Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth bringing their best to another major at The Open Championship

Tiger Woods and Mark Calcavecchia were never supposed to play in Foursomes (alternate-shot) at the 2002 Ryder Cup at The Belfry. Birdie-machine Calcavecchia seemed more appropriate for Four-ball play, but two things led to the Tiger-Calcavecchia pairing. First of all, they were friends, having played practice rounds together, and “Calcâ€� wouldn’t be intimidated by Woods’ aura. And secondly, there was something Calcavecchia knew that U.S. Captain Curtis Strange didn’t, or at least didn’t seem to take into account: Playing with Ken Green and Payne Stewart, Calcavecchia had gone 4-0 in previous Ryder Cup Foursomes. “I actually had to talk Curtis into it,â€� Calcavecchia said recently. “I brought it to his attention. I said, ‘Let me play with Tiger, I’ll get you a win.’ “I would have thought, teeing off, that there was no way we could lose.â€� A lot of people have thought that way upon partnering with Tiger, who is coming off a seismic victory at the TOUR Championship at East Lake last weekend, the long-awaited 80th of his career at age 42. He is perhaps the greatest player in history, knows more about winning than anyone short of PGA TOUR victories leader Sam Snead (82), and would appear at first glance to be the perfect teammate. What could go wrong? Plenty, as it turns out. In seven Ryder Cups, Woods has had 12 partners in Foursomes and Four-ball play, going 4-8-1 and 5-8-0 respectively, for an un-Tiger-like 9-16-1 record in the matches that make up the first two days (and 16 of 28 points) of the competition. One of the stories heading into this week’s Ryder Cup at Le Golf National in Paris will be the U.S. Team’s effort to win on foreign soil for the first time since 1993. But to do that, U.S. Captain Jim Furyk may need to find a way to help Woods find a partner. His record in Ryder Cup Foursomes and Four-ball has been a head-scratcher, to say the least. Woods’ frustrations certainly haven’t been for a lack of trying. Three times, in ’99, ’02 and ’04, he has been paired with three different players in a single Ryder Cup. He settled down and went 2-2 with Furyk in ’06, and 2-1 with Steve Stricker in 2010. The Woods/Stricker tandem had been potent the previous year in the 2009 Presidents Cup, winning all four of their matches. But in the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah, they went 0-3 as the U.S. lost a heartbreaker. What gives? I think Tiger’s not easy to pair with people. Because the attention that he brings … you’re expected to win, and then you’re going up against the best players in (Europe), and over an 18-hole match. So, a lot of funny things can happen. As it turns out, it may not be that complicated. It’s the ball — or it was. Although Ryder Cups in America never abide by the one-ball rule, Ryder Cups in Europe used to do just that, forcing Foursomes teams to pick a ball (brand, compression, cover softness) and stick with it for the day. Woods played a soft, high-spin ball that was unfamiliar to the rest of the TOUR, sometimes leaving his partners to try and adapt on the fly. They didn’t always have much success. So it went for Calcavecchia as he and Woods never quite clicked at The Belfry and lost 2 and 1 to Europe’s Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood. “I had a problem playing with his Nike ball,â€� Calcavecchia recalled. “I hit a couple iron shots that I thought were perfect and came up 30 feet short. And on a par-5 on the front nine, I thought I could carry this fairway bunker and it crashed into the lip, which surprised me. I basically hit his ball 10 yards shorter than I hit my ball. It just felt softer than the Titleist I was playing. “And neither of us played very well,â€� Calcavecchia added. “Tiger missed a couple 4-footers for par, which he never does, and on 14, the par-3, he half-shanked an 8-iron about 50 feet right and it buried in the corner of a bunker. I could barely get a club on it and we lost that hole. Prior to that, I’d hit a couple bad drives and put him in a bad spot. But that’s alternate-shot.â€� How bad was it? Garcia and Westwood won three holes with pars. The good news is that the one-ball rule is no longer in effect in Europe, allowing Foursomes teammates to each use their own ball off the holes where they tee off, simplifying the process. Woods, at least, believes the rule change might help him going forward, whether he’s paired with Bryson DeChambeau, as speculated, Phil Mickelson or somebody else in France this week.

