Live leaderboard: Moving day at Bay Hill

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Twenty-five years ago, the small but feisty sporting nation of Australia collectively mourned. At just 15, Adam Scott shed tears. Marc Leishman cursed more than a 12-year-old should and his dad didn’t care – likely because he was doing it more. Cameron Smith was just 3 but knows his old man Des kicked a few things over after foregoing a day’s pay to stay home and watch. Golf has never been Australia’s most popular sport but the tradition of getting up early to watch the Masters was a ritual in the majority of households, even those without a golf club in the house. On April 15, 1996, even more early alarms went off across Australia than usual. With the east coast of the Pacific nation 14 hours ahead of Augusta, the final round always began before dawn. They were rising to finally see the Great White Shark get his dues. Greg Norman, unfairly cut down amongst the azaleas in 1986 and 1987, was going to be the first Australian to win the Green Jacket. Norman held a six-shot lead over former winner Nick Faldo. Sure Augusta National had danger lurking but Norman was destined to win. He’d opened with a course record 63 and had held firm with rounds of 69 and 71 to be in command at 13 under. Australians were up and ready to celebrate another huge sporting milestone. It was going to be one of those where were you when moments. The mainland of Australia is roughly the same size of mainland USA but in 1996 there were nearly double the amount of people living in California (32 million) as the 18 million living Down Under. By 1996, Australians had conquered golf’s other majors in golf but Norman was owed this one. He’d been felled by an aging Jack Nicklaus in 1986 and Larry Mize’s improbable chip-in the following year. Norman had also had other majors taken from his grasp in dramatic circumstances. It just made sense that this was his time. Norman never got comfortable with such a large lead at the event that had eluded him, shooting 78 in the final round to Nick Faldo’s 67, an 11-shot swing that left Norman five behind the Englishman. “I remember all of it. It was a heartbreaker,” Scott said this week. “Watching at home it was brutal.” “We don’t even want to think about that,” Jason Day added. “It just wasn’t fair really.” The debriefs over the last quarter of a century have been vast. Over the years it became known that Norman was battling his swing throughout the week and he woke Sunday with his body feeling out of alignment. He says his club was stuck and open, eroding his confidence. A journalist who Norman knew well had joked, “Even you can’t f— this up,” as Norman left the course Saturday night. The Shark couldn’t laugh it off. Then he heard his well-meaning wife had organized friends from Florida to fly up and watch the final round and be there for the coronation. It didn’t sit well with Norman, who always lived in the moment. Not the future. Not the past. It was another distraction. This week Norman returns to Augusta National as part of the PGA TOUR Radio crew. While others look back to what happened, Norman says he’s past it. “You just move on. I’ve never looked back I just move forward. That’s my DNA. I don’t make a song and dance about anything I just keep moving through life,” he said from an Augusta National balcony overlooking the property. Hindsight shows that despite the horror of it all, the moment had a serious positive effect on the future of Australian golf and sport in general. As time passed it became a galvanizing moment for an entire generation. “The reason why Greg is such a big hero to me is the way he carried himself as a professional golfer,” Scott says. “He probably felt like (expletive) that day, but he walked off the green with his head up, he spoke to the media, he did the best he could. He always carried himself, at least from what I could observe as a kid, so well. “He was such a good role model in that sense in how to be a professional. It was hard for everyone in Australia watching so I can only imagine how he felt out here going through that. He must have been upside down and inside out. But I hope he knows that that moment is a huge part of who I’ve become.” It would be nearly two decades until Australia earned its first Green Jacket. Day and Scott had tied for second in 2011 at Augusta National – another close call. While he didn’t see Norman’s collapse live, a 23-year-old Day was driven to be the first Australian to win the Masters. It consumed him. The drawcard of being the first Australian – the curse breaker – was a huge driving factor. Scott had similar sentiments. They weren’t alone. “What the Shark did for us as golfers growing up was huge for us. It was unfortunate the couple of times that he had here with Faldo and Larry Mize, but it’s just going beyond that it was pretty remarkable what he did for Australian golf,” Day says. “His efforts are why we have so many players on the PGA TOUR now. I read that Matt Jones’ win last month makes it 33 TOUR seasons in a row with at least one Australian win. Greg was firstly the guy actually winning those but also the guy who inspired the rest of us to try to do the same.” In 2013, Marc Leishman opened with a 66 and took the lead. Scott