboard on the 18th
greenconfirmedit.
‘‘I saw I was in first,’’ he said.
‘‘Happywith the day.’’
Schauffele didn’t comeseri-
ouslycloseto a bogey in a 6-un-
der-par 64 that was the best
score of the opening round by
two shots. It was only worth a
share of the leadwithJustin
Thomasand BrooksKoepkain
a Tour Championship where
players started withbetter
scores to par thanothersde-
pendingon theirplacein the
FedEx Cup.
Thomas,who started at 10
underpar and a two-shotlead
as the No. 1 seed,still led de-
spitehaving trouble findingthe
fairway. That was the least of
his problems on the back nine.
He hit pitchingwedge into the
water for doublebogey and
misseda pair of 3-footputts for
a70.
Instead of being six shots
behind Schauffele, who started
at 4 underas the No. 8 seed,
Thomas was tied for the lead.
Koepka,the No. 3 seedwho
started three shots behind,
birdied three of his last four
holesfor a 67 to join them at 10
under.
‘‘It’s weirdon Thursday to
be three back after a couple of
holes,’’ Koepkasaid of the start.
‘‘It’s nice to closethat gap on
Day 1.’’
Rory McIlroy, five shotsbe-
hind at the start as the No. 5
seed, had a 66 and was one
shotbehind at 9 under going
into the secondround.
Over the next three days, it
should look and feel like a nor-
mal tournament.
The score to par is all that
matters in deciding who wins
the FedEx Cup and the $15 mil-
lion prize.And after one day, itwas setting up to be a shootout.
The top five players weresepa-
rated by five shotsat the start,
and that number was at 12
players by the end of the day.
That included Paul Casey,
who felt a new kind of anticipa-tion for a Thursday.
‘‘After five holes,I wanted to
see scores. I never usually care
aboutwhat’s going on after five
holes,’’ said Casey, who shot 66.
He started eight shots behind
as the No. 16 seed and cut that
marginin half after one round.
The concern wasthat
Thomas,who won last weekat
Medinah,mightpost another
low scoreand builda huge
lead.
It didn’t work out that way.
‘‘We’ve got a golf event now,’’
Casey said.‘‘This is kindof
cool.Looks like it’s working.’’
There werea few othermo-
mentsthat indicated this
Thursday was different from all
othersin golf.
Thomasmade the turn at 1
under, and as the walking scor-
er brought the sign across the
road and onto the 10th tee, one
fan was shocked to see him at
11 underuntilhe said,‘‘That’sright— he started at 10 under.’’
Schauffele was at 10 under
whenhe approachedthe 18th
greento facea 6-footbirdie
putt.
‘‘I had a putt for 59 on the
last hole,’’ he said witha smile.
‘‘That’s what [Matt] Kuchar
toldme. I looked at him the
sameway. Got it.’’
PatrickCantlay, the No. 2
seed who began two shots be-
hind, shared the leadbriefly
untiltwobogeysoverthelast
five holes for a 70. It wasn’t a
good day, yet he still was only
two shotsbehind.
Thomasmisseda 3-foot par
putt on No. 12. On the par-3
15th, which played 60 yards
shorter than usual, his wedge
was right all the way and found
the water. And on the 17th, he
hit wedge to 3 feet only to see
his birdieputt spin 270 degrees
aroundand out of the cup.
He salvaged the day with agood drive — only his sixth fair-
way of the round — that set up
a two-putt birdie.
‘‘It’s fine,’’ Thomassaid. ‘‘I’m
tied for the lead.’’
Schauffele won the Tour
Championship two years ago in
a situationthat led to this
change in format. FedEx Cup
points accruedduringthe regu-
lar seasonand quadrupledin
the postseason werereset to
give everyonea chance.The top
five players only had to win the
tournamentto capture the Fed-
Ex Cup,and oddsof winning
the bonus were higher as the
position in the standings got
lower.
Schauffele, a rookie in 2017,
was the No. 26 seedwhenhe
wonthe tournament. The
FedEx Cup went to Thomas,
who was the No. 2 seed and fin-
ished one shot behind.
There were two winners
that day and mixed emotions.
Thomas had never beenso irri-
tated winning$10 million.
