Americans win Presidents Cup for 10th time in row

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland – Tiger Woods was 19 years old when he made his links debut at the 1995 Scottish Open at Carnoustie. As he stood on the range for the first time that week, he saw a 100-meter sign … and took dead aim. Using a variety of irons, he practiced the low-trajectory run-up shots needed to navigate this unfamiliar style of course, each time trying to hit that 100-meter sign, no matter the club loft. His dad Earl eventually spoke up, asking if Tiger was ever planning to hit a ball past the sign. “No, I’m just enjoying this,â€� replied Tiger. “Are you kidding me? This is the best.â€� Tiger told that story on Tuesday, a quick stroll down memory lane as he prepped for his first Open Championship start since 2015. It brought a smile to his face, as recalling the days of innocence often do. “I spent probably close to two hours on the range just hitting balls before I even went and played because I thought it was just the best, seeing the ball bounce and being creative and using my mind,â€� Woods said. It was a new experience for the then-U.S. Amateur champ, who grew up in Southern California where golf success relied on vertical – not horizontal — prowess. Getting to attempt a putt from 120 yards, which he did on the second hole of his practice round, was a thrill. So was trying to win a closest-to-the-pin wager with his dad on the eighth hole. “It stuck with me,â€� Tiger said. “You see I’m just telling the story now. Those little moments like that – that was my introduction to links golf. Carnoustie and St. Andrews. Doesn’t get any better than that.â€� Woods was a quick study that week, entering the final round in a tie for 12th before fading with a 78 that left him tied for 48th. His next two trips to Carnoustie were a little more productive – a T-7 at the 1999 Open and a T-12 in 2007. It wasn’t too long ago, though, that Woods thought he might never play another Open Championship because of his back issues that required four surgeries. His last appearance at St. Andrews did not go well – he finished the first two rounds at 7 over, missing the cut for just the second time in his Open career. Woods made just three more starts in 2015, then spent the ensuing two years in a holding pattern as the golf world wondered if he’d ever return – and to what form if he did. Woods, of course, is now back on a regular schedule, making his 12th start of the PGA TOUR season this week. He comes off a T-4 at the Quicken Loans National, his third top-10 finish, although he hasn’t contended in the first two majors – T-32 at the Masters and a missed cut at the U.S. Open. The Open Championship, which has produced three of his 14 career majors, might be his best bet now to add to that total. It gives him a chance to use his creativity – the thing that so excited him the first time he visited Carnoustie. “I love playing here, this type of links golf, or a style of links golf down on the Aussie sand belt,â€� said Woods, who will be the U.S. Team captain at The Presidents Cup next year at Royal Melbourne. “I enjoy this type of golf because it is creative. “We’re not going to get the most perfect bounces. A certain shot that is hit [and] you think is a wonderful shot down the middle of the fairway could bounce some weird way. That’s just part of it. And I think that’s the fun challenge of it. “Feel has a lot to do with playing The Open and I think the guys traditionally over the years who have done well have been wonderful feel players.â€� Tiger said his “feelsâ€� are much better now than at the start of the year, and that he has a better understanding of his game and swing than he did at Augusta National in April. The challenge at Carnoustie will be to utilize those feels on a course that is expected to be firm and fast due to unseasonably dry conditions in Scotland – although there was a brief shower on Tuesday as Tiger met the media. To adjust to the conditions – Woods said the fairways were actually running faster than the greens a few days ago – he has decided to stick a 2-iron with 17 degrees of loft in his bag this week. He intends to use the club as a driving iron because drivers are rolling too far out, as much as 80 yards, noted Woods. He added that 4- and 5-irons are running out beyond 50 yards; during a practice round Monday, Woods hit his 3-iron 333 yards off the 18th tee. “Going to be a real interesting test in how we’re going to manage our way around the golf course,â€� he said. Course management and creativity give Tiger hope that he’ll be an Open contender for at least another decade, perhaps longer. He noted Tom Watson nearly winning the 2009 Open at age 59, and Greg Norman holding the 54-hole lead at age 54 in 2008. Woods, now 42 years old, remains plenty long off the tee; he ranks 28th in driving distance with a 304.9-yard average. But he realizes at some point that his power will drop off. Fortunately, it’s not as big a detriment on a links-style course as it is at the big events in the U.S. “You go to places like Augusta National, where it’s just a big ballpark, and the golf course outgrows you,â€� he said. “That’s just the way it goes. But links-style golf course, you can roll the ball. … Even if I get a little bit older, I can still chase some wood or long club down there and hit the ball the same distance. “Distance becomes a moot point on a links-style golf course, but creativity plays such an important role.â€� Especially when you’re 19 years old and trying to bounce a ball off a 100-meter sign with a 4-iron.

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Hank Haney was suspended from his radio show for disparaging remarks he made about women’s golf.