and Day sat close behind. Day had the lead through two rounds. All three where in striking distance of the lead come Sunday. Day looked set to be the man when he held a two-shot lead on the 16th tee, but back-to-back bogeys seemed to resurrect the curse until Scott stepped up. A 72nd-hole birdie was followed by a primal “C’mon Aussie” scream – proof that this was not just about one man, but an entire nation. Scott beat Angel Cabrera in a playoff with another birdie on the 10th green. His legacy as a national hero was cemented. Scott paid tribute to Norman in the aftermath. “There was one guy that inspired a nation of golfers and that’s Greg Norman. He’s been incredible to me and all the young golfers in Australia and part of this definitely belongs to him,” Scott opined. No one was happier that day than Norman. “I thought it was fantastic and I had a tear in my eye there is no question about it. I knew I carried the Green Jacket burden for Australia for a long time, but it wasn’t about me it was about the country,” Norman said on the eve of this year’s Masters. “I wanted to do it and see it done for the country because we had so many great players over the history of time and for us not to have won was a crying shame. It was nuts. So it was so great for Australian golf when Scotty won. “When you play the game of golf you’d rather be a good loser than a bad winner. To hear a quality player and man like Adam say he was inspired by my reactions in 1996, or even if a random person says it, that’s the victory you have right there. “It tells me I did things right in life. Sometimes I was hung with a label that I had too much ego, but I feel I was the opposite. And these moments help prove that.” The five Australians in the field this week – Scott, Day, Leishman, Smith and Jones – obviously all want to win the Green Jacket. They want to win it for themselves and their families. But like Norman before them they also want to win it for their country. “It would be nice for one of us to win it on this anniversary,” said Smith, who was runner-up last year. “If it’s not me I’m definitely hoping it’s one of the other boys. We are a close and tight group, and it would be a good storyline for sure. I’m sure the Shark would get a kick out of it.”

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Round 3 of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans gets underway Saturday. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action. Round 3 tee times Round 3 leaderboard HOW TO FOLLOW (ALL TIMES ET) TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 3:30-6:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday, 8 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (featured groups). Friday, 8 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (featured groups). Saturday-Sunday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-6 p.m. (featured holes). International subscribers (via GOLF.tv): Thursday, 12:00 to 22:30 GMT. Friday, 13:00 to 22:30. Saturday-Sunday, 13:00 to 22:00. RADIO: Thursday, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.; Friday, 1-6:30 p.m.; Saturday: 3-8 p.m.; Sunday: 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com). NOTABLE TEE TIMES Jon Rahm/Ryan Palmer and Peter Malnati/Billy Hurley III: 2:17 p.m. ET (No. 1 tee) Russell Knox/Brian Stuard and Brian Gay/Rory Sabbatini: 2:04 p.m. ET (No. 1 tee) Kevin Kisner/Scott Brown and Scott Stallings/Trey Mullinax: 1:51 p.m. ET (No. 1 tee) MUST READS Hurley, Malnati find solution to TPC Louisiana Stenson pairs with G-Mac at perfect time How International partners fared in Round 1 The secret ingredient to success in New Orleans Sabbatini, Gay find right formula CALL OF THE DAY

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SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – New York fans quickly become cruel when their stars don’t perform to their standards. It was just a couple months ago that Giancarlo Stanton was booed before he completed his first home game as a Yankee. Tiger Woods heard his first jeers just as quickly at this U.S. Open on Long Island. The stunned silence after Woods tapped in for a 7 on Shinnecock Hills’ tame opening hole was broken by one man yelling, “Welcome to Shinnecock, Tiger!� His tone made it clear that he was not an overenthusiastic ambassador for the Southampton Chamber of Commerce. The fan’s sneering sarcasm would quickly be forgotten. It was much harder for Woods to overcome Shinnecock’s unkind greeting to his first U.S. Open in three years. A first-round 78 seems to have ended his chances of winning 15th major. Twice in the opening round did he play back-to-back holes in 4 over par. After starting with a triple and a bogey, Woods battled the wind and Shinnecock Hills’ firm conditions to play the next 10 holes in even par. His U.S. Open chances still produced the slightest pulse with each par save. Even at the height of his greatness, it was Woods’ ability to grind out pars in the toughest conditions that gave him the most pride. “All I had to do after that start was try to shoot even par for the next 16 holes and I’d be fine. The guys aren’t going anywhere today,� Woods said. He cited the 1986 U.S. Open here, when Raymond Floyd was able to win with a final-round 66 after shooting 75 in the first round. “This golf course is kind of setting up for that right now.