Pelicans’ Hield tossed for striking Cousins in groinPelicans’ Hield tossed for striking Cousins in groin
Pelicans’ Hield tossed for striking Cousins in groin
Pelicans’ Hield tossed for striking Cousins in groin
McCraken camp eyes TB Derby as likely next start
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Sometimes, the standard is Tiger Woods. Other times, the standard is his own 2015 season, when he went from a nice young player to world No. 1. But really, what should the standard be for Jordan Spieth? Is it fair to even set one for him right now? After all, he’s still just 23 years old — something that’s easy to overlook thanks to the maturity he possesses and the success he produces. “I’m not sure what my standard is yet,” Spieth said. “… I think it takes maybe a decade to figure that out.” In a week in which nobody else could figure out the three courses as well as he could, Spieth cruised to a four-shot win Sunday at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. It’s his first win of this PGA TOUR season and his ninth overall, which means the Tiger standard comes into play. At 23 years, 6 months and 16 days old, Spieth becomes the second-youngest player since World War II to win nine TOUR events. The youngest – by about a month – was Tiger in 1999. On the flip side, Tiger was 24 when he won this event for the only time in 2000, so Spieth has 1-up on him there. Of course, Woods turned around four months later and won at Pebble Beach for the second time that year (this time the U.S. Open). Spieth will have to wait until 2019 until he can attempt to duplicate that feat. Spieth – who earlier this week called Woods “underrated” while citing his ridiculous number of weeks (683) as world No. 1 – doesn’t consider comparisons to the red-shirted one particularly fair. But he does feel more comfortable with them than he did two years ago. “Just because I recognize the longevity of a career,” Spieth said. “I’ve seen the ups and downs. I really do feel like in the last 2-1/2 years, I’ve had enough experiences that people normally have in a 20-year career on TOUR … “Getting to where you’re the first guy, even including Tiger, to do something is maybe the next goal. But that might be pretty hard.” It might also be hard for Spieth to ever duplicate his 2015 season, when he won the Masters and U.S. Open, made a run at the Grand Slam, claimed five TOUR titles and climbed to world No. 1. When he won two times last year but tossed away the Masters and didn’t win a major, the lofty standards he had set the previous year left some wondering if it was a disappointment. But not Spieth. He’s wise enough to know the ebbs and flows of a golf career. Plus, the math just doesn’t add up in his mind. “I don’t think comparing to 2015 as being the standard is fair because that would be comparing to someone who would win 45 majors and almost a hundred events,” he said. “So I don’t think of that as the standard. I think of that as, put ourselves in the right position and obviously try and capitalize each time because we had a lot of fun that year.” Ah yes, fun. That’s what Spieth had this week at Pebble Beach. With country music star and good friend Jake Owen as his amateur partner for the fourth time, Spieth seemed in a playful mood (except for a few professional autograph seekers that hit one of Spieth’s hot buttons when they cursed in front of children after a practice round). On Sunday, as he was walking down the first fairway, he spotted fellow Texan Kelly Kraft on the second tee box and offered up a big smile and a wave as if it was an ice-cream social. Another time, he chatted with hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, who had been in his group the previous three days as the amateur teammate to future son-in-law Dustin Johnson. Though he struck the ball well, Spieth wasn’t making any putts Sunday. But with such a large lead entering the day – he led by six shots – he could afford to close out the tournament on his ball-striking, not with his putting. And he could afford to have fun. Strolling down the 18th fairway, he decided to soak it all in. Rarely has he done that in his previous eight wins, usually opting to keep his game face on until the final putt dropped. Only once before – the 2015 Masters – did he take time to enjoy the moment. So he did it again Sunday. The view of the sun-splashed Monterey coastline was spectacular, his good buddy Owen was along for the ride, and he was back in the winner’s circle for the first time on TOUR since last season’s DEAN & DELUCA Invitational back in May at Colonial. “I don’t think I’ve really enjoyed on the inside how much it takes to win out here and the hard work that goes into winning when you do win,” Spieth said. “… I’m