INDIANAPOLIS – In addition to a series of competitive enhancements for the 104th Indianapolis 500, Roger Penske and his staff also announced a variety of facility improvements at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Among them are the use of more than 30 additional large-screen video boards, including 24 along the Paddock seating. Also included is the addition of the IMSA Media Wall, a video board measuring 100 feet wide by 20 feet tall that will be installed at the base of the Pagoda facing the Pagoda Plaza as a cornerstone of a plan to transform the popular gathering area for fans. It will also provide data-driven race insights to fans from NTT.

“Underneath those boards, we will have these eight-foot deep, long boards that will be solely dedicated to getting the running order delivered to our fans, so they know where the drivers are, see information,” said IMS President Doug Boles. “It’s also going to be a good board for us to basically do what the pylon does for the rest of the facility. When it goes green, they’ll go green. When it goes yellow, they’ll go yellow.

“We also will be looking at 24 additional boards that will sit to your guys’ right underneath the paddock penthouse and above the paddock. Those sold-out seats in those areas really don’t have good access to the video boards. For the first time when they come to the facility, they will be able to watch replays and activities on the video boards at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.”

RELATED: Changes By Penske Meant To Brighten Indy’s Shine

Other changes include an update to Georgetown Road, with pedestrian traffic getting two additional lanes to make ingress and egress easier for more than half of the venue’s race day customers.

New pavement will be added to the Parcel B lot near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Main Gate to improve the parking experience and create a cleaner look for the front door of the facility. Approximately 3 miles of fencing will be added to the entire grounds.

Even the restrooms at the historic facility are getting a much needed facelift.

“If you go in our restrooms coming in May, there will be new sinks where they were needed, all brand-new lighting, LED lighting, the paint inside the restrooms throughout the facility will be a consistent paint,” Boles said. “For those fans that come this evening to the party in the pavilion, the restrooms in the pavilion are painted in the same scheme so folks have a chance to see that.

“You can also see one some of the exterior of those will be cleaned up. It will be clear to tell whether it’s male or female restroom. As Roger said, that is not a revenue-producing investment, but it certainly does help us with the customer experience. We certainly want that to be one that people aren’t worried about.”

Just five weeks since he officially became the owner of IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Penske is making serious investments into the sport.

“This is a multi-million-dollar commitment when you think about this,” Penske said. “This is a thousand acres.

“I think it’s the right thing. The racing product, obviously Doug, has been terrific here when you think about the finishes over the last few years. The commitment by the teams. I think Jay and the teams at IndyCar have done a great job.

“Without IndyCar, we don’t have the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Without the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, we might not have IndyCar.”

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – William Byron backed up his victory in the second Bluegreen Vacations Duel on Thursday night by posting the fastest speed in Friday evening’s Daytona 500 practice.

Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet turned a best lap of 204.587 mph around the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway.

“We were being super aggressive in our first run, trying to see what we could do,” Byron said. “On our second run, we tried to catch up to the front pack to see what our car could do.

“I’m comfortable with what we have right now.”

Ryan Preece was second in his No. 37 JTG Daugherty Chevrolet at 204.095 mph. Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet was third at 203.868 mph followed by Ty Dillon’s Germain Racing Chevrolet at 203.422 mph.

Tyler Reddick rounded out the top-five at 202.922 mph in his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

Typically, on a Friday practice session before the Daytona 500, many of the teams decide to preserve their cars by remaining in the garage. Mayhem at Daytona lurks around every corner.

Friday’s early-evening session was different. Ten minutes into the session, 31 of the 40 cars in the race were on the rack with three-wide racing going into turn two.

Thirty minutes into the session, the top-five cars on the track were the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas of Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones, Martin Truex Jr. and the No. 95 Leavine Family Racing Toyota of rookie Christopher Bell. Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Toyota rounded out the Toyota contingent.

In the draft, cars exceeded 200 miles per hour.

Cars on the track were testing handling in both single-file and multi-lane competition to determine how the cars will perform throughout Sunday’s 62nd Daytona 500. A few even tried bump drafting, a tactic that will likely be used in the race.

Another major change to Friday’s action was the weather. Thursday night’s qualifying races were held under hot and humid conditions with rain delaying the start of the first race. Friday’s temperatures were much cooler, in the low 60s with gray, overcast skies.

Sunday’s forecast for the Daytona 500 is partly cloudy with a high of 71 and a low of 62.

