Sports quirks in 2019: Golf balls, oddballs, watches, pants

A few observations – some serious, some a little more lighthearted, much like the action Sunday at Medalist – from Capital One’s The Match: Champions for Charity. RELATED: Team Tiger-Peyton win at Medalist | Full leaderboard TIGER IN GREAT FORM. Yes, it’s his home course (he even has his own Tiger Tees at Medalist to create a 7,571 layout), so the local knowledge was a benefit. But wow, did Tiger look good, especially off the tee early, striping fairways to set up crisp approach shots. Most of us haven’t seen him swing a club since mid-February at The Genesis Invitational, but he looked in mid-season form. His competitive nature was also dialed in and it was no surprise to see him close out the match with a lag from distance that did everything but go in. AS FOR HIS SCHEDULE. Tiger was in the middle of answering a question from Charles Barkley about the adjusted PGA TOUR schedule – “Going to be interesting to see what happens,â€� he said – when Manning called him in to read a putt. So we’re still waiting to see when Tiger will make his next TOUR start. AS FOR MICKELSON. He wasn’t as sharp and admitted in midway through the front nine. “Not swinging that well,â€� he said after another errant shot. “Gotta get that fixed.â€� He did bust out one of his “bombsâ€� from the tee early on the back nine, driving the par-4 11th green, but his short game, as usual, bailed him out for the most part. BRADY’S HOLE-OUT. Golf can make anybody seem human … even a G.O.A.T. from another sport. No doubt Tom Brady was frustrated with his first six and a half holes and received plenty of grief from others (including Jimmy Fallon) engaging in some good-natured jokes. Brooks Koepka offered to donate $100,000 if Brady could make a par on the front nine. But like the greats always seem to do, he produced the best shot of the day. After being called out by Charles Barkley – and if you’ve seen Barkley swing a golf club, you understand that’s a significant jab — Brady responded by holing out for birdie from outside 100 yards at the par-4 seventh. The birdie won the bet from Koepka, who then doubled down for another $100,000 for par on either of the next two holes (didn’t happen). “That was some shot,â€� Koepka later told Brady via phone. “DELAYED SAUCE.â€� Just another in the growing list of Phil Mickelson idioms that also includes “activate the calvesâ€� and “hitting bombs.â€� After driving the par-4 11th, Mickelson described it as “high, nasty, straight bombs.â€� BEST TIGER-PHIL MOMENT. Plenty of good back-and-forth moments, but the best was when Mickelson was hitting his third shot from the fairway at the par-4 fifth while Tiger was already on the green. Mickelson asked Tiger to mark his ball. Tiger’s response: “You want me to use one of my U.S. Open medals?â€� Tiger opted not to mark and told Mickelson he’d give him the hole if Mickelson hit his ball. Phil nearly did, his shot bouncing just inches away. “Would’ve been a tasty one,â€� Mickelson smiled. MANNING AS GOLF ANNOUNCER? Networks televising NFL games have been trying to pull Peyton Manning into the broadcast booth ever since he retired following the 2015 season. But perhaps Manning’s true calling is as a golf announcer. After Mickelson missed a green with his approach shot, Manning astutely observed, “Pretty much a routine par for Phil. Might as well be in the leather.â€� What Manning may lack in long-time inside-the-ropes knowledge, he’d make up with his storytelling ability. And there would never be any dead air. JT AS ANNOUNCER. Just as Brady and Manning stepped out of their comfort zones by playing golf, Justin Thomas stepped out of his by grabbing a microphone and becoming an on-course analyst. Good insight from JT, who like Woods is a Medalist member. How can we convince him to spend his weeks off critiquing his peers? THAT MAGICAL NOLA CAP. Manning switched caps after a shaky start, putting on a cap honoring his hometown of New Orleans. He immediately started to play better, making a long putt to win the fourth hole and also won the sixth with a par for a net 3 with the handicap. He eventually switched to a Colorado cap. It wasn’t the only wardrobe change on the day. Brady went to his rain pants before a second squall hit the course after he split his golf slacks in the midst of his early struggles. BELICHICK THE CADDIE. Manning was asked whom he would use as his caddie if he didn’t have a cart. He suggested his brother Eli, then perhaps Nick Foles (the ultimate NFL QB caddie?), but finally settled on Bill Belichick, Brady’s former coach at New England to “see how that would’ve worked.â€� Brady was within earshot, of course. But then, as Manning remembered, “Bill brings out bad things for me.â€�

