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It looks like Peyton Manning has found a great way to forget about that horrible loss in Super Bowl XLVIII ... for a couple hours, at least.
The Broncos QB, just three days removed from his team's crushing defeat, spent his Wednesday playing a round of golf at Pebble Beach. Not bad, right?
Who else was in his group? New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
Peyton and Belichick, who both know all too well what it feels like to lose in the Super Bowl, are playing in this week's AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, the PGA Tour's annual stop at one of the best golf courses in the world.
Tom Brady will also be playing in the event but he wasn't with Peyton and Belichick during their practice round.
Here are some of the best images from their round.
The crowd following them was a lot smaller than the one that watched Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium:
Peyton Manning and Bill Belichick played a round of golf together at Pebble Beach on Wednesday | FOX Sports on MSN
The Broncos QB, just three days removed from his team's crushing defeat, spent his Wednesday playing a round of golf at Pebble Beach. Not bad, right?
Who else was in his group? New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
Peyton and Belichick, who both know all too well what it feels like to lose in the Super Bowl, are playing in this week's AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, the PGA Tour's annual stop at one of the best golf courses in the world.
Tom Brady will also be playing in the event but he wasn't with Peyton and Belichick during their practice round.
Here are some of the best images from their round.
The crowd following them was a lot smaller than the one that watched Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium:
Peyton Manning and Bill Belichick played a round of golf together at Pebble Beach on Wednesday | FOX Sports on MSN
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Clint Eastwood added another starring role at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am — life saver.
Eastwood attended a volunteer party on the eve of the PGA Tour event when he noticed tournament director Steve John choking on a piece of cheese. The 83-year-old actor quickly performed the Heimlich maneuver Wednesday night at the Monterey Conference Center.
"I was drinking water and eating these little appetizers, threw down a piece of cheese and it just didn't work," John said Friday. "I was looking at him and couldn't breathe. He recognized it immediately and saved my life."
Eastwood is a prominent figure at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, formerly as an amateur contestant and now as chairman of the Monterey Peninsula Foundation. It has raised over $100 million for charity as the host of the PGA Tour event.
He's often in the CBS tower on the weekend and presents the trophy to the winner, a list that includes Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Brandt Snedeker in recent years.
The Hollywood star wasn't expecting an additional duty this week.
"I looked in his eyes and saw that look of panic people have when they see their life passing before their eyes," Eastwood told The Carmel Pine Cone. "It looked bad."
He said it was the first time he had used the Heimlich maneuver.
"I can't believe I'm 202 pounds and he threw me up in the air three times," John said.
The party is one of the biggest nights of the week. Volunteers are entertained by the celebrities such as musician Kenny G and comedian Tom Dreesen.
The 50-year-old John said it was the second time in his life someone had to perform the Heimlich on him.
"It was in Colorado about seven or eight years ago. But it wasn't Clint Eastwood," he said. "I haven't talked to him since that night. It was crazy."
Clint Eastwood Saves Golf Director From Choking - ABC News
Eastwood attended a volunteer party on the eve of the PGA Tour event when he noticed tournament director Steve John choking on a piece of cheese. The 83-year-old actor quickly performed the Heimlich maneuver Wednesday night at the Monterey Conference Center.
"I was drinking water and eating these little appetizers, threw down a piece of cheese and it just didn't work," John said Friday. "I was looking at him and couldn't breathe. He recognized it immediately and saved my life."
Eastwood is a prominent figure at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, formerly as an amateur contestant and now as chairman of the Monterey Peninsula Foundation. It has raised over $100 million for charity as the host of the PGA Tour event.
He's often in the CBS tower on the weekend and presents the trophy to the winner, a list that includes Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Brandt Snedeker in recent years.
The Hollywood star wasn't expecting an additional duty this week.
"I looked in his eyes and saw that look of panic people have when they see their life passing before their eyes," Eastwood told The Carmel Pine Cone. "It looked bad."
He said it was the first time he had used the Heimlich maneuver.
"I can't believe I'm 202 pounds and he threw me up in the air three times," John said.
The party is one of the biggest nights of the week. Volunteers are entertained by the celebrities such as musician Kenny G and comedian Tom Dreesen.
The 50-year-old John said it was the second time in his life someone had to perform the Heimlich on him.
"It was in Colorado about seven or eight years ago. But it wasn't Clint Eastwood," he said. "I haven't talked to him since that night. It was crazy."
Clint Eastwood Saves Golf Director From Choking - ABC News
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The niece of superstar Tiger Woods sits on top of a congested leaderboard after today's third round at Royal Pines at 12-under and holds a two-shot buffer over South African Stacy Lee Bregman at 11-under.
It was a wild rollercoaster ride for Woods in tricky conditions who took a share of the lead into 'moving day' with Bregman at 10-under.
Bogies on the second, fourth, fifth,10th and 12th holes were balanced by birdies on the third, eighth, ninth, 14th, 17th and 18th for Woods.
Woods, Bregman and Swede Camilla Lennarth were locked together at 10-under late in the day but both Bregman and Lennarth faded while Woods lifted significantly with pinpoint approaches to the final two holes to finish with some authority.
"It comes down to the fire in your belly and fighting for every shot especially on the final day,'' Woods said.
"It would be huge accomplishment (to win). I'm already happy with how it's been going but to have that win would be the cherry on top.
"I'm excited to be in this situation so I'm just going to take it all in and enjoy every moment.''
In the absence of the disqualified Karrie Webb, Australia's best hope is 17-year-old amateur Minjee Lee who carded a four-under 69 to move to 10-under.
West Australian product Lee is no stranger to Sunday heroics. She won the US girls amateur title in 2012 while also claiming the 2013 and
2014 Australia amateur women's crown.
Victorian Alison Whitaker shot seven sizzling birdies in her first 15 holes to move within a shot of the lead but a double bogey on the 17th and a bogey on the 18th halted her charge.
No Cookies | The Courier-Mail
It was a wild rollercoaster ride for Woods in tricky conditions who took a share of the lead into 'moving day' with Bregman at 10-under.
Bogies on the second, fourth, fifth,10th and 12th holes were balanced by birdies on the third, eighth, ninth, 14th, 17th and 18th for Woods.
Woods, Bregman and Swede Camilla Lennarth were locked together at 10-under late in the day but both Bregman and Lennarth faded while Woods lifted significantly with pinpoint approaches to the final two holes to finish with some authority.
"It comes down to the fire in your belly and fighting for every shot especially on the final day,'' Woods said.
"It would be huge accomplishment (to win). I'm already happy with how it's been going but to have that win would be the cherry on top.
"I'm excited to be in this situation so I'm just going to take it all in and enjoy every moment.''
In the absence of the disqualified Karrie Webb, Australia's best hope is 17-year-old amateur Minjee Lee who carded a four-under 69 to move to 10-under.
West Australian product Lee is no stranger to Sunday heroics. She won the US girls amateur title in 2012 while also claiming the 2013 and
2014 Australia amateur women's crown.
Victorian Alison Whitaker shot seven sizzling birdies in her first 15 holes to move within a shot of the lead but a double bogey on the 17th and a bogey on the 18th halted her charge.
No Cookies | The Courier-Mail
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We mentioned earlier this week how Bill Belichick began his offseason by playing golf with Peyton Manning at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in coastal California. The New England Patriots' coach apparently isn't as confident on the golf course as he is managing an NFL team.
On Saturday, Belichick told the Golf Channel that he's been commiserating with Manning and his own quarterback, Tom Brady, about the difficulties of golfing in comparison to football.
"Yeah, I mean there is a lot more pressure here playing golf because it's just you," he said in an exclusive interview with the network. "I was talking to Tom and Peyton, actually, I played both of them this week, we were just commenting on how much easier it is to play football where we sort of know what we're doing versus coming out here, where it's just you, no teammates."
(Insert snide joke about Brady winning without teammates for years.)
The one thing that makes it a bit easier for Belichick is that the golf fans at Pebble Beach are less hostile than the ones at Foxborough.
"The difference is in football, if it's third-and-5, and we gain four yards at home, the fans boo," he said. "Here, no matter how far into the woods you hit it, probably the worst you'll get is an, 'Ooooooooooooooooooh.' The fans aren't quite as intense."
Don't get it twisted, Bill loves the boos. We know it, he knows it, everyone knows it.
In the latest "Around The League Podcast," the guys ponder the future in both Seattle and Denver and break down the teams that intrigue them most this offseason.
Bill Belichick: Football is easier to play than golf - NFL-com
On Saturday, Belichick told the Golf Channel that he's been commiserating with Manning and his own quarterback, Tom Brady, about the difficulties of golfing in comparison to football.
"Yeah, I mean there is a lot more pressure here playing golf because it's just you," he said in an exclusive interview with the network. "I was talking to Tom and Peyton, actually, I played both of them this week, we were just commenting on how much easier it is to play football where we sort of know what we're doing versus coming out here, where it's just you, no teammates."
(Insert snide joke about Brady winning without teammates for years.)
The one thing that makes it a bit easier for Belichick is that the golf fans at Pebble Beach are less hostile than the ones at Foxborough.
"The difference is in football, if it's third-and-5, and we gain four yards at home, the fans boo," he said. "Here, no matter how far into the woods you hit it, probably the worst you'll get is an, 'Ooooooooooooooooooh.' The fans aren't quite as intense."
Don't get it twisted, Bill loves the boos. We know it, he knows it, everyone knows it.
In the latest "Around The League Podcast," the guys ponder the future in both Seattle and Denver and break down the teams that intrigue them most this offseason.
Bill Belichick: Football is easier to play than golf - NFL-com
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Calif. -- Is it too soon to declare this the beginning of the Jimmy Walker era?
The sweet-swinging, late-blooming Tour vet came into the Crosby Clambake leading the PGA Tour money list while sitting atop the Ryder Cup and FedEx Cup points list, and that was *before* the grittiest performance of his upwardly mobile career.
For 63 holes, the 35-year-old Walker snuffed the life out of this tournament with an awesome display of mistake-free golf. He began the week by playing 40 straight holes without a bogey, spanning three days, three courses and a vast array of different of weather conditions. On Sunday his lead was six strokes at the turn.
Then Walker got sucked into playing prevent-defense on the back nine, and after a three-putt on 17, his lead was down to one lonely shot. But on the iconic 18th hole at Pebble Beach he made three solid swings and then, finally, he was left with a do-or-die five-footer to save par, and his reputation.
“I made probably my best stroke of the back nine,” Walker said, and the victory was his.
After going oh-fer-187 to start his career, Walker has now won three times in his last eight starts, beginning with his breakthrough in October at the Frys.com Championship that kicked off the 2013-14 season. Walker joins Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and David Duval as the only players in the 21st century to win three times in eight or fewer starts to begin a season, though he’s trying not to get swept up in things like that.
“I just go out and play golf,” Walker said following the victory. ”This is what I want to do and I’ve worked really hard to be in this position and it’s really cool.”
This latest victory was all the sweeter because he survived some vintage Crosby weather. During his third round at Monterey Peninsula Country Club there were gusts up to 30 miles per hour. Said Walker, “I watched two guys hit 3-wood into No. 9 today -- it’s a par-3 and it's 193 yards to the flag. I hit 5-wood. I came up short of the flag.”
Ordinarily he would’ve needed only a smooth 6-iron. Yet in those severe conditions Walker ground out a 67 that pushed him to a six-stroke lead and into unfamiliar territory. Asked if he’d ever had a six-shot lead, even going back to junior golf, he said,” I don't think so. Honestly. I can't think of anything. “
Sunday at Pebble Beach Golf Links was a bit milder but Walker still had to play through rain, mist, drizzle, fog and occasional gales.
“It just feels like a battle,” he said. “You're not battling really anybody else, you're not battling the field or a tournament, you're just out there trying to [survive]. The golf course is trying to beat you up.”
