Fred Couples, Steve Stricker: We expect Tiger Woods to be playing captain at Presidents Cup

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. – Fresh off a 1-over 72 to finish his second round Saturday morning at the Genesis Open, Matt Kuchar continued to make amends for his actions toward David Ortiz, his temporary caddie last fall at the Mayakoba Golf Classic. On Friday, Kuchar issued a public apology for statements he called “out of touch and insensitiveâ€� regarding Ortiz, and vowed to pay the full amount that Ortiz has requested after Kuchar’s win in Mexico. He also vowed to make a charitable contribution to the tournament. Kuchar, speaking to the media for the first time since issuing the apology, explained his change of heart after initially saying he would stick to the deal that he and Ortiz agreed to prior to the tournament. “Listen, I was stubborn, hard-headed,â€� Kuchar said Saturday. “In my mind, I had it as a deal is a deal, but after I won the tournament, a deal wasn’t a deal. Not a good deal.” “Any transaction, all parties should come out feeling like they’ve won, and certainly in David’s case, he did not feel like he won in that situation, and I needed to make that right. It’s as simple as that.â€� Ortiz, a local caddie at Mayakoba, was on the bag for Kuchar after regular caddie John Wood was unavailable that week. It was a feel-good story after Kuchar won to end his 4-1/2 year drought on the PGA TOUR. But after details became public regarding the financial arrangement between Kuchar and Ortiz, the situation became messy. When Kuchar defended his payment earlier this week, he encountered a backlash that helped him see a different perspective. Kuchar said he tried to call Ortiz on Friday night but was only able to leave a message. Asked if he had done some soul-searching the last few days, Kuchar replied: “I don’t know if ‘soul searching’ is the right term. I think I live my life and try to live my life in pretty simple terms. I find things basic. You treat people the way you want to be treated. You know, that one, and then you put the shoe on the other foot. I think those are like two simple rules that I think I’ve always followed. I think everybody should follow.” “I missed the boat with this one. I did not put the shoe on the other foot. I did not do a good job there, and I think in any situation, if you can just understand where somebody else is coming from, it makes the world a whole lot better of a place. I missed that one.â€� Fellow pro Zach Johnson, on his Twitter account, came to Kuchar’s aid on Friday after the statement of apology was released. Wrote Johnson: After reading the statement attached, there is no doubt in my mind this is the Kuch we all know and love. He has clearly been humbled, but his true heart and character surfaces. A high integrity man is one who owns up to their mistakes, learns from them, asks for forgiveness, and takes the necessary steps to change … they are role models. And that is my friend Matt. Wood, who was back on the bag when Kuchar won the Sony Open in Hawaii last month, also used his Twitter account to defend his player’s character. Wrote Wood: I don’t understand the need to tear down a guy who has spent his career trying to uphold the game and himself to some pretty high standards. Nobody’s perfect. All we can do when a mistake is made is reconsider, apologize and make amends. Matt, his entire family and team have never been anything but generous, inclusive, respectful, and complimentary of me and the job I do for him. I wouldn’t work for someone I didn’t respect, or who didn’t value my opinion. To crucify for one mistake feels wrong. Kuchar, who is expected to make the cut at Riviera with a 2-under total through 36 holes, said Saturday he hopes his relationship with golf fans will not be permanently damaged. “I’ve been out here 20 years,â€� he said. “I think people know who I am. I always try my best to do my best for the fans. I’ve had an incredible relationship with the fans. Certainly this week had a few guys hollering out, but for the most part I think people judge me on the long term and know who I really am, and certainly hope that continues.â€�

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PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Daniel Berger got into the mix quickly with an eagle and finished it off with one even better, holing a 30-foot putt on the par-5 18th for a 7-under 65 and a two-shot victory Sunday in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. RELATED: Leaderboard | Winner’s Bag: Daniel Berger, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Berger won for the second time since the PGA TOUR returned to golf from the COVID-19 pandemic, starting with a playoff victory at Colonial last June. This was another wild chase on a crisp, breezy day along the Pacific, and Jordan Spieth went from leading to lagging. He went from a two-shot lead to a three-shot deficit through six holes, going from the leading character to a support role. Spieth birdied the last two holes for a 70 to tie for third with Patrick Cantlay (68). Maverick McNealy, who played at Stanford and once lived in a house near the 15th green at Pebble Beach, made five birdies over his last eight holes for a 66 and was tied for the lead after his eagle putt on the 18th stopped inches away. Berger was in the group behind him, and fired a fairway metal into the heart of the 18th green, 30 feet away. He only needed two putts for birdie to win, and instead finished with a flair. “That was the best putt I’ve ever hit in my life,” Berger said. Berger finished at 18-under 270 for his fourth career PGA TOUR victory. Spieth finished in the top four for the second week in a row, a strong sign that his game is coming back after a drought that dates to his 2017 Open Championship victory at Royal Birkdale. The real heartache belonged to Nate Lashley. Lashley, playing in the final group with Spieth, nearly holed his wedge on the 11th for a tap-in birdie that took him to 16 under and leading by one shot. He was tied with Berger with three holes to play when Lashley went long on the 16th hole. He pitched out to 12 feet, missed the par putt and then missed the next two putts from the 3-foot range. That gave him a triple bogey from which he could not recover. Berger was outside the top 100 in the world when golf returned last June as he tried to come back from injuries. Cantlay again was vexed by the Pebble Beach greens. He had five putts from inside the 15-foot range on the back nine, most looking as though they had a chance. Berger hit 4-iron from 229 yards to 20 feet and rolled in the eagle putt on the par-5 second hole to catch Spieth early, and he followed with an aggressive drive that left a flip wedge to 5 feet for birdie on No. 3. He had three eagle putts on the day, narrowly missing a 10-foot attempt on the sixth hole. Lashley quietly moved into contention with so much attention on Spieth. Cantlay was never too far away. McNealy showed up late with his 31 on the back nine. “I had the adrenaline pumping coming down the stretch there and feelings that I hadn’t really felt on the golf course in a little while, trying to close this out and give myself a chance,” said McNealy. Ultimately, it was Berger in position to win and he delivered an eagle he won’t soon forget.

