After starting the day well back, Dustin Johnson fired off a round of 65 to surge in front of the field in the third round at TPC Harding Park.
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Seamus Power says most people don’t realize that there is an Irish language. Or, Gaeilge, to be more precise. “I sometimes tell people and they think I’m kidding,” he says. “They think it’s just a way of speaking English with a funny Irish accent.” Actually, Gaeilge is the first and official language of Ireland, recognized by the European Union. Irish uses the same alphabet as other European countries and the United States, but the phonetics are very different. It also has its own font. Many of the words bear little resemblance to English or Spanish or other more common languages, Power says. Sentence structure is different from English, too. Instead of “My name is Seamus Power,” he says the Irish way would be “Seamus Power is my name.” So in Gaeilge, he would write: Seamus de paor ainm dom. (The phonetics simply don’t translate well on paper or the Internet, though, so we won’t try here.) English, with that “funny Irish accent” that Power mentioned, is spoken by the majority on the island and is also an official language. But there are several areas called Gaeltacht where Irish speakers predominate. “I don’t think Irish will ever go away,” Power says. “We’re very proud of having our own language.” Power was born in Waterford, Ireland and grew up playing golf against Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry. He started learning Irish, as most kids do, in what would be elementary school over here in the States. The classes continue until students graduate from high school. There are even summer camps where kids can go to improve their Irish. “So everyone’s got some level of it,” Power says. The 30-year-old Power, who came to the United States to play golf at East Tennessee State and now has a home in Charlotte, doesn’t get to speak Irish very much anymore. When he’s home in Ireland, though, he often hears Irish words used in English conversations – for example, someone might say “buachaill maith” instead of using the expression “good boy” or “good man.” “It’s funny because there’s different dialect even throughout Ireland in Irish,” Power says. “You kind of pick up where they come from when they speak Irish.” Power’s first name is the Irish word for James while Liam is a shortened version of William and Sean is John. At the Olympics last year, Power even gave his American caddy John Rathouz an Irish name – Sean Teach Francach (the latter two words translate to house rat). While Power says he was a pretty good student of the Irish language, his best courses were math, chemistry and physics. He also has a keen interest in history and enjoys reading about World War I and World War II, as well as Irish, American and European affairs. “I read more history books than I do novels,” Power says. “When I finish a novel, it’s funny, but I feel like I didn’t really get much out of it where I feel like I’m always learning when I read a history book.” Irish history is particularly rich, dating back to the Stone Age. He doesn’t remember concentrating that much on the subject in high school but his interest has grown in recent years. “There’s so many significant time periods it’s unbelievable,” Power said. “When I came to the U.S. and went to history class, there was like two history classes, one was pre-1865 and one was post, and I was like, this is fantastic. “I remember back in Ireland, we started 10,000 B.C., when we started learning history and we go from there. … I didn’t study it particularly in school. I was okay. I never focused on it. “But in the last few years, I just always enjoyed it, I tried to learn some stuff, see what happened, see what the world could have been and the reason it is where it is now, that sort of stuff.” And the Irish language is a big part of that long history. “Ireland is very proud,” Power said with a smile. “Very stubborn history. So, language is something we would like to have, like to hang on. “We don’t always use it. If someone tried to take it away, everyone would be up in arms about it.”
TORONTO, Ont. – Scottie Scheffler hopes the old trope, “it’s not how you start but how you finish” will come to fruition this week at the RBC Canadian Open. The FedExCup leader shot a 3-under 67 Friday at St. George’s Golf and Country Club after an opening-round 69. His Thursday score came after he made bogeys on No’s 1 and 2 and was immediately behind the eight ball. But thanks to a nifty chip-in on the par-3 16th late Thursday and starting with three straight birdies on Friday, he is firmly in the mix for his fifth PGA TOUR title of the season. “I feel like my game is in a decent spot right now and so if I just kind of keep doing what I’m doing, not overreact to things,” said Scheffler of his first round. “It’s definitely frustrating, but just kind of stayed in it and I had a chance to turn in a really good score yesterday afternoon and I finished with two bogeys too.” “Other than the start and the finish, yesterday was a great round,” he added with a smile. Scheffler has been dominating the par fives so far this week, shooting 6-under on those holes alone through two rounds. “Today they all came in the beginning of the round and so kind of had to come out of the gates firing,” said Scheffler, who is 7th on TOUR in Par 5 Scoring Average this season. “It’s definitely good to be able to take advantage of those.” Two weeks ago, Scheffler and Sam Burns dueled it out in a playoff at the Charles Schwab Challenge with Burns emerging as the victor. Burns trails Scheffler buy about 1,000 points in the FedExCup standings, sitting number two in the season-long race. This week at the RBC Canadian Open – where they’re both making their tournament debuts – they were paired together for the first two rounds. And appropriately, they’re tied through 36 holes as well. Burns shot a 1-under 69 on Friday and the pair is at 4 under heading into the weekend. Neither golfer lost too much ground on the early leaders – something both Burns and Scheffler were happy about. “It’s just difficult to shoot a really low number,” said Burns of St. George’s Golf and Country Club. “I think if you can just kind of plot your way around this place and shoot 2- or 3-under every day you’re going to have a really good chance.” Scheffler, who missed the cut at the PGA Championship, came to Canada after a rest at home last week. He and Burns both said they liked playing the week before a major to get set for the challenge to come. And Scheffler said the way St. George’s was set up was a solid pre-exam. “I kind of like playing into those events. So for me getting a good prep week here where I can get some practice in and the golf course is somewhat similar is really helpful,” he said. “I think for me I prefer to play the week before, especially an event like this. It hasn’t happened in a couple years, and I know the Canadian fans are really excited for us to be here this week, we’re all excited to play,” added Burns. Scheffler and Burns both said the golf course has risen to the occasion as a challenging layout, especially around the greens. The rough, Scheffler said, is up. And the greens, with a lot of pitch in them, are making birdies hard to come by. “There’s definitely a lot of slope (in the greens). I would say these aren’t as fast as Augusta, but there’s definitely a lot of pitch in them,” said Scheffler. “Even when you hit a really good shot, you’re kind of stuck in a position where you got a putt that has just a ton of movement. It’s definitely a challenging course.” But Scheffler has made tricky golf courses look easy all season long, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he finishes off another week with aplomb. Burns, though, will be right there – as he has been frequently of late.
JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Tiger Woods, an assistant to U.S. Captain Steve Stricker at this week’s Presidents Cup at Liberty National, reiterated Wednesday he hopes one day to return to competition. As for why he wants to return, that’s simple. “I think it’s fun,â€� Woods said at a news conference in which he sat alongside the three other U.S. assistants and the four for International Team Captain Nick Price. “You know, I’ve been competing in golf tournaments since I was, what, 4 years old. From pitch, putt and drive to playing major championships, it’s always been fun to me.â€� Although he won five times on the PGA TOUR in 2013, Woods has made just 19 starts since then, including one in 2017, at the Farmers Insurance Open in January. He shot 76-72 to miss the cut, and announced in April that he had undergone back fusion surgery—his fourth back operation in three years. He hasn’t taken a full swing since then, although he announced last week he was hitting 60-yard shots. Woods will turn 42 in December. “He loves being here,â€� Stricker said. “He’s very appreciative of it. I’ve had some conversations with him and I know his aspirations are still to come back and play well, and win again.â€� To a man, players – even those on the International team — speak of soaking up knowledge when they’re around the 79-time PGA TOUR winner Woods. Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, each 24, grew up watching him on TV. But Stricker said he hoped this week would also offer Woods something in return, perhaps some peace of mind, rejuvenation, or even just a good laugh while reconnecting to the game and its players. “I wanted Tiger here,â€� Stricker said. “He’s a friend.â€� Woods wasn’t always sure he would make it, what with his fragile back and the usual jouncing up and down of simply riding in a golf cart. He has made slow progress, though, and is at least sleeping better and has no nerve pain running down his legs. “I don’t know what 100 percent means after eight surgeries,â€� he said. “But I’ll try and get as close as I can to that number, yes. But as I said, we just take it one step at a time. It’s a process, and I’m in no hurry.â€� He has been well enough for putting contests with fellow South Floridians Rickie Fowler and Thomas when they drop by. And what about those 60-yard shots? “I’m hitting it really straight,â€� Woods said, an attempt at levity. “It’s a joke,â€� he added. “Smile, OK?â€� Woods knows Liberty National well, having lost by a shot to Heath Slocum when the course hosted THE NORTHERN TRUST in 2009. He has played on eight Presidents Cup teams, starting with the 1998 matches at Royal Melbourne, the site of the Internationals’ lone victory against nine losses and one tie. That experience, plus his Ryder Cup history, his three straight U.S. Amateur titles, his 14 major titles—all of it gives him instant credibility as an assistant. Brooks Koepka, who along with Daniel Berger, Spieth and Patrick Reed is playing in the U.S. Team’s four-man pod overseen by Woods this week, remembers playing with Woods for the first time at the 2013 PGA Championship at Oak Hill in Rochester, New York. “I spent the first nine holes watching him instead of playing golf,â€� Koepka said. “We talked about stuff, but I was more interested in watching him; I’ve done that my whole career. He hasn’t given me too much advice. He’s fun to be around. I’ll pick his brain about course management, since he knows more about it than I do. I’ve never been here.â€� Easily the youngest assistant captain on either team, Woods huddled with fellow assistants Fred Couples, Jim Furyk and Davis Love III as Stricker announced the U.S. Team’s Foursomes partnerships Wednesday. But will he ever be a player again? And what would that be like for 20-somethings like Koepka, who have ruled the game? Playing against a ghost? A highlight reel? “It would be fun to have him back,â€� Koepka said. “Fans want it. Players want it.â€� Most of all, perhaps, Woods wants it, even if the “itâ€� in question is as iffy as ever. Asked if he could foresee a future in which he did not return to competitive golf, Woods didn’t hesitate. “Yeah, definitely,â€� he said. “I don’t know what my future holds for me.â€�
