Follow live: Tiger Woods battles to make cut at The Northern Trust

HONOLULU, Hawaii – Former PGA TOUR player Jarrod Lyle has received positive news in his recovery effort against leukemia with doctors saying his recent haploidentical transplant has grafted at 100 percent. Fighting acute myeloid leukemia for a third time in his life, Lyle took the decision to use stem cell therapy to attempt to rid his life of the disease once and for all. Having been unable to find a full bone marrow match for a transplant he went down the path of a 50percent match with his brother Leighton – a move that was given a 25-percent chance of success. Lyle’s doctors had warned it’s basically his last hope of a “cureâ€�. And while the news overnight does not constitute a full recovery, it has him on the right path towards one. “Got the best news today since finding out Briony was pregnant both times. I found out that the transplant I had has grafted 100%. Another big step forward in my journey back to a normal life again. #happylylefamily,â€� Lyle posted on his Instagram account. The PGA TOUR has dedicated this month as ‘January for Jarrod’ – a fundraising effort to help Lyle and his family meet the significant costs he faces throughout his recovery. “It’s of utmost importance for the PGA TOUR family and the golf community to come together and help Jarrod and his family both spiritually and financially during ‘January for Jarrod’ month,â€� PGA TOUR EVP and Chief Tournaments and Competitions Officer Andy Pazder said earlier this month. “Jarrod would be the first player to support others in their time of need, and now it’s our turn to help he and his wife Briony and their two young children, Lusi and Jemma.â€� To make a non-tax-deductible gift to the Lyle family, do so directly at www.youcaring.com/januaryforjarrod. All proceeds will go directly to the family to offset day-to-day living, family and medical expenses. Lyle has five top-10 finishes in 121 career PGA TOUR starts, with a best finish of T4 at the 2012 Genesis Open. On the Web.com Tour, Lyle has two wins, both coming in 2008, a season in which he finished fourth on the season-long money list. There is no timetable for returning to golf, with Lyle focusing exclusively on his rehabilitation at this time.

