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On paper, John McLaren knows that he and his boss, Paul Casey, probably couldn’t be more different. “Paul is very creative and artsy and left brain,â€� the veteran caddie explains. “I studied math and chemistry and geology so I’m the analytical type.â€� Together, though, the two disparate halves have come together and made a whole. A player who is focused on returning to the kind of form that once allowed him to reach No. 3 in the world. A player who ended a nine-year PGA TOUR victory drought last year at the Valspar Championship. That win — which came in Casey’s 151st start since that victory at the 2009 Shell Houston Open – wasn’t easy, either. He started the final round tied for 11th and fired a 65 that included a career-low 21 putts. He then had to anxiously wait about 90 minutes to see if his score would hold up. “It was really one of the highlights of my career in caddying,â€� McLaren says. “I was delighted for him and for myself and for (instructor) Peter Kostis, as well.â€� Since the two teamed up in January of 2016, Casey has finished in the top 30 of the FedExCup each year. In addition to last year’s victory at the Copperhead Course, Casey has 22 more top-10 finishes, including six top-threes, two of which have come in just seven starts this season. McLaren says the right- and left-brain configuration may be the key to the duo’s success. “It kind of covers one,â€� he says. “Paul is quite a volatile character. I’m a very logical, very calm person. I suppose. So that combination, I guess it could backfire, but between us it seems to fit nicely.â€� McLaren says mutual respect is also key in their partnership. “When I look at the long term, Phil Mickelson with Bones; Phil thought as much of Jim as Jim did of Phil,â€� he says. “And I know Paul and I — we’ve got each other’s back equally.â€� McLaren, who is known for the colorful socks he wears – in fact, his alter ego, Johnny Long Socks, even has its own Instagram account, started his life in golf as a pro, playing on the Sunshine Tour in South Africa, as well as in Australia, during the early 1990s with limited success. A friend asked McLaren to caddy for him one summer. After their second stint together, this time for a year, McLaren says he “lost my desire to play.â€� So, he decided to concentrate on caddying, working for, among others Scott Dunlap and Duffy Waldorf. Prior to signing on with Casey, McLaren caddied for Luke Donald for six years, during which time the Englishman was ranked as high as No. 1 in the world. But the relationship reached a low point in 2015, and McLauren decided to leave Donald. “I think we’d probably run our course,â€� he says. Once people found out that McLaren was available, he began to get feelers from various players. McLaren had several tryouts, so to speak, the first with Francesco Molinari, who offered him the job — starting immediately. At that point, though, McLaren had already agreed to caddy for Kevin Chappell for two weeks and another for Casey. “I just said I’m a man of my word and I won’t do that without at least fulfilling them,â€� McLaren told Molinari. “So, I couldn’t join him straightaway.â€� Chappell offered McLaren a job, as well. But he still had to fulfill the commitment to Casey, so the two got together at the 2015 Hero World Challenge and finished fifth. Again, another job offer — but McLaren didn’t accept until the two sat down in London for a heart-to-heart. “My interview with Paul was goal-orientated really,â€� said the left brain of the duo. “I said why haven’t you achieved what I think you should have done? What are your goals, getting them all out and they were reasonably lofty.” “And then I was, I was like, oh, they’re fantastic, but what have you done to even consider making them come true?â€� The more the two talked, the more the analytical McLaren was interested. He’s a big proponent of David Alred’s performance-based coaching style, working with him when he caddied for Luke Donald, and McLaren felt like he could help Casey. He made suggestions, and the pro was all in. “Paul’s ball-striking is just naturally so impressive,â€� McLaren says. “So, when you’ve got that in a player, you look at all the other things and just see the other things as great opportunities, you know.” “When you come from a player like Luke, he was as good a pitcher and chipper and putter as you’ll ever see. You think, well, if I can blend some of that to a great hitter, I’m going to have a great player.