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KAPALUA, Hawaii - Ever wonder what it's like to have a putt to win the FedExCup, THE PLAYERS Championship, or a major? Or wanted to know how the body reacts to a putt to make a cut? Soon, you will be able to see such data from PGA TOUR players. This week, WHOOP was named the Official Fitness Wearable of the PGA TOUR. This new partnership includes the WHOOP Live for Charity initiative, which will highlight player biometric data during defining moments throughout the season. Players featured in WHOOP Live for Charity videos and social content will receive a $10,000 contribution to the charity of their choice on behalf of WHOOP and the TOUR. Fans can follow these moments at #WHOOPLIVE beginning in 2021. "I really like looking (at my WHOOP data) after tournaments to see what my heart rate was like," said Justin Thomas. "I can get a specific look and be like, ‘Why did it go from 110 to 140? What was going on?" Last year's Sentry Tournament of Champions, which Thomas won in a three-way playoff over Xander Schauffele and Patrick Reed, provides an example of what is possible under the WHOOP Live for Charity Initiative. According to WHOOP data, Thomas' average heart rate during the final round at Kapalua was 114 beats per minute. It spiked at 154 bpm, likely during the tournament's stressful conclusion. The WHOOP Live for Charity content will sync highlights with fluctuations in a player's heart rate. This photo of Thomas' big birdie putt in his playoff with Collin Morikawa at the Workday Charity Open provides another example of how WHOOP data can illustrate how players' biometric data changes during a tournament's closing holes. Heart rate is hardly the only metric WHOOP uses to help people personalize their workouts, recovery and sleep patterns. Many fitness wearables track heart rate, steps or calories. WHOOP tracks metrics like heart rate variability (HRV) and respiratory rate. HRV measures the variance between heart beats to show if the body is ready to perform at optimal levels. "I started wearing WHOOP because I just wanted to know more about my body and myself and how I recover. I just wanted to optimize what I do," said reigning PLAYERS champion Rory McIlroy. "In this day and age in golf, with the technology that's out there, everyone is closer together. The difference between the No. 1-ranked player in the world and the No. 100 is actually pretty small. I want to do everything I possibly can to get an advantage. For me, WHOOP is one of those things that can give me an advantage." WHOOP lets players know if their body needs more rest or is ready for a strenuous workout. It can also let them know if they're getting the right type of sleep, and how factors like diet can impact the quality of their rest. And in recent times, it has even warned players that they may have been infected with COVID-19. "So much of what's powerful about technology is it can connect everyone on this planet," WHOOP CEO Will Ahmed told PGATOUR.COM. "And you have up-and-coming golfers and aspirational athletes who can look at their WHOOP data in comparison to the best golfers in the world and that makes the experience even better. "We formalized this partnership for two reasons. First is to improve player health and performance and provide as much data as we can to the players to help them understand their bodies. And the second is to produce WHOOP Live which will bring physiological data to fans. I think this is really innovative and first of its kind - the fact you will see heart rate and other data on top of replays and television broadcasts. It's really exciting and it's a formula that could be the future for sports broadly. When you see some of the highlights with that data on top you as a fan feel something, you feel closer connection to the player and what they just experienced." Last summer, upon the TOUR's Return to Golf, over 1,000 WHOOP Straps were distributed for players, caddies and other essential personnel at PGA TOUR, Korn Ferry Tour and PGA TOUR Champions events, with accompanying membership for health monitoring. "I don't take it off, ever," Thomas said. "More so at the beginning, learning what's better for me and what helps me sleep and what helps me recover better. Now I've worn it long enough that I know. It's just part of my life, I don't even notice I have it on, but I still look at it every day. "It's more diet and eating close to bed, what you're eating, how that helps you sleep. It's a lot of little things and experimenting. I'm willing to make sacrifices in my life if it makes me feel better, play better, perform better." Thomas stresses that every person will have a different learning experience. For example, using melatonin to sleep can make him feel groggy but may be helpful to others. Thomas has also noticed his recovery is better when he drinks more water. "What works for Rory doesn't work for me, what works for me doesn't work for him, doesn't work for you, doesn't work for everybody," Thomas said. "I wanted to figure out what was good for me, and if I'm going into the weekend of The Masters and I'm playing really well and I have a three-shot lead, I need to know what I need to do this afternoon, tonight, before bed to where I feel like I'm going to sleep my best. If you can control what you can control, at least it gives you a better probability for what you want to achieve." The WHOOP isn't just for the TOUR's younger set. Stewart Cink, who recently won the Safeway Open at age 47-years old, has used one. "I think most everybody out on TOUR is using WHOOP. There’s a couple of things that I might just pay closer attention to, like the recovery is important nowadays. I’m still trying to figure out exactly the best way for me to recover," Cink says. "I mean it’s so much more than just getting the eight hours of sleep, it’s a little different and it’s pretty accurate. It’s a neat tool and I enjoy learning a little bit about myself and the way my body sort of physiologically goes through the day and recovers and exerts itself."

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