Merritt’s playoff bogey gives Davis win at Detroit

Tiger Woods’ potential appearance in the Masters was the talk of the golf world Wednesday, one day after reports that the five-time Masters champion played a practice round at Augusta National. Longtime CBS announcer Jim Nantz said it would be an “amazing achievement.” Rory McIlroy called Woods’ potential appearance “phenomenal.” He also confirmed reports that Woods made the trip to gauge his body’s ability to handle Augusta National’s hilly terrain. “He’s trying to see what he can do,” McIlroy said from the Valero Texas Open. “Obviously no one knows but him if he can make it around and if he believes he can compete.” It wasn’t long ago that a Masters appearance from Woods felt unfathomable. While he exceeded expectations when he played the PNC Championship with son Charlie in December, Tiger rode a cart and didn’t hit every shot in the scramble format. He said it would take time to build up the strength necessary to compete in a 72-hole event. From his own Genesis Invitational in February, Woods said he was uncertain about when he would return to competition and expressed frustration at the pace of his comeback. Speculation about Woods’ return began to build as his name remained in the Masters field instead of the “Past Champions Not Playing” category. Videos also appeared on social media that showed Woods walking at his home club, Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Florida, with his caddie, Joe LaCava. “We didn’t know if he was going to make it through (the accident), and to be in this position where people are talking about, ‘This guy might actually play in the Masters,’ I think it’s amazing,” said Andy North, who will call the Masters for ESPN. North’s colleague, Scott Van Pelt, marveled at the online fervor that began building as flight-tracking websites started following the progress of Woods’ plane as it flew from South Florida toward Augusta on Tuesday. “People were tracking his plane like it’s an SEC coaching search,” Van Pelt said. The Masters broadcast teams from ESPN and CBS covered a variety of topics in pre-tournament conference calls Wednesday and Woods was obviously one of them. They could only speculate about a potential appearance from Woods – he has yet to announce his intentions, and the Masters does not have a commitment deadline – but they marveled at the fact that Woods could even consider playing. “Is Tiger playing? We have no idea,” said ESPN’s Curtis Strange, whose 17 PGA TOUR wins included two U.S. Opens. “But it looks like he’s testing himself, and that is a good thing. How else would you test yourself, other than to go walk and play and get up there, play some practice rounds and see if you can walk the golf course. See how the leg holds up, see how the game is. “And I commend him, because when you practice and walk and work out at home, it’s a different animal than when you get to the site and walk the golf course … which is the hardest walk in golf, Augusta National.” Nantz visited Woods in Florida last month for a documentary on his historic 1997 Masters win, but received no hints that Woods may play this year. Nantz said Woods’ appearance would be “astonishing” and a fitting addition to the first Masters with full capacity since Woods’ 2019 win. This year also marks the 25th anniversary of Woods’ first Masters win, a 12-shot rout where he also set the tournament’s scoring record. CBS will mark that anniversary before the final-round broadcast of this year’s Masters with a documentary titled, “A Win for the Ages.” The show will feature Woods discussing his relationship with his father, as well as pioneers Lee Elder and Charlie Sifford, and his recollections of the win. Woods’ most recent TOUR start came at the COVID-rescheduled Masters in November 2020, prior to suffering significant injuries to both legs in a single-car accident the following February in Los Angeles. It was unknown whether he would walk again, and there was fear that his right leg would need to be amputated. Extensive rehab led to Woods teaming with son Charlie for a runner-up finish at the PNC Championship last December, his first action in front of cameras since the accident. “My hopes for Tiger through this whole process, were just that he could play golf again,” said North, a two-time U.S. Open winner. “That he could get out and play golf and enjoy his time with Charlie and (daughter) Sam on the golf course as a father, and not as the former No. 1 player in the world. Not as the greatest player ever, but as a dad.” The challenge of walking four competitive rounds at Augusta National, in addition to the necessary practice and preparation, can’t be understated, however. North called Augusta National “the last place you would’ve thought he could possibly play.” “If he plays golf, where do you think he would possibly play?” North said. “I would say, maybe at The Open Championship at St. Andrews, because it’s flat, it’s an easy walk.” But Woods isn’t the standard competitor. The 82-time TOUR winner returned from a fused back to win the 2019 Masters. He won the 2008 U.S. Open on a torn ACL. A trip to Augusta suggests that he desires to compete next week. With that being the case, it’s hard to rule him out. “Ben Hogan was as tenacious a competitor as they’ve ever been,” said Strange of the man who won six majors after suffering severe injuries in a 1949 car accident. “And Tiger Woods is right there with him.”

