Cut prediction: World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba

Attorneys representing the PGA Tour submitted a motion Tuesday asking a federal judge to unseal certain details of contracts that were signed by the tour’s former players who defected to the rival LIV Golf circuit earlier this year.

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NASSAU, Bahamas – Tiger Woods wore black slacks and a red, camo-style shirt at the Hero World Challenge at Albany Golf Club as the sun beat down early Sunday afternoon. RELATED: Insider: Woods’ big paradigm shift Only this time Woods wasn’t competing, leaving others to fight for the Hero trophy. Instead, as he had all week, he was practicing on the back of the range, watched only by a couple from Ohio and a family of four from Florida, their kids wondering aloud if they could get an autograph. “He’s so tall!” one of the kids said. Anyone feeling pangs for the largely absent Woods over the last year had to have felt encouraged by the Hero, where sightings of the tournament’s non-playing host were like a game of Where’s Waldo. Woods had been out of sight since being badly injured in a single-vehicle accident in Los Angeles in February, doing the hard work of convalescence and rehabilitation in private. The Hero, though, provided a stage for his public reemergence. There he was early in the week hitting 3-woods, a scene captured by a lone PGA TOUR videographer. Wait. Now Woods was on the back patio of the clubhouse jokingly telling Mike Thomas, Justin’s dad, to come watch him do driver testing. Then he was hitting drivers. Woods sat for his first press conference since he nearly lost his leg in a single-vehicle accident in Los Angeles in February. He did a jokey interview with Golf TV. He made an extended visit to the NBC/Golf Channel booth to chat with Steve Sands and David Feherty. Hanging over everything was the question of when the 82-time PGA TOUR winner will tee it up again in competition, and how much he might resemble his old self. In his press conference, Woods said his right leg was so badly injured that “amputation was on the table.” His days playing a full schedule are over, he added. Could he foresee playing in the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews next July? Woods said he wants to do so, having won the Open there twice, but couldn’t make any promises. “To see some of my shots fall out of the sky a lot shorter than they used to is a little eye-opening, but at least I’m able to do it again,” he said, allowing that he has no timetable for when he might be capable of playing PGA TOUR-quality golf again, if only sporadically. It was a sobering assessment. On the other hand, he teased with his words and deeds a much earlier appearance, at the father-son PNC Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Grande Lakes, Dec. 16-19. “I can play hit-and-giggle golf,” he said. That perfectly describes the PNC, which features major winners and their sons or fathers. It’s where Woods’ son, Charlie, wowed as the youngest-ever participant at age 11 last year. Woods could take a cart and, as he did last year, not bother to hit drives on the holes where Charlie has split the fairway. Whether or not he plays later this month, he seems content. He thanked the doctors and nurses for helping him get his life back. He talked about his foundation as it rolls into its 25th year, highlighting some of the inspiring kids who have been through his STEM-heavy learning academy. He praised Bryson DeChambeau and his doings in the world of long drive, which has surpassed what Woods and John Daly, the longest hitters of their era, could have accomplished in that world. He praised Collin Morikawa, who at 24 has become a Tiger-like force on TOUR. As for when Woods impress like that again, the 15-time major winner will turn 46 later this month and has alluded to his 2019 Masters title as perhaps being the exclamation point on his career. Then again, who knows? He asked his family for their blessing on his next comeback, should his right leg continue to improve and allow for it, and they’ve given the green light. “I’ve come off long layoffs and I’ve won or come close to winning before,” Woods said. He’s not the same player, his leg may never be the same, but it’s Woods. Never say never.

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Russell Knox ... Despite all that differentiates us, the narrative of 2020 forever will be that significant challenges have affected everyone. The Scot's added personal layer is that he endured a spell of 10 consecutive missed cuts that bridged the three-month shutdown. He found a whiff of form late last season but still missed the Playoffs. Armed with an additional season of fully exempt status thanks to the eligibility adjustments, he's made it count early with a T9 at the Safeway Open and top 20s in his last two starts. Currently fifth on TOUR in greens hit and 27th in proximity, the latest form is vintage. He's also 4-for-5 at Sea Island with a personal-best T20 last year. Ryan Armour ... There's nothing wrong with stereotyping him as a horse for courses. There are worse things for one of the shortest hitters with a TOUR card, especially at 44 years of age. He proved it again at Port Royal where he matched a T8 in last year's inaugural Bermuda Championship with another three weeks ago. Now he descends on Sea Island for the sixth time. He's yet to miss a cut and he recorded top 25s in the last two years. Scott Brown ... The native of Augusta, Georgia, has been as comfortable at Sea Island as anywhere else throughout his career. Overall, he's 5-for-7 with four top 20s, including a T14 last year. He's profiled as a guy who retains his card thanks for the occasional blast of form that he also rides for a short period of time. It's not so much streaky-good as it's reliably substantive when it's in motion. Given that he's fresh off a T24 at the Vivint Houston Open, and that it's his second-best finish since his trip to the Golden Isles last year, his trends are converging. Hank Lebioda ... Cue the Nappy Factor! The 26-year-old is due to become a first-time father and of a boy, so it's not surprising in the least that he's off and running this season. The lefty already has two top 25s on the board thanks to a crisper short game. Whether he can sustain it over time is the question, but his priorities are changing by the day and he's embarking on his third straight season with a TOUR card, so the learning curve is beginning to flatten. He also has a solid chance of extending the bump at Sea Island where he's 2-for-2. Davis Thompson ... It's a special time for the 21-year-old senior at the University of Georgia. He just scaled to the top of the World Amateur Golf Ranking in its latest update thanks in part to a pair of top fives in collegiate action since qualifying for the U.S. Open by virtue of a special category carved out for the best amateurs (in the USGA's effort to build a familiar field during a pandemic). His first career PGA TOUR start occurred in The RSM Classic last year. All he did was lead the field in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green (for the three lasered rounds at Seaside) and rank third in scrambling and T5 in par-5 scoring. Oh, and it's a home game as he lives on Saint Simons Island. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions.

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