Now, the reward for a good
season and two playoff events
is a lower score underpar to
start the Tour Championship,
and the lowest score to par at
the end of the weekwins$15
million.
‘‘I thinkeveryone needed
help from J.T.,’’ said Schauffele.
‘‘Butit looksto be a good
tournamentso far.’’Leaders after the first round at East Lake Golf Club:
123456789 OUT 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 IN TOT
YARDS469 197 391 479 442 525481 455 235 3674 424 214 389 440 520 211 454 430590 3672 7346
PAR4 3444544335 43444344535 70
X.Schauffele^433434443323244334453264
Brooks Koepka^434335444345344423443367
Justin Thomas^424454443344354354443670TourChampionshipleadercards
Eagle or betterBirdie BogeyDoublebogey or worseChung was not arrested at
that time,and followinga po-
lice investigation,information
was referred to the county at-
torney’s office,whichmade
the decision to indict Chung
“baseduponits determination
that there was probable cause
to believe that” he had com-
mitted a crime,Livernois said.
Keith Cormier, a prosecutor
with the county attorney’s of-
fice, said Thursday an incident
report regardingthe allegation
Chung faceswas not beingre-
leasedat this time.
“It is an active investiga-
tion,” he said in a brief tele-
phoneinterview.
Chung bought the four-bed-
roomColonialon a 1.25-acre
parcel in May 2018for $1.1
million, according to property
records.
A Patriots second-round
draft pick in 2009, Chung has
developed into one of their
most versatile and important
players on defense. He has
started 78 of 80 games over
the last five seasons, and start-
ed in all four of the Patriots’re-
cent SuperBowl appearances.
The team restructured
Chung’s contract in April to
give him a pay raise from $2.4
millionto $6 millionfor the
coming season. He is under
contract throughthe 2021sea-
son.
Chung was not on the side-
lines for Thursday night’s pre-
season gameagainst Carolina
at Gillette Stadium. He has not
played in any preseasongames
this monthas he returnsfromuCHUNG
ContinuedfromPageA1offseasonshouldersurgery,
but he wasexpected to be
ready for the Patriots’ regular
season openeragainst the
Steelers on Sept. 8.
Asked if Chung did not play
because of injury or his legal
troubles, coach Bill Belichick
said,“Pat hasn’t played all sea-
son.”
Asked about Chung’s in-
dictment, Belichick said, “I
think we’ve released a state-
menton that.’’
Chung’s agent did not re-
spondto a text message and
an e-mail seeking comment.
The incident does not fall
underthe NFL’s personal con-
duct policy; instead,Chung
faces potentialpunishment
from NFLcommissioner Rog-
er Goodell under the league’s
substance abusepolicy, which
was jointlynegotiated by the
NFLownersand NFL Players
Association. But Chung will
likely avoid punishment dur-
ing the 2019 season.
Clause2.3 of the substance
abusepolicy states that pun-
ishmentdoes not take place
untila player is foundguilty in
court or admitswrongdoing.
Per court documents,jury se-
lection is not scheduled to take
place until March, and the tar-
get date for a trial is May.
The substanceabusepolicy
states that a first offensefor a
drug conviction or admitted
drug possession is a suspen-
sion withoutpay for up to four
games. But Goodell has the au-
thority to reduceor increase
the punishmentbasedon cir-
cumstances, includingtaking
a player’s treatmenthistory in-to account.
“We will monitor develop-
ments in the law enforcement
matter,” an NFLspokesman
said.
It is unclearwhether
Chung has ever beenin the
NFL’s substanceabusepro-
gram, but he has never been
fined or suspended in his pre-
vious10 seasons.
Chung’s most recenttweet
cameon Aug. 10, when he
wrote simply, “Protect your
brain playa.”
It’s not uncommonfor NFL
players to face drug-related al-
legations, and the Patriots are
no exception.
Last year, Duron Harmon
was detainedby authoritiesin
Costa Ricawhenhe tried to
enterthe country withmari-
juana. He was not disciplined
by the NFL.
In 2016, duringa playoff
bye week,defensiveend Chan-
dler Jones had a bad reaction
to synthetic marijuana,lead-
ing to his admittanceto Nor-
woodHospital.
