Brooks Koepka is on the course at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. See who gets off to a good start at TPC Summerlin.
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PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – Notes and observations from the final round of the Mayakoba Golf Classic at El Camaleon Golf Club. LEADING LIGHTS KUCHAR GETS IT DONE: Confidence is everything, Matt Kuchar said after winning the Mayakoba Golf Classic by one over Danny Lee (65). It’s the best kind of fuel, and there’s no telling what it might lead to. After a 4 ½ year win drought, including a sub-standard 2017-’18 season that saw him miss the TOUR Championship, Kuchar is excited to see where he can go from here. “I aspire to make Presidents Cup, I aspire to make the TOUR Championship, I aspire to win multiple times in the ’18-’19 season,� Kuchar said. “A major’s still on my list. Those are all goals for me and I think this will help leapfrog that. That confidence because of winning a tournament hopefully propels me to a great ’19.� There were some tense moments after Kuchar bogeyed the 14th and 15th holes, but he made three pars when he had to on the last three holes. His 22-under total broke the tournament record and also marked his career low on TOUR. (For more on Kuchar’s victory, click here.) NOTABLES BOGEYS PLAGUE FOWLER: Rickie Fowler made plenty of birdies at Mayakoba, where he was runner-up a year ago, but again was plagued by what he called “sloppy� play. He made seven birdies but three more bogeys in a final-round 67 that left him T16, eight shots back. FINAU ENJOYS WORKING VACATION: Tony Finau brought his family to Mayakoba and shot a final-round 69 to also finish T16, his best result here since he finished T7 in 2014. CHAMP FINISHES POORLY: Cameron Champ, who won the Sanderson Farms Championship two weeks ago, had a week of late mistakes. After making double bogey to end his third round, Champ made two doubles in his last five holes for a final-round 69 and T10 finish. PEREZ LOW PAST CHAMPION: Pat Perez, who won here two years ago, shot a final-round 67 to finish T6, five shots back of the winner. A new father, Perez has had a busy fall schedule and said he was looking forward to spending some time with his daughter, Piper. OBSERVATIONS LEE ENCOURAGED: Danny Lee couldn’t convert his birdie putt from 20 feet on 18, but shot a 6-under 65 that left him in solo second, one back. As for that putt on 18? He hit it right where he wanted it, he said, but misjudged the speed. The ball never took the break, and missed on the right side of the hole. “I really did hit it on my line where I was looking, but it was a right-edge putt all day,� said Lee, who picked up his best finish since he won the 2015 A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier. “I didn’t want to leave it short and I gave it a little extra, but sometimes it just happens, I guess.� It was Lee’s second runner-up finish on TOUR (T2/2015 TOUR Championship). PIERCY FLIRTS WITH 59: Scott Piercy (62, T6) tied for best round of the week and briefly had designs on breaking 60. He was 9-under through 15 holes, and finished with 12/14 fairways hit, 15/18 greens and 26 putts. “When I birdied 15 I got it to 9 (under par), I was like, I can shoot 59 if I put it in the fairway on 16,� Piercy said. He made three pars coming in to finish T6, his third straight top-10 of the season (T5/THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, T10/Shriners Hospitals for Children Open). “Just excited to end the year on a good note,� he said. “That was my goal for the day.� QUOTABLES They hadn’t seen me win in a long time.I found a little something on the range yesterday. SUPERLATIVES Low round: 62, Scott Piercy (T6) Toughest hole: The 428-yard second played to a 4.222 average. Easiest hole: The 554-yard, par-5 fifth played to a 4.472 average. CALL OF THE DAY SHOT OF THE DAY
