Rory McIlroy changes equipment for BMW Championship

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Since he won the Barracuda Championship in a playoff on Sunday, Chris Stroud has received 1,400 text messages, 55 voicemails and another 100 or so emails. And he has replied to every single one. “I’m a big believer in that,â€� Stroud said. “I told a few guys after golf is gone and done for me, all you have left is people and the relationships you have. I care more about people than I do about my golf. I was raised that way. I’m grateful. I’m grateful to have a chance to play on the TOUR and stay healthy.â€� The victory, which was the first of Stroud’s career, enabled him to jump 68 spots on the FedExCup list to 76th to secure his playing privileges for two more years. He’s also headed to Maui in January to play in the SBS Tournament of Champions for the first time. The win also prompted another change in travel plans – landing him in the PGA Championship. And he made the most of the opportunity, shooting a 68 that left him one stroke off the lead held jointly by Thorbjorn Olesen and Kevin Kisner. “Today was one of the easiest rounds,â€� Stroud said. “Obviously I’m playing well. I’m swinging it nicely and putting it well. That has a lot to do with it. It’s a deep confidence that I have.â€� Stroud says his caddie was instrumental in Sunday’s victory and played a big role in Thursday’s round, which was the only bogey-free one of the day. Whenever Stroud starts talking about golf these days, his caddie switches the subject. “We talk about science,â€� Stroud said. “We talk about spirituality, baseball, football, Texans, Houston Astros. Anything to keep my mind off golf. As soon as I hit it, I’m talking about something else. If I say something he goes, hey, hey, hey, we don’t care about golf. “It’s just an experiment we tried last week and it absolutely worked.â€� Stroud, who had been on the road for five weeks, had actually planned to go home to Houston this week to see his wife and their two daughters. Next week he was headed to Greensboro to play in the Wyndham Championship. Instead, he and his caddie drove 2 hours from Reno, Nevada, to Sacramento on Sunday night and bought two first-class tickets to Charlotte. He got in late Monday night and slept until about 11 a.m. “I couldn’t tell what time it was,â€� he said. “Open the curtains and it’s bright. I went to bed at like 2.â€� As nice as the texts and emails and phone messages were, Stroud’s parents flew to North Carolina on Wednesday to surprise him. “We had our celebration dinner last night, just us three,â€� the Texan said. “It was a dream. When I was 9 years old, I knew I wanted to be on the PGA TOUR. I got into college, I was 17, 18 years old. I knew I had a chance to be really good and get on the TOUR. “When I got out here, obviously my dream was to win and be as good as I can. It’s at least a 20-year dream come true.â€� At the same time, Stroud admits that he had gotten to the point where he could accept that he’d had a solid career – regardless of what happened. Of course, he wanted to win but he finally realized that he was getting in his own way. “About six months ago I said you know what, I’ve had 10 years of good runs out here,â€� Stroud said. “I’ve played well. I don’t care if I win anymore. I want to win but I can’t let that be on my shoulders all the time. I’m not going to worry about it. “I’m going to play the best I can and let’s just ride this out. I don’t know if I’m good enough. I don’t know if I’m good enough to win or keep my card. And since I surrendered to that, it’s like all of a sudden things got — the weight is off my shoulders. “All these people have told me this for years. To actually do that, I had to get to the bottom to figure that out. I literally just said you know what I’m done. I’m just going to do the best I can and have as much fun as I can. “All of a sudden it falls in my lap.â€�

