Live virtual reality comes to the Waste Management Phoenix Open

DUBLIN, Ohio – Tiger Woods won’t be adding a sixth Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide title to his name, but the 82-time PGA TOUR winner was still relatively pleased with his third round at Muirfield Village Golf Club. Woods, who just snuck into the weekend, shot a 1-under 71 early Saturday to move to two over for the week, well back of the leaders. While normally he might be displeased, he was in fact happy that his troublesome back had not flared up like it did during his second-round 76 and was able to get some more competitive reps in. “I was moving better today and felt like I did the first day, and consequently I could make the passes at the golf ball like I did the first day,” Woods said. RELATED: Full leaderboard | ‘Totally different’ Muirfield Village this week “Overall I felt like I played well today, controlled the ball well. I hit one really bad shot there at three, but other than that, it was a pretty good, solid day.” Woods was referencing his approach from the fairway on the par-4 third hole where he dumped a wedge into the water from the fairway that led to his first bogey of the round. He threatened to make some waves with back-to-back birdies on five and six, but was unable to get another on the par-5 seventh and made bogey on the ninth as he made the turn. Woods managed two more birdies on 14 and 15, but gave one back on 16 to settle for his 71. “Unfortunately I didn’t make any putts today, so hopefully I can make a few more tomorrow,” he lamented. Woods said he was using the round to try to sharpen his competitive edge ahead of the upcoming PGA Championship and FedExCup Playoffs. He has yet to commit to the World Golf Championships – FedEx St. Jude Invitational in two weeks. “I was fortunate the cut came back. I made a little run at the end yesterday, and at times it was looking like it was going to be at two, but fortunately I snuck in at three,” Woods said. “Getting back into the flow and competing again and playing at this level, I hadn’t done that in a while. Playing home and playing out here is so very different and making sure that I stay sharp and don’t make any silly mistakes and dump the ball in the wrong spots or give myself bad angles, that’s one of the things about playing competitive golf that’s very different from playing at home.” Sunday promises to be set up at major-championship quality giving Woods another 18 holes to try to pull his game together. “This golf course is right where they want it. Jack can be happy when he sees the balls rolling on the greens this weekend and the run-out,” Woods said. “It’s tough. It’s fast. Now that the wind has picked up just a touch, it’s going to dry it out a little bit more. Like I said, hopefully can make a few putts tomorrow.”

Click here to read the full article…

Click here to read the full article…

Editor’s note: Ernie Els is writing a blog in 2017 and this is his latest installment. For more information on the World Golf Hall of Famer, visit www.ernieels.com. This week I was due to make the journey over to Europe for the KLM Open, but events here in Florida over the weekend forced me into having to withdraw. It’s a real shame because I was looking forward to teeing it up there for what would have been the fifth time in my career, and the first since 2001, but you know…sometimes Mother Nature has other plans! As most of you will have seen from the television coverage, Hurricane Irma caused scenes of total carnage as it blew across the Caribbean. My heart goes out to all those affected there. Eventually, the Hurricane made landfall in Florida on Sunday. Like millions of others, we had to evacuate our home and, as you can imagine, it’s been a very worrying time for everyone in this part of the U.S. So obviously, my primary concern right now and over the coming few days is to support my family and also our friends and employees as we come to terms with the aftermath of this devastating storm. It’s going to be a tough time as we all make our way back to our homes, but we’ll all pull together. I just want to take this opportunity to send my best wishes to everyone at the KLM Open and I hope that it’s a great week for everyone involved. Hopefully I can tee it up there in 2018. For now, then, I’ll just update you on a few other items of news. First of all, thank you to everyone who took part in the latest Drive to SA Open fundraiser held last week at my first golf club, Kempton Park. I hear it was a wonderful day. Thank you to Emperors Palace, Concept Recoveries and Courtney Bam. Also Chantelle Bruyns, Mike Sebanz and all the staff at Kempton Park for being such great hosts. We really appreciate your support. On a different note, I want to say what an honor it was to receive the 2017 Heisman Humanitarian Award at a ceremony during an Els for Autism Golf Challenge event at Liberty National on Aug. 28. It’s wonderful to receive these awards, not because that’s what we’re chasing, but because it is a reflection on how far we’ve come and how much of an impact we’re starting to have in our mission to better the lives of autistic children. These awards validate what we’re doing and really, they’re a pat on the back for our dedicated team at Els for Autism. Obviously, my name is up-front, but the whole movement, and all the great work that’s been achieved since we established the Foundation in 2009, that’s down to my wife Liezl and her team. They are amazing. For more information on The Els Center of Excellence, click here.  That event at Liberty National was, as I said, part of this year’s Golf Challenge series. Once again, through the support of our partners, golfers and donors, it’s been a successful campaign. We’re almost at the end of the schedule and we now have one eye on the Grand Finale at the spectacular Breakers Resort in Florida later next month. It’s not too late to punch your ticket there, so visit if you’d like to take part. Of course, being at Liberty National a couple of weeks ago gave me a chance to get reacquainted with the host venue for this month’s Presidents Cup. As it happened, Branden Grace had kindly come along on the day to support Els for Autism, so he and I snuck out and played a few holes together. To be honest, it still feels a little weird for me to not be on the playing side, but at the same time it’s an honor to be part of Nick Price’s team. I’m there to help and motivate the guys and, whatever that entails, trust me I’ll do it. On that note, I’ll leave it there for now and write again in the build-up to the Presidents Cup. In the meantime, you can, of course, follow me on Twitter @TheBig_Easy.

Click here to read the full article…