Golf: All eyes on Tiger's comeback and Jordan Slam quest at PGA

TULSA -- Tiger Woods and his incredible injury comeback and Jordan Spieth's quest for a career Grand Slam will seize the spotlight in Thursday's opening round of the 104th PGA Championship.

Woods, a 15-time major champion, and three-time major winner Spieth are grouped with four-time major winner Rory McIlroy in a marquee trio for the first two days at Southern Hills.

Top-ranked Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, 2021 British Open winner Collin Morikawa and second-ranked Spaniard Jon Rahm are among the most fancied players and are together as well, but might struggle to match the Woods group spectator count.

"Tiger's here, so nobody really remembers that I'm here," Scheffler said. "So it's all good."

Woods suffered severe leg injuries in a February 2021 car crash, spending weeks hospitalized and months unable to walk.

His emotional return at last month's Masters ended with a share of 47th and a stamina struggle, but he saw walking 72 holes as a major feat and says he's stronger as another endurance test looms.

"I've gotten stronger since then, but still it's going to be sore and walking is a challenge," Woods said.

Asked if he can win, Woods said, "I feel like I can, definitely. I just have to go out there and do it."

Among those trying to stop him will be Rahm, who comes off a victory two weeks ago at the US PGA Mexico Open.

"He's Tiger. He's a competitor," Rahm said. "He's going to try to win every single time and anytime he tees up, the world wants him to win.

"Yeah, totally expected for the attention to be on him, but it doesn't really change anything of what I want to be doing this week."

Like Rahm, Spieth wants to be having his name engraved on the Wanamaker Trophy. If he wins, Spieth will join Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen as the only players to sweep all four major titles in their careers.

Spieth won last month's Heritage title and was second at last week's hometown Byron Nelson event. He expects Southern Hills will be formidable.

"I think it's going to be one of the higher scoring PGAs that we've seen," Spieth said. "It's a great test."

World number four Cameron Smith of Australia, a top-five Masters finisher in three of the past five years, is ready for the struggle of playing in the group just ahead of Woods.

"There can be a lot of external noise with crowds and just a lot more moving parts," Smith said. "Just another thing to really think about. Just make sure to spend a little bit more time worrying about what's happening outside to make sure when you're inside that shot, everything's perfect."

Tricky winds are expected, with the strongest breezes on the first two days.

"The forecast is different every day in this wind," Woods said. "It's supposed to be all different directions. We're going to see a different course almost every day."

That, warns Rahm, also comes with tee boxes made for adjustable distances, changing the holes each day no matter the weather.

"They can truly make it as difficult as they want to be," Rahm said. "They can really, truly manipulate the score out here very easily, even if the conditions are benign and we don't get too much wind."

- Scheffler No.1 swagger -

Scheffler, happy to hide in Woods's shadow, will try to become the first player to win the green jacket and PGA Championship in the same year since Nicklaus in 1975.

"It's right in front of you. It's just really hard," Scheffler said of the course. "You know what to do. It's just hard to actually do it."

Four-time major winner Brooks Koepka sees Scheffler as the man to beat.

"He's number one in the world. That usually has something to do with it," Koepka said. "I think confidence, too. Number one in the world, you've got that swagger when you walk on the range. I know I did.

"I'm pretty sure everybody else that has been number one, you've got a little extra strut. You've got a little something and I think it's noticeable."

Agence France-Presse

Tiger Woods fires 1-under par 71 in Masters first round

Tiger Woods, making an incredible comeback 14 months after suffering severe leg injuries in a car crash, fired a one-under par 71 on Thursday for a solid start at the Masters.

The 15-time major champion, seeking his record-tying sixth green jacket, made three birdies and two bogeys at Augusta National to stand three strokes behind early clubhouse leader Cameron Smith of Australia.

Woods sank a 29-foot birdie putt at the par-3 16th and closed with a clutch 10-foot birdie putt at the par-4 18th.

The 46-year-old superstar, who has slid to 973rd in the world rankings, walked slower and apart from his playing partners much of the round and used a club as a walking stick on hills at times.

Woods was hospitalized for weeks and unable to walk for months after an auto accident in February 21 and says he still plays through pain but he made an astonishing recovery to return at the Masters, where he won his first major title 25 years ago and made his most recent prior start 17 months ago.

With a victory, Woods would become the eldest Masters champion, three weeks older than Jack Nicklaus in 1986, and the third-oldest major winner after Phil Mickelson (50) and Julius Boros (48).

Agence France-Presse

Golf: Tiger Woods trying 'to play golf again,' says Steve Stricker

Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker said Wednesday that Tiger Woods is continuing his rehabilitation from a February accident "to get better and try to play golf again."

Stricker made the comments in a SiriusXM Radio interview at Whistling Straits, Wis., site of the upcoming Ryder Cup. Stricker said he has talked to Woods "a lot," acknowledging that the 15-time major champion would not be joining Team USA as an assistant.