â€� The on-course results speak for themselves. Casey ranks 16th in the FedExCup with a runner-up finish at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am – where he and his partner, Don Colleran, EVP and CSO of FedEx won the team title – and third at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship. Off the golf course, the two men have found a variety of common interests. For one, both are wine aficionados: McLaren saying he learned a lot from Waldorf in that regard. “The ability of someone to grow fruit and turn it into wine, I think is amazing,â€� he says. Casey and McLaren also share a love of cycling. In fact, two years ago when McLaren turned 50, Casey took his caddy on a Tour de France-type of trip, complete with a team of riders, into the Dolomites, a mountain range in northeast Italy. The ride lasted a week and covered about 500 kilometers, or more than 300 miles. That wasn’t the biggest challenge, though. “It was more the ups and downs to be honest,â€� McLaren says. “We did about, I want to say, 35,000 feet of climbing during the week.â€� Carrying a 50-pound golf bag over four or five miles each day now must seem like a breeze. 18 things on Paul Casey Few people know a PGA TOUR pro better than his caddie. So here are 18 things John McLaren thinks you don’t know about his boss, Paul Casey. 1. Paul met his wife Polly at charity function during the 2011 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. They were set up by Formula One legend Eddie Jordan. 2. He loves fast, exotic cars and he is an extremely proficient driver with many hours on the track. 3. Paul used to bite his fingernails until he saw himself in an interview on TV and he’s never done it since. 4. He’s an avid cyclist, enjoying both mountain and road biking. 5. He went to Hampton Wick Boys School, which is near Hampton Court Palace, one of the homes of Henry VIII. 6. He has a passion for watches. 7. He has two kids named Lex and Astaria. Lex is 4 and he’s just starting to get interested in golf. 8. Paul loves coffee. He even travels with his own coffee machine. When he’s at home, he grinds his own coffee beans and measures it all out meticulously. He’s actually going for a barista course pretty soon. He just loves it. 9. He has a brother who lives in New York and works in finance. 10. Paul went to Arizona State University where he won three Pac-12 titles in a row. 11. He won back-to-back English Amateur titles, too. 12. He has 17 professional victories around the world, including two on the PGA TOUR.   13. He was a supporter of the Wimbledon football club. But his dad used to dress him up in Tottenham Hotspur football club colors, which really incensed Paul. 14. Paul’s favorite meal is chicken tikka masala. 15. He has a couple of nicknames. One is Space Man – that goes back to his English days with Justin Rose. I think he used to call him Spacey Casey. The other is Popeye because of his forearms. 16. He prefers mountains to beaches. 17. Peter Kostis, the CBS announcer, is and has been his only instructor.   18. Paul has been to the moon — all you have to do is ask Bryson DeChambeau.

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Tiger Woods was two holes away Friday from recording his first bogey-free round at the U.S. Open since his final winning round 19 years ago at Pebble Beach. But what appeared to be a solid, if unspectacular, second round instead ended with two bogeys, a sour finish that leaves Woods even par through 36 holes and well off the pace going into the weekend. Unlike the previous round, when clutch putting balanced out some poor iron play, Woods struggled to make anything of length, failing to take advantage of his birdie opportunities. After his lone birdie on his second hole of the day, Woods reeled off 14 consecutive pars before those two late bogeys at holes eight and nine had him signing for a 1-over 72. RELATED: Leaderboard | Tee times | Tiger ‘trending in right direction’ | Chase for 82 continues  | Tiger’s Jedi mind tricks in 2000 And unlike yesterday, this was not a successful grind, but an unsuccessful bid to make up some ground on the leaders, namely playing partner Justin Rose, who shot a 1-under 70 to move to 7 under. Here’s a hole-by-hole look at Tiger’s second round. ROUND 2: TIGER HOLE-BY-HOLE HOLE 9 (526 yards, par 4): Tiger’s final tee shot of the day with driver is not a good one. It’s sailing left of the fairway, and Tiger hangs his head as the ball bounds into the bunker. Using 8-iron off the sand 236 yards from the pin, Tiger lays up but his ball finds the rough on the left side. With 54 yards to the pin, he hits a terrific shot that touches down on the green just past the bunker and rolls to within 7 feet. But he can’t convert the par save. A solid, if yet unspectacular, day through 16 holes ends on a couple of sour notes, leaving Woods with plenty of work to do this weekend. Fairway: Missed (11 of 14) | Green: Missed (13 of 18) | Putts: 2 (32) | Score: Bogey (1 over 72, Even for the championship through 36 holes) HOLE 8 (432 yards, par 4): Tiger’s iron off the tee finds the heart of the fairway, near Spieth’s tee ball at about the 205-yard mark No need to get it anywhere close to the cliff that’s 50 yards further up the fairway. Left with a 212-yard approach shot, Tiger is caught between the 6- and 7-irons. He opts for the 7 and comes up short, his ball finding the thick rough near the greenside bunker. He hacks out onto the green, but he’s 16 feet away from the pin. He misses the hole right, ending his bid for his first bogey-free round at the U.S. Open since his final round here at Pebble Beach in 2000 when he won by 15 strokes. It’s his first bogey in his last 30 holes. Fairway: Hit (11 of 13) | Green: Missed (13 of 17) | Putts: 2 (30) | Score: Bogey (Even for round, 1 under for the championship) HOLE 7 (116 yards, par 3): With the pin in the back left, Tiger’s tee shot hits the middle of the green and spins back just outside of 28 feet away. Someone in the crowd boos; hey, is this the 16th at TPC Scottsdale? Tiger’s birdie attempt is on a great line but runs out of steam. A tap-in par. That’s 14 straight pars in a round that remains bogey-free. Fairway: N/A (10 of 12) | Green: Hit (13 of 16) | Putts: 2 (28) | Score: Par (1 under for round, 2 under for the championship) HOLE 6 (529 yards, par 5): Tiger opts for 3-wood on a tee shot that he has said is among his least favorite in major championship golf. He carves out a 260-yard drive that safely finds the fairway. With 5-wood on his second shot, he comes up just short of the green. His chip rolls to inside 10 feet, but the putter lets him down this time, as he can’t convert the birdie attempt despite some help from caddie Joe LaCava. A frustrated Woods walks off the green. Fairway: Hit (10 of 12) | Green: Hit (12 of 15) | Putts: 2 (26) | Score: Par (1 under for round, 2 under for the championship) HOLE 5 (186 yards, par 3): Now to the nemesis hole from the first round, where Tiger suffered a double bogey when his wayward tee shot hit the cart path; it’s his only hole over par thus far this week. No trouble this time for Woods off the tee, as his 7-iron finds the back-left portion of the green, 30 feet away from the pin. His birdie attempt loses steam at the end and fades a little left, but it’s another stress-far par. That’s a dozen consecutive pars, one more than his 11 straight to end the first round. Fairway: N/A (9 of 11) | Green: Hit (11 of 14) | Putts: 2 (24) | Score: Par (1 under for round, 2 under for the championship) HOLE 4 (334 yards, par 4): Tiger with iron off the tee on this short par 4, and he safely finds the fairway – unlike Rose, whose tee shot bounds over the edge of the fairway and nestles next to an ice plant past the hazard line. From 112 yards, Woods’ approach with a gap wedge bounces past the pin and spins back, leaving him inside 8 feet for birdie. Spieth has a longer birdie attempt along a similar line and makes it, but Tiger’s attempt clips the right edge. Yes, par again. Fairway: Hit (9 of 11) | Green: Hit (10 of 13) | Putts: 2 (22) | Score: Par (1 under