In the final 15 minutes, two lines of cars formed to test side-by-side and side drafting, with Hamlin still setting the pace before Bryon took over the top spot at 203.083 mph.

He would increase that speed by nearly 1.5 mph before the end of the session.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Kaulig Racing’s dreams of competing at NASCAR’s highest level will be realized on Sunday, when Justin Haley takes the green flag for the 62nd annual Daytona 500.

For both sides, it’s been a long and gritty journey to get to the pinnacle of American stock-car racing.

Haley has fought his way through the Midwest short-track ranks, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (now ARCA Menards Series East) and the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series to get to a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series ride with Kaulig, as well as this weekend’s one-off Cup start with Kaulig.

He won a championship in the East Series and took home the winner’s trophy in the Cup race at Daytona Int’l Speedway last July, in a rain-shortened 400-miler for underfunded Spire Motorsports, as a prelude to his maiden voyage in NASCAR’s biggest and most-prestigious event.

Meanwhile, Ohio businessman Matt Kaulig has built his Xfinity Series team from the ground up, slowly transitioning from journeyman status to playoff contender to race winner with his Chevrolets over the past four seasons.

Starting with Blake Koch, later moving to Ryan Truex and now working with Haley and Ross Chastain, Kaulig has given some of NASCAR’s younger personalities a shot to prove their mettle.

That philosophy will be realized in full on Sunday, as both Kaulig and Haley debut in The Great American Race.

“Man, it’s just really cool,” said Haley of putting Kaulig Racing in the Daytona 500. “They picked me up after my Truck (Series) season, actually called me up after one of my wins in the Trucks and asked me to come race for them. It’s been pretty cool to see how much faith they’ve had in me. They have enough faith to put me in their Cup car for their first Cup start … and that’s just thanks to a lot of believers behind me and Kaulig Racing, and that’s what you need as a young guy coming through the sport.

“When we have a bad day, they pick me up and when we have good days, they love me that much more,” Haley added with a grin. “They believed in me, stuck it out through our tough rookie Xfinity season and now we’re here at the biggest race in NASCAR. Not a lot of things went our way last year, with some highs and lows, but I think we’re so much stronger this year and have so much going for us.”

Haley raced his way into the Daytona 500 on Thursday night, ending the first Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona as the highest non-chartered driver in the field. He’ll start 33rd on Sunday afternoon, after previously locking in on his qualifying speed.

But even that was more than Haley could have dreamed, considering he was never expecting to get the call to attempt the Daytona 500 in the first place.

“I’m just glad that I got the call to do it,” noted Haley. “I was sitting in the race shop one day – I wasn’t even planning on coming, it was a Monday in the offseason – but I figured I hadn’t seen the guys in a while and I wanted to go up there and see what was going on. The next thing I knew, Chris pulled me in his office and said, ‘Hey, do you want to run the (Daytona) 500?’ And I said, what do you mean do I want to run the 500? Of course I want to run it. And now here we are.

“It’s extra special, because through more talks, he told me I could put my sponsor on it, the Fraternal Order of Eagles. They’ve been a longtime sponsor of mine. And it just all kind of worked out,” Haley added. “I love it. I love that we got Matt Kaulig in the show. Everyone has worked so hard at this, Kaulig Racing, RCR, ECR (Engines) … obviously a lot of alliances came together to make this happen and we got help from a lot of teams on (the RCR) campus.

“I’m pretty excited and hopefully we can get them all a good run on Sunday.”

As both Haley and Kaulig Racing have grown and matured, the driver noted that he doesn’t believe one side has benefitted more than the other. He believes it’s been a symbiotic union since they’ve linked up.

“I like to think of it both ways. I think we’ve grown together,” said Haley. “I think bringing in AJ Allmendinger helped a lot. We’d go to a race track or a road course and I would say something, and then AJ would back that up. And knowing that AJ backed me up and felt the same thing in the exact same race car meant a lot to them, and gave them that much more confidence in me. Even bringing in Ross (Chastain) … he hasn’t done many races for us, but having him full time as well is big for me, I think.

“Definitely, I think, we both have grown and will both continue to grow as we move through the year.”

As for his plan going into Sunday’s 500-mile race, Haley knows it will be more in-depth than last July’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona, where he survived and was in just the right spot when the skies opened up.

This time, it’s about racing to a strong finish.

