Five things to watch for Day 3 at the U.S. Open

While Justin Rose chased the lowest round in TOUR history and Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas dueled down the stretch of a prestigious national championship, PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan appeared on CBS’ Sunday broadcast of the RBC Canadian Open to answer questions about the recent suspensions of a group of players and to reiterate his optimism about the future of the PGA TOUR. Commissioner Monahan addressed the first event of the LIV Golf Invitational Series, which was played earlier this week, but the difference between that “exhibition,” as Monahan called it, and what was occurring in the final round of the RBC Canadian Open provided the perfect contrast to illustrate the strength of the PGA TOUR. “Why do they need us so badly?” Commissioner Monahan asked, referring to players who wanted to compete in the Saudi-backed series and still have an option to play some events on the PGA TOUR. “Those players have chosen to play in a series of exhibition matches against the same players over and over again. You look at that versus what we see here today, and that’s why they need us so badly. You have true, pure competition with the best players in the world here at the RBC Canadian Open with millions of fans watching. “And in this game, it’s pure and true competition that creates the profile of the world’s greatest players and that’s why they need us. That’s what we do. But we aren’t going to allow players to free ride off our loyal members, the best players in the world.” Monahan said questions about how the major championships and Official World Golf Ranking would treat the new series would need to be answered by those respective organizations and that his focus is on the TOUR’s membership and the full TOUR schedule. The makeup of the TOUR’s membership – which features young, talented, established players from across the globe – is one reason the Commissioner said he is bullish on his organization’s future. The top 20 players in the world ranking represent nine different countries on four continents. The FedExCup is shaping up to be a race between two 25-year-olds experiencing breakout seasons, Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns, with stars like THE PLAYERS champion Cameron Smith and former FedExCup champions Patrick Cantlay, Thomas and McIlroy in the mix. “Life is all about meaning and purpose and we are an organization with meaning and purpose,” Commissioner Monahan said. “The best players in the world make wonderful things happen on this platform day in and day out, week in and week out.” The LIV Golf Invitational Series features players with guaranteed contracts playing in 54-hole, no cut events, trading large paychecks for compelling competition. The funding of that circuit has drawn criticism, including from a group of 9/11 survivors and families who lost loved ones in the tragedy. While the Commissioner did not directly address those criticisms, he did ask, “Have you ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA TOUR?” Being aligned with the TOUR means being aligned with an organization that will undergo unprecedented growth in the next decade and continue to make an impact in each community it visits, he emphasized. “This organization is going to continue to evolve … and we are going to continue to advocate for and grow this game in the right way and continue to make meaningful contributions as an organization,” Commissioner Monahan said. “I couldn’t be more excited about the future, the future we all have together.”

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Call it the Great 8. Tiger Woods has eight wins in 15 starts at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club, which far surpasses the entire careers of most PGA TOUR pros, but it’s not unique to him. He’s also won eight times at Torrey Pines, home of the Farmers Insurance Open and 2008 U.S. Open, and Bay Hill, home of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.  What really sets Woods apart at the WGC-Bridgestone is how hard he’s had to work (seven extra holes against Jim Furyk, four extras with Stewart Cink), in addition to the inevitable walks in the park (an eight-shot win over Justin Rose and Rory Sabbatini, a seven-shot margin over Keegan Bradley and Henrik Stenson). Also, the quirks. Don’t forget those.  Woods has won in moonlight (2000) and sunlight. He has flirted with 59 (2000, 2013). He has relegated two Phillips (Mickelson, Price) to second place in consecutive years. He’s beaten so many players at this tournament, you want to alphabetize his victims. (Allenby, Bradley, Cink, DiMarco …) He has let his clubs do the talking (Sabbatini, ’07), won while putting poorly (’05), and explored every square inch of the property (clubhouse shot, ’06).  Sometimes, he admitted, he even got lucky (’01).  The Great 8 features two 61s and a 62 among his 59 total rounds. (He WD’d one round short of a full tournament in 2014.) It features an almost unfathomable stretch from 1999 through 2009. In that 11-year span, in which Woods played 10 WGC-Bridgestones (he was injured in ’08), he won seven times; added T2, 4th and T4 finishes; and was a combined 103 under par.  No wonder Woods has been open about trying to get into the world top 50 in order to qualify for the last WGC-Bridgestone at Firestone South. He arrives in Akron after nearly winning The Open Championship, a performance that earned him a spot in the Bridgestone by getting him into the top 50 of the world ranking. Here is our attempt to rank his history of dominance, the likes of which this tournament will likely never see again. 