"He's a part of this Ryder Cup family; he won't be able to be a captain's assistant this time around just because of his ongoing rehabilitation to try to get better and try to play golf again, and that is going well," Stricker said in the interview. "He's progressing, he's doing well, things are moving in the right direction."

The last words from Woods publicly about his recovery came in late May when he said he was focused on "walking on my own."

Woods, 45, sustained serious injuries after crashing an SUV on Feb. 23 in the Los Angeles County city of Rancho Palos Verdes. He is recovering from open fractures to his tibia and fibula, which needed a rod inserted to aid healing, and also foot and ankle injuries that needed screws and pins placed to aid in stabilization.

He was hospitalized for almost a month after the crash.

Woods played three events in the 2020-21 PGA Tour season, most recently the 2020 Masters that was delayed until November, as he was recovering from back surgery. His career earnings are listed at more than $120 million.

The Ryder Cup begins Sept. 24.

-reuters-

Golf: Woods' Hall of Fame induction on hold until 2022 due to COVID-19

Tiger Woods' induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame will have to wait, after organizers said they were postponing the 2021 ceremony until the following year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 15-time major winner will be inducted alongside 11-time LPGA winner Susie Maxwell Berning, former PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem and the late Marion Hollins, who broke barriers as one of the few female developers of golf courses in the sport's history.

The honorees, who were announced earlier this year, will be inducted as the Hall of Fame class of 2022, a spokeswoman said.

"Given the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic, moving the ceremony back a year will give us a better opportunity to properly recognize and honor this important class," World Golf Foundation CEO Greg McLaughlin said in a statement.

"We look forward to shining a light on their achievements and inspiring future golfers around the world through this ceremony and celebration."

The induction ceremony will take place March 9, 2022, during the Players Championship. 

(Reporting by Amy Tennery Editing by Christian Radnedge)

-reuters-

Golf: Tiger confirms he will play in US PGA playoff opener

MIAMI -- Tiger Woods confirmed Friday he will play in next week's US PGA Tour playoff opener, The Northern Trust at TPC Boston, after sharing 37th in last week's PGA Championship.

The 15-time major winner and reigning Masters champion ranks 47th in the FedEx Cup season playoff points standings and must rise into the top 30 to reach the Tour Championship next month in Atlanta.

"Excited to head to Boston for @TheNTGolf and start the #FedExCup Playoffs," Woods tweeted Friday.

Woods struggled with back issues and skipped events before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the golf season in March. He shared 40th last month at the Memorial in his only tuneup for last week's first major tournament of the year at TPC Harding Park.

World number 16 Woods won at TPC Boston in 2006 and has three other top-three showings over the layout, but has played there only once since 2013.

Woods, 44, has won 82 US PGA titles, level with Sam Snead for the all-time record.

Woods, who has played only five events all year, could play four tournaments in five weeks if his back holds, counting the PGA and the three tour playoff events.

He must remain among the top 70 in points after Boston to qualify for the second playoff event, the BMW Championship on August 27-30 at Olympia Fields, then crack the top 30 to make the season-ending Tour Championship on September 4-7 at East Lake.

Woods won the 2018 Tour Championship but last year did not qualify for the chance to defend that title, withdrawing from the first playoff event with a strained oblique then sharing 37th at the BMW, following which he had arthroscopic knee surgery and didn't play again until last October's Zozo Championship victory in Japan, where he matched Snead's mark.

Agence France-Presse

Golf: Woods cautious about return ahead of Memorial

WASHINGTON -- Tiger Woods admitted Tuesday that concern over the coronavirus delayed his return to the PGA Tour as he prepares to play his first event since February at this week's Memorial Tournament in Ohio.

The former world number one has not played since appearing in the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles in February but will tee off at Muirfield on Thursday chasing a sixth victory in the Jack Nicklaus-hosted event.

The 44-year-old 15-time major winner said Tuesday he had contemplated returning to the tour earlier but had wanted to see how the first few events of the post-coronavirus shutdown fared before coming back.

"I just felt it was better to stay at home and be safe," Woods said Tuesday. 

"I'm used to playing with lots of people around me or having lots of people have a direct line to me, and that puts not only myself in danger but my friends and family, and just been at home practicing and social distancing and being away from a lot of people.

"Coming back and playing the tour, in my case over the 20-some-odd years I've been out here, that's really hard to say, that I'm used to having so many people around me or even touch me, going from green to tee.

"That's something that I looked at and said, well, I'm really not quite comfortable with that, that whole idea."

Memorial organisers had initially planned to allow fans on the course at this week's tournament, but abandoned that idea as COVID-19 cases across the United States began to skyrocket.

- 'Going to be different' -

On Monday, PGA Tour officials confirmed that the remainder of the 2019-2020 season would take place without fans.