Wide receiverJosh Gordon,
who had beensuspendedfrom
the NFLfor violations of the
league’s substance abusepoli-
cies, was conditionally rein-
stated by Goodelllast week.TravisAndersenand
ChristopherPriceof theGlobe
staff contributedto thisreport.
Ben Volincanbe reachedat
[email protected]
himon Twitter@BenVolin.
DannyMcDonaldcanbe
reachedat daniel.mcdonald@
globe.com.Followhimon
Twitter@danny__mcdonald.TOURCHAMPIONSHIP
Thomas loses lead, tied with Schauffele
Chung faces cocaine chargeCURTISCOMPTON/ASSOCIATEDPRESS
XanderSchauffelefireda 6-
under64,theopeningday’s
best roundat East Lake.ASSOCIATEDPRESS
CoachKyle Shanahanis
confidentJimmy Garoppolo
has the physical tools to suc-
ceed as an
NFL quarter-
back for the
49ers as evi-
denced by what he’s shown
over 10 starts in five seasons
with San Francisco and New
England.
Garoppolo’s ultimate suc-
cess will depend on how he
handles some of the mental
challenges of the position.
He got tested heavily last
week. After throwing five
straight interceptions in a for-
gettable practice against his
own teammates, Garoppolo
had a rough time in an exhibi-
tion against Denver — his first
game action since suffering the
majorknee injury that ended
his 2018 season before the end
of the third game.
Garoppolo completed just 1
of the 6 passes he threw inthree series at Denver, gaining
zero yards and also throwing
an interception for a 0.0 passer
rating.
Shanahan called the first
game back a ‘‘mental hurdle’’
and now Garoppolo has anoth-
er one heading into a dress re-
hearsal game at Kansas City on
Saturday, the site of his injury
last September.Canadafield 80yards
The Raiders and Packers are
playing their exhibition game
in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on a
shortened field out of concern
for safety.
The game is being played on
an 80-yard field with the goal
lines starting at the 10-yard
lines and no kickoffs. Teams are
receiving the ball at their15-
yard line, which is located at
the normal25-yard line.
The NFL said the field
passed inspection on Wednes-
day, but both teams had con-
cerns about the condition ofthe end zones, where the goal
posts for CFL gamesare usually
located. That led to the decision
to shorten the field.Giants’Jonessolid
Daniel Jonescompleted a
difficult week with an upbeat
performance that will shush
the doubters for a while.
Jones completed a pair of
long passes and led the New
York Giants to a touchdown
during a 25-23 victory over the
Bengals on Thursday night at
Cincinnati.
Jones got into the gameon
the Giants’ second series and
went 9 of 11 for 141 yards the
rest of the half.
In a GQ article, published
Tuesday, Browns quarterback
Baker Mayfieldsaid he was
stunned that the Giants drafted
the quarterback from Duke in
the first round. Mayfield tried
to tamp downthe comment
and texted Jones to explain his
remarks.4 9ers: Garoppolocan reboundNFL
NOTEBOOKBARRY CHIN/GLOBESTAFF10-3,but whenthe regular seasonbeginsin 2½
weeks, no one will rememberthe score. The only
aspect that matteredis the fact that the injury
bug hit the Patriots hard, potentially throwing a
wrenchinto the 2019 seasonbefore it even be-
gins.
The most devastating injury of the night came
to special teams ace Brandon King, who was cart-
ed off the field near the end of the second quarter
with a significant leg injury. His teammates gath-
eredaroundto wishhim well and see him off,
possibly for the last time this season.
King, entering his fifth season with the Patri-
ots, just signeda two-year extension this offsea-
son. He earned a pay raise from $925,000 to $1.7
million and was going to be a leader of the Patri-
ots’ special teams. And now he is potentially gone
for the season, before it even begins.
If the Patriots are lucky, King’s injury was the
only serious one. If they aren’t so lucky, they may
have lost several key contributorsfor at least
some amount of time.
Van Noy tweaked his knee.Veteran tightend
Ben Watson suffereda potential concussion.
