Quick look at the Sentry Tournament of Champions

MELBOURNE, Australia – Joseph Naffah smiled when he revealed he used to beat Jhonattan Vegas regularly when they were growing up together in Venezuela. Vegas – his ISPS Melbourne World Cup of Golf teammate – would only say they had “healthy competitionâ€�. But while Vegas forged an incredible professional career with three PGA TOUR wins his friend Naffah was living a nightmare. After getting a scholarship at St. Marys University in San Antonio, Naffah succumbed to a back injury in his freshman year. The diagnosis was spondylolisthesis which is when a vertebra slips forward onto the bone below it – something doctors said was genetic. “Golf kind of aggravated it, all the swinging and hip movements, so that kind of accelerated the process of injury,â€� Naffah explained. It was an issue that could have been fixed with a Tiger Woods style fusion surgery and some time out of the game. But Naffah would make a decision that would dramatically affect his life. “I avoided surgery for like two years … all I needed was like a single fusion … but I had no idea what it was all about. I wish I just would have done it immediately, but I didn’t. “Then I started getting creative with some injections and that’s what pretty much messed me up. I got infected over the initial injury and lost two of the disks, part of the bone and everything.â€� In the end he needed three fusions. “They put a cage through the front and they put six screws in my back above it. They pretty much flipped me in the surgery room. It’s intense,â€� he explained. “I was very unlucky, and that kind of killed my golfing career. At that point, golfing was out of the question and I just wanted to get healthy to be able to create a family. God gave me that, I created a family, three beautiful children, and I feel pleased.â€� But a few years ago Naffah started to get the itch again. He was watching Vegas go on to great things and wondered if he could give it another go. “Following this path with him, he reinspired me to play again,â€� Naffah said. “I got back in shape over the last five years, hit the gym really hard and got fit again. He told me, just give it a shot, play again, take it one step at a time, because he knew it was my passion to play at the highest level. So here I am, you know? 12 years later.â€� And Vegas was similarly inspired. He watched closely as Naffah began on the mini tours once more. He kept an eye on the 12 starts he made on the PGA TOUR – Latino America over the last few years. And he provided a carrot. “They told him that you’re lucky if you walk again and forget about playing golf and obviously he took it as a challenge to kind of get back at it,â€� a stirred Vegas said. “When the opportunity came, obviously I wanted to inspire him to play harder, so I told him, if you have some good events that you make a cut or play solid, I’ll definitely take you for the World Cup. “He had to prove himself. For me it’s also a little bit of a challenge too because there was a little bit of controversy, I can’t deny, from a lot of the players from the country. It’s a challenge for us to play hard and play well and show the world and our country that we can do it.â€� And do it they did in the opening round Fourball. The pair combined for a best ball score of 7-under 65 at Metropolitan Golf Club to be just three shots off the lead. And Naffah was the man to provide the first two birdies early in the round.   “I think we combined really well today, even though I left him hanging there in the middle,â€� Naffah said. “But I started a little hot and I think that helped a little bit, kind of turned on the machine and got it going. “We were walking down the fairway, I didn’t feel that nervous for some reason. I probably expected to be more nervous. But I felt a good internal peace.â€� And with that his golfing dream has been realized, although already there is a new dream … providing Venezuela with its first World Cup title. “Vamos Venezuela!,â€� the pair screamed in unison.

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The old saying goes, “Never doubt a champion.” And Rory McIlroy is certainly a great champion. McIlroy can now add THE PLAYERS Championship before the descriptor, and it is very much deserved. Welcome to the Monday Finish where McIlroy proved he has been telling the truth all year. He really was pleased with his play and believed he was trending towards something big. Winning THE PLAYERS at TPC Sawgrass is certainly huge. FIVE OBSERVATIONS 1. Rory McIlroy is stronger than a lot of people want to admit sometimes. Now look, we are not ignoring the fact that in the last nine times McIlroy has played in a final group in the last round of a tournament he has failed to win. This is a fair narrative for golf pundits to highlight. And it will remain a while longer given McIlroy was not in the final group on Sunday at TPC Sawgrass. But what Sunday’s one-shot win did prove is McIlroy can handle the heat. Not just the heat of an incredible number of challengers that emerged on a wild Sunday, but also the heat of the spoken and written word engulfing the now 15-time PGA TOUR winner over the last 12 months since his previous win at the 2018 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. McIlroy has an