for round, 2 under for the championship) HOLE 3 (394 yards, par 4): Unlike Rose and Spieth, who took aggressive lines to successfully cut the corner on the dogleg-left hole, Tiger’s 3-wood is aimed right of the bunkers. He avoids them, but the ball flies into the thick rough near a couple of marshals. It’s just his second missed fairway of the round. He’ll have 159 yards to flag, compared to 85 for Rose and 106 for Spieth. Tiger’s approach with a 9-iron comes up just short of the green. He opts for putter from off the green, and his 30-foot birdie attempt comes up a bit short. Another par. Fairway: Missed (8 of 10) | Green: Missed (9 of 12) | Putts: 1 (20) | Score: Par (1 under for round, 2 under for the championship) HOLE 2 (516 yards, par 4): Opting for 3-wood off the tee, Tiger cuts a shot down the left side that veers back toward the middle of the fairway and uses the slope to run out to 314 yards. That leaves him 207 yards to the pin. An excellent 6-iron lands on the front of the green and rolls toward the pin, finishing 14 feet away. Another firm putt doesn’t pick up the break, the ball skimming the left edge of the cup and leaving another short par putt that he converts. Fairway: Hit (8 of 9) | Green: Hit (9 of 11) | Putts: 2 (19) | Score: Par (1 under for round, 2 under for championship) HOLE 1 (380 yards, par 4): Time to make a move, now that Tiger has reached the scoring portion of his round with the next seven holes, including three of the easier par 4s on the course. He starts off with a solid iron shot off the tee, his low trajectory ball finding the center of the fairway. With a 9-iron from 154 yards, his approach ends up pin-high, inside 21 feet right of the flagstick. A firmly struck birdie attempt, but the ball broke too late toward the hole, and he makes the 3-foot comebacker for par. Still, he picks up a stroke on the leader Rose, who suffers bogey after his errant tee shot found the thick stuff. Fairway: Hit (7 of 8) | Green: Hit (8 of 10) | Putts: 2 (17) | Score: Par (1 under for round, 2 under for the championship) HOLE 18 (543 yards, par 5): Woods takes 5-wood off the tee and slips a little on the downswing. Ball pops up a little and he’s not impressed. But it finds the middle of the fairway. Will be a three-shot hole for him given he sits 288 yards back. Clearly, he has a plan to lay up at a number he can be aggressive with thanks to the front right pin location. Leaves 125-yards and takes his wedge a little left of the flag to leave a 20-foot look at birdie. This time, he manages to keep the ball high enough, but it burns the left edge. Tap in par and it’s a 1-under 35 on this side of the course. Eight pars and one birdie could have been better, but ultimately he said he wanted to grind the back side out before making moves in the first seven holes on the front side. Rose makes birdie to extend the lead out to 8-under leaving Woods six back at the turn.  Fairway: Hit (6 of 7) | Green: Hit (7 of 9) | Putts: 2 (15) | Score: Par (1 under for round, 2 under for the championship) HOLE 17 (208 yards, par 3): Spieth is first to play and goes left on the difficult par-3 heading back towards the Pacific Ocean. Rose feels he’s got his shot pure and it drops short into the sand. “Not in a million years would I think that was short,â€� he says. With that information, Woods’ caddie Joe LaCava asks if Woods wants one more club. “No, I like this,â€� he says. The 2000 U.S. Open champ then hits a sensational draw to 15 feet. Unfortunately, his birdie try grazes the low side edge of the hole and rolls out some 5 feet past. Woods steadies though and secures another par. Fairway: N/A (5 of 6) | Green: Hit (6 of 8) | Putts: 2 (13) | Score: Par (1 under for round, 2 under for the championship) HOLE 16 (407 yards, par 4): Another safe iron off the tee from Woods who spends some time before the shot trying to get a better understanding of the intermittent changing winds. From 191-yards, Woods pulls his 7-iron left and it bounces off the putting surface and into the rough leaving a short-sided chip. But he makes it look easy and nestles it up to a tap in for par.  