Live leaderboard: Wire-to-wire for Leishman?

Augusta National played as it easy as it ever has. Will it continue? Can Paul Casey end his major drought? A look ahead to what will be a long Day 2 at the Masters.

Click here to read the full article…

Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady took on Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning in Capital One’s “The Match: Champions for Charity� at Florida’s Medalist Golf Club on Sunday. Tiger and Phil, together again, only now partnering quarterbacks and playing to raise money in the fight against COVID-19, and with everyone wearing microphones to great effect. THE MATCH: Leaderboard | Team Tiger/Peyton wins | Top 10 observations Woods and Manning held on to win 1 up despite a valiant back-nine comeback by Mickelson and Brady, the latter having filled up the hole from both on and off the green. Most importantly, they raised $20 million, and The Match was pure fun to watch. Mickelson was especially chirpy early, joking that he’d brought out his “Tiger Slayer� Odyssey putter, and, fueled by coffee, was preparing to activate his calves for the long-drive contest on the third hole. “Yes, ladies and gentlemen,� Woods said, “this is what I have to listen to every time we play.� Not that he didn’t get some digs in of his own, later stating that he could mark his ball with the gold medal from the U.S. Open. All told, it was another fascinating installment of Tiger and Phil. After 20-plus years of these guys, the rivalry somehow still has legs. Why is that? The contrast in styles (righty vs. Lefty, strategist vs. seat-of-the-pants, new kid vs. more established pro) has helped; there was never any confusing one for the other. Rory McIlroy said much the same thing about the overseeded grass after winning THE PLAYERS Championship last year; he could differentiate the fairway from the rough as he stood on the tee. Contrast is everything. But it must be the right kind of contrast. Without trying to, Tiger and Phil fit the classic rivalry mold perfectly, one side a seemingly immovable pillar of excellence (Woods, who once made 142 straight cuts) and the other a less disciplined genius (Mickelson, who hit a ball through a gap in the pines at the 2010 Masters). They were Borg and McEnroe; the old-school Boston Celtics and the Showtime Los Angeles Lakers; and Boris Spassky and bad boy Bobby Fischer. Such contrasts allow us to access the full range of emotions, for while one side inspires awe and commands respect (82 PGA TOUR victories, 15 majors, two PLAYERS titles), the other alternately drives us mad (what do you need with two drivers?) and deliriously happy (2004 Masters, 2007 PLAYERS, 2013 Open Championship). And no, you can’t manufacture a rivalry – except in a script, where you totally can. Soviet-built machine Ivan Drago and big-hearted Rocky Balboa in “Rocky IV� come to mind, although I’m not proud of that. For a rivalry to really work, however, both sides have to occasionally win. Competitive balance is the special sauce, and this is where Tiger and Phil almost didn’t end up clicking. Way back in 2001 at a Mexican restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona, Mickelson told me something that at the time seemed debatable. “When I compete with Tiger,� he said as we ate chips and salsa, “I can see myself – the line of a putt, the shot I want to hit – more clearly.� I nodded, but Woods seemed to be in a class by himself. He had just set or tied 27 PGA TOUR records as he won nine times in 2000. Still, Mickelson had won the TOUR Championship that year, firing a 66 to overtake Woods (69) and Vijay Singh, so I wrote it in my notebook. And it turned out he was right. Studies have shown how sports rivals lift each other up; college and pro teams get quantifiably better in the year after their chief rival wins the championship. Long-distance runners are five seconds per kilometer faster if a top rival is in the race. So it went with Tiger and Phil. “Although we often see them as enemies,� author Adam Grant wrote in The New York Times last year, “our rivals can be our greatest allies. You can see this in the extreme in sports.� Tiger and Phil battled at Doral, Bay Hill, Firestone, Augusta National. We suspected that they made each other better, but now we know just how much better. As Justin Ray of The 15th Club wrote for PGATOUR.COM, for the last 15 years Mickelson has gained an average of 1.12 strokes on the field per round, but when playing alongside Woods that number has jumped to 2.00 strokes per round. So, yeah, maybe Phil really did see the shot he wanted to hit more clearly. (Playing with Mickelson also helped Woods, although less so.) Who won the rivalry? Woods will end his career with far more victories, but as Ray points out, on 31 occasions when both were within five of the lead going into the final round, Woods won 10 times, Mickelson nine, while Woods shot a cumulative 51 under par, Mickelson 52 under. That they’ve grown into the rivalry perhaps shouldn’t surprise us. For as Grant, an organizational psychologist at Wharton, also wrote in The Times, “If you build a supportive relationship with that rival, it can elevate your performance even further.� Tiger and Phil took it to another level when they committed to the Ryder Cup Task Force after the U.S. Team’s lopsided defeat at Gleneagles in 2014, and are now closer than ever. Mickelson is even planning to move to South Florida; you can just imagine Phil knocking on Tiger’s door to ask if he can come out and hit some bombs, and Tiger rolling his eyes and agreeing. So, yes, they’ve made each other better on the course, but also off it. They’ve made Brady and Manning better, and at the Medalist on Sunday, all four of them did their part to make even the ongoing pandemic better. Even as we anticipate the twilight of their competitive careers, the rivalry between Tiger and Phil continues to elevate us all.

