The world’s most feared sports bettor waits: on his insider trading conviction appeal, to learn whether good behavior will cut his prison term, and whether the U.S. Supreme Court will do what once seemed unthinkable — legalize sports gambling.
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While Tiger Woods’ return to competition remains unknown, former swing coach Hank Haney fully expects to see his former pupil tee it up later this year. Speaking on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio, Haney didn’t shy away from making a concrete prediction as to when Woods, 41, might make his first competitive swings after undergoing anterior lumbar interbody fusion surgery in April. “They’re going to toy with everybody, because it’s just what they do. But he’s playing at the Hero World Challenge,” Haney said. “He’s not going to wait until February to play again.” Held Nov. 30-Dec. 3, the Hero was the site of Woods’ long-awaited return to competition a year ago. But that comeback lasted only three starts,
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Whenever Mackenzie Hughes looked down at the initials on his golf ball, he remembered how lucky he is to play golf for living. The “DM� on his ball was for his friend, Daniel Meggs, who passed away last week after a battle with colon cancer. Meggs was just 29 years old and died weeks before his wife was due to give birth to their first child, a son. Meggs played golf at Wake Forest. His battle with cancer made headlines last year after Tiger Woods sent him an inspirational video message from the Masters. Hughes’ eyes began to water as he closed Sunday’s press conference by talking about his friend. Related: Final leaderboard | Slow and steady, Im withstands pressure “I just want to tell Daniel, who’s up in a better place now, and his family, that I’m really thinking about them,� Hughes said. “Daniel was an incredible human being. I always play for myself, but I looked down at my ball every now and then and just reminded myself that it’s a blessing to be able to have another round of golf, to continue playing this great game and I know what he wouldn’t give for another chance to play a round of golf or to be with his family.� Hughes almost became the first player since Brandt Snedeker at the 2016 Farmers Insurance Open to win after making the cut on the number. He shot consecutive 66s on the weekend after shooting 3-over-par on the first 36 holes. He finished one shot behind winner Sungjae Im. Hughes’ 66 matched the low score in Sunday’s final round of The Honda Classic. Hughes briefly tied the lead after holing a 54-foot birdie putt on 17, but Im regained a one-shot lead by making an 8-foot putt of his own. Hughes had a chance to go for the 18th green in two, but badly hooked his fairway wood into the grandstands and could only make par. Hughes’ weekend total of 132 was three shots lower than anyone else in the field. Hughes, winner of the 2016 RSM Classic, had struggled this season, missing 9 of 11 cuts. He’d earned just 10 FedExCup points before this week. His college coach at Kent State, Herb Page, texted Hughes on Friday night saying, “The hard part is over.� “It kind of loosened me up a little bit and I said, ‘Let’s just go out there and play golf and see what happens,’� Hughes said. He turned around his season while playing for his late friend.
• COURSE: Glen Oaks Club (Composite), 7,350 yards, par 70. Founded in 1924, Glen Oaks Club began on land carved out of the William K. Vanderbilt estate south of Long Island’s Lake Success. A need to expand in the late 1960s sent the club to a 250-acre site in Old Westbury, where Joe Finger was brought in to design three nine-hole loops. The layout remained largely unchanged until 2011, when members approved a major renovation and hired Craig Currier away from Bethpage State Park to oversee the project. The PGA TOUR came calling two years ago when seeking a site to step in for Liberty National, which was set as host until being awarded the Presidents Cup. The tournament course will draw from all three nines – Nos. 1-3 and 6-9 of the White course, Nos. 4 and 5 from the Red and the entire Blue layout. • FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 2,000 points. • CHARITY: The Tackle Kids Cancer program is the official charity of The Northern Trust, helping provide care for young patients and fund pediatric cancer research. Other donations are made to the American Red Cross, the YMCA of Long Island, The First Tee of Metropolitan New York and Birdies for the Brave. • FIELD WATCH: FedExCup points leader Hideki Matsuyama and new PGA Championship king Justin Thomas head a lineup currently set for 120 at the opening playoff stop. … Defending FedExCup champion Rory McIlroy is entered, after hinting of taking a long break after the PGA Championship to rest a rib flareup. … Masters champ Sergio Garcia will sit out the playoff opener for the third consecutive year, while Adam Scott is awaiting the birth of his second child. Brandt Snedeker (ribs), Scott Piercy and Dominic Bozzelli (both undisclosed) are the other absentees. … Summer winners Xander Schauffele (Greenbrier Classic) and Grayson Murray (Barbasol Championship) head up the list of dozen rookies expected to crack the 2017 playoff lineup. • 72-HOLE RECORD: 261, Bob Gilder (1982 at Westchester CC), Jason Day (2015 at Plainfield CC). • 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Brandt Snedeker (3rd round, 2011 at Plainfield CC). • LAST YEAR: Patrick Reed picked up a playoffs victory and a Ryder Cup berth in one fell swoop, overcoming an early two-shot deficit to take control on the back nine and end a 55-start winless drought. An early bogey left Reed two shots behind Rickie Fowler at Bethpage Black, but he birdied three of his next four holes to pull even. He pushed in front with Fowler’s bogey at No.11 and never looked back, able to absorb a closing bogey for a one-stroke win over Sean O’Hair and Emiliano Grillo. The victory locked up a Ryder Cup return for Reed, who delivered a rousing performance in the U.S. win at Hazeltine. Fowler’s closing 74 dropped him to seventh and out of an automatic Ryder Cup spot, though Davis Love III later made him a captain’s pick. • STORYLINES: Matsuyama, Thomas and No.3 Jordan Spieth are separated by just 198 points atop the FedExCup points race, with a gap of 205 points down to Dustin Johnson in fourth. That quartet also stands as the only men to claim multiple victories during the regular season. … Thomas tees it up for the first time since becoming a major champion, which also happened to be his first top-25 finish since June. His first three wins of 2016-17 came in a 12-week span that bookended the Christmas break. … Though Johnson has cooled off since back-to-back-to-back wins just before the Masters, he’s been no worse than 17th since returning from the Open Championship. … At the back of the points list, entrants endeavor to crack the top 100 for a berth in the Dell Technologies Championship outside Boston. Typically, a half-dozen play their way into the second playoff stop from outside the top 100. • SHORT CHIPS: Jim Furyk, whose 34 FedExCup playoff starts are tied for No.7 all-time, won’t be around at all this year after failing to qualify for the postseason. He had just one top-10 finish in 18 starts. … Spieth last year became just the second defending FedExCup champion to make it all the way back to East Lake 12 months later, placing ninth in the final standings. Snedeker was the other, returning in 2013. • TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 2-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 1-2:30 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, noon-1:30 p.m. (GC), 2-6 p.m. (CBS). • PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-6 p.m. (featured holes). Saturday, 8:10 a.m.-6 p.m. (featured groups). Sunday, 8:20 a.m.-6 p.m. (featured groups). • RADIO: Thursday-Friday, noon-6 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).
