Five storylines to watch for Friday at the PGA

COLUMBUS, Ohio – There are very few people who can really truly comprehend what Tiger Woods has achieved since having back-fusion surgery. One of those is two-time Super Bowl champion and five-time NFL MVP Peyton Manning. Manning famously returned to the heights of the NFL after sitting out a season following neck-fusion surgery in 2011. Having won his first Super Bowl with the Colts before the injury, he won another with the Denver Broncos after having surgery. RELATED: Watch Tiger exclusively on PGA TOUR LIVE on Thursday morning Getting there was not easy and plenty doubted he could. Woods finally succumbed to back-fusion surgery after multiple previous surgeries failed to fully address the issue. Now Woods has two wins since the surgery (TOUR Championship, Masters). Manning joined Woods for a pro-am appearance at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide on Wednesday, the second straight year they have played together. But this year came after Woods won PGA TOUR title No. 80 at East Lake and No. 81 at Augusta National Golf Club, replicating the amazing comeback success of Manning. “It’s hard to make comparisons. And I don’t think that anybody can speak to it from a physical standpoint, injury-wise. Only you know what it feels like. And I know how hard he worked,� Manning said of Woods, who will try to join Sam Snead with a record 82 PGA TOUR wins this week. “The most impressive thing is how he’s been able to adjust and be adaptive to playing in a new physical state. And that’s what I did. And maybe to use a baseball analogy … I couldn’t throw the 100 mile-an-hour fastball anymore, but you can still work the outside edges of the plate and you can still strike a guy out that way. “And he struck a lot of guys out down there at Augusta a few weeks ago and came home with the win. That to me is the most impressive thing, how adaptive he’s been. As a golf fan, like everybody, I liked watching that Sunday. It’s great having him out here watching him play again.� Woods’ chase for 82 has ramped up lately. While he missed the cut at the PGA Championship, this week he’s at a venue where success has come in buckets. There was a time that Muirfield Village was as much Tiger’s place as it was Jack’s. From 1999-2012, Woods finished no worse than T22 at the beautiful course Jack Nicklaus built near his Ohio roots. Woods won the Memorial Tournament five times and finished inside the top four on three other occasions. Three of his wins came in consecutive years between 1999-2001. So perhaps it would be somewhat fitting for Woods to claim his 82nd and record-tying PGA TOUR win this week. “To get into those numbers it takes longevity and it takes years. I think it’s been 10 years where I’ve won five or more tournaments. You need multiple win seasons like that and be able to do it for decades so that’s something I’m very proud of because it’s not something that happens overnight,� Woods said of his win chase. “To be able to come this close to get to one behind Sam Snead has been pretty amazing. It has been a pretty amazing run during my 20-some odd years out here. Hopefully I have a few more.� Woods was under the weather at Bethpage Black, but insists his health is fine this week. “I lost quite a bit of weight and wasn’t feeling my best, but I was able to put most of it back on,� he said. “I’m feeling a lot better. I just need to play a little bit more now. Hopefully it will be four solid days this week.�

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THE OVERVIEW By Cameron Morfit, PGATOUR.COM Seemingly everyone had at one time or another given up on the idea of Sergio Garcia winning a major. Even Garcia. And then, in his 74th major championship start, it happened, Garcia outlasting Justin Rose in a sudden-death playoff to win the Masters on what would have been the 60th birthday of Seve Ballesteros. Garcia had authored yet another golfing fairytale at Augusta.   But what happens after the fairytale? The short answer is that Garcia, 37, doesn’t seem to be slowing down. If anything, the opposite might be true. He got married, to Angela Akins Garcia, and the two announced that they are expecting their first child in March. And professionally, Garcia seems determined not to simply ride off into the sunset in his green jacket. (He wore it well at Wimbledon, though.) In September, Garcia entered the BMW Championship at 34th in the FedExCup standings and on the outside looking in for the season-ending TOUR Championship at East Lake. In the past, that might have been the beginning of the end, but not for Garcia 2.0. He and his wife remained unmovable in their optimism. They went to Conway Farms fully anticipating a two-week trip: Chicago, followed by Atlanta, home of East Lake Golf Club. And so it was, as Garcia’s T12 at the BMW got him in the top 30 and punched his ticket to Atlanta. Next on the to-do list for the 10-time PGA TOUR winner: more wins, and potentially getting fitted for his ninth Ryder Cup team. BY THE NUMBERS How Sergio Garcia ranked in Strokes Gained statistics during his last full season on the PGA TOUR. FEDEXCUP Current 2017-18 position: N/A Playoff appearances: 11 TOUR Championship appearances: 6 Best result: 3rd (2008) INSIGHTS FROM THE INSIDERS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Sergio Garcia in 2018. TOUR INSIDER by Ben Everill With his long-awaited major championship draped over his shoulders and a happy new life away from the golf course, the biggest question on Sergio is how much desire he has to work hard and add more to his resume. Having accomplished his dreams, will he surge for more or be content to rely on his super talent to turn up once in a while? One thing is for sure – he is still super fun to watch. Click here to follow Ben on Twitter FANTASY INSIDER by Rob Bolton In Sergio’s storied career filled with scares and scars, it may never get any better than 2017. His breakthrough at the Masters hinted that maybe there really are guarantees for the gifted, but it and his other two titles wouldn’t have meant as much without the foundation of finding his wife. With his personal life guiding the way, the 37-year-old Spaniard performed as we hoped he would with precisely that balance outside the ropes. Still, and the green jacket aside, it wasn’t his best season statistically on the PGA TOUR, so take it easy on your enthusiasm because 2017 was a bonus and we know his limits — the most important of which is that he authors one of the lightest schedules of all full-time members. Click here to follow Rob on Twitter EQUIPMENT INSIDER by Jonathan Wall Garcia is all but guaranteed to be a Callaway staffer in 2018 after securing his first major title at the Masters. The Spaniard parted ways with TaylorMade after 15 years and slowly began to add Callaway equipment to the bag, starting with a Toulon Design putter at the Dell Technologies Championship. He recently inserted a full set of Apex MB irons and the company’s GBB Epic driver at the DP World Tour Championship.  Click here to follow Jonathan on Twitter STYLE INSIDER by Greg Monteforte Much like his game, Sergio’s style continues to mature. He has taken his fashion to another level with more refined looks and well-balanced colors. Even though an equipment change appears to be a certainty in 2018 for Garcia, expect him to continue wearing Adidas’ three-stripes. Click here to follow Greg on Twitter

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