going to look back a number of years from now and think, you know, man, I wish I really enjoyed these wins more.” Owen recalled the first time he met Spieth. It came at the 2013 AT&T Pebble Beach when the two were in the same foursome. That year, though, they weren’t teammates. Spieth was partnered with Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo while Owen was partnered with Kraft. Spieth was 18 and several months away from winning his first TOUR event at the John Deere Classic. Owen went back home the next week and told his parents to keep tabs on the kid “because he’s gonna do something.” “And then over the last few years, watching him win the Masters, the U.S. Open — he’s what you call the greatest player in the world right now, I think,” Owen said. “He’s going to be real hard to beat for a number of years. It’s not just his golf game but what’s between his ears. He does not stop. He’s always there for the win. “When you look back at a guy like Tiger Woods and what you saw back in the day and how much he dominated – I think he dominated more mentally than actually physical. I think that’s what you’re going to see with Jordan over the next few years because he’s dominating these guys mentally.” That’s the Tiger standard again, or at least the Tiger comparison. Spieth doesn’t ever expect to win at the same percentage rate that Woods did, but thus far, at age 23, the race is pretty close (even if the ratios aren’t, as Tiger won 28 of his first 100 TOUR starts as a pro). Perhaps, though, there’s another standard we should be making those, one that doesn’t involve analytics but attitude. “He’s a rock star,” Owen said of Spieth. He then added: “And I can say that because I know quite a few rock stars.”
ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) — Iliad won the $200,000 San Vicente Stakes by 3 1.2 lengths Sunday at Santa Anita.
Iliad wins San Vicente in first start for trainer O’Neill
This is where we begin again. With familiar things. With some of the people we admire. With reminders of why we love it so. So to honor Spring Training in 2017, here are 17 things to be excited about:
Despite missing 10 of his first 11 3-point shots, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope showed little hesitation when another opportunity presented itself on Sunday night. Receiving the ball from Ish Smith with 13.2 seconds remaining, Caldwell-Pope drilled just his second 3-pointer of the night to cap a 16-point fourth-quarter comeback and lead the Detroit Pistons to a 102-101 win over the Toronto Raptors.
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Notes and observations from Sunday’s final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am, with Jordan Spieth shooting a bogey-free 70 while cruising to a four-shot win. For more coverage, click here for the Daily Wrap-up. SPIETH’S BIGGEST SHOT Jordan Spieth reached his ball, barely visible in the rough down the left side of the par-4 eighth fairway, and cringed. He flipped the bottle of water he had been sipping on toward his bag and gave caddie Michael Greller a status report. “Awful lie,” he said. At that point, playing partner Brandt Snedeker had reduced Spieth’s lead from six shots to start the day to just four. Certainly no time to hit the panic button yet, but if there was ever a point the round might get away from him and provided a glimmer of hope to his pursuers, this was it. Spieth contemplated his options. He had 210 yards to the hole, a breeze coming from his left, and, of course, that nasty lie. He had been a bit unlucky there – his tee shot had hit a spectator and dropped into the thick stuff instead of tracking into the trampled area beyond. He pulled a hybrid, lined up toward the left bunker and played a little cut. “It wasn’t necessarily the smartest play,” he acknowledged later. No worries. Spieth found the green, his ball settling 21 feet, 5 inches from the pin. He two-putted for par, kept his four-shot lead and kept hitting greens after that. (In all, he hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation). Though Kelly Kraft would climb within three shots on the back nine, Spieth never really sweated coming in as he cruised to his first AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am win and the ninth of his career. “I’m not sure if it was on camera or not, but I was very, very excited once the ball landed on the green,” Spieth said about that decisive approach at 8. “That was really avoiding a big number there. That could have been a double or triple very, very easily if that doesn’t come out the right way. “So that was the shot of the day for me.” Jordan Spieth made this look much easier than it was. These Guys Are Good.