It means Woods will tee off on Thursday alongside world number one Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka without the customary horde of spectators that usually follows him around a course.

"It's going to be different, there's no doubt about it," Woods said. 

"For most of my career, pretty much almost every competitive playing round that I've been involved in, I've had people around me, spectators yelling, a lot of movement inside the gallery with camera crews and media."

Woods, who is making only his fourth tournament appearance of the season this week, said he has improved his health during the long layoff.

A stiff back hampered his performance at the Genesis in February, but Woods said he had not been troubled since.

"I feel so much better than I did then," Woods said.

"I've been able to train and concentrate on getting back up to speed and back up to tournament speed.

During Woods' layoff, the United States was convulsed by nationwide protests against racism following the death of unarmed African-American man George Floyd during his arrest by police in Minneapolis on May 25.

Woods said he applauded efforts of Black Lives Matter activists to bring about change.

"I think change is fantastic as long as we make changes without hurting the innocent, and unfortunately that has happened. Hopefully it doesn't happen in the future, but a movement and change is fantastic," Woods said.

"That's how society develops. That's how we grow. That's how we move forward. That's how we have fairness."

Agence France-Presse

Woods-Manning prevail in star-studded match, raised $20m for charity

MIAMI -- Tiger Woods says while his surgically repaired back may never be 10-out-of-10 again, it won't stop him from being healthy and ready to go when the PGA Tour starts up again.

The 44-year-old Woods says he's been able to use the down time during the coronavirus pandemic to get himself in shape for an expected condensed fall golf season. 

"It is going to be interesting," said Woods during a four-man charity golf tournament in Florida on Sunday. "I am used to trying to peak for majors in April, May, June and July, forever. Now this (COVID-19) has changed everything. It is fluid. It is on the fly." 

Asked to rate how his back feels on a scale of one to 10, Woods said, "Well, let's just say 10 is not what it used to be." 

PGA stars Woods and Phil Mickelson and two NFL quarterback legends Peyton Manning and Tom Brady squared off in an entertaining made-for-television charity golf event on Sunday that raised $20 million for coronavirus relief efforts.

The 18-hole match included nine holes of four-ball and nine holes of modified alternate shot, with on-course challenges for charitable funds. 

Woods, who paired with Manning, showed no rust as they held off a back-nine rally from Mickelson and Brady for a one-up victory in the 18-hole match play format.

Sunday's event, called "The Match: Champions for Charity," was a rematch of sorts for Mickelson and Woods, who faced off in a similar charity event last year in Las Vegas. It also marked a return to the golf course for the both PGA stars due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The PGA Tour is on hiatus until June 11, when the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial is scheduled to begin in Texas.

The charity match was the first competitive golf for Woods since the Genesis Invitational on February 16, where he shot weekend rounds of 76-77 to finish in 68th place at the Riviera Country Club course. 

He said the forced break has been refreshing and described his health as surprisingly good considering he has been taken out of his regular training regime. 

"It is nice to be at home training each and every day," Woods said. "I get some treatment on it and get onto a routine basically. 

"With this pandemic and everything that has happened, we (have) all been very careful and try to stay at home," he said.

Woods says he has enjoyed spending more time with his family and has added tennis to his workouts. 

"It has been good in that regard because I have been able to spend a lot of time with my kids. We had a lot of fun. This is the most amount of tennis I have played ever." 

The start of Sunday's match was delayed by rain that fell steadily throughout the majority of the round.

Woods helped offset the difficult playing conditions Sunday by taking advantage of competing on his home course, the Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound. 

"I am just trying to hit it in the right spots. I kind of know this place," he told a television interviewer early in his round.

The entertaining match featured plenty of friendly banter and trash talking going back and forth between four of North America's biggest sport stars.

Brady, who recently signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after winning six Super Bowl titles with the New England Patriots, made the shot of the day on the par-five seventh.

- Wardrobe malfunction -

Brady had been struggling for much of the first round, but his approach on No. 7 landed just past the hole before spinning wildly to the right and rolling into the centre of the cup.

"When the going gets tough, the tough get going," an obviously relieved Brady said of his first good shot of the day.

The shot was notable for another reason: it included a wardrobe malfunction. Brady also split his pants on the shot, resulting in a hasty costume change.

"There was so much torque on that swing," he joked.

The birdie also lightened the wallet of PGA golfer Brooks Koepka. When he saw Brady struggling early in the round, Koepka tweeted out a promise to donate $100,000 to charity if Brady could make a par on the front nine.

"Brooks owes me a little money," Brady said following his surprise birdie.

Agence France-Presse

Golf: Tiger enjoys Masters champions dinner 'quarantine style'

Reigning Masters champion Tiger Woods had a relaxed dinner with loved ones on Tuesday instead of the Masters Champions Dinner he was once scheduled to host Tuesday at Augusta National.