“Now when you’re pairing guys — a little bit more on personality than your golf ball,â€� Woods said. “So that’s changed the alternate shot. … It’s so much easier now because we’re able to hit whatever we want off the tees. And that makes a world of difference.â€� Both he and DeChambeau play a Bridgestone ball, albeit different models. Woods calls it, “a firmer version of what I play.â€� Perhaps more indicative of a potential partnership, the two have formed a rapidly growing friendship, teaming up for practice rounds and also playing together in the third round of the Dell Technologies Championship, when DeChambeau shot 63 on the way to his second victory in as many weeks to start the FedExCup Playoffs. “If he goes around and shoots 8-under par every time, that will work,â€� Woods said. Shooting 65, as Woods did twice at East Lake last week, would also work. As for why his record isn’t better in Four-ball, more often called best ball in the States, NBC/Golf Channel commentator Justin Leonard says that’s more complicated. There’s heightened attention on anything Woods does; players are especially fired up to beat him (ask former No. 1 Greg Norman about being a target); and match play can be a fickle beast. “I think Tiger’s not easy to pair with people,â€� Leonard said. “Because the attention that he brings … you’re expected to win, and then you’re going up against the best players in (Europe), and over an 18-hole match. So, a lot of funny things can happen.â€� Funny things that as Joe Pesci might say are not exactly “hah-hah funnyâ€� for the Americans. Leonard, one of the 12 Americans who have partnered Woods, fared better than most; they halved a Foursomes match against Jesper Parnevik and Ignacio Garrido at Valderrama in 1997. Phil Mickelson has a different theory about Woods’ woes. “When you’d be partnered with him, you’d let him do all the work because he’s so good,â€� Mickelson said. “And you don’t get focused in on your own game and play our best golf.â€� Who will be Woods’ partner in France? That might be up to Woods himself; after all, he was a Vice-Captain until Furyk tabbed him as a captain’s pick. “Tiger tells you who he wants to play with; he’ll tell the captain,â€� Calcavecchia said. You get the sense that he’s probably right, be the year 2002 or 2018. As for Woods’ partner problems, though, the one-ball rule isn’t the only thing that’s changed over the decades. “It was a little bit different 15, 18 years ago than it is now,â€� Calcavecchia said, “especially with all Tiger has been through. He’s a little easier to be around. Whoever gets paired up with him, whether it’s DeChambeau or someone else, I think will feel more comfortable.â€� DeChambeau already sounds comfortable. “I don’t really want to say it,â€� he said, “but I think maybe we can potentially intimidate a couple of people out there. I think it would be kind of cool.â€� Your move, Captain Furyk.

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HONOLULU — Different island, similar result. Justin Thomas and Patrick Reed finished the tournament with the same score. Only this was was Friday at the Sony Open in Hawaii. There was no playoff, only a plane back to the mainland. In wind that was vexing no matter how strong and soft greens so rare for this tournament, Thomas and Reed both missed the cut at Waialae and missed out on what could be a weekend where anything goes. Brendan Steele birdied five of his last six holes — the exception was a double bogey — for a 4-under 66 that gave him a share of the lead with Cameron Davis of Australia, who also had a 66. They were at 6-under 134, the highest score to lead the Sony Open through 36 holes since 2006. More unusual was the cut at 1-over 141, leaving only a seven-shot differential between first and worst. Five days ago, Thomas, the FedExCup points leader, outlasted Reed in a dynamic playoff on Maui that lasted three extra holes and went to the very edge of darkness at Kapalua in the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Neither will be around for the outcome on Oahu. “I’m playing great, playing good enough to still be winning this week,” Thomas said after two double bogeys ruined his round of 71. “Probably a little exhausted from last week, which is a good thing. No, I mean, played like crap so I deserve to have the weekend off.” It was his first missed cut since the U.S. Open last year at Pebble Beach. RELATED: Leaderboard | Thomas misses cut at Sony Open Reed made a 35-foot par putt and chipped in for birdie. It was all the other putts he missed, along with a flubbed pitch that went into a bunker and led to double bogey, that cost him. He shot 74. They both finished at 143 to miss by two shots. They battled hard last week on a big course in big wind. Just a coincidence that both missed the cut? Reed wasn’t buying. “I was missing my putts short, I had two three-putts. I missed everything,” Reed said. As he was signing autographs, he turned and smiled before adding, “I did sleep three hours more than usual last night.” It was his first missed cut since the PGA Championship in May. They had company. Defending champion Matt Kuchar made only three birdies in 36 holes and missed the cut by one. They all left behind a crowded leaderboard. Collin Morikawa, the first-round leader, kept missing in the wrong spot and had to birdie his last two holes for a 70. He was among eight players who were one shot behind at 5-under 135, a group that included Keegan Bradley, Ryan Palmer, Russell Knox and Cameron Smith. Gusts approached 30 mph in the second round and the greens at Waialae are never this soft. The course is getting soaked by rain every night, with occasional pop-up showers — even when the sun is shining — during the day. Approach shots that typically bounce forward are now spinning back.  That’s usually a recipe for low scoring anywhere, but not in this kind of wind. “I have not played in wind this tough,” Palmer said “You’re pumping 6-iron from 145.. That says a lot of what the winds are doing.” It was worse on Thursday, but no less a test. Steele was poised for a big finish when he holed a 20-foot birdie putt on No. 4 and a 35-footer for birdie on No. 5, moving up the board with four holes to play in his second round. And then the wind helped carry his tee shot out-of-bounds on the next hole, leading to double bogey. Steele bounced back with a tee shot into 4 feet on the par-3 seventh, a 12-foot birdie on the eight and an up-and-down for birdie at the par-5 ninth. “It was a wild finish,” Steele said. “I made one bad swing and made a double in between there. I was really happy with how I bounced back to make those good swings and good putts on the last few holes.” Thomas had not finished out of the top 20 in the last seven months, and his confidence was high after winning last week. The last time he won at Kapalua, he came over to Waialae and shot 59 on his way to a PGA TOUR-record of 253 for 72 holes. That won’t be the case this time. Thomas couldn’t get anything to fall, and it didn’t help when he put his tee shot in the water on No. 2, his 11th hole of the round. “I think honestly, playing the course as often as I have in the past hurt me this year because it’s just so weird, the greens being as soft as they are,” Thomas said. “You have to get adjusted to that. But everybody has to — it’s not just me.”

