Tiger Woods has come a long way so far — a lot of top players haven’t made the cut in two majors — but the rest of his summer seems questionable.
Orlando Ramirez/USA TODAY
TULSA, Oklahoma — With temperatures in the high 40s on Sunday morning, Tiger Woods decided to retire from all competitions when it didn’t get better in what was supposed to be the final round of the PGA Championship in South Mountain. Be more cautious.
The Heat are friends with Woods, who unfortunately suffered frigid temperatures in the third round of the Masters last month, and here again on Saturday. Those early morning wake-up calls in preparation for a golf game are made harder because they know the difficulty of staying relaxed.
So the good vibes from honing to a second-round 69 into the 36 holes were quickly overwhelmed by the discomfort and struggles associated with Saturday’s cold-weather 79 — Woods’ highest score at the PGA Championship. erase.
what to do?
It’s certainly fair to wonder if Woods came back too soon, or if he suffered a setback. Without knowing the answers to those questions, next month’s U.S. Open at the country club appears to be in serious doubt.
From some perspectives, this could be a good time. Less than two months ago, few but the most optimistic or ardent Tiger followers believed Woods would return to the Masters. PGA seems impossible at all. If there is any hope this year, it is the British Open at St Andrews.
Consider what Woods said at the PNC Championship last December, when he was told that Matt Kuchar thought his game was at the PGA Tour level: “No, no, no, no. I totally disagree. I’m not at that. Level. I can’t compete with these guys anymore, no. It takes a lot of work to get to where I feel like I can compete with these guys and be at a high level.
Then at the Genesis Invitational in February, he was the event host: “On the tour, you get exposed. That’s the beauty of the sport, you get exposed. There’s no cart, you have to work around it. , you have to be fit enough to play the sport at a high level. You have to be able to practice at a high level to expect to come here and win, and I haven’t done anything.
Woods, who played in the Masters seven weeks later, opened with a 71 and struggled over the weekend, calling the 72-hole finish a success.
Woods is lowering our expectations while undoubtedly seeing an opportunity. When I asked him last week when he thought the Masters might be possible, Woods danced around a straight answer but gave some hints about the difficulty.
He mentioned a practice round with his sons Charlie and Justin Thomas at Augusta National a week ago.
“I did, but the man was in pain for a few days,” he said. “But I was able to do it, maybe I could get into it somehow, just keep pushing and keep hoping that I could somehow find a way. I had to live with some discomfort. Even when I hit practice rounds that week, I’m still thinking ‘Can I do this over 72 holes? I can. Unfortunately, I just don’t have the stamina or stamina, hopefully I can putt better, so I’ll give myself a chance.
“I put a lot of effort into it with my team and I believe in them and what they can get me to do. I just have to go out there and obviously do that and play golf.
“Now, I have to change my golf swing here and there, practice sessions and work, I have to do a lot of shadow swings in front of the mirror because I can’t handle the impact, but I’ve gotten better and stronger since then, And will continue to improve.”
Woods showed great promise in his game, but as his caddie Joe LaCava put it, his “body didn’t cooperate.” can you? when? Does Woods need to reassess, take more time, and do it more slowly?
Remember, at this time a year ago, Woods wasn’t walking alone. He was not far from his bed at home. Without crutches, he may have been in a wheelchair.
However, he has advanced in both majors this year, a feat that all of the following players have failed to accomplish: Dustin Johnson, Zand Schauffele, Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spit Si, Sam Burns, Scotty Scheffler, Patrick Cantley, Sergio Garcia, Daniel Berger and Luis Usutzen.
The group had some firepower, and Woods did what they couldn’t.
The US Open may be in doubt, but the British Open is now six weeks away. Is there enough time to get ready for St Andrews?
A tough week for the stars (most of the time)
Justin Thomas is an exception. No. 9 in the world before entering the PGA Championship, he returned from No. 7 on Sunday to win his second major title by beating Will Zara Torres in the play-offs.
The rest of the top 10 were underperforming. No. 1 Scottie Scheffler missed the cut. Rory McIlroy finished eighth, but walked away disappointed when he took the lead after the first round, finding himself nine shots behind from the start of the day.
Second-placed Jon Rahm, who has never played in a tournament, is tied for 48th. No. 3 Colin Morikawa, the 2020 PGA champion, can’t seem to push into a tie for No. 55. Cam Smith tied for 13th, Patrick Cantlay missed the cut and Viktor Hovland tied for 41st.
McIlroy shot a 68 after making four straight birdies in a brief frontcourt splendor. He did not speak to reporters after that. Jordan Spieth was the pre-game favorite, with a 69 to tie for 34th.
Thomas failed to birdie the final hole, and he appeared to be one shot away, but a double bogey from Mito Pereira opened his chance.
This week’s 10th-ranked Xander Schauffele had a quiet race but was tied for 13th.