The Masters has been postponed to November by the coronavirus pandemic, with Woods, a 15-time major winner and five-time Masters champion, among those staying home to try and slow the spread of the deadly virus.

So instead of hosting past Masters winners at Augusta National, Woods had a meal at his South Florida home and tweeted a photo of himself with his "guests" -- girlfriend Erica Herman, his daughter Sam and his son Charlie.


Woods was wearing his Masters green jacket with a red shirt, his typical final-round shirt, and the Masters champion's trophy, a replica of the course's famed clubhouse, on the table in front of him.

Food was only seen at the edges of the photo but it looked to be the same meal Woods said in February that he planned to serve at the Champions Dinner.

"Being born and raised in SoCal (Southern California), having fajitas and sushi was a part of my entire childhood," Woods said of his menu plans in a Masters conference call.

"I'm going back to what I had in 2006. So we'll have steak and chicken fajitas, and we'll have sushi and sashimi out on the deck, and I hope the guys will enjoy it."

There was no sign of another treat Woods had put on a prior menu -- milkshakes. He included those in 1998, the year after his first Masters and major win, to wash down his menu selection of cheeseburgers.

"I'm debating whether or not to have milkshakes as deserts because that was one of the most great memories -- to see Gene Sarazen and Sam Snead having milkshakes that night in '98."

With the Masters rescheduled for November 12-15, Woods could have the chance to host a true Champions Dinner at Augusta National on November 12.

Woods, 44, has not played since February, when he finished 82nd at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera. He skipped the Players Championship due to a back injury.

"There are a lot more important things in life than a golf tournament right now," Woods tweeted last month after the PGA Tour shut down due to the deadly virus outbreak.

"We need to be safe, smart and do what is best for ourselves, our loved ones and our community."

Agence France-Presse

Golf: Mickelson 'working on' 1-on-1 rematch with Tiger

MIAMI -- Five-time major winner Phil Mickelson hinted that a possible one-on-one rematch against Tiger Woods is in the works, one that could be contested despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Mickelson, a left-hander who turns 50 in June, defeated Woods, a 15-time major winner and reigning Masters champion, in "The Match" -- a 2018 pay-per-view, winner-take-all duel for $9 million at Las Vegas.


Asked in a Twitter chat Sunday night about the chances for a rematch with Woods, Mickelson tweeted, "Working on it."

The US PGA Tour has postponed all events until late May as a result of the coronavirus pandemic that has shut down major sports worldwide.

But a man-to-man matchup of the US stars with no live spectators would require only an official for rulings and television camera operators to produce likely hit programming, possibly even in a charity event to raise money to combat coronavirus.

A golf course would offer plenty of space to meet social distancing guidelines, with Mickelson tweeting on March 18 he had successfully played using safety measures.

"I played golf using these guidelines and it was nice to get outside, be active and still be safe for myself and others," Mickelson tweeted.

Mickelson sank a four-foot putt on the fourth playoff hole to beat Woods in the November 2018 showdown at Shadow Creek.

Agence France-Presse

There are more important things than golf, says Tiger

American Tiger Woods sought to put the cancellations of a slew of golf tournaments due to the coronavirus into perspective on Monday, saying the well-being of others trumped the sport.

"There are a lot more important things in life than a golf tournament right now," the 15-times major champion wrote on Twitter.

"We need to be safe, smart and do what is best for ourselves, our loved ones and our community."

Woods, 44, has been struggling recently with pain in his surgically-repaired back but had hoped to defend the Masters title he won last year at Augusta National next month.

Last week organizaers of the year's first major postponed the tournament in the hopes of helping slow the spread of the growing pandemic.

The decision to postpone the year's first major came the day after the PGA Tour canceled the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Florida after one round and all events through April 5.

Woods' remarks came on the heels of the Centers for Disease Control recommendation on Sunday that events of 50 or more people should be canceled for the next eight weeks throughout the United States.

The coronavirus pandemic has infected almost 180,000 people and killed over 7,000 worldwide. (Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Ken Ferris)

Golf: Tiger Woods to tell his 'definitive story' in memoir

Tiger Woods will write a memoir billed by the publishers as a "candid and intimate narrative of an outsize American life".

A publication date was not given for "Back", which is the first account from 15-times major winner Woods, 43, and is being written with the full cooperation of his friends, family and inner circle.

"This book is my definitive story. It's in my words and expresses my thoughts. It describes how I feel and what's happened in my life," Woods said in a statement from HarperCollins Publishers on Tuesday.

"I've been working at it steadily, and I'm looking forward to continuing the process and creating a book that people will want to read."

A child golfing prodigy, Woods went on to dominate the sport and has long since cemented his place as the greatest player of his generation and arguably of all time.

Since Woods turned professional in 1996 he has virtually redefined the game.

