Burns, Scheffler in weekend mix at RBC Canadian Open

Trey Wingo, a 23-year veteran of ESPN whose contract ended in November, will make his PGA TOUR LIVE debut as he calls the Farmers Insurance Open at San Diego. While he is more closely linked to the NFL, Wingo is no stranger to golf, having covered the U.S. Open and The Open Championship for ESPN. We caught up to him to talk about the game, the TOUR, pop culture, and Tiger's most overlooked accomplishment. PGATOUR.COM: You're known as a football guy, having covered the NFL. Where does golf rank on your list? WINGO: I love the game; I always say I'm not sure the game loves me back. That's kind of what I love about it because the ball only goes where you send it. I think, to me, it's the second hardest thing to do in sports, behind only hitting Major League pitching. You see the No. 1, No. 2 players in the world miss four or five cuts in a row, and if they can suddenly have a problem playing the game, you have to understand you're definitely going to have a problem. PGATOUR.COM: What exactly will you be doing for PGA TOUR LIVE? WINGO: I'll be hosting some of the featured groups on Thursday and Friday. I'll work with Billy Kratzert, whom I've worked with for six or seven years on the U.S. Open and Open Championship, so I'm looking forward to that. Also, Craig Perks, the owner of the greatest 3-2-4 in the history of golf to win THE PLAYERS Championship. That was a couple years after "Be the Right Club Today" and Hal Sutton beating Tiger at THE PLAYERS, which was when Tiger was having problems with big, burly guys - Darren Clarke beat him at the WGC-Match Play in 2000. PGATOUR.COM: What kind of scores do you shoot, and does the game suffer a bit in a Connecticut winter? WINGO: I'm about a 9. My index at my club is a 7.6. I was on a heater toward the end of the year, but the clubs have been in storage for a while. Every year about this time I'm reminded that I have to play to be able to repeat anything and have success. PGATOUR.COM: What about a simulator? WINGO: We thought about putting one in the basement, but the ceiling was six inches too low. PGATOUR.COM: You'd have got get on your knees like Dorf on Golf. WINGO: Shout out to Tim Conway, rest in peace. PGATOUR.COM: Best score? WINGO: I shot 73 at the Bay Course at Kapalua. It's a shorter course; it's not the Plantation. I made the turn at level, and birdied the 10th hole, a par-5 before they rerouted the course, and birdied 11. I texted my wife, "I'm 1 under through 11," and she said, "What are you doing? Don't tell me that, just play!" And I bogeyed the next three holes. PGATOUR.COM: Dad would love a shutout. WINGO: "Bull Durham." Still the greatest sports movie of all time. PGATOUR.COM: Favorite golf movie or book? WINGO: "The Greatest Game Ever Played" and "The Match," both by the same author, Mark Frost. "The Greatest Game Ever Played" was the Francis Ouimet story, and "The Match" was Ken Venturi and Harvie Ward versus Hogan and Nelson, who ended up winning 1 up. An incredible story. The guy who set up the match, a successful car dealer in California, was Eddie Lowery, Ouimet's caddie at the U.S. Open at Brookline. PGATOUR.COM: You started a podcast, Trey Wingo Presents: Half-Forgotten History. What's that about? WINGO: It's about Super Bowl championships, how the winners got there, what people don't know about the journey. Season one has Archie and Eli Manning together. It's off to a great start, we've sold three seasons. Season two is in the can. Season three will be a lot about golf, by the way. PGATOUR.COM: Speaking of half-forgotten history, what have we overlooked about Tiger Woods? WINGO: His 142 straight made cuts is the greatest record no one talks about. These guys today, with all due respect, don't know how good he was in his prime. He would get out there on a day when he didn't have it and still find a way to shoot 68. PGATOUR.COM: Will working for PGA TOUR LIVE make you a better golfer? WINGO: Let me put it this way: If osmosis is a thing, then absolutely. I've yet to see any evidence that that helps, but I'm always optimistic.

