Power Rankings: WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Even in the middle of a pandemic and absent the patrons, the show must go on. A light rain fell in the semi-darkness as Gary Player, 85, and then Jack Nicklaus, 80, hit the ceremonial opening tee shots to open the Masters Tournament on Thursday morning. "We'll never know," Nicklaus said of the fate of their golf balls, and the mask-wearing members, press and tournament officials ringing the tee chortled. The old legends sauntered off and soon the skies opened, the rain halting play with just nine players having recorded a hole score, and nine others having just begun their rounds. "It's been fun," Nicklaus said once the two were inside the press building and bedecked in green blazers for their annual press conference. "We miss Arnold, but it's a nice tradition." Lee Elder, the first African American to play in the Masters in 1975, will join them as the third ceremonial starter next April. Asked about the addition, which Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley announced earlier this week, Player recalled how he'd invited Elder to join him in an exhibition amid South African apartheid in 1969. It required approval from the president, and Player praised the courage it must've taken for Elder to show up. "It was very influential because at that stage no Black visitors or people of any color were visiting South Africa," he said. "I think he encouraged a lot of - at that stage we still had a lot of young Black potential golfers, but they didn’t have a hero, so to speak, and to have Lee Elder come down there was remarkable, and it went off extremely well." Nicklaus (six Green Jackets) and Player (three) touched on a wide range of topics that included: Health - Nicklaus said his back has been so bad, he can no longer go on walks but has been walking in the pool with Barbara. And Player, to no one's surprise, said, "I started exercising and weight-training in 1944," a time, he added, when the only exercise most other golfers did was "taking an olive from one martini to the other." Equipment and the modern golfer - Both players have been alarmed at the distances the ball is flying and are worried for Augusta National when players are reaching par-5s with short irons. Player counts himself as a big fan of Bryson DeChambeau, whom he considers very smart. "People say, ‘Here comes the scientist, here comes the kook,'" Player said. "Well, he is a scientist, and he's taken it to another level." The pandemic - Nicklaus said he and Barbara recently had dinner with Rickie Fowler and his wife, and Fowler discussed COVID-19. Nicklaus also commented on the robust health of the game when so many people have been looking for something to do in a safe and socially distant manner. "It's brought the game of golf back to people who hadn't been playing," he said. Family - Player said he'd traveled to Philadelphia at the outset of the pandemic and had planned to visit his daughter for three days. He stayed eight months. "The price was right," he said. Nicklaus' caddie for the ceremonial shot was his wife Barbara. "I normally have one of the grandkids, but we couldn't bring anybody with us except for the spouses this time," he said, adding that Barbara took some convincing before she agreed to the job. Tiger Woods - Both players commented on Woods' eloquence at the Champions' Dinner. "It was very heartwarming listening to him speak," Player said. "He said he was on the way to the golf course and he had to stop because he had tears in his eyes and paused for a little while on the road because a lot of memories were going through his mind very quickly, as I interpreted what he was saying, and to have won the tournament again with his children there. "He paused for a while and he spoke very, very well," Player added. Said Nicklaus, "Gary was right. Tiger was very emotional. I've never seen Tiger that way." Charlie Woods - Nicklaus remarked on how proud Woods is of his son, who has begun to make a name for himself on the South Florida junior golf scene at 11. "He says, ‘I’m having more fun out with Charlie and Sam, his kids, and watching them do different things and be vulnerable,'" Nicklaus said. "He says, ‘Charlie is starting to play golf and he’s getting a really good swing.' He says, ‘I’ve got blades in his hands so he learns how to play golf instead of learning with all those forgiving golf clubs.' I think he’s very wise. That’s what his father did to him, he took the old equipment we played with to teach Tiger. I think that’s why Tiger was such a good player." The career Grand Slam - Asked what advice they would give Rory McIlroy as he tries for the career Slam this week, Nicklaus said it would be the same advice as always: Be patient. Player preached self-belief. "I did a lot of yoga and mindset and sort of almost brainwashing," he said. "I did some very extraordinary things, which I won’t go into, in my room to do it and a lot of mindset, and I teed off believing and this is what I believe Rory has got to do. "... A lot of players tell you they believe," he continued, "and when that bell rings and they get on that tee, there’s something that they don’t believe, and I think he’s got to get up there and say - he’s got to start meditating. He’s got to start believing that he can do it, because time goes by."

