From enemies to friends, how the Tiger-Phil relationship evolved

JACKSON, Miss. – Brandon Matthews does not necessarily enjoy dancing. Last Saturday was an occasion for such activities, though. The TOUR rookie married his college sweetheart Danielle in a ceremony outside Philadelphia – the two met in college at Temple; Danielle, a reporter for the school’s OwlSports Update show, covered Matthews’ first collegiate victory. The off-week brought an opportune time for nuptials, with the first dance set to Dave Matthews Band’s “You and Me” ballad. “He hates dancing, and we were going to take a dance lesson, but both of our schedules are crazy, so we weren’t able to,” Danielle laughed. “So we just went with it, and the crowd seemed to like it.” “For me, I think it was a 10 out of 10,” Brandon added. “10 out of 10,” Danielle confirmed. The wedding vibes carried into this week’s Sanderson Farms Championship, where the newlyweds arrived on a honeymoon of sorts. Matthews opened in 5-under 67 at the Country Club of Jackson for a share of the morning-wave lead in just his second TOUR start as a member. There’s only one chance for a debut competitive round as a newlywed, and Matthews delivered. “Just a big smile on my face, watching him do what he loves,” Danielle said on a crisp Thursday afternoon, “on our honeymoon.” The journey has made the destination all the sweeter. Matthews earned his first TOUR card via the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season, highlighted by a victory at the Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard in Bogota in February. Matthews, long regarded as one of the game’s longest hitters, faced adversity early in his career – largely brought on by injury – before finding his groove. The Pennsylvania native developed his power from a young age, where he would tee up a driver with his sole focus on carrying a creek, then move back a few yards upon succeeding. This developed an instinctive power move that has carried to his professional career; Matthews ranked No. 4 on the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour in driving distance. He ranked No. 2 in the category as a Korn Ferry Tour rookie in 2018 behind only Cameron Champ, then finished the 2019 season atop the list. That trying 2019 season provoked a vicious cycle of injuries and bad habits, though. He fell into a rut and eventually lost his card. Ever the optimist, with a consistent appreciation for the opportunity to play professional golf for a living, Matthews fought his way back. He gained notoriety for his grace after missing a putt to extend a playoff on PGA TOUR Latinoamerica in fall 2019. A fan with Down syndrome yelled during his birdie try, but rather than cast blame, Matthews tracked down the fan post-round and spent some time with him. “Some things in life are just bigger than golf,” Matthews said at the time. He returned to PGA TOUR Latinoamerica and didn’t miss a beat, finishing atop the 2020-21 Order of Merit to earn full 2022 Korn Ferry Tour status. He concluded his time on that circuit in dramatic fashion. At the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance, Matthews drove the green on the 432-yard, par-4 18th at Victoria National GC – 368 yards on a direct line – needing eagle to make the cut. He just missed, but the golf world had been put on notice. Matthews’ prodigious game was soon to hit the biggest stage. “It’s a superpower,” fellow Korn Ferry Tour graduate Philip Knowles said of Matthews’ length off the tee. “You can’t teach that kind of stuff.” Matthews might not say the same about his dancing ability – aside from on his wedding night, that is – but in his interactions with Danielle after the opening round at the Sanderson Farms Championship, the honeymoon vibe was alive and well. His first month as a TOUR pro brings similar sentiments. “I love doing this for a living,” Matthews said Thursday at the Country Club of Jackson. “I’m fortunate enough to do it for a living. Every day I get to play golf in competition for a living is pretty special to me, and I’m very fortunate to do it. “I consider myself one of the luckiest guys in the world to be able to do this for a living, because I love it so much.” And he sports a 67.00 stroke average as a married man. “I told her when I walked off,” Matthews laughed, “we should have gotten married sooner.”

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Oliver Bekker eagled the par-5 15th hole for the second straight day to shoot a 5-under 67 on Saturday and take a two-stroke lead going into the final round of the Catalunya Championship.

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Cameron Smith made the longest week at THE PLAYERS Championship worth the wait. In a dynamic conclusion to five days of bad weather and high drama, Smith one-putted eight of his last nine holes with his pure stroke and delivered one of the gutsiest shots of his career for the cushion he needed to win. RELATED: Final leaderboard | What’s in Smith’s bag? Leading by two on the par-3 17th hole, 135 yards to the hole on an island green, Smith split the difference in the 12 feet that separated the flag from the water. The ball ended up 4 feet away and the Australian made his record-tying 10th birdie of the round. Turns out he needed it. Smith punched out from the pine straw right of the 18th fairway all the way into the water. After a penalty drop, his 60-yard wedge spun next to the hole to 3 feet for a bogey and a 6-under 66, giving him a one-shot victory over Anirban Lahiri of India. Lahiri, who started the final round with a one-shot lead, birdied the 17th and needed one more to force a playoff. He came up short of the green, and his pitch was below the cup all the way. He closed with a 69. Paul Casey shot 69 and was the victim of a horrible break on the 16th hole when he was in position to edge closer to the lead. Smith, who finished at 13-under 275, won for the second time this year, and the fifth time in his PGA TOUR career, and picked up $3.6 million from the $20 million purse, the richest in golf. He earned a staggering 600 FedExCup points. This was about more than money, more than the three-year exemption he earned to the four majors and a five-year exemption on the PGA TOUR. This was as much about family. Smith, so unflappable in the tense pressure that featured 26 holes on Monday, choked up when he talked about his mother and sister, whom he had not seen more than two years because of travel restrictions Down Under during the pandemic. Smith makes his home down the road in Jacksonville Beach, and he happily went to the airport this week for a special reunion. They watched him capture the crown jewel of the PGA TOUR. “It’s really cool to have them here,” Smith said. “My main priority was to hang out with them. Golf was second. It’s nice to see them and nice to get a win for them.” Lahiri’s only big mistake was a tee shot into a palmetto bush on the par-3 eighth, forcing him to take a drop near the concession area that led to double bogey. It was the only shot he dropped all day, and his best finish on the PGA TOUR came with a $2.18 million consolation prize. Casey, meanwhile, was the victim of bad luck. He was two shots behind and in the same group as Smith when he looked to have a big advantage on the par-5 16th. Smith duck-hooked his tee shot into the pines. Casey drilled his drive down the middle. But the ball took one last roll in the rain-soaked fairway, right into another player’s pitch mark. Instead of a mid-iron into the par 5, he had to punch it out short. Then, he was inches away from getting relief from a sprinkler head near the green and had to scramble for par. Smith punched out to the fairway and matched the par. They headed to the 17th, where Smith’s 9-iron was bolder than he wanted. “I’d be lying if I didn’t push it a little bit,” he said. No matter. He got the birdie, got the win and moved to No. 6 in the world. So concluded a week like no other on the TPC Sawgrass, where so much rain early in the week meant the first round lasted 54 hours and 16 minutes, finishing on Saturday morning. The wind that followed wreaked havoc on half the field. The bone-chilling temperatures Sunday made it tough on everyone. It was the first Monday finish since 2005 at THE PLAYERS. Smith made it memorable for so many other reasons. Kevin Kisner birdied three of his last four holes for a 68 to finish alone in fourth. Kisner is famous for once saying 20th place pays pretty good. So does fourth place at the TOUR’s premier event. He earned $980,000. Keegan Bradley was among four players who had a chance over the last hour. He was one shot behind after a birdie on the 16th, only to three-putt the 17th from the front of the green to a back pin, and then took double bogey on the 18th when his punch shot from the trees came out hot and ended up in the water. He shot 68 and finished fifth.

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