From Ciganda’s heroics to Thompson’s comeback: Top moments of the 2023 Solheim Cup

ALBANY, Bahamas – Sometimes reality bites. After impressively opening the Hero World Challenge with rounds of 69-68 and with thoughts of an unlikely victory on their minds Tiger Woods and his legions of fans were brought back to earth on Saturday at Albany. There was no sub-70 round today. The 79-time PGA TOUR winner didn’t scare par. Instead it was a 3-over 75 to drop him a distant 10 shots from Charley Hoffman’s lead in a tie for 10th in the 18-man field.   While a scratchy round or two was expected by most for Woods given he is playing for the first time in 10 months and just seven months after back fusion surgery – it was hard not to get jacked up after the opening two days. We’d seen power and speed off the tee. We’d seen putts made from distance. Fist pumps… laser long irons… plenty to get excited about. Sure we saw a couple of iffy chips and some struggles on the par-5s on the opening day, but for the most part things were looking better than expected. Even caddie Joe LaCava was impressed. “I was a little bit surprised. I think everyone was hoping for the best, but it was definitely better than we thought,â€� LaCava said after Round 2. “The power and speed and length he’s hitting it I didn’t think it would come this quick.â€� And then came Saturday where the 14-time major winner’s start derailed any hope he had of pushing towards a sixth Hero World Challenge title. Four bogeys on the opening nine holes to turn in 40, nine shots worse than the day before. Woods hit just two greens in regulation, drove it erratically, failed to dial in his numbers, duffed a chip or two, pulled and pushed some putts… it was just a scratchy effort all around. “I really didn’t feel like I was that far off, that’s the crazy part,â€� Woods said. “It was a rough start. Whatever I did right ended up in a bad spot and whatever I did wrong was really wrong. I just couldn’t get it turned around, it kept going the wrong way.â€� After another bogey to open the back nine and a loose par on the par-5 11th – Woods finally started to find somewhat of a groove. He actually did start to turn it around. But it was too little too late in terms of this tournament. Two birdies came in the last seven holes where he hit every green in regulation. “It was just one of those days… I’ve got to keep fighting,â€� Woods said. “And that’s one thing I’ve always done my entire career is just keep fighting and try to post the best number I possibly could. “That’s just golf, we’re always going to face adversity. It was frustrating that I couldn’t get it turned around on the easier holes.  I played four par-5s and I hadn’t made a birdie yet. That’s not very good.â€� But in the grand scheme of things, it isn’t about this one tournament. Woods’ return is about the bigger picture. About trying to figure out his new body, his new swing. About trying to string four good rounds together physically and mentally. About trying to get himself ready for some sort of regular TOUR life again. “I feel good. I feel like I’ve got some experience in,â€� Woods said. “It’s nice to be part of the fight again. Get out there and fighting against the golf course, fighting against the guys, that’s fun. I just haven’t done it a whole lot in the last few years. “I’m very happy that I’ve hit the ball as well as I have, the feel of my putter, overall shaping of shots and just trying to put together a round.â€� He has one more chance this week to put a round together – hopefully it’s another that brings hope heading forward like the first two. But whatever it is – if he remains pain free and healthy – it’s still a win regardless of whether or not he holds the trophy.

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The final round of the Sony Open in Hawaii gets underway Sunday from Waialae Country Club. Russell Henley leads the way at 18-under, two shots ahead of Hideki Matsuyama. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action, including Featured Groups for PGA TOUR LIVE and newly expanded and extended coverage on ESPN+. Click here for more details. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Saturday, 7 p.m.-10:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Sunday, 6 p.m.-10 p.m. (Golf Channel). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-7 p.m. ET (Featured Groups), 7 p.m.-10:30 p.m. (Featured Holes). Saturday, 1:15 p.m.-10:30 p.m. (Featured Groups), 7 p.m.-10:30 p.m. (Featured Holes). Sunday, 12:45 p.m.-6 p.m. (FeaturedGroups), 6 p.m.-10 p.m. (Featured Holes). PGA TOUR LIVE is available exclusively on ESPN+ Radio: Saturday, 5 p.m.-11 p.m. ET. Sunday, 5 p.m.-10 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) FEATURED GROUPS Jimmy Walker, Jim Furyk Webb Simpson, Denny McCarthy Jason Kokrak, Brandt Snedeker MUST READS Hideki Matsuyama surge keeps Russell Henley on toes at Sony Open Russell Henley takes two-shot lead into Sunday at Sony Open in Hawaii Keita Nakajima: Five Things to Know Jim Furyk, 51, makes ace in opening 62 at Sony Open Five things to know about Waialae Country Club