A misplayed wedge on the first hole ended his bogeyless streak but he got the shot right back with a two-putt birdie on the next hole. On the unforgiving eighth, Walker stuffed his approach for a crucial birdie. But when a defensive approach shot led to a bogey on the 13th hole the lead was down to two strokes over a game Dustin Johnson.
Walker held it together just well enough from there but the strain of the back nine was written on his wife Erin’s face. Standing behind the 18th green she whooped with relief when her hubby made the clinching putt. Wiping away tears, she said, “This one was waaaaay harder than the other two.”
Walker’s ascension to the hottest player in golf began in April 2013, when out of the blue he reached out to Butch Harmon. Seeking more consistency in his long game, he asked the swing-guru-to-the-stars by text message if they could meet for a range session.
“It took him three weeks for him to answer back,” Walker says. “It was a little discouraging but in fairness we’d never even talked before.”
Walker spent a day with Harmon at his swing factory in Las Vegas and they enjoyed each other’s company. In the immediate weeks afterward they kept in touch electronically, with Walker sending video of his swings and Harmon responding with his musings. “All of a sudden he went silent on me,” Walker said. “Quite a few messages went unreturned.”
Erin is a spicy personality and a fierce advocate for her husband. Fed up, she sneaked Harmon’s number out of her hubby’s phone and dashed off a text.
“Jimmy was really bummed about the whole situation so I felt I had to do something,” she said. “I wrote to Butch, ‘Look, you don’t know me, I’m Jimmy Walker’s wife. If you don’t want to work for him, just say so. We need to move on.’ He got back to me like five minutes later. He said, ‘Sorry, I’ve been busy…’”
Harmon was cowed into putting in long hours with Walker in Charlotte and the following week at the Players. In parting, Walker said, “Butch, I don’t know what your deal is with your guys, just tell me what I owe you.”
Harmon’s response: “You don’t owe me anything.”
So when Walker -- a serous oenophile -- returned home to San Antonio he dug around in his wine cellar and found the right thank-you present, which he’d been sitting on for three years: a bottle of 2000 Chateau Margaux, a much-coveted Bordeaux that sells for as much as $1,200. Little wonder that at the end of the year Harmon asked Walker if he’d like to join his stable and work together full-time.
The 2013 stats attested to their progress, as Walker married his stellar short game to a career-best 20th in driving distance (298.5 yards) and 61st in greens in regulation. When he noted his consistency to Harmon -- 10 top-25 finishes in 24 starts -- the crusty Harmon told Walker that consistency doesn’t mean squat without a victory.
At the Frys, Walker went 62-66 on the weekend to finally break through. The revelation was not that he had to do anything particularly special to win but rather do the same old stuff just a little bit better.
“That whole Sunday I never felt nervous,” he said of his first PGA Tour win. “I was comfortable being in that position. It just felt like it was my time.”
It still is. The cerebral Walker counted his Sunday struggles as a valuable les
The sweet-swinging, late-blooming Tour vet came into the Crosby Clambake leading the PGA Tour money list while sitting atop the Ryder Cup and FedEx Cup points list, and that was *before* the grittiest performance of his upwardly mobile career.
For 63 holes, the 35-year-old Walker snuffed the life out of this tournament with an awesome display of mistake-free golf. He began the week by playing 40 straight holes without a bogey, spanning three days, three courses and a vast array of different of weather conditions. On Sunday his lead was six strokes at the turn.
Then Walker got sucked into playing prevent-defense on the back nine, and after a three-putt on 17, his lead was down to one lonely shot. But on the iconic 18th hole at Pebble Beach he made three solid swings and then, finally, he was left with a do-or-die five-footer to save par, and his reputation.
“I made probably my best stroke of the back nine,” Walker said, and the victory was his.
After going oh-fer-187 to start his career, Walker has now won three times in his last eight starts, beginning with his breakthrough in October at the Frys.com Championship that kicked off the 2013-14 season. Walker joins Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and David Duval as the only players in the 21st century to win three times in eight or fewer starts to begin a season, though he’s trying not to get swept up in things like that.
“I just go out and play golf,” Walker said following the victory. ”This is what I want to do and I’ve worked really hard to be in this position and it’s really cool.”
This latest victory was all the sweeter because he survived some vintage Crosby weather. During his third round at Monterey Peninsula Country Club there were gusts up to 30 miles per hour. Said Walker, “I watched two guys hit 3-wood into No. 9 today -- it’s a par-3 and it's 193 yards to the flag. I hit 5-wood. I came up short of the flag.”
Ordinarily he would’ve needed only a smooth 6-iron. Yet in those severe conditions Walker ground out a 67 that pushed him to a six-stroke lead and into unfamiliar territory. Asked if he’d ever had a six-shot lead, even going back to junior golf, he said,” I don't think so. Honestly. I can't think of anything. “
Sunday at Pebble Beach Golf Links was a bit milder but Walker still had to play through rain, mist, drizzle, fog and occasional gales.
“It just feels like a battle,” he said. “You're not battling really anybody else, you're not battling the field or a tournament, you're just out there trying to [survive]. The golf course is trying to beat you up.”
A misplayed wedge on the first hole ended his bogeyless streak but he got the shot right back with a two-putt birdie on the next hole. On the unforgiving eighth, Walker stuffed his approach for a crucial birdie. But when a defensive approach shot led to a bogey on the 13th hole the lead was down to two strokes over a game Dustin Johnson.
Walker held it together just well enough from there but the strain of the back nine was written on his wife Erin’s face. Standing behind the 18th green she whooped with relief when her hubby made the clinching putt. Wiping away tears, she said, “This one was waaaaay harder than the other two.”
Walker’s ascension to the hottest player in golf began in April 2013, when out of the blue he reached out to Butch Harmon. Seeking more consistency in his long game, he asked the swing-guru-to-the-stars by text message if they could meet for a range session.
“It took him three weeks for him to answer back,” Walker says. “It was a little discouraging but in fairness we’d never even talked before.”
Walker spent a day with Harmon at his swing factory in Las Vegas and they enjoyed each other’s company. In the immediate weeks afterward they kept in touch electronically, with Walker sending video of his swings and Harmon responding with his musings. “All of a sudden he went silent on me,” Walker said. “Quite a few messages went unreturned.”
Erin is a spicy personality and a fierce advocate for her husband. Fed up, she sneaked Harmon’s number out of her hubby’s phone and dashed off a text.
“Jimmy was really bummed about the whole situation so I felt I had to do something,” she said. “I wrote to Butch, ‘Look, you don’t know me, I’m Jimmy Walker’s wife. If you don’t want to work for him, just say so. We need to move on.’ He got back to me like five minutes later. He said, ‘Sorry, I’ve been busy…’”
Harmon was cowed into putting in long hours with Walker in Charlotte and the following week at the Players. In parting, Walker said, “Butch, I don’t know what your deal is with your guys, just tell me what I owe you.”
Harmon’s response: “You don’t owe me anything.”
So when Walker -- a serous oenophile -- returned home to San Antonio he dug around in his wine cellar and found the right thank-you present, which he’d been sitting on for three years: a bottle of 2000 Chateau Margaux, a much-coveted Bordeaux that sells for as much as $1,200. Little wonder that at the end of the year Harmon asked Walker if he’d like to join his stable and work together full-time.
The 2013 stats attested to their progress, as Walker married his stellar short game to a career-best 20th in driving distance (298.5 yards) and 61st in greens in regulation. When he noted his consistency to Harmon -- 10 top-25 finishes in 24 starts -- the crusty Harmon told Walker that consistency doesn’t mean squat without a victory.
At the Frys, Walker went 62-66 on the weekend to finally break through. The revelation was not that he had to do anything particularly special to win but rather do the same old stuff just a little bit better.
“That whole Sunday I never felt nervous,” he said of his first PGA Tour win. “I was comfortable being in that position. It just felt like it was my time.”
It still is. The cerebral Walker counted his Sunday struggles as a valuable les
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When Gary Clark, Furman’s athletic director, told his longtime men’s golf coach Feb. 6 that potential budget cuts could end the Paladins’ program, “I was dumbfounded,” Satterfield said.
With a Board of Trustees vote the next day, Furman’s men’s program was shuttered, effective after the spring season.
In a statement, interim president Carl Kohrt said, “. . . we have to constantly evaluate where to strategically allocate our resources.”
Furman’s men’s golf budget – including salaries, scholarships and travel – is about $375,000-$400,000, said Satterfield, in his 18th season. Consistent with most Division I schools, that funding would rank among the smallest of the 20 sports at Furman, a 2,700-student private, liberal-arts school in Greenville, S.C.
Among the Paladins’ alumni, 1983 graduate Brad Faxon won eight times on the PGA Tour. Furman University Golf Club ranks No. 29 on the Golfweek’s Best Campus Courses list. The women’s program, which was left intact, boasts such alumnae as Betsy King, Dottie Pepper, Beth Daniel and Nike Golf chief Cindy Davis.
King, who has played a key role in fundraising for both programs, asked: “Why wouldn’t they at least approach a group of people to say, ‘What can we do to save the program?’ ”
Almost immediately, a petition among Furman golf alumni began circulating online. T.J. Blandford, a 2006 graduate, wrote to Golfweek, “Our hope is to bring attention to the leadership at Furman the extent of the support that exists for the men’s golf program.”
As of Monday afternoon, the petition had more than 1,500 signees.
Satterfield doesn’t expect a reprieve.
“A lot of people are working behind the scenes and making phone calls to see if anything can happen,” said Satterfield, who has led the Paladins to three Southern Conference titles and four NCAA regionals, most recently in 2010. “I am not very optimistic.”
Scholarships for current players and the three signees for the 2014-15 season will be honored. Two of the recruits, Gray Townsend of Winston-Salem, N.C., and Hunter Nichols of Clinton, S.C., told Golfweek that they have filed for release of their national letters-of-intent. The third, Adam Garrett of Easley, S.C., and the grandson of former Furman football coach Jimmy Satterfield (no relation to the current coach) could not be reached for comment.
Furman, No. 130 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings, opens the spring in the Feb. 23-25 John Hayt Intercollegiate in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
“I need to really focus on my guys right now and get them through this,” Satterfield said.
College golf, Furman cuts men's team: Furman Paladins men's golf coach Todd Satterfield 'dumbfounded' at news of program's end
With a Board of Trustees vote the next day, Furman’s men’s program was shuttered, effective after the spring season.
In a statement, interim president Carl Kohrt said, “. . . we have to constantly evaluate where to strategically allocate our resources.”
Furman’s men’s golf budget – including salaries, scholarships and travel – is about $375,000-$400,000, said Satterfield, in his 18th season. Consistent with most Division I schools, that funding would rank among the smallest of the 20 sports at Furman, a 2,700-student private, liberal-arts school in Greenville, S.C.
Among the Paladins’ alumni, 1983 graduate Brad Faxon won eight times on the PGA Tour. Furman University Golf Club ranks No. 29 on the Golfweek’s Best Campus Courses list. The women’s program, which was left intact, boasts such alumnae as Betsy King, Dottie Pepper, Beth Daniel and Nike Golf chief Cindy Davis.
King, who has played a key role in fundraising for both programs, asked: “Why wouldn’t they at least approach a group of people to say, ‘What can we do to save the program?’ ”
Almost immediately, a petition among Furman golf alumni began circulating online. T.J. Blandford, a 2006 graduate, wrote to Golfweek, “Our hope is to bring attention to the leadership at Furman the extent of the support that exists for the men’s golf program.”
As of Monday afternoon, the petition had more than 1,500 signees.
Satterfield doesn’t expect a reprieve.
“A lot of people are working behind the scenes and making phone calls to see if anything can happen,” said Satterfield, who has led the Paladins to three Southern Conference titles and four NCAA regionals, most recently in 2010. “I am not very optimistic.”
