The last time the U.S. Open was at Torrey Pines, Tiger Woods pulled off one of his most remarkable wins. With the event returning this week for the first time since, we look back at the events surrounding his 2008 playoff win over Rocco Mediate.
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JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Dustin Johnson has missed nine birdie chances from 10 feet or closer at Liberty National, which ordinarily might annoy him. He’s hitting it so well that he still leads THE NORTHERN TRUST. Johnson birdied three of his last six holes Friday, finishing with an approach to eight feet on the 489-yard closing hole, for a 4-under 67 that gave him a one-shot lead over Jordan Spieth (64) going into the weekend. Johnson has won this FedExCup Playoffs opener twice at other courses. He was at 12-under 130. “I’ve got a lot of control with the golf ball and hitting a lot of really nice shots and rolled in a couple putts today which is nice, but still feel like I left quite a few out there,” Johnson said. “I’m in a good position heading into the weekend, and if I can keep swinging the way I am, I think it’s going to be a good weekend.” The weekend does not include Masters champion Tiger Woods, and neither did Friday. Woods, who opened with a 75, withdrew a few hours before his second round was to begin because of what he described as a mild strain to the oblique that he says was causing pain and stiffness. It’s the first time Woods withdrew in the middle of a tournament since February 2017, two months before fusion surgery on his lower back. He said he was hopeful to play next week at Medinah. Spieth might be finding some form at just the right time. Winless in more than two years, he started the PGA TOUR’s Playoffs at No. 69 in the FedExCup with no assurance of staying among the top 70 who advance to next week at Medinah. He might be one round away from thinking more about winning. Spieth was on the same score (131) that he was going into the weekend last week at the Wyndham Championship, where he followed with a 77 and missed the 54-hole cut. His shots have been tighter, his misses not that severe and he even got some good fortune on his final hole that led to a birdie and a spot in the last group with a familiar face. Johnson and Spieth have played together at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am each of the last five years. The opening Playoffs event has a strong cast of contenders, with Jon Rahm and Patrick Reed two shots behind, and Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy among those another shot back. McIlroy was just happy he wasn’t farther behind. He walked off the par-3 14th with a double bogey because of a two-shot penalty from the bunker. McIlroy went to remove a small stone next to his ball, but realized when he touched it and it disintegrated that it was a clump of wet sand from a brief storm delay. The original ruling was a penalty. The PGA TOUR reviewed it as McIlroy played the last four holes, spoke to him after the round and determined that was no intent to improve his lie. His 70 became a 68. “The reason I called someone over is I don’t want anything on my conscience, either,” McIlroy said. “I feel like I play the game with integrity and I’m comfortable saying that I didn’t improve anything. I thought it was a rock. It wasn’t. I moved my hand away, and then I was like, `I don’t know if I’ve done anything wrong here.’ “It came down to me and they said, `OK, are you comfortable telling us you didn’t improve your lie?’ And for me, I am comfortable saying that.” Missing the cut meant the end of the season for at least two dozen players who would not be among the top 70, which includes Bubba Watson. Sergio Garcia would appear to be a casualty having started at No. 65 and not making it to the weekend. The first step for Spieth was to make sure he stayed in the top 70. Now it’s about contending. “The important thing for me is not to get ahead of myself,” Spieth said. “Historically, I’m a very consistent player. I’ve lost a bit of that. I still have the firepower but that consistency is what I’m trying to get back, and there’s certainly going to be times where I’m out of position over the weekend. It’s about limiting mistakes. One bogey over 36 holes is somewhat unrealistic week to week. But if I can hold it close to that for the next 36, again, that firepower is still there. And it would certainly shoot my confidence up.” Johnson’s year has been quiet since winning a World Golf Championship in Mexico City for his 20th career victory. Another year passed without winning a major. He was runner-up in the first two majors, but he hasn’t finish better than 20th since the PGA Championship. He feels the consistency in his swing is returning. And while he’s not making everything, he’s making enough and likes the way he’s rolling it. “I feel like I’m stroking it well right now,” he said. “I worked on the stroke a lot the last couple weeks and feel good and I have confidence in it.”
