Dein erstes Forum » There is a fan base here for not just U.S.-based tea

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. -- Amid a disappointing season, Johnson Wagner has found a comfort zone not far from his college stomping grounds. Wagner shot a 6-under 64 Saturday to take a two-stroke lead after the third round of the Greenbrier Classic. Wagner was at 14 under on the Old White TPC course. Jimmy Walker also shot 64 and was second at 12 under. Wagner has yet to post a top 10 finish this year. At the Greenbrier, he broke a string of seven consecutive early exits. In his two previous tournaments, he had three birdies combined. He had seven of them on Saturday. "I felt really comfortable all day," Wagner said. "I hit a lot of good golf shots. Ive got a really clear picture of what Im trying to do on every swing. "Sometimes when youre playing bad, you forget who you are and you get down on yourself. The last couple of weeks, Ive just trying to be positive and remember that Ive won three times out here. Im a little more comfortable with myself right now." Wagner played golf at Virginia Tech less than two hours from The Greenbrier resort. Several members of his wifes family have joined them for the weekend, and hoots from Hokies fans could be heard around the golf course. "Its great seeing a bunch of maroon-and-orange in the crowd," Wagner said. He hopes they can see him wrap up his first win since the 2012 Sony Open. The other two times Wagner held the lead going into the final round on tour, he won the 2008 Houston Open and the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in Mexico. But no third-round leader has gone on to win the Greenbrier Classic, now in its fourth year. The tournament has been decided by playoffs the past two years, and Stuart Appleby shot 59 in the final round to win by a stroke in 2010. Wagner said he isnt going to stop being aggressive Sunday unless the wind picks up. "Im just going to try to make as many birdies as I can," he said. "This golf course, when its firm and fast, may be one of my favourite places we play on tour." Like Wagner, Walker also gets a cozy feeling at The Greenbrier. He finished one stroke out of a playoff in the 2011 Greenbrier Classic and tied for fourth in 2010. "The golf course really seems to fit my eye," Walker said. "I like the tee shots, I like the second shots, and I feel comfortable. And when you feel comfortable at places ... I seem to play well." Still searching for his first tour win, Walker woke up sick early Friday morning and still wasnt feeling well Saturday. His swing certainly didnt suffer. After seven straight pars on the front nine, Walker ran off five birdies down the stretch, including a 17-foot putt on the par-3 18th. Walker is hoping to secure a spot in the British Open in two weeks. After the Greenbrier Classic, the leading five players not already exempt from inside the top 20 in the FedExCup points standings will earn a spot at Muirfield. Walker is 24th. "I have a room booked," Walker said. "I might as well go use it." Swedens Jonas Blixt was four strokes behind Wagner at 10 under after shooting 67. Australians Matt Jones (66) and Steven Bowditch (69) and Texas teenager Jordan Spieth (67) were at 9 under. Ottawas Brad Fritsch and Grahaem DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., each shot 66 and sit in a group tied for 27th at 5 under. Spieth overcame two early bogeys with birdies on three of the final four holes. A win would give him his PGA Tour membership and make him eligible for the FedEx Cup playoffs. Hes won more than $1.1 million this year and is assured of a tour card when the new season starts in October. Among six golfers at 8 under included Bill Haas, the winner at Congressional a week ago. Second-round leader Matt Every bogeyed the first two holes and quickly fell off the leaderboard. He shot 74 and fell into a tie for 27th at 5 under. Ten players were trimmed from the field after Saturdays round; 81 players had advanced after Fridays play. 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Winchester, who was not penalized for the hit, appeared to make contact with Kellys head early in the first period of Thursdays game in Boston. When the USA women play their first sevens match of the Rio Olympics against Fiji on Aug. 6, Bob Latham will be watching proudly in the Deodoro Stadium. The USA Rugby chairman, who has been on the board for 22 years, was instrumental in getting sevens into the Games and knows better than most how quickly the game is growing.Latham, an United States Olympic Committee member from 2000 to 2004, reveals his hopes for the sport, how he helped get sevens into the Olympics and rugbys future in the U.S..Sevens inclusion into the Olympics has been a long time coming, talk us through your involvement in getting the sport into the Games. Bob Latham: I am incredibly excited. Its been the culmination of a lot of work from a lot of people. Im especially happy for the athletes who will become Olympians -- what a fabulous experience for them and Im happy that Ill be there to see it.It wasnt until 1995 that the governance structure of international rugby was conducive to joining the Olympics and once that was in place, my involvement started in 1996 when I was trying to get USA Rugby to be an affiliated member of the U.S Olympics Committee (USOC), the status we got in 1998.In 2000 I went on the USOC, which is the same time as the then International Rugby Board really ramped up its efforts with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to get into the Olympics. The first goal was to get into the Games by Beijing 2008.Since I was in rugby the USOC the IRB got me involved me with the international effort with the IOC. So I was pretty heavily involved from 2001 to when we got recognised as an Olympic sport in 2009. It was an interesting, sometimes frustrating path to travel but, ultimately, rewarding.Was sevens more accessible format one of the reasons behind it getting into the Olympics?BL: There were discussions back in the early stages over whether it should be rugby 15s or sevens and whether we should just leave it up to the IOC to decide. But theres no question