Quick look at the Sentry Tournament of Champions

OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. – News and notes from Thursday’s first round of THE NORTHERN TRUST, the opening event of the FedExCup Playoffs. Russell Henley has the clubhouse lead after an opening 6-under 64. PHIL BEGINS HIS AUDITION Phil Mickelson teed off Thursday with eight rounds to make a good impression on U.S. Presidents Cup Captain Steve Stricker. A 2-over 72, on the surface, doesn’t seem a score he could point to as proof his game is coming around. But Mickelson was happy that he hit 11 of 14 fairways and “hitting iron shots with ease.� His confidence level appeared much different than two weeks ago, when he missed the cut for the first time in 22 starts at the PGA Championship, admitting afterwards he had lost focus. “I’m going to have a good week,� Mickelson insisted Thursday. “I know that it’s not the greatest start, but it’s not bad, either.� He needs a good week. Ranked 18th on the U.S. team list, it’s unlikely Mickelson will move into the top 10 that earn automatic spots after next week’s Dell Technologies Championship. But two good weeks could convince Stricker to make him a captain’s pick and extend his streak of Presidents Cup appearances. He’s played in every one since the event’s debut in 1994. “I would love to be on that team, but I’ve got to bring something to the table,� Mickelson said. “… I’m very optimistic on the way I’m playing, but the scores are not reflecting that yet.� Stricker has indicated he would ask Mickelson for an honest assessment of his game before making the captain’s picks. Mickelson promised he “will be� honest. After missing the cut in the last two majors and posting only one top-10 in his last 11 starts, Mickelson now sees positive signs. “I feel like my game’s coming around,� he said. “I hope it’s in time to make the team.� UNDER THE RADAR Two years ago, Jason Day started the Playoffs ranked No. 2 in points. A year ago, he was No. 1. This week, he starts off 49th. It’s his lowest starting point in the last five seasons. It’s the reason he had no pre-tournament media obligations, and that his tee time was earlier-than-usual on Thursday. He was also a sponsor’s pick for Wednesday’s Pro-Am instead of having one of the spots reserved for players higher up in the FedExCup standings. “I’m like, whoa, what’s going on here?� Day said with a laugh. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been one of those.� Ranked ninth in the world, Day said he’s flying under the radar this week. He doesn’t mind it, and his 1-under 69 on Thursday leaves him well-positioned to make a move in the next three rounds. But he understands why he’s not in heavy demand at Glen Oaks. “It’s humbling being in a position like this because I know I’ve had it good for a long time,� Day said. “Through some poor play this year, I haven’t been in the position that I would like to be, and humbling as in I need to work a lot harder than what I’m doing right now.� BAD TURNS TO GOOD In Russell Henley’s last two starts, he finished T-66 and T-71. Outside of his five missed cuts, those are the worst results he’s had all season. His explanation was a simple one. “My attitude was just bad,� he said. His 12-over performance in his last start at the PGA Championship left him frustrated. He also felt tired, as he’s still trying to figure out the balance between practice and rest. But now the Playoffs are here, and he feels energized. Entering Glen Oaks 19th in points (thanks mostly to his Shell Houston Open win), Henley needs simply to maintain his position through the first three events in order to advance to the TOUR Championship for the second time in his career. Unfamiliar with the course, he took a conservative approach Thursday and it paid off. The 64, which included eight birdies, was just his third round in red numbers in his last 13 rounds on TOUR, and matches his second-lowest score of the year. Will he maintain his conservative play the next three days? He’s not sure. “I don’t know if that’s necessarily the way to do it,� he said. Seems like it was certainly the way to do it Thursday. QUOTE OF THE DAY I don’t think they were quite sure they were going to play No. 1 as a par 4 or 5 yet, so I played it as a par-5 when I came – which I liked a lot better. ODDS AND ENDS Glen Oaks was playing to favorable reviews in its first competitive round as a PGA TOUR course. Superintendent Craig Currier was at the players’ entrance to the clubhouse, seeking opinions and suggestions from the pros. He was hearing lots of good things. Consider this from Patrick Cantlay after his 3-under 67: “I think the golf course is great. It rewards really good shots and penalizes mediocre ones.� … Justin Thomas, in his first round since winning the PGA Championship, was 2 over through his first eight holes and finding it difficult to get focused. He turned to his caddie Jimmy Johnson and said, “I’m having a hard time with this today and I need your help.� A 24-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole – his ninth of the day – got him back on track, as he rallied to shoot a 2-under 68. “I’m more proud of rounds like today than I am when I play really well,� Thomas said. … Thomas’ good friend Jordan Spieth burned several edges with his putts en route to a 1-under 69. “I burned high lip, low lip, left lip, right lip today for most of the round,� Spieth said. “Felt like a 4- or 5-under round.� … After shooting a 4-over 74, FedExCup points leader Hideki Matsuyama spent time on the practice green. He needed 33 putts on his round, connecting on just two putts outside 8 feet.

