Jarrod Lyle gets ready to battle cancer yet again

ORLANDO, Fla. – It has become something of a December tradition, much in the spirit of shiny wrapped presents and kids caroling on the sidewalk: Tiger Woods shows up after a long layoff in the relaxed atmosphere of the year-end PNC Championship, provides a glimpse of better-than-expected form, and ducks back behind the curtain of the home laboratory. It leaves us with many questions to ponder as we sip our holiday eggnog. The biggest curiosity is this: When will we see Tiger Woods competing again? After two days enjoyed alongside his 13-year-old son, Charlie, at PNC – Team Woods tied for eighth – Woods said he would be shutting things down to get his health in order. As he continues to rehab from an early 2021 SUV accident that could have cost him his right leg, if not his life, Woods now must get past a painful clash with plantar fasciitis in his right foot that has greatly limited his ability to walk. That could take months. Will he play in the Genesis Invitational that benefits his own foundation in mid-February? Likely too soon. Can he be ready for a small sampling of golf in March, during the Florida Swing? Maybe aim to return in time for another Masters, where last April the five-time winner of the green jacket not only showed up, but played on the weekend? “I think it’s going to be more later than sooner just by his reactions to how his leg is feeling, how his foot is feeling, and how his game is,” said John Cook, a Golf Channel analyst who has been close to Woods through the years. “We’ll have to wait and see how his body is going to be able to support the work that he’s going to need to do to get competitive. He won’t go out there until he thinks he’s competitive.” Woods’ caddie, Joe LaCava, said Woods’ physical performance at the PNC was better than he expected to see, especially considering how Woods had looked to him a month earlier. LaCava flew down to Florida to work with Woods in preparation for the Hero World Challenge, but things were so bad with Woods’ ailing foot they made the decision to stop working. Woods had the luxury of playing out of a cart for two days at PNC, which he won’t have when he returns to the PGA TOUR. It was a huge factor in him being able to play. As far as Woods’ golf, LaCava liked what he saw in many of the shots Woods was striking at PNC. Woods showed plenty of speed in his swing, and his short game, for a man who hadn’t competed since July’s Open Championship, was “tidy.” “I think he drove it well, and pretty consistent,” LaCava said. “Enough distance. A few past JT (Thomas), but that’s not what we’re looking for. It’s just about hitting it solid. More important to me, it’s about hitting the shot that he’s trying to hit. Sit up there and hit a high cut, and that’s what he’s hitting. … if he’s hitting the shot that he’s trying to hit, I’m good with that.” Examples? There was the 558-yard fifth hole at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on Sunday, where Woods roasted a drive well past Thomas, then went at the green with an 8-iron, leaving his ball 15 feet below the hole. (“Only an 8-iron,” LaCava said, “but a beautiful shot, because he had to hit it hard and draw it.”) There were some crisp little wedge shots, like the ones he hit Sunday into 13, where his ball nearly danced into the hole, and 15 (a full wedge) and 16. There was the 4-iron he ripped into the par-5 14th on Saturday, and the beautiful, towering 3-iron into the par-5 18th to finish off that round. A day later, Padraig Harrington, who still thinks Woods has at least one more major win in him, still was raving about the shot. “An impressive strike,” said Harrington, who believes Woods is swinging the club the best he has in five years. He noted Woods’ ball speed of 159 mph on the iron strike. “There’s not many people who can do that in the world of golf.” At PNC, Woods said his plantar fasciitis has been “frustrating,” because he felt he was making some decent progress with his game after playing only nine official rounds in 2022 (in three majors, making the cut in two). He has been sleeping with his right foot in a boot, which sometimes rubs and cuts into his healthier leg. “The plantar fasciitis is no fun,” Woods said, “and now I get to truly recover and heal and progress forward on this because there’s so many good things that I’ve been able to do physically, be able to hit the golf ball and practice and do everything in a standstill … but I haven’t been able to get from Point A to Point B (walking). We’re obviously going to work on this.” Mark O’Meara, the Hall of Famer who took Woods under his wing when Woods turned pro and moved to Orlando as a TOUR rookie in 1996, said he was “blown away” that Woods showed up to the Masters last April, “let alone make the cut.” Playing Augusta was a huge bonus for Woods, whose biggest 2022 goal was to make it to The Open at St. Andrews in July. O’Meara was there, too, seated next to Woods at the exclusive dinner for past Open champions. “I know how much he wants it,” said O’Meara, who now lives in Las Vegas and doesn’t see much of Woods. He did receive a big hug when he and Woods saw each other on the practice grounds last week. “Anytime you want Tiger Woods to do something, just tell him he can’t do it. That’s usually when he does do it.” O’Meara admires Woods’ toughness with all that he has been through, but he did recall a funny story from Augusta years back. He and Woods were playing by themselves in a Tuesday practice round at Augusta National. Going up the fifth hole, Woods told O’Meara he had some news he hadn’t shared: he had a slight tear in his left Achilles tendon. O’Meara had to laugh. “I’m like, ‘Really? Tiger, I’m not a doctor, but I really believe if you had a slight tear in that Achilles tendon, you would not be walking up this fairway right now,’” O’Meara said. “And I’m not a betting man, and I didn’t bet that week, but I told him, ‘Because you said that to me, I’m going to bet that you’re going to win this week.’ “And you know what? He won the Masters that week. That’s just him.” Woods said 2022 was challenging in so many ways, yet also called it “one of the most rewarding years I’ve had in a while.” Up next for him is his 47th birthday on Dec. 30. Can he get back to the TOUR in 2023? Can he get to the majors to chase No. 16? LaCava said once the plantar fasciitis subsides, he could see Woods playing “five or six tournaments.” Right now, Woods would take that. And if, and when, he does return, one thing is certain. “He’s a guy that you can never doubt, or count out, or any of that stuff,” Matt Kuchar said. “I think I’ve been on the side of doubting or counting him out a couple of times, and was proven wrong multiple times already. “It’s so hard to say (what Woods will do). I know that there is nobody who works harder in trying to come back, and rehab. If there’s a chance – and you know there is a chance – then he is going to find it and try to do it. I think we will count on him being at majors until he’s not.”

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MEDINAH, Ill. – On Thursday, Justin Thomas and Jason Kokrak tied the course record at Medinah No. 3 with 7-under 65s. On Friday, Hideki Matsuyama set the new course record with a 63. On Saturday, Thomas answered back with a 61 to establish the current course record. We’ll see if it lasts longer than 24 hours. On a course that has major credentials and a reputation as a brawny brute in this City of Big Shoulders, this week’s PGA TOUR pros have spent the first 54 holes of the BMW Champioship treating Medinah like the local muni you sneak over to in order to boost your confidence. Of the 69 players in the field, just two are over par for the week (Harold Varner III and Cameron Champ at 1 over). Of the 207 rounds shot thus far, just 28 are over par. Meanwhile, Thomas leads at 21 under, six shots ahead of Tony Finau and Patrick Cantlay. A total of 17 players are at 10 under or better. Related: Leaderboard | Projected FedExCup standings | Thomas shoots course-record 61, leads BMW Championship by six Thomas is among the large group of players making their first pro starts at Medinah, which most recently hosted the 2012 Ryder Cup, along with the 1999 and 2006 PGA Championships. It’s hosting the BMW Championship for the first time in the FedExCup era. He’s not surprised the scores are so low. “It doesn’t matter what golf course it is. You give us soft good greens and soft fairways, we’re going to tear it apart,� Thomas said after his 11-under 61 that included two back-nine eagles. “It’s just how it is.� Indeed, the conditions this week have essentially left Medinah defenseless. Rainy weather has softened up the course, turning greens into dartboards. The wind on Friday came from a different direction than the first round, throwing a few players off, but for the most part, it has been a non-factor. When Finau first stepped on the course Tuesday for his first practice round at Medinah, he never expected the birdiefest that has developed. “I was almost convinced single digit was going to win,� Finau said his 68 on Saturday – his highest score of the week. “It’s a long golf course. I felt like it was going to firm out. Obviously hasn’t firmed out. “If you would’ve told me somebody would shoot 61 this week, I would have told you that’s a joke.