Click here to read the full article…

Rory McIlroy, fresh off victory at THE PLAYERS Championship, seeks to extend his hot streak with a second Match Play crown while Dustin Johnson goes after back-to-back World Golf Championships titles as golf’s bracketology week hits Austin. Tiger Woods, a three-time Match Play champ, returns for the first time since 2013 when the event still featured a straight-knockout format. He’s one of eight former champions in the field, along with two-time winner Jason Day and defending champ Bubba Watson. FIELD NOTES: FedExCup titleholder Justin Rose returns to the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play for the first time since 2016, when the event made its debut at Austin Country Club. It’s the first Austin visit for Henrik Stenson, who last played the event in 2015. … In all, Austin CC is set to greet 62 of the world’s top 64 who qualified in the first pass. … Rickie Fowler and Adam Scott declined their spots, the second consecutive year each has opted to sit out. … Moving into the lineup are Satoshi Kodaira and Luke List. It’s the second straight year List has come in from the reserves. … Bryson DeChambeau, who came up just short of qualifying last year, is one of 10 players set for their WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play debuts. The Honda Classic champion Keith Mitchell makes his first WGC start of any kind. … World rankings determine the 16 top seeds, with blind draws to fill each group from pools of players seeded Nos. 17-32, Nos. 33-48 and the remainder. The draws will be televised Monday. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 550 points. STORYLINES: McIlroy, who rose above the pack on a crowded Sunday at TPC Sawgrass, hopes his stellar form carries over to the Match Play pods. He’s finished no worse than sixth since the calendar turned to 2019, and won the 2105 Match Play crown at TPC Harding Park. … Johnson takes aim at a second Mexico/Match Play double in three years, having captured both WGCs in 2017. He was a five-shot winner earlier this month in Mexico. … Woods gets his first look at Austin CC, having played his last at Dove Mountain in 2013. He lasted just one day that year, ousted by Charles Howell III, but is guaranteed three days under the group play instituted in 2015. … Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia both have a chance to surpass Woods for the all-time lead in matches played. Woods has teed it up in 43 matches, Poulter has 42 and Garcia sits at 41. … Woods’ 33 career match wins is still out of reach for any pursuer. COURSE: Austin Country Club, 7,108 yards, par 71. Now in its fourth year as Match Play host, Pete Dye’s 1984 design is one of two distinctly different nines – a front nine on higher ground that showcases the Texas hill country, followed by a “lowlands� nine alongside Lake Austin that offers a scenic backdrop as matches wind down. Austin CC itself dates back to 1899, believed to be the oldest golf club in Texas, relocating twice before coming to its current site. Austin holds a place in TOUR history books as the original venue for the Legends of Golf in 1978, a tenure that ran through 1994. For those visiting the Austin area, must-play courses include Wolfdancer GC (Lost Pines, Texas) and Falconhead GC (Austin, Texas). Book your reservations via TeeOff.com. LARGEST MARGIN OF VICTORY: 9 & 8, Tiger Woods def. Stephen Ames (1st round, 2006 at La Costa Resort & Spa). LONGEST MATCH: 26 holes, Mike Weir def. Loren Roberts (1st round, 2003 at La Costa), Scott Verplank def. Lee Westwood (1st round, 2006 at La Costa). LAST YEAR: Watson powered his way to a second WGC crown, taking advantage of Kevin Kisner’s fatigue for a 7&6 victory that was the most lopsided since the final went to 18 holes in 2011. Watson never trailed in the 28 holes he played on the final day, which began with a 3&2 semifinal win over Justin Thomas. Kisner needed 19 holes to dispatch Sweden’s Alex Noren in his semifinal, and the toll showed from the first tee of the championship match. Kisner fell behind 5-down through five holes, turning the rest of the match into an anticlimax. Though Kisner staved off a quicker exit with a birdie at No. 11, Watson ended it one hole later with a birdie on the par-5 12th. The trophy was Watson’s second in a span of four starts, following a win at the Genesis Open. HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Draw Show, Monday, 6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Wednesday-Friday, 2-8 p.m. (Golf Channel). Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. (GC), 2-6 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. (GC), 3-7 p.m. (NBC). PGA TOUR LIVE: Wednesday-Friday, 10:15 a.m.-8 p.m. ET (featured groups). Saturday, 9:45 a.m.-2 p.m. (featured groups). International subscribers (via GOLF.TV): Wednesday-Friday, 14:15 to 00:00 GMT. Saturday, 13:45 to 18:00. RADIO: Wednesday-Friday, 2-8 p.m. ET. Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).

Click here to read the full article…

2021 Houston Open, Round 2 Top 10 win probabilities: 1. Sam Burns (1, -7, 20.6%) 2. Jason Day (T2, -5, 13.6%) 3. Dustin Johnson (T14, -2, 7.7%) 4. Carlos Ortiz (T2, -5, 6.7%) 5. Corey Conners (T4, -4, 6.4%) 6. Adam Scott (T9, -3, 5.1%) 7. Tony Finau (T14, -2, 4.6%) 8. Aaron Wise (T4, -4, 4.1%) 9. Brandt Snedeker (T4, -4, 3.9%) 10. Talor Gooch (T9, -3, 2.9%) Top Strokes-Gained Performers from Round 2: Putting: Francesco Molinari +3.6 Around the Green: Troy Merritt +3.0 Approach the Green: Matthew NeSmith +3.3 Off-the-tee: Bo Hoag +1.7 Total: Sam Burns +6.3 NOTE: These reports are based off the live predictive model run by @DataGolf. The model provides live "Make Cut", "Top 20", "Top 5", and "Win" probabilities every 5 minutes from the opening tee shot to the final putt of every PGA TOUR event. Briefly, the model takes account of the current form of each golfer as well as the difficulty of their remaining holes, and probabilities are calculated from 20K simulations. To follow live finish probabilities throughout the remainder of the Vivint Houston Open, or to see how each golfer's probabilities have evolved from the start of the event to the current time, click here for the model's home page.

Click here to read the full article…