Green Drive hits new heights at Genesis Scottish Open

A few observations – some serious, some a little more lighthearted, much like the action Sunday at Medalist – from Capital One’s The Match: Champions for Charity. RELATED: Team Tiger-Peyton win at Medalist | Full leaderboard TIGER IN GREAT FORM. Yes, it’s his home course (he even has his own Tiger Tees at Medalist to create a 7,571 layout), so the local knowledge was a benefit. But wow, did Tiger look good, especially off the tee early, striping fairways to set up crisp approach shots. Most of us haven’t seen him swing a club since mid-February at The Genesis Invitational, but he looked in mid-season form. His competitive nature was also dialed in and it was no surprise to see him close out the match with a lag from distance that did everything but go in. AS FOR HIS SCHEDULE. Tiger was in the middle of answering a question from Charles Barkley about the adjusted PGA TOUR schedule – “Going to be interesting to see what happens,â€� he said – when Manning called him in to read a putt. So we’re still waiting to see when Tiger will make his next TOUR start. AS FOR MICKELSON. He wasn’t as sharp and admitted in midway through the front nine. “Not swinging that well,â€� he said after another errant shot. “Gotta get that fixed.â€� He did bust out one of his “bombsâ€� from the tee early on the back nine, driving the par-4 11th green, but his short game, as usual, bailed him out for the most part. BRADY’S HOLE-OUT. Golf can make anybody seem human … even a G.O.A.T. from another sport. No doubt Tom Brady was frustrated with his first six and a half holes and received plenty of grief from others (including Jimmy Fallon) engaging in some good-natured jokes. Brooks Koepka offered to donate $100,000 if Brady could make a par on the front nine. But like the greats always seem to do, he produced the best shot of the day. After being called out by Charles Barkley – and if you’ve seen Barkley swing a golf club, you understand that’s a significant jab — Brady responded by holing out for birdie from outside 100 yards at the par-4 seventh. The birdie won the bet from Koepka, who then doubled down for another $100,000 for par on either of the next two holes (didn’t happen). “That was some shot,â€� Koepka later told Brady via phone. “DELAYED SAUCE.â€� Just another in the growing list of Phil Mickelson idioms that also includes “activate the calvesâ€� and “hitting bombs.â€� After driving the par-4 11th, Mickelson described it as “high, nasty, straight bombs.â€� BEST TIGER-PHIL MOMENT. Plenty of good back-and-forth moments, but the best was when Mickelson was hitting his third shot from the fairway at the par-4 fifth while Tiger was already on the green. Mickelson asked Tiger to mark his ball. Tiger’s response: “You want me to use one of my U.S. Open medals?â€� Tiger opted not to mark and told Mickelson he’d give him the hole if Mickelson hit his ball. Phil nearly did, his shot bouncing just inches away. “Would’ve been a tasty one,â€� Mickelson smiled. MANNING AS GOLF ANNOUNCER? Networks televising NFL games have been trying to pull Peyton Manning into the broadcast booth ever since he retired following the 2015 season. But perhaps Manning’s true calling is as a golf announcer. After Mickelson missed a green with his approach shot, Manning astutely observed, “Pretty much a routine par for Phil. Might as well be in the leather.â€� What Manning may lack in long-time inside-the-ropes knowledge, he’d make up with his storytelling ability. And there would never be any dead air. JT AS ANNOUNCER. Just as Brady and Manning stepped out of their comfort zones by playing golf, Justin Thomas stepped out of his by grabbing a microphone and becoming an on-course analyst. Good insight from JT, who like Woods is a Medalist member. How can we convince him to spend his weeks off critiquing his peers? THAT MAGICAL NOLA CAP. Manning switched caps after a shaky start, putting on a cap honoring his hometown of New Orleans. He immediately started to play better, making a long putt to win the fourth hole and also won the sixth with a par for a net 3 with the handicap. He eventually switched to a Colorado cap. It wasn’t the only wardrobe change on the day. Brady went to his rain pants before a second squall hit the course after he split his golf slacks in the midst of his early struggles. BELICHICK THE CADDIE. Manning was asked whom he would use as his caddie if he didn’t have a cart. He suggested his brother Eli, then perhaps Nick Foles (the ultimate NFL QB caddie?), but finally settled on Bill Belichick, Brady’s former coach at New England to “see how that would’ve worked.â€� Brady was within earshot, of course. But then, as Manning remembered, “Bill brings out bad things for me.â€�

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The U.S. Team is staging a comeback in the Sunday Singles at the Presidents Cup. Check back here for recaps after each match finishes. The International Team, seeking its second win in Presidents Cup history, started the day with a 10-8 lead. The U.S. Team is making things tough, though. PRESIDENTS CUP: Scoring | Quiz: Which team should you support? DAY 4 SINGLES MATCH 19: U.S. WINS 3&2 Tiger Woods (U.S.) def. Abraham Ancer (International) Holes won: U.S. 7, International 4 Holes led: U.S. 11, International 0 Recap: Ancer hung tough, keeping the match all square through eight holes. Woods was too much, though. made back-to-back birdies at 9 and 10 to take a 2-up lead. Ancer cut into the lead by holing a 10-foot birdie putt to win the 13th. He gave it back with a bogey at the next hole, though. Woods birdied the next two holes to close out the match. He executed an incredible lag putt from well short of the green on the par-5 15th, then closed it out with a 20-footer for birdie. “I knew the match was over with 6 feet remaining,â€� Woods said. This was his seventh Singles win, the most in Presidents Cup history. Woods finished 3-0-0 this week. This is just the second time he’s gone undefeated in nine Presidents Cup appearances. MATCH 20: TIED Hideki Matsyuama (International) tied Tony Finau (U.S.) Holes won: International 6, U.S. 6 Holes led: International 13, U.S. 0 Recap: This one stung for the International Team. Matsuyama was 4 up after 10 holes. Finau won Nos. 11-14, three of them with birdies, to tie the match. Matsuyama regained his lead with a birdie on 16, but he three-putted to lose the 17th. They both parred the final hole. MATCH 21: U.S. WINS 4&2 Patrick Reed (U.S.) def. C.T. Pan (International) Holes won: U.S. 8, International 4 Holes led: U.S. 16, International 0 Recap: Reed came out on fire. He won six of the first seven holes, five of them with birdies. Pan won the next three holes, but Reed staved off the comeback by holing a 10-footer to halve the 11th hole. Pan birdied the 13th to pull within 2 down, but it didn’t get any closer. Reed closed it out with wins on 15 and 16. “You make birdies, you don’t hear much (from the fans),â€� Reed said about his hot start. MATCH 22: U.S. WINS 4&3 Dustin Johnson (U.S.) def. Haotong Li (International) Holes won: U.S. 7, International 3 Holes led: U.S. 13, International 0 Recap: Johnson took the early lead by winning Nos. 3-5, two of them with pars. He never led by fewer than three holes after that. Another par earned him a win on the seventh hole. Johnson was 5 up after 11 holes, and while Li won Nos. 12 and 14, it was never close. The match ended with Johnson’s birdie on the 15th hole. “I played really well today. I hit the ball great,â€� Johnson said. “obviously he struggled just a little bit. I definitely put lot of pressure on him because I hit some great shots today.â€� MATCH 23 Adam Hadwin (International) vs. Bryson DeChambeau (U.S.) MATCH 24 Sungjae Im (International) vs. Gary Woodland (U.S.) MATCH 25 Joaquin Niemann (International) vs. Patrick Cantlay (U.S.) MATCH 26 Adam Scott (International) vs. Patrick Cantlay (U.S.) MATCH 27 Byeong Hun An (International) vs. Webb Simpson (U.S.) MATCH 28 Cameron Smith (International) vs. Justin Thomas (U.S.) MATCH 29 Louis Oosthuizen (International) vs. Matt Kuchar (U.S.) MATCH 30 Marc Leishman (International) vs. Rickie Fowler (U.S.)

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Bryson DeChambeau is going to do things his way. That style, he believes, is one the namesake of the Arnold Palmer Invitational would have endorsed.

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