� So is it strictly the easy conditions? Finau thinks yes. “The fairways are wider because they’re not bouncing and the greens are bigger – it doesn’t matter the type of spin you put on it, it’s not going very far. Forward or backspin, they’re not going very far. “When we have our number, we’re trying to hit our number. That’s no calculation …. There’s not that much running through our heads.� When Tiger Woods won the 1999 PGA at Medinah, he finished at 11 under. Only one other player shot double-digits that week – Sergio Garcia. When Woods won the PGA again at Medinah in 2006, he finished at 18 under. This time, five other players were at 10 under or better. So it’s not like Medinah can’t yield a low score. Woods, though, it surprised it’s yielded so many this week. “Amazing how many guys are under par on this golf course,� he said after his 67 on Saturday. “There isn’t one person over par. Who would’ve guessed that going into this week? “We all thought this was one of the more tough and bigger ballparks, and the whole field is playing well. There’s normally a few guys that are struggling. Th entire field is playing well is something that we’re all pretty surprised at. “These greens got a lot of movement to them, still on the quick side. The rough is hide. Can’t get to the green from the rough normally. Somehow guys are figuring out a way to all make birdies.� And eagles. There have been 30 this week – 19 of those at the 536-yard par-5 fifth, which has played to a stroke average of 0.729 below par. If that number holds up, it would be the fifth easiest hole played this season on the PGA TOUR. It also helps when you don’t even need a putter. Thomas holed out twice on Saturday, including from 180 yards for eagle at the 16th. Brandt Snedeker also had two hole-outs, both for birdies. “You have to shoot 7, 8 (under) if you want to move up the leaderboard here,� Snedeker said. It’ll likely take something better than that to catch Thomas on Sunday. But he knows he’ll need to keep firing at flags if conditions stay the same. “We all have such great control over our golf ball and we know how far it’s going to go and when we’re hitting it well,� Thomas said. “We know how it’s going to react. When the fairways are that much bigger and you put us in the fairway, I mean, we’re just good. “You know what I mean?�

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The 14th of 24 contributing events for PGA TOUR Champions One & Done presented by SERVPRO is this week’s U.S. Senior Open Championship. It begins on Thursday. Scroll for tournament notes, 25 notables and three wild cards from the field of 156 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Most champions who return to the same course on which they prevailed automatically belong on our short list. That’s an obvious statement even for rookie gamers. But every once in a while, all of the arrows are pointing at the defending champion. This is one of those weeks. Kyle Stanley was my Don’t Take during the Facebook Live fantasy show for last week’s Travelers Championship. I cited the course’s prerequisite of being a good putter and his relatively poor record at TPC River Highlands. It’s not that he’s a bad putter, but he profiles as the tee-to-green specialist who can capture a victory when putting isn’t at a premium. Case in point, Stanley eked out a playoff victory at last year’s Quicken Loans National. In line with his projection, he lost strokes to the field on the greens, but unfamiliar surfaces benefit average-to-below average putters. What’s more, the targets are only 5,300 square feet, so fewer putts are totaled. TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm is a ball-striker’s paradise, which is also reflective in the fact that it was the hardest par 70 in all non-majors last season. Yet, what did Stanley do in Connecticut last week? He finished seventh in strokes gained: putting and tied for 15th with four red numbers. Boom. He’s a full bank of green lights as he defends the QLN. The only other no-brainer in the field worth your consideration is Francesco Molinari. He’s also a perfect foil for the ball-striking challenge at TPC Potomac, but he’s also a strategic dream given understood hesitation to burn the likes of Rickie Fowler or Marc Leishman. If the Italian was available to me, he’d be my pick. I could insert Stanley, who I would if I was front-running and who league leaders should play, but I need to force the action. Thus my pivot to Beau Hossler. It’s not overthinking – perhaps that’s what I should do given my position – but I’ve swayed so far from my once-upon-a-time philosophy to play aggressively (and even accept my role as a placebo for you) that it’s time to reset when it seems counterintuitive. I also dig that Hossler is still chasing an exemption into