Can Tiger Woods get to No. 1 again?

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – In back-to-back groups Thursday afternoon, an amateur named Steve Green, and a two-time champion of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am named Brandt Snedeker were forced onto the beach to the left of the 18th hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links. Errant tee shots and mad scrambles led to an improbable par by Green and an all-world birdie by Snedeker. That they barely avoided the crashing waves in Stillwater Cove to stay dry and even get to their golf balls was a larger layer of good fortune. But like the rest of their competitors in this iconic tournament, they probably aren’t holding out too much hope for the days ahead, because the forecast is turbulent. Tee times for Friday’s second round have been pushed up to 7 a.m. local time, which means the first groups will be teeing off just as the sun rises. Heavy downpours are forecast to start late morning and, well, now is the time to embrace a positive attitude – and Roberto Castro is helping to set the tone. “It’s not going to prevent me from enjoying my favorite golf course in a tournament I love,� said Castro, who opened with a 4-under 68 to get into a share of 18th. He made those four birdies and 14 pars in relatively gentle conditions at Pebble Beach Golf Links and knows that everyone is now going to speculate about where in the three-course rota will it be worse Friday. Monterey Peninsula Country Club, which is probably the most exposed of the three courses? Spyglass Hills, which is longer and arguably the toughest of the three? Or Pebble Beach, which presents some severely challenging holes along the water and might offer the fiercest winds? “I don’t think it really matters,� said Castro, who will move over to MPCC Friday. “Monterey is probably tougher in worse weather, but it is wide open.� Instead of analyzing which course presents what sort of challenge, Castro prefers to put his arms around the mental challenge that awaits. “To me, tough conditions help me turn my brain off,� he said. “When I was in college and playing in the rain, I was more likely to play on instincts, no analysis.� Nick Watney, who shot 73 at Pebble Beach, always falls back on a memory of something he read as a kid, “how Tom Watson said it was all about attitude, that if you complain about it or fret about it, you were in trouble.� Watson was famous for playing well in adverse conditions and Watney said players need to think that way. Branden Grace, last week’s runner-up at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and a player who prides himself on an ability to handle tough conditions, opened with a 5-under 67 at Pebble Beach and approaches Friday’s round at MPCC with enthusiasm. “It’ll be on my mind, just grind, be patient, be patient.� No worries, either, about what to wear. “A shipment (of clothes) arrived yesterday,� laughed the South African. “I’m all stuffed up.� Castro said he’s prepared, too. “In both directions,� he laughed. “Yesterday I had two layers on and I was too hot. The next few days I’ll have enough clothes on to go skiing.�

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HILTON HEAD, S.C. – It’s really no surprise to see Luke Donald playing well at the RBC Heritage. After all, Donald has finished among the top three in seven of the last 10 tournaments at Harbour Town Golf Links. And Thursday’s 70 was his 29th sub-par tally in his last 39 trips around the challenging Pete Dye creation. But Donald left last year’s RBC Heritage in what he called “terribleâ€� pain, the herniated L4 and L5 disks in the 40-year-old’s back contributing to a rare missed cut at the tournament. And Donald didn’t tee it up again on the PGA TOUR until eight months later at the Sony Open in Hawaii. “I just decided after this week I need to get it looked at,â€� Donald said. “I thought if I kept pushing it and pushing it, then it might lead to something worse and go down that surgery kind of case, which I didn’t want to go down.â€� So, the first treatment Donald tried was stem cell therapy with platelet-rich plasma injections.  The stem cells were taken from his hip, spun with blood and injected into his back. He couldn’t hit balls for three months as doctors waited for the treatment to take hold. Only, it didn’t. “It’s meant to kind of help regenerate the disk,â€� Donald said. “… But it didn’t really have much effect — even on the MRI it didn’t really show much of a difference after three months. “So, it was disappointing.â€� Then Donald went to what he calls a “stretching guru.â€� He worked with that therapist for several months but still didn’t experience the kind of relief he wanted. Related: Lowry cards bogey-free 65 | Featured Groups, tee times | Insider: Big week for small ball | Kisner keeps perspective as lifelong friend battles tumor Next up was more traditional physiotherapy that focused on strengthening his core muscles and “creating a little bit of space in that areaâ€� of his back. Four months in, Donald is seeing good results – on and off the golf course. “I’ve done the work now and should be — fingers crossed — in a good place,â€� Donald said.   The RBC Heritage is just Donald’s fourth start of the 2018-19 PGA TOUR season. He is playing on a major medical extension with 15 starts to earn enough FedExCup points to retain full membership. So far, Donald’s results have been a mixed bag. He’s missed the cut in two events but tied for ninth at the Valspar Championship where he shot 4 under for the week. Donald’s fifth and most recent TOUR victory came on that same Copperhead Course in 2012. So maybe this week’s return to Harbour Town will bring similarly strong results for the former world No. 1. “I’ve given myself a lot of opportunities and being up in contention and had a lot of chances to win and had some very high finishes here,â€� said Donald, who was 2 over on the par 5s Thursday but also had five birdies. “I like this course because a lot of the bigger guys are maybe not hitting as many drivers as I am. So, I’m hitting some of the same clubs into these greens and a lot of short irons and it’s a fiddly course, too. You have to really guide your way around it. And I like that like it has some strategy.â€�

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