ATLANTA – They followed him with binoculars, clad in the Nike swoosh, under a merciless sun. They howled “T!â€� and “Tiger!â€� just in case he didn’t notice they were there. They didn’t see the Tiger Woods who won the 2007 TOUR Championship and FedExCup, four back surgeries ago. He’s gone. But this one bears watching, too. Not at his best, Woods hit just seven of 14 fairways, made a double-bogey 6 from a fried-egg lie at the 16th hole, but still signed for a second-round 68 at the TOUR Championship at East Lake on Friday. “I didn’t hit it very well overall today,â€� said Woods, who goes into the weekend tied with Justin Rose (67) in search of his first victory since the 2013 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. “Didn’t quite have the sharpness that I had yesterday, and it was pretty evident. “At least for the most part,â€� he added, “I missed the ball in every spot that I needed to, so I always had a good angle in there. So, that helps. And my short game has been good.â€� Rory McIlroy (68) is alone in third, 5-under and two back of the co-leaders. Tiger roars went up around East Lake as he birdied the second, 12th, 14th, 15th and 18th holes, the last one coming after he reached the green in two for the second straight day. Not that we should be surprised. Woods’ T6 at the BMW Championship was his sixth top-10 finish this season, and featured a final-round 65. He shot 65 again in the first round at East Lake. He’s 20th in the FedExCup. The only thing he hasn’t done is collect his 80th win, coming closest at the PGA Championship (solo second) and Valspar Championship (T2). East Lake is playing hard—U.S. Open and PGA champion Brooks Koepka shot 78, and Bryson DeChambeau and Francesco Molinari each struggled to 75—but Woods has excelled around the fast greens, making over 100 feet of putts for the second straight day. He was admittedly worn out by the grind during his 68 Friday, and hopes not to press his luck. “I’m rolling the ball well,â€� he said, “but, more importantly, I need to leave the ball in the correct spots. Above the holes is not easy this week, and so it’s imperative I hit the ball in the fairway so I can control my spin coming into the greens. Yesterday I had a bunch of uphill putts, and hence I shot 5-under.â€� Tommy Fleetwood, who played with Woods in that round, is a believer. “Tiger Woods is good at golf,â€� Fleetwood tweeted, and after shooting his second straight 69 on Friday, he laughed as he called it “my most successful tweet of all time.â€� “I didn’t think much of it,â€� he said. “I just put it out there. It kind of went viral, that one.â€� As for playing with Woods, the young Englishman said he enjoyed talking golf with “the greatest golfer of all-time.â€� “There’s very few sports where you could play against your childhood hero, and I’ve played with both of them in Ernie (Els) and Tiger,â€� Fleetwood said. “The way he drove it impressed me.â€� (Woods hit 10/14 fairways Thursday.) “Everyone always talks about that being the fragility of his game, but his start lines and the shape of his shots were on a string.â€� We’ve now seen Woods excel when he was at his best, Thursday, and when he wasn’t, Friday. We didn’t see him at all at East Lake for the last five years; his last start here was 2013. And now he has a share of the lead. He had a share after a first-round 62 at the recent BMW Championship, but quickly fell back. He fought back from a deficit to briefly take the final-round lead at The Open Championship at Carnoustie, but finished poorly as playing partner Molinari won. Now it’s Woods and Rose, with five others within three of their lead. What would it mean to get win No. 80 after all the pain, rehab, and close calls? “I’ve got 36 more holes to go,â€� Woods said, “and hopefully I’ll be answering that question come Sunday night.â€�
BLAINE, Minn. – You may remember him as Col. William Lennox in “The Transformers” franchise. Or, your memory may go all the way back to his breakthrough role on “All My Children” in 1999. Josh Duhamel has worked steadily in Hollywood for more than two decades, booking starring roles in movies and on television. But the 47-year-old actor is a Midwesterner at heart, and his happy place is his 53-acre ranch in Minnesota. Duhamel, who grew up in Minot, North Dakota, was back home, of sorts, on an unseasonably cool Wednesday morning at the 3M Open. The avid golfer, who is a 3M brand ambassador, was there along with Minnesota Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph, to help unveil the tournament’s “Power of Community” mural. The 10×20-foot mural, which was done by local artist Adam Turman and features 1,096 Extreme Post-It Notes, honors frontline healthcare workers and social justice initiatives. After the ceremony, Duhamel, whose family comedy “Think Like a Dog,” was released last month, took a few minutes to talk golf with PGATOUR.COM. He also stars in “Jupiter’s Legacy,” a series about superheroes and their kids, that is slated to be released on Netflix in 2021. PGATOUR.COM: When did