Click here to read the full article…

AUGUSTA, Ga. — They started the week sharing an unexpected — and then highly discussed and over-analyzed — nine-hole practice round. They’ll finish seeking positive vibes and updating course notebooks. The one thing Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson won’t do Sunday afternoon at the Masters is slip on another Green Jacket. Their performances in the first three rounds will leave them as curious bystanders when the back-nine drama heats up at Augusta National. Woods, the four-time Masters champ, will start the final round at 4 over after shooting an even-par 72 on Saturday. Three-time winner Mickelson, at 7 over after a 2-over 74, will tee off even earlier in the morning. He may be done before the final group tees off. Given that Woods was the betting favorite entering this week and Mickelson was riding huge momentum after his recent World Golf Championships win in Mexico, being non-factors is definitely surprising. And disappointing. “I don’t have it,” Mickelson said. “It’s frustrating being out there. But it’s still Augusta. I’m trying to make due. But it’s just frustrating to be out there playing when you know you don’t have a chance.” Woods said his goal now is to finish at even par, maybe even in red numbers. He’ll need to shoot a 68 on Sunday to avoid finishing over par for just the third time since his last Masters win in 2005. “I wish this week would’ve been a little bit better,” Woods said. “Hopefully tomorrow I can shoot something, get me to even par or even in the red. I think that will be a good goal tomorrow and hopefully I can get it done.” What Woods hasn’t been able to do is figure out his faulty iron play. Distance control has been an issue, especially in the second round when he hit several approaches over the green. He’s found places this week at Augusta National that he’s never previously visited. As a result, he hasn’t given himself many makeable birdie putts, the strain on his putter leaving him mostly in a defensive posture. Woods called his iron play “scratchy this week” — lthough he finally hit the 12th green on Saturday after finding Rae’s Creek the first two days. “I just haven’t gotten it done,” Woods said. “I feel like I’m driving it better than I have all year, but I’m not capitalizing on it. And when I did miss, I missed in the wrong spots. My swing’s just off with my irons just at the wrong time.” As a result, he also has failed to take advantage of the four pars at Augusta National, the holes he’s eaten up in his 20 previous visits. Woods had entered this week a cumulative 150 under on the par 5s, but he’s just 1 under on those holes through three rounds. “I’m hitting so many good putts; they’re just not going in,” Woods said. “But I’m not hitting it close enough. I’m not getting up there and not taking advantage of the par 5s. Consequently, a good round is even par.” As for Mickelson, his week was summed up by his second shot on the opening hole Saturday. After his tee shot sailed into the trees down the right side, his ball rested on the pine straw. He tried to hit from under some branches but failed to connect on his first swing. “I hit the trunk on the downswing and just whiffed it,” Mickelson explained. “And punched out and made triple. I’ve made a lot of triples lately.” In fact, he’s suffered a triple bogey in each of the last two rounds — it’s the sixth time in any major he’s had two triples in a week. Three of those have been at the Masters (2012, 2014 and this week). A bogey on the ensuing hole had Mickelson reeling, but he managed to shoot 2 under for the final 16 holes. In the process, he picked up a few tips on the course. “It’s Augusta; you always learn some things,” Mickelson said. “I was taking some notes — there were some new pins there. So I’m kind of doing preparation for next year, I guess.” At least Mickelson won’t go away empty-handed this week. Thanks to his eagle at the par-5 eighth — set up by a driver off the deck to 9 feet — he is assured of a pair of crystal glasses awarded for any eagle at the Masters. “Every now and then I’ll hit a shot like that and it makes it fun,” Mickelson said of his second shot. “The nice thing is I’ll get some crystal out of it. It wasn’t a total loss.”

Click here to read the full article…

Day 4 competition at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play commenced with the Round of 16, bright and early Saturday morning at Austin Country Club. The eight players to advance will complete in Saturday afternoon’s quarterfinal round, with the winners moving on to Sunday morning’s semifinal matches. Keep it here to learn how the action unfolds throughout the day at Austin CC. MATCH RECAPS (LIVE SCORES, BRACKET) ROUND OF 16 SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER (5) def. BILLY HORSCHEL (12), 1-up In a rematch of the 2021 WGC-Dell Match Play championship match, Scheffler exacted a bit of revenge with a narrow victory in a match that wasn’t determined until the final green, thrilling the fans in his college town of Austin in the process. Since his runner-up at last year’s Match Play, Scheffler has gone on a tear, winning twice on the PGA TOUR this spring in addition to Ryder Cup stardom last fall, where he defeated Jon Rahm in Sunday singles. The University of Texas product added another notch to his match-play belt on Saturday morning against the spirited Horschel. In a closely contested battle, neither player led by more than 1 up at any point. Horschel won holes 1, 4, 9 and 13; Scheffler won holes 3, 6, 10 and 12. With the match tied at the par-5 16th, Scheffler drained an 8-footer for birdie to take the 1-up lead, after Horschel had narrowly missed his birdie try from just outside. Scheffler had a chance to close the match with a 10-foot birdie try at the par-3 17th, which gave the majority of the field fits all morning, but he could not convert. With Scheffler in for par at the finishing hole, Horschel had a 12-foot birdie try to force a playoff, but it did not fall. Scheffler advances to face upstart Seamus Power in the quarterfinal round, while Horschel falls short of a successful title defense despite a 2-0-1 mark in group play and a worthy battle against one of the game’s hottest pros. SEAMUS POWER (42) def. TYRRELL HATTON (13), 4 and 3 One of the feel-good stories of this year’s WGC-Dell Match Play, Power kept the good times rolling with a decisive victory over his fellow European, closing out the match with a routine par at No. 15 after Hatton’s 27-foot birdie try to apply pressure would not drop. Power, who hails from West Waterford, Ireland, developed a reputation for his elite play on the eGolf Tour in the early 2010s before earning his TOUR card via the Korn Ferry Tour. Up-and-down form persisted as recently as 2021; a year ago this week, he stood No. 463 on the Official World Golf Ranking. Propelled by a victory at the 2021 Barbasol Championship, he steadily ascended the ranks en route to earning his first Match Play start, and he has taken full advantage. After advancing to knockout competition with a 2-1 mark in group play, Power won the first hole with a par and then caught fire with three consecutive holes won on Nos. 3-5, including two birdies, staking a 4-up lead that proved to be insurmountable. Power’s 14-foot birdie at No. 8, his fourth birdie in a five-hole stretch, pushed his lead to 5 up. Power’s lead alternated between 4 up and 5 up for the remainder of the match, but Hatton could not move within striking distance after Power’s early surge. The Englishman’s 2022 Match Play run comes to an end despite a sparkling 3-0 mark in group play, where he knocked off Si Woo Kim, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Daniel Berger.

Click here to read the full article…