that the sport of sevens helped sell itself as its more understandable and the ball spends more time in play. It fits into the Olympic format a lot better as you can play the tournament across three days, as we are doing in Rio.Its also much more globally competitive and its easier to become competitive in sevens faster than it is in 15s for developing countries. Youve got more global competitiveness, which the IOC like, and the medallists can come from just about any continent. It will be a thrilling competition.For those who arent familiar with sevens, I think theyll look at it and think, Wow, this is the breakout event of the Rio Games.What obstacles did you face in getting sevens into the Olympics?BL: There are some places that had no rugby history or a great familiarity with the sport. In this country, where there is a strong Olympic presence, there wasnt a great rugby history so thats where we had to do quite a bit of education and getting people on board to why rugby would be a great addition to the Olympics.There havent been any sports added to the Olympics since Sydney 2000 until this Games. The IOC got more systematic over how sports could become part of the Games. We had to deal with several iterations of the conditions but again we had the luxury of the sport which could meet any criteria as they developed it. In the end it ended up selling itself but we had to address whatever new plan the IOC had for getting a sport into the Olympics.Have you set the mens and womens sevens teams medal goals?BL: When I started this process, the focus was on the exposure this will give rugby in the U.S. if we qualified. But now we are there, it would be great if we medalled. A medal of any kind for either team will be a terrific achievement and thats our goal but if things break right, theres a chance we could take the top step. It would do wonders for the sport in this country if we get a medal of any kind.Do you feel Olympic sevens will help push rugby into the NCAA consciousness and help the sport grow in the country?BL: I certainly hope so. It has always been a major, major priority for us to get the sport into the Games as this is an Olympicss-mad country.dddddddddddd The exposure that any sport gets at the Olympics from spectators, sponsors, avid sports fans, and casual sports fans is just immense. Its partly the spectacle of sport; its partly the patriotism that plays to the American consciousness as well.I really feel we will see a spike in interest. Hopefully the fans will get to know both the mens and womens teams as they are an exceptional group of people who have terrific back stories. Once fans see that, theyll gravitate to that. And if we have success then people will gravitate to that. One of the greatest outcomes of this Olympics will be a whole bunch of boys and girls picking up a ball and choosing rugby as their first choice of sport.Do you hope that 15s and sevens can evolve alongside each other or do you feel one will grow quicker than the other?BL: Were very lucky that they can grow collectively. We havent had a legacy in 15s or sevens where its strong enough that one trumps the other. We have players playing in both codes -- 15s and sevens. As long as people are enjoying rugby then it doesnt matter whether they go through one pathway or another. There is a lot more harmony in the two codes here than there is in other countries.The exposure sevens gets with the sporting marketplace, school administrators and community administrators will help both codes.How would you like to see a player like Eagles back-row and sevens World Series player Danny Barrett balance the two?BL: Hes a good example. The balance weve struck since hes come into prominence and has been picked up by 15s is about right. We have to look at player welfare; we cant over tax the players.Dannys balance has been pretty good over the last year and a half. One of the things youd have to factor into that, if youre Danny, is that there is more money in 15s than sevens right now and whether that is part of the dynamic going into the future, I dont know, but there is a draw to making a living out of the sport in 15s.I know Danny, as well as other sevens players who have played both codes, love sevens and love the team so I hope they continue to satisfy their ambitions in both codes.What sort of growth has rugby in the USA had over the last few years?BL: The biggest sign of potential was the All Blacks match back in Nov. 2014 in Chicago. One of the things which was rewarding about that was it was New Zealand playing the U.S. team rather than someone else. That proved to us that the market we thought was brewing was in fact already here.There are a lot more American rugby fans. We are now in the second and third generation of rugby fans who have played the sport here in the country and their kids have grown up with rugby and have taken an interest in it.I also feel American sports are taking a more global perspective -- look at soccer and the interest people have here in the Premier League and the increased TV coverage. There is a fan base here for not just U.S.-based teams, but leading rugby teams in the world.Americans always want to see the best of whats out there so there are opportunities for other matches like New Zealand vs. Ireland in November and maybe Six Nations games held here to get some traction. The choice of time, location and venue is very important, though. We need to be smart about when we play such a match.And back to the Olympics -- back in 1996 when this idea first started bubbling, did you ever think wed be in a situation where it is just 10 days until rugby sevens makes its bow in the Games?BL: I was always optimistic that wed get here but its exceeded my expectations. To have both of our teams qualify, from a USA perspective, a heightened interest in the sevens team, a World Series thats terrifically competitive, a womens World Series -- it will be such a great spectacle in Rio.Look at the excitement it has created and to have players like Sonny Bill Williams in the Olympics; its just a great thing. In terms of how its set up for Rio, I hope my expectations go even further when we start playing. ' ' '