� But all of Thursday’s work came crashing down with back-to-back doubles at 13 and 14. He four-putted the 13th, then hit two shots at the 14th before his ball found the fairway. When he missed a 10-foot birdie putt at the par-5 16th, Woods could only snicker like a man who knew the game had gotten the best of him on this day. He was hardly the only player whose high hopes were dashed Thursday. Rory McIlroy had been enjoying his golf trip to Long Island until he shot 80. At least Jason Day had only a short walk to his RV after shooting 79. Shinnecock Hills usually waits until Sunday to break Phil Mickelson’s heart but that likely won’t be the case this year after a 77. Jon Rahm shot 78. Like the Masters, Woods arrived at this major after showing promise in his previous starts. His 11th-place finish at THE PLAYERS included his career-low round at TPC Sawgrass, a third-round 65. He battled a balky putter at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide but got high enough on the leaderboard to spike television ratings and incite the social-media masses. Fans can ogle his TrackMan numbers and marvel at his tee shots, but the margins are too slim, especially at majors, for Woods to win while throwing away so many strokes. It’s hard to be critical of a man who months ago wondered if he would ever play again, but Woods will need to find a way to minimize such mistakes. At TPC Sawgrass, he was pressuring front-runner Webb Simpson until playing the final five holes in 3 over, including a rinsed tee shot on the island-green 17th. Woods made 17 birdies and two eagle at Muirfield Village, but he also lost nearly 8 strokes on the greens and hit a tee shot out-of-bounds. He finished six shots behind winner Bryson DeChambeau. Putting bore the biggest the blame Thursday. He missed just five fairways but the one that sailed well right at 14 cost him two shots. “I didn’t putt well,� Woods said Thursday. “I drove it pretty darn good most of the day, but I didn’t take advantage of those opportunities. “It’s frustrating because I’m hitting it well. In the last four tournaments, I have not putted well. If I can putt like I did at the beginning of the year, we’ve got something. I just haven’t done that.� Because of his afternoon tee time, Woods was able to watch on TV as his peers struggled with the high winds that buffeted Shinnecock. He made it a goal to avoid any scores of double-bogey or worse. “Instead, I had three of them,� he said. He was 7 over par on three holes Thursday. It started with Shinnecock’s benign opening hole, a downhill par-4 of 399 yards that is short enough for some players to consider driving the green. Woods went with an iron off the tee, as did the two players who rounded out his star-studded threesome, Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas. All three found the first hole’s generous fairway, which was widened by the Bill Coore-Ben Crenshaw restoration to this historic course. Coore and Crenshaw also added short grass around Shinnecock Hills’ greens to make the course more closely resemble the William Flynn design that opened in 1931. Those crispy, closely-mown areas may look less intimidating than the thick rough that is the U.S. Open’s trademark, but they are infinitely more frustrating. Woods showed that after his 135-yard approach flew the green. Short grass provides players options, and Woods used multiple strategies to try and get up-and-down on No. 1. Unfortunately, all were unsuccessful. First, he tried to flop it. His ball landed on the green but not far enough to carry the steep slope on the back of the putting surface. His ball slowly trickled back off the green. Woods tried to putt the next two but the first one almost rolled back to his feet and the next rolled 8 feet past the hole. Two putts from there completed a triple-bogey. “I hit it right through the wind and compounded my problem,� Woods said. “I actually hit a really good flop shot. The wind actually knocked it down. Then I hit two bad putts on 1 and 2.� After Woods missed a 4-foot par putt on the next hole, it was fair to wonder how long his yacht would be docked in nearby Montauk. Woods closed the front nine with six pars and a birdie, though. A bogey at the par-3 11th returned him to 4 over par. His disastrous doubles came two holes later. Woods played the previous two U.S. Opens at Shinnecock Hills with limited success. This was the site of his debut, in 1995, after winning the first of his three consecutive U.S. Amateurs. He only completed 24 holes, though, after injuring his wrist hitting out of the fescue rough. Woods finished T17 after shooting 10 over par in 2004, a year when he failed to win a stroke-play title while working through swing changes. If Woods is to contend this week, he can’t afford to make the same mistakes that he made Thursday, though. “Shoot something in the 60s tomorrow and I’ll be just fine,� Woods said. “I just think today was the toughest day we’ll have all week. But then again, I think they’re going to let these greens firm out a little bit. They’ll start to pick up a little bit of speed, and it will be a good U.S. Open again.�

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