Click here to read the full article…

The biggest Round 2 showdown in our Mythical World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play tournament? Gotta be world No. 1 Rory McIlroy vs. defending champ Kevin Kisner, who’s been near-unbeatable in the last two years at Austin Country Club. There are plenty of other intriguing matchups on this day, including a couple of top-5 seeds suffering upsets. To review, our Mythical event is the just-for-fun exercise we’re conducting this week in lieu of the real tournament, which was among the events canceled by the PGA TOUR in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The TOUR conducted a draw to produce a bracket, and now our 10 experts are voting for the winner of each match. We released the Round 1 results on Wednesday (click here) and now the results of the 32 matches that would’ve been played in Thursday’s Round 2. The 16 Group Stage winners will be determined on Friday, then we’ll vote for single-elimination matches this weekend to crown the Mythical champion on Sunday. The voting rules are simple: Each expert was asked to pick a match winner, and the golfer with the majority of votes is the match winner. In the case of an equal split of votes, the match is considered tied. Our 10 expert voters include: GolfBet’s Jason Sobel from The Action Network; GolfTV’s Jamie Kennedy; Tom Alter and Jim McCabe from PGA TOUR Communications; Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton; PGATOUR.COM writers Ben Everill, Sean Martin, Mike McAllister and Cameron Morfit; and a combined vote from the TOUR’s ShotLink team. Here are the experts’ picks for Round 2 (each player’s seed is in parentheses). GROUP 1 Rory McIlroy (1) vs. Kevin Kisner (36): 8 votes for McIlroy, 2 votes for Kisner. McILROY wins. Why we picked McIlroy: “McIlroy ranks second in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, Kisner has gone from 39th in 2017 to 129th this season in this category.â€� – ShotLink team Gary Woodland (18) vs. Sung Kang (52): 7 votes for Woodland, 3 votes for Kang. WOODLAND wins. Why I picked Woodland: “Woodland made it to the finals in this event, losing to Rory McIlroy at TPC Harding Park in 2015, and simply has too much firepower for Kang.â€� – Cameron Morfit Group standings: McIlroy 2-0, Kisner 1-1, Woodland 1-1, Kang 0-2 GROUP 2 Jon Rahm (2) vs. Chez Reavie (37): 10 votes for Rahm, 0 votes for Reavie. RAHM wins. Why I picked Rahm: “At Whisper Rock, maybe I’d go with Chez, but Austin CC fits Rahm nicely.â€� – Jim McCabe Bernd Wiesberger (26) vs. Tom Lewis (59): 7 votes for Wiesberger, 3 votes for Lewis. WIESBERGER wins. Why I picked Wiesberger: “Since coming back from injury, Wiesberger has been on a tear. His all-round game is elite and while Lewis is extremely streaky, he won’t hang this time.â€� – Jamie Kennedy Group standings: Rahm 2-0, Wiesberger 2-0, Reavie 0-2, Lewis 0-2 GROUP 3 Brooks Koepka (3) vs. Collin Morikawa (44): 7 votes for Morikawa, 3 votes for Koepka. MORIKAWA wins. Why I picked Morikawa: “Koepka’s fought injury and rust and hasn’t been able to find his footing this season. Meanwhile, Morikawa is the TOUR’s Steady Eddie.â€� – Sean Martin Abraham Ancer (29) vs. Shaun Norris (60): 10 votes for Ancer, 0 votes for Norris. ANCER wins. Why I picked Ancer: “Stirring victory sets up pivotal match in Round 3 with Brooks Koepka.â€�- Jim McCabe Group standings: Morikawa 2-0, Koepka 1-1, Ancer 1-1, Norris 0-2 GROUP 4 Justin Thomas (4) vs. Erik van Rooyen (42): 8 votes for Thomas, 2 votes for van Rooyen. THOMAS wins. Why I picked Thomas: “Van Rooyen can shred on guitar, but Thomas is the chalk pick here.â€� – Sean Martin Paul Casey (24) vs. Viktor Hovland (57): 6 votes for Hovland, 4 votes for Casey. HOVLAND wins. Why I picked Hovland: “You know I mean business when I expect a first-timer — who just happens to flash the newest, best smile in the game — to take down my man crush.