Tiger Woods falls in FedExCup, rises in world ranking

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Sungjae Im came to the Wyndham Championship as the highest-ranking rookie in the FedExCup (25). Without winning, he nevertheless had people talking. Now he really has them talking. With a second-round 67 at soggy Sedgefield Country Club, Im was tied with Patton Kizzire (64) and Adam Svensson (61) atop the leaderboard through 36 holes. Suffice it to say this did not go unnoticed by playing partner Mike Weir (69, 4 under), who will be an assistant to Presidents Cup Captain Ernie Els at Royal Melbourne, December 12-15. “I love his game,� Weir said after the round, which was played under cloudy skies and using lift, clean and place rules for the second straight day. “It was great to get paired with him. We have an eye on him for the Presidents Cup; Ernie and I were texting last night about it for 10 minutes, back and forth. What’d you think? And all that stuff.  “He’s got all the talent in the world, hits all the shots,� Weir added. “He chips well, he putts great. He’s going to be a force to be reckoned with. He’s trending in the right direction, and I’m sure that’s what Ernie wants is guys that are playing well. He’s not one of the bombers, but he’s in the mid to upper range like Rickie Fowler. He still hits it plenty far. He’s got a really mature head, has a good guy on the bag. I’ve had my eye on him for quite a bit.� Im, who turned 21 and got his driver’s license earlier this year, kick-started his second round with a 4-under 31 on the front nine. He’s in great shape to knock out his seventh top-10 finish and maybe his first win, and move up from 13th in the International Presidents Cup standings. The biennial tournament has been in his sights ever since it came to his native South Korea in 2015. RELATED: Tee times | International Presidents Cup standings “The Presidents Cup in Incheon really motivated me to hopefully make the team this year,� he said through a translator after his round, which was watched by his parents, who travel with him, and his brother, among others. “And even though it’s not confirmed yet, I feel like I have a great chance to make the team, and it’s something that I’m really striving for.�  Im has long been on the radar of several golf-watchers, not just Els and Weir. He was the Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year last season, and in his first PGA TOUR start finished T4 at the Safeway Open in Napa, California, missing the three-man playoff by just a shot. “The kid is for real,� Els said then. “He’s got no fear,� said Im’s caddie, the former TOUR player Brian Vranesh, who first caddied for Im in the final stage of the 2017 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament.  Vranesh calls Im “the hardest worker I’ve ever seen,� and indeed the two decamped to the Sedgefield practice green after the second round. Without trying to, Im has developed a swing that recalls Hideki Matsuyama with its slow takeaway. It also produces mind-numbingly consistent golf. His shots don’t curve much, his irons scrape the bottom of the sun, and he putts well, too.  He came to the Wyndham 30th in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, 56th in Strokes Gained: Putting. If there has been a blemish to his rookie season, and you have to look pretty hard to find one, it is that Im hasn’t done well in the biggest tournaments. He missed the cut at THE PLAYERS Championship, PGA Championship and The Open Championship, and didn’t qualify for the Masters Tournament and U.S. Open. Otherwise, he’s been pretty much as advertised. He was one of the eight players who mathematically had a chance to move into the Wyndham Rewards Top 10, with $5.3 million in bonus money still up for grabs. He is projected to do just that, moving up to ninth. He loves to play, and has racked up an eye-popping 31 starts.   “I honestly feel I can play a lot better when I play more tournaments,� Im said. He plays so much he’s even been playing in Monday pro-ams in order to familiarize himself with the slate of TOUR courses, and he’s clearly taken a liking to Sedgefield Country Club. “I had a lot of opportunities this year for a win,� he said, “and I was in contention a lot, and I’ll definitely use those experiences to help me this week. I definitely will use those experiences to not make the same mistakes this week, and hopefully put all my focus into getting a win.�  

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HILTON HEAD, S.C. – A new putter and a new driver seemed to breathe new life into Shane Lowry’s game on Thursday at the RBC Heritage. The Irishman admittedly had started the year off on a strong note with a win in Abu Dhabi in the season-opener on the European Tour. But he simply hadn’t been able to build on that momentum – on either side of the Atlantic — in the weeks following his third career win. In fact, Lowry hadn’t broken 70 in four stroke-play events on the PGA TOUR since he missed the cut at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am back in February. He was a combined 24 over par in those tournaments and had only made the weekend once. On a blustery morning at Harbour Town Golf Links, though, Lowry was back in control — firing a bogey-free 66 that earned him a one-stroke advantage. “Pretty much my whole game felt good,â€� Lowry said. “… I haven’t had that feeling in a while. So, it’s kind of nice.â€� He only needed to use that putter he put in his bag this week 27 times in the first round. Lowry took advantage of all three par-5s, too, getting up and down at each with birdie putts in the 3-foot range. His other birdie putts ranged from 8 to 19 feet. “It was something I’ve been struggling with — my par-5 scoring hasn’t been very good,â€� Lowry said. “I just played them nicely today. I struggled off the tee quite a bit this year, and I managed to find a new driver that I like. I hit that pretty good. And when you do that on par-5s it always gives yourself a chance.â€� Related: Featured Groups, tee times | Insider: Big week for small ball | Kisner keeps perspective as lifelong friend battles tumor Finding the right driver has been a work in progress for Lowry, who even in that early victory struggled off the tee – hitting just four fairways as he shot a course-record 62 in the first round in Abu Dhabi. Lowry estimated he tried 30 different drivers this year before settling on the Srixon one he first used at the Masters and liked so much that it earned another spot in his bag this week. “We’ve done a lot of work and I managed to find one I like and feel like I can trust it there,â€� Lowry said. “So, hopefully it keeps going. Today was the first day that I hit the ball well off the tee. So even it felt okay last week in Augusta, but today was the first real day.â€� Lowry hit 13 of 14 fairways in the first round and 14 of 18 greens in regulation, scrambling successfully for par on the ones he missed. Not surprisingly, then, he ranked in the top three in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, Tee-to-Green and Around-the-Green. “I’m happy with my golf,â€� Lowry said. “My scores haven’t been great as of late. But I felt like I’ve been playing okay. So maybe this is a reward for the perseverance.â€� Lowry has only played the RBC Heritage once previously, finishing tied for 44th in 2017. But he had some success that week – opening with a 66 before giving all that back with a 75 in the second round and eventually finishing 2 under for the week. “It’s just difficult,â€� Lowry said of the Pete Dye creation. “And if you’re 7- or 8-under going into Sunday, you’re going to have a chance to win the tournament, I think. And that’s kind of the way this course plays. You just need to be as patient as you can. “A couple of years ago I got off to a good start and I maybe tried to force it a little bit. So just try to stay patient the next few days. I enjoyed today. It’s nice to shoot a good score. And it’s my first good score in a few weeks. So just enjoy that and just get out there tomorrow and get after it.â€� Friday figures to be a challenge for everyone but particularly those with afternoon tee times when winds of 20-30 mph, gusting to 40, are expected and severe thunderstorms are possible. “You know the forecast is not going to be great,â€� Lowry said. “Yeah, I’ve seen it and knew this was my chance to go out and shoot a good number.â€� Mission accomplished.

