Chien carries 2-shot lead in Thailand after 64

Tiger Woods feels a special energy around the Old Course at St. Andrews. He has referred to it throughout his career as his favorite course in the world. He has won two Open Championships there. This summer, he has made the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews his priority. Woods traveled to Europe a week early for this week’s JP McManus Pro-Am at Adare Manor GC in Ireland, and he said Tuesday that his decision to not compete at last month’s U.S. Open was made with an eye ahead. “I had some issues with my leg, and it would have put this tournament in jeopardy, and so there’s no reason to do that,” Woods told reporters Tuesday. “This is a pretty historic Open that we are going to be playing. I’m lucky enough to be part of the past champions that have won there, and want to play there again, and I don’t know when they are ever going to go back while I’m still able to play at a high level. “I want to be able to give it at least one more run at a high level.” Woods has competed in five previous Open Championships at St. Andrews. His eight-stroke victory in 2000 was his second of four consecutive major titles in what is known as the “Tiger Slam.” His two-stroke victory at St. Andrews in 2005 was his second of three Open Championship titles; he also won in 2006 at Royal Liverpool. Woods’ first Open Championship appearance came in 1995 at St. Andrews. He made the cut as an amateur and finished T68. He finished T23 at St. Andrews in 2010 and missed the cut in 2015. “I’ve always loved this golf course, from the first time I played it back in ’95,” Woods said at the 2015 Open at St. Andrews. “I just love the creativity. You have to be able to hit all different types of shots. You need to have the right angles. Over the years of learning how to play the golf course under all different types of wind conditions, it changes greatly, and it’s based on angles. You have to put the ball on certain sides of the fairways in order to get the ball close. “To me, that type of thinking and the strategy that goes into that is something I’ve always loved.” After suffering severe injuries to both legs in a single-car accident in February 2021, Woods made his competitive return at this year’s Masters, making the cut and finishing solo 47th. He also made the cut at the PGA Championship in May but withdrew after a third-round 79; he had cited leg soreness after the round. Woods considered competing at last month’s U.S. Open at Brookline but withdrew prior to the tournament. He tweeted the week prior to the event that his body needed more time to get stronger for major championship golf. He flew to Ireland for this week’s two-day JP McManus Pro-Am, held Monday and Tuesday, and he plans to spend time practicing off-site before traveling to St. Andrews. “If you asked me last year whether I would play golf again, all of my surgeons would have said no,” Woods said Tuesday. “But here I am playing two major championships this year. I will always be able to play golf, whether it’s this leg or someone else’s leg or false leg or different body pieces that have been placed or fused. I’ll always be able to play.” For the chance to play next week at St. Andrews, he is very grateful.

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Cormac Sharvin of Northern Ireland shot a course-record 8-under 63 Thursday to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the English Championship.

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Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised. After all, remember that bright red – dare we say dorky — wet suit with the short shorts and crash helmet that Ben Crane wore in all those “Golf Boysâ€� videos? Well, he loves dressing up for Halloween, too. That’s why Crane hates that he can’t go trick or treating with his family of five this year. He’s in Las Vegas to play in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. At least he has FaceTime, though. “Our kids are at that sweet age,â€� Crane says. “I’ll miss it for sure.â€� Of course, the themes his family chooses for trick or treating are a little more traditional than his Golf Boys’ garb. Crane’s wife Heather and their three children — CC, Brady and Saylor, who are 11, 9 and 6 years old, respectively – will be pirates this year. “We went to family camp this year and we did the pirate theme there and it was sort of like, we’ve got to carry it into Halloween.â€� Crane says. “So it’s fun.â€� Past Halloweens have seen the Cranes dressed as characters from the “Star Warsâ€� movie – with dad playing Luke Skywalker. A year ago, the five were a vision in blue-and-yellow Minions costumes. “Alice in Wonderlandâ€� was another popular theme. Saylor was born two weeks before Halloween, and on this fairy tale year the family made a dry run in their costumes at the birthday girls’ request. “We said, well, what do you want to do, and she said, I want to go to the pumpkin patch,â€� Crane recalls. “And somehow we figured out she wanted us to keep our outfits on. “So, we were the only people dressed up at the pumpkin patch. But it was fun.â€� Crane, who is follicly challenged, was dressed as the Mad Hatter. “A tall hat — anything to cover up my head I’m good,â€� he says, chuckling. “The secret sauce for me has always been the wig. If I go wig, it’s just a game-changer for me.â€� Small wonder, then, that Luke Skywalker may be the five-time PGA TOUR champ’s favorite costume. “Again, had the wig on,â€� Crane says. “I remember what it was like for the first 15 years of my life when I had hair.â€� Crane’s wife Heather has several go-to websites for their costumes. Once the family’s choice is made – the final decision rotates among the five — she orders everything so there’s plenty of time to get things delivered and make sure all of fits. “Now we’ve got a trunk full so we can all play dress up or whatever if we’ve got a party or something we need to go to,â€� he reports. The Cranes, who have moved from their native Oregon to Nashville, Tennessee, live in a housing development where there are a lot of like-minded families. Halloween is quite the production. “Our neighborhood does a great job,â€� Crane says. “They pull trailers behind their trucks with big bales of hay and people are in golf carts. It’s good fun.â€� Crane knows these years won’t last much longer. In fact, he was a little concerned that his son was going to buck tradition this year and join his friends for the trick-or-treat festivities. “And our oldest daughter just got a disco outfit in the mail so I’m like, is this just falling apart before our very eyes?â€� Crane says with mock alarm. Crane says he was a teenager before he got “too coolâ€� to dress up for Halloween. Brady might be “getting the disease a little earlier than me,â€� he says but Crane’s still hopeful there is some time left.  “These are critical years here,â€� the dad says. “We’d like to draw another three years out of this – it’s crunch time. “We’re on the 15th hole, we’re right around the cut line. So we’ve got to play solid coming in here.â€�

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