Not only did he usher in an era of multi-million dollar endorsements and lucrative appearance money, but his Afro-American-Asian background spread the sport to an audience far beyond its traditional image of male, white and middle-class.

Woods later went through a highly-public divorce in 2010 after revelations of his marital infidelities convinced him to take a self-imposed hiatus from professional golf, a DUI arrest in 2017 and multiple knee and back surgeries that convinced many his best days were behind him.

Yet Woods made a stirring return to the top of the sporting world in April when he triumphed at this year's Masters for his first major victory in nearly 11 years.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Golf: Woods misses chance to defend Tour Championship title

There will be no defending champion at next week's Tour Championship after Tiger Woods failed to qualify for the season-ending event.

Only the top 30 players on the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup points list are eligible to play at East Lake in Atlanta, where $15 million will be up for grabs for the winner.

Woods needed to place about sixth at the BMW Championship on Sunday to qualify, but he tied for 37th at Medinah, a distant 18 strokes behind winner Justin Thomas.

Apart from his win at the Masters for his 15th major title, Woods had a relatively quiet season, which petered out without a whimper amid physical and emotional fatigue.

"The rest of the tournaments I didn't really play as well as I wanted to, but at the end of the day, I'm the one with the green jacket," he told reporters on Sunday.

Still, Woods will be disappointed not to get a chance to return to the scene of one of the most memorable victories of his career.

Successfully returning last year from major back surgery, he ended a five-year drought with his two-stroke win at East Lake, the 80th of his PGA Tour career, which was at the time just two shy of Sam Snead's all-time mark.

(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; editing by Tony Lawrence/Greg Stutchbury)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Golf: Tiger 'way better' entering PGA playoff test at Medinah

WASHINGTON -- Tiger Woods said Wednesday he feels "way better" after withdrawing last week with an oblique strain, but major concerns remain around the 15-time major winner entering the BMW Championship.

The most important worry for Woods starting Thursday at Medinah in suburban Chicago, seeking his first victory since capturing the Masters in April, is to play his way into next week's season-ending US PGA Tour Championship in Atlanta.

At 38th in the season points standings, Woods is projected to need a top-11 finish to place well enough to reach the top 30 in points and earn a chance at defending the crown he won last year at East Lake, his first triumph since 2013.

"This week is no different," Woods said. "I'm trying to win this tournament just like anybody else in this field and trying to get to East Lake and trying to get to a place where a lot of things changed for me last year and hopefully I can make that happen."

Sixth-ranked Woods raised fears about his physical fitness by withdrawing from last week's Northern Trust event at Liberty National with his injury, which dropped him out of the top 30.

After playing the front nine in a pro-am Wednesday, hitting full shots for the first time since last week's exit, Woods only chipped and putted over the back nine, saying he was glad for the extra rest and felt "way better".

"It was nice to take those days off and I had to just let it calm down and get a bunch of treatment on it, and it feels so much better," Woods said.

"Played the front nine and played well, which was nice to see, nice to feel. Took the back nine off, chipped and putted quite a bit and it definitely doesn't feel like it did on Friday, that's for sure."

Woods said tweaking his swing caused his latest injury setback.

"If it's not one thing, it's another. Things just pop up," Woods said.

"I'm making tweaks and changes trying to play around this back and trying to be explosive and have enough rest time and training time. That has been the biggest challenge of it all.

"The forces have got to go somewhere, and unfortunately when I make any kind of tweaks and changes to my swing, it's like a new body part is aching."

The 43-year-old is set to make only his sixth start since Augusta National alongside Taiwan's C.T. Pan and fellow American Billy Horschel on Thursday afternoon, having played only 13 rounds since donning his fifth green jacket.

The Masters victory capped an amazing comeback for Woods from spinal fusion surgery when it appeared his career might be over.

Instead, he has won 81 career US PGA titles, one shy of matching Sam Snead's all-time record, and has moved within three of tying the record 18 major wins of Jack Nicklaus.

- Two major Medinah wins -

Woods has tasted success before at Medinah, capturing the 1999 and 2006 PGA Championships on the course as well as five BMW Championships at nearby Cog Hill.

"I'm excited to be back in Chicago," Woods said. "This is one of the places that I've thoroughly enjoyed playing over the years, and this was the area that I made my first cut on the PGA Tour, a long time ago."

Woods also has an eye on the field as captain of the US Presidents Cup team that will play the non-European Internationals squad at Royal Melbourne this December, with eight qualifying for eight automatic US spots concluding after this weekend.

While Woods is too far back to play his way onto the US squad automatically, he could make himself a captain's pick.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Golf: Woods ready to play in BMW Championship

Tiger Woods says he is ready to play golf again this week after the former world number one withdrew from last week's Northern Trust due to back pain.

Woods arrived on Tuesday at Medinah, Illinois, venue for this week's BMW Championship, and said he would play in the second event of the FedEx Cup playoffs.