1. A Shot In The Dark (2000) Final score: 259 (64-61-67-67) Position after 54 holes: Leader by 9 Victory margin: 11 shots Runners-up: Justin Leonard, Phillip Price This one wasn’t close, but it provided Woods’ most memorable shot at Firestone. On the final day, play continued past sunset because of a three-hour rain delay. No one wanted to stay an extra day for a finish that was merely a formality. It was pitch black by the time the final group reached the 18th hole. “If the tournament was tied, I guarantee it would have stopped,â€� Woods said. He rewarded those who stayed until the end by knocking an 8-iron stiff. Camera flashes and fans holding lighters illuminated the final hole. “I could see the flag. I just couldn’t see the shot,â€� he said. It was a unique scene for a PGA TOUR event, though Woods said that playing in the dark reminded him of late-afternoon rounds with his father while growing up in Southern California. This was another dominant performance in a season that was full of them. He won the year’s first two majors by a combined 23 shots, then defeated Bob May in a dramatic playoff at the PGA Championship. The WGC-Bridgestone Invitational was held the following week. Even though he was fighting the flu, Woods didn’t slow down. He flirted with 59 in the first two rounds and set a TOUR record by shooting 125. The win made Woods the first player since Byron Nelson in 1945 to win at least eight times in consecutive seasons. 2. The Playoff That Wouldn’t End (2001) Final score: 268 (66-67-66-69) Position after 54 holes: 2nd, two behind Jim Furyk  Victory margin: Won playoff Runner-up: Furyk An extra seven holes of sudden-death were needed to decide the winner of the 2001 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. The playoff took two hours to complete. “It was a war out there,â€� said Woods, who was on the way to winning Player of the Year honors for the fourth time in five seasons. “Neither one of us gave an inch.â€� Woods shot a final-round 69 to catch Jim Furyk, but both players bogeyed the final hole to finish tied. Furyk holed out from a bunker to extend the playoff, but also missed three birdie putts from inside 10 feet during sudden-death. He couldn’t help but rue his missed chances.  “I played well enough to win,â€� Furyk said. “My putter kind of failed me. I kept getting real quick downhill, left-to-right putts to win the tournament.â€� Woods admitted he’d been on the ropes more than once. “On every single one of them, Steve and I said, ‘It’s over,’ because he’s such a great putter, he’s got to make one of those,â€� Woods said. “I was very lucky he didn’t make any of them.â€�   3. Off the Clubhouse, Into the Winner’s Circle (2006) Woods hits clubhouse, wins trophy Final score: 270 (67-64-71-68) Position after 54 holes: T2, 1 behind Stewart Cink  Victory margin: Won Playoff Runner-up: Cink This was one for the blooper reel and the highlight reel. In the second round, Woods hit a 9-iron on the ninth hole and watched as his ball cleared the trees, caromed off the concrete and landed onto the clubhouse roof. A kitchen worker found it and, after a lengthy ruling, Woods got a drop and made bogey.   Firestone’s dominant force had to win this one without his A game. Cink was his biggest challenger. They had a two-shot swing on the 16th hole after Woods missed a 4-foot par putt. Then they were tied after Cink birdied the 18th hole. Both players ended regulation at 10-under 270. The playoff nearly ended immediately after Cink’s birdie chip barely missed. He missed his 18-foot birdie putt on the high side at the second extra hole and faced an 8-foot par putt to close out Woods on the third extra hole. He missed that, too.  Woods finally saw his chance on the fourth playoff hole hole. He was staring down an 8-foot birdie putt to win his fourth consecutive tournament. As soon as they finished, both players, along with third-place Jim Furyk (68), would be headed for a charter to Ireland to start practicing for the Ryder Cup at the K Club. “Just end this thing now,â€� Woods told himself. He did.  His 52nd PGA TOUR victory tied him with Byron Nelson for fifth-most in history, and marked his seventh consecutive season with at least one WGC win. 4. On Top of the World (1999) Final score: 270 (66-71-62-71) Position after 54 holes: Leader by 5  Victory margin: 1 shot Runner-up: Phil Mickelson The World Golf Championships began in 1999, and so did Woods’ dominance of Firestone. Woods finished in the top five in his first two trips to Akron for the World Series of Golf, but it wasn’t until the tournament became a WGC that he hoisted a trophy. The swing changes that Woods made the previous year were paying dividends in 1999. Woods had already won four times by the time he arrived at Firestone for the inaugural World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, including his second major. He’d held off a teen-aged, scissor-kicking Sergio Garcia two weeks earlier to win the 1999 PGA. Woods used a third-round 62 to take a five-shot lead at Firestone. “You can have anyone sit here and say, ‘I have a shot tomorrow,’ but they are just kidding themselves,â€� said Fred Couples, who shared second place with Nick Price. The final round wasn’t as easy as Couples predicted, though. It turned into a duel with Phil Mickelson, almost two decades before there was talk of a $10 million, made-for-TV match between the two stars. Mickelson birdied six of the first 11 holes while Woods was 1 over par after back-to-back bogeys on 14 and 15. Woods had to hole a crucial putt on the 17th hole, just as he had done at Medinah. He was clinging to a one-shot lead when he holed a 20-foot birdie putt from the fringe. After a flubbed chip on the final hole, he had to two-putt from 60 feet to finish one ahead of Mickelson. “There’s something about having to make one on 17. I stay focused,â€� Woods said. This victory was the start of a four-tournament winning streak to end the season. The greatest year of his career was right around the corner. 