Power Rankings: John Deere Classic

Imagine you are 41. Or 71. Or 101. Now imagine life has lately felt like a 1,000-piece puzzle of white space. It’s not supposed to be white space; it’s supposed to be a vivid picture, bursting with color and texture. You’ve just got to see it in your mind’s eye, and so you keep working, piece by agonizing piece, because it’s there, somewhere, and you’ve still got something left to give. Much ink has been spilled on the appeal of Tiger Woods, who this week at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas makes his first competitive start in 10 months. But the appeal of late-career Woods boils down to this: He thinks he still has something left to give, and who among us can’t relate? Regardless of age and circumstances, we ALL think we have something left to give. “I think Tiger will definitely win another tournament,� Hank Haney, one of his former coaches, said on his SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio show on Monday. “I think he’s got a good shot at winning a major. If he practices part-time and he is healthy enough to play 15 to 18 tournaments and is not on pain-killer medication and is able to move freely like he is now, I think he can win golf tournaments.� Woods has 79 TOUR victories, including 14 majors, and we all know these numbers by heart because they have been frozen in time. But could there be more? Tom Brady and Peyton Manning won Super Bowls at 39, Manning after having undergone cervical neck fusion. Jack Nicklaus won the Masters and Johnny Miller the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at 46, Miller after being chased into semi-retirement by the yips. “Handsome� Harry Gant was NASCAR’s oldest to take the checkered flag at 52, his left-turn signal no doubt blinking the whole way at the 1992 Champion Spark Plug 400. You think Woods has no chance? Consider: When he came back at least year’s Hero, his surgically repaired back still not quite surgically repaired (as we now know), he paced the field with 24 birdies. On Monday, news began trickling out of the Bahamas regarding his latest Hero-ics: Woods was outdriving his practice-round playing partner, Patrick Reed, by anywhere from 10-20 yards. Haney went on the air with praise for Woods’ latest swing, and Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee took to Twitter with similarly positive reviews. The pessimist in us says to give it up, seeing as how Woods has made just one PGA TOUR start in the last two years, and he hasn’t won since 2013. The optimist reminds that he won five times that year. And the heart says that it’s better to dream. Always. That might sound preposterous, but then so did the idea that Nolan Ryan would pitch his sixth ho-hitter at age 43, and Sam Snead would win the Greater Greensboro Open at Sedgefield Country Club for the eighth time at 52, and, well, you get the idea. Doug Ferguson of Sports Betting News points out that this marks the 10th time Woods has returned from layoffs of 10 weeks or longer. All but two of those layoffs have been injury-related—balky knee; ruptured Achilles; bad back—and not all of the comebacks have gone well. Last year, despite making all those birdies at the Hero, and shooting a second-round 65, Woods finished 22 shots behind the winner, Hideki Matsuyama. Of the 17 players who finished (Justin Rose withdrew), Woods beat only Russell Knox and Emiliano Grillo. Still, Woods had big plans for 2017. Then he missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open, shot an opening 77 and withdrew from the Dubai Desert Classic a week later, pulled out of his next two scheduled starts, and had surgery in April. So here he comes again, and what are we to think? Should we decry our own stupidity for falling for this old ruse again? Nah. Today is a day to appeal to our better selves and remember that Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run at age 40, and Pablo Picasso painted “Guernica� at 55. To accept that Father Time is undefeated, yes, but to accept, too, that we all have something left to give, and the essence of life itself is finding out exactly what that is.

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Emergency 9 Here are nine tidbits from the first round of the Valero Texas Open that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. The AT&T Oaks Course in San Antonio has been the host since 2010 and plays 7,435 yards to a Par-72. Know Thy Enemy These were the top-10 picked golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. The consensus is that the late-early draw should have a slight advantage. If that’s the case, the pros in BOLD above will deal with better conditions. The breeze started early on Thursday and by lunch time the scoring average was approaching almost two shots over par. Only Brendan Steele from the earlier starters was in red figures as he posted 70. Chappell and List signed for even-par 72. The scoring average for the day finished 73.532. No Gray Area Grayson Murray posted the lowest round of the day in the morning wave with 67. He circled seven birdies and the only blemish on his card was a double on No. 7. Murray announced himself to gamers last summer when he won the Barbasol Championship and was only four shots out of the lead at the PGA Championship after three rounds. Before MC last week on Hilton Head (74-70) he chalked up T14 at Bay Hill and T14 at the Golf Club of Houston in his previous two starts. He led the field in SG: Tee to Green and T16 in putts per GIR. Not bad for his first trip! People’s Choice: Luke List One of three noted above who might not be on the better side of the draw, List didn’t lose the tournament in the first round. His even-par round opened with 35 on the back and 37 on the front to close. He hit 10 of 14 fairways but only nine GIR. He’s only five back as he looks to keep his streak of T26 or better in stroke play rolling to nine consecutive events. Defending Champ Kevin Chappell also ground out an even-par round in the morning wave after making a double on his second hole (No. 11). He made four birdies against only two bogeys the rest of the way. Chappell WD at WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play with a back issue. He’s played the last two weeks and MC in both. Defending for the first time is never easy and neither is this track. His streak of red figure rounds ends at eight. He’ll remain on my bench tomorrow as I’ll load up with early wave guys. Atkins Diet Big shout out to the three of you who played Matt Atkins in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO this week! In 10 events this year the rookie collected checks twice (T65 and T22). He won the El Bosque Mexico Championship last year on the Web.com to help him gain status on TOUR for this season. On a course he’s never played he scratched out five birdies against one bogey and will hit the pillow with a smile on his face. Familiar Faces The landlord at the AT&T Oaks Course is Charley Hoffman. His round of 72 keeps his career record at 41-under-par in nine events. It’s weird to point out that this was his fifth round in a row in the 70’s and fourth in a row of par or worse. … Billy Horschel and Ryan Moore both signed afternoon rounds of bogey-free 68. These were the only two clean cards on the day and they both share T2. Both of them were also in the mix last week at Harbour Town as Horschel was T5 and Moore T16. Native Son Boerne resident and 2015 champ Jimmy Walker burst out of the gate and was tied for the lead on three-under thru his first eight holes on the back nine. Then he found a cactus which led to an unplayable. His drop rolled against a rock. The recovery shot found the creek. His 17-footer saved double. He played the front in even par with one birdie and one bogey and signed for 71 on the day. I see one bad hole. It’s Been a Long Time Sergio Garcia (74) was the player consultant on the AT&T Oaks Course design with Greg Norman. He played the inaugural year in 2010 before returning this season. He struggled in just about every facet of his game and 48 percent of you have to decide to roll him out in Round 2 or sit him. The good news he’ll be on the better part of the draw. The bad news is he’ll need to fix everything on the range. I’m passing. Study Hall Chris Stroud WD after posting 79. He’ll need to be replaced if he’s in your PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO lineup. No reason was given at the time of the WD. … Camilo Villegas was a late WD for the second event in a row as he deals with a shoulder issue. … The Valero Texas Open will move to the week before the Masters starting next year. … Monday Qualifying medalist Joshua Creel shot 69 and is T7. He hasn’t had a start on ANY TOUR since August of last year.

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