Tiger Woods looks forward to one more chance at East Lake

BLAINE, Minn. – Jeff Overton lives with a certain resolve. Not even a life-threatening infection could break it. In early 2017, the former Ryder Cupper was lying in a hospital bed in his living room. A nurse provided in-home care. Mobilizing for a trip to the bathroom proved difficult. A few steps in a walker meant a good day. Overton, known on the PGA TOUR for his ‘Boom baby!’ expression and full-speed practice swings, had developed an epidural abscess after an injection for a herniated disc in his back. The infection, which forms in the space between the skull bones and the brain lining, meant an uncertain future. Mere months removed from day-to-day life as a touring pro, he had accepted a new challenge. “It was an eye-opening experience,” Overton said, “going from living the dream to fighting for your life. But here I am, five-and-a-half-years later, after doing a whole lot of rehab and seeing a lot of great people. You never give up.” Thursday morning, Overton made his first TOUR-sanctioned start since February 2017, playing on a sponsor exemption at the 3M Open. He shed a tear upon hearing his name called on the opening tee. He felt a tinge of satisfaction upon seeing his name on the leaderboard after a birdie on his second hole, the par-4 11th at TPC Twin Cities. He carded 6-over 77, but was still upbeat upon signing his scorecard and meeting the media for approximately 15 minutes post-round. “You’re struggling for your life, and you’re just wanting to get through to where you’re somewhat OK,” Overton said. “Then after a year or two goes by, you’re just like, ‘I may never get to do my dream again.’ That was hard. You’re seeing different doctors, like, ‘Am I going to make a full recovery?’” Slowly but surely, Overton fought his way back. The Indiana native who came so close to a TOUR title – 32 top-10s in 293 career starts, including four runner-up finishes – was known for wearing his heart on his sleeve, and he channeled all that energy into an unlikely comeback. “He’s definitely fiery,” said Overton’s 2010 Ryder Cup teammate Rickie Fowler, “and that’s just how he operates. Everyone’s different, and it always seems he’s a bit on edge and fiery. That’s how he rolls. That’s how he needs to be, and that’s who he is.” Overton’s odyssey began at the 2016 RBC Canadian Open, where he injured a disc in his back. He took a few months off before resetting into the 2017 Korn Ferry Tour season (he had finished No. 160 in the 2015-16 FedExCup standings). He played in The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club, finishing T21, then played The Honda Classic in February (MC) before having an injection a few days later. The injection went wrong, though, and the abscess required emergency surgery, a month in the hospital and acute rehab center, two months of IV antibiotics and home health care. “They were telling me to get up, and it was hard,” Overton said. “I couldn’t really roll out of bed to pee or any of that for a couple weeks. I was able to get in a walker and do a couple minutes a day, maybe, here and there.” Overton had made nine consecutive trips to the FedExCup Playoffs between 2007 and 2015. Now he questioned whether he would play another round of golf. He slowly regained his health and, after two years or so, attempted a return to golf. He’d play nine holes here and there, but reasons for optimism were sparse. “It wasn’t anywhere close to being competitive,” Overton said, “or feeling decent at all.” So the Indiana Hoosier regrouped. He reached out to Dr. Stuart McGill, a renowned professor of spine biomechanics, and developed a plan to “shut down for a year” and stabilize the area of his back that caused excruciating pain while bending over. He worked with trainer Shane Rye on building flexibility and endurance as it related to re-establishing his golf game. “Go 6-irons, drivers, and then a couple weeks later, try to play nine holes, six holes, see how much it wears you out and slowly build up,” Overton said. “I had a lesson with Craig Harmon and he showed me a Jimmy Ballard-style move with Rocco Mediate … standing a little taller, hitting a little closer to it, really making sure you’re moving through the ball and don’t let any of that hang-back ever happen.” The progression wasn’t always linear, but the drive remained consistent. Earlier this year, Fowler ran into Overton at The Grove XXIII in south Florida and was struck by his 2010 Ryder Cup teammate’s determination to make a return. “At that point, he was struggling just to get out and play nine holes every once in a while,” Fowler said. “It’s been a really long road; I know there are plenty of years in there where he wasn’t even able to play at all, let alone stand up and walk. “When I saw his name on the list (at the 3M Open), I was excited for him, and hopefully the start of him being able to come back and play a bit more regularly.” Six months ago, Overton began the ramp-up process to regaining TOUR-caliber form. He transitioned from a draw to a fade off the tee – “I feel like I hit it fairly straight and can still have a fairly complete game.” Six or eight weeks ago, he played Victoria National in his hometown of Evansville, Indiana – one of three Korn Ferry Tour Finals stops, in which he plans to compete next month in hopes of regaining TOUR status. For four consecutive days, he walked 18 holes from the back tees at Valhalla and kept it around par. He had built up the strength to practice putting for more than five or 10 minutes at a time, too. “I was like, ‘You know what, I’ll probably pick up a few yards when I get in competition,’” Overton said, “I think it’s maybe time to try to start playing.” He made his competitive return at the John Deere Classic’s Monday qualifier earlier this month, carding 1-over and failing to qualify. Still, he remained determined to move ahead, which meant a competitive return at this week’s Korn Ferry Tour event, the Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper. He was at the airport for a flight from Florida to Springfield, Missouri, when he received a call that he had received a sponsor exemption into the 3M Open. George McNeill had gained entry on his number, opening a spot that went to Overton. Overton’s wife Christina and two daughters, Paulina (3) and Valentina (9 months), accompanied him on the trip to Minnesota, and they came out to say hello at the turn. “When we had (Paulina) three years ago, I remember having an interview and (saying) … ‘I don’t know if my daughter will ever really see me play out here,’” Overton said. “That in itself, having her there for that one little moment waving at you … I’m excited to be back out here. It’s fun to compete again.” The fire remains. Overton grinded to the last putt Thursday, draining a 19-footer for par on his final hole. “When you have an injury, when you fight your butt off to try to come back, it takes five years, and you still want to keep playing, it just shows how much it means to be out here playing,” said Stewart Cink, another 2010 Ryder Cup teammate. “It’s really amazing to see Jeff overcoming what he’s overcome to get back out here and compete.”

