Ignore the score and the limp, Tiger Woods had a good walk at the Masters

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico (AP) — Will Gordon was frustrated with the way he finished last week in Bermuda. He had no complaints about his start Thursday at Mayakoba. Gordon ran off four straight birdies to start the back nine on the El Camaleon course and finished with a 9-under 62 to take a one-shot lead over Russell Henley in the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba. Harris English took another step back in his recovery from hip surgery and was at 64, part of a group that included former Open champion Francesco Molinari. Also seeing positive signs was Masters champion Scottie Scheffler. Without the No. 1 ranking next to his name for the first time since March, Scheffler hit plenty of iron shots close and converted them into a 65. Also at 65 was two-time defending champion Viktor Hovland, who played alongside Scheffler on a balmy and occasionally breezy day in this Mexican resort. Gordon had to go back to the Korn Ferry Tour last year to regain his PGA TOUR card. He thought he was off to a reasonable start in the new season by making every cut, and then he was five shots behind going into the final round in Bermuda last week. He played the final four holes in 4-over par and tied for 35th. “I just had an up-and-down week in Bermuda,” Gordon said. “Played some really good golf for probably 68 holes and had a rough finish. So I didn’t have many expectations coming into this week. It’s just really about managing my expectations and my emotions, so I feel like I did a good job of that today.” The objective for everyone is to keep it in the mangrove-lined fairways, manage the wind and occasional bursts of showers, and take advantage of the relatively flat greens. This might be just want English needed, especially with the good vibes of having won at Mayakoba in 2013 when he was just getting started. English capped off a two-win year in 2021 by making a solid Ryder Cup debut. But then he had surgery on his hip, which had been nagging him for years. After five months away, he returned at the Memorial Tournament and it’s been slow going. “It’s definitely getting better,” English said. “I went through a lot of rehab. But your expectations for coming back are so much higher than they should be. I’m so competitive and I want to be the mix so badly. You’ve got to give yourself time to heal and time to get your game back. “But I love it here. I love the atmosphere,” he said. “I’m excited about the next few days.” Scheffler soared to No. 1 in the world when he won four times in six starts, capped off by the Masters. He lost in a playoff at the Colonial. He had a good shot at winning the FedExCup until he didn’t convert on the final hole. But his game feels a long way from April, and Scheffler is playing three out of four weeks in the fall to try to build some momentum. The biggest takeaway from Thursday was signing a card without bogeys. “Clean card is nice,” Scheffler said. “Kept the ball in play for the most part today.” The exception was No. 3, his 12th hole, when he put his tee shot into the hazard. He took a penalty drop and hit the next one to tap-in range to escape with par. There were a lot of moments like that. Scheffler had six birdies and only a few anxious moments. “Solid golf is fun. Stress free,” Scheffler said. Work remains for Morikawa, who won six times, including two majors, in his three years on TOUR. He is running out of time to get a win in 2022, and this wouldn’t appear to be the week to end that drought after four bogeys negated his four birdies. Tony Finau was headed in that direction. He took triple bogey on his second hole by twice hitting into the hazard. He bogeyed the par-5 fifth. But he turned it around with six birdies the rest of the way and salvaged a 68.

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– Cameron Champ fended off dehydration and crisply putted his way to a 5-under 66 on Sunday, winning the 3M Open by two strokes for his third career victory.

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Justin Thomas looks unbeatable for the first 15 holes, but the wind seems to catch up to him (as it did everyone else) as he struggles over the final three. When it counts, though, and under the most extreme pressure, he birdies the 18th hole twice in three tries in the playoff, dusting off first Patrick Reed and then defending champion Xander Schauffele. With his 12th PGA TOUR win, Thomas moves into pole position in the FedExCup. He also slides into third place behind only Tiger Woods (34) and Jack Nicklaus (20) for most wins before age 27 over the last 60 years. Oh, and he’s the first TOUR winner of the new decade. Welcome to the Monday Finish. THREE KEYS TO SUCCESS 1. Thomas regrouped. The ending was topsy-turvy, with first Thomas and then Schauffele failing to secure the win after having one hand on the trophy on the 18th hole in regulation. The first unforced error was Thomas’ crazy second shot that wound up in the penalty area, leading to a bogey 6. He later called the hole “just a disaster.� Then came Schauffele’s inability to two-putt from roughly 35 feet, his first effort trickling some seven feet past the pin. “I should have won the tournament. I know it. Everyone knows it.� Out came Patrick Reed to join them in a playoff, but it was Thomas who regrouped better than either of the other two, making two birdies in the three times he was forced to play the 18th in overtime. 2. He was a mid-round superstar. How good were Thomas’ four straight birdies from holes 8-11 at windy Kapalua as he took control of the tournament? His tee shot at the par-3 11th was the closest to the pin all day, and he was the only one to even get within 10 feet. But maybe it’s best to let playing partner Xander Schauffele put the winner’s mid-round hot streak in context. “It was windy,� Schauffele said. “That stretch of holes J.T. went 4- or 5-under, I’d like to see anyone else try it. He was hitting ridiculous shots, making good putts in the wind…�  3. He is Mr. Hawaii. “For some reason I was supposed to win this week,� Thomas said. Maybe that reason is he is imminently comfortable playing in Hawaii, where since 2015 he is 131 under par in the two official TOUR events there. Next best: Jimmy Walker at 93 under. Thomas was a ball-striking machine at Kapalua, ranking second in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, SG: Approach-the-Green, and Proximity to the Hole. He was third in Greens in Regulation. OBSERVATIONS  Wind golf is hard. Of his three-putt on the last hole of regulation, Schauffele said, “I got gusted.� What he meant was his first effort, from about 35 feet, seemed to get blown about seven feet past the hole, leaving a tricky comebacker, which he missed. “I guess I’ll have to work on some wind-putting,� he said. He wasn’t the only one. Patrick Reed also used the “gusted� term in his post-round remarks. “Unfortunately I had two putts really to close it, and one of them got gusted on,� Reed said, “and then this last one, with the wind and the break, just got me again.� Thomas, Spieth neck and neck. Friends, competitors and co-valedictorians for the Class of 2011, Thomas and Spieth have drawn several comparisons. Here are two more: With his 12th win, Thomas takes a slim lead over Spieth (11), who once enjoyed a sizeable lead. Also, Thomas made seven birdies in the final round, which was his 54th round with seven or more birdies on TOUR since 2015. He is second only to, yes, Spieth (55).   QUOTEBOARD “I know it’s hard, but I made it about five times as hard as it needed to be.� – Justin Thomas, after prevailing despite a bogey 6 on the last hole of regulation. “Just sort of a rookie move trying to close out a tournament.� – Xander Schauffele on his three-putt at the 72nd hole to fall into a playoff with Thomas and Reed. “I was 8 under through 21 holes, so it was great golf as a whole.� – Patrick Reed (66, T2), who lost to Thomas on the third hole of the playoff.  SOCIAL SNAPSHOT

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