Rookie running back DamienHarris limpedoff
in the secondquarter and didn’t returnfor the
second half. Special teams ace Nate Ebner went
into the medicaltent for a spell. Rookiereceiver
GunnerOlszewski was shaken up in the fourth
quarter. And tight end Lance Kendricks wentto
the locker room maybe 15 minutes after taking a
shot over the middle.
The extent of the Patriots’injuries werenot
immediately known after the game.
But it all seemsso... pointless.The injuries
once again call into question why starters need to
be playing at all in the preseason.
The Panthersweren’t spared, either. Starting
quarterbackCamNewton,playing for the first
time all training camp as he returns from offsea-
son shoulder surgery, went to the locker room af-
ter two serieswithan apparent left ankle injury
suffered on a sack by Danny Shelton. Newton was
in a walking boot after the game.
Much like nothinggood happensafter mid-
night, nothing good happens in the preseason—
only injuries and ineffectiveness.
The third preseason gameis supposed to be
the big tune-up, the dry run for the regular sea-
son. Starters are supposed to play deep into the
second quarter and even into the third.
That’s howit usedto be in the old NFL, at
least.
But today’s NFL is catchingon to the point-
lessness charade of the four-gamepreseason
schedule.
The Colts plan to sit most of their starters for
Saturday’s third preseason game.Samewith the
Rams, who didn’t play their starters in any of
their four preseason gameslast year, either. It
uONFOOTBALL
ContinuedfromPageC1
didn’t stop the Rams from going to the Super
Bowl.
“Not to say there’s not an appreciation for
what the preseason entails and playing real foot-
ball,” Rams coach SeanMcVay said earlierthis
week. “But when you look at some of the continu-
ity now that we have on bothsidesof the ball
comingback, and you say, ‘If somethingwereto
happen, is it really worth that risk in our mind?’
We just felt like that answer is no.”
The Patriotsaren’t being quitethat cautious
this preseason, but Bill Belichick has noticeably
dialed it backfor many of his veterans. Tom Bra-
dy didn’t play in the first two preseasongames,
thenlasted just threeseries on Thursday before
Belichick smartly pulled him. That’s probably the
first and only preseason action Brady will get.
But Belichick still gave his starters plenty of
reps on Thursday night, and it led to a few dings.
“We’ve got to do what’s best for the team — get
guys ready to play,” Belichick said.
The biggest injury may be to Harris, the rook-
ie from Alabama. He looked great last week
against Tennessee, averaging 5.7 yards per carry
and catching all four targets. The Patriots drafted
Harris in the third round for a reason, and he’s
going to be a significant contributor to the Patri-
ots’ offense,especiallyas a between-the-tackles
runner. But those plans may have been altered by
Harris’s unknowninjury, whichpreventedhim
fromjoining his teamon the sideline in the sec-
ond half.
Harris wasn’t the only contributor to comeup
limping. Watson took a vicious shot from Pan-
therssafety Eric Reid after the whistle — Watson
was already downand Reidthrew himself into
Watson’s head — and Watson didn’t return to the
sideline in the second half. The Patriots don’t
have to announceany injuries in the preseason,
but it sure looked as if Watson got checked out for
a concussion. He’ll be out for the first four games
witha suspension, anyway, but no one wantsto
see him miss practice time before then.
Ebneralso briefly left with an injury. Thank-
fully he returned, because the Patriotsgot thin-
ner on special teams Thursday. And the Patriots,
alreadythin at tight endfollowing Rob
Gronkowski’s retirement, are even more so after
losing Matt LaCosse to an ankle injury two weeks
ago and Kendricks leaving Thursday’s game.
Whenasked aboutthe spate of injuries, Brady
was quickto note that, “it happensin the regular
season, too. This is a contact sport and a physical
sport. Injuries are certainly a part of the game.”
He’s absolutely correct. Whichis why teams
are being ever more cautious with their players in
the preseason. These meaningless gamesjust ar-
en’t worth it.BenVolin canbe reachedat
[email protected] Twitter
@BenVolinPreseason worth the risk?
Patriots
linebacker
BrandonKing
is cartedoff the
fieldafter
sufferinga
seriousleg
injury during
thesecond
quarter
Thursday
night.