“It’s a different ball game,” said Haley. “This time I can actually race. I have a car that I can actually compete in, and I’m not getting told on the radio to lag back and miss wrecks. I think we’re going to have to be cautious, but we can be aggressively cautious.

“I think the biggest story for this weekend for Kaulig Racing is finishing the race,” he added. “I don’t think anyone wants to go out 20, 30, 40 laps in. We’ll have to see, but I’m really excited.”

GIBSONTON, Fla. – Rain has stopped the second night of the King of the 360s sprint car event at East Bay Raceway Park on Friday evening.

Rain moved onto the grounds at East Bay at 5:45 p.m. as drivers were gathering for the drivers’ meeting. Persistent showers forced cancellation of the night’s program 30 minutes later.

The Saturday night racing format will be similar to the Thursday night agenda. All drivers will be required to run their heats in the 360 sprints to qualify for the Saturday A-main. Points accumulated on Thursday will no longer have relevance to feature lineups.

There is no make-up for the Friday program. The Saturday show will begin with drivers’ meeting at 5:45 p.m., hot laps at 6 p.m. and racing at 7 p.m.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Sabres placed Zach Bogosian on waivers Friday in a move that could give the injury-plagued defenseman a new home and open a spot on Buffalo's crowded blue line.

Bogosian goes on waivers just over a week before the NHL trade deadline. He asked for a trade earlier this season.

The 29-year-old Bogosian has been in and out of the lineup with hip injuries and has also sat as a healthy scratch. He counts $5.14 million against the salary cap in the final year of his contract.

He would be assigned to Rochester of the American Hockey League if he clears waivers and would still count $4.07 million against Buffalo's cap.

Bogosian joined the Sabres in 2015 in a multiplayer trade with Winnipeg that was then-general manager Tim Murray's attempt to rebuild the roster. The deal hasn't panned out for Buffalo, which is now on its third coach and second GM and is in jeopardy of extending the NHL's longest active playoff drought to nine years.

Hip injuries have bothered Bogosian during his tenure in Buffalo. He has a goal and four assists in 19 games this season and 53 goals and 141 assists in 636 regular-season games with the Atlanta Thrashers, Winnipeg Jets and Sabres.

Waiving Bogosian opens a spot on Buffalo's blue line for young players like Lawrence Pilut.

Former Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson will be the American Hockey League's next president and CEO.

The AHL's board of governors Friday unanimously elected Howson as Dave Andrews' successor. Andrews served in that role for the past 26 years.

Howson, who has a law degree from Canada's York University, takes over effective July 1. The 59-year-old is currently the Edmonton Oilers' director of player development and previously spent six seasons as GM for Columbus.

Andrews is retiring but will remain chairman of the AHL's board of governors.

"The American Hockey League from where he took over to where it is today as a business has progressed enormously," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said of Andrews. "I think his legacy will be as an innovator and somebody who's really helped grow the American Hockey League."

Howson assumes control of a 31-team league that now extends to California. Andrews during his tenure oversaw the merger of the AHL and International Hockey League and expansion across North America.

"All very significant moves forward," said Daly, who has worked closely with Andrews for more than a decade. "He's also been very innovative and worked closely with our general managers in terms of testing rules and helping us understand the pros and cons of those rules."

The AHL tested versions of 3-on-3 overtime and hybrid icing rules before they were implemented by the NHL.

Edmonton Oilers forward Zack Kassian was suspended for seven games by the NHL Department of Player Safety on Friday, after kicking Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak with his skate blade in Thursday night's loss.

Kassian is a repeat offender, having been suspended two games on Jan. 13 for a one-sided fight with Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk. Under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement and, based on his average annual salary, he'll forfeit $166,463.43. This is Kassian's fourth suspension in a 518-game career.

The Oilers forward was invited to have an in-person hearing with the NHL but opted for a hearing over the phone. Since the suspension is longer than five games, Kassian is eligible to appeal the suspension to commissioner Gary Bettman and, potentially, a neutral arbitrator.

The incident happened at 17:38 of the first period Thursday when Kassian was caught up on a pile of players that included teammate Josh Archibald and Cernak. He drew his right leg back and, with his skate blade, delivered a kick to the chest of the Lightning defenseman.

The NHL said Kassian admitted to using the blade of his skate to push off from an opponent, and the league "acknowledged Kassian's argument that he was trying to disentangle from a pile of players." But it said that explanation "in no way justifies this action."