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Professional golf resumes with Sunday’s charity exhibition, the TaylorMade Driving Relief best-ball Skins match, with the team of Rory McIlroy-Dustin Johnson facing the team of Rickie Fowler-Matthew Wolff at legendary Seminole. All proceeds from the match will go to COVID-19 relief. Although not long by today’s standards, Seminole is tough and will require the very best of each player to navigate the famed track. GolfWRX has identified a key club for each of the four golfers. Rickie Fowler’s Cobra RF “Rev33â€� MB irons (4-PW) RF SPECS 4 – 23° / 61.5° / D3 5 – 27° / 62° / D3 6 – 31° / 62.5° / D3 7 – 35° / 63° / D3 8 – 39° / 63.5° / D3 9 – 43° / 64° / D3 PW – 47° / 64.5° / D3 Length: -.5 inches from standard Shaft: KBS C Taper 125 S+ Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Align “un-brushed RF style” Rickie Fowler thrives on courses where precision is at a premium. Long in his own right, but not in the same category as a Johnson or McIlroy, Rickie will rely on his iron game as the key to success at Seminole. This week he will have a brand new setup to show off to the world with the new Cobra Golf RF “Rev 33” muscleback irons. WRX spoke with Head of Cobra Golf Tour Operations Ben Schomin on the unique profile of Fowler’s irons and what exactly “Rev 33” stands for. WRX: Let’s get this outta the way — REV 33, what does it mean? BEN SCHOMIN: “It represents the 33 revisions that it took Rickie, myself and our engineering team to finally hone in and get to where we are today. Rickie and I worked closely over the course of a year to find and create his dream iron. This is the finished product.â€� WRX: As the man who put them together, what is the part of this iron that really stands out to you? SCHOMIN: “The engineering and creativity of this iron is quite unique. The blade has ZERO offset and even more, there is very little if any separation from the heel to the scoring lines. Even irons with minimal offset have some room there; these have none. I’d say the most unique aspect of this iron is what it represents to Rick. It’s his iron and represents his creativity and what inspires confidence. It’s not necessarily a guaranteed success when players are involved in creating their own clubs, but Rickie is one of the rare breeds that can make it work.â€� WRX: What influences from the past inspired the RF Iron? SCHOMIN: “That’s where this project got really interesting. It was more of a history lesson/reality check on how things have changed. I went into our archive for inspiration. Gathering iconic blades from years past; MP14/29, Ram FX Tour Grinds, Wilson Staff Fluid Feel sets, Cobra Norman grinds, etc. .. The crazy thing was I forgot how much offset many of those old school blades had. That’s when I realized we could pick out certain design features and aesthetics, but ultimately this new iron idea was going to be just that, an entirely new creation. Remember — Muscle Backs typically follow the similar design rules, where we and many other great companies get creative is in the engineering of it all. Edges, lines, widths, etc. — all while making sure they hold up for the best players in the world. No easy task.â€� Text provided by GolfWRX Director of Content @johnny_wunder Click here for more information on Cobra irons at PGA TOUR Superstore PREVIOUSLY: Rory McIlroy’s driver, Dustin Johnson’s wedges, Matthew Wolff’s putter

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