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Golf has never been known to move quickly. Harold Varner III illustrated as much with thoughtful observations he posted on social media after civil unrest in America over the weekend reached levels not seen in more than 50 years. “I’ve received more messages than ever before, mostly from people who wanted me to speak up immediately because of who I am. I AM BLACK,” his post began. “But it’s not helpful to anyone when impulsive, passionate reaction takes precedence over clear-minded thought.” What followed from Varner, one of three PGA TOUR members of black heritage, was just that. He referred to the “senseless killing” of George Floyd, the handcuffed black man who died last week when a white police officer in Minneapolis put a knee to the back of his neck until he stopped breathing. “To me, it was evil incarnate,” Varner said. “There are objective truths in life. I think that’s one of them,” he wrote in his Monday post. Varner also cautioned against single-minded thoughts, that one can be against police killing a man while saying that burning businesses and police stations is wrong. “We can go beyond the trap of one-dimensional thinking. Once we do, our eyes will see the righteous, our hearts will feel the love, and we’ll have done more to honor all those subjected to evil and its vile nature,” he concluded. The more prominent voice is Tiger Woods, whose profile worldwide is so great that he chose early in his career not to get too opinionated on social issues. One example was two years ago at Riviera, during Black History Month, when he was asked during a news conference what concerned him about the plight of black Americans. Woods was smart in his delivery, short on substance, when he said African Americans have had their share of struggles, it has gotten better and there’s room for improvement. Accurate and safe. His tweet Monday night arrived shortly before 10 p.m. in Florida. It began with his heart going out to Floyd, his loved ones and “all of us who are hurting right now.” And while he said he has “the utmost respect” for law enforcement and the training involved to know how, when and where to use force, “This shocking tragedy clearly crossed that line.” Woods referenced the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles in 1992 — he was a teenager growing up in neighboring Orange County — and said “education is the best path forward.” “We can make our points without burning the very neighborhoods we live in,” he said. “I hope that through constructive, honest conversations we can build a safer, unified society.” Whether he said a little or a lot, Woods said something. That was important. Voices need to be heard, especially relevant ones. Golf doesn’t have many of those. It has a shabby history of inclusion, particularly when it comes to blacks, starting with the PGA of America taking until 1961 to drop its “Caucasian-only clause.” The PGA TOUR now attracts the best from every corner of the globe. It can be an expensive game, yet not even the privileged are assured of making it. Woods said in a 2009 interview on being the only black on TOUR, “It’s only going to become more difficult for African Americans now, because golf has opened up around the world.” And so where does golf fit in the discussion of equality and justice? The PGA TOUR is the only major sports league that did not issue a public statement or reference the views of its players on the homepage of its website. Would anyone have taken it seriously given the composition and color of the TOUR’s membership? Did it need to carve out a spot on the dais that already was crowded with voices from other sports that are far more germane to the issues? Commissioner Jay Monahan was searching for answers over the weekend and ultimately chose to keep his thoughts within the TOUR, sending a letter Monday to his staff and then sharing it with the players. “The hardships and injustices that have and continue to impact the African-American community are painful to watch and difficult to comprehend,” Monahan wrote. “And as a citizen of this country and a leader of this organization, I must admit that I’m struggling with what my role should be. But I am determined to help and make a difference.” Monahan said he had several “meaningful and emotional” conversations with colleagues and friends in the black community, “who — once again — showed me that sometimes listening and making a commitment to understand are the only things you can offer, and that’s OK.” “What I was left with was this,” he wrote. “Make no mistake about it — someone you know and care about is hurting right now, even if they haven’t told you that directly. … And if anyone at the tour is hurting, we should all hurt.” He also included a link from the Refinery29 website on the unseen pain blacks endure. “Too often we just move on when we are not directly influenced by the news of the day,” he wrote. “Yes, we have all been impacted by the global pandemic, but we should also be painfully aware and impacted by the dividing lines in our country. “We might not know exactly what to do right now, but we shouldn’t be deterred.” The PGA TOUR resumes next week at Colonial, back to its familiar world with little controversy and ample privilege. No other sport does charity as well as golf. This issue requires more than that. If the best it can do is listen and commit to understand, that’s OK.

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