Fairway: Hit (5 of 6) | Green: Missed (5 of 7) | Putts: 1 (11) | Score: Par (1 under for round, 2 under for the championship) HOLE 15 (397 yards, par 4): Playing safe off the tee with iron and it’s another fairway checked off. From 144-yards with a 9-iron, Woods tries to shape a big draw, but it hangs out to the right. Finds the putting surface, but it is some 32 feet away. The birdie try just slides under the hole and he taps in for par. Meanwhile, Rose makes a birdie and takes the lead to 7-under leaving Woods five back. Fairway: Hit (4 of 5) | Green: Hit (5 of 6) | Putts: 2 (10) | Score: Par (1 under for round, 2 under for the championship) HOLE 14 (580 yards, par 5): The first par-5 of the round for Woods represents an opportunity to get some more momentum. A solid tee shot finds the fairway, but as the misty rain continues there is very little roll and Woods has some 314-yards uphill left. As such he pulls iron and hits a solid layup down the right side of the fairway to leave 124-yards. Spieth from similar range makes the big error of not getting over the false front on the front right portion of the green and says it’s a “full shot penaltyâ€�. Amazingly, Woods does the same, spinning the ball back down off the green into a tight lie that brings a tricky chip over the right edge of a bunker with very little green to work with before the flag. Plays it beautifully to 4 feet to set up a chance to save par. Yesterday, his par putt on this green produced a fist pump… this time, it’s just a polite wave as it sneaks in the right side of the cup.  Fairway: Hit (3 of 4) | Green: Missed (4 of 5) | Putts: 1 (8) | Score: Par (1 under for round, 2 under for the championship) HOLE 13 (445 yards, par 4): Crisp strike off the tee and the ball gets out there some 281 yards into the middle of the fairway. From 173-yards, Woods once again finds the green and keeps the ball under the hole. It lands softly and trickles back a little on a soft ridge some 22 feet, 7 inches from the hole. Rose has a putt on the same line from further back, but he powers it through the break and as such doesn’t add much information for Woods to use. It’s a right to left swinger and Woods is unable to provide enough pace to hold the high line. It dives under the hole and leaves a little 3-foot tester. But from there he secures par. Spieth by the way makes a third birdie in four holes to join Woods at 2-under and Rose cleans up par to remain the tournament leader at 6-under.  Fairway: Hit (2 of 3) | Green: Hit (4 of 4) | Putts: 2 (7) | Score: Par (1 under for round, 2 under for the championship) HOLE 12 (202 yards, par 3): Woods takes his 6-iron as some rain falls softly again. Safe shot to the front right of the green. It’s the best of the group. His birdie putt will come from 26 feet, 11 inches. After watching some nice recovery shots from playing partners Justin Rose and Jordan Spieth, Woods gives his lengthy chance a healthy stroke. It tracks towards the hole the entire way, but pulls up just a few inches short. He taps in for a safe par.  Fairway: N/A (1 of 2) | Green: Hit (3 of 3) | Putts: 2 (5) | Score: Par (1 under for round, 2 under for the championship) HOLE 11 (390 yards, par 4): After a tee ball finds the intermediate cut on the left side of the fairway, Woods gets aggressive with his approach shot going over the pin and sucking the ball back under the hole. It’s another great look for birdie this time from 10 feet, 10 inches and this time he pours it in with authority. He’s in the red for the round with a birdie.  Fairway: Missed (1 of 2) | Green: Hit (2 of 2) | Putts: 1 (3) | Score: Birdie (1 under for round, 2 under for the championship) HOLE 10 (495 yards, par 4): On a fresh morning at Pebble where there has been some rain to soften the course, Woods comes to his first hole of the day off a lengthy shuttle ride trying to shake out some of the cold. The 81-time PGA TOUR winner is in dark grey pants, navy sweater and blue cap. Playing with overnight leader Justin Rose, he’s acutely aware of the number to catch. Woods smokes driver down the fairway some 297 yards. His approach from 204 yards is a great one to 8 feet, 5 inches. But his putt is a little weak and trickles away from the cup on the low side. Taps in for a par.  