The Oilers argued that the kick was "not forceful." The Department of Player Safety has used the force of a hit as a factor in previous punishments. But when it came to Kassian, the NHL emphasized that "using a skate blade to make intentional or reckless contact with an opponent, regardless of the purpose, is entirely different" from the checking and stick fouls the league typically penalizes.

"While we agree with Kassian that this play is not malicious, any player that intentionally uses the blade of his skate to contact an opponent, no matter the amount of force used, is putting his opponent in immediate risk of serious injury," the NHL said in its ruling.

There have been other kicking incidents in the NHL. In 2008, Anaheim Ducks defenseman Chris Pronger was suspended eight games for stomping on the leg of Vancouver Canucks forward Ryan Kesler. But a more comparable incident in the Kassian ruling would be Carolina Hurricanes forward Jeff Skinner's two-game suspension in 2012 for using his skate to separate himself from St. Louis Blues forward Scott Nichol. The fact that Kassian was a repeat offender likely multiplied the level of punishment.

Bruce Boudreau's tenure with the Minnesota Wild has come to an end.

GM Bill Guerin fired Boudreau on Friday, ending the coach's four-season tenure with the organization.

The coach went 158-110-35 with the Wild, making the playoffs in his first two seasons but losing in five games both times. In 13 seasons as a head coach with the Washington Capitals, Anaheim Ducks and the Wild, Boudreau is 567-302-115, having made the playoffs in 10 of those seasons.

Let's examine what led to the firing, and where the organization and the coach go from here, both in the short and long term.

The Wild are three points out of a playoff spot. Why fire Boudreau now?

That's the question the hockey world is asking at this point. Boudreau's Wild (27-23-7) were 7-3-1 in their past 11 games and had miraculously moved within three points of a wild-card spot with three games in hand on Arizona, in the parity-laden Western Conference.

He was fired the morning after an embarrassing loss on home ice, blowing a 3-1 lead in a shootout defeat to the Rangers. Once again, the Wild failed to dictate terms in their play. "We need 18 players and a goalie to play great," Boudreau said after the game, "and we didn't have all 18 players playing at their best [Thursday]."

GM Bill Guerin said on Friday after the firing that in "tighter game situations," he felt the Wild could be better, and cited that loss to the Rangers.

Keep these factors in mind. GM Bill Guerin is the second general manager to inherit Boudreau after he was hired by Chuck Fletcher in May 2016. Boudreau survived Fletcher getting fired and Paul Fenton getting hired, and then survived (for half a season) when Fenton was dumped for Guerin. Every general manager wants "their guy" behind the bench, and Boudreau was not Guerin's guy: Not only did he not hire him, but he never was in an organization with him before.

Also, Boudreau was in the last year of a contract that reportedly paid him over $3 million per season. The Wild's success was just prolonging the inevitable, which was that the Wild were going to have a Guerin-selected coach after this season.

But if the question is "why, just three points out of a playoff spot," Guerin said, "the timing was right to do it now. ... The most important thing is that the players are going into this stretch run on a high, and I felt like they needed a different voice right now."

Was there a specific short-term cause for the firing?

It's become cliché in the NHL, but show me a coach that was fired for on-ice reasons and I'll show you goaltending that stunk. Of the bottom 10 teams in save percentage this season, six of them have made coaching changes: San Jose (29th), New Jersey (28th), Nashville (27th), Minnesota (25th), Vegas (24th) and Toronto (23rd). The other two teams to make coach changes -- Dallas (second) and Calgary (11th) -- made theirs for off-ice reasons.

The Wild have a team save percentage of .897, down from .904 last season (21st) and way down from 2017-18 (.911, ninth), which not-all-that-coincidentally was Boudreau's last playoff appearance. Part of this season's struggles was the performance of Devan Dubnyk, who took a leave from the team earlier this season to be with his wife as she battled a health issue. In 27 games, Dubnyk has a .320 quality starts ratio and a minus-12.64 goals saved above average. "It's been an extremely difficult year in just about every way possible," he told the Star-Tribune this month.

Some teams have a bad save percentage because of what's happening in front of the goalie. That wasn't the case in Minnesota.

