Sleeper Picks: The Open Championship

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Gary Woodland entered The Honda Classic this week riding a PGA TOUR-leading streak of 20 consecutive made cuts. With two holes left in Friday’s second round, that streak was in serious danger of ending. But Woodland took an aggressive line with his tee shot over the water at the par-3 17th, setting up his successful birdie putt from 4-1/2 feet. He followed with two great swings at the par-4 18th, then drained another birdie putt, this one from 15 feet, 10 inches, to keep his cuts streak alive at 21 straight. “I knew what I had to do those last two holes,â€� Woodland said. “That frees you up a little bit … knowing I had to make birdies, so I had to play more aggressive.â€� MUST READS: Round 2, The Honda Classic Keith Mitchell shares lead in return to Bermudagrass Justin Thomas struggles with ‘dead arm’, makes cut on the number Freddie Jacobson finds form after three hand surgeries In shooting an even-par 70, Woodland made the cut on the number at 2 over and will have an early start time for Saturday’s third round. He’s not in contention right now, but with fresh morning greens, a tough course and potentially windy conditions for the leaders, he’s not counting himself out just yet. If nothing else, drilling that final putt when he needed it might serve him well at some future point. “Knowing you have to make a putt and making it – whether it’s for anything – gives you confidence going forward,â€� he said. “It’s nice to be under the pressure. I’ll remember that putt when it means something a little more.â€� A total of 83 players made the cut, which means a secondary cut looms after the third round to the top 70s and ties.

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The moment captured everybody — including the man who had to describe it to the world. So Jim Nantz, who years earlier had heard Tiger Woods talk about golf as if he were done, said nothing.

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In his first PGA TOUR start in nearly two months, Bryson DeChambeau said he will ease into his return to action at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. “No expectations,” DeChambeau told the Golf Channel. “A great week is being here.” This week will mark just the third start of the PGA TOUR season for DeChambeau, who has been beset by a fractured bone in his left hand and a torn labrum in his left hip. He missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open in late January and hasn’t played on TOUR since. Despite hoping to be able to defend his title at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, he said in a taped message to fans that he was still not at 100 percent. DeChambeau also missed THE PLAYERS Championship, and his return to the TOUR will come in match play, against England’s Richard Bland, 49, in the first round of pool play Wednesday. Lee Westwood and Talor Gooch are the other two players in their group. “People are going to say it’s off of speed training and all that and, sure, some of the things have been a part of that, just abuse and working really, really hard,” DeChambeau said. “But at the same time, I wouldn’t have traded it for anything. I’ve learned so much about my body as time has gone on and learned how to manage things and how important rest is.” An eight-time TOUR winner, DeChambeau, 28, entered the Professional Long Drivers World Championship in Mesquite, Nevada, last fall, and exceeded expectations by finishing seventh. He brought that power game to the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits, driving the first green in his singles victory over Sergio Garcia. DeChambeau won’t be touching 400 yards at Austin Country Club, though, and won’t even try. He said he doesn’t plan to go after the ball at full speed, and likely won’t do so until the Masters Tournament next month. He hasn’t made it out of pool play in two starts at the WGC-Dell Technologies, going 2-4-0.

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