Rickie Fowler, Rory McIlroy struggle at Honda Classic

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SHEBOYGAN, Wis. – Tiger Woods might be near 1,500 miles away from Whistling Straits while he recovers from leg injuries suffered in a February car accident, but he continues to play an important factor in the U.S. Ryder Cup campaign. RELATED: Day 1 match recaps | DeChambeau hits unbelievable drive Woods – the 2019 U.S. Presidents Cup Captain who would have been either a player or Vice-Captain on Steve Stricker’s team if fit – sent a motivational text to the team on Cup eve and it certainly had the desired effect on Olympic Gold Medalist Xander Schauffele and FedExCup champion Patrick Cantlay. Ryder Cup rookies Cantlay and Schauffele were incredible playing Foursomes together Friday morning, winning the first five holes out of the gate against European veterans Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter on their way to a 5 and 3 demolition job. It was part of a dominant 3-1 morning session for the U.S. Team who are determined to win the Ryder Cup for just the second time in the last six attempts. “We had a nice message from Tiger last night, and obviously not going to reveal what it said, but Pat and I knew. We referred to it a few times a day, and we knew what we needed to do,” Schauffele said. “We knew he was fist pumping from the couch. Whether he was on crutches or not, he’s as fired up as any back at home. So it’s nice to have his support.” Cantlay revealed he actually visited Woods in the lead up to the competition, fresh of winning the FedExCup, as he looked to garner any advice possible. “(There’s) no better role model and no better leader, and just somebody that you can always learn from. I saw him last week at home, and just picked his brain on Ryder Cup and applied some of that here today,” Cantlay added. While the duo didn’t reveal exactly what Woods had said there was an insinuation the 82-time PGA TOUR winner was reminding the U.S. Team to never let up and to keep the pressure on the Europeans at all times. Having seen Europe come back from deficits before while winning four of the last five contests this U.S. Team is instead trying to begin a dynasty of their own. “It is puzzling how we’ve lost a lot in the handful of years looking back at the past. But that’s the past. We’re here and we’re about the present or hopefully what the future is going to be like,” fellow rookie Collin Morikawa said. With six Ryder Cup rookies, and eight members of the team under 30, it really is a changing of the guard for the U.S. Harris English, Daniel Berger and Scottie Scheffler join Morikawa, Schauffele and Cantlay as first timers but between the six they boast two majors, a FedExCup, an Olympic Gold medal and 22 PGA TOUR wins. Morikawa paired with Dustin Johnson to win 3 and 2 over Paul Casey and Viktor Hovland Friday morning while Berger was also victorious playing with Brooks Koepka in a 2 and 1 win over Lee Westwood and Matt Fitzpatrick. Scheffler and English were making their first starts in the afternoon Four-Ball session.

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PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — Russell Henley finally made a bogey, and that’s about all that went wrong for him Sunday as he closed with a 1-under 70 for a four-shot victory in the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba. Henley, staked to a six-shot lead going into the final round at El Camaleon, had the lead reduced to three when he missed a 5-foot par putt on the par-5 fifth hole. He responded with three straight birdies, and no one got closer than four shots the rest of the way. Henley won for the fourth time on the PGA TOUR, and the first time since the Houston Open five years ago. The previous five times Henley had at least a share of the 54-hole lead, he failed to convert the victory. The most recent was the Sony Open in Hawaii in January, when Hideki Matsuyama made up a two-shot deficit and beat him in a playoff. “I just tried to learn from my past and my screw-ups,” Henley said with a smile. “All those events I didn’t close out, they hurt. You never know if you’ll win another. To come down 18 with a four-shot lead was really cool.” Henley finished at 23-under 261 to tie the tournament record. He came into the final round as the only player who had not made a bogey all week. Brian Harman closed with a 66 to finish alone in second, while the group five shots behind included Masters champion Scottie Scheffler and Seamus Power of Ireland, who was coming off a victory last week in Bermuda. Scheffler lost the No. 1 ranking he had held since March when Rory McIlroy won THE CJ CUP two weeks ago. Scheffler closed with a 62 at Mayakoba, leaving him a good chance to reclaim the No. 1 ranking next week at the Houston Open. McIlroy is not playing again until the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. Power shot a 68, and his tie for third with Scheffler, Joel Dahmen, Troy Merritt and Will Gordon put the Irishman atop the FedExCup standings and moved him to No. 29 in the world, his highest ranking ever. Henley moved to No. 33 in the world and is assured of returning to the Masters. Last time, he didn’t secure a spot at Augusta National until moving into the top 50 a week before the Masters. Henley lost three-shot leads at the Wyndham Championship in 2021 and THE CJ CUP in 2020. The other times he was either tied or led by one or two shots, which is not much of a lead on the PGA TOUR. This was a six-shot margin, and it’s rare for someone not to win from there. That didn’t make it any easier. “It’s tough. I don’t sleep well on a lead. I need a lot more practice,” Henley said. “I have no idea how Tiger did this 80-some times. It’s tough for me just to kind of calm down. You definitely don’t feel the same as when you’re practicing at home, but that’s the fun of it. That’s why we play. “We want to see what we’re made of out here and get tested under pressure.” The victory also sends Henley to Kapalua in January for the Sentry Tournament of Champions, the first elevated event in a new year of big purses.

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