Scholarships for current players and the three signees for the 2014-15 season will be honored. Two of the recruits, Gray Townsend of Winston-Salem, N.C., and Hunter Nichols of Clinton, S.C., told Golfweek that they have filed for release of their national letters-of-intent. The third, Adam Garrett of Easley, S.C., and the grandson of former Furman football coach Jimmy Satterfield (no relation to the current coach) could not be reached for comment.
Furman, No. 130 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings, opens the spring in the Feb. 23-25 John Hayt Intercollegiate in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
“I need to really focus on my guys right now and get them through this,” Satterfield said.
College golf, Furman cuts men's team: Furman Paladins men's golf coach Todd Satterfield 'dumbfounded' at news of program's end
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The walk to the parking lot was one filled with resignation, but not despair. Unlike a year ago when Rory McIlroy departed Dove Mountain with a million questions about his game, on Thursday there existed an air of confidence, even in defeat.
McIlroy fought back from two holes down to Harris English at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship but ultimately succumbed on the first extra hole when the Northern Irishman hit an errant second shot that led to a double-bogey.
It was not the way McIlroy wanted the day to conclude, but there's no shame in losing to English, one of the top young American players who has two PGA Tour victories to his name in the past nine months.
"I'm very comfortable with my game," said McIlroy, 24, who made six birdies. "I don't feel in any way disappointed leaving early, because I feel like my game is there. I'm looking forward to the next couple of weeks."
McIlroy's struggles from a year ago are well documented. He came to this tournament off a missed cut a month earlier in Abu Dhabi. All of a sudden, he had just three competitive rounds to his game two months into the year. Then he went to the Honda Classic and withdrew midway through the second round, leading to the first major criticism of his career.
That subject will undoubtedly be broached next week at PGA National, but McIlroy has done more than enough in recent months to help quell those memories. He had two top-10 finishes in the Middle East, a decent showing here despite the second-day defeat, and now it's on to two events in Florida with the Masters not far away.
"I knew it was going to be a battle coming in," said the 24-year-old English. "Rory is an unbelievable player and has seemed to have found his game the last couple of months. I knew going into it I was going to have to bring my A-game and put a lot of pressure on him to end up taking the victory.
"I was 2 up with five to play, and then turned out I was one down with two to play. It was a little wake-up call."
English converted a clutch 20-footer for birdie at the 17th to square the match, then won when McIlroy had his difficulties on the 19th hole.
Although they are separated a good bit in terms of acclaim, English and McIlroy do share a common bond. They, along with Patrick Reed, are the only players on the PGA Tour under age 25 with multiple victories. Reed lost in extra holes to George Coetzee on Thursday.
Jordan Spieth could join them this week or just about any week. The 20-year-old who has one tour victory knocked off 43-year-old Dane Thomas Bjorn to advance to a match up against defending champion Matt Kuchar.
Spieth and English are among seven players -- the others are Rickie Fowler, Victor Dubuisson, Jason Day, George Coetzee and Webb Simpson -- among the final 16 in the tournament who are 27 or younger.
It would have been eight had former U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell not rallied for the second straight day. On Wednesday, he came back from 3 down with 3 to play to defeat Gary Woodland.
On Thursday, McDowell again appeared in big trouble, as he was 2 down with four to play to Hideki Matsuyama and still was 1 down with two holes left. But McDowell birdied the 17th hole, then won the 18th when Matsuyama made bogey.
"Why do it the easy way when the hard way will do?" McDowell said. "I feel very fortunate again today. I've certainly expended all my energy and emotions the last couple of days. But thankfully, it's early in the season and I've plenty left in the tank."
His reward? A Friday showdown with Hunter Mahan.
"I think we played together in a reasonably high-profile match there a few years ago," McDowell quipped, referring to their final pairing at the 2010 Ryder Cup in Wales, where the Northern Irishman prevailed to clinch the winning point for Europe. "There's a decent chance he might be out for a shade of revenge tomorrow, who knows. It's been a long time. A lot of water under the bridge since 2010."
When Ernie Els knocked off reigning U.S. Open champion Justin Rose in extra holes on the final match left on the course Thursday, all of the No. 1 seeds from the tournament were eliminated after just two days.
Zach Johnson was bounced on Thursday, and No. 1 overall seed Henrik Stenson succumbed to Louis Oosthuizen 4&3 on Thursday. McIlroy was the other No. 1 seed.
But it's really no surprise. The overall No. 1 seed has not advanced past the second round of this tournament since 2008, and the storylines are typically filled with upstarts and upsets.
Four matches went to extra holes, including the 22-hole affair between Jason Day and Billy Horschel that ended with a Day birdie on the fourth hole.
So the tournament has a good mixture of youth and experience among the final 16 players. Forty-somethings Els and Jim Furyk are still standing, as are four other major champions -- Jason Dufner, Bubba Watson, Webb Simpson and McDowell.
Sergio Garcia has advanced to Day 3 and will take on Rickie Fowler, who has gotten past tough opponents in Ian Poulter and Jimmie Walker.
And then there is English, who is unlikely to be fazed going up against Furyk after taking down McIlroy.
"It was an awesome match," English said. "This is kind of what you play for, and to both be playing pretty well and then grinding it out."
Not all losses equal for Rory McIlroy at WGC-Match Play -- golf - ESPN
McIlroy fought back from two holes down to Harris English at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship but ultimately succumbed on the first extra hole when the Northern Irishman hit an errant second shot that led to a double-bogey.
It was not the way McIlroy wanted the day to conclude, but there's no shame in losing to English, one of the top young American players who has two PGA Tour victories to his name in the past nine months.
"I'm very comfortable with my game," said McIlroy, 24, who made six birdies. "I don't feel in any way disappointed leaving early, because I feel like my game is there. I'm looking forward to the next couple of weeks."
McIlroy's struggles from a year ago are well documented. He came to this tournament off a missed cut a month earlier in Abu Dhabi. All of a sudden, he had just three competitive rounds to his game two months into the year. Then he went to the Honda Classic and withdrew midway through the second round, leading to the first major criticism of his career.
That subject will undoubtedly be broached next week at PGA National, but McIlroy has done more than enough in recent months to help quell those memories. He had two top-10 finishes in the Middle East, a decent showing here despite the second-day defeat, and now it's on to two events in Florida with the Masters not far away.
"I knew it was going to be a battle coming in," said the 24-year-old English. "Rory is an unbelievable player and has seemed to have found his game the last couple of months. I knew going into it I was going to have to bring my A-game and put a lot of pressure on him to end up taking the victory.
"I was 2 up with five to play, and then turned out I was one down with two to play. It was a little wake-up call."
English converted a clutch 20-footer for birdie at the 17th to square the match, then won when McIlroy had his difficulties on the 19th hole.
Although they are separated a good bit in terms of acclaim, English and McIlroy do share a common bond. They, along with Patrick Reed, are the only players on the PGA Tour under age 25 with multiple victories. Reed lost in extra holes to George Coetzee on Thursday.
Jordan Spieth could join them this week or just about any week. The 20-year-old who has one tour victory knocked off 43-year-old Dane Thomas Bjorn to advance to a match up against defending champion Matt Kuchar.
Spieth and English are among seven players -- the others are Rickie Fowler, Victor Dubuisson, Jason Day, George Coetzee and Webb Simpson -- among the final 16 in the tournament who are 27 or younger.
It would have been eight had former U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell not rallied for the second straight day. On Wednesday, he came back from 3 down with 3 to play to defeat Gary Woodland.
On Thursday, McDowell again appeared in big trouble, as he was 2 down with four to play to Hideki Matsuyama and still was 1 down with two holes left. But McDowell birdied the 17th hole, then won the 18th when Matsuyama made bogey.
"Why do it the easy way when the hard way will do?" McDowell said. "I feel very fortunate again today. I've certainly expended all my energy and emotions the last couple of days. But thankfully, it's early in the season and I've plenty left in the tank."
His reward? A Friday showdown with Hunter Mahan.
"I think we played together in a reasonably high-profile match there a few years ago," McDowell quipped, referring to their final pairing at the 2010 Ryder Cup in Wales, where the Northern Irishman prevailed to clinch the winning point for Europe. "There's a decent chance he might be out for a shade of revenge tomorrow, who knows. It's been a long time. A lot of water under the bridge since 2010."
When Ernie Els knocked off reigning U.S. Open champion Justin Rose in extra holes on the final match left on the course Thursday, all of the No. 1 seeds from the tournament were eliminated after just two days.
Zach Johnson was bounced on Thursday, and No. 1 overall seed Henrik Stenson succumbed to Louis Oosthuizen 4&3 on Thursday. McIlroy was the other No. 1 seed.
But it's really no surprise. The overall No. 1 seed has not advanced past the second round of this tournament since 2008, and the storylines are typically filled with upstarts and upsets.
Four matches went to extra holes, including the 22-hole affair between Jason Day and Billy Horschel that ended with a Day birdie on the fourth hole.
So the tournament has a good mixture of youth and experience among the final 16 players. Forty-somethings Els and Jim Furyk are still standing, as are four other major champions -- Jason Dufner, Bubba Watson, Webb Simpson and McDowell.
Sergio Garcia has advanced to Day 3 and will take on Rickie Fowler, who has gotten past tough opponents in Ian Poulter and Jimmie Walker.
And then there is English, who is unlikely to be fazed going up against Furyk after taking down McIlroy.
"It was an awesome match," English said. "This is kind of what you play for, and to both be playing pretty well and then grinding it out."
Not all losses equal for Rory McIlroy at WGC-Match Play -- golf - ESPN
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Golf is known as a gentleman's game, but Sergio Garcia took sportsmanship to a surprising -- and some might say foolish -- level on Friday at the Match Play Championship.
And it may have contributed to him losing his third-round match to Rickie Fowler at Dove Mountain.
Garcia conceded an 18-foot par putt early in the round, one that helped Fowler halve the seventh hole and looked rather innocuous at the time. Garcia birdied the following hole to go 3-up in their match, but he ended up getting beat when Fowler played the final 10 holes in 5 under to win 1-up. Fowler birdied the 18th hole to win 1-up -- his only lead of the day.
"I don't regret it at all," Garcia said of suggesting that he and Fowler pick up their balls from the seventh green when Fowler had a much longer putt. "He played much better than me on the last 10 holes and he deserves a win.
"This is a gentlemen's game, and lately it hasn't felt like it's been like that. This is the way I was brought up by my dad playing golf."
Garcia later referenced what happened to him in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, last month when a television viewer called in a possible rules violation because video showed him tapping down what appeared to be a spike mark in his putting line. The Spaniard was incensed because the video did not show that earlier he had repaired a ball mark -- which is allowed -- and waiting for a playing partner to hit a putt before completing the repair work.
On Friday at the par-3 sixth hole, Garcia's ball came to rest near a sprinkler head that was covered with bees.
"I had some bad experiences with bees as a youngster ... I felt quite uncomfortable hitting the shot," he said. "I was talking to the referee and he told me to move to where I feel comfortable. I took a drop. Then the bees started flying around me. I felt quite uncomfortable again. So I asked him again and I took another drop again and hit the shot."
But Garcia felt bad he was making his opponent wait so long. Fowler was on the green and waiting to hit a birdie putt. He was 2 down at the time. The ruling and subsequent drops took several minutes. Both players ended up making par, but it bugged Garcia.
So on the seventh, with Fowler facing an 18-footer for par and Garcia having 7 feet left, he offered to have both players pick up their balls and take a half. Fowler didn't quite understand what was happening, several times asking Garcia what he meant.
"I had to kind of find out what he was asking or offering there," Fowler said. "Took me a few to kind of realize. And obviously I'd be stupid to not take a half. I was outside of him. He had a good look for par. He had the advantage there." Added Garcia: "I felt guilty. I felt guilty that my drop on 6 took so long. I felt like if I would have been in his position I would have been uncomfortable waiting so long to hit my birdie putt. So I just thought I have to do something. I have to do something to make sure that I feel good with myself."