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Look down the fairway of most golf courses and you’ll eventually see a small, undulating path of short green grass, often framed by a stand of trees. Or on a links course, perhaps some wispy fescue with a sandy beach in the distance. Not at Liberty National. Take the par-3 14th hole, which due to some rerouting for the Presidents Cup will play as the 10th this week. Stand on the tee there and looming large in the distance is none other than the Statue of Liberty – that iconic beacon of inclusion situated a mere 896 yards away from the green in the Upper New York Bay. “It’s pretty cool,� says Geoff Ogilvy, who is an assistant captain on the International Team this week. “You don’t really see the statue until you get to 13 and then you go, wow, we’re pretty close to it. This is pretty special. “It’s a really, really cool place.� Liberty National, which opened on July 4, 2006, is the brainchild of businessman Paul Fineman and his son, Dan. Built on a New Jersey landfill, it is an intriguing and challenging golf course designed by Tom Kite and Bob Cupp that maximizes its location across the bay from lower Manhattan, the Statue and nearby Ellis Island.   And you can bet that Golf Channel and NBC Sports will take full advantage of every opportunity the next four days to showcase the treasured national landmark, which was a gift from France to the United States after the Civil War. The Verrazano Bridge and New York skyline will also be front and center this week. “When I walked out on the set for the first time today and saw the Statue of Liberty, I got goosebumps,� analyst Mark Rolfing said Tuesday. “I can’t imagine what the players are experiencing … seeing this backdrop as they prepare for the week. “This is a different kind of pressure.� As much as the Statue of Liberty is a classic symbol of Americana, it also showcases the country’s openness to other citizens of the globe. And in a nod to the International Team, remember that the seven spikes on the crown represent the continents of the world. The copper – yes, it’s green now, but that’s due to the patina that forms when the metal oxidizes and is exposed to the elements – statue rises 305 feet into the air. It takes 377 steps to reach the crown, which is equivalent to climbing roughly 20 stories, and advanced reservations are necessary to make the taxing vertical hike. There are other ways to see the Statue of Liberty, though. Patrick Reed got his first look from above after he won the 2013 Wyndham Championship in a playoff with Jordan Spieth. Reed’s Sunday evening had been consumed with interviews and sponsor commitments so he and his wife Justine missed their commercial flight to New York for THE NORTHERN TRUST. But the Wyndham folks let the couple hitch a ride on their private jet. Suffice it to say, the view as they approached Lady Liberty was inspiring for Reed, who practically bleeds red, white and blue. “It was awesome,� Reed says. “We were right near it and it was such a cool site. I’d never seen a national monument like that at that point. I’ve been to the White House and everything – but the Statue of Liberty, I’d never seen that. It was pretty cool.� Rickie Fowler, who is playing on his second Presidents Cup team this week, had a similar experience. He and FedExCup champ Justin Thomas took a helicopter from the Hamptons to Liberty National, which has its own landing pad, for a practice round last month. “When we flew in, (you) kind of fly right over the Statue of Liberty and into the course,� Fowler says. “The stands (were) already up over there. I was with my girlfriend and J.T., and they had not really seen it that way. “… It’s not your normal view. That was pretty cool.� Thomas agrees. “To be able to see the city and the Statue of Liberty was awesome,� he says. And the trip to Liberty National from Manhattan by water taxi is nothing to sneeze at, either. The Statue of Liberty looms even larger that way. “There might not be any better commute in golf,� Ogilvy says. South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen notes that his first look at the Statue of Liberty was “probably in a movie.� A few years ago, he finally saw it in person. “I had flown in through New York, and we had a great view coming in on the plane,� he recalls. “After that we’ve done a helicopter tour around and seen it from Liberty National when we did a golf day there. “It’s something special.� Oosthuizen, who is playing in his second Presidents Cup, says a visit to the city earlier this month turned into a learning opportunity for his three kids. “They did the boat trip there because with their home schooling they had a Statue of Liberty project that they had to do,� he says. “They’ve got their little toys. So, they loved it. They loved seeing it.� Just like the rest of us will this week on TV.

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