Smith rallies from 4 shots back for Open victory

Australian golfer Jarrod Lyle recently went through a third round of bone marrow transplant, and the PGA Tour is asking for help to offset daily living, family and medical expenses.

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MELBOURNE, Australia – “I love me some me.â€� Now you know what Justin Thomas kept yelling at Tiger Woods after rolling in a 17-foot birdie putt to win the 18th hole and their Foursomes match Friday against Hideki Matsuyama and Byeong Hun An at Royal Melbourne. RELATED: Scoring | Day 2 match recaps | Day 3 morning match previews| Quiz: Which team should you support? A half-hour earlier, Patrick Cantlay also produced some 18th hole heroics, his birdie from just inside 14 feet giving he and partner Xander Schauffele the win over Adam Hadwin and Byeong Hun An. Until those two putts dropped, the U.S. Team was headed for its first Foursomes session defeat in 14 years at the Presidents Cup. Even more relative, those putts jolted the Americans into life after a relatively listless afternoon in which they appeared headed for a massive deficit. At one point, the Internationals led in all five matches. Had Cantlay and Thomas not made their putts – and had Sungjae Im made his birdie putt from 13 feet on the 18th hole in the final match – the U.S. would be trailing 8-2. Instead, the Americans won two matches and tied the last one, making the deficit a more manageable 6.5-3.5 entering Saturday’s two sessions, followed by Sunday’s Singles. “I know one thing — if we don’t make those putts, this is a pretty deep deficit,â€� Thomas said. And if Thomas didn’t watch a YouTube video — featuring former NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens — on the long bus ride to the course Friday, who knows what he would’ve yelled at Woods after making his putt. Fellow TOUR pro and former Alabama teammate Bud Cauley sent the 11-second clip of Owens. Thomas had seen it before, but this time he also showed it to his U.S. teammates. “When you have an hour-long bus ride, you go into a deep hole on the Internet,â€� Thomas explained. “They had not seen it. It’s a really funny video. I said, ‘If I make a big putt today, I’m yelling it.’ “Today that was a pretty big putt, so I thought it was the appropriate time to yell it.â€� Indeed, when Thomas’ putt fell in, he dropped his putter and started yelling, “I love me some me.â€� Woods did the same thing before the two shared a huge hug. “Very familiar with it, yes,â€� Woods said when asked about the T.O. video. “We were looking at it and we had our moment on the last hole, and we both said it at the same time.â€� Thirty minutes earlier, Cantlay rolled in his winning putt to rally past Niemann and Hadwin, who were 1 up through 14. While his celebration wasn’t nearly as exuberant as Thomas, Cantlay’s fist pump was still pretty demonstrative by his standards. “It was nice to see my boy P. here with some emotion,â€� Schauffele said. “I think it just shows how much it means to us.â€� Said Cantlay: “There’s no place I’d rather be than on the 18th green with a putt to win. There’s nothing like the focus that it brings out and the attention to the moment that it brings out, and that’s exactly why I play the game and I think that’s why we all play. Making those putts on 18 were so big for the momentum shift.â€� Despite the Americans’ two wins on 18, the Internationals still had a chance to win the session. Im and partner Cameron Smith were 2 up with three holes to play against Gary Woodland and Rickie Fowler. But Fowler’s terrific approach at the 16th set up Woodland for an 8-foot birdie putt. Woodland then reciprocated with an approach at the 17th inside 5 feet for a Fowler birdie. Tied going into the 18th, Im had a birdie opportunity from 13 feet after Woodland rolled his 44-footer well past the pin. But Im missed and Fowler made the 5-footer to save par and secure the half-point. “Whether it’s for a half-point, or if it’s to win, that’s why we play,â€� Fowler said. “You know, that little adrenaline rush that you get when you do make those putts, they are confidence-boosters.â€� Although the U.S. still trails, Woods and his players are at least feeling better about their chances. And if the Americans rally this weekend to retain the Presidents Cup, they’ll look back at those two winning birdie putts on the 18th hole Friday as the catalyst. “I felt like all day out there, it was another beating and we were getting beat up,â€� Cantlay said. “I looked up on the board and we were down in almost all the matches all day. Being able to flip the whole deal; we’re going to go to bed tonight feeling great and we’re going to have the momentum going into tomorrow. We are still down but there are a lot of points up on the board for tomorrow, available points. “I really thought this afternoon was huge and I think it’s going to be a big paradigm shift going forward.â€�

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As he tells the story, Gretzky was playing Sherwood Country Club in a fivesome two years ago when his group called a twosome playing behind his group to play-through. One of the “gentlemenâ€� in the group was using a red putter. “I didn’t know it was Gordie’s putter, and I said ‘Gosh I love your putter,’â€� said Gretzky. The gentleman said, “Oh, it’s a Gordie Howe putter.â€� The next day, Gretzky says the gentleman sent him the putter. After receiving Howe’s putter, however, Dustin Johnson — his daughter Paulina’s fiancé, current Pebble Beach Pro-Am partner, and 19-time PGA TOUR winner — said the putter was “a little bit light.â€� Gretzky says, “Dustin grabbed it and he said ‘I’m going to make it a little bit heavier for you, that’d be better for you.’â€� Gretzky has been using the weight-adjusted putter for two years now, and by the way he speaks of the putter, it doesn’t sound like it’s coming out of the bag anytime soon. “It’s one of the favorite things I have in my life, because I idolized and loved Gordie so much,â€� Gretzky said. “[Gordie] would be killing himself laughing that I’m using his putter. But it’s so special that I have his putter. I really like it … oh my gosh, this is one of the greatest things I’ve ever had in my life. I keep getting more excited. Oh my gosh, it is so special for me. I idolized him, and we were good friends. Pretty special.â€� To keep the putter safe, Gretzky has a “GHSâ€� putter cover, which stands for Gretzky Hockey School. He and his son Ty founded the school in 2014 for “growth and development of youth hockey players,â€� according to its website. Gretzky also has the school’s logo stitched on his Vessel-G/Fore custom golf bag. Additionally, Gretzky has “99â€� — the jersey number he wore throughout his career, which is now retired throughout the NHL – stamped on his TaylorMade wedges and Wilson C100 irons (notice the toe portion of his irons). After playing the Monterey Peninsula Country Club Shore course on Thursday, Johnson and Gretzky are in T25 (7 under) as a team. Even idols have idols. Wayne “The Great Oneâ€� Gretzky, the leading scorer in NHL history, has a custom Gordie Howe-themed Scotty Cameron putter in his bag at the 2019 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am; he calls the putter “one of the greatest things I’ve ever had in my life.â€� The late Gordie “Mr. Hockeyâ€� Howe — who wore No. 9 — is a hall-of-fame hockey player who played for the Detroit Red Wings for 25 years. Although Gretzky went onto break many of Howe’s records, Gretzky says, “I idolized and loved Gordie so much … we were good friends.â€� Gretzky says he received a Gordie Howe jersey for Christmas when he was 6-years old, and he “was a huge Red Wings fan growing up.â€� Now, Gretzky is playing with one of Howe’s putters.

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