Boudreau's teams are always good offensively, and the Wild were 17th in goals per game (3.07). But they were 24th in goals against (3.19) per game, thanks in part to the second worst penalty kill in the NHL this season. Yet some of their underlying numbers were impressive: The Wild had the sixth-best expected goals ratio in the league at 5-on-5 (52.67), thanks to the best expected goals against (86.64) in the league.

In other words, the way the team was playing defensively at even strength should have had them much better than 24th in overall defense, which is a product of sub-average goaltending and disastrous special-teams play. Ask Peter Laviolette how that works out for a coach.

Who is taking over as the interim coach?

Dean Evason, 55, is the interim head coach for the Wild, and he knows this roster quite well. He's been an assistant coach in Minnesota for two seasons under Boudreau. He was previously head coach of the AHL Milwaukee Admirals, the Nashville Predators' top affiliate, for six seasons where he posted a 242-161-53 (.588) record. He was also a head coach for six seasons in the Western Hockey League. Interestingly, Evason's first NHL gig was as an assistant coach with Boudreau during his time with the Washington Capitals. When Boudreau was fired there, Evason was retained as an assistant under Dale Hunter.

While this is just an interim job (for now), it's one that Evason has worked hard towards for over a decade. Guerin said Evason will be a candidate for the permanent job.

What kind of on-ice changes should we expect?

It's tough to say. Evason was a journeyman forward in the NHL from 1983-84 to 1995-96, tallying 372 points and 1,002 penalty minutes with the Capitals, Hartford Whalers, San Jose Sharks, Dallas Stars and Calgary Flames. He's coached the forwards as an assistant coach during his NHL career.

The biggest challenge for Evason -- besides copious amounts of prayer that the goaltending solidifies -- is lighting a fire under the Wild players that were too pedestrian under Boudreau. Guerin said that Evason will be able to "hold the players accountable" who he feels need to be held accountable.

Despite the Wild's trade of veteran forward Jason Zucker to the Pittsburgh Penguins this week for a pick, a top prospect and Alex Galchenyuk, Guerin believes the playoffs are the target. And those players that might not have been playing their best for a lame-duck coach are now reminded that they're no longer playing for him -- they're playing for Guerin.

I think Fox Sports North analyst Tom Chorske -- who won a Stanley Cup as Guerin's teammate in New Jersey -- was onto something in his comments about Boudreau's firing: "I think a sizable element of letting [Bruce] go is that the responsibility of the team making the playoffs now sits squarely on the players' shoulders. Now they're all on the 'hot seat.'"

If you're Bill Guerin, and you're tasked with trying to figure out who stays and who goes from this Wild roster, this could be the most effective evaluation process. At least for a new general manager.

Does Evason have a legitimate shot at the permanent gig, or will a "big name" get hired this summer?

Guerin said Evason would be a candidate, and obviously playoff qualification and any postseason success would play into his favor. "Dean is a guy who has a good grasp on [the team]," Guerin said.

But it's hard to ignore how many big name coaches are available right now: Laviolette, who posted a .616 winning percentage with the Predators in six seasons, and Gerard Gallant, who coached the expansion Vegas Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final in 2019 and posted a .601 winning percentage in two seasons there. Keep in mind that Gallant was an assistant with the New York Islanders when Guerin played for the organization.

Mike Babcock, the former Toronto Maple Leafs head coach who has coached 10 100-point teams and has a Stanley Cup to his credit, could be in the mix -- although he would have to address concerns about his abusive coaching style that came out after Toronto fired him.

Then there's Doug Weight, a close friend of Guerin's and his former teammate with the Islanders. Weight coached two seasons for the Islanders in 2016-17 and 2017-18, failing to make the postseason twice. But as we've seen in the NHL, personal relationships go a long way in decision-making.

We're 10 days out from the trade deadline. Does this alter the game plan for Bill Guerin?

No. Guerin is in the process of trying to remake this roster in the image he wants from it. Minnesota has to be considerably younger to circle back to true championship contention. Trading Zucker was a move for the future. The Wild only have two unrestricted free agents this summer, in Galchenyuk and Mikko Koivu. Guerin's going to have to be aggressive to change the configuration of this team, given how many players have term. That could start at the trade deadline.

What's next for Bruce Boudreau?

If history tells us anything, he might have a new job by the time you finish this sentence. The Wild hired him eight days after the Anaheim Ducks fired him. He was hired by the Ducks just two days after the Capitals fired him.

