Ripped Aaron Wise rises at Pebble Beach

DUBLIN, Ohio – Jack Nicklaus says he still believes Tiger Woods can break his major championship record and has stamped Woods as one of the players to beat at this week’s the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. Speaking as the host at Muirfield Village, the 18-time major winning Nicklaus said he’s not prepared to write off the 42-year-old Woods when it comes to adding to his 14 majors, despite the fact we are coming up on 10 years since Woods last hoisted a major trophy. Nicklaus did concede Woods needed to learn to win again and figured The Memorial Tournament that Woods has won five times prior would be a great place for it to happen. Woods has 79 PGA TOUR wins but after multiple back surgeries hasn’t won since 2013. “He is a tough competitor, he’s a hard worker, and he’s still driven. So that’s why I never counted him out,â€� Nicklaus said of Woods winning again. “I still think he’s got a shot at breaking my record. But whether he does or he doesn’t, even with 10 years passing, it doesn’t make any difference. I think he’s still, he’s still a great athlete and a great golfer.â€� In eight starts this season, Woods has finished inside the top 12 five times including a runner up finish at the Valspar Championship. He has continually knocked on the door of victory without quite getting it done. Nicklaus is still amazed Woods is playing at all after four back surgeries, including fusion surgery last year. “I am very happy for him. I never thought he would play again after the fusion. I am not a doctor but I never dreamed you could fuse somebody and they could go play golf,â€� Nicklaus said. “It’s amazing… maybe his strength may have saved him. I am sure it helped him.â€� The last time Woods was at Muirfield Village was in 2015 where he made the cut on the number before shooting a career worst 85 in the third round. But Nicklaus says that memory can be forgotten amongst the wins in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2009 and 2012. “We all play bad rounds. Tiger’s swing right now is probably better than it was. If Tiger can just play reasonably well tee to green, with his short game, he will be in contention,â€� Nicklaus continued. “I think that he’ll win when he believes it himself between his ears. “When he really starts to believe that – and maybe winning here would be one thing that would (help that) … I think he’ll win and do I think he’ll win majors again? Yeah, I think he’ll win majors again.â€� But now he has a plethora of young stars standing in his way. Players who Nicklaus feels may not have had the immediate success they’ve experienced had Woods not had his lengthy periods away from the game in the last decade. Nicklaus said other players “all folded up their tents and went homeâ€� when Woods would move up a leaderboard in his prime. But without his presence in recent years, the likes of FedExCup holder Justin Thomas, and players like Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Jon Rahm and Hideki Matsuyama have all emerged. “While he was away from the game all these young kids have come along and learned how to play and learned how to win,â€� Nicklaus said. “So he doesn’t have the fear factor that he had when he was playing.â€�

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CARNOUSTIE, Scotland – The last time Russell Knox came to Carnoustie for an Open Championship, he was a teenaged fan trying to get a souvenir from one of the game’s best players. Now he will play alongside Tiger Woods just hours from his boyhood home. Knox was 14 years old when he attended the 1999 Open with boyhood friend Duncan McRae. They were sitting behind Carnoustie’s sixth green when Sergio Garcia’s caddie rolled a ball their way. “We wrestled and Duncan got the ball,� Knox said. “I was kind of annoyed.� Now, as the leading hope of the home country, Knox has earned a tee time with Tiger (and Hideki Matsuyama) at Carnoustie. It will be Knox’s first time playing with Woods. “Getting to play with (Tiger), that was a huge goal of mine in my career,� Knox said. “To get to play with him at a major, an Open, in Scotland, is kind of a pinch yourself moment.� Less than three weeks ago, Knox didn’t even have a spot in The Open. The undersized Scotsman has regained the form that made him a top-20 player in a game dominated by power, though. He qualified for the U.S. Open and finished T12 at Shinnecock Hills. He followed with a second-place finish in the French Open, then won the Irish Open with a pair of 40-foot putts. It was his first victory in more than two years. He also contended at last week’s Scottish Open – he started Sunday two shots off the lead – before fading with a final-round 75. “He’s never been in better form heading into The Open,� said his sister, Diane, who is working this week for BBC Radio. A firm and fast Carnoustie could benefit Knox, who is one of the TOUR’s shortest, but straightest, hitters. He ranks 144th in driving distance but 23rd in driving accuracy and sixth in greens hit. Carnoustie has been kind to its countrymen, as well. Two of the last three Scottish-born winners of The Open hoisted the Claret Jug at Carnoustie. Paul Lawrie, who won the 1999 Open, is the last Scot to win golf’s oldest championship. “It’s a hard links course. It takes experience playing links golf to win here,� Knox said. “Padraig (Harrington, who won here in 2007) has played a ton of links. Paul Lawrie played a ton of links. “If you’ve won this tournament here, you really know how to play links golf. There’s a lot of angles off the tee, angles coming into the green. It is going to take a lot of experience here. There won’t be someone who comes out of the woodwork who wins here.� Knox’s Irish Open win came on a links course, Ballyliffin. Returning to the slower greens that he grew up on has helped Knox, who had been struggling with his putting. “Once you start seeing them go in, you can hole putts. Everything kind of snowballed. It’s not like everything changed or I found a magic formula,� he said. “I have been this good before.� Knox won the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions and Travelers Championship in the 2015-16 season to finish 10th in the FedExCup and crack the top 20 in the Official World Golf Ranking.  He was 30 years old, and making his 93rd TOUR start, when he won his first event. His second win came just 17 starts later. That rapid ascension to the game’s elite level led to a common pratfall for a player whose career has been defined by slow and steady progress. “I tried to get better too quickly,� he said. “I think I got to the point where I was really close to being right where I wanted to be, top-10 in the world, and I just pushed too hard and I got worse. “I worked hard to get back to where I am now, so it’s nice to get rewarded with a win.� And a tee time with Woods.

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Nasa Hataoka shot a 4-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead over Mi Hyang Lee and Mel Reid on Friday in the Shoprite LPGA Classic.

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