you start playing golf? JOSH DUHAMEL: “Since I was a kid; I started back in North Dakota. I should’ve been a lefty, but my dad wouldn’t buy me clubs. So, I had to learn how to play right. Played hockey left and batted left-handed, but I had to learn to play (golf) right-handed. But it’s been a part of my childhood. The golf season back in North Dakota is about three weeks. So, I didn’t have the same amount of time we would in California, Florida or anywhere else. But it’s been a love of mine forever. “To be able to be invited, to come up to something like this and sort of spread the word about what 3M is doing for golf on the science side of it and also how they’re leveraging this to help the community, especially in a time like this, I think is amazing. So, I’m really happy to get to be a part of it.” PGATOUR.COM: You were quite an athlete growing up. You played quarterback at Minot State. Did you take to golf immediately or was it an acquired taste? DUHAMEL: “I remember as a kid, I think when you learned something like this at a young age, you don’t necessarily develop bad habits. You just get up there and swing. So, for me it was just about hitting the ball, hitting the ball, hitting the ball. The more I think about it, the worse I get. So, I have to really just go back to my childhood. For me, it’s just about joy. I don’t really care about my score anymore. I just go out there and enjoy being outdoors and just take it. You couldn’t ask me what I got for score on the last hole. I’m just out there basically daydreaming all day. And that’s what I love about the game.” PGATOUR.COM: You’ve played at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am several times. What do you like about that event? DUHAMEL: “I don’t think I’ve ever taken for granted that invite. You get that invite in the mail and it’s always like Christmas. It’s like, oh my God, I got invited back. And so, I’ve had so many great memories. I took a second in it one year. I took third another other year with Tony Finau, who I just saw walking down the fairway here. I’ve had some of the most embarrassing moments in my life, out there in front of everyone, but I’ve also had some of the most glorious moments of my life — making shots I never thought I could make, really under pressure in spots. So, for me, as an amateur it’s fun to be out there and just to get a taste of what it’d be like to be a pro golfer.” PGATOUR.COM: What is your favorite golf memory? DUHAMEL: “Golf for me is about, it’s meditative in a lot of ways. It’s been a way for me to connect with friends, with family, my sister, my mom, my dad loved golfing. It’s always been something that is just fun to go out and do. And, you know, I especially loved going out around sunset. That’s my favorite thing to do – have a beer, play nine or 18 holes, and just go out there and just, it’s been a really sort of connective tissue for both friends and family for me.” PGATOUR.COM: Did you get to play much during the pandemic? DUHAMEL: “A little bit. I spent most of my time at my cabin, actually. I have a cabin out in the woods here in Minnesota on this beautiful little lake. And so, I’ve just been using the time to get out of L.A. and go out and chop wood and clear brush and paint the deck and just do it just all. I built a little beach on my shore front. So, stuff like that and also getting to bring my son out there. So, for him to be able to come out and experience that kind of stuff, that kind of the way I grew up. You know, living in Los Angeles, I think that’s important for him.” PGATOUR.COM: How did you get involved with 3M? DUHAMEL: “They reached out to be a part of the tournament. I mean, this was, this would have been early in a year or late last year and we have a little production company that I said, well, you know, why don’t we help you guys activate some of these things like this? So, we’re shooting a lot of this stuff. We’re going to shoot the 3M Open Compass Challenge [Wednesday]. Just some of the stuff around the tournament to sort of show what this place is like, what they’re doing for the community, get a chance to maybe talk to some of the golfers, and just get a feel for the tournament. Unfortunately, it’s not going to be like it would be had virus not been around. Because it would’ve been a big thing. But still there’s so much to see. And I think it gives us a chance to show, aside from the fanfare of it all, to show what a tournament like this can do for a community.”
