Masters Week: Reliving Tiger Woods’ win and returning to Augusta National

KAPALUA, Hawaii — Xander Schauffele tied the Plantation course record at Kapalua with an 11-under 62 on Sunday, and he needed every shot to beat Gary Woodland by one shot and win the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Schauffele started the final round five shots out of the lead and opened with a bogey. His fortunes turned quickly, and it got better with every hole. He ran off three straight birdies. He chipped in from the front of the green on the par-5 ninth for eagle. He holed a wedge from 107 yards for another eagle on No. 12. He took his first lead with back-to-back birdies on the 14th and 15th holes, both times coming close to chipping in for more eagles. Tied with Woodland over the closing holes, Schauffele finished birdie-birdie to match four players for the record. “It was a crazy day,” Schauffele said after his fourth career PGA TOUR victory, and second in as many starts this season. “I didn’t do much leaderboard watching. I knew it was going to be a birdie fest at the end. We kept our head down and made a run for it.” Woodland had a chance to force a playoff, but he hit his drive on the par-5 18th so far — 390 yards downhill but into a Kona wind — that he was between clubs. He tried to draw a hard 4-iron and left it out to the right, hit a pitch-and-run to 10 feet and missed the birdie putt. It was a tough loss for Woodland. He started the final round with a three-shot lead and closed with a bogey-free 68. He never shot worse than 68 all week and was the only player in the winners-only field to have all four rounds in the 60s. It still wasn’t enough. “This one will sting,” Woodland said. Schauffele was in the group ahead of him, and Woodland could see as the 25-year-old Californian went after the left flag on the tough 17th hole to just inside 10 feet for the first birdie of the final round. Woodland hit his approach to just inside 12 feet, and made the second birdie of the day to tie for the lead. Schauffele wasn’t finished. He hammered a 3-wood onto the green at the 18th to about 12 feet, narrowly missing his third eagle of the final round. He rolled it in for his 62 to finish at 23-under 269, and then had to wait. Given a chance to watch on TV, Schauffele figured there would be a camera on him. He chose to wait in the trailer, listening to traffic over the radios, taking a second to realize that Woodland had missed his putt and it was over. Before long, he had a lei around his neck and the trophy in his hands, along with one other perk. “It means I get to come back, which is even better,” Schauffele said. He doesn’t get as much attention as some others from the vaunted high school class of 2011 — Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas head that list. Schauffele is becoming increasingly tough to ignore. This is the second time in three seasons that he has at least two victories. That includes a World Golf Championship last fall in Shanghai, and the TOUR Championship to close out the 2017 season. Thomas closed with a 65 to finish alone in third. Woodland couldn’t think of much he did wrong except fail to take advantage of a few pins he could have played to more aggressively. But he found no consolation in losing to a guy who shot 62 in the tougher of the two wind directions on the west end of Maui. “I don’t think it will ever be easy because I still believe I was playing well enough to shoot 66 today,” Woodland said. “You have an iron into the par 5 in the middle of the fairway on the last hole, you expect to make birdie. I had killed the par 5s all week this week, which is what you’ve got to do out here. So I knew what he was doing and the competitor in me knew I needed to do one better. And unfortunately, I didn’t get it done.” Neither did Rory McIlroy. He played in the final group with Woodland, three shots behind, knowing he had played in the final group six times last year without winning. He got within two shots early, but didn’t make a birdie after the fifth hole and closed with a 72 to tie for fourth with Dustin Johnson (67) and Marc Leishman (71). “I gave myself plenty of chances, just couldn’t get anything to drop,” McIlroy said.  

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A trio of golfers will most certainly join golf’s most exclusive club, right? And no doubt Tiger will play like the Tiger of yesteryear. Hmmm. These are just a couple of our 2018 predictions.

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PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – PGA National is one of the most stressful courses on the PGA TOUR. Penalty strokes can add up quickly on its water-lined holes. That’s why Lee Westwood’s new mindset is such an asset this week. Westwood is having fun while other players are fretting about double-bogeys. The former World No. 1 said the game has never been more enjoyable, and that’s a big reason why he’s enjoying a career renaissance at age 46. His good form is continuing this week. Westwood, who’s competing this week on a sponsor exemption, is tied for second place at The Honda Classic’s halfway mark after shooting 67-69 in the first two rounds. Only four players have parlayed sponsor exemptions into PGA TOUR victories in the past decade, but Westwood is looking to do it for a second time. Ten years ago, he won the FedEx St. Jude Classic after receiving an invitation into the field. Westwood isn’t a charity case, though. He’s back among the game’s elite after winning the European Tour’s event in Abu Dhabi earlier this year. Beating that star-studded field moved him back into the top 50 of the world ranking. He’s currently the world’s 30th-ranked player. “I’m not sure it’s ever been this enjoyable,â€� Westwood said. “You know, I’ve always almost treated it too seriously. It’s nice to go out there and not really care. I’ve been working quite hard with a psychologist, and he’s given me a different appreciation for golf and life, really.â€� It takes more than happy thoughts to succeed at The Honda Classic, though. Westwood’s strong ball-striking is perfectly suited for this week’s layout. He’s missed just six fairways this week, ranking in the top 10 in driving accuracy and Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee. A hot putter has helped, as well. He’s gained more than four strokes on the greens. Westood, who’s one behind 36-hole leader Brendan Steele, will play in Saturday’s second-to-last group with a countryman who’d like to experience a similar resurgence. In 2011, Luke Donald took the top spot in the world ranking from Westwood. Donald is now 456th in the ranking and had to use a career money list exemption to compete this season. He’s struggled with injuries in recent years, competing just 21 times in the previous two seasons. He’s had just one top-25 in that span. A 66 on Friday also has Donald at 4 under par, one behind Steele. Donald had three 2s on his scorecard, including birdies on both par-3s in the Bear Trap. ‘A back injury at 40 years old, you can lose a bit of momentum,â€� Donald said. “You know, just not being out there, getting the reps in with the competitive feelings, it takes some time to get that back. Obviously confidence breeds confidence, and you need to keep kind of plugging away and getting yourself into position to really help for future times you’re in position. “Lee has obviously proven that age is just a number. He’s been playing great lately. … Just seeing those guys continue to grind and continue to fight and do well, it’s nice to see and certainly it motivates me.â€�

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