There was certainly the possibility that both players would miss and have the same result, but Garcia had the more makeable putt. If Fowler missed and Garcia made, the Spaniard would have gone 3-up. As it was, he went 3-up with a birdie on the eighth hole, but never made another the rest of the day.
Fowler won the ninth, 10th and 16th holes to tie -- then made a birdie putt at the 18th to win. It was the only time he led all day. He advances to Saturday's quarterfinals at the $9 million event to face Jim Furyk.
Match Play Championship -- Sergio Garcia concedes 18-footer in loss to Rickie Fowler - ESPN
And it may have contributed to him losing his third-round match to Rickie Fowler at Dove Mountain.
Garcia conceded an 18-foot par putt early in the round, one that helped Fowler halve the seventh hole and looked rather innocuous at the time. Garcia birdied the following hole to go 3-up in their match, but he ended up getting beat when Fowler played the final 10 holes in 5 under to win 1-up. Fowler birdied the 18th hole to win 1-up -- his only lead of the day.
"I don't regret it at all," Garcia said of suggesting that he and Fowler pick up their balls from the seventh green when Fowler had a much longer putt. "He played much better than me on the last 10 holes and he deserves a win.
"This is a gentlemen's game, and lately it hasn't felt like it's been like that. This is the way I was brought up by my dad playing golf."
Garcia later referenced what happened to him in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, last month when a television viewer called in a possible rules violation because video showed him tapping down what appeared to be a spike mark in his putting line. The Spaniard was incensed because the video did not show that earlier he had repaired a ball mark -- which is allowed -- and waiting for a playing partner to hit a putt before completing the repair work.
On Friday at the par-3 sixth hole, Garcia's ball came to rest near a sprinkler head that was covered with bees.
"I had some bad experiences with bees as a youngster ... I felt quite uncomfortable hitting the shot," he said. "I was talking to the referee and he told me to move to where I feel comfortable. I took a drop. Then the bees started flying around me. I felt quite uncomfortable again. So I asked him again and I took another drop again and hit the shot."
But Garcia felt bad he was making his opponent wait so long. Fowler was on the green and waiting to hit a birdie putt. He was 2 down at the time. The ruling and subsequent drops took several minutes. Both players ended up making par, but it bugged Garcia.
So on the seventh, with Fowler facing an 18-footer for par and Garcia having 7 feet left, he offered to have both players pick up their balls and take a half. Fowler didn't quite understand what was happening, several times asking Garcia what he meant.
"I had to kind of find out what he was asking or offering there," Fowler said. "Took me a few to kind of realize. And obviously I'd be stupid to not take a half. I was outside of him. He had a good look for par. He had the advantage there." Added Garcia: "I felt guilty. I felt guilty that my drop on 6 took so long. I felt like if I would have been in his position I would have been uncomfortable waiting so long to hit my birdie putt. So I just thought I have to do something. I have to do something to make sure that I feel good with myself."
There was certainly the possibility that both players would miss and have the same result, but Garcia had the more makeable putt. If Fowler missed and Garcia made, the Spaniard would have gone 3-up. As it was, he went 3-up with a birdie on the eighth hole, but never made another the rest of the day.
Fowler won the ninth, 10th and 16th holes to tie -- then made a birdie putt at the 18th to win. It was the only time he led all day. He advances to Saturday's quarterfinals at the $9 million event to face Jim Furyk.
Match Play Championship -- Sergio Garcia concedes 18-footer in loss to Rickie Fowler - ESPN
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Feb 23 (Reuters) - Winners of the WGC-Accenture Match Play
Championship since the inaugural edition in 1999 following the
one-up victory by Australian Jason Day over Frenchman Victor
Dubuisson after 23 holes in Sunday's final in Marana, Arizona
(U.S. unless stated):
2014 Jason Day (Australia), Dove Mountain's Ritz-Carlton Golf
Club, Marana, Arizona
2013 Matt Kuchar, Dove Mountain's Ritz-Carlton Golf Club,
Marana, Arizona
2012 Hunter Mahan, Dove Mountain's Ritz-Carlton Golf Club,
Marana, Arizona
2011 Luke Donald (Britain), Dove Mountain's Ritz-Carlton Golf
Club, Marana, Arizona
2010 Ian Poulter (Britain), Dove Mountain's Ritz-Carlton Golf
Club, Marana, Arizona
2009 Geoff Ogilvy (Australia), Dove Mountain's Ritz-Carlton
Golf Club, Marana, Arizona
2008 Tiger Woods, Dove Mountain's Ritz-Carlton Golf Club,
Marana, Arizona
2007 Henrik Stenson (Sweden), Dove Mountain's Ritz-Carlton Golf
Club, Marana, Arizona
2006 Ogilvy, La Costa Resort and Spa, Carlsbad, California
2005 David Toms, La Costa Resort and Spa, Carlsbad, California
2004 Woods, La Costa Resort and Spa, Carlsbad, California
2003 Woods, La Costa Resort and Spa, Carlsbad, California
2002 Kevin Sutherland, La Costa Resort and Spa, Carlsbad,
California
2001 Steve Stricker, The Metropolitan Club, Victoria, Australia
2000 Darren Clarke (Britain), La Costa Resort and Spa,
Carlsbad, California
1999 Jeff Maggert, La Costa Resort and Spa, Carlsbad,
California
Golf-Winners of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship | Reuters
Championship since the inaugural edition in 1999 following the
one-up victory by Australian Jason Day over Frenchman Victor
Dubuisson after 23 holes in Sunday's final in Marana, Arizona
(U.S. unless stated):
2014 Jason Day (Australia), Dove Mountain's Ritz-Carlton Golf
Club, Marana, Arizona
2013 Matt Kuchar, Dove Mountain's Ritz-Carlton Golf Club,
Marana, Arizona
2012 Hunter Mahan, Dove Mountain's Ritz-Carlton Golf Club,
Marana, Arizona
2011 Luke Donald (Britain), Dove Mountain's Ritz-Carlton Golf
Club, Marana, Arizona
2010 Ian Poulter (Britain), Dove Mountain's Ritz-Carlton Golf
Club, Marana, Arizona
2009 Geoff Ogilvy (Australia), Dove Mountain's Ritz-Carlton
Golf Club, Marana, Arizona
2008 Tiger Woods, Dove Mountain's Ritz-Carlton Golf Club,
Marana, Arizona
2007 Henrik Stenson (Sweden), Dove Mountain's Ritz-Carlton Golf
Club, Marana, Arizona
2006 Ogilvy, La Costa Resort and Spa, Carlsbad, California
2005 David Toms, La Costa Resort and Spa, Carlsbad, California
2004 Woods, La Costa Resort and Spa, Carlsbad, California
2003 Woods, La Costa Resort and Spa, Carlsbad, California
2002 Kevin Sutherland, La Costa Resort and Spa, Carlsbad,
California
2001 Steve Stricker, The Metropolitan Club, Victoria, Australia
2000 Darren Clarke (Britain), La Costa Resort and Spa,
Carlsbad, California
1999 Jeff Maggert, La Costa Resort and Spa, Carlsbad,
California
Golf-Winners of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship | Reuters
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This week's Honda Classic comes as part of a World Golf Championship event sandwich. The recently finished WGC-Match Play and the upcoming WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral serve as bookends to this week's tournament at PGA National.
Will Tiger Woods turn around his 2014 fortunes? How will Adam Scott play after taking six weeks off? Our scribes dive into those topics and more in the latest edition of Four-Ball.
1. Fill in the blank. For Tiger Woods to contend at the Honda Classic this week, he'll have to ________.
Michael Collins, ESPN.com senior golf analyst: Hit fairways. PGA National can be extremely penal off the tee if you're out of position. That being said, there are places you can miss off the tee. Unfortunately for Tiger, he usually doesn't miss in those places.
Farrell Evans, ESPN.com senior golf writer: Play four good rounds. Tiger hasn't strung together four under-par rounds in a tournament since he finished in a tie for second at the Barclays in August. His 74 in the final round of Honda last year matched his highest final round of the 2013 season.
Bob Harig, ESPN.com senior golf writer: Get his tee shots, especially his driver, in play. Not finding fairways off the tee has ultimately led to his struggles at Torrey Pines and Dubai. Yes, there were some putting issues at both tournaments, but for the most part, he failed to give himself enough scoring opportunities. It all starts with playing from the fairway.
Kevin Maguire, ESPN.com senior golf editor: Get the ball in the fairway at PGA National. That track isn't for the faint of heart, and if Woods aspires to a top-10 finish or possibly a victory, playing out of the rough more than half the time just won't cut it.
2. Fact or fiction: Jason Day will win a major in 2014.
Collins: Fiction, with an asterisk. Only two guys have won Match Play and a major in the same year: Tiger (of course, but only once, in 2008) and Geoff Ogilvy (2006). The asterisk is there because it's been done before -- but if Day does win a major, according to this research, it's going to have to be the U.S. Open. Those were the majors won by Woods and Ogilvy.
Evans: Fact. Day has six top-10s in 13 major appearances, including two seconds in 2011. The win in the Match Play, the biggest victory of his career, will only serve to fuel his desire to capture a major.
Harig: Fiction. While he has been a contender in majors, it remains remarkable that he now just has two victories. And the Match Play title on Sunday was a struggle, one he should have had wrapped up much earlier.
Maguire: If you asked at the start of the year, the answer would have been maybe. After seeing how he kept it together despite Victor Dubuisson's heroics at the WGC-Match Play final, that's turned into a "fact." Winning is never easy (notice for all his talent, it's only Day's second PGA Tour victory), but the Aussie didn't wilt under the pressure as his French opponent pulled some all-world-pars from the cactus on two occasions to stretch the match to 23 holes.
3. What kind of impact will Adam Scott's long layoff have on his play this week at the Honda Classic?
Collins: Depends. Has he been chilling (literally) in New York or working on his game in the Bahamas? If he's been working on his game for the last two weeks, we should expect a top-15 finish. If he's been in New York, he'll have the weekend off.
Evans: Since Scott made a pledge at the beginning of 2012 that he was going to play a reduced schedule, he has had 20 top-10s worldwide, including five wins, the most substantial of these being the 2013 Masters. His game might show some rust at the Honda, but his commitment to not play too much and focus his schedule around the majors has taken him all the way to second in the world ranking.
Harig: Little impact. This is the kind of schedule Scott has purposely put forth. He wants to be fresh, and is trying to give himself as much rest time as possible. But he's also been working on his game, and while it's been six weeks since he last competed, it would be surprising if he struggled.
Maguire: Not much. Scott's be in laid-back mode, away from the PGA Tour, for what feels like a couple of months since he last played at the Sony Open. That smooth swing will find its groove once again, although I don't suspect he'll be battling for the title on the back nine on Sunday as he works off a little competitive rust. 4. Which of Victor Dubuisson's two escape shots in extra holes Sunday was more impressive?
Collins: The first one. No way you're going to make me believe he'd seen a lie like that before. For him to play that (with the time and routine) like it was just a normal scramble, it even caught the announcers and camera guys off guard. The result was something that would make Stephen A. Smith speechless!
Evans: It's hard to single out one over the other. They both required a great deal of courage, imagination and luck. Out of those two very difficult lies, it was just about impossible for him to know how hard to hit the ball. That he was able to use both force and finesse on each shot is a testament to his unflappable mental composure and talent.
Harig: The first one at the first extra hole. When his ball came to rest behind the green, not only was it in the desert, but up against a cactus that could have caused all kinds of problems. There was also TV wire he had to deal with, and Dubuisson actually caught the wire on the follow through. And then he holed the par putt. Victor made a name for himself there.
