Leaderboard: Round 1 of Valspar Championship

GUYANCOURT, France – Rickie Fowler was the last player to leave after another losing Ryder Cup press conference in Europe. Unfortunately, the cart he was driving would not start. With a coffee cup in his left hand – champagne glasses are reserved for winners – Fowler stretched his hand under the dash, fiddled with the switch, then stepped lightly on the gas. Finally, the ignition came on, and Fowler was on his way, back to the team room to join his fellow Americans in licking their wounds after being thrashed by the Europeans. It was a fitting goodbye for a 17.5 to 10.5 defeat that becomes the third worst for the U.S. in Ryder Cup history. Only the defeats in 2004 and 2006 were more decisive – and if you consider that the U.S. won the first three matches on Friday, that means they were outscored 17.5 to 7.5 the rest of the way. In fact, Sunday’s result was worse than the 5-point loss the U.S. suffered four years ago at Gleneagles. It was during that losing press conference that Phil Mickelson criticized the way Captain Tom Watson handled the team, and a task force soon emerged to help the Americans solve their Ryder Cup problems. It worked two years ago. But the Americans clearly still have issues – mainly, that they cannot win on European soil. It’s been 25 years now, and the problem is getting worse. Beating Europe in the U.S.? That’s not the issue. Hazeltine showed us that. Beating Europe on the road? Maybe it’s time for another task force. That’s where the focus should be. Four years from now, the Ryder Cup is scheduled for the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome. Europe’s best player that week may very well be its best player this week – Italian Francesco Molinari, who became the first Euro to go undefeated in a single Ryder Cup. He will be 39 years old then and surrounded by 11 other players who will share a singular goal and purpose. Let’s go ahead and make the Europeans the favorite right now. Yes, the knee-jerk reaction to Sunday’s loss is to focus on how to win back the Ryder Cup in two years at Whistling Straits. But the real question becomes: What will they do between now and 2022 to win in Italy? Jim Furyk – who stands to garner most of the criticism, as Captains generally do when their teams lose – said he will work with the PGA of America and the Ryder Cup committee to improve on areas that were lacking for this week. “I’ll definitely go through things that are in my head,� said Furyk, who did not reveal the specifics of those things. One of the obvious things is making sure the Americans are acquainted with the course – and perhaps making sure the American players are best suited to play that course. The fear entering Friday’s first day was that the tight, driver-unfriendly Le Golf National would pose issues for big American bombers. That seemed to play itself out, as the U.S. found more trouble off the tee than its counterparts. The best American player this week was Justin Thomas, who just happened to be the only American who played the French Open at Le Golf National this summer. Others came for practice rounds before The Open Championship, but it was clear that the Europeans – each of whom had played in at least one French Open, and had a combined 236 tournament rounds to 8 for the Americans – were a better fit. “We thought this course suit us and our style of play,� said Rory McIlroy, the PGA TOUR’s driving distance leader who may have been the only European to feel at a disadvantage. He still won two points. Furyk, however, denied that lopsided course experience played a big part in the outcome. “I offered the invite and I had more players show up for that practice round than I could have hoped for,� Furyk said. “We were prepared. I feel like we played our practice rounds and we understood the golf course. We got outplayed.� Furyk, to his credit, took the blame for the loss, saying he would gladly take the same 12 players into battle once again. He knows he will be second-guessed for decisions such as breaking up the Jordan Spieth/Patrick Reed pairing, or picking Phil Mickelson to play a tight course in which he ranked second-to-last on the PGA TOUR in driving accuracy. Everything was done with reason, input, thought through. Then it’s up to us to execute, and we just didn’t quite execute. “Some of you might question some of the decisions,� Mickelson said, “but everything was done with reason, input, thought through. Then it’s up to us to execute, and we just didn’t quite execute.� Certainly the two most decorated American players didn’t execute. Mickelson and Tiger Woods were a combined 0-6-0 this week, with both players losing their Singles matches Sunday. Woods had a key 2 and 1 loss to Jon Rahm in the fourth match when the Americans needed every single early part to shake the European confidence. “Obviously very disappointing,� said Woods, whose 0-4-0 record is his worst Ryder Cup performance, surpassing his 1/2-point effort in 2012. “Those are four points that aren’t going towards our site. It’s going towards their side. … It doesn’t feel very good because I didn’t help my teammates earn any points.� Woods may get another chance. Mickelson may not. He will be 50 when the next Ryder Cup is played. “This could very well, realistically, be my last one,� he said. If it is, his final shot won’t exactly be one worth remembering. Trailing the entire match to Molinari, Mickelson was 3 down going to the par-3 16th. Another halved hole would end the match, so after Molinari found the green with his tee shot, Mickelson went for broke … and found the water. He quickly took off his cap and extended his hand to Molinari, conceded both the hole and the match. It was a bitter ending for the most experienced player in Ryder Cup history. Can he get one more shot? “I’m motivated now to work hard, to not go out on this note, and I’m motivated to play well these next two years to get back to Whistling Straits and show what I can do in these events, because this week was not my best,� Mickelson said. This week was not America’s best. No one will be surprised if they bounce back two years from now. The reasons that the Americans were favored this week – incredible talent and depth – are not going away. The young core remains. They will only get better. And if the course is set up in their favor – as it was for the Europeans this week – all the more reason for optimism. But it’s 2022 that the U.S. should be worried about. By then, it will be 29 years since the last time the U.S. Ryder Cup team has won on enemy territory. “We want to be successful in this event,� Furyk said. “We want to grow and we want to get better, but we want to do it here in Europe. That will be the goal four years from now.� Four years seems far away, but it’s never too early to start finding solutions. Perhaps the first order of business is finding golf carts that are easier to start.