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OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — From back-to-back eagles to back-to-back shots in the water, Bryson DeChambeau had a little bit of everything Saturday in the BMW Championship, a wild ride at Caves Valley that ended with him tied for the lead with Patrick Cantlay. RELATED: Full leaderboard | FedExCup update: Rory McIlroy keeps FedExCup and BMW Championship dreams alive Right went it looked as though DeChambeau would use sheer power and a remarkable touch with the putter to run away from the field, his blunders on the back nine made him settle for a 5-under 67 and still looking like the player to beat. Cantlay’s classic style worked just fine, too. He didn’t drop a shot until a tee shot into deep rough on the 18th that led to bogey and a 66. The action at the top was so furious that DeChambeau went from a one-shot deficit to a three-shot lead in two holes on the front nine, and Cantlay went from a four-shot deficit to a one-shot lead in two holes on the back nine. Cantlay ran off three straight birdies early on the back nine that allowed to make up so much ground so quickly, mostly due to DeChambeau hitting into the water on the par-5 12th (bogey) and the par-3 13th (double bogey). They were at 21-under 195, and Sunday had the trappings of a two-man race. Sungjae Im birdied his last two holes for a 66 and was three shots behind. The group four shots back included Rory McIlroy, who had a bogey-free 65 and only made up two shots on the lead. Crisp-hitting Abraham Ancer of Mexico (66), Sam Burns (65) and Sergio Garcia (67) also were in the group four shots behind. The biggest disappointment belonged to Jon Rahm, the world’s No. 1 player, who had three bogeys and no birdies over the last six holes and shot 70. He fell five shots behind. That’s not typically a massive deficit, it just seems like one on a course where birdies are available to everyone at any time. Rahm was doing his best to keep up, three shots behind, when he missed the 13th green to the left for bogey, missed the fairway to the right on the 14th for another bogey and had to settle for par on the par-5 16th. He closed with a bogey from the fairway bunker. On this course, on this day, that meant losing ground quickly. Then again, momentum and position changed without notice. Cantlay was one shot ahead early and all it took was two holes for him to fall three behind without doing anything wrong. This was all about DeChambeau, who charged up the sun-baked gallery with a 25-foot eagle putt on the par-5 fourth hole and then drove onto the front of the green on the 322-yard fifth and made a 55-foot putt that looked good when it was halfway to the hole. At that point, it looked like a runaway on a Caves Valley course suited perfectly to him with soft conditions and wide fairways. Even the errant shots turned out well. He hit one drive so far left down the hill at No. 8 that DeChambeau had to walk some 30 yards back to the fairway because he couldn’t find a sprinkler with a yardage on it. He hit that to 30 feet and made the birdie, stretching his lead to four shots. And then it all changed. The mud on his ball contributed to a wild shot to the right and into the water, turning certain birdie on No. 12 into bogey and a two-shot swing when Cantlay got up-and-down from just off the green for birdie. DeChambeau’s tee shot on the par-3 13th found the water, which led to double bogey and a three-shot swing when Cantlay holed a 35-foot birdie putt. Sunday has more than just the trophy at stake. The top 30 in the FedExCup advance to the final event at the TOUR Championship next week. Garcia was poised to moved into the top 30 with Hudson Swafford and Erik van Rooyen among those lurking. Patrick Reed was home in Houston recovering from bilateral pneumonia. He needed a lot to go right to stay in the top 30 and has a more reasonable chance than at the start of the week. As for the Ryder Cup, Tony Finau and Xander Schauffele dropped out of the top 30 at Caves Valley, and Cantlay could grab the sixth and final automatic spot only if he were to win.

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Thomas Detry shot a 4-under 68 to take a one-stroke lead in the opening round as spectators returned to the fairways at the European Open on Saturday.

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