Hero World Challenge, Round 2: Leaderboard, tee times, TV times

AUGUSTA, Ga. – The last time we saw Tiger Woods on a golf course in Georgia with ties to the great Bobby Jones, Woods was being trailed by an uproarious throng that had been whipped into a frenzy by his impending victory. They trailed Woods with cell phones held aloft, hoping to capture footage of a victory that not long ago seemed unfathomable. This week, Woods is looking for a similar result to the one he had last September at the TOUR Championship. The scene would be much different this time, though, even if he did replicate his 12-shot victory from 1997. Patrons cannot bring their cell phones onto the grounds of Augusta National. And the ever-present Pinkerton security guards would ensure that the gallery ropes lining the final fairway remained intact. But that incredible scene at East Lake, even if it may never be replicated, also is helpful this week, for it reminds him that he is capable of winning on the PGA TOUR. That’s the biggest difference from last year, when Woods arrived at Augusta National on the heels of two promising finishes but never came close to contending. Woods’ top-fives at last year’s Valspar Championship and Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard proved that Woods’ latest comeback was the real deal. But those were just close calls. He was still in the midst of an injury-extended winless drought that had endured since 2013. “I just feel like I’ve improved a lot over the past 12, 14 months, but more than anything I’ve proven to myself that I can play at this level again,â€� Woods said. “I’ve worked my way back into one of the players that can win events.â€� Not only did Woods win last year, but he also finished second and sixth in the past two majors. He’s two wins short of Sam Snead’s PGA TOUR record. He needs four more major titles to tie Jack Nicklaus’ majors mark. The Masters is the major that has most defined Woods’ career. His win in 1997 was groundbreaking. Then he completed the Tiger Slam here four years later. He went back-to-back with another win a year later. And his improbable chip-in in 2005, when he needed every shot to dispatch a determined Chris DiMarco, remains one of the most memorable shots in Masters history. But that victory from 14 years ago remains his last win at Augusta National. He hasn’t won a major in nearly 11 years. While he used to use his length to decimate the risk-reward par-5s on Alister Mackenzie’s design, Woods now has to rely on his guile and experience. He still averages more than 300 yards per tee shot, but that’s no longer an eye-popping mark. It’s just slightly above average. Woods ranks 44th in driving distance this season. Related: Tee Times, Rounds 1 & 2 | Power Rankings | Masters notebook: Molinari returns as contender | Tales of Tiger’s equipment The putter is another club that separated Woods from his competition during his prime. Woods is 43 now, though, and it’s well-documented that the aging process impacts players’ ability to read greens. He ranks 74th in Strokes Gained: Putting this season. The last competitive shot that we saw from Woods was a missed 4-footer to lose his quarterfinal match to Lucas Bjerregaard at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. Woods may not be able to regain the distance advantage of his youth, but he thinks he can become a premier putter again, especially on the greens of Augusta National that require so much experience to read properly. “The hardest part is I just can’t practice like I used to. My back gets sore. I just can’t log the in the time that I used to,â€� Woods said. “I’ve worked on my putting, and when I have, I’ve putted well. … I just can’t do all things all the time anymore.â€� He’s still one of the game’s best iron players, even if the clubs have gotten longer. But contending at the Masters, which used to be an annual occurrence for Woods, is no longer a guarantee. He made last year’s cut with just a shot to spare, keeping alive his streak of 19 consecutive cuts made at Augusta National. He has never missed the Masters cut as a professional. He has finished outside the top 15 in three of his past four Masters. That’s more finishes outside the top 15 than he had in his first 15 Masters as a pro (two). Last year was just the third time as a pro that Woods failed to break par in the first three rounds at Augusta National. He can never be counted out at Augusta National, though.