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Then there was Dustin Johnson, who moved into world No. 12 and missed the cut. The two-time Grand Slam champion Johnson has slowly slipped out of the top 10 as he has rarely played in recent months. The last time he finished in the top 5 – aside from fourth at the WGC match play this year – was a victory at the Saudi International 15 months ago.
What will Phil do next?
This long-standing marketing slogan seems to have been applied in real life for several months. Now it’s in play again, as Phil Mickelson has missed the first two majors in 2022 following his controversial comments about the PGA Tour and the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational series.
Mickelson was the talk of the South Mountain earlier this week, and even at the start of the game, he was quite the talk due to his absence as the defending champion.
Now it’s fun again.
Will Mickelson — who asked for the release of the first LIV Invitational but, like all PGA Tour players, be turned down — head to the Centurion club outside of London for the June 9-11 event? Will he play the U.S. Open next week? two competitions. Neither? only one?
A decision is imminent. The first LIV event is now just three weeks away. At some point, perhaps as early as this week, the field, or at least some of it, will be announced. Despite the PGA Tour’s refusal to release it two weeks ago, LIV golf organizers asked for a commitment shortly before the PGA Championship.
Who turns up — and who doesn’t — the first $25 million tournament will be closely watched.
Front!thing
1. Justin Thomas makes biggest comeback on final day John Mahaffey also overcame a final-round seven-shot deficit to win at the PGA Championship in 1978.
2. Tied for third, Cameron Young assures himself Get a spot in next year’s Masters. He will also play in the US Open (top 60) and earn a spot in the British Open (top 50) as he is ranked 30th in the world. Monday was the dividing point between the two majors.
3. McIlroy’s 65 was his lowest first-round score He has been in majors since the 2011 U.S. Open in Congress, where he won his first major. He ended up finishing eighth.
4. The first round of the PGA Championship marks the first time Scottie Schaeffler did not start under par in 2022. Schaeffler shot a 1-over 71 before missing the cut.
bean balls
Aaron Wise, like all professional golfers, has plenty of examples of wrong drives hitting the crowd. But he himself had never been hit by such a bullet.
It happened to him Friday at the PGA Championship when Cameron Smith’s tee shot hit him in the head as he was looking for his ball in the rough on the 7th hole. Although Smith and the people on the tee yelled “Forward!” Wise said he never heard it. The ball hit him without warning.
While he said he had some pressure on the right side of his head, Wise said he was checked for a concussion and cleared. He actually managed to finish that round and woke up on Saturday feeling decent enough to keep playing. He had five birdies in a round of 71.
“I was absolutely freaked out,” said Wise, who was knocked to the ground and needed several minutes to continue. “I had to calm myself down, so the last few holes were less about golf for me and more about getting in and making sure the doctor was okay and seeing how things went.”
Wise said he understands why things like this are almost inevitable for viewers.
“Especially when the winds are up to 30-40 mph, like here,” he said. “People are at risk. Hopefully as players we’re yelling and people can say something and they can protect themselves.
Wise went 71-70 over the weekend and was tied for 23rd.
LIV loss
LIV Golf has hired a group of highly-regarded executives to boost its credibility and help fulfill its hopes of one day becoming a championship league. But it lost one of them last week when Sean Bratches, who came from F1 and worked for ESPN, resigned. He appears to have done so after Commissioner Greg Norman made his comments at a media day outside London two weeks ago.
Sports Business Daily reported on the departure of Bratches, who worked on various sponsorship programs and brought in former Fox executive David Hill to help coordinate LIV’s TV and streaming efforts.
“Sean Blatches has signed a contract with LIV Golf Investments for the next 90 days as he is leaving his current position,” LIV said in a statement.
U.S. Open countdown
The first round of the US Open at Brookline Country Club in Massachusetts is 24 days away, and the big qualifying deadline has just passed. As of Monday, the top 60 players in the official World Golf Rankings who have not yet been exempted have qualified for the tournament. June 13th is another deadline for the top 60, with competitions running from June 16th to 19th.
There will also be two final qualifiers on Monday, one in Japan and the other at Lakewood Country Club and Royal Oak Country Club in Dallas, with about 120 players vying for a spot at the U.S. Open, the number still to be determined. These include PGA Tour players such as Matt Kuchar, Brian Harman, Graeme McDowell, Hunter Mahan, Carlos Ortiz, Rory Sabatini, Nick Taylor and Kyle Stanley.
There are also nine final qualifiers on June 6, including one in Canada and eight in the United States.
social affairs
> Tiger Woods joined and congratulated his friend Justin Thomas.
> So does Jack Nicklaus.
> Players filmed their own Tiger Woods video on the PGA.
> Brooks Koepka had some car troubles at the PGA Championship.
> Phil Mickelson misses PGA Championship
next
The PGA Tour will return to Texas for the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club, where a strong team entered one of the longest-running tournaments on the schedule.
Defending champion Jason Cockerack will be joined by the likes of Scotty Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Colin Morikawa and Victor Hofland. Bryson DeChambeau, who withdrew from the PGA Championship following surgery on his left hand, dropped out of the U.S. Masters as well.
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