incredible resume. Amongst it are THE PLAYERS trophy, a FedExCup, an Open Championship, a U.S. Open, two PGA Championships and two World Golf Championships – all before he’s 30. However you slice it, it is impressive. Could he have won more? Sure. But you can say that about almost every golfer out here. Read more about McIlroy’s incredible triumph here. 2. Furyk might just have some new tricks left. Jim Furyk was one of the last guys into THE PLAYERS Championship. A local at Ponte Vedra Beach, the 48-year-old was certainly grateful to be part of the field, his spot only secured with a recent top-10 finish at The Honda Classic. His performance over the four days was once again an advertisement that experience can certainly help on the PGA TOUR. With the like of Davis Love III, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh all showing competitiveness heading towards and into their 50s. His runner-up finish, which included some great shots down the stretch showed the nerves of the old guys can still stand up when it counts. The result catapulted him into the World Golf Championships–Dell Technologies Match Play field and gives him a chance to push towards a Masters berth. Read more about Furyk’s awesome and emotional week here. 3. Rahm runs hot. Joh Rahm continues to be a fascinating case study. The Spanish star is full of emotion and flair. It is part of what makes him such a special talent. But on course outbursts were causing some to question his temperament. The 54-hole leader talked about how he was so proud of himself for keeping a lid on his emotions over the early stages of the tournament but in Sunday’s final round Rahm once again found himself bubbling over at times. It was almost as if it all finally came to the surface. A critical play came on the par-5 11th where he defied caddy advice to lay up and instead hit the ball in the water going for the green. At the end of the day he signed for a 76 and dropped well back. And so the debate continues. The management of emotion is certainly important on the golf course but is the focus on it helping or hurting a natural talent like Rahm? It’s going to be fascinating viewing going forward. 4. Fleetwood is not far away. England’s Tommy Fleetwood will win on the PGA TOUR soon. A lot is made out of the fact Fleetwood has yet to win a PGA TOUR event. But what is sometimes understated is he already has four European Tour titles and also claimed the 2017 Race to Dubai. In his last two starts at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and THE PLAYERS Championship he has had chances to win only to settle for a top-5 finish. Already some are suggesting he’s struggling to close the deal when it counts. That’s ludicrous. When he appeared out of it at TPC Sawgrass on Sunday he hit a stunning shot into 16 to make eagle. And then knowing he needed birdie on 17 he took dead aim. His ball found the railway ties and bounced in the water. I don’t call that letting it slip, I call that a brave finish. Just like McIlroy trended heavily towards victory this season before winning, Fleetwood will do the same. 5. The move to March is a success. It’s a small sample size for sure but the move back to March certainly provided an exciting PLAYERS. There was concern the move would suit the bombers more than most – and yes McIlroy won and Dustin Johnson had his first top-10 in 11 tries – but Furyk proved TPC Sawgrass can provide any type of winner. You have to drive the ball well and you have to hit your irons well. You don’t have to be the best putter, but you still need to roll the rock. On Sunday throughout the final round there were 15 different players who had a legitimate stake in the championship. The twists and turns were incredible. The excitement and drama THE PLAYERS throws up certainly makes it a great start to the season of championships. See more on the final round here. And more on the move to March here. FIVE INSIGHTS 1. McIlroy now has 15 PGA TOUR titles in 156 starts at age 29 years, 10 months, 14 days. He moves to No. 1 in the FedExCup standings. 2. McIlroy is just the third player – with Tiger Woods and Henrik Stenson – to have won at least one FedExCup, THE PLAYERS Championship, major championship and World Golf Championship. 3. The win was McIlroy’s sixth consecutive top-10 on the PGA TOUR, which bests his previous streak of five in 2015: THE PLAYERS Championship (win), Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard (T6), WGC-Mexico Championship (2), Genesis Open (T4), Farmers Insurance Open (T5), Sentry Tournament of Championship (T4) 4. McIlroy led the field in par-3 scoring average (2.69, ) and Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (13.262). Finished second in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (5.309) behind only Fleetwood. 5. Jhonattan Vegas’ birdie putt from 69-feet, 7-inches is the longest recorded made putt on the famous par-3 17th Island Green. Official records began in 2003. WYNDHAM REWARDS The Wyndham Rewards Top 10 is in its first season and adds another layer of excitement to the FedExCup Regular Season. The top 10 players at the end of the FedExCup Regular Season will earn bonus payouts from the Wyndham Rewards Top 10. McIlroy stormed all the way from outside the top 10 to the No. 1 slot with his victory.