5. Flirting With 59 (2013) Final score: 265 (66-61-68-70) Position after 54 holes: Leader by 7  Victory margin: 7 shots Runners-up: Keegan Bradley, Henrik Stenson Woods’ most recent victory came at Firestone five years ago. It was a vintage performance. He held a seven-shot lead at the halfway mark after flirting with 59 in the second round. He played his first three holes in 4 under, then started the back nine with four consecutive birdies. Woods was four under through his opening three holes and added another birdie at No. 7. After four straight birdies to open the back nine, he was 9 under par on the par-70 course. He had to settle for five consecutive pars, though, to tie his course record. “I felt I was in total control of my game,â€� he said. Woods shot 68-70 on the weekend to cruise to a seven-shot win. Little did we know that he’d return to Firestone five years later without another win on his remarkable resume. 6. A Four-Peat … of Sorts (2009) Final score: 268 (68-70-65-65) Position after 54 holes: 2nd, 3 behind Padraig Harrington  Victory margin: 4 shots Runners-up: Harrington, Robert Allenby Woods’ four-peat at Firestone had to wait a year. He missed the 2008 Bridgestone Invitational because of the knee surgery that followed shortly after his U.S. Open victory. He was back to his winning ways when he returned to Firestone a year later, even if he didn’t get off to a great start. He was five shots back of Padraig Harrington after 36 holes. Woods’ Saturday 65 moved him into second place, but he still trailed the Irishman by three. Harrington said he didn’t notice the roars and the charge. He didn’t know who he’d play with Sunday until he putted out on the 18th green. “Three-shot lead, is that enough? Probably not,â€� Harrington joked. Harrington was a formidable opponent. He won The Open Championship in 2007, then won the final two majors of 2008 while Woods was on the sidelines. Woods got off to a strong start, though. He eagled the second hole en route to a front-nine 30 that gave him a two-shot lead. Harrington led by one after Woods bogeyed the 13th and 14th holes. The battle turned on the par-5 16th, Firestone’s famous “Monster.” Woods hit an 8-iron to a foot. Harrington hit his approach over the green. His next shot came out hot and went into the water fronting the green. He made an 8 to fall three behind with three holes remaining. Game over. It was Woods’ 16th WGC title and 70th PGA TOUR win. 7. Sabbatini Smackdown (2007) Final score: 272 (68-70-69-65) Position after 54 holes: 2nd, 1 behind Rory Sabbatini  Victory margin: 8 shots Runners-up: Sabbatini, Justin Rose After winning the last two titles at Firestone in close battles, Woods claimed a third straight – and sixth overall – with an eight-shot demolition derby. But it didn’t look like his run would necessarily continue … until fate provided an enemy Tiger could pounce on. Woods was four back after two rounds, but a third-round 69 moved him into second place. He trailed Rory Sabbatini by just one shot. Earlier in the season, Woods overtook Sabbatini to win the Wells Fargo Championship. Woods beat him by five shots in the final round but Sabbatini declared that Woods was “more beatable than ever.â€� Sabbatini got a second chance on Sunday in Akron.  And Woods was ready. He came out on fire with four birdies in the opening six holes. A stress-free 65, compared to Sabbatini’s 74, said plenty. “Everyone knows how Rory is, and I just go out there and just let my clubs do the talking,â€� Woods said afterward. Woods won the PGA Championship the following week, then went T2-1-1 in the FedExCup Playoffs to claim the first FedExCup. 8.  Woods beats DiMarco. Again. (2005) Final score: 274 (66-70-67-71) Position after 54 holes: Co-leader with Kenny Perry  Victory margin: 1 shot Runner-up: Chris DiMarco It was a season that saw Woods’ remarkable streak of made cuts end at 142 at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship. It was also a season that saw him summon some of his best golf to dispatch Chris DiMarco. Just as he had done at the Masters earlier that season, and just as he would do at the 2006 Open Championship, Woods relegated DiMarco to second place by doing just enough to beat the fiery Floridian. “I just could not make a putt,â€� said Woods, who missed five times from inside 8 feet in the final round. He trailed Kenny Perry at the turn, but as the final round wore on it became clear that his greatest challenge would come from DiMarco. Playing four groups ahead of Woods, DiMarco watched his 20-foot birdie putt melt over the hole on 18. His final-round 68 briefly looked like it might be enough to beat Woods, though. Woods made a long curler for birdie on 16, then saved par after an errant drive on 18 to preserve the victory. “If you’re hoping for him to make bogey,â€� said a rueful DiMarco, “you didn’t do what you needed to do.â€� It was Woods’ 10th win in 20 WGC starts. — Ben Everill and Sean Martin contributed

