Sometimes, golf’s rules can help a sticky situation

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CROMWELL, Conn. – Jason Day had just finished his Wednesday pro-am round at the Travelers Championship when he met a small scrum of reporters behind the ninth green at TPC River Highlands. One of them asked about his missed cut at the U.S. Open at Erin Hills last week, the latest misfire in what has so far been a decidedly underwhelming season. Day said he got a text afterward from Tiger Woods, who was watching from home. “He said, ‘Before you go out and work on something, call me. I saw something,’â€� Day said. “I’m like, Yeah, you saw 79 shots.â€� Day laughed. “I never called him; I was too angry.â€� At least he can laugh about it. This week’s Travelers Championship boasts one of the most star-studded fields ever thanks to the presence of first-timers Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth, plus Day, who played here in 2014 (T18) and 2008 (T27). All three, though, are sleeping giants, looking to rouse themselves before the Open and PGA Championships, and the FedExCup Playoffs. Day is fourth in the Official World Golf Ranking but 45th in the FedExCup. McIlroy is third in the OWGR but 69th in the FedExCup after a rib injury limited him to just seven starts prior to this week. And Spieth, fourth in the OWGR and sixth in the FedExCup — he won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am among his six top-10 finishes — is fighting his putter. Unlike Day and McIlroy, he at least made the cut at last week’s U.S. Open, ultimately finishing T35. All three have been ranked No. 1 in the world, and two of them — Spieth and McIlroy — have won the FedExCup. All three have won a major. Day has won THE PLAYERS Championship. And yet this season has been a reminder that life and injuries sometimes play through, and form can be maddeningly fickle for almost everyone. “I always felt ’17 was going to be a bit of a transitional year,â€� McIlroy said, “with, obviously, Nike going out of the golf equipment business and getting married, moving and changing residences, and all that sort of stuff. I didn’t factor an injury into that as well.â€� Day didn’t plan on his mother Dening getting diagnosed with lung cancer. He didn’t hit as many balls as usual, as he didn’t feel like being on the course. “I’m about a month behind on my workload,â€� he said Wednesday. He withdrew from the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, but she rallied after surgery, and Day saw an uptick in his game. Or at least he thought he did. After finishing second to Billy Horschel in a sudden-death playoff at the AT&T Byron Nelson, he got off to a poor start at his hometown tournament, the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide (T15). He came completely unglued at Erin Hills, spending too much time in the fescue (Day is 144th on TOUR in driving accuracy). Then there’s Spieth, whose issues are on the green. Ninth in strokes gained: putting (.571) during his monster 2015 season, which culminated in his hoisting the FedExCup, he rose all the way to second in that stat (.758) last season. This year he’s 40th (.351).  “Tee to green everything has been there,â€� Spieth said. “I’ve been working on the putting, trying to develop a feel that I can use consistently and kind of not have to think about the stroke and setup and instead focus on the line and speed, which I have not been comfortable doing.â€� Still, all three players know it only takes one week to turn things around.  “The U.S. Open can zap your confidence a little bit,â€� said McIlroy, who will tee off at 7:50 a.m. Thursday with Brian Harman (10th in the FedExCup) and Jim Furyk (58 in the final round here last year). “So it’s nice to come back to a venue where you can see shots going close to the hole, you can see putts going in, you can make birdies. Sometimes you need that.â€� Said Day, who will play right behind them, in the 8 a.m. group with Patrick Reed and Justin Thomas, “I have a pretty good record here.â€� Spieth, who will tee off alongside Wesley Bryan and Brandt Snedeker at 1 p.m., said good word-of-mouth brought him to Hartford: “I was kind of in between what I’m going to do scheduling-wise after the U.S. Open, before the Open Championship,â€� he said. He asked around: “‘What do you think about the Travelers? I haven’t played there,’â€� Spieth said. “And it was universal. It was all positive comments from every player I asked.â€� The hole needs to open up for Spieth, and the fairway needs to show itself for Day, who leads the TOUR in strokes gained: around the green. McIlroy just needs to play. The course is still soft from Monday night’s torrential downpour, and should yield plenty of birdies. Two majors have come and gone, and two remain. Three WGCs have come and gone, and one remains. The FedExCup Playoffs and Presidents Cup loom ever larger on the horizon. For Day, Spieth and McIlroy, there’s no better time than the present to find their mid-season form.