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SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – New York fans quickly become cruel when their stars don’t perform to their standards. It was just a couple months ago that Giancarlo Stanton was booed before he completed his first home game as a Yankee. Tiger Woods heard his first jeers just as quickly at this U.S. Open on Long Island. The stunned silence after Woods tapped in for a 7 on Shinnecock Hills’ tame opening hole was broken by one man yelling, “Welcome to Shinnecock, Tiger!� His tone made it clear that he was not an overenthusiastic ambassador for the Southampton Chamber of Commerce. The fan’s sneering sarcasm would quickly be forgotten. It was much harder for Woods to overcome Shinnecock’s unkind greeting to his first U.S. Open in three years. A first-round 78 seems to have ended his chances of winning 15th major. Twice in the opening round did he play back-to-back holes in 4 over par. After starting with a triple and a bogey, Woods battled the wind and Shinnecock Hills’ firm conditions to play the next 10 holes in even par. His U.S. Open chances still produced the slightest pulse with each par save. Even at the height of his greatness, it was Woods’ ability to grind out pars in the toughest conditions that gave him the most pride. “All I had to do after that start was try to shoot even par for the next 16 holes and I’d be fine. The guys aren’t going anywhere today,� Woods said. He cited the 1986 U.S. Open here, when Raymond Floyd was able to win with a final-round 66 after shooting 75 in the first round. “This golf course is kind of setting up for that right now.� But all of Thursday’s work came crashing down with back-to-back doubles at 13 and 14. He four-putted the 13th, then hit two shots at the 14th before his ball found the fairway. When he missed a 10-foot birdie putt at the par-5 16th, Woods could only snicker like a man who knew the game had gotten the best of him on this day. He was hardly the only player whose high hopes were dashed Thursday. Rory McIlroy had been enjoying his golf trip to Long Island until he shot 80. At least Jason Day had only a short walk to his RV after shooting 79. Shinnecock Hills usually waits until Sunday to break Phil Mickelson’s heart but that likely won’t be the case this year after a 77. Jon Rahm shot 78. Like the Masters, Woods arrived at this major after showing promise in his previous starts. His 11th-place finish at THE PLAYERS included his career-low round at TPC Sawgrass, a third-round 65. He battled a balky putter at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide but got high enough on the leaderboard to spike television ratings and incite the social-media masses. Fans can ogle his TrackMan numbers and marvel at his tee shots, but the margins are too slim, especially at majors, for Woods to win while throwing away so many strokes. It’s hard to be critical of a man who months ago wondered if he would ever play again, but Woods will need to find a way to minimize such mistakes. At TPC Sawgrass, he was pressuring front-runner Webb Simpson until playing the final five holes in 3 over, including a rinsed tee shot on the island-green 17th. Woods made 17 birdies and two eagle at Muirfield Village, but he also lost nearly 8 strokes on the greens and hit a tee shot out-of-bounds. He finished six shots behind winner Bryson DeChambeau. Putting bore the biggest the blame Thursday. He missed just five fairways but the one that sailed well right at 14 cost him two shots. “I didn’t putt well,� Woods said Thursday. “I drove it pretty darn good most of the day, but I didn’t take advantage of those opportunities. “It’s frustrating because I’m hitting it well. In the last four tournaments, I have not putted well. If I can putt like I did at the beginning of the year, we’ve got something. I just haven’t done that.� Because of his afternoon tee time, Woods was able to watch on TV as his peers struggled with the high winds that buffeted Shinnecock. He made it a goal to avoid any scores of double-bogey or worse. “Instead, I had three of them,� he said. He was 7 over par on three holes Thursday. It started with Shinnecock’s benign opening hole, a downhill par-4 of 399 yards that is short enough for some players to consider driving the green. Woods went with an iron off the tee, as did the two players who rounded out his star-studded threesome, Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas. All three found the first hole’s generous fairway, which was widened by the Bill Coore-Ben Crenshaw restoration to this historic course. Coore and Crenshaw also added short grass around Shinnecock Hills’ greens to make the course more closely resemble the William Flynn design that opened in 1931. Those crispy, closely-mown areas may look less intimidating than the thick rough that is the U.S. Open’s trademark, but they are infinitely more frustrating. Woods showed that after his 135-yard approach flew the green. Short grass provides players options, and Woods used multiple strategies to try and get up-and-down on No. 1. Unfortunately, all were unsuccessful. First, he tried to flop it. His ball landed on the green but not far enough to carry the steep slope on the back of the putting surface. His ball slowly trickled back off the green. Woods tried to putt the next two but the first one almost rolled back to his feet and the next rolled 8 feet past the hole. Two putts from there completed a triple-bogey. “I hit it right through the wind and compounded my problem,� Woods said. “I actually hit a really good flop shot. The wind actually knocked it down. Then I hit two bad putts on 1 and 2.� After Woods missed a 4-foot par putt on the next hole, it was fair to wonder how long his yacht would be docked in nearby Montauk. Woods closed the front nine with six pars and a birdie, though. A bogey at the par-3 11th returned him to 4 over par. His disastrous doubles came two holes later. Woods played the previous two U.S. Opens at Shinnecock Hills with limited success. This was the site of his debut, in 1995, after winning the first of his three consecutive U.S. Amateurs. He only completed 24 holes, though, after injuring his wrist hitting out of the fescue rough. Woods finished T17 after shooting 10 over par in 2004, a year when he failed to win a stroke-play title while working through swing changes. If Woods is to contend this week, he can’t afford to make the same mistakes that he made Thursday, though. “Shoot something in the 60s tomorrow and I’ll be just fine,� Woods said. “I just think today was the toughest day we’ll have all week. But then again, I think they’re going to let these greens firm out a little bit. They’ll start to pick up a little bit of speed, and it will be a good U.S. Open again.�

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