Maguire: Both were simply phenomenal, but the second one seemed more improbable -- if that's possible -- than the first. The Frenchman looked like he just went up and wacked that first one on the 19th hole. On the second one, though, at the par-4 ninth, he had what looked like a large piece of dead brush above his ball and he just lofted that one up there and let it trickle down to the hole. Seve Ballesteros would have been proud
Will Tiger Woods turn around his 2014 fortunes? How will Adam Scott play after taking six weeks off? Our scribes dive into those topics and more in the latest edition of Four-Ball.
1. Fill in the blank. For Tiger Woods to contend at the Honda Classic this week, he'll have to ________.
Michael Collins, ESPN.com senior golf analyst: Hit fairways. PGA National can be extremely penal off the tee if you're out of position. That being said, there are places you can miss off the tee. Unfortunately for Tiger, he usually doesn't miss in those places.
Farrell Evans, ESPN.com senior golf writer: Play four good rounds. Tiger hasn't strung together four under-par rounds in a tournament since he finished in a tie for second at the Barclays in August. His 74 in the final round of Honda last year matched his highest final round of the 2013 season.
Bob Harig, ESPN.com senior golf writer: Get his tee shots, especially his driver, in play. Not finding fairways off the tee has ultimately led to his struggles at Torrey Pines and Dubai. Yes, there were some putting issues at both tournaments, but for the most part, he failed to give himself enough scoring opportunities. It all starts with playing from the fairway.
Kevin Maguire, ESPN.com senior golf editor: Get the ball in the fairway at PGA National. That track isn't for the faint of heart, and if Woods aspires to a top-10 finish or possibly a victory, playing out of the rough more than half the time just won't cut it.
2. Fact or fiction: Jason Day will win a major in 2014.
Collins: Fiction, with an asterisk. Only two guys have won Match Play and a major in the same year: Tiger (of course, but only once, in 2008) and Geoff Ogilvy (2006). The asterisk is there because it's been done before -- but if Day does win a major, according to this research, it's going to have to be the U.S. Open. Those were the majors won by Woods and Ogilvy.
Evans: Fact. Day has six top-10s in 13 major appearances, including two seconds in 2011. The win in the Match Play, the biggest victory of his career, will only serve to fuel his desire to capture a major.
Harig: Fiction. While he has been a contender in majors, it remains remarkable that he now just has two victories. And the Match Play title on Sunday was a struggle, one he should have had wrapped up much earlier.
Maguire: If you asked at the start of the year, the answer would have been maybe. After seeing how he kept it together despite Victor Dubuisson's heroics at the WGC-Match Play final, that's turned into a "fact." Winning is never easy (notice for all his talent, it's only Day's second PGA Tour victory), but the Aussie didn't wilt under the pressure as his French opponent pulled some all-world-pars from the cactus on two occasions to stretch the match to 23 holes.
3. What kind of impact will Adam Scott's long layoff have on his play this week at the Honda Classic?
Collins: Depends. Has he been chilling (literally) in New York or working on his game in the Bahamas? If he's been working on his game for the last two weeks, we should expect a top-15 finish. If he's been in New York, he'll have the weekend off.
Evans: Since Scott made a pledge at the beginning of 2012 that he was going to play a reduced schedule, he has had 20 top-10s worldwide, including five wins, the most substantial of these being the 2013 Masters. His game might show some rust at the Honda, but his commitment to not play too much and focus his schedule around the majors has taken him all the way to second in the world ranking.
Harig: Little impact. This is the kind of schedule Scott has purposely put forth. He wants to be fresh, and is trying to give himself as much rest time as possible. But he's also been working on his game, and while it's been six weeks since he last competed, it would be surprising if he struggled.
Maguire: Not much. Scott's be in laid-back mode, away from the PGA Tour, for what feels like a couple of months since he last played at the Sony Open. That smooth swing will find its groove once again, although I don't suspect he'll be battling for the title on the back nine on Sunday as he works off a little competitive rust. 4. Which of Victor Dubuisson's two escape shots in extra holes Sunday was more impressive?
Collins: The first one. No way you're going to make me believe he'd seen a lie like that before. For him to play that (with the time and routine) like it was just a normal scramble, it even caught the announcers and camera guys off guard. The result was something that would make Stephen A. Smith speechless!
Evans: It's hard to single out one over the other. They both required a great deal of courage, imagination and luck. Out of those two very difficult lies, it was just about impossible for him to know how hard to hit the ball. That he was able to use both force and finesse on each shot is a testament to his unflappable mental composure and talent.
Harig: The first one at the first extra hole. When his ball came to rest behind the green, not only was it in the desert, but up against a cactus that could have caused all kinds of problems. There was also TV wire he had to deal with, and Dubuisson actually caught the wire on the follow through. And then he holed the par putt. Victor made a name for himself there.
Maguire: Both were simply phenomenal, but the second one seemed more improbable -- if that's possible -- than the first. The Frenchman looked like he just went up and wacked that first one on the 19th hole. On the second one, though, at the par-4 ninth, he had what looked like a large piece of dead brush above his ball and he just lofted that one up there and let it trickle down to the hole. Seve Ballesteros would have been proud
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The Winter Olympics are over, which means golf’s return to the Games is only 2 ½ years away.
The International Olympic Committee has restricted the International Golf Federation to an Olympic field of 60 players for each of the men’s and women’s events, which will be 72 holes of stroke play. The top 15 players in the Official World Ranking will be eligible for the event, with a limit of four players from a given country qualifying based on their ranking. Beyond the top 15, players will be eligible based on world rankings, with a maximum of two eligible players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top 15.
So, if the 2016 Rio Olympics were held today, here is how the 60-man field would look (based on the Feb. 24 OWGR):
Which Players Would Comprise 2016 Olympic Field? | Golf Channel
The International Olympic Committee has restricted the International Golf Federation to an Olympic field of 60 players for each of the men’s and women’s events, which will be 72 holes of stroke play. The top 15 players in the Official World Ranking will be eligible for the event, with a limit of four players from a given country qualifying based on their ranking. Beyond the top 15, players will be eligible based on world rankings, with a maximum of two eligible players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top 15.
So, if the 2016 Rio Olympics were held today, here is how the 60-man field would look (based on the Feb. 24 OWGR):
Which Players Would Comprise 2016 Olympic Field? | Golf Channel
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There's a four-way argument at the top of the New Zealand Open leaderboard after the first round and the leading quartet are all Australians.
Andrew Dodt, Terry Pilkadaris, Jake Stirling and Scott Strange finished their opening 18 holes today at six-under the card.
All four players took on the Millbrook Resort course and liked what they saw as they turned in birdie-soaked rounds, while The Hills proved tougher.
The revamped New Zealand Open, which has taken on a pro-am format, sees players navigate a round at The Hills and the nearby Millbrook Resort during the first two days, with the final two rounds to be played at The Hills this weekend.
The leading foursome hold a one-stroke advantage over five other golfers, including Kiwi Mark Brown, who are tied for fifth at five-under.
Fellow Kiwis Mathew Perry, Dominic Barson and Richard Lee were among a gaggle of players tied for 10th at four-under.
Dodt, who has father-in-law Brett Odgers on the bag this week, said he was looking forward to playing at The Hills tomorrow given he finished second at the New Zealand Open when it was held at Sir Michael Hill's course in 2010.
"Yeah, I am. I'm not really excited about the weather, though, and what's to come,'' Dodt said. Showers are forecast for tomorrow, with some predictions tipping them to be heavy, so Dodt, a former European Tour regular, said it was a good feeling to have a decent score on the board from the first round.
"[To] get off to a good start, you feel like you're in front of the field a bit. If the weather is pretty ordinary, a good round today makes up for that ... I played four years in Europe so hopefully I go alright.''
Southland's Vaughan McCall was the leading amateur after the first round as he signed for a three-under 69 to be in a share of 17th after he began the tournament at Millbrook.
"It's a great way to start off the national open,'' McCall said. "I was pretty nervous and starting off those first three or four holes, I hit some errant drives and shots that cost me a couple. But I did really well to pull it back together. I backed my form, because I am playing well and pulled some birdies back.''
McCall made his charge with three birdies on the back nine, which is a section of the Millbrook course that was recently redesigned by Greg Turner.
"I think that back nine is just so cool, I love what Turner's done with it. I got to the turn and was just fizzing about playing that back nine.''
New Zealanders David Klein and Nick Gillespie also finished at three-under for the day, alongside McCall in a share of 17th.
Among the other Kiwis in the field, Ryan Fox, Gareth Paddison, Brad Shilton, Josh Geary and Kieran Muir were all part of a collection of players at two-under in a tie for 28th.
American Rocco Mediate, a six-time winner on the PGA Tour, had an up-and-down day as he finished with an even-par 72 at Millbrook, the same score as playing partner and tournament-favourite Michael Hendry.
The high-profile pair were in 61st after the first round.
Golf: Australians lead the pack at NZ Open - Sport - NZ Herald News
Andrew Dodt, Terry Pilkadaris, Jake Stirling and Scott Strange finished their opening 18 holes today at six-under the card.
All four players took on the Millbrook Resort course and liked what they saw as they turned in birdie-soaked rounds, while The Hills proved tougher.
The revamped New Zealand Open, which has taken on a pro-am format, sees players navigate a round at The Hills and the nearby Millbrook Resort during the first two days, with the final two rounds to be played at The Hills this weekend.
The leading foursome hold a one-stroke advantage over five other golfers, including Kiwi Mark Brown, who are tied for fifth at five-under.
Fellow Kiwis Mathew Perry, Dominic Barson and Richard Lee were among a gaggle of players tied for 10th at four-under.
Dodt, who has father-in-law Brett Odgers on the bag this week, said he was looking forward to playing at The Hills tomorrow given he finished second at the New Zealand Open when it was held at Sir Michael Hill's course in 2010.
"Yeah, I am. I'm not really excited about the weather, though, and what's to come,'' Dodt said. Showers are forecast for tomorrow, with some predictions tipping them to be heavy, so Dodt, a former European Tour regular, said it was a good feeling to have a decent score on the board from the first round.
"[To] get off to a good start, you feel like you're in front of the field a bit. If the weather is pretty ordinary, a good round today makes up for that ... I played four years in Europe so hopefully I go alright.''
Southland's Vaughan McCall was the leading amateur after the first round as he signed for a three-under 69 to be in a share of 17th after he began the tournament at Millbrook.
"It's a great way to start off the national open,'' McCall said. "I was pretty nervous and starting off those first three or four holes, I hit some errant drives and shots that cost me a couple. But I did really well to pull it back together. I backed my form, because I am playing well and pulled some birdies back.''
McCall made his charge with three birdies on the back nine, which is a section of the Millbrook course that was recently redesigned by Greg Turner.
"I think that back nine is just so cool, I love what Turner's done with it. I got to the turn and was just fizzing about playing that back nine.''
New Zealanders David Klein and Nick Gillespie also finished at three-under for the day, alongside McCall in a share of 17th.
Among the other Kiwis in the field, Ryan Fox, Gareth Paddison, Brad Shilton, Josh Geary and Kieran Muir were all part of a collection of players at two-under in a tie for 28th.
American Rocco Mediate, a six-time winner on the PGA Tour, had an up-and-down day as he finished with an even-par 72 at Millbrook, the same score as playing partner and tournament-favourite Michael Hendry.
The high-profile pair were in 61st after the first round.
Golf: Australians lead the pack at NZ Open - Sport - NZ Herald News
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Rory McIlroy birdied the last two holes for a 7-under 63 and a one-shot lead over Russell Henley on Thursday at the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
It was big improvement from the last official round he played on PGA National. McIlroy was 7 over through eight holes last year when he became so frustrated with mounting expectations and a slumping game that he walked off the course in the middle of the second round.
"It's not something I really thought about out there," he said. "Coming in this week, I knew I was playing well and I just wanted to try and get off to a good start. ... Regardless of what happened last year, it's always nice to shoot a round like this."
