How to watch PGA Championship, Round 1: Live scores, tee times, TV times

KAPALUA, Hawaii — Jon Rahm matched the low score of his career, tied the course record at Kapalua and played his last 12 holes in 11-under par for a 61. He needed it just to catch Cameron Smith in the Sentry Tournament of Champions on Saturday. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Justin Thomas lights up Kapalua with course-record 61 In an outrageously low-scoring start to the new year on the PGA TOUR, Rahm and Smith pulled away from the rest of the winners-only field by going shot-for-shot, putt-for-putt across so much of the back nine on the defenseless Plantation course. Rahm capped off his birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie finish with putts from just inside 30 feet and 15 feet for his 12-under 61. That tied the course record set a few hours earlier by Justin Thomas, who was one shot behind when he finished and nine shots back when the day was done. The average score of 67.7 was the lowest at Kapalua since the Tournament of Champions moved to the west end of Maui in 1999. The previous record was 67.8 set the day before. There’s nothing to stop these guys except themselves, and that wasn’t happening. Rahm and Smith were at 26-under 193, five shots clear of Daniel Berger, who had a third consecutive round of 66. That wasn’t nearly good enough for this perfect week of warm weather, very little wind and extraordinarily low scoring. Ernie Els set the PGA TOUR record for lowest score to par at 31 under in 2003 at Kapalua. That’s very much in jeopardy. “Some really good golf from both us,” Smith said. He had a three-shot lead at the start of the third round, was still three shots ahead through six holes and then was 8-under par over his last 12 holes — and he lost the outright lead. Rahm, the No. 1 player in the world and looking likely to keep the ranking, was at his best in his first competition since the middle of October. He closed out the front nine with three straight birdies and started the back nine with two straight birdies. The only holes were he had to settle for par were No. 12 (where he missed a birdie putt from just inside 12 feet) and No. 13 (he left a 10-foot putt short). His best was a second shot into the par-5 15th to rolled to 4 feet for an eagle. That pulled him within one shot after Smith had to settle for a two-putt birdie. They matched birdies the rest of the way, both making from just inside 30 feet on No. 17, until the closing par 5. Both came up short, not unusual with a front pin and the grain running severely away from them. Smith narrowly missed from 15 feet, while Rahm holed his 8-foot birdie putt. As for the other 36 winners in the field? Not all of them are out of it. Patrick Cantlay was trying to stay with the leaders until his wedge to a back pin on the 16th came out hot and found the rough behind the green, leading to a bogey that felt much worse. He wound up with a 66 and fell six shots back, along with Matt Jones (62) and Sungjae Im (65). Thomas had a 74 in the opening round and had little reason to like his chances until he pulled away by playing his last seven holes in 7 under. That gave him a 61 and at least some hope, just not for very long. All 38 players were under par, with Jason Kokrak bringing up the rear at 5-under 214.

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Tiger Woods’ potential appearance in the Masters was the talk of the golf world Wednesday, one day after reports that the five-time Masters champion played a practice round at Augusta National. Longtime CBS announcer Jim Nantz said it would be an “amazing achievement.” Rory McIlroy called Woods’ potential appearance “phenomenal.” He also confirmed reports that Woods made the trip to gauge his body’s ability to handle Augusta National’s hilly terrain. “He’s trying to see what he can do,” McIlroy said from the Valero Texas Open. “Obviously no one knows but him if he can make it around and if he believes he can compete.” It wasn’t long ago that a Masters appearance from Woods felt unfathomable. While he exceeded expectations when he played the PNC Championship with son Charlie in December, Tiger rode a cart and didn’t hit every shot in the scramble format. He said it would take time to build up the strength necessary to compete in a 72-hole event. From his own Genesis Invitational in February, Woods said he was uncertain about when he would return to competition and expressed frustration at the pace of his comeback. Speculation about Woods’ return began to build as his name remained in the Masters field instead of the “Past Champions Not Playing” category. Videos also appeared on social media that showed Woods walking at his home club, Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Florida, with his caddie, Joe LaCava. “We didn’t know if he was going to make it through (the accident), and to be in this position where people are talking about, ‘This guy might actually play in the Masters,’ I think it’s amazing,” said Andy North, who will call the Masters for ESPN. North’s colleague, Scott Van Pelt, marveled at the online fervor that began building as flight-tracking websites started following the progress of Woods’ plane as it flew from South Florida toward Augusta on Tuesday. “People were tracking his plane like it’s an SEC coaching search,” Van Pelt said. The Masters broadcast teams from ESPN and CBS covered a variety of topics in pre-tournament conference calls Wednesday and Woods was obviously one of them. They could only speculate about a potential appearance from Woods – he has yet to announce his intentions, and the Masters does not have a commitment deadline – but they marveled at the fact that Woods could even consider playing. “Is Tiger playing? We have no idea,” said ESPN’s Curtis Strange, whose 17 PGA TOUR wins included two U.S. Opens. “But it looks like he’s testing himself, and that is a good thing. How else would you test yourself, other than to go walk and play and get up there, play some practice rounds and see if you can walk the golf course. See how the leg holds up, see how the game is. “And I commend him, because when you practice and walk and work out at home, it’s a different animal than when you get to the site and walk the golf course … which is the hardest walk in golf, Augusta National.” Nantz visited Woods in Florida last month for a documentary on his historic 1997 Masters win, but received no hints that Woods may play this year. Nantz said Woods’ appearance would be “astonishing” and a fitting addition to the first Masters with full capacity since Woods’ 2019 win. This year also marks the 25th anniversary of Woods’ first Masters win, a 12-shot rout where he also set the tournament’s scoring record. CBS will mark that anniversary before the final-round broadcast of this year’s Masters with a documentary titled, “A Win for the Ages.” The show will feature Woods discussing his relationship with his father, as well as pioneers Lee Elder and Charlie Sifford, and his recollections of the win. Woods’ most recent TOUR start came at the COVID-rescheduled Masters in November 2020, prior to suffering significant injuries to both legs in a single-car accident the following February in Los Angeles. It was unknown whether he would walk again, and there was fear that his right leg would need to be amputated. Extensive rehab led to Woods teaming with son Charlie for a runner-up finish at the PNC Championship last December, his first action in front of cameras since the accident. “My hopes for Tiger through this whole process, were just that he could play golf again,” said North, a two-time U.S. Open winner. “That he could get out and play golf and enjoy his time with Charlie and (daughter) Sam on the golf course as a father, and not as the former No. 1 player in the world. Not as the greatest player ever, but as a dad.” The challenge of walking four competitive rounds at Augusta National, in addition to the necessary practice and preparation, can’t be understated, however. North called Augusta National “the last place you would’ve thought he could possibly play.” “If he plays golf, where do you think he would possibly play?” North said. “I would say, maybe at The Open Championship at St. Andrews, because it’s flat, it’s an easy walk.” But Woods isn’t the standard competitor. The 82-time TOUR winner returned from a fused back to win the 2019 Masters. He won the 2008 U.S. Open on a torn ACL. A trip to Augusta suggests that he desires to compete next week. With that being the case, it’s hard to rule him out. “Ben Hogan was as tenacious a competitor as they’ve ever been,” said Strange of the man who won six majors after suffering severe injuries in a 1949 car accident. “And Tiger Woods is right there with him.”

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