Where Tiger stands on eve of Masters without him

SAN DIEGO – Hideki Matsuyama, who hasn’t won in nearly 18 months, is Justin Rose’s closest competition at the Farmers Insurance Open. Matsuyama is alone in second place, three shots behind Rose, after shooting back-to-back 66s. Friday’s 66 at the South Course matched the low round of the week on the longer of Torrey Pines’ two layouts. He shot 6 under despite hitting just 11 greens Friday. He leads the field in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green (+3.32). “I’m very happy to shoot 66 on the South Course,� Matsuyama said. “Two chip-ins really helped out today, but I hit the ball well.� He could have gone even lower but he missed a 5-foot birdie putt on his last hole of the day. He made only one bogey Friday, after his tee shot plugged in a bunker on the par-3 16th. The ball was completely covered with sand. He’s seeking his first win since the 2017 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. He won three times that season, including his second consecutive Waste Management Phoenix Open. “It was a disappointing year last year in that it didn’t include any victories,� Matsuyama said. “Over the offseason, I’ve worked hard and trained hard.� An injury ended Matsuyama’s attempt at a Phoenix three-peat, but he will return to TPC Scottsdale next week. He’s finished no worse than fourth in four appearances at that event.

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MEDINAH, Ill. – Tiger Woods addressed the media after his pro-am round Wednesday and said he’s feeling ready to play in the BMW Championship at Medinah No. 3, the second week of the FedExCup Playoffs. After shooting an opening 75 at THE NORTHERN TRUST last week, Woods withdrew Friday with a mild oblique strain. He arrived at Medinah on Tuesday and took treatment, and with his pro-am partners on Wednesday he played nine holes and chipped and putted for nine more. “Oh, way better, yeah,â€� he said of his health compared to a week ago. “It was nice to take those days off, and I had to just let it calm down and get a bunch of treatment on it, and it feels so much better. I played nine today, played the front nine, and played well, which was nice to see, nice to feel. Took the back nine off, chipped and putted quite a bit, and it feels like – definitely doesn’t feel like it did on Friday, that’s for sure.â€� Woods is slated to play with Billy Horschel and C.T. Pan in the first round at 12:54 p.m. ET Thursday, and he has plenty to play for. At 38th in the FedExCup, he is projected to need no worse than an 11th-place finish to break into the top 30 and make it to the TOUR Championship. It was at East Lake that Woods notched his 80th victory a year ago. The win capped off a terrific comeback season for a player with a fused back whose career once seemed to be over. He landed his 81st victory at the Masters Tournament this past April, another epic win. Then reality hit. Admittedly worn out, Woods slowed down. He played less – just five starts since April – and his clubhead speed dipped. He fizzled at the PGA Championship at Bethpage (MC), and didn’t contend at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach (T21), despite having won on both courses. He missed cut at The Open Championship (opening-round 78) and WD’d at THE NORTHERN TRUST. The Windy City, though, is a Woods favorite. He won the 1999 and 2006 PGA Championships at Medinah, and five BMW Championships at nearby Cog Hill Golf & Country Club. “Yeah, I’m excited to be back in Chicago,â€� he said. “I mean, this is one of the places that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed playing over the years, and this was – going back to it, this is the area that I made my first cut on the PGA TOUR, a long time ago, and I’ve had some really good memories and some wins here that have been pretty memorable for me.â€� When he’s healthy, Woods is still a formidable player; he’s still ranked sixth in the world. He will captain the U.S. Team at the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne this December, but has not ruled out playing on that team. At 13th on the U.S. points list, he wouldn’t crack the top eight even with a win – the BMW is the last chance for players to work their way into the top eight in points for automatic inclusion – but he could make a case for himself as a pick. All of that, though, takes a back seat to his health. “Yeah, swinging,â€� he said, when asked if he knew what caused his latest injury. “As I’ve said before, the forces have got to go somewhere, and unfortunately when I make any kind of tweaks and changes to my swing, it’s like a new body part is aching. Unfortunately, I can’t play around the back like I used to, and unfortunately things flare up. “I tried to make tweaks all year,â€� he added, “trying to ease the stress off my back while I was still playing. Unfortunately, I haven’t really done a very good job of that, and when I have, I’ve hit the ball quite well. I was really excited about what I was doing at Liberty (National). I made some nice changes and obviously didn’t feel very well on Thursday.â€� Medinah was the longest course in major championship history in 1999 and is still brawny and difficult. It will play to a par 72 of 7,613 yards, with forced carries over water and juicy rough. “The golf course is a lot bigger,â€� Woods said. “It’s a lot longer than I remember.â€� Is that a concern? Perhaps. At the PGA at Bethpage Black, Woods couldn’t match the brawn of the golf course, making double bogey on his very first hole and never quite recovering. At the BMW at Medinah, where the rough is up, Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy are among those who have already predicted that the course will make similar demands of the world’s best. In other words, Woods’ improved feeling and range of motion will be tested. “Body-wise it’s the same,â€� he said. “If it’s not one thing, it’s another. Things just pop up. That’s been one of the biggest challenges coming back from last year. You saw I’m making tweaks and changes trying to play around this back and trying to be explosive and have enough rest time and training time. That’s been the biggest challenge of it all. “This week is no different,â€� he added. “I’m trying to win this tournament just like anybody else in this field and trying to get to East Lake and trying to get to a place where a lot of things changed for me last year, and hopefully I can make that happen.â€�

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VIDANTA VALLARTA, Mexico – Competition lies at the heart of the Ortiz family dynamic. Whether it’s sports, board games, video games or anything else, Carlos and Alvaro Ortiz – or their brother Alejandro and parents Chela and Carlos Sr. – want the edge. The Carlos-Alvaro rivalry entails a particular zest. “I’ve had many Nintendo controllers thrown at my head by him,” Carlos remarked of Alvaro. “Nintendo, FIFA, even the Tiger Woods game, the Formula 1 game right now … he used to break a controller per week, like, explode.” “What can I say,” Alvaro admitted. “I’m fiery.” The determination of Carlos and Alvaro has also propelled their golf careers. This week, they’re set to compete in the same PGA TOUR field at the Mexico Open at Vidanta, the event’s first playing as an official PGA TOUR event in its history dating back to 1944. No number of broken controllers, though, could fracture the brothers’ bond. Alvaro, five years Carlos’ junior, holds Korn Ferry Tour status for the first time this season by virtue of a fourth-place finish on the 2021 PGA TOUR Latinoamerica Order of Merit, which included a victory at the Mexico Open, contested at Estella del Mar. He’s following the example of Carlos, now an accomplished TOUR pro and winner of the 2020 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open. Carlos earned Korn Ferry Tour membership for the first time in 2014 and thrived, winning three times to earn his first PGA TOUR card. The now-father of three returned to the Korn Ferry Tour in 2017, but he earned back his TOUR card in 2018 and has maintained a steady progression since. The brothers learned the game at an early age – “I don’t have any memories without golf,” Carlos said – and were quickly enthralled. “They’re similar in that they are both very competitive,” reflected mom Chela. “They knew from a very young age what they wanted to do. I remember, in elementary school, Carlos was like, ‘I’m going to be a professional golfer.’ “The problem with Carlos was that we didn’t know the path to college golf.” During Carlos’ adolescence in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the progression of Mexican junior golfers to United States Division I golf was uncommon. The Ortiz family wasn’t as connected in the traditional circles of high-level junior golf; tips and tricks have been acquired and now shared with families of aspiring pro golfers across the country. At the time, they weren’t clued in regarding the best tournaments to draw exposure to a promising young player. Early on, Division I options were limited, but Carlos drew the attention of University of North Texas coach Brad Stracke – then in his first few months on the job – late in the recruiting process. Stracke had caught wind of scores in the low- to mid 60s at a junior event in Mexico and correctly deemed that Carlos had the potential to play as a freshman. “He didn’t have a lot of options, when it came his time to go to the States,” Chela remembered. “He had not played a lot in the United States, so there were not a lot of offers for him. So we went with the offer that we had, North Texas. It turned out pretty good. “He was not the first Mexican to go to college golf, but he was the first of this era that started breaking the paradigm of becoming a professional golfer and going to Division I college golf.” Once it became apparent that Alvaro was determined to follow in Carlos’ footsteps, the family had a roadmap. Alvaro played a robust schedule of high-level junior events across the United States – the family would take two-week trips at a time, integrating golf and sightseeing. He competed alongside the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland at junior events, and he received a variety of Division I offers, eventually selecting the University of Arkansas. As Alvaro completed his high school career and headed to Arkansas as a freshman, Carlos was thriving as a Korn Ferry Tour rookie. With the family unsure of the expenses needed to travel and compete on the Korn Ferry Tour, Carlos Sr. and Chela sold an investment condo, gaining a financial safety net in case the road was rocky. Carlos quickly rewarded his family’s belief. He finished third in his first Korn Ferry Tour start as a member, the 2014 Astara Golf Championship, and he won three events later at The Panama Championship. He added victories at the El Bosque Mexico Championship and Regular Season-ending WinCo Foods Portland Open, and he was off to the PGA TOUR. “It was a crazy season,” Alvaro remembers. “I was just signed for Arkansas and was getting ready for college … it was crazy how he played that season. I felt like every week, he had a chance to win. That really pushed me, going to college and trying to get better, trying to go out there as quick as I could. “And I remember he won the third one, the first week I got to Arkansas. It was pretty special, getting there and him getting his promotion to the PGA TOUR.” The brothers’ journeys have taken different timelines, but the bond endures, and they relish the occasions where paths cross. After Alvaro gained 2019 Masters entry via his victory at the Latin America Amateur Championship, Carlos caddied in the Par 3 Contest. (Alvaro proceeded to make the cut and finish T36.) Their playful dynamic is readily apparent. They traded barbs at a Tuesday press conference ahead of this week’s Mexico Open, and when asked to pose for photos on the first tee box Wednesday, they quickly leapt onto an adjacent bleacher and put their arms around each other. “We compete in anything, and I think that’s pushed us to be great,” Carlos said. “It’s always great when you have somebody to practice and share everything with. You work hard, and then when it’s your brother, it’s even better. “Yesterday, we finished playing and we went to a gym together and took a 10-minute ice, and we were both shaking and giving each other (crap) in the ice. Those kinds of experiences, it’s great to share them with your brother. I think that’s one of the reasons we have success and always kept improving, because we push each other.” They’ve helped push forward a country of aspiring young pros who aim to follow their path, as well.

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