Tiger Woods, in his first tournament in a month, couldn't make a birdie putt early and had to scramble for pars late in his round. A birdie on the last hole gave him a 1-over 71, leaving him eight shots behind.
"I hit it good starting out, hit it kind of scrappy in the middle and then hit it good at the end," he said. "But it was just one or the other. I either hit it good and missed the putt, and then scrap around and make a putt."
Phil Mickelson, playing PGA National for the first time since he was an amateur, had two birdies and a double bogey for a 70.
Past champion Rory Sabbatini, William McGirt and Jamie Donaldson were at 65.
Zach Johnson was four shots behind and thrilled about his 67. He hit two shots into the water on his way to a quadruple-bogey 8 on his second hole of the tournament.
"It was a day where it could have gone the other way -- quick," Johnson said.
McIlroy put last year behind him, though it was hard to ignore the turnaround. He was the defending champion and No. 1 in the world last year, newly signed to a big Nike contract and struggling to break par. Now he is playing well. He is adjusted to his equipment. He's engaged to tennis player Caroline Wozniacki, who followed him around the golf course.
"I'm in a great place," he said. "I couldn't be happier."
The tour is closing on a deal for Detroit-based Quicken Loans to become title sponsor of Woods' tournament at Congressional (Md.), the Associated Press reported. Dan Gilbert, who owns the Cleveland Cavaliers, is chairman and founder of Quicken Loans. AT&T, in the final year of its contract, was not planning to renew the sponsorship. The tournament is June 26-29.
Travelers Companies announced a 10-year extension as the title sponsor of the Travelers Championship. The tournament is June 19-22 at TPC River Highlands (Conn.). The Travelers Championship and AT&T, which sponsors the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, both are signed through 2024.
LPGA: Karrie Webb slipped up several weeks ago at the Australian Ladies Masters when she signed an incorrect scorecard and was disqualified. For a moment at the HSBC Women's Champions in Singapore, she thought she had made a similar mistake.
After shooting a 6-under 66 to take a one-stroke lead, Webb feared she may have forgotten to sign her scorecard. She rushed back into the scoring tent only to find her scorecard was just fine.
"I've just had trouble getting out of the scorer tent since then," she said about her mistake in Australia. "I walked out (today) and couldn't remember if I signed my card, which it would have been too late anyway."
Pleasanton native Paula Creamer and Caroline Hedwall were tied for second at 67, a shot ahead of Angela Stanford and Teresa Lu.
"My main goal is just to be very consistent this year and a win happens by itself, you don't have to force any of that," said Creamer, who hasn't won on tour since the 2010 Women's U.S. Open.
Michelle Wie shot a 73.
Golf: Rory McIlroy walks tall at Honda Classic - San Jose Mercury News
It was big improvement from the last official round he played on PGA National. McIlroy was 7 over through eight holes last year when he became so frustrated with mounting expectations and a slumping game that he walked off the course in the middle of the second round.
"It's not something I really thought about out there," he said. "Coming in this week, I knew I was playing well and I just wanted to try and get off to a good start. ... Regardless of what happened last year, it's always nice to shoot a round like this."
Tiger Woods, in his first tournament in a month, couldn't make a birdie putt early and had to scramble for pars late in his round. A birdie on the last hole gave him a 1-over 71, leaving him eight shots behind.
"I hit it good starting out, hit it kind of scrappy in the middle and then hit it good at the end," he said. "But it was just one or the other. I either hit it good and missed the putt, and then scrap around and make a putt."
Phil Mickelson, playing PGA National for the first time since he was an amateur, had two birdies and a double bogey for a 70.
Past champion Rory Sabbatini, William McGirt and Jamie Donaldson were at 65.
Zach Johnson was four shots behind and thrilled about his 67. He hit two shots into the water on his way to a quadruple-bogey 8 on his second hole of the tournament.
"It was a day where it could have gone the other way -- quick," Johnson said.
McIlroy put last year behind him, though it was hard to ignore the turnaround. He was the defending champion and No. 1 in the world last year, newly signed to a big Nike contract and struggling to break par. Now he is playing well. He is adjusted to his equipment. He's engaged to tennis player Caroline Wozniacki, who followed him around the golf course.
"I'm in a great place," he said. "I couldn't be happier."
The tour is closing on a deal for Detroit-based Quicken Loans to become title sponsor of Woods' tournament at Congressional (Md.), the Associated Press reported. Dan Gilbert, who owns the Cleveland Cavaliers, is chairman and founder of Quicken Loans. AT&T, in the final year of its contract, was not planning to renew the sponsorship. The tournament is June 26-29.
Travelers Companies announced a 10-year extension as the title sponsor of the Travelers Championship. The tournament is June 19-22 at TPC River Highlands (Conn.). The Travelers Championship and AT&T, which sponsors the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, both are signed through 2024.
LPGA: Karrie Webb slipped up several weeks ago at the Australian Ladies Masters when she signed an incorrect scorecard and was disqualified. For a moment at the HSBC Women's Champions in Singapore, she thought she had made a similar mistake.
After shooting a 6-under 66 to take a one-stroke lead, Webb feared she may have forgotten to sign her scorecard. She rushed back into the scoring tent only to find her scorecard was just fine.
"I've just had trouble getting out of the scorer tent since then," she said about her mistake in Australia. "I walked out (today) and couldn't remember if I signed my card, which it would have been too late anyway."
Pleasanton native Paula Creamer and Caroline Hedwall were tied for second at 67, a shot ahead of Angela Stanford and Teresa Lu.
"My main goal is just to be very consistent this year and a win happens by itself, you don't have to force any of that," said Creamer, who hasn't won on tour since the 2010 Women's U.S. Open.
Michelle Wie shot a 73.
Golf: Rory McIlroy walks tall at Honda Classic - San Jose Mercury News
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Golf is starting to feel easy again for Rory McIlroy, who bounced back from a sloppy start Friday in the Honda Classic for a 4-under 66 that gave him his first 36-hole lead on the PGA Tour in 18 months.
Tiger Woods is making it look hard.
McIlroy recovered from two early bogeys by running off six birdies in a 10-hole stretch. He looked solid from tee-to-green, hit putts with growing confidence and wound up with a one-shot lead over Brendon de Jonge. McIlroy was at 11-under 129.
"I knew that with the way I'm playing and the confidence in my ability, I would be able to get those shots back," McIlroy said. "I didn't panic. I didn't try to do anything different. Just tried to keep playing the way I was."
Woods was over the cut line after scrambling for a bogey on the 11th hole and wound up with a 69 to make the cut on the number. Because 79 players made the cut, there will be another cut to top 70 and ties on Saturday. Woods missed the 54-hole cut the last time he played on the PGA Tour at Torrey Pines.
"It was a grind, there's no doubt about it," Woods said. "I didn't hit it very good. Just one of those days where I fought out a number, which was good."
At least he's still playing the weekend. That wasn't the case for Phil Mickelson. Playing the Honda Classic for the first time in 12 years, he had a 71 to miss the cut. So did Henrik Stenson, the No. 3 player in the world, with rounds of 73-76.
McIlroy knew the feeling a year ago, when he took a steep fall from No. 1 in the world while changing equipment and trying to live up to high expectations, leading to his snap decision to walk off the course after 26 holes last year at the Honda Classic. A growing gallery in warm sunshine at PGA National saw a familiar game – the McIlroy who won the Honda Classic two years ago.
De Jonge shot 64. Russell Henley had a 68 and was three shots behind. Russell Knox of Scotland had the low round Friday at 63 and was four shots back along with Lee Westwood (65).
Golf: Rory McIlroy continues solid week at Honda Classic
Tiger Woods is making it look hard.
McIlroy recovered from two early bogeys by running off six birdies in a 10-hole stretch. He looked solid from tee-to-green, hit putts with growing confidence and wound up with a one-shot lead over Brendon de Jonge. McIlroy was at 11-under 129.
"I knew that with the way I'm playing and the confidence in my ability, I would be able to get those shots back," McIlroy said. "I didn't panic. I didn't try to do anything different. Just tried to keep playing the way I was."
Woods was over the cut line after scrambling for a bogey on the 11th hole and wound up with a 69 to make the cut on the number. Because 79 players made the cut, there will be another cut to top 70 and ties on Saturday. Woods missed the 54-hole cut the last time he played on the PGA Tour at Torrey Pines.
"It was a grind, there's no doubt about it," Woods said. "I didn't hit it very good. Just one of those days where I fought out a number, which was good."
At least he's still playing the weekend. That wasn't the case for Phil Mickelson. Playing the Honda Classic for the first time in 12 years, he had a 71 to miss the cut. So did Henrik Stenson, the No. 3 player in the world, with rounds of 73-76.
McIlroy knew the feeling a year ago, when he took a steep fall from No. 1 in the world while changing equipment and trying to live up to high expectations, leading to his snap decision to walk off the course after 26 holes last year at the Honda Classic. A growing gallery in warm sunshine at PGA National saw a familiar game – the McIlroy who won the Honda Classic two years ago.
De Jonge shot 64. Russell Henley had a 68 and was three shots behind. Russell Knox of Scotland had the low round Friday at 63 and was four shots back along with Lee Westwood (65).
Golf: Rory McIlroy continues solid week at Honda Classic
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For the second time in as many tournaments, an Australian golfer has used the New Zealand Open to make a name for themselves.
Amateur Jake Higginbottom won the Open at Clearwater in 2012 and Dimitrios Papadatos has blitzed the field to take this year's crown by four strokes from Kiwi Mark Brown at The Hills near Queenstown today.
There was no tournament last year due to rescheduling and Papadatos fired a six-under 66 in his final round today to finish the event at 18-under.
The 22-year-old had never led a professional tournament heading in to the final round and you expected he would feel the pressure at some stage today but he never faltered.
He collected five birdies down the back nine as he thrived being in the final group on the course.
Poor conditions threatened to mar the final day as rain struck on more than one occasion but it didn't hurt Papadatos who banked $153,000 for his first win as a professional.
It was another frustrating national open for Brown, who despite shooting a three-under 69 on the final day, didn't hole enough putts on the front nine to put any serious pressure on Papadatos.
Te Anau's David Klein finished third at 13-under for the tournament as Kiwi Richard Lee claimed fourth place alongside Australian Ashley Hall at 12-under.
Aucklander Ryan Fox claimed a share of sixth, alongside Australian Terry Pilkadaris at 11-under.
Papadatos' victory means the search for a Kiwi champion continues with Mahal Pearce the last local to win the New Zealand Open when he triumphed at Middlemore in 2003.
The revamped Open had a pro-am format this year and the best ball pro-am competition was won by Australian Brody Ninyette and amateur Sam Hamilton.
Golf: Papadatos wins NZ Open - Sport - NZ Herald News
Amateur Jake Higginbottom won the Open at Clearwater in 2012 and Dimitrios Papadatos has blitzed the field to take this year's crown by four strokes from Kiwi Mark Brown at The Hills near Queenstown today.
There was no tournament last year due to rescheduling and Papadatos fired a six-under 66 in his final round today to finish the event at 18-under.
The 22-year-old had never led a professional tournament heading in to the final round and you expected he would feel the pressure at some stage today but he never faltered.
He collected five birdies down the back nine as he thrived being in the final group on the course.
Poor conditions threatened to mar the final day as rain struck on more than one occasion but it didn't hurt Papadatos who banked $153,000 for his first win as a professional.
It was another frustrating national open for Brown, who despite shooting a three-under 69 on the final day, didn't hole enough putts on the front nine to put any serious pressure on Papadatos.
Te Anau's David Klein finished third at 13-under for the tournament as Kiwi Richard Lee claimed fourth place alongside Australian Ashley Hall at 12-under.
Aucklander Ryan Fox claimed a share of sixth, alongside Australian Terry Pilkadaris at 11-under.
Papadatos' victory means the search for a Kiwi champion continues with Mahal Pearce the last local to win the New Zealand Open when he triumphed at Middlemore in 2003.