â€� – Rob Bolton Group standings: Thomas 2-0, Casey 1-1, Hovland 1-1, van Rooyen 0-2 GROUP 5 Dustin Johnson (5) vs. Cameron Smith (35): 6 votes for Smith, 4 votes for Johnson. SMITH wins. Why I picked Smith: “Smith has always been a match play stud waiting to burst forth. Coming from 3 down to beat Thomas in the Presidents Cup Singles shows his competitive fire in this format.â€� – Ben Everill Hideki Matsuyama (22) vs. Keegan Bradley (62): 10 votes for Matsuyama, 0 votes for Bradley. MATSUYAMA wins. Why I picked Matsuyama: “If there’s a bugaboo in Matsuyama’s game, it’s that he isn’t a terrific putter, but in match play, his tremendous ball-striking can overcome a lack of red numbers, which was the case in this one.â€� – Jason Sobel Group standings: Matsuyama 2-0, Johnson 1-1, Smith 1-1, Bradley 0-2 GROUP 6 Adam Scott (6) vs. Shugo Imahira (41): 10 votes for Scott, 0 votes for Imahira. SCOTT wins. Why I picked Scott: “Scott’s match play record is one that has irked him over the years, but he’s riding high confidence after his win at The Genesis Invitational earlier this season.â€� – Ben Everill Lee Westwood (31) vs. Jordan Spieth (56): 6 votes for Westwood, 4 votes for Spieth. WESTWOOD wins. Why I picked Westwood: “Westwood has been playing with nothing to lose recently, just enjoying the back-nine of his career and competing with a smile on his face. It’s amazing how much that can free up a guy, as he was still smiling when this one was over.â€� – Jason Sobel Group standings: Scott 2-0, Westwood 2-0, Imahira 0-2, Spieth 0-2 GROUP 7 Patrick Reed (7) vs. Rafa Cabrera Bello (46): 6 votes for Reed, 4 votes for Cabrera Bello. REED wins. Why I picked Reed: “Despite how it looks at first glance, this is a virtual coin flip, but Reed’s consistently strong form since relying on feel mid-2019 just might propel him to victory in his home state.â€� – Rob Bolton Matthew Fitzpatrick (25) vs. Andrew Putnam (63): 9 votes for Fitzpatrick, 1 vote for Putnam. FITZPATRICK wins. Why I picked Fitzpatrick: “Fitzpatrick’s in fine form, with six top-10s in his last 11 worldwide starts. Meanwhile, Putnam’s missed the cut in his last three PGA TOUR starts.â€� – Mike McAllister Group standings: Reed 2-0, Cabrera Bello 1-1, Fitzpatrick 1-1, Putnam 0-2 GROUP 8 Patrick Cantlay (8) vs. Sergio Garcia (38): 9 votes for Cantlay, 1 vote for Garcia. CANTLAY wins. Why I picked Cantlay: “Cantlay is 29th in the FedExCup (seventh in the world) and does everything well, while Garcia is 179th in the FedExCup, recently turned 40, and has been quiet since winning the 2017 Masters.â€� – Cameron Morfit Tyrrell Hatton (21) vs. Adam Hadwin (55): 5 votes for Hatton, 5 votes for Hadwin. TIED. Why I picked Hadwin: “Still dealing with the API hangover — a figurative one (we think) — Hatton struggled with the ever-steady Hadwin, who simply didn’t have any unforced errors in this match.â€� – Jason Sobel Group standings: Cantlay 2-0, Hatton 1-0-1, Hadwin 0-1-1, Garcia 0-2 GROUP 9 Webb Simpson (9) vs. Scottie Scheffler (45): 7 votes for Simpson, 3 votes for Scheffler. SIMPSON wins. Why I picked Simpson: “Webb Simpson is on a roll. Hitting fairways and making putts always works in match play.â€� – Tom Alter Rickie Fowler (27) vs. Lucas Herbert (64): 7 votes for Fowler, 3 votes for Herbert. FOWLER wins. Why I picked Fowler: “After dismal start to his season, this is a massive week for him.â€� – Jim McCabe Group standings: Simpson 2-0, Scheffler 1-1, Fowler 1-1, Herbert 0-2 GROUP 10 Tommy Fleetwood (10) vs. Christiaan Bezuidenhout (47): 7 votes for Fleetwood, 3 votes for Bezuidenhout. FLEETWOOD wins. Why I picked Fleetwood: “There was some thought that Bezuidenhout could be this year’s Bjerregaard — an impossible-to-spell non-PGA TOUR member who makes his mark in match play. Perhaps he still will, but Fleetwood’s talent was too much to overcome here.