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ORLANDO, Fla. – There would be very few times in the life of Tiger Woods that he ever would deem second place a success. In fact, he has been known to tell us that second sucks. These are different days. There were but two simple goals that Woods set in his return to golf alongside his son, Charlie, after a year-long absence from the game at the PNC Championship. First and foremost, have fun; and secondly, keep all bogeys off the card. He and Charlie, both dressed in familiar Sunday red, accomplished both. Not far from the shadows of Disney World at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Team Woods nearly pulled off the improbable, too, making 11 consecutive birdies at one point (“a nice heater,” Woods would call it) to thrill a Sunday crowd and claw their way into contention, a place where, for so many years, Tiger Woods received his mail. Charlie, 12, was a big star again, hitting terrific iron shots to set up birdies at the 16th and 17th holes. At 17, where pros and their amateur partners all hit from the same tees at 169 yards, Charlie stuffed a 5-iron that finished 4 feet left of the hole, then rolled in the putt. No pro all day had hit a shot closer. Team Woods would team to shoot 15-under 57, which matched Sunday’s winning effort by John Daly and John Daly II, and was one shot off the tournament record for low score. Even a closing par at the par-5 18th hole – where both Tiger and Charlie pitched aggressively from just off the green in their attempt to make an eagle – did little to diminish their high spirits. The Dalys won the event at 27-under 117, a scoring record. Team Woods (62-57), in finishing two shots back, had plenty to celebrate. Woods survived a frightening SUV crash in suburban Los Angeles Feb. 23 that shattered his right leg and ankle and kept him in the hospital for three weeks. For three months, Woods couldn’t get out of bed. “I’m just happy, thankful, that I’m able to do this,” said Woods, who is tied for most career PGA TOUR victories (82) and trails only Jack Nicklaus in major titles (15 to Jack’s 18). Bigger picture, this was Woods giving the world a small sample of what may lay ahead for him after his harrowing crash. Nobody really knew what to expect, including him. On several occasions during the week, he expressed gratitude that he still has his right leg attached, once stating the probability of amputation at “50-50.” For several reasons, the PNC made sense for a place for Woods to make a return. The event utilizes a scramble format, and with Charlie playing a course set up about 1,000 yards shorter than his where his father played it, it allowed Woods to take some shots off. He was able to ride in a golf cart and limit his walking on a right leg that still is very much in recovery. There were times it was evident that swinging clearly caused him pain. But beyond that, the PNC allowed him partner with Charlie again to create indelible lifetime memories for both. Once able to move, Woods did not take a single day off in his rehab. Not one. “To push as hard as we have the last seven months, with taking no days off and just working our butts off each and every day, and to have this opportunity to be able to play with my son and to have these memories, for us, for both of us, (for) our lifetime, it’s worth all the pain,” said Woods, who turns 46 on Dec. 30. Matt Kuchar, who first met Woods in 1998 and played alongside him at that year’s Masters, was floored by what he saw out of Woods on Sunday. “I did not expect to see him have as much game as he’s got,” said Kuchar, who placed seventh alongside his oldest son, Cameron. They were grouped with Team Woods on Sunday. “I mean, he’s got speed off the tee … I was impressed by how far he was hitting the driver. His irons were as solid as I remember, really well struck, high quality – I think he goes down as the greatest iron player of all time, and he’s still showing signs of that. Well-struck balls that all seemed to be pin high, as well. It was impressive.” Woods scoffed upon hearing Kuchar’s high praise, and reiterated that he is miles away from being ready physically to rejoin his peers on the PGA TOUR. For as much as he bemoans his lack of swing speed and distance, Woods managed to hit some big drives and powerful, high irons, shots that carry a different sound to them. Now, if he chooses to, he will work toward being able to compete over 72 holes without the use of a cart, walking upwards of 40 miles a week on a leg that right now is not ready. “Seeing what he can do swinging a golf club,” Kuchar said, “makes me think that he’ll figure the other part out. I think he’s got the hard part down.” Tom Lehman marvels at the way Woods finds ways to get through his life’s adversities. Even before his February crash, Woods had endured five knee operations and five back procedures, somehow managing to add his 15th major in April of 2019, when he shocked everyone and captured his fifth green jacket at The Masters. “He’s the only guy that I know that has been able to deal with the immense amount of expectation and not only meet it, but exceed it,” Lehman said. “Always. Always. There has never been a time when he hasn’t. This is just one more setback. The expectation level may be a little bit lower for something as traumatic as that injury. But it wouldn’t surprise me in the least to have him just exceed it by a mile. That’s always been, to me, the greatness to Tiger.” Woods took little solace that he and Charlie beat their South Florida “rivals,” Justin and Mike Thomas, by a shot this week. A year ago, when the Thomases returned home with the bright red Willie Park belts, they had a little fun and showed up to Tiger’s house wearing them. The champion inside Tiger would not let him differentiate between second and third place. “They’ve got the belts,” Woods said. He smiled a lot on Sunday afternoon, something we didn’t see out of him all those years when he occasionally would finish short. Charlie again was a big star of the show, performing for the crowds, and Woods seemed to answer at least some questions with his play, even if so many more remain. “I’m not going to play a full schedule ever again,” Woods said. “I’m going to have to pick and choose what events (to play), and even then, my body might not cooperate with that. So I don’t know how many events I’m going to be playing in. “And it’s going to be up to training sessions, practice sessions, recovery tactics, all those different things to be able to do it. As I said — protective of it now, and just so thankful to be able to do this again – because it didn’t look good there.” This was a week that filled his heart. No trophy needed.

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