The revamped Open had a pro-am format this year and the best ball pro-am competition was won by Australian Brody Ninyette and amateur Sam Hamilton.
Golf: Papadatos wins NZ Open - Sport - NZ Herald News
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Woods retired on the 13th hole at PGA National, where he was five over par for the day and level for the tournament, having struggled to the turn in five-over 40.
"It's my lower back with spasms," Woods, 38, said in a statement. "It started this morning warming up."
He said it was the same feeling he had during The Barclays tournament last August, where he finished in obvious discomfort.
His withdrawal comes less than six weeks before the first major of the year, the Apr. 10-13 Masters at Augusta National.
Woods, whose career major tally of 14 is second only to Jack Nicklaus, said it was too soon to know whether he would be able to defend his title at the WGC-Cadillac Championship, starting in Miami on Thursday.
"It's too early to tell," he said. "I need treatment every day until Thursday to try to calm it down and we'll see how it is."
Woods last withdrew from a tournament at the 2012 Cadillac Championship, citing an Achilles injury which did not prove to be serious. He bounced back two weeks later to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
His early exit from the Honda Classic on Sunday was probably a precaution more than anything else, and it would be premature to speculate that his back will hinder his preparation for the Masters.
Nevertheless, the recovery period from back injuries is notoriously unpredictable.
"If you're hurting, you don't need to risk injuring yourself even more," said Luke Guthrie, who played with fellow American Woods for the last two rounds at PGA National.
"He's had his share of problems with injuries (so) there's no reason to chance it."
Guthrie observed that Woods hit a couple of uncharacteristic shots during the final round.
"The drive on three was the first I noticed he wasn't feeling the greatest (but) I didn't think much of it maybe until 11 (where) I noticed he was bending down gingerly," he said.
Guthrie felt that Woods had given maximum effort.
"He was battling out there," he said. "It's not like he was throwing in the towel."
Woods has competed in only one other event on the 2013-14 PGA Tour, failing to make the 54-hole secondary cut at the Farmers Insurance Open in January.
Golf - Woods quits during final round at Honda Classic - Yahoo Eurosport UK
"It's my lower back with spasms," Woods, 38, said in a statement. "It started this morning warming up."
He said it was the same feeling he had during The Barclays tournament last August, where he finished in obvious discomfort.
His withdrawal comes less than six weeks before the first major of the year, the Apr. 10-13 Masters at Augusta National.
Woods, whose career major tally of 14 is second only to Jack Nicklaus, said it was too soon to know whether he would be able to defend his title at the WGC-Cadillac Championship, starting in Miami on Thursday.
"It's too early to tell," he said. "I need treatment every day until Thursday to try to calm it down and we'll see how it is."
Woods last withdrew from a tournament at the 2012 Cadillac Championship, citing an Achilles injury which did not prove to be serious. He bounced back two weeks later to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
His early exit from the Honda Classic on Sunday was probably a precaution more than anything else, and it would be premature to speculate that his back will hinder his preparation for the Masters.
Nevertheless, the recovery period from back injuries is notoriously unpredictable.
"If you're hurting, you don't need to risk injuring yourself even more," said Luke Guthrie, who played with fellow American Woods for the last two rounds at PGA National.
"He's had his share of problems with injuries (so) there's no reason to chance it."
Guthrie observed that Woods hit a couple of uncharacteristic shots during the final round.
"The drive on three was the first I noticed he wasn't feeling the greatest (but) I didn't think much of it maybe until 11 (where) I noticed he was bending down gingerly," he said.
Guthrie felt that Woods had given maximum effort.
"He was battling out there," he said. "It's not like he was throwing in the towel."
Woods has competed in only one other event on the 2013-14 PGA Tour, failing to make the 54-hole secondary cut at the Farmers Insurance Open in January.
Golf - Woods quits during final round at Honda Classic - Yahoo Eurosport UK
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BOSTON - If you've spent enough time around a golf course in your life, you have invariably heard the phrase: "You drive for show but putt for dough."
Anyone who has three-putted in an important match can sympathize with the phrase coined in the 1940s by four-time British Open winner Bobby Locke.
Today, you probably head back to the clubhouse after your round, pull out your scorecard and, over the course of some cold beverages, count your number of putts to determine whether your round was a success or failure.
Nearly 70 years later, golf has evolved in such a way that we now know that simply counting putts is not a true measure of success. Tiger Woods' swing coach, Sean Foley, shone a new light on golf's emerging analytical approach last weekend at MIT's Sloan Sports Analytics Conference with the help of Columbia professor Mark Broadie.
That's why Foley, a self-described "swing geek" and "range rat," said he doesn't spend a lot of time around the putting green with clients Woods, Hunter Mahan, Justin Rose or West Chester's Sean O'Hair.
In 2013, Brian Gay led the PGA Tour in fewest average putts per round at 27.5. The tour average was 29. After one round, when Woods putted just 27 times on 18 holes, he called it "one of the worst putting rounds I've ever had." Most golfers would have been ecstatic with that number.
So why was Woods so discouraged? Not because he is exceptionally hard on himself. He knew that he didn't make a single putt in the round longer than 6 feet.
In golf, a two-putt from 60 feet is a good result. A two-putt from 6 feet is a huge disappointment. Simply counting doesn't take into account the distance covered.
To track his clients, Foley said he uses a statistic called "strokes gained." The PGA Tour leader in 2013 was Luke Donald, with an average of 0.70 strokes gained per round. Most of those are gained away from the putting green.
Strokes gained are calculated relative to Tour average. For instance, the Tour average for an 8-foot putt is 1.50 strokes. So, if a player holes out from 8 feet, he or she has gained 0.50 strokes on the field. This can be calculated from any distance and added together after each round, tournament or season to determine leaders.
Broadie said the long game "explains about two-thirds of the scoring." Woods is considered the world's best golfer, but it's not because he is the best putter.
For his career, Woods gains 0.3 strokes on his competitors from driving, 0.7 strokes on approach shots (130 yards and in), 0.4 strokes on short game (inside 30 yards) and 0.2 strokes from putting. He has never ranked lower than fifth in strokes gained on approach shots in his career, using the PGA Tour's shot-tracking software from CDW, an 11 million stroke database that measures every shot within 1-foot accuracy and every putt within 1-inch accuracy.
"Distance is far more an indicator of success than accuracy," Foley said. "That's maybe not true at the U.S. Open, but overall, if I have the choice of giving someone 5 extra mph in clubhead speed or have him hit the corresponding number of fairways, net earnings will increase more from the extra swing speed. You have a greater opportunity of gaining strokes."
For Foley, so much of what he does with clients now is less technique and more breaking down their games to a micro level. Last year's U.S. Open winner at Merion, Justin Rose, didn't believe he had the best short game on Tour in 2012 until he saw the numbers.
"When they start to struggle is when they believe they're in a slump," Foley said. "It's simple math, letting them know where they're strong as well as where they're weak. [The numbers] get them to stop with their stories."
And the numbers, in this case, get us away from Locke's timeless quote.
"So much of what we believe has been handed down through nostalgia," Foley said. "I look at this strictly as business."
Nerd nuggets
In addition to the four members of the Sixers' brass, the Eagles sent special assistant to the general manager Alec Halaby to MIT last weekend. Neither the Flyers nor the Phillies had a front-office member present . . . No surprise, so much of the analytical data collected has become proprietary, making little of the number crunching actually shared . . . Hockey is the one sport that seems to be stuck in the analytics "ice age," since it has more flow and random, undefined movement than perhaps any other.
Read more at Analytics put golf in a different light
Anyone who has three-putted in an important match can sympathize with the phrase coined in the 1940s by four-time British Open winner Bobby Locke.
Today, you probably head back to the clubhouse after your round, pull out your scorecard and, over the course of some cold beverages, count your number of putts to determine whether your round was a success or failure.
Nearly 70 years later, golf has evolved in such a way that we now know that simply counting putts is not a true measure of success. Tiger Woods' swing coach, Sean Foley, shone a new light on golf's emerging analytical approach last weekend at MIT's Sloan Sports Analytics Conference with the help of Columbia professor Mark Broadie.
That's why Foley, a self-described "swing geek" and "range rat," said he doesn't spend a lot of time around the putting green with clients Woods, Hunter Mahan, Justin Rose or West Chester's Sean O'Hair.
In 2013, Brian Gay led the PGA Tour in fewest average putts per round at 27.5. The tour average was 29. After one round, when Woods putted just 27 times on 18 holes, he called it "one of the worst putting rounds I've ever had." Most golfers would have been ecstatic with that number.
So why was Woods so discouraged? Not because he is exceptionally hard on himself. He knew that he didn't make a single putt in the round longer than 6 feet.
In golf, a two-putt from 60 feet is a good result. A two-putt from 6 feet is a huge disappointment. Simply counting doesn't take into account the distance covered.
To track his clients, Foley said he uses a statistic called "strokes gained." The PGA Tour leader in 2013 was Luke Donald, with an average of 0.70 strokes gained per round. Most of those are gained away from the putting green.
Strokes gained are calculated relative to Tour average. For instance, the Tour average for an 8-foot putt is 1.50 strokes. So, if a player holes out from 8 feet, he or she has gained 0.50 strokes on the field. This can be calculated from any distance and added together after each round, tournament or season to determine leaders.
Broadie said the long game "explains about two-thirds of the scoring." Woods is considered the world's best golfer, but it's not because he is the best putter.
For his career, Woods gains 0.3 strokes on his competitors from driving, 0.7 strokes on approach shots (130 yards and in), 0.4 strokes on short game (inside 30 yards) and 0.2 strokes from putting. He has never ranked lower than fifth in strokes gained on approach shots in his career, using the PGA Tour's shot-tracking software from CDW, an 11 million stroke database that measures every shot within 1-foot accuracy and every putt within 1-inch accuracy.
"Distance is far more an indicator of success than accuracy," Foley said. "That's maybe not true at the U.S. Open, but overall, if I have the choice of giving someone 5 extra mph in clubhead speed or have him hit the corresponding number of fairways, net earnings will increase more from the extra swing speed. You have a greater opportunity of gaining strokes."
For Foley, so much of what he does with clients now is less technique and more breaking down their games to a micro level. Last year's U.S. Open winner at Merion, Justin Rose, didn't believe he had the best short game on Tour in 2012 until he saw the numbers.
"When they start to struggle is when they believe they're in a slump," Foley said. "It's simple math, letting them know where they're strong as well as where they're weak. [The numbers] get them to stop with their stories."
And the numbers, in this case, get us away from Locke's timeless quote.
"So much of what we believe has been handed down through nostalgia," Foley said. "I look at this strictly as business."
Nerd nuggets
In addition to the four members of the Sixers' brass, the Eagles sent special assistant to the general manager Alec Halaby to MIT last weekend. Neither the Flyers nor the Phillies had a front-office member present . . . No surprise, so much of the analytical data collected has become proprietary, making little of the number crunching actually shared . . . Hockey is the one sport that seems to be stuck in the analytics "ice age," since it has more flow and random, undefined movement than perhaps any other.
Read more at Analytics put golf in a different light
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Patrick Reed would rather lie in bed and watch television than go to the gym and does not watch he eats yet was able to muscle his way past fitness addicts such as Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy on Saturday to take the lead into the final round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship.
"Not a workout junkie at all. I'd rather lay in bed and watch TV than get in the gym," said Reed after firing a third round three-under 69 to take a two shot lead over the elite field going into Sunday.
"Don't really watch what I eat.
"Just kind of live life and feel like if I work hard at the golf course, that's just what worked for me."
The 23-year-old Reed already has two wins on his resume and at a time when golfers are consumed by fitness, Reed has taken a different approach.
It is not about out much he can lift but about how low he can score. Instead of the gym, Reed spends his time on the golf course often from morning until night.