“I feel good,” Woods told Golfweek. “Feel a lot better than I felt last week. Felt good this morning so I thought I’d give it a go.”

Woods, 43, said he would get treatment on Tuesday but would not hit any golf balls.

The 15-times major champion has an early morning tee time for Wednesday's pro-am and an early afternoon start in the first round on Thursday.

Lying 38th in the FedEx Cup standings, Woods will need a strong showing this week since only the top 30 advance to next week's Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta. 

(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina, editing by Ed Osmond)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Golf: Woods closes on upbeat note, no happy birthday for Mickelson

PEBBLE BEACH, CA. - Tiger Woods made another awful start before turning on the afterburners to shoot two-under 69 in the final round at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach on Sunday.

It was too little, too late, but Woods left the oceanside course with some positive vibes after a frustrating week at the scene of his greatest performance.

"Again, got off to another crappy start and was able to fight it off," said Woods, who bogeyed four of the first six holes, the easiest stretch on the course, a day after bogeying two of the first three.

He birdied six holes thereafter on Sunday to finish at two-under 282.

Woods never came close all week to replicating his 15-stroke record runaway of 2000, not that it was realistic at age 43 to expect it.

The Masters champion now turns his attention to next month's British Open at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, the final major of the season.

"I've never been up to Portrush, and I'm looking forward to getting up there and taking a look at the golf course and trying to figure it out," said the 15-times major champion.

While Woods already has three U.S. Open titles under his belt, Phil Mickelson is still seeking his first in a championship that has caused him heartache like no other.

The six-times runner-up, who needs a victory to complete the career grand slam, shot 72 to finish at four-over 288 on his 49th birthday.

He arrived with high hopes at a course where he has won the annual PGA Tour event five times, but was never a factor all week.

That did not stop him from getting plenty of love from the galleries, who sang "Happy Birthday" at various stages of the final round.

"I thought this was a really good chance for me," Mickelson said.

"I just didn't putt my best, didn't chip my best. I actually played okay tee to green."

Five-times major champion Mickelson was philosophical about never winning his national open.

"Dealing with losing in this game is a huge thing because even the best, the greatest winners, win such a small percentage of the time," he said.

"But I have had so many special moments here at Pebble Beach. This was my first event as a pro, 1992, here."

Mickelson also turned his thoughts to the British Open.

"I played Portrush one time with my dad and it was a special, fun golf course," he said.

"It's been a while so I don't remember a lot of the details and subtleties of it." 

(Reporting by Steve Keating; Writing by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by Ian Ransom)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Golf: Woods feels Durant's pain after Achilles injury

PEBBLE BEACH, California -- Knowing all too well what it is like to be struck down by injury, Tiger Woods spared a thought for Kevin Durant on Tuesday, after watching the Golden State Warriors forward crumple to the floor during a game against the Toronto Raptors.

"It was sad," said Woods, during his U.S. Open pre-tournament media conference. "As athletes we've all been there, to that spot when you just know it, that something just went, and can't move, can't do much of anything.

"You can see it on his face. You just know."

Sidelined by a calf injury since the second round of the post-season, Durant made his long-awaited return to the Golden State lineup on Monday for a must win Game Five of the NBA Finals only to go down suddenly in the opening minutes of the second quarter with a suspected Achilles injury.

The sight of Durant on the floor clutching at his leg brought back all too painful memories for Woods who battled career threatening back issues until undergoing surgery just over two years ago.

"I've been there. I've had it to my own Achilles," said Woods. "I've had it to my own back.

"I know what it feels like. It's an awful feeling. And no one can help you.

"That's the hard part."

If Durant has suffered an Achilles injury Woods knows what awaits the NBA all-star.

The 15-time major winner injured his left Achilles during the 2011 Masters and missed three months of action. He was diagnosed with a mild Achilles tendon strain the following year.

"If he popped it, then that's six to nine months of rehabbing," said Woods. "That's what people don't see, is all those long hours that really do suck.

"Why do we do it? Because we're competitors.

"As athletes our job is to make the human body do something it was never meant to do and to do it efficiently and better than anybody who is doing it at the same time.

"Well, sometimes things go awry. And we saw it last night with Kevin."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Golf: Trump awards Presidential Medal of Freedom to Tiger Woods

WASHINGTON - Golf legend Tiger Woods, fresh off his epic comeback victory in the Masters, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.

Presenting the golfing great with the nation's highest honor, Trump praised Woods' "relentless will to win, win, win."

"These qualities embody the American spirit of pushing boundaries, defying limits and always striving for greatness," the president said.

Trump congratulated Woods on "your amazing comeback and your amazing life and for giving sports fans a lifetime of memories.

"We can't wait to see what's next, Tiger," he said.

