Phil Mickelson becomes oldest to win a major, hangs on for 2-shot win at PGA Championship

COLUMBUS, Ohio – There are very few people who can really truly comprehend what Tiger Woods has achieved since having back-fusion surgery. One of those is two-time Super Bowl champion and five-time NFL MVP Peyton Manning. Manning famously returned to the heights of the NFL after sitting out a season following neck-fusion surgery in 2011. Having won his first Super Bowl with the Colts before the injury, he won another with the Denver Broncos after having surgery. RELATED: Watch Tiger exclusively on PGA TOUR LIVE on Thursday morning Getting there was not easy and plenty doubted he could. Woods finally succumbed to back-fusion surgery after multiple previous surgeries failed to fully address the issue. Now Woods has two wins since the surgery (TOUR Championship, Masters). Manning joined Woods for a pro-am appearance at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide on Wednesday, the second straight year they have played together. But this year came after Woods won PGA TOUR title No. 80 at East Lake and No. 81 at Augusta National Golf Club, replicating the amazing comeback success of Manning. “It’s hard to make comparisons. And I don’t think that anybody can speak to it from a physical standpoint, injury-wise. Only you know what it feels like. And I know how hard he worked,� Manning said of Woods, who will try to join Sam Snead with a record 82 PGA TOUR wins this week. “The most impressive thing is how he’s been able to adjust and be adaptive to playing in a new physical state. And that’s what I did. And maybe to use a baseball analogy … I couldn’t throw the 100 mile-an-hour fastball anymore, but you can still work the outside edges of the plate and you can still strike a guy out that way. “And he struck a lot of guys out down there at Augusta a few weeks ago and came home with the win. That to me is the most impressive thing, how adaptive he’s been. As a golf fan, like everybody, I liked watching that Sunday. It’s great having him out here watching him play again.� Woods’ chase for 82 has ramped up lately. While he missed the cut at the PGA Championship, this week he’s at a venue where success has come in buckets. There was a time that Muirfield Village was as much Tiger’s place as it was Jack’s. From 1999-2012, Woods finished no worse than T22 at the beautiful course Jack Nicklaus built near his Ohio roots. Woods won the Memorial Tournament five times and finished inside the top four on three other occasions. Three of his wins came in consecutive years between 1999-2001. So perhaps it would be somewhat fitting for Woods to claim his 82nd and record-tying PGA TOUR win this week. “To get into those numbers it takes longevity and it takes years. I think it’s been 10 years where I’ve won five or more tournaments. You need multiple win seasons like that and be able to do it for decades so that’s something I’m very proud of because it’s not something that happens overnight,� Woods said of his win chase. “To be able to come this close to get to one behind Sam Snead has been pretty amazing. It has been a pretty amazing run during my 20-some odd years out here. Hopefully I have a few more.� Woods was under the weather at Bethpage Black, but insists his health is fine this week. “I lost quite a bit of weight and wasn’t feeling my best, but I was able to put most of it back on,� he said. “I’m feeling a lot better. I just need to play a little bit more now. Hopefully it will be four solid days this week.�

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  CHARLOTTE, N.C. – It doesn’t take much for Rory McIlroy to contend at the Wells Fargo Championship. Five swings on Wednesday evening did the trick this time. McIlroy, making his first start since a difficult defeat at the Masters, headed to the range after feeling rusty in Wednesday’s pro-am. A quick look at the TrackMan made him realize that his clubface was closed through impact. “It almost feels like I’m trying to hold the clubface square for longer,� McIlroy said. That swing thought worked Thursday. He shot a 3-under 68 that left him one shot off the lead after the morning wave. McIlroy, who’s making his eighth start of the season, is 32nd in the FedExCup after a win in March at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. He hit just four fairways Thursday but still gained strokes off the tee by averaging 325.4 yards on all tee shots. More importantly, he hit 14 greens. And the putting lesson with Brad Faxon is still paying dividends, as McIlroy gained +1.6 strokes on the greens. “I love this place,� said McIlroy, who turns 29 on Friday. “I feel like I don’t have to play that well and I can still get it around.� McIlroy has finished outside the top 10 just once in seven Wells Fargo starts, including two wins. He set a course record in each start, shooting a final-round 62 in 2010 and third-round 61 five years later. Jason Day was on the practice green in 2010 when he watched a frustrated McIlroy walk off the ninth green after making the cut on the number. Two days later, McIlroy was holding the trophy after making 17 birdies and an eagle on the weekend. “He’s explosive in that way,� Day said. “It’s very similar to what Tiger does. He’ll come to a course and he’ll like it so much that he’s very dominant on it. This is a driving golf course. If you’re a good driver, you get the opportunities. He hits it long and straight and obviously he’s putting better.� Quail Hollow lets McIlroy hit a lot of mid- and long-irons and swing aggressively off the tee. The towering trees that frame the fairways help him envision the proper shot. When asked if it reminded him of Augusta National, McIlroy laughed and said, “I’ve just won here a couple times. That’s about the difference.� Of course, McIlroy needs a Masters win to complete the career Grand Slam. This year’s edition was his closest call at Augusta National since he completed the other three legs. A third-round 65 put him in the final group with Patrick Reed, but even during that remarkable round McIlroy could tell his game was not in top shape. “I was sort of holding it together,� he said. And it fell apart under the Sunday pressure. He shot a final-round 74 to fall into fifth place. He spent the week after Augusta National binge-watching television shows (Billions), reading books (The Chimp Paradox, Essentialism) and drinking wine. “Erica had to drag me out of the house,� he said. “Once I got back in my routine, I was fine.� He confirmed that Thursday. He’s back to his old ways at the Wells Fargo Championship.  

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