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Brooks Koepka appears to open the door with a lackluster front nine, then slams it shut with a 29 on the back for a final-round 64 and a four-shot victory over Gary Woodland (63) at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES. Welcome to the Monday Finish, where Koepka, fresh off being named Player of the Year last season, began the new season in fitting fashion with his fifth PGA TOUR victory, this one propelling him to the No. 1 world ranking. FIVE OBSERVATIONS 1. Koepka uses all 18 holes. Jack Nicklaus, who surprised Koepka with his Player of the Year trophy recently, was a master at biding his time and trusting that even if he didn’t start well, the birdies would come. Koepka took a page from that book in winning THE CJ CUP, where he bogeyed two of the first four holes and was caught at the turn by a surging Woodland (6-under 30 on the front nine). Koepka’s response, a blazing, 7-under 29 on the back, left no unanswered questions. “I’m not somebody that’s going to panic if things go the wrong way, pretty sure everybody can tell that,â€� Koepka said after hitting the after-burners to win. “I just kind of hang in there, wait for my holes, I know I’m going to have some good looks and when I do, you’ve got to capitalize on them.â€� 2. It was hard to find fault with Woodland’s 11 birdies in the final round. His first round, though, was a 1-over 73 that immediately set him on his heels. Right away, Woodland was five off the lead (Chez Reavie) and two behind eventual winner Koepka. “Thursday was so tough,â€� said Woodland, whose most recent victory came at last season’s Waste Management Phoenix Open. “But the last couple days I really had it going.â€� This wasn’t the first time Koepka and Woodland have clashed. They were paired together in the third round of the PGA Championship at Bellerive, with Koepka (66, on the way to his second W last season) getting the better of Woodland (71, T6) then, as well. “Brooks with the lead, not much fazes him,â€� Woodland said, “so you knew you had to make a lot of birdies and I made lot today, but I was just too far behind.â€� 3. The first round was all about survival. Players were caught off guard by the cold weather, with Scott Piercy (a lined hat, with ear flaps) among those who scrambled to buy warmer gear. How hard was it? There were no bogey-free rounds Thursday, but 21 the rest of the way. The first-round stroke average of 73.269 was by far the highest of the week, and in fact the course got easier each day, with the field average down to 69.410 by Sunday’s final round. 4. Ryan Palmer won’t soon forget the final round for many reasons, one of them personal. The Texan birdied his final seven holes for a tournament-record 62, and did not make a bogey, but he played with a heavy heart. Palmer wore a late friend’s initials on his cap, and tapped his chest and pointed to the sky after making his final birdie of the day on 18. “Yeah, we lost a good friend of ours,â€� Palmer said. “A lifelong friend, Dan Callahan, passed away earlier this week, fight with cancer he’s been fighting the last year and a half or so. Then the last couple weeks we knew he was going down that road and he went into hospice about a week ago and it was Monday or Tuesday we found out he passed. “His funeral’s Friday back in Florida,â€� Palmer continued, “and they’re going to have something back in Amarillo where we all grew up here in a couple weeks, I think. That’s the DC that you see on my hat. Yeah, he’s going to be missed.â€� 5. Only one player took home the trophy, but several players walked away from Nine Bridges whistling a happy tune. The 568-yard, par-5 18th hole gave up final-round eagles to Koepka, Chez Reavie, Cam Smith, Adam Scott, Keith Mitchel, Danny Willett, Kevin Chappell, Brice Garnett, Brian Stuard, Brian Gay, Hyungjoon Lee. The finisher gave up 11 eagles total, compared to just five on the rest of the course combined, and was so easy that Palmer said he’d like to have a do-over after merely making a birdie. FIVE INSIGHTS 1. Koepka’s victory marked the second consecutive year in which the reigning PGA TOUR Player of the Year won THE CJ CUP. Justin Thomas won last year. Koepka was T42 in fairways hit (73.2 percent), T23 in Greens in Regulation (77.8 percent), and T5 in Putts (1.60). 2. In moving to 3rd in the FedExCup and No. 1 in the world, Koepka proved not only one of the hottest players on TOUR (he’s won three times in his last 11 starts) but also one of the most well-traveled. He now has 12 professional victories in seven different countries. 3. Koepka and runner-up Woodland each made two bogeys, but struggled or flat-lined in different places on the course. The result: Their best-ball score Sunday was 14-under 58. 4. Ryan Palmer’s seven straight birdies from holes 12-18 made him the 18th different player to post seven straight birdies on TOUR since the start of 2012. The last player to make eight straight was Chris Stroud in the second round of the 2011 OHL Classic at Mayakoba. Two players, Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Lanto Griffin, made seven straight last season.  5. Kevin Tway (T52) gave up FedExCup pole position to Marc Leishman (66, T18). Justin Rose, the newly-minted FedExCup champion, did not play but starts his TOUR season this week at the World Golf Championship-HSBC Champions, where he won a year ago.

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