The Open Championship. (He’ll snag one easily for the PGA Championship later.) Jimmy Walker is tempting, but he’d look even better if he commits to next week’s stop at The Greenbrier. Don’t hesitate if you don’t want to play that waiting game. As he often is when he’s active, the elephant on this page is Tiger Woods. He’s No. 8 in my Power Rankings, and I prefer him hitting full shots over relying on what might be a new putter, but he’s never played TPC Potomac in competition. For the Shire among horses for courses, the land of the unknown isn’t desired territory for our purposes. Two-man gamers could nibble on Hossler, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Byeong Hun An and Jamie Lovemark. If 2017 QLN runner-up Charles Howell III is somehow still on your board, your season must have started late. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2017-18. The numerical values in parentheses represent the order of relative confidence of where to use each golfer if multiple sites are listed (e.g. 1 for strongest, 2 for next-strongest and so on). To present weighted confidence in real time, numerical values will not change all season no matter how many tournament remain listed for each golfer. All are pending golfer commitment. Rickie Fowler … WGC-Bridgestone (3); THE NORTHERN TRUST (10); Dell Technologies (6) Bill Haas … Wyndham (2) J.B. Holmes … Greenbrier (5) Billy Horschel … TOUR Championship (4) Martin Laird … Barracuda (1) Marc Leishman … Open Championship (1) Kevin Na … John Deere (9); Wyndham (3); THE NORTHERN TRUST (11) Jimmy Walker … Greenbrier (8); Dell Technologies (7) Tiger Woods … WGC-Bridgestone (3) CHAMPIONS ONE & DONE U.S. Senior Open Championship With total prize money of $4 million, the national open is the richest tournament on the PGA TOUR Champions. The winner will receive $720,000. Kenny Perry defends and goes for his third U.S. Senior Open title in the last six years. The Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs, Colorado, returns as host for the first time since its debut in this tournament in 2008. It’s 10 yarder longer at 7,264 yards, but it’s still a par 36-34=70 with two par 5s. Par is almost always a great score in this tournament, and at over 6,200 feet above sea level, it’s an equal-opportunity event regardless of power off the tee. Eduardo Romero prevailed by four strokes at just 6-under 274 in 2008. Fred Funk was the runner-up. This is the second of three tournaments with a cut. The low 60 plus ties at the conclusion of 36 holes are guaranteed another 36. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2018. The numerical values in parentheses represent the order of relative confidence of where to use each golfer if multiple sites are listed (e.g. 1 for strongest, 2 for next-strongest and so on). To present weighted confidence in real time, numerical values will not change all season no matter how many tournament remain listed for each golfer. All are pending golfer commitment. Stephen Ames … U.S. Senior Open (6); Boeing (2); Shaw (7) Fred Couples … Usable everywhere. Defending the Chubb and American Family. Joe Durant … U.S. Senior Open (7); SENIOR PLAYERS (1); 3M (6); DICK’S (12); Boeing (10); Shaw (11); PURE (3); SAS (13) David Frost … U.S. Senior Open (4); 3M (7); Boeing (5); Shaw (8); PURE (1) Fred Funk … Boeing (6); PURE (5) Doug Garwood … SAS (1) Paul Goydos … 3M (1; defending); DICK’S (3); SAS (5) Lee Janzen … U.S. Senior Open (2) Miguel Angel Jiménez … U.S. Senior Open (5); SENIOR PLAYERS (3); Senior Open Championship (4); 3M (9); Shaw (7); SAS (12) Brandt Jobe … U.S. Senior Open (4); SENIOR PLAYERS (1); 3M (5); Boeing (8) Jerry Kelly … Boeing (1; defending); Shaw (5); PURE (2); SAS (4) Bernhard Langer … Usable everywhere. Defending five titles. Tom Lehman … U.S. Senior Open (3); SAS (9) Jeff Maggert … Shaw (5) Billy Mayfair … Boeing (2); PURE (1) Scott McCarron … SENIOR PLAYERS (3; defending); Senior Open Championship (10); DICK’S (4; defending); Shaw (5; defending); PURE (8) Colin Montgomerie … U.S. Senior Open (6); SENIOR PLAYERS (2); Senior Open Championship (10); Shaw (4); PURE (7); SAS (3; defending) Tom Pernice, Jr. … Shaw (3); SAS (5) Kenny Perry … U.S. Senior Open (6); 3M (1); DICK’S (11); SAS (2) Gene Sauers … U.S. Senior Open (5); SENIOR PLAYERS (6); Boeing (1) Vijay Singh … U.S. Senior Open (2); Shaw (5); SAS (1) Kevin Sutherland … Usable everywhere. David Toms … Boeing (2); SAS (4) Kirk Triplett … SENIOR PLAYERS (1); Shaw (4) Duffy Waldorf … Shaw (5) WILD CARDS (short list of golfers not included above but on the rise or still building portfolios after recently turning 50): Steve Flesch; Rocco Mediate; Scott Parel.

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