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No, it's not a new thing to reward a first-time major champion the option to select where he wants to relocate a World Golf Championships event in which he'll be participating, but given Bryson DeChambeau's unprecedented approach at his craft, it feels like an option necessary to rule out. Before DeChambeau broke through in a major at the 2020 U.S. Open, he prevailed as the individual champion of the 2015 NCAA Men's Championship at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida. For the first time, the 15-year-old course is hosting the PGA TOUR as 72 automatic qualifiers have assembled for the WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession. For an explanation of how this came to be, what the field can expect and more, scroll past the extended ranking of projected contenders. RELATED: The First Look | Inside the Field POWER RANKINGS: WGC-WORKDAY CHAMPIONSHIP Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood, Joaquin Niemann, Hideki Matsuyama and Jason Day will be among the notables reviewed in Tuesday's Fantasy Insider. Just as two of the three Asian Swing tournaments in the fall were moved to sites in the United States due to the challenges caused by the pandemic, the WGC-Workday in Florida serves as a temporary substitute for what was an annual excursion to Mexico City for the WGC-Mexico Championship from 2017-2020. The objective is to return to Mexico in 2022, but the focus right now is continue the tradition of this WGC no matter the stage. The timing of the WGC-Workday serves as an entry or a return for international talent to log four rounds in a no-cut, 72-hole competition, all in advance of THE PLAYERS Championship in two weeks, the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in four weeks, the Masters in six weeks, and so on. The timing of The Concession as host is serendipitous in the context of sports in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays returned to the World Series in 2020 and the Buccaneers just became the first team to win a Super Bowl in their home stadium. Local fans have been spoiled of late! DeChambeau isn't from Tampa - he's a California native - but he's undefeated on this week's host course. Four others in the field also competed in the 2015 NCAA Men's Championships: Thomas Detry (T3), Jon Rahm (T22), Scottie Scheffler (T33) and Xander Schauffele (T45). The Concession is the only collaboration between Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin. Suitably, it's named after Nicklaus' concession of a short putt to the Englishman during the 1969 Ryder Cup that resulted in a tie (and the U.S. retaining the trophy). It's a stock par 72 with 7,474 yards of eye-popping imagery. Set entirely in native Florida landscape, there are over six dozen bunkers across the property. Typical of many Nicklaus designs, there's room to move it off the tee, but course management is as important as precision on approach. TifEagle bermuda greens average just 6,000 square feet, and that's generous in application because of the undulations, segments and a Stimpmeter prep of 12 feet. Typically, with unfamiliar greens that happen to be challenging, ball-strikers tend to hog the final leaderboard, but quick studies with the putter - and you don't qualify for a WGC unless you're that - will mix in. The course should present wonderfully in its debut. The weather forecast is outstanding. A primarily sunny sky will allow daytime highs to reach 80 degrees throughout. Winds will be tame by Florida standards. Even a push out of the north on Thursday shouldn't bother before ever-so-slightly stronger breezes rotate to blow in from the prevailing southerly direction. In addition to 550 FedExCup points and $1.82-million payday, the champion will earn a three-year PGA TOUR membership exemption. Should a non-member win and accept membership, the FedExCup points will not contribute to his membership total this season because it's a WGC. ROB BOLTON'S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM's Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Power Rankings (WGC-Workday) TUESDAY*: Power Rankings (Puerto Rico); Sleepers (WGC-Workday), Fantasy Insider SUNDAY: Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Rookie Watch * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM's Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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