Click here to read the full article…

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – His father gave him the golf part. Cameron Smith would go out with dad, Des, on weekends at Wantima Golf Club, first beating the old man when he was 12. RELATED: Final leaderboard | What’s in Smith’s bag? How he came by the toughness part, though, is harder to pinpoint. “I think both sides of my family, my mum and my dad’s side,” Smith said after making 10 birdies and staving off disaster on 18 to shoot 66 and win THE PLAYERS Championship on Monday. “Both have – just both mentally strong. They’re working-class people who have had to work their whole life to live basically, and yeah, I guess that’s just kind of what I grew up in. Which means? Sharon Smith, Cameron’s mother, smiled from under her beige broad brim hat. “My father rode bulls,” she said as she walked the soggy back nine at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. “My mum made him choose, and he was smart. He picked her.” Strict constructionists will tell you it was Smith who grabbed this PLAYERS by the collar with five birdies in his first six holes and limited the damage of a wayward driver late on the back nine. But he brought a lot of people, those who came before him, along for the ride en route to his fifth PGA TOUR win. And it’s only when you get to know one of them, his maternal grandfather, that his seemingly preternatural toughness starts to make sense. Working class? John Hilliar, who will turn 83 next month, was the second-to-last of 13 kids growing up in Kempsey, New South Wales. The area is known for its national parks and farmland, and the Hilliar family made their living off the latter, milking cows and running cattle. “It was not a big house,” Sharon said. “They would fight for a bed after dinner.” Although Hilliar picked up golf recreationally, and Sharon expected her dad was almost certainly watching Smith from Brisbane on Monday, glued to the TV set, the sport that would make his grandson famous would have meant nothing to him then. The prospect of whether you used an interlocking or overlapping grip was immaterial next to whether you’d fixed the fence. “He has hard-working hands,” his daughter said. “They’ve done just about everything.” Sharon Smith stepped carefully around the soft areas on the course, careful to take the high ground. She said more than once that Cameron was a product of his father’s side, too. Cameron has settled in Ponte Vedra Beach, and he hadn’t seen Sharon or his little sister, Mel, in over two years. Late last month they made the long journey from Brisbane to Jacksonville. They were to meet him in baggage claim, but Cameron came as far toward the gate as security would allow. “Mel started crying first,” Sharon said. “Then I started crying.” And Cameron? “He had a bit of a giggle. He’s like me. He likes to keep things light.” It wasn’t until after Smith had salted away the tournament, the result becoming official only when Lahiri failed to birdie the 18th hole, that Smith blinked back tears, his voice breaking. “It’s just really nice to have them here,” he said. “It’s nice to give Mom a hug, and – yeah.” The three have been palling around, making up for lost time. Along with Smith’s agent, Bud Martin, they flew to Tampa last week to catch a hockey game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins. They sailed around on Smith’s boat, ordering takeout from a popular restaurant just up the Intracoastal. They ventured as far south as St. Augustine. Cameron gets a kick out of the stories about his grandfather, but his toughness is a product of more than that. Generations he never even knew. The ethos of being a Queenslander. Also, he’s not always so tough. It’s not an accident that his first two individual victories on TOUR, at the Sony Open in Hawaii and the Sentry Tournament Champions, both came in Hawaii, Sharon said. “He likes Hawaii because it’s closest to home,” she said. “It’s only 10 hours.” At the start of his TOUR career, Smith suffered from acute homesickness. He tried to base himself in Australia, then, upon moving to Northeast Florida, kept flying home. He finally had to accept that it was just too far, and set about making a life for himself here, leaning on friends like Aron Price, himself an Aussie touring professional before turning to real estate. But Smith held fast to his working-class roots. He’s so tough, in part, because it’s his connection to home. “I think it’s probably just never give up,” he said. “I grew up watching rugby league and watching the Queenslanders come from behind, and even when it got gritty they’d somehow manage to win. I think that’s kind of instilled in all of us.” Said his pal Price, “He thinks head-to-head he’s got the wood on everyone.” That could mean world No. 1 Jon Rahm, whom Smith held off with a record-breaking performance at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January. Or it could mean Justin Thomas, whom Smith beat in singles at the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne. “He thinks back to a time when he beat them,” Price said. “His self-belief is everything. I play a lot of golf with him. Even if he’s playing s— he’ll birdie the last three holes and take all your money. I don’t know where he gets it. His dad? Queenslanders are tough.” Sharon and Mel Smith will head back home on Friday. They wiped away tears, indulged the TV cameras. Cameron held them close, along with his girlfriend, Shanel Naoum. Cameron was bear-hugged by his friend and right-hand man, Jack Wilkosz, who was in tears. They shared the moment with Jack’s mom, also named Sharon, and her fiancé, and Cameron’s agent. It was Tuesday morning in Brisbane, where, one might imagine, an old man with working hands pointed the remote and clicked off the TV. His golfing grandson, rawhide-tough, had fought hard and prevailed. Cameron Smith would sleep well Monday night, in a bed of his own.

Click here to read the full article…

Brooks Koepka caught plenty of flak for posing for ESPN’s Body Issue, and possibly compromising his chances in the Players in the process. But after another major win and three close calls this year, Koepka’s priorities are clear.

Click here to read the full article…