The 43-year-old Woods choked up as he thanked his mother, his two children, his girlfriend and his caddy during the ceremony in the White House Rose Garden.

"You have seen the good and the bad, the highs and the lows," said Woods, who battled back from injury to win the Masters last month, his first major title since the 2008 US Open.

"My dad is no longer here, but my mom is here," Woods said. "I love you, Mom."

"I have tried to hang in there and I have tried to come back and play the great game of golf again," Woods said. "I have been lucky enough to have had the opportunity to do it again."

He said his Masters victory was "probably the highlight of what I have accomplished so far in my life on the golf course.

"To have had that type of experience and to be able to come out on top and win," he said.

Established by John F. Kennedy in 1963, the Presidential Medal of Freedom is bestowed upon those who have made an "especially meritorious" contribution to US security or national interests, world peace, cultural pursuits or other non-specified endeavors.

It has been awarded to nearly three dozen sports figures including golf legends Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, honored by president George W. Bush.

President Barack Obama gave the medal in 2014 to Charlie Sifford, the first African American golfer to play on the PGA Tour.

jca/cl/wd

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Golf looks to a Tiger Woods boom 2.0

Through Tiger Woods’ 11 years in the wilderness between major tournament wins, professional golf searched for a successor.

Would it be Phil Mickelson, the once-snakebit lefty who is actually older than Woods but who got over the hump in 2004 to become his most formidable early-career challenger? How about Rory McIlroy, the phenom from Northern Ireland, whose brutal collapse in the final round of the 2011 Masters was immediately followed by his first major championship? Or maybe Jordan Spieth, whose Masters win in 2015 tied Woods for the 72-hole record?

Ultimately, it ended up being all of them, and therefore none of them. Each had a handful of major tournament wins and at times looked as if he could dominate the sport. But none emerged as the next Tiger. Golf itself stagnated as Woods struggled, his shadow looming in a way that was almost as impactful as his presence had been for the previous decade.

Now that Woods is back on top, the question is whether the sport can take advantage of his twilight years to build something that survives when his career finally does end.

Jay Monahan, the commissioner of the PGA Tour, believes the sport is well positioned to capitalize on the re-emergence of Woods. He pointed to the new schedule, with the PGA Championship held in May, and a long-term, $2 billion international television rights agreement with Discovery.

“It’s not like you change your business in a moment like this,” Monahan said. “You think about how you get to a moment like this and put your tour and product in the best possible position.”

By most metrics, golf peaked in the early 2000s, at the height of the first Tigermania. According to Gallup, in 2000, 5% of Americans surveyed said golf was their favorite sport to watch. By 2017, that number was 1%. Golf was tied with volleyball, boxing, gymnastics, motocross, figure skating and rodeo.

According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association, 29.5 million Americans played a round of golf in 2007. In 2017, that number was 23.8 million, a decline of 19.3% .

Unlike most other sports, which believe fans respond most to parity, Woods’ dominance was electrifying for golf. From June 1997 — when he first became the world’s No. 1-ranked golfer — to October 2010, only four golfers besides Woods were ranked No. 1, for a total of less than a year and a half. Woods was ranked first for two different five-year streaks in that time.

Since October 2010, 11 golfers have been ranked No. 1, and only committed golf fans and golfers can name more than a few of them.

The money available to golf professionals, however, continues to grow, and if Woods keeps winning, he will do something few athletes get to: Profit from the explosive growth in revenue that the athlete himself drove.

In professional sports, athletes benefit from the stars of the preceding generation driving interest. Magic Johnson earned less than $24 million in his entire career; LeBron James earned $33 million this season.

In 2019, the top prize at each tournament on the PGA Tour — even the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship — is more than Woods earned for winning the 1997 Masters. The FedEx Cup bonus pool has doubled, to $70 million.

The massive growth in professional golf’s revenue over the past two decades is not due solely to Woods, but he was certainly its biggest driver. In the nearly 11 years between major wins for Woods, in which he was revealed to be a serial adulterer, pleaded guilty to reckless driving, had four back surgeries and did not even enter a major for two years, numerous segments of the business of golf struggled.

Nike, the company that has paid Woods hundreds of millions of dollars and whose red shirts he religiously wears on tournament Sundays, dived into the business when Woods turned pro in 1996 and signed him to an apparel endorsement contract. At the time, Nike manufactured only a limited selection of golf clothing, not equipment.

Three years later, Nike began manufacturing golf balls, and three years after that, golf clubs. Woods, who had used Titleist clubs, started using Nike equipment. But as Nike’s golf business crested with the Tiger wave, it too crashed amid Woods’ down years.

Revenue in Nike’s golf division peaked in 2013 — the year Woods had two top-10 finishes at majors and looked to have gotten his career back on track, until he either missed the cut or did not enter 15 of the next 18 majors. In 2016, the company announced it was exiting the golf equipment market. Around the same time, Adidas sold off its money-losing TaylorMade golf division.