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KAPALUA, Hawaii – Just as they became accustomed to the gusty trade winds off the Plantation Course the contenders at the Sentry Tournament of Champions face a new battle on Sunday. Heavy winds and gusts out of the east / northeast have tested the 33-man field for three rounds but Sunday’s final round forecast calls for a switch in direction and power. Sunday sees the winds expected to switch and come from the north / northwest – an entirely different proposition. While they are expected to drop from the gusts of around 20 miles per hour to around 10 miles per hour the change of strategy is one players must adjust to quickly. The drop in speed is something leader Gary Woodland is looking forward to. He is three clear of Rory McIlroy and four ahead of Marc Leishman. “It just allows you to be more aggressive. I’m very confident with where my game is, in the past it might have affected me a little bit, but I feel very good changing,â€� Woodland said. “I think it suits me, when it’s not blowing it suits me as much as it does when it is, so I’m excited about it.â€� For McIlroy it obviously means a change in game plan, but one he is confident he and his caddy have prepared for despite the fact this is his first trip to Kapalua. “A couple of adjustments to be made. It’s a little different, especially when it’s one you haven’t played in before,â€� McIlroy said. “To not have had that practice and try to go into a final round when you’re trying to win a golf tournament, it’s a little challenging, but it’s going to be the same for everyone. “Harry and I need to do a good job tomorrow of just hitting it to the right spots on the fairways. There’s going to be a lot of holes where I’m not hitting the same club off the tee as I was the previous few days and it’s just about picking your spots to hit at and trusting that this is what you need to do and just trying to be a little more thoughtful about where you’re placing the golf ball. That’s going to be key tomorrow.â€� Leishman grew up in the Australian town of Warrnambool which often gets high coastal winds that can switch on a dime. “I need to get off to a good start. It depends how the other boys start as well as to how aggressive I get,â€� Leishman said. “But it’s going to be very different. I think it’s a different direction, the wind, which we haven’t played this course in, in those conditions very often. “And so it’s sort of hard to tell what the scores are going to do, but, yeah, either way I’m going to have to play really good golf.â€� MUST-READS Woodland leads with heavy heart McIlroy looks for final group atonement CALL OF THE DAY

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As sunset threatened to send us to a real Monday Finish in the California desert, Jon Rahm finally nailed a birdie putt on the fourth playoff hole to claim his second PGA TOUR win at the CareerBuilder Challenge. Welcome to the Monday Finish, where Rahm’s rapid rise in golf continued all the way to second place in the FedExCup and the Official World Golf Rankings with his win in La Quinta.  FIVE OBSERVATIONS 1. You have to love Jon Rahm’s aggression. While we often talk about the outward passion of Spanish golfers and argue the merits of playing with your heart on your sleeve, it is Rahm’s aggressive mode of play that impresses me most. On Sunday in the desert as Rahm came down to the final few holes of regulation, one thing had been strikingly obvious. He was always trying to win the golf tournament and he was doing it by taking dead aim. Sure, not a single birdie dropped in the last four holes of regulation – or the first three of the playoff – but he created opportunities by playing fearless. On the back nine Sunday, he hit six of seven fairways and eight of nine greens in regulation – and there was nothing conservative about any of it. He gave himself decent looks at birdie on all four playoff holes. This guy is not interested in being second and certainly not afraid to win. 2. Rahm is seemingly finding the perfect balance for his temperament. Spanish people are usually wonderfully passionate. But the knock on Rahm’s countryman Sergio Garcia throughout his impressive career was his passion and emotion could get the best of him at times. As Rahm hit the elite golf landscape there was a similar feeling… the talent is immense, but would the passion get in the way? Honestly, a player should do what works best for them. But over the last year there has been a noticeable harnessing of Rahm’s fire. It certainly hasn’t gone missing – it is clearly on show – but the maturity to deal with things has grown. Saturday, he battled his way through a frustrating round in windy conditions and didn’t implode. Sunday, the par-5s were becoming a bunch of wasted chances – yet he remained focused on the job at hand and was ultimately rewarded with victory. 