â€� – Jason Sobel Francesco Molinari (28) vs. Byeong Hun An (50): 8 votes for An, 2 votes for Molinari. AN wins. Why I picked An: “Sadly, Francesco has been a shell of his best lately and still has some injury concerns while An has the Presidents Cup experience to draw from.â€� – Ben Everill Group standings: Fleetwood 2-0, Bezuidenhout 1-1, An 1-1, Molinari 0-2 GROUP 11 Tiger Woods (11) vs. Victor Perez (40): 8 votes for Woods, 2 votes for Perez. WOODS wins. Why we picked Woods: “Tiger’s one of the best iron players ever, not to mention his 18 WGC wins, including three times in this event. Oh, and did we mention he’s been PGA TOUR Player of the Year 11 times, most of any player?â€� – ShotLink team Kevin Na (30) vs. Phil Mickelson (61): 10 votes for Na, 0 votes for Mickelson. NA wins. Why I picked Na: “Na makes tons of putts. That’s tough to beat.â€� – Tom Alter Group standings: Woods 2-0, Na 2-0, Perez 0-2, Mickelson 0-2 GROUP 12 Xander Schauffele (12) vs. Danny Willett (33): 8 votes for Schauffele, 2 votes for Willett. SCHAUFFELE wins. Why I picked Schauffele: “Danny Willett’s comeback story has been nice to see, but Schauffele is the clear favorite here.â€� – Sean Martin Shane Lowry (20) vs. Jason Day (51): 6 votes for Day, 4 votes for Lowry. DAY wins. Why I picked Day: “A two-time winner in this unique format, Jason Day is too much for almost anybody in match play.â€� – Tom Alter Group standings: Schauffele 2-0, Lowry 1-1, Day 1-1, Willett 0-2 GROUP 13 Bryson DeChambeau (13) vs. Jazz Janewattananond (39): 9 votes for DeChambeau, 1 vote for Janewattananond. DeCHAMBEAU wins. Why I picked DeChambeau: “Just gotta love Bryson’s form right now (and I’m not just talking about the added muscle to his frame),â€� – Mike McAllister. Henrik Stenson (32) vs Ian Poulter (58): 6 votes for Poulter, 4 votes for Stenson. POULTER wins. Why I picked Poulter: “Putting prevails here. Stenson has potential to dominate tee-to-green but Poulter’s edge comes on the greens and this gives him the edge in this match-up.â€� – Jamie Kennedy Group standings: DeChambeau 2-0, Stenson 1-1, Poulter 1-1, Janewattananond 0-2 GROUP 14 Justin Rose (14) vs. Matt Wallace (43): 5 votes for Rose, 5 votes for Wallace. TIED. Why I picked Rose: “Two English players, two players battling their game somewhat early in 2020. Ask me in a couple of years and I’ll take Wallace but for now, Rose wins this.â€� – Jamie Kennedy Sungjae Im (23) vs. Bubba Watson (53): 8 votes for Im, 2 votes for Watson. IM wins. Why I picked Im: “Bubba’s a wild card – he could get on a roll and run to the title, as he did in 2018. But I like Im’s steadiness.â€� – Mike McAllister Group standings: Im 2-0, Watson 1-1, Rose 0-1-1, Wallace 0-1-1 GROUP 15 Marc Leishman (15) vs. Billy Horschel (34): 8 votes for Leishman, 2 votes for Horschel. LEISHMAN wins. Why we picked Leishman: “Currently seventh in the FEC standings and three consecutive trips to East Lake, not to mention on pace for his best season on TOUR.â€� – ShotLink team Matt Kuchar (17) vs. Graeme McDowell (49): 6 votes for Kuchar, 4 votes for McDowell. KUCHAR wins. Why I picked Kuchar: “GMac can be a tough out in match play, but Kuchar has too much good mojo in this event – he won it all in 2013 and was runner-up to Kevin Kisner last year.â€� – Cameron Morfit Group standings: Leishman 2-0, Kuchar 2-0, Horschel 0-2, McDowell 0-2 GROUP 16 Tony Finau (16) vs. Brandt Snedeker (48): 5 votes for Finau, 5 votes for Snedeker. TIED Why I picked Snedeker: “After seeing Finau’s dance vid with his wife, I’d like to use a Mulligan.â€� – Rob Bolton Louis Oosthuizen (19) vs. Brendon Todd (54): 8 votes for Oosthuizen 2 votes for Todd. OOSTHUIZEN wins. Why I picked Oosthuizen: “Todd may have been the man last fall, but Louis has match play acumen that cannot be denied.â€� – Ben Everill Group standings: Finau 1-0-1, Oosthuizen 1-0-1, Snedeker 0-0-2, Todd 0-2

Click here to read the full article…