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CARNOUSTIE, Scotland – Russell Knox may have won less than two weeks ago and once ranked among the world’s top 20 players, but even he was intimidated by Thursday’s playing partner. Tiger Woods, even if he’s five years removed from his last win and hasn’t won a major in a decade, still has that effect. “I’ve won three times. I’ve played in front of loads of people for the last eight years. But, I mean, I think it’s a little different knowing who you’re playing with,� said Knox, who owns two victories on the PGA TOUR. “I think he’s the best golfer of all time. He’s definitely the person I looked up to. So getting to play with him is pretty unique. “He’s almost like a mythical figure.� Thursday was the first time Knox and Woods played together on the PGA TOUR. The Scot arrived at Carnoustie in fine form, finishing second in France and winning the Irish Open, but he was quick to admit that playing with Woods made him nervous. Knox’s two TOUR wins include a World Golf Championship (WGC-HSBC Champions), as well as the Travelers Championship. The guy who used to play Woods’ video game got to watch him shoot his best round at a major in four years. Woods had shot over-par in the opening round of his past seven majors, averaging nearly 76 strokes in those Thursdays that so quickly quashed the enthusiasm that follows him to each of golf’s Grand Slam events. The scoreboard will show that Woods is five shots behind first-round leader Kevin Kisner, but Woods’ even-par 71 was among the better ones among Thursday’s late finishers. Nobody in the last 12 groups shot under par. Chez Reavie (69) shot the only under-par score in the final 15 groups. Woods used a conservative strategy off the tee, relying almost exclusively on long-irons. His gameplan drew comparisons to the one he used to win this championship 12 years ago at Royal Liverpool. It was his third victory in The Open Championship. “I felt like I could shoot something under par today, it would be good,� Woods said. “I birdied 1 and birdied 3, and I was right there. I had an 8-iron to 6 (a par-5) and looking like I could really do something here. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite turn out that way, but (in) this afternoon wave, I was one of the lower rounds.� Woods made three bogeys and just a single birdie on the back nine. After the round, he insisted that the two pieces of black sports tape that were visible beneath Woods’ blue vest were not cause for concern, even though he did admit that his neck has been bugging him for “a while.� “Just helping me support my neck a little bit. Makes me feel a little bit more comfortable,� he said. “Everyone acts like this is the first time I’ve been bandaged up. I’ve been doing this for years, … braces and bandages. Just this time it’s actually visible.� Woods played in Thursday’s 47th game, as they’re called over here. It was past 8 p.m. when he arrived at the final fairway, and only five groups remained on the course. Woods may remain the game’s biggest draw, but it was so late that fans were headed for the exits before he finished his round. The large, navy blue grandstands that surround the 18th green were little more than half full. Seagulls were flying low over the course, their squawking filling the silence as players stood over their shots. Mark Calcavecchia, who won this championship almost three decades ago on the other side of Scotland, watched Woods’ finish from the open window of his room in the Carnoustie Golf Hotel. As soon as Woods exited the 18th green, Calcavecchia drew the blinds and closed the window to protect against the cold breeze that blew off the North Sea. Woods will get the easier morning conditions on Friday. He is scheduled to tee off at 10:20 a.m. local time, just as an expected early-morning rain is scheduled to end. The precipitation could help take some of the fire out of a firm and fast Carnoustie. If he can take advantage, he’ll be looking at his best chance to win a major since The Open in 2013. This tournament seems to refresh Woods. He loves being creative. Shaping shots energizes him. Carnoustie was his first encounter with a links course. He played the 1995 Scottish Open before heading over to St. Andrews to play in The Open as the reigning U.S. Amateur champion. “This is how the game should be played,� Woods said Thursday. “It should be creative. It should be played on the ground.� He loves links, but his affection for winning majors is greater. For the first time in a while, his hopes were not dashed on Thursday. Woods is still in this Open Championship.

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adidas Golf continues to unveil new colorways of its TOUR360 shoe. The latest is a limited-edition version inspired by the iconic Ryder Cup trophy that will be awarded to the winning team Sunday in Paris. For more than 90 years the United States and Europe have exchanged the trophy. adidas Golf has captured the tradition, history, and pride of the biannual competition in this unique colorway. This limited-edition TOUR360 shoe takes on the characteristics of the Ryder Cup itself with a cleated TPU outsole that resembles the wood grain finish of the trophy’s base. The metallic gold accents on the top plate are a tip of the cap to the top of the trophy. The clean design is completed with the adidas logo and the words “Limited Edition� stitched into the tongue in gold thread. No matter which side of the pond fans are pulling for, adidas allows wearers to support their team with special sockliners. Each pair of shoes includes two pairs of sockliners—one for Team USA and the other for Team Europe. The sockliners are printed with the respective flags for each team along with the final scores of the Ryder Cup matches since 1979. This is intended to replicate the results engraved into the base of the trophy. The shoe also comes with a limited-edition shoe bag. “We know how much the Ryder Cup means to fans all over the world,� said Masun Denison, global footwear director, adidas Golf. “It’s the most competitive event in golf and brings out a level of emotion that you don’t normally see in the sport. Possession of the Ryder Cup trophy is what both of these teams and fans are after, so we looked to it for inspiration when designing this TOUR360.� adidas Golf introduced this generation of the TOUR360 last fall and Dustin Johnson promptly won his first tournament where he laced up the shoe. Since then, adidas has released several new colorways and special editions of the TOUR360 including models with colored BOOST midsoles and Primeknit uppers.

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