Fairway: Hit (1 of 1) | Green: Hit (1 of 1) | Putts: 2 (2) | Score: Par (Even for round, 1 under for championship) Rd. 2 preview notes STARTING ON 10. The 493-yard par-4 10th ranked as the toughest hole on Thursday, playing to a stroke average of 4.449. With the back nine at Pebble Beach considered the tougher of the two nines, Tiger hopes to hang on for the first part of his round as he tees off on the 10th. “Right away we’ve got a tough par 4 right from the get-go,â€� Woods said. “And we have the harder side to start off on, and hopefully I can finish up on the front side and have the full seven holes where I can get it going.â€� On Thursday when he teed off on No. 1, Woods made three birdies in the first seven holes (and also suffered a double bogey at the par-3 fifth) before finishing with 11 consecutive pars. IRON PLAY. Woods ranks first on the PGA TOUR in greens in regulation, and also in proximity from 200 yards and out, but he was not happy with his irons in the opening round. “I didn’t hit my irons as crisp as I’d like,â€� Woods said. One of the keys to success at Pebble Beach, he says, is making sure his misses are in the correct spots – specifically below the pin. That’s what he’ll try to do on Friday in order to avoid having as many lengthy par putts as he faced (and converted) on Thursday. “If I happened to not feel comfortable with a number, dump the ball 30, 40 feet, move on about my business,â€� Woods said. SCORING BY ROUND. It shouldn’t be a complete surprise that Woods started off slowly on Thursday. He ranks just 68th on Round 1 scoring average on the PGA TOUR this season. The good news? He progressively gets better throughout the week. His Round 2 scoring average ranks 52nd on TOUR, his Round 3 scoring average ranks 20th, and his final round scoring average ranks 14th.

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Kevin “Tech” Techakanokboon, a former college golfer who as a freshman was teammates with Xander Schauffele, thought he was going to spend this week at home in Long Beach, California. Well, so much for that idea. Schauffele’s caddie, Austin Kaiser, tested positive for Covid on Wednesday, the day before the start of the WM Phoenix Open, and Schauffele needed a fill-in caddie. Tech, who had caddied for Chan Kim at The American Express and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, but hadn’t worked for Schauffle since the Dunlop Phoenix in Japan five years ago, got the call. The partnership bore fruit immediately as Schauffele shot a 4-under 67 Thursday, two off the early lead by K.H. Lee and one behind two time WM Phoenix Open winner Brooks Koepka. “I wouldn’t call myself a regular out here,” Tech said with a bemused smile. Still, he did well, and one would have to say it worked out well for Schauffele, other than the moment when he brain-cramped and stuck his hand in some cactus on the sixth hole. “Fortunately, Tech, we’ve played a ton of golf together,” Schauffele said. “He’s caddied for me once. It’s the small things that Austin knows what to do and Kevin has no idea what to do. But he plays, and it’s very helpful for me, and I can trust his reads and his feels, as well.” The arrangement came after a flurry of activity in the 24 hours leading to the first round. Schauffele and his wife, Maya, were staying with Kaiser in a house but communicating by FaceTime when the caddie began to feel unwell and tested positive. Schauffele and his wife immediately began to test themselves, in addition to opening up all the windows of the house. They tested negative while Kaiser drove home to San Diego and Tech landed in Phoenix. “He got in about 1,” Schauffele said. “Wife picked him up, dropped him off here, had to talk to some Thunderbirds to get him a credential. Everyone was really accommodating.” Kaiser was symptomatic when the two spoke Wednesday night. “He’s running like a 103 fever, headaches, body aches, the whole deal,” Schauffele said. “He’s got it. He dodged the whole thing for as long as it’s been going on, so he was bound to get it. He was pretty bummed out, it’s one of his favorite courses of the year, but I just told him it’s better now than at the Masters.”

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