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/ZWkG8Gqwfj — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 12, 2017 MAYBE HE WON IT ON THURSDAY Spieth shot consecutive 65s in his middle two rounds and rarely put himself in danger on Sunday. But he likely won this tournament on Thursday when he shot a 3-under 68 in horrible weather conditions at Monterey Peninsula. And the best shot of the entire week may have come at the 176-yard par-3 11th. His 4-iron into the wind landed inside 5 feet. Spieth missed the birdie putt, but for his amateur partner Jake Owen, it was an early indicator that Spieth had brought his “A” game. “The most amazing shot I’ve seen,” Owen said. “I grew up playing competitive golf. There’s a reason I’m not playing professionally and there’s a reason guys like him are – and it’s shot like that. … “At that moment, I knew he had come to play.” Spieth, looking back on the week, knew that Thursday’s round was special. “That was the best I’ve ever hit the ball in those kinds of conditions and it was my best ball-striking day of the week, I think,” Spieth said. “We had a really tough go when we caught the worst of the weather, too, right along the coast there at Monterey on 10 through 13. So that was really nice to play those holes pretty well, given the conditions. KRAFT’S BEST RESULT Kelly Kraft was 15 under and three shots behind Spieth through 11 holes. Catching his good friend would be difficult, but Kraft had the hot hand. But just as quickly, he cooled off. He parred in to finish a 5-under 67 that left him in solo second – the best finish of his 41 PGA TOUR starts. The top-10 finish allows him to play in next week’s Genesis Open at Riviera. “I would’ve liked to have made a few more putts on the back nine today to add a little pressure,” Kraft said, “but I couldn’t make any putts really coming down the stretch. It was a good day. It was nice to get off to that hot start and kind of set the tone for the day.” While Kraft didn’t beat Spieth in the tournament this week, he did manage to win a friendly Tuesday game, teaming with Kevin Tway to win a few bucks off Spieth and Beau Hossler. CALL OF THE DAY SIGNIFICANT PAR ON 18 Kraft wasn’t the only player to play his way into the Genesis Open. Rob Oppenheim, playing on a sponsor’s exemption, also gained a spot at Riviera thanks to his tie for eighth after a final-round 72. Oppenheim had to manage a tricky situation on his final hole. His tee shot found the bunker, and left him a difficult second. After pitching out, his third shot landed next to the root of a tree to the right of the green. He managed to get up and down to save par and save his position inside the top 10. The ability to come up with a clutch par should serve him well as he tries to gain status on TOUR. “Having things like that is nice just to store in your memory bank,” Oppenheim said. “You know that you can look back and say, Hey, I did have a putt on the 18th hole at Pebble Beach that meant something, and to make it – it always feels good.” SHOT OF THE DAY ODDS AND ENDS Brandt Snedeker entered the day as Spieth’s closest chaser, but after three birdies in his first six holes, he could manage nothing else. He bogeyed the ninth, then parred in from there. “I really felt like something special was going to happen,” the two-time AT&T Pebble Beach champ said. “And for whatever reason, putts just didn’t want to go in today.” … Gary Woodland had the low round of the day, a 7-under 65, to claim a tie for fifth. He had 10 birdies on his round – a career-high. “I didn’t even know it until I just heard it,” Woodland said. “Obviously, that was a career best for me. Now it’s on to try to make it 11.” … Ken Duke and TV personality Carson Daly took the team title at 33 under, winning by two strokes over Kevin Streelman and Arizona Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald. BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA
The Northwestern Wildcats were dancing on the sideline before the second half started. In beating No. 7 Wisconsin 66-59 on Sunday, Northwestern secured an important win for the school’s bid to make its first-ever NCAA Tournament. Bryant McIntosh scored 25 points and Dererk Pardon added 11 for the defensive-minded Wildcats (19-6, 8-4), who confounded the Big Ten-leading Badgers in part by doubling dominant big man Ethan Happ.
Scott McCarron eagled the par-5 18th hole Sunday to win the Allianz Championship for his third PGA Champions Tour victory in his last 17 starts. The 51-year-old McCarron hit a 7-iron shot from 179 yards to 6 feet to set up the eagle, his second of the day after an 80-foot putt on the par-5 seventh. ”All wins are exciting, but this one, to be able to finish it off the way I did, really something special,” McCarron said.