Lizette Salas, who has a one-shot lead at the Women’s PGA Championship after Thursday’s 67, spoke publicly for the first time on the mental health issues she dealt with in 2020.
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Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson played a light-hearted practice round at Augusta on Tuesday, which would have been unthinkable years ago.
The PGA TOUR is back in action with the first event of 2021, the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Scenic views and a star-studded field of 42 players will take on one of the TOUR's most unique designs, the par-73 Plantation Course at Kapalua, which is defined by strong winds and severe slopes. Below are four of the top groups to watch in Thursday's prime-time telecast of the opening round from Maui. The field will be re-paired based on scores after the first round. Justin Thomas-Dustin Johnson – Who will have the better 2021, Dustin Johnson or Justin Thomas? SEAN MARTIN: After closing 2020 with wins in the FedExCup and Masters, Johnson seems to be the easy answer but I don't think it's that simple. I'm picking Thomas. He started working with a new putting coach late last year and it has paid off. He's finished no worse than T12 in any of his five starts this season. His iron game is impeccable and has allowed him to have success the last few years even while struggling with his putting. He's gaining three-quarters of a stroke per round on the greens this season, so I could see him having a big year if his improvement on the greens continues. CAMERON MORFIT: It's going to be a photo finish because they're both going to have a big year. DJ is just now fully realizing his potential, which is a terrifying thought. JT could really be in for something spectacular if he improves on the greens. In the end, though, JT seems to run more hot and cold with the driver; I like DJ's consistency off the tee just a little better, so I'm going with him. BEN EVERILL: Man, this one is a toss-up. You wouldn't be that surprised if both won five times! I expect both to be near the top all season long but I have a feeling, after perhaps an initial lull, Johnson will continue to kick on. He's added a FedExCup and second major recently. If his desire continues he could be setting up a dominant 2021. Xander Schauffele-Jon Rahm – Rahm just joined Xander as a Callaway staffer. What will Rahm’s first start with new gear look like? MARTIN: There's always some apprehension when a player makes a switch. It helps that he played Callaway clubs in college and that he enjoys playing on the West Coast but an adjustment period should always be assumed. Let's chalk him up for around a 10th-place finish, equaling his showing at Kapalua last season. He's finished second, eighth and 10th in three Sentry starts. MORFIT: I'll say Rahm contends immediately with the new gear. It's the artist, not the paint brush, and Rahm is plenty familiar with the new clubs as attested by his sparkling collegiate record and his recent 59 in a casual round back home in Arizona. EVERILL: It will be a study in focus and accountability. There will come a point where Rahm will hit a shot he doesn't like and he will have the choice to blame the tool or the tradesman. If he allows himself to shift blame off himself then doubt can creep in. His Callaway stuff, just like the TaylorMade gear before it, is top notch. He will dial it in sooner rather than later. And hey, Rahm could most likely beat most of us if we gave him a pool cue. Scottie Scheffler-Collin Morikawa – Scottie and Collin were teammates at the 2017 Walker Cup. Seven of the nine members of that team who turned professional now have TOUR status: Scheffler, Morikawa, Cameron Champ, Will Zalatoris, Doc Redman, Maverick McNealy and Doug Ghim. How many of that group win this year and who wins the most? MARTIN: I think three of the seven will be victorious and I wouldn't be surprised if Scheffler leads the way with two wins in 2021 after winning Rookie of the Year last year. I'll also take wins from Champ and Zalatoris. MORFIT: I feel like Cameron Champ is figuring it out, and the driver is just a huge advantage out there. I'll say he leads the way with two victories. And out of the seven, I like four to get into the win column this year. EVERILL: I'll say five of them with Morikawa once again leading the way but Scheffler breaking through as well. Patrick Reed-Sebastian Munoz – Patrick Reed finished eighth in the FedExCup last year and third in the Race to Dubai. Which will he finish higher in in 2021? SEAN MARTIN: Reed made a bit of a switch in the coaching department this fall, going full-time to David Leadbetter and Sean Hogan, a pair he has worked with some in the past. Reed has talked about the importance he places on the Race to Dubai and I could see him winning it all with some well-timed double-dipping (majors and World Golf Championships count in both standings). He has four consecutive top-15 finishes in majors and two wins in World Golf Championships. With 50 events in the PGA TOUR's Super Season, it will be hard for players who play a split schedule to keep pace, so I could see him finishing higher in the Race to Dubai again while still qualifying for his eighth consecutive TOUR Championship. MORFIT: A coaching change can mean a slow start to the year, but as long as you're hot for the FedExCup Playoffs it's all good. I'll say Reed turns it on at the end of the season and finishes top 30 in the FedExCup, top 15 in the Race to Dubai. EVERILL: I'll say the Race to Dubai again just because he's a proven force on the European circuit and in the Middle East. Reed could easily have won it all in 2020 and I expect he will threaten to do so again - perhaps even closing the deal. That doesn't mean he won't contend at home also. He will be at East Lake, and if you have a chip and a chair you're a chance.
Tiger Woods feels a special energy around the Old Course at St. Andrews. He has referred to it throughout his career as his favorite course in the world. He has won two Open Championships there. This summer, he has made the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews his priority. Woods traveled to Europe a week early for this week’s JP McManus Pro-Am at Adare Manor GC in Ireland, and he said Tuesday that his decision to not compete at last month’s U.S. Open was made with an eye ahead. “I had some issues with my leg, and it would have put this tournament in jeopardy, and so there’s no reason to do that,” Woods told reporters Tuesday. “This is a pretty historic Open that we are going to be playing. I’m lucky enough to be part of the past champions that have won there, and want to play there again, and I don’t know when they are ever going to go back while I’m still able to play at a high level. “I want to be able to give it at least one more run at a high level.” Woods has competed in five previous Open Championships at St. Andrews. His eight-stroke victory in 2000 was his second of four consecutive major titles in what is known as the “Tiger Slam.” His two-stroke victory at St. Andrews in 2005 was his second of three Open Championship titles; he also won in 2006 at Royal Liverpool. Woods’ first Open Championship appearance came in 1995 at St. Andrews. He made the cut as an amateur and finished T68. He finished T23 at St. Andrews in 2010 and missed the cut in 2015. “I’ve always loved this golf course, from the first time I played it back in ’95,” Woods said at the 2015 Open at St. Andrews. “I just love the creativity. You have to be able to hit all different types of shots. You need to have the right angles. Over the years of learning how to play the golf course under all different types of wind conditions, it changes greatly, and it’s based on angles. You have to put the ball on certain sides of the fairways in order to get the ball close. “To me, that type of thinking and the strategy that goes into that is something I’ve always loved.” After suffering severe injuries to both legs in a single-car accident in February 2021, Woods made his competitive return at this year’s Masters, making the cut and finishing solo 47th. He also made the cut at the PGA Championship in May but withdrew after a third-round 79; he had cited leg soreness after the round. Woods considered competing at last month’s U.S. Open at Brookline but withdrew prior to the tournament. He tweeted the week prior to the event that his body needed more time to get stronger for major championship golf. He flew to Ireland for this week’s two-day JP McManus Pro-Am, held Monday and Tuesday, and he plans to spend time practicing off-site before traveling to St. Andrews. “If you asked me last year whether I would play golf again, all of my surgeons would have said no,” Woods said Tuesday. “But here I am playing two major championships this year. I will always be able to play golf, whether it’s this leg or someone else’s leg or false leg or different body pieces that have been placed or fused. I’ll always be able to play.” For the chance to play next week at St. Andrews, he is very grateful.