3. We are looking at a future No.1. Yes – I know this is not really a hot take given the fact Rahm has risen up the rankings at lightning speed, but at this stage he’s still got work to do to catch Dustin Johnson so it’s no lay down misère. And with the likes of Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Hideki Matsuyama, Rory McIlroy and Jason Day amongst many others expecting big seasons, it will be no cake walk. But still, it seems certainly likely. Three years ago Rahm ranked 1576th in the world. Two years ago he was 586th. A year ago he was 137th. He now sits second. Of course he has the benefit of not defending too many points yet and having a favorable divisor – this will change now. But he still shows enough drive and talent to become just the second player from Spain to the be the best in the world. 4. Andrew Landry is making a name for himself – again. There were plenty of people watching Landry push Rahm to the brink on Sunday thinking – “where do I know this guy from?â€� A Web.com Tour graduate this season – for the second time in his career – Landry is not in the consciousness of all golf fans. The first time around (2015-16) he failed to stay on the PGA TOUR but you might remember him as the upstart of the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont. In the middle of his rookie season on the PGA TOUR – having missed six of 11 cuts and finishing no higher than T41 – Landry took the first-round lead at the U.S. Open and was sitting second through 36 and 54 holes. A final round 78 saw him fade to T15 but it was proof his game is high caliber. Last season he won on the web.com Tour to get himself back on the big stage and while his rookie season opened with five straight missed cuts, this time around he has three top-10s from his first seven starts and sits 11th in the FedExCup. He has evolved and could easily be a first-time winner sometime soon. 5. Hadwin home in the desert. A year from now, when you are looking for who to pick as a possible winner or who to pick on your fantasy team – slate Adam Hadwin. It was refreshing to see the Canadian finish T3 this week after he failed to really kick on from his 2017 win at the Valspar Championship. The International Team member from the Presidents Cup had just two top-10 finishes after his win in March last year but this might be the start of a return to his best golf. Or it might just be he’s very much at home at La Quinta. A year ago he shot 59 on Saturday and finished runner up in the event and two years ago he was T6. He has yet to shoot an over-par score in 16 rounds at the CareerBuilder Challenge. He made a late run this time around but ultimately fell two shots shy of the playoff. An even par front nine Sunday left him pushing and while a 4-under final nine was impressive, it wasn’t enough.  FIVE INSIGHTS 1. With the win, Rahm moved from No. 20 to No. 2 in the FedExCup standings. Last season, in his first full season on TOUR, Rahm finished No. 5 in the FedExCup. Rahm also passed Jordan Spieth and moved to No. 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking. 2. It marks Jon Rahm’s second PGA TOUR title in his 38th career start at the age of 23 years, 2 months, 11 days. Rahm is the second-youngest winner of the CareerBuilder Challenge. Jack Nicklaus was 23 years, 0 months, 13 days when he claimed the title in 1963. Since his first PGA TOUR start as a professional at The National in June, 2016 (T3), Rahm has recorded 15 top-five results in 38 starts worldwide, including four victories (two on European Tour). 3. Rahm’s opening-round 62 at La Quinta matched his career low on TOUR, set in the first round of The National in 2016, and his 36-hole total of 129 surpassed his previous best, which was set at the same tournament. 4. Andrew Landry went 59 consecutive holes this week before making his first bogey at his 60th hole, the par-3 fifth at the Stadium Course. Landry has six rounds on the PGA TOUR without a bogey or worse, three coming this week. 5. Martin Piller (T3) and Sam Saunders (T8) led the field with 28 birdies for the week (Rahm had 26 and an eagle). Saunders shot a final round 8-under 64 with six birdies in his last eight holes. A year after we had a 59, 62 was the low score of the week – shot by Rahm in the opening round at La Quinta Country Club.

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