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JEJU ISLAND, South Korea — India’s rising star Shubhankar Sharma is keen to maintain his push for a PGA TOUR card and a spot on the Presidents Cup’s International Team when he tees up at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES starting on Thursday. The young Indian finished T10 at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia last weekend after entering the final round as the joint third-round leader, but the disappointment was quickly forgotten when South African legend Ernie Els, who  is captain of the Presidents Cup’s International Team, invited him for a nine-hole practice round here on Tuesday. It brought back great memories for Sharma, who was hand-picked by Els to hit shots during a golf clinic in New Delhi in 2008. He is now fired up to launch another strong run in this week’s event, which is the only PGA TOUR tournament in South Korea. “We were just chatting a lot about his life on TOUR,â€� said Sharma of his day with Els. “He said he’s so happy that kids like me are coming up now and that the International Team is actually looking really strong. I think he’s a great captain and definitely we’ll have a great team together.â€� He recalled travelling to Delhi Golf Club to watch the Indian Masters and remembers vividly what Els, a four-time major winner, told him during the clinic.  “I traveled a long way just to get to Delhi,â€� said Sharma. “I walked with Ernie in the first round and I think after the second round was when he had his clinic. I was one of the lucky ones to go up to him and say hi and then obviously hit a few shots with his 9‑iron. There was like a 100-yard board on the range and I hit both my shots, landed right next to the board. The crowd was clapping and it was quite a good moment for me.  “There were two or three kids before me who tried to hit it and they couldn’t really connect. It was his club, it was like a heavy 9-iron, so just to hit those two shots was very special and that made my day.â€� “And then Ernie gave me his card, he signed his card and gave it to me and he said, ‘You’ll be a good player one day, just keep working hard.’ So we were talking about it yesterday, and it’s always nice when I remember that day.â€� Els, who has competed in eight Presidents Cups, believes Sharma will contend for a place on his International Team.  “I played with Shubhankar, who’s had an incredible year. He’s won a few times around the world in one year and he’s only 22 years old,â€� said the 49-year-old.   “I wasn’t familiar that he was right behind me when we were hitting balls and we were talking about it. Those kind of stories doesn’t normally happen. You watch your hero play and you want be like him. It’s not many times (that) it comes to fruition,â€� added Els. “I had the same situation with Gary Player where I asked him for his autograph when I was a kid and he doesn’t even remember. But it made such an impact in my life, and it’s amazing how it translates in your mind and changes your life. It’s amazing how you can touch lives without even knowing.â€� With countryman and close friend Anirban Lahiri having played the last two Presidents Cups, Sharma has made it a goal for him to get to Royal Melbourne. “The next Presidents Cup is going to be huge with Ernie and Tiger (Woods) being the captains,â€� he said. “The International Team could have pulled off a great win in Korea (in 2015). It definitely ranks in the top three (goals) with the majors and with the WGCs. Playing the Presidents Cup would be a huge honor.â€� “Anirban has done it, and if both of us can make the team, that will be the icing on the cake. Obviously we’ll have more fans back home in India. We have more than a billion people in India, and maybe a few percent will follow the Presidents Cup if we do make it. I think it will be great for our country and for golf back in Asia.â€� Sharma contended in Malaysia last weekend before slipping back with a closing 72. As he is in the field at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES and also in next week’s World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, both with no halfway cuts, he is hoping to take a big step towards earning his PGA TOUR card via the non-member FedExCup points category. “Only good things, positives to take away from last week,â€� said Sharma, who got into this week’s field as the highest ranked player from the Asian Tour. “It’s always good when you’re in contention at a PGA TOUR event and I’ve been lucky enough to be in contention twice this year, leading after three days in both the tournaments. So I just want to take positives. “A top‑10 finish is never bad on the PGA TOUR even though I would have liked to be slightly higher than that, but I just want to take positives out of last week. I feel like my game’s in a good spot and I have two more weeks, this week and next week as well, so (I’ll) try and do my best and we’ll see how it goes,â€� said Sharma who finished T9 at the WGC-Mexico Championship in February.

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BRADENTON, Fla. - One by one they came in to talk about their second rounds at the World Golf Championships - Workday Championship at The Concession, where Brooks Koepka (66, 11 under) leads by one over Billy Horschel (67), Collin Morikawa (64) and Cameron Smith (66). RELATED: Full leaderboard They spoke of working harder in the last few months than they have in years (Smith) or going low (Morikawa) or the smart course set-up (Horschel). Then there was the guy who shot 66 to get to 7 under, four back, who came in and said of his caddie: "He beats me all the time." Wait. What? Mexico's Abraham Ancer, the breakout star of the 2019 Presidents Cup, is cruising at The Concession with countryman and Korn Ferry Tour pro Roberto Díaz as his caddie. "He's doing great," Ancer said with a laugh after making birdie on his last hole despite a long wait as Viktor Hovland made an 8 up ahead. "I mean obviously he's not used to caddying, so there's been a couple of greens that he's like waiting for the putter instead of giving me the putter. But it's been fun. We're great friends and we're having a good time." Díaz, who played the PGA TOUR in 2018 and finished T14 at the Korn Ferry Tour's LECOM Suncoast Classic last week, came into the week admitting that he'd never caddied before. Still, he was happy to help out in a pinch. Dale Vallely, Ancer's regular bag man, couldn't make it, and since Díaz was going to be just down the road at the LECOM, he stepped up. "We live pretty close to each other in San Antonio, so I know his game pretty well," Díaz said. "This is my first time. It's been good. It's a different role this week, just trying to help. I'm just keeping up, staying quiet, doing the numbers. I've got the bag ready and that's about it." Ancer had a forgettable opening round 71, but all sorts of adventures, mostly the good kind, on Friday. His card featured seven birdies, an eagle (par-5 17th) and three bogeys. Of the top 11 players on the leaderboard at the WGC-Workday, only two, Ancer (T10) and Matthew Fitzpatrick (69, 9 under, T5) will be vying for their first TOUR win. "He's four years older than me," Ancer said of Díaz, "so I didn't grow up playing with him or against him. I met him right when I turned pro at Q school and since then we've been great friends and play a lot back home. We belong to the same club." Their matches at San Antonio's Oak Hills Country Club have helped polish both of their games, and convinced Ancer that his caddie this week has a bright future. "He'll get back out here on TOUR," he said of Díaz. "He's good enough. He's just got to believe it a little bit more." But not for the next two days. For now, all he's got to do keep up, stay quiet and do the numbers. And it's only a one-week deal. At the Korn Ferry Tour's next stop, the Chitimacha Louisiana Open presented by MISTRAS, March 18-21, Díaz will be the one taking, not giving, the putter.

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