Tim Derdenger, a professor of marketing and strategy at Carnegie Mellon’s business school and a scratch golfer who has written numerous papers on Woods and celebrity endorsements, said the golf world could learn a great deal from how consumers and golfers reacted to Woods.

As an endorser who at one point was collecting some $50 million a year in sponsorship deals, Woods had what marketing experts call a “golden halo effect,” Derdenger said. Initially, people wanted to buy products associated with Woods because they aspired to identify with him. Those deals largely went away after Woods’ sordid 2009, but if the halo effect returns, so will the sponsorships.

Derdenger said Woods also provided “informational value” — people believed the apparel and equipment he endorsed was of high quality, as long as he was high in the world golf rankings.

“There was still value in Nike retaining Tiger Woods because of this extra endorsement effect that wasn’t eroded from the scandal,” Derdenger said.

Woods has a similar effect on the tournaments he enters. When he is competing and on the leaderboard, fans view it as a quality event worthy of their attention. Saturday’s television ratings were the highest for the third round of a tournament since 2015, and Sunday’s viewership was solid considering start times were moved up hours to accommodate inclement weather.

Whether those viewers included minorities who will become golfers, as so many predicted in the late 1990s, is another question. According to the National Golf Foundation, minorities in 2017 made up 18 percent of all U.S. golfers, while they made up 25 percent of new golfers. Two decades ago, just 6 percent of new golfers were minorities.

“There is more diversity in the game than there was 10 years ago,” said Pete Bevacqua, the president of the NBC Sports Group and a former chief executive of the PGA of America. “I don’t think those numbers are good enough yet, but golf is aware of it and trying to make it better.”

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Golf: Tiger Woods' victory in Masters a win for golf business

Tiger Woods' victory at the Masters golf tournament on Sunday, his first major victory since 2008, is expected to lift sales for sponsors, broadcasters and golf courses lucky enough to host a tournament with Woods playing.

The competition put the 43-year-old back on top of a sport he helped transform 25 years ago.

"Tiger sells golf," says Eric Smallwood, president of Apex Marketing Group, Inc., a Michigan analytics firm. Apex found that Nike earned $22.5 million worth of brand exposure just from Woods’ final round, with Nike’s "Swoosh" logo splashed on his hat, shirt, pants and shoes. Nike stock was up about one percent on Monday.

Tournament broadcaster CBS Corp saw a ratings bump. Based on preliminary data, the final round of Sunday's tournament was the highest-rated morning golf broadcast since 1986, when CBS started collecting that data. The tournament, which is usually broadcast in the afternoon, was rescheduled to the morning because of weather.

CBS has the rights to the PGA Championship in May and expects prices for advertising time that is still available to rise as a result of Woods' Masters victory, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The golf demographic is wealthier and better-educated than other sports fans, so TV ratings are valued more highly because they’re more apt to turn into sales, even of big-ticket items, said Neal Pilson, president of Pilson Communications and former president of CBS Sports.

“Historically, events where Tiger Woods is on leaderboards on Sunday generated 30 to 40 percent higher ratings in the United States for those tournaments,” Pilson said.

MAKINGS OF A COMEBACK

Woods was a 20-year-old prodigy when he turned pro in 1996. Less than a year later he was ranked No. 1 in the world. He struck lucrative endorsement deals - including a five-year, $40 million deal with Nike - and golf experienced a surge in popularity.

Then Woods' personal life collapsed and with it, his brand. In 2009, after the news of multiple infidelities, he lost endorsement deals with companies like AT&T Inc and Accenture Plc. Other sponsors, such as Procter & Gamble Co's Gillette and Berkshire Hathaway Inc's NetJets, kept their contracts with Woods but stopped using him in marketing.

Four back surgeries later, Woods continued to suffer professionally and in the public eye. In 2017 police arrested him for driving under the influence; he pleaded guilty to reckless driving and entered a program for first-time offenders.

In 2018 Woods began a professional comeback that culminated at Sunday's Masters. After his victory, Nike, which stood behind Woods throughout his darker years, posted an ad on its website titled “Tiger Woods: Same Dream."

“In sports you have heroes, villains and underdogs," said Benjamin Hordell, founder of digital marketing and advertising firm DXagency. "Tiger has lived all of it. That’s amazing from a storytelling perspective. People will root against him, but they’re watching."

On Monday U.S. President Donald Trump said he would award Woods the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 

(Reporting by Helen Coster and Hilary Russ. Additional reporting by Sheila Dang. Editing by Kenneth Li and Cynthia Osterman)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

He's back!

Tiger Woods celebrates on the 18th hole after winning the 2019 Masters in Augusta, Georgia, U.S.A. on Sunday. The win marks an epic comeback to golf's grand stage after an 11-year drought huddled by injuries, personal problems and a divorce. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com