Day: August 23, 2020

Golf: Germany’s Popov claims maiden major at women’s British OpenGolf: Germany’s Popov claims maiden major at women’s British Open

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Scottie Scheffler’s caddie goes down with injury late on SundayScottie Scheffler’s caddie goes down with injury late on Sunday

NORTON, Mass. - There's not a lot of elevation at TPC Boston, but there are plentiful mounds that force you to move to a different vantage point to see more clearly. Scott McGuinness was in one of those quirky areas in Sunday's final round of THE NORTHERN TRUST when he decided to jump for a better view at the par-4 ninth hole. Unfortunately, he didn't have a better landing. Going down with an ankle injury, McGuinness was attended to by medical officials even as Scottie Scheffler putted out at the par-4 ninth. After a brief discussion with McGuinness, Scheffler supported the decision to provide more medical attention to his caddie. Thus, was the call made to the bullpen. Eric Ledbetter, 26, got the call. Ledbetter is in his seventh year as an assistant on head professional Mark Nowosielski's staff at TPC Boston. There was no hesitation when the staff suggested Ledbetter. "He knows every inch of grass at this place," said Matt Byers, an operations manager with the PGA TOUR. A few years ago, Jonas Blixt arrived for a practice round and used Ledbetter to guide him around TPC Boston. Playing beautifully all week, Scheffler was introduced to Ledbetter and off they went to the 10th tee. The impressive PGA TOUR rookie was 15-under at the time, and nothing over the next few hours with Ledbetter put him out of sync. In fact, they moved forward with a birdie at the par-4 13th, then a string of pars before the sky opened. A slow-moving storm packed a lot of rain and electricity and play was halted. Scheffler and Ledbetter were in the fairway at the par-5 18th, so the relief caddie's stint was going to last longer than expected. That's OK. He's at home.

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Tiger Woods builds momentum with 66 in final round at THE NORTHERN TRUSTTiger Woods builds momentum with 66 in final round at THE NORTHERN TRUST

NORTON, Mass. - When you claim you "hit the ball better … putted better … (and that) everything was just cleaner and better," and you're still sitting 16 strokes out of the lead, well, it sort of magnifies how poorly the previous rounds had gone. No argument there from Tiger Woods, whose closing 5-under 66 in Sunday's final round of THE NORTHERN TRUST made his exit from TPC Boston a little merrier and provided a little more enthusiasm for next week's FedExCup Playoff, the BMW Championship. RELATED: Full leaderboard | FedExCup standings "Today," said Woods, "was good all the way around." Indeed, the numbers support that, as he hit 10 of 14 fairways, 16 of 18 greens, and while he would have preferred to have taken fewer than 31 putts, he did make 100 feet of them. That was a vast improvement from Friday (68 feet) and Saturday (45 feet) when he scored poorly, rounds of 71 and 73 digging a massive hole that left him a whopping 21 strokes behind Dustin Johnson through three rounds. Not that a round of 66 was going to be called an instant classic, because in this week of deep red numbers, a 5 under effort was ordinary. Indeed, three pairings later, Kevin Na matched the 66, then came a 65 by Troy Merritt and 63 by Robby Shelton. In other words, the 66 wasn't going to open much room for Woods, who started the day 67th and was still tied for 55th after signing for 6-under 278. More to his concern, he knew he was going to lose ground in the FedExCup standings. Having come into the week 49th, Wood was projected to be 55th at the close of his round and while his definitive place will be determined after all the scores are in, he took ownership of his dilemma. "I wish I would have played a little bit better this week to make it a little bit easier on me next week to try and get into East Lake," said Woods, who qualifies for the BMW Championship for being Top 70 and would need to be Top 30 to make it into the TOUR Championship. But, regardless of how he performed here these last four days, Woods knows if he plays well at the BMW Championship and gets into the TOUR Championship, "it's going to be a busy stretch, either way." Of course, he is factoring in the U.S. Open, scheduled for September 17-20 at Winged Foot, though it was another U.S. Open he was asked about. Namely, the 2003 edition, because it was at Olympia Fields some 30 miles south of Chicago and it hardly rates as a memorable experience. "I haven't been there since the (U.S.) Open, so I need to get back there and take a look at the golf course and see the changes they have made." It was his seventh U.S. Open as a professional, and he had already won the major twice. But at Olympia Fields he labored to a share of 20th place - at the time his worst finish as a pro in the national championship. He required 147 strokes on the weekend (75-72) and only three times in the 16 U.S. Open where he's made the cut as a pro has Woods shot higher in Rounds 3 and 4. "I didn't like the rough," said Woods. "It was one of the weeks I kept laying the club down (translation: he just wedged out of rough all week). Hopefully, it will be a little bit better this week."

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