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SAN FRANCISCO — Jason Day took his first step toward a return to the spotlight in the majors Thursday at the PGA Championship. Brooks Koepka never seems to leave. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Tiger looks solid in Round 1 | DeChambeau snaps driver Day took advantage of a TPC Harding Park that never felt this accommodating during the practice rounds. With only a mild breeze and a welcome appearance by the sunshine, he finished his bogey-free round of 5-under 65 with an approach to 6 feet for birdie on No. 9, the toughest hole on the course at 518 yards. That gave him a share of the lead with Brendon Todd, whose round was equally impressive. Playing in the afternoon, as the wind strengthened, Todd made seven birdies and finished with a 10-foot par putt. They were one shot ahead of nine players, a group that included major champions from years gone by, a PGA TOUR rookie and the one guy — Koepka — who shows up at every major no matter what kind of shape his game is in. Koepka is the two-time defending champion, presented the opportunity this week to become only the seventh player in the 160-year history of major championship golf to win the same major three years in a row. It was last done 64 years ago. He’s still a little annoyed that he missed a similar chance last year down the Pacific coast at Pebble Beach, when he finished runner-up in his bid for a third straight U.S. Open. Koepka hasn’t won in more than a year. His left knee has been bothering him since last August. No matter. After a slow start, he powered his way to six birdies and made a series of key putts for par — and one 12-footer for bogey — that gave him an ideal start to this major. He was at 66 with eight other players, a list that included former major winners Justin Rose, Martin Kaymer and Zach Johnson, rising star Xander Schauffele and tour rookie Scottie Scheffler. “It’s only 18 holes right now,” Koepka said. “I feel good. I feel confident. I’m excited for the next three days. I think I can definitely play a lot better. Just need to tidy a few things up, and we’ll be there come Sunday on the back nine.” Tiger Woods ran off three birdies in a four-hole stretch toward the end of his round that offset a few mistakes. He opened with a 68, a solid start for a 15-time major champion who has played just one tournament in the last six months. Woods put a new putter into play — this one is a little longer, which he says helps him practice longer without straining his surgically repaired back — and it came in handy. He made a 30-foot birdie early. He was most pleased with a 20-foot par putt on No. 18 as he made the turn. And he was thrilled with the weather. “I thought anything today in the red was going to be good,” Woods said. In this case, there was a lot of good to go around. Just under one-third of the field –47 players — broke par. That included Bryson DeChambeau, who broke his driver on the seventh hole after another vicious swing. Oddly enough, it finally gave way when he leaned on it ever so slightly while picking up his tee. He was able to replace it and challenged the lead — he was 4 under through 10 — until he slid back to a 68. Instead of the wind and chill and the thick marine layer, it was pleasant enough to make this feel like a casual round of golf. It sounded like that, too. Woods is used to tournament golf in the COVID-19 era. Spectators have not been allowed at any tournament since the PGA TOUR returned two months ago. So that was nothing new. Still, there was a starter speaking into a microphone on the first tee, and he stuck with the tradition when introducing past PGA champions. Woods has won it four times. “It still funny,” Rory McIlroy said. “You know, `99, 2000, 2006, 2007 PGA champion, Tiger Woods. And then there’s nothing. That’s pretty interesting. That’s definitely different.” McIlroy, Woods and Justin Thomas, the No. 1 player in the world, each started with a birdie on No. 10 to no applause. McIlroy overcame three straight bogeys early in his round for an even-par 70. Thomas was going along fine until a pair of double bogeys, one on the seventh hole when his ball never came down from a Monterey Cypress tree. He shot 71. The start was a good sign for Day, the former No. 1 player in the world, because he has struggled so much since his last win two years ago. His back gives him trouble. Off the course, his mother was battling lung cancer in Australia. And then he finally made a clean break from his longtime coach and lifetime mentor, Collin Swatton. But he registered three top 10s coming into the PGA Championship, and his confidence is growing. Ditto for Koepka. He missed the cut at the 3M Open in Minnesota two weeks ago, went home to Florida and during one range session was so frustrated he heaved a few clubs. But a quick video review and some technical work revealed his weight was on the wrong side. He made the adjustment and tied for second last week at a World Golf Championship. And this is a major. Big Game Brooks is at his best in these. “He seems to find his comfort zone in these tournaments, in these environments, for whatever reason that is,” McIlroy said. “I think we are all just lucky that he doesn’t find it every other week.”

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