The First Look: World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, WV. – Davis Love IV, or Dru as he is better known, admits it is hard to watch the likes of Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas be so successful, so quickly. He’s got nothing against them. He just wants to be like them. You see the son of soon to be Hall-of-Famer Davis Love III is part of their generation. He was a college teammate of Thomas at the University of Alabama. He competed with these guys for years only to be hampered by multiple injuries. And as such, he’s had to be patient. “When you’re sitting around watching Jordan Spieth chip in to win his 10th time and he’s the same age as you it makes you think a little bit,â€� Dru said as he gets set play the Greenbrier Classic, just his second PGA TOUR start as a professional. “But at the same time, I just got out of school. I just got done. Jordan only went for one year so he’s got four years on me. Do I think I’ll win ten times over the next four years? We will see.â€� Of course, Love IV has been watching quality golf for a long time. His father has 21 PGA TOUR wins including two PLAYERS Championships and a PGA Championship. Dru was alive for 13 of the wins, and could realistically remember about eight of them. Now they’re playing against each other. He also saw other great players in their prime. Life on TOUR is not an intimidating thought for the kid who first beat his dad at age 19. “He grew up inside the ropes,â€� Davis says. “Dru putted for Fred Couples in a U.S. Open practice round, nine holes, and got to hit shots on major championship courses and walk inside the ropes and hang out in the locker room with Tiger Woods. “So if he comes out on TOUR, some of the things that intimidate guys won’t intimidate him. He blends right in. If he gets out here, he’ll feel like he can belong and compete.â€� And that is exactly what 23-year-old Dru is hoping to do. Having missed the cut at the recent U.S. Open – with dad Davis on the bag – he now is trying to garner as many sponsors invites as he can for the remainder of the season, trying to get enough non-member points for either special temporary membership or more likely a spot in the Web.com Finals. Currently 200th place on the FedExCup list has 57 FedExCup points. Finishing 14th alone this week at The Old White TPC course would bring 57 points. That number will rise over these last seven weeks but Dru knows just a couple of good performances can give him a chance at his dreams. He’s battled through the pressure of being the son of a legend and feels he’s come out the other side. “I have a lot of confidence in myself,â€� he says. “Sometimes I think you don’t get full credit for things you do. You know, shoot 63, and, oh, you’re just Davis Love’s son; then you shoot 80, and how could you do that? You’re Davis Love’s son. “So growing up, in high school you get a lot of that. But none of it at this level. Guys know what it takes to be good and what it takes to get here. Just because my last name is Love doesn’t mean I automatically get to be good at golf. I’ve had it to work at it my whole life and I’ve had to grind through a lot of things. “If I can stay healthy, I’ve proven that I can get good pretty quick.â€� While Spieth, Thomas and co have hit the ground running Dru has had to battle through multiple injuries. He tore ankle ligaments in his freshman year, broke his wrist in a sledding accident the year after and then tore rib cartilage in his debut TOUR event at the RSM Classic in late 2015. “Then the next year I had a very healthy year and played great. Won a college event and won the state Am. Had a pretty successful year,â€� he recalls. But just as things were looking up, he damaged his left shoulder and surgery plus an eight-month recovery followed. “After I had that surgery I got a little bit down and was a little upset that I kept on getting hurt when I felt like I was doing some good things,â€� Dru said. “My dad helped me out a lot trying to stay positive. I think the weeks leading up to having surgery I just couldn’t wrap my head around it.â€� Davis remembers the angst his son faced but continued to preach patience. “It was unfortunate, but, again, he’s got to look at it like now is my chance, and I’m healthy now and ready to go now,â€� Davis said. “He played with Jordan Spieth on a recruiting trip way back, and they looked like they both had the same potential. So he knows how those guys play, and he’s beaten them. “He really knows his game and where he stacks up and what he has to work on. Should give him confidence that he can compete down the road.â€� While the pair won’t play in the same group on Thursday and Friday at the Greenbrier this week, they both will be gunning for the win. And if they happen to be coming down the stretch Sunday in contention – don’t expect dad to go easy on his boy. “Another kid to try to beat and keep up with,â€� Davis says of Dru. “I always remember (my dad) never let up no matter what. He made us compete every time we played golf. It wasn’t just go out and goof around and play golf. Made us compete and keep score and putt everything out. “I still get into him. There are no gimmes on tour, so there shouldn’t be any while we’re playing on Mondays. It’s fun.â€� Dru knowingly nods as his father recounts their battles. “It doesn’t matter if it’s coming down the stretch Sunday or a Monday afternoon practice round, he’s going to try just as hard to beat me,â€� Dru adds. “I get it from him. We are both super competitive. And I don’t want to lose in anything I do. We’ve had some good runs at each other the last couple years now that I’m catching up to him a little bit.â€� Dru laughs when recalling the first time he beat his dad. It was 2013 at Frederica Golf Club and they both eagled the final hole. “He looked at me and said, what was that for? I said, 64. What about you? He goes, 65, and turned around and walked off.â€� But, if Dru does beat him on the 72nd hole for the title this week… you can be sure dad won’t walk off. He’ll be the first one to congratulate his boy.