Tiger Woods shared the lead after the first round. After play was postponed yesterday, he’ll look to keep it going in the second round.
NASSAU, Bahamas — The latest comeback by Tiger Woods, this one following a 10-month absence from a fourth back surgery in three years, was sure to cause some disruption in the workforce with the weekday television coverage. That included the commissioner’s office at the PGA TOUR. “I would consider myself to be among the highly distracted as Tiger played his first round,” Jay Monahan said Tuesday. Monahan was at the Hero World Challenge the day before it began and stayed for the pro-am dinner, where he said Woods spoke from the heart about his foundation, thanked the other 17 players for coming and reminded them they had a chance to compete against a player at No. 1,199 in the world ranking. “That broke up the room,” Monahan said with a laugh. Indeed, it’s rare for a player to tie for ninth and move up 531 spots in the world ranking — Woods now is all the way up to No. 668 — but such were the circumstances. The field featured eight of the top 10 in the world, and it included one guy who had earned ranking points at only two tournaments over the last two years. There’s no way to go but up. That’s what Monahan took away from the holiday exhibition, only he wasn’t talking about the world ranking. “We had such a strong year with great, young players stepping forward,” he said. “You add Tiger back in the mix, and we all go away from it with a lot of excitement.” How much Woods is in the mix remains to be seen, although this was as strong as he has looked in four years. Next up is figuring out a schedule that Woods said would be geared around the four majors. He hasn’t played all four since 2015, and he hasn’t made the cut in all of them since 2013. Most of the young players at Albany Golf Club — Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka, Daniel Berger — know more about the legend of Woods than what it’s like to have him at tournaments. Thomas got a taste of it. He is the FedExCup champion and PGA TOUR Player of the Year after winning five times, including his first major at the PGA Championship. He started the new season by winning the CJ Cup in South Korea. And when he sat down for a news conference, his first six questions were about Woods. Thomas was paired with Woods for the first and final rounds, and while Woods had the largest gallery, there was rarely more than about 250 fans. It’s the Bahamas. So when Thomas was asked if felt the effect of Woods on the golf course or in his news conference, he smiled. “I would say more of the fact that I just won the FedExCup, Player of the Year, and all I get asked about is Tiger Woods,” he said. Thomas was not the least bit irritated, even though this was the 10th out 12 consecutive questions he fielded about Woods on that day. “I thought it was bad the questions I got asked about Jordan,” Thomas said. Golf wasn’t suffering without Woods, not inside the ropes. Dating to when Woods had his first back surgery, Rory McIlroy won two majors in 2014; Spieth got halfway to the calendar Grand Slam in 2015; Dustin Johnson fulfilled his potential with his first major in 2016 and was voted player of the year. And this year brought the emergence of the 24-year-old Thomas. None can draw attention to golf like Woods — not individually, maybe not collectively. That’s no surprise. “The keen golf fans will know Tiger moved the needle and brought people in that might be sports fans, but not golf fans,” Henrik Stenson said. “But everyone who follows golf closely, I don’t think they’ve been home thinking, ‘Oh, this is not exciting anymore,’ when all the guys at the top have been winning. It’s been a healthy couple of years, even though he’s not been on the scene. “I don’t think he can make it less good, having the old Tiger back and trying to charge through the field,” Stenson said. “It would make it even more exciting.” There’s also the danger, especially in today’s social media climate, to gush so much over Woods that it seems no one else is playing and tournaments that Woods doesn’t play are not worth watching. This is nothing new. The PGA TOUR has been facing questions like this for 20 years. Monahan sees only an upside now. “We have such a deep bench of young, international players, combined with a great group of veterans. All have accomplished a lot in their own right, week in and week out. The story lines will be strong,” Monahan said. “You take a strong PGA TOUR and just make it stronger. And it doesn’t just apply when Tiger is playing. The fact he’s back is bringing more attention, more eyeballs, and that’s going to benefit everyone. “It’s great to be back in that situation.”
