Is Tiger ready for the U.S. Open?

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Justin Thomas acknowledged “it was a little shocking� to see the USGA’s tweet that he’s cancelled every meeting regarding discussions about golf’s new rules, but he said he hopes to meet soon and still maintains positive relationships with several USGA officials. Thomas and the USGA went back-and-forth during a Twitter exchange Saturday that Thomas described as “unfortunate.� “It really hurt me,� Thomas said Sunday after shooting a final-round 71 at The Honda Classic to finish at even par in his title defense. “It was upsetting to me because … the information they put out there was inaccurate in terms of me cancelling meetings, and that doesn’t make me look good, and that’s just when I got a little upset. … “I’ve talked to them, and I’ve talked to them about the rules this year. We’ve all tried to communicate and tried to get better relationships with them. It is what it is, and all we’re looking is to better the sport and better the game.� Thomas was disappointed to see the two-stroke penalty assessed to Adam Schenk prior to Saturday’s third round due to the revised rule regarding caddie alignment. In a follow-up tweet, Thomas wrote, “I more so say things in hopes that the USGA starts communicating with the current players to better the game and the sport. The rules are rules, no getting past that. Just hoping going forward, communication is had and ALL GOLFERS benefit from any changes.� The USGA responded with a tweet that started, “Justin, we need to talk. You’ve cancelled every meeting we’ve planned with you, but we are reaching out again.� A follow-up tweet from the USGA noted that Thomas had connected offline with the organization, but Thomas said on Sunday that no meeting has yet been scheduled. “We’ve tried to get on a couple calls, and I was in the middle of this three-week stretch, so I was like, look, I’m sorry, this time isn’t very good,� Thomas explained. “But we’re definitely going to talk at some point, but we’ve had conversations this year multiple times with a couple different people. “It’s not like it hasn’t happened. It’s just, it hasn’t the last three weeks because I’ve been at a tournament, and that’s my main focus.� Regarding the specific penalty assessed to Schenk, Thomas said, “I just think it needs to be changed … Obviously he could back off, but he couldn’t back off. He was up against the lip [of a greenside bunker] and he couldn’t really go left, either. “All of us at some point in our career have been in that position where the caddie is behind you and you’re … talking through it and the caddie is kind of standing there and he’s like, ‘Yeah, I think you go over there,’ and it’s like, ‘OK.’ It’s very, very obvious when a caddie is lining a player up. Anything that can be changed rule-wise that can better the game, all of us are all for it.�

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CROMWELL, Conn. – Rory McIlroy is fighting a cold. You can understand why. After carding a final-round 69 to finish T5 at the U.S. Open, he flew home to South Florida to see his wife, Erica, and their daughter, Poppy. He slept in his own bed, flew back to Connecticut, attended a five-hour meeting Tuesday – he’s one of four player directors on the PGA TOUR policy board – and played in the Travelers Championship’s Wednesday pro-am in the rain. And after all of that, he shot an 8-under 62 Thursday to take the early first-round lead. “Energy levels are OK,” McIlroy said after his eight-birdie, no-bogey round, which was one better than fellow morning-wave finishers Martin Laird and Xander Schauffele. “I’m feeling a little under the weather, but it’s just concentration at this point. “I’ve got three more rounds left until I have a couple of weeks off and prepare for the Open Championship,” he continued. “I’m going to put everything into those three rounds.” It’s been a busy stretch for McIlroy, who is teeing it up for the fourth week in a row. He won the RBC Canadian Open for his 21st TOUR title two weeks ago, and was in contention until the bitter end at the U.S. Open at The Country Club, where he had hoped to break a dry spell in the majors that dates back to 2014. Despite falling short in Boston, he’s playing well and is up to second in the Official World Golf Ranking. He and Erica have been laughing about how they’re losing their voices; they think Poppy brought something home from daycare. Unlike the weekend at the U.S. Open, and pro-am day at the Travelers, McIlroy found much more agreeable conditions for the opening round at TPC River Highlands. In partly-cloudy skies and warm temperatures, he and the others in his group, Webb Simpson (64) and Kevin Kisner (67), took advantage of a course softened by rain. “We had a great group,” said Simpson, who also didn’t make any bogeys. “Rory played great, Kevin played great. We kind of fed off each other. I think the holes started looking bigger and bigger to us. A lot of putts were made.” In three previous Travelers starts, McIlroy, who leads the TOUR in scoring average (68.657), has never finished in the top 10. The two-time FedExCup champion, No. 3 in the current standings, couldn’t ask for a better start to rectify that. “It’s like U.S. Open rehab coming here,” he said. “You’re like, oh, I can actually make some birdies. This is nice.” Three more solid rounds and his 22nd TOUR title would be even nicer, but it’s early. In his fourth straight week of competition, nursing a cold, McIlroy is taking it one birdie at a time.

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