Kristen Gillman helps US open big lead in Curtis Cup

THE OVERVIEW By Cameron Morfit, PGATOUR.COM If you think of the stars of the game as actual stars, or planets, the orange-loving Fowler would be the sun — that universally revered energy source around which everything else revolves. The Golf Boys video? Yeah, Fowler was in that. The Spring Break trips with Smylie Kaufman, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas? Yeah, Fowler was part of those, too. When Brooks Koepka came back to South Florida in between early-career adventures in Europe, he sharpened up with matches against Fowler. Ditto for Tiger Woods as he recuperated from back fusion surgery. TOP 30 PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 2018: We’ll countdown our list with one new player each day in December. Click here for the published players. MORE: Top 30 explanation and schedule Still, the planets have not always been in perfect harmony. Although Fowler, 28, got his fourth career win at The Honda Classic last season, he had nine other top-10s and wondered if he might have won more. He led the U.S. Open at Erin Hills after shooting a 7-under 65 in the first round but faded to a T5 finish. (In 32 major starts, he has seven top-five finishes, no wins.) Then came the unofficial Hero World Challenge in December, and Fowler’s course-record 61 in the final round. He started with seven straight birdies, shot 28 on the front nine, and won by four over Charley Hoffman. What on earth had gotten into Rickie? There was no telling, at least not until afterward. That’s when he said of pal Woods, “I think he sharpened me up a little bit.â€�   Uh, yeah. You could say that. It was the type of foot-on-the-gas performance that recalled Fowler’s victory at THE PLAYERS Championship in 2015, and fans were riveted. So were his fellow players. “To start out with seven in a row—it’s different if you play a few holes and get loosened up and then start birdieing,â€� said Fowler’s friend Bubba Watson. “But he came right out of the gate.â€� If that version of Fowler comes out of the gate in 2018, then no trophy is safe. BY THE NUMBERS How Rickie Fowler ranked in Strokes Gained statistics during his last full season on the PGA TOUR. FEDEXCUP Current 2017-18 position: 16th Playoff appearances: 8 TOUR Championship appearances: 4 Best result: 4th (2015) INSIGHTS FROM THE INSIDERS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Rickie Fowler in 2018. TOUR INSIDER by Ben Everill Time for a bold prediction of sorts. Rickie Fowler is about to bust out of the shadows of his friends and reach the potential he’s always shown. With just four PGA TOUR wins and multiple near-misses, the time has come for Fowler to finally cash in like he did at the Hero World Challenge. His journey reminds me heavily of Jason Day – near-misses in big events have steeled him and when he crosses the threshold, he will be a tornado to be reckoned with.  Click here to follow Ben on Twitter FANTASY INSIDER by Rob Bolton The day after the No. 2 in the all-around ranking in 2016-17 (Jon Rahm) is featured, we slide up to the 29-year-old who led the PGA TOUR in the category. When he finally captures his first major title, the rest of the world will see what we’ve known for years — that Fowler is simply a beast that his flare and personality accentuates, not distorts in this age of the short attention span. The fact that he has but four wins in eight full seasons on TOUR bumps him to second-round status in the stingiest of draft leagues, but he’s not even close to his career peak yet. The only upset is that he didn’t crack the top five in our series. Click here to follow Rob on Twitter EQUIPMENT INSIDER by Jonathan Wall Fowler’s dramatic come-from-behind win at the Hero World Challenge coincided with a move to Cobra’s new King F8+ woods. Cut down his driver shaft to 43.5 inches to gain additional accuracy. King Forged MB irons have tungsten slugs in each head to boost forgiveness and dial-in the center of gravity position. Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS putter was originally reserved for Tiger Woods. During a trip to Cameron’s studio, Fowler picked up the putter and had it built to his specifications.  Click here to follow Jonathan on Twitter STYLE INSIDER by Greg Monteforte Nobody moves the fashion needle quite like Rickie. He isn’t afraid to shake up the golf apparel world by infusing current streetwear trends into his looks. Besides the new Puma “Pâ€� hat he rocked during his win at the Hero World Challenge, expect him to sport electric blues, lemon yellows, and of course, his signature orange in 2018. Click here to follow Greg on Twitter

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BRADENTON, Fla. - PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan met with the media at the World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession on Wednesday morning in the wake of Tiger Woods' single-car accident in Los Angeles. RELATED: Woods ‘awake, responsive’ after surgery | TOUR pros, athletes, celebrities send best wishes Woods suffered compound fractures to his lower extremities and remains hospitalized in L.A. He was already sidelined as he worked to recover from a fifth back surgery and had missed starts at the Farmers Insurance Open and last week's Genesis Invitational, where he serves as the tournament host. He had remained in Los Angeles to fulfill sponsor and media obligations. "I was in my office on a Microsoft Teams call," Monahan said, when asked how he learned about the accident mid-day Tuesday. "I answered my phone and I guess my reaction was shock, I was shocked. I kind of had to sit down and ask the same question I had asked a second time because I wasn’t sure I completely heard what I was being told." Monahan said he had not spoken to Woods and admitted he didn't sleep much Tuesday night. The two have known each other since before Monahan joined the TOUR and even before he was tournament director of the Dell Technologies Championship in Boston. Prior to that, he worked for EMC, which sponsored the World Cup when Woods and David Duval represented the U.S. "So, the way I look at it is it's never about me," Monahan said. "I was like a lot of people out here. Timing is everything in life, and I wanted to pursue a career in sports. I went to graduate school in 1996, got out in ’97 and started my career and ended up working, finding a way to work at a company that did a lot in golf. Once I saw the environment of the PGA TOUR and once I saw Tiger and all the great players in action, it led me to want to pursue a career here." Tuesday's news came at a particularly busy time as the golf world anticipates the WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession. Then comes next week's Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, followed by THE PLAYERS Championship in two weeks. The accident briefly put all of that on hold. "No, absolutely not," Monahan said, when asked if he could still multi-task after receiving such terrible news. "I was up all night last night and I couldn’t - I couldn’t really focus on anything else." He said he's been in touch with Mark Steinberg, Woods' agent, and stressed that for now the well-being of Woods the person will take precedence over the viability of Woods the golfer. "Well, I think that the only thing that really matters now is his well-being," Monahan said. "His recovery, his family, the level of support that we provide to him. "Listen, when Tiger wants to talk about golf, we’ll talk about golf," he continued, "but I think right now the entirety of our efforts needs to be around the support. When you’re going to overcome what he needs to overcome, I think the love of all of our players and everybody out here, it’s going to come forward in a big way and across the entire sporting world. I think he’ll feel that energy and I think that’s what we should all focus on."

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