Yet it could be different this time for Boudreau. There's no arguing against the fact he's one of the most successful regular-season coaches of the past 20 years, with a points percentage of .635. But this could have been his second straight season outside the playoffs, and his teams haven't advanced past the first round in four of their past six postseason trips. Plus, there's a lot of competition out there among coaching candidates, and he just turned 65 years old in a league that's trending younger: Of the past 11 coaches named head coach for their teams, only Rick Bowness of the Dallas Stars is over 60, and that was an interim hire after coach Jim Montgomery's dismissal for off-ice issues.

That said, the underlying numbers show Boudreau's system can produce results with the right personnel. One can't imagine he'll be out of work for long.

Grade the decision (and the timing).

The decision is a B+, the timing is a C. And yes, I understand that sounds strange. While Guerin wouldn't confirm it, one has to assume Boudreau wasn't getting another contract with a GM who didn't hire him. So rather than delaying the inevitable, and while watching some of his players not giving their best efforts for a lame-duck coach, he decided to make the move before the end of the season. But, again: If the playoffs are the goal, and the team is on a 7-3-1 roll under Boudreau, the timing of this move just seems really strange. To wit, the Wild had a 1-5-1 stretch around Jan. 1 that included three home losses, bringing their record to 20-20-6. Why not then?

LOS ANGELES – In a surprising move, Tiger Woods will not play in next week’s WGC-Mexico Championship.

All week at Riviera Woods remained noncommittal about signing up for the first World Golf Championships event of the calendar year. Even after his second-round 73 Friday Woods declined to offer an update, saying that he’s been so busy hosting the Genesis Invitational that he hasn’t “really focused on next week.”

But on Friday afternoon, the commitment deadline came and went without Woods’ name on the entry list. He tied for 10^th last year at Club de Golf Chapultepec.

Woods isn’t the only big name sitting out, either – world No. 2 Brooks Koepka, Patrick Cantlay, Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas, Jason Day and Henrik Stenson are among those who won’t be making the trip to Mexico City. 

The no-cut, limited-field event offers a bevy of world-ranking, FedExCup and Olympic team points.

Woods didn’t offer any immediate explanation on his social-media accounts Friday night. He’ll likely speak to the media again after his third round at Riviera, where he’s currently outside the top 40 after rounds of 69-73.

After his round, Woods was asked how he stood physically, but he didn’t directly address his health and instead focused on his current form.

“I just haven’t been as sharp as I need to be,” he said.

By sitting out next week’s WGC event, Woods’ pre-Masters schedule remains unclear. He has played his hometown event, the Honda Classic, only once in the past five years. He’s an eight-time winner at Bay Hill but has teed it up there only once since 2013 because of injuries. The Players follows that stretch in Florida, with the WGC-Match Play two weeks before the Masters.

LOS ANGELES – The par-5 first hole at Riviera was statistically the easiest hole on the PGA Tour last season. It’s a cupcake once again this week – and especially Friday, when it played to a 4.29 scoring average and yielded only two bogeys.

One of those dropped shots? It came from the leader at the Genesis Invitational, Matt Kuchar. He made a mess of the opener, missing in the right rough off the tee, yanking his approach left of the green and then needing two more delicate pitch shots from the kikuyu rough to reach the green. Bogey. 

It was going to be that kind of rocky day.

Kuchar scraped it around to record four birdies and stay in front at Riviera, at 9-under 133. But afterward, he sure didn’t sound like a guy who’s staked to a two-shot lead over three players, including world No. 1 Rory McIlroy.

“I better find more control,” Kuchar said bluntly. “Bottom line is being in control of what you’re doing, and I could use a little more control over the weekend.”

Indeed, for a player who ranks seventh on Tour in driving accuracy, Kuchar has been uncharacteristically wayward this week. He’s hit just over half of his fairways (15 of 28), which is problematic when he’s 62nd in driving distance out of the players who made the cut.

Keeping Kuchar ahead of the pack has been a red-hot putter. In the opening round he holed 118 feet worth of putts, and he kept rolling Friday and sits first in the field in putting, gaining more than seven shots on the field on the greens.

After a sluggish end to 2019, Kuchar has been better of late, winning in Singapore and then finishing in the top 20 in Phoenix.

When asked if he thinks his ball-striking problem is correctable on the range before his third round, Kuchar replied: “I sure hope so. I sure hope so.”