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WILMINGTON, N.C. – Notes and observations from Thursday’s first round of the Wells Fargo Championship at Eagle Point Golf Club, where Italy’s Francesco Molinari chipped in on the 18th hole for a 6-under 66 and a one-shot lead over Sweden’s Alex Noren among the early finishers. DJ PLEASED WITH OPENING ROUND Dustin Johnson hasn’t played much golf lately, but the rust didn’t show as he made four birdies and signed for a 2-under 70. That tied him with 53-year-old playing partner Davis Love III, and gave Johnson a solid start as he tries to play his way back into the winner’s circle for the fourth time in his last four starts.    “I’m happy with the way I played,” Johnson said. “I didn’t score that great, didn’t really hole that many putts, but other than that, yeah, I played really well.” Johnson got right back to his usual game Thursday. He averaged 312.7 yards off the tee, and hit 8 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens. (He leads the TOUR in both driving distance and greens in regulation.) The only thing that hampered his play: He took 32 putts. All in all, he said, it was a good day, especially considering this was his first competitive round since he closed out Jon Rahm to win the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play on March 26. “I thought I drove it nicely,” Johnson said, “Hit a lot of good iron shots. You know, I’m happy with the way I played, for sure.” The long break wasn’t part of the plan, of course. Johnson went to Augusta National for the Masters four weeks ago, but pulled out at the 11th hour with a lower back injury suffered while falling down a short flight of stairs in his rental house. In a way, Johnson said after his opening-round 70 at Eagle Point, it felt like nothing had changed since before the injury. He said he feels 100 percent physically, and the statistics backed him up: His longest measured drive in Round 1 was an impressive 340 yards. Johnson’s win streak goes all the way back to the Genesis Open in Los Angeles in February. Should he prevail at the Wells Fargo for his fourth straight victory it would mark the longest winning streak on TOUR since Tiger Woods won five straight tournaments in 2007-2008. “All in all,” Johnson said, “I’m very pleased with the day.” MOLINARI HEATS UP WITH PUTTER Francesco Molinari was having qualified success this season already, what with a T7 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard, a T33 at the Masters, and a T22 finish at the RBC Heritage. But something was holding him back: putting. That changed in the first round of the Wells Fargo, as Molinari chipped in twice and needed just 25 putts on his way to a 66 for the first-round lead. “Yeah, I had lots of good rounds this year,” said Molinari, who is ranked 69th in strokes gained: putting. “I think I had something like eight top 25s in 11 tournaments, so I’ve been playing really well. Obviously today I made a few more putts than maybe the last couple of months, which is always nice. … I worked on the putting a lot the last couple weeks and it paid off today.” Molinari said he took pleasure in not just seeing the ball go in the hole Thursday, but also in his older brother Edoardo picking up his third European Tour victory last month. “He’s had a pretty tough time the last few seasons,” Francesco said. WILLY WILCOX ‘TRYING TO FIND THE GAME’ Amid the players’ rush to familiarize themselves with Eagle Point, Willy Wilcox was so far down the alternate list to get into the Wells Fargo he didn’t play any practice rounds. He walked the back nine Wednesday, leaving his caddie Kevin Ensor to tour all 18. But that was it. Still, in his first time seeing Eagle Point with a club in his hands, Wilcox shot 3 under on the front nine Thursday morning, briefly sharing the lead. The 30-year-old with the unconventional swing dropped two shots on the back nine and signed for a 1-under 71. “Just trying to find the game,” said Wilcox, who is coming off his best result this season, a T14 with partner Freddie Jacobson at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. “It’s nice to see some good stuff. It was nice to birdie the last. It got a little squirrely on the back so we’ll go to the range and figure it out. We got a great draw with the weather.” Most fans know Wilcox for his ace at THE PLAYERS Championship last year, which was the first at the island 17th hole since 2002. He is not qualified to return to TPC Sawgrass next week, but remains grateful for the moment. He got messages from all around the world, all of which obscured the fact that he didn’t have a great season, missing 11 cuts and finishing 138th in the FedExCup standings. In December, he decided to shake things up. He was kicking back and having a few beers with his agent when he decided to change his name from Will to Willy, since everybody calls him that, anyway. “I wish I was going back,” Wilcox said of THE PLAYERS. “I mean, I guess I still kind of have a chance. It’s amazing how many people know about it. I got emails and Facebook messages, Twitter messages, my family was there. It was as cool as it could possibly get. Everybody back home was really excited. It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, you had a bad year.’ People were like, ‘You had a hole-in-one! Dude, you should just retire now!’” He’s not about to retire, Wilcox added with a laugh. For one thing, the former University of Alabama-Birmingham Blazer — his mom Kim is the women’s golf coach — still has three more rounds to go at the Wells Fargo. His 71 puts him five behind the leader Molinari, which means a return trip to THE PLAYERS, while still a longshot, is still within reach.

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