In the morning he practices with his swing coach while the afternoon is spent on putting, distance control, wedges or any other area of his game that need work.
Then he will finish off with 18 holes.
"I feel like that every time I have worked out in the past, I've gotten real tight and kind of bulked up even more and I'm unable to really be consistent and make the correct golf swings I need to," said Reed.
"It comes down to what we do at home, it's more on a Shots To Hole, which is a program that Stuart Long made.
"It gets way more in depth and it's one of those things that it shows every putt, if you missed it short, past, left, right.
"That really is key to what I feel like is being successful and more consistent, because a guy who hits their line and hits their distances are the ones that are going to be playing well."
Reuters
"Not a workout junkie at all. I'd rather lay in bed and watch TV than get in the gym," said Reed after firing a third round three-under 69 to take a two shot lead over the elite field going into Sunday.
"Don't really watch what I eat.
"Just kind of live life and feel like if I work hard at the golf course, that's just what worked for me."
The 23-year-old Reed already has two wins on his resume and at a time when golfers are consumed by fitness, Reed has taken a different approach.
It is not about out much he can lift but about how low he can score. Instead of the gym, Reed spends his time on the golf course often from morning until night.
In the morning he practices with his swing coach while the afternoon is spent on putting, distance control, wedges or any other area of his game that need work.
Then he will finish off with 18 holes.
"I feel like that every time I have worked out in the past, I've gotten real tight and kind of bulked up even more and I'm unable to really be consistent and make the correct golf swings I need to," said Reed.
"It comes down to what we do at home, it's more on a Shots To Hole, which is a program that Stuart Long made.
"It gets way more in depth and it's one of those things that it shows every putt, if you missed it short, past, left, right.
"That really is key to what I feel like is being successful and more consistent, because a guy who hits their line and hits their distances are the ones that are going to be playing well."
Reuters
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Patrick Reed knows what to do with a lead.
The 23-year-old Texan went wire-to-wire to win the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship Sunday at the Blue Monster at Trump National Doral. It was his third victory in his last 14 starts on the PGA Tour and he had the lead heading into the final round in all three. "To go wire-to-wire in a field like this means a lot," said Reed, who started the day with a two-shot lead and shot an even-par 72 to win by one shot over Jamie Donaldson and Bubba Watson.
Reed, who finished at 4-under 284 on the renovated Blue Monster on rounds of 68-75-69-72, won $1.53 million from the $9 million purse.
Watson shot 68 and Donaldson 70 to finish at 285. Richard Sterne (71) and Dustin Johnson (72) tied for fourth at even-par 288.
Defending champion Tiger Woods was a non-factor. After making eight birdies and shooting 66 Saturday to get within three shots of Reed, Woods had a birdie-less 78 to finish at 5-over-par 293 for the tournament and in a nine-way tie for 25th. Reed, 23, never faltered Sunday, overcoming a bogey on the second hole to go ahead by as many as six shots, then getting up and down repeatedly to save par on the back nine as Donaldson and Watson made their moves.
With a two-shot lead and only Doral's treacherous 487-yard par-4 finishing hole remaining, Read played it safe, hitting a 3-iron, laying up with a 7-iron, pitching to the middle of the green with a wedge and two-putting for bogey and the victory.
"Reed just kept getting up and down, kept hitting great shot after great shot and then he played so smart on 18," said Watson, who watched the finish on TV.
Jason Dufner, who was paired with Reed, came within a shot of the leader, but that was as close as anyone got until the end. Hunter Mahan, who also started two behind the leader, was never a threat. He and Dufner both shot 76 and tied for ninth at 2-over 290.
Reed and Dufner both birdied the par-5 1st hole, then Reed bogeyed the 2nd when he drove into a fairway bunker, hit a poor shot from there and missed the green and failed to get up and down for par from a tricky lie. Dufner's par had him one shot behind.
But Reed quickly took control with birdies at Nos. 3 and 4 to get to 6 under. Meanwhile, Dufner bogeyed the 3rd and doubled the 195-yard par-3 4th after hitting his tee shot into the water at the par-3 4th.
"I hit a great drive and a solid 7-iron at the flag [on No. 3] and rolled in a long putt," Reed said. "And then to step up on 4, which has been giving a lot of people trouble, and to hit a 7-iron to 15, 20 feet and make a perfect putt there, that just got me going and allowed me to roll with it the rest of the day."
Ahead by six shots, Reed strung together nine pars, recovering every time he hit a bad shot, like his drive on the par-4 6th that went way right. He reached the green and two-putted for par.
At the 11th he saved par from a greenside bunker and he did the same at 13. He stumbled at the 14th, missing the fairway, missing the green, then missing a 5-footer for par. At the par-3 15th he almost holed his bunker shot and tapped in for par. At the par-4 17th, he hit the green from a fairway bunker and calmly two-putted from 54 feet.
"The best one was 15," Reed said. "I hate that hole."
The long-hitting Watson, who started the day five shots behind Reed at 1 over, had no bogeys and four birdies. Donaldson, 38, who started the day three shots behind Reed, went out in even par, then birdied Nos. 10, 14 and 17 to get to 4 under for the tournament.
When the Welshman couldn't get up and down for par from a greenside bunker on 18, Reed knew he only needed a bogey to win.
Reed hit his tee shot 218 yards, then hit his 7-iron 76 yards short of the green. Then he pitched to 31 feet, leaving himself an "easy two-putt."
After Dufner got up and down for par, Reed rolled his first putt to within 19 inches and tapped in to become the youngest winner, by 26 days, of a WGC event.
Doral golf: Patrick Reed wins WGC-Cadillac Championship at the Blue Monster - Sun Sentinel
The 23-year-old Texan went wire-to-wire to win the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship Sunday at the Blue Monster at Trump National Doral. It was his third victory in his last 14 starts on the PGA Tour and he had the lead heading into the final round in all three. "To go wire-to-wire in a field like this means a lot," said Reed, who started the day with a two-shot lead and shot an even-par 72 to win by one shot over Jamie Donaldson and Bubba Watson.
Reed, who finished at 4-under 284 on the renovated Blue Monster on rounds of 68-75-69-72, won $1.53 million from the $9 million purse.
Watson shot 68 and Donaldson 70 to finish at 285. Richard Sterne (71) and Dustin Johnson (72) tied for fourth at even-par 288.
Defending champion Tiger Woods was a non-factor. After making eight birdies and shooting 66 Saturday to get within three shots of Reed, Woods had a birdie-less 78 to finish at 5-over-par 293 for the tournament and in a nine-way tie for 25th. Reed, 23, never faltered Sunday, overcoming a bogey on the second hole to go ahead by as many as six shots, then getting up and down repeatedly to save par on the back nine as Donaldson and Watson made their moves.
With a two-shot lead and only Doral's treacherous 487-yard par-4 finishing hole remaining, Read played it safe, hitting a 3-iron, laying up with a 7-iron, pitching to the middle of the green with a wedge and two-putting for bogey and the victory.
"Reed just kept getting up and down, kept hitting great shot after great shot and then he played so smart on 18," said Watson, who watched the finish on TV.
Jason Dufner, who was paired with Reed, came within a shot of the leader, but that was as close as anyone got until the end. Hunter Mahan, who also started two behind the leader, was never a threat. He and Dufner both shot 76 and tied for ninth at 2-over 290.
Reed and Dufner both birdied the par-5 1st hole, then Reed bogeyed the 2nd when he drove into a fairway bunker, hit a poor shot from there and missed the green and failed to get up and down for par from a tricky lie. Dufner's par had him one shot behind.
But Reed quickly took control with birdies at Nos. 3 and 4 to get to 6 under. Meanwhile, Dufner bogeyed the 3rd and doubled the 195-yard par-3 4th after hitting his tee shot into the water at the par-3 4th.
"I hit a great drive and a solid 7-iron at the flag [on No. 3] and rolled in a long putt," Reed said. "And then to step up on 4, which has been giving a lot of people trouble, and to hit a 7-iron to 15, 20 feet and make a perfect putt there, that just got me going and allowed me to roll with it the rest of the day."
Ahead by six shots, Reed strung together nine pars, recovering every time he hit a bad shot, like his drive on the par-4 6th that went way right. He reached the green and two-putted for par.
At the 11th he saved par from a greenside bunker and he did the same at 13. He stumbled at the 14th, missing the fairway, missing the green, then missing a 5-footer for par. At the par-3 15th he almost holed his bunker shot and tapped in for par. At the par-4 17th, he hit the green from a fairway bunker and calmly two-putted from 54 feet.
"The best one was 15," Reed said. "I hate that hole."
The long-hitting Watson, who started the day five shots behind Reed at 1 over, had no bogeys and four birdies. Donaldson, 38, who started the day three shots behind Reed, went out in even par, then birdied Nos. 10, 14 and 17 to get to 4 under for the tournament.
When the Welshman couldn't get up and down for par from a greenside bunker on 18, Reed knew he only needed a bogey to win.
Reed hit his tee shot 218 yards, then hit his 7-iron 76 yards short of the green. Then he pitched to 31 feet, leaving himself an "easy two-putt."
After Dufner got up and down for par, Reed rolled his first putt to within 19 inches and tapped in to become the youngest winner, by 26 days, of a WGC event.
Doral golf: Patrick Reed wins WGC-Cadillac Championship at the Blue Monster - Sun Sentinel
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She had been drinking at an Alabama restaurant before the fatal accident
Close friend Diana Ramage had tried to take Downey's keys because it appeared she'd had too much to drink
Downey died in hospital from major head injuries
The New York native was a three-time All-American, winning the 2000 SEC Championship and finishing a school-record tie for second at the NCAA Championship
A golf star who died when her car careened off the road and hit a tree in Alabama was on her way home from a night of drinking.
Former LPGA player Danielle Downey, 33, lost control of her vehicle after speeding past a motorist on Lee Road 57 in Auburn about 10pm Thursday. She plunged into a tree and was thrown from the car as it rolled several times.
Downey was rushed to East Alabama Medical Center but died from major head injuries.
According to an Alabama Department of Public Safety crash report released last night, Downey had been drinking with friends at a restaurant before the fatal crash.
Her close mate Diana Ramage said she had tried to take Downey's car keys so she wouldn't drive home, fearing she was too intoxicated to get behind the wheel.
News of the New York native's tragic death has shocked her friends and family, who praised Downey's generosity and selflessness.
Downey was in her second season as Auburn's director of golf operations and filled in for coach Kim Evans during the 2012-13 season after Evans was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
'I'm absolutely devastated,' Evans told Sporting News.
'Danielle meant so much to me, the girls and this program. Not only did she give much of her life to Auburn as a student-athlete and as a mentor to these young women, but she was so instrumental to this team during some tough times over the past year. Danielle was like a daughter to me.'
The Rochester native, nicknamed 'Deuce', was a three-time All-American who finished second in the 2002 NCAA tournament.
Downey had seven top-10 finishes and one tournament victory on the Futures Tour.
She finished in the money 15 times on the LPGA Tour from 2006 through 2010, including a career-best fourth at the 2008 Bell Micro LPGA Classic.
Downey returned to school and graduated in May 2013 with a degree in health promotion.
'This is a tragic and devastating loss for Danielle's family, our student-athletes and staff and the entire Auburn family,' Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs said.
'Danielle cared deeply about people and she was loved by all who knew her. She impacted a lot of lives here as a player and a member of our staff.'
'Danielle would give you the shirt off her back,' said Auburn alumna Nicole Hage.
'And if she didn’t have a shirt, she’d spend all day finding one for you.'
Downey is survived by her parents, Mike and Phyllis, and sisters Erica Setzer, Melissa Sage and Shawna Tomasso, according to Golf Week.
Family and friends said Downey lived to bring joy to the lives of her three nieces and three nephews.
Read more: Golf star, 33, killed in drink driving crash after she drove home following night at bar | Mail Online
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