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PALM HARBOR, Fla. – One week after beating Tiger Woods, Sam Burns returned to his alma mater and the life he left to ply his trade. Burns was in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to visit his former teammates, throw out the first pitch at an LSU baseball game and attend his girlfriend’s sorority formal. His final-round playing partner the previous week was a popular topic of conversation. Burns estimates he was asked about Woods some 40 times, though his body language and slight laugh seemed to imply that the inquiry came even more frequently. “I kind of miss it,� Burns said about college. However, he was playing golf last Friday in Louisiana while his friends were in class. “I don’t miss that part of it,� he joked. Burns, 21, would be a junior at LSU if he hadn’t decided to turn pro last year. Now he may be pro golf’s hot new prospect after going toe-to-toe with Tiger in the final round of The Honda Classic. Burns finished eighth after a bogey-free 68 that was two shots lower than Woods’ Sunday score. “I thought Sam would play great because Sam always thought this day would happen,� said his college coach, Chuck Winstead. “Deep down he sees himself as a great player and great players are eventually paired with great players. He has an inner belief that the best have that isn’t contingent on each round or each tournament.� Burns is back on the PGA TOUR this week after his brief return to campus. His T8 finish at The Honda Classic – which wasn’t even the best finish of his brief PGA TOUR career – earned him a start at the Valspar Championship. He also has a spot in next week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. Woods approached Burns for a brief chat Tuesday at Innisbrook’s putting green. There was a box of new clothes awaiting Burns when he arrived at his locker after his practice session. He’s fitting in nicely on the PGA TOUR. The only question is how much more he’ll play here this season. Burns can use three more sponsor exemptions this season. This week doesn’t count against that limit, nor does his start at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. He earned that appearance by winning last year’s Jack Nicklaus Award as college golf’s top player. He’s hoping to use one of his remaining invitations on the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in his home state. He said former Memorial champion William McGirt is a prospective teammate. Burns also has Web.com Tour status this season after his 10th-place finish at Q-School. He ranks 13th on the money list after a runner-up finish in at the Club Colombia Championship. He plans on returning to the tour for the Chitimacha Louisiana Open presented by NACHER, but his time there could be limited if he continues his good play. Burns is 147 non-member FedExCup points from earning special temporary membership, which would allow him to accept unlimited sponsor exemptions for the remainder of the season. He could take care of that with a third-place finish this week. A solo fourth would leave him just 12 points short. “I honestly don’t know what that is,� Burns said Tuesday. “If I play well, that takes care of itself.� The Valspar is the same event where Jordan Spieth earned his first TOUR status in 2013. He became a special temporary member after a runner-up at the Puerto Rico Open and seventh-place finish at Innisbrook. He won the John Deere Classic later that year, qualified for the TOUR Championship and made the Presidents Cup team. Spieth and Woods are the only players to qualify for the TOUR Championship after starting the season without TOUR status. Burns may face long odds to replicate that feat, but he’s surged to the head of the class among this talented crop of rookie pros. This, despite being left off the 10-man U.S. team that competed at last year’s Walker Cup. Fellow LSU alum John Peterson used his Walker Cup omission as motivation, nearly winning the 2012 U.S. Open after being left off the previous year’s team. Burns is responding in similar fashion. “It’s probably something I think I’ll never get over as long as I live because when you’re 50 or 60 years old you want to tell your kids that you played in the Walker Cup,� Burns said. “I’ll never be able to do that, so I think that it will always leave a bad taste in my mouth.� He wasn’t picked for the team despite winning one of college golf’s player of the year awards and finishing T6 at the Barbasol Championship while still an amateur. He’s made the cut in three of four starts this season, adding a T20 at the Shriners Hospitals for Championship and T43 at the Sanderson Farms Championship. Burns has seen PGA TOUR players up close since his childhood. He’s longtime friends with Carter Toms, son of 13-time TOUR winner David Toms. Burns has tagged along on family vacations, where he also competed against players like Davis Love III. Burns texted Toms for advice on playing with Woods at PGA National. Toms told Burns to putt out first, when possible, so that the crowds wouldn’t be running while he was over his ball. Advice is worthless, though, if the recipient doesn’t have the game to compete. Burns birdied his first hole with Woods, knocking his approach shot to 3 feet, and was bogey-free in the Honda’s final round. “When he plays his game as good as anyone,� Toms said. “He always has that to fall back on.�

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