Click here to read the full article…

The Waste Management Phoenix Open continues today from TPC Scottsdale (Stadium). Here’s everything you need to know for Round 2. Round 2 tee times Round 2 leaderboard HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 3-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (NBC). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 9:15 a.m.-7 p.m. (featured groups). Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-6 p.m. (featured holes). Streaming live on NBC Sports Gold and Prime Video Channels in the U.S., and on GOLFTV powered by PGA TOUR in all other countries. Learn more here. PGA TOUR LIVE on Twitter: Thursday-Friday, 9:15 a.m. – approx. 10:30 a.m. Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m. – approx. 12:15 p.m.  GOLFTV: Fans outside the U.S. in select markets can also stream the full world feed, concurrent with Golf Channel and NBC/CBS telecasts via subscription to GOLF.TV. RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 1-7 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com). NOTABLE PAIRINGS (ALL TIMES ET) 2:05 p.m. ET off No. 1: Cameron Champ, Justin Thomas, Webb Simpson 2:15 p.m. ET off No. 1: Matt Kuchar, Rickie Fowler, Tony Finau 9:50 a.m. ET off No. 10: Xander Schauffele, Bubba Watson, Jon Rahm  10 a.m. ET off No. 10: Phil Mickelson, Gary Woodland, Hideki Matsuyama MUST READS King of the Desert: A look back at Johnny Miller’s dominance in the desert Multi-sport influence sparks Gary Woodland’s revival Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas share lead, house at TPC Scottsdale Phil Mickelson off to sluggish start in 30th tournament start Oklahoma State amateur Matthew Wolff impresses with unorthodox swing CALL OF THE DAY

Click here to read the full article…

DUBLIN, Ohio – International captain Nick Price could see the raw disappointment in the eyes of his 21-year-old rookie after Hideki Matsuyama lost his Singles match at the 2013 Presidents Cup to Hunter Mahan. The Japanese prodigy felt like he’d let the International team down but Price wanted to make sure the youngster knew he certainly didn’t feel that way and nor did any of his teammates as they passed at the clubhouse of Muirfield Village. Price knew Matsuyama would be a staple of the International team in the years to come and sensed it was a time to send a message. He turned to Bob Turner – Matsuyama’s confidant and interpreter – and was straight to the point. “His game is so good… he’s going to win majors,” Price said before thanking Matsuyama with a hearty handshake for his efforts. It was a line that would live with Matsuyama from that point on and ultimately come true almost eight years later at the Masters. “At that time it was only a dream to think of winning a major championship but what Captain Nick said really gave me motivation to try to live up to those expectations,” Matsuyama said this week ahead of the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide at the same venue he received the praise. “The 2013 Presidents Cup is a week I’ll always remember. I was so grateful for Captain Nick and Adam Scott as it was those two who really took me under their wings and helped me a lot in my first time on the team. “They were great because I had no clue what to do, or how to do it, and they really paid special attention to me and helped build my confidence. It was unfortunate the team didn’t play a little better but the week will always hold great memories for me and it was important for my confidence going forward.” History shows that the following June, Matsuyama would return to Muirfield Village and win the Memorial Tournament, the first of his now six PGA TOUR wins. He was the youngest champion in tournament history at 22 and the first winner from Japan. It was an incredible rise as when Price was named the 2013 captain in May of 2012, Matsuyama was ranked outside the top 200 players in the world but by the time the team was picked in September of 2013 he’d moved inside the top 30 despite having just six TOUR starts as a pro. But it was a rise Price says was always going to come. The Hall of Famer returned to Muirfield Village this week as the tournament honoree. He remembers the infamous moment well. “I could sense Hideki was starting to get a little down so I was trying to think what’s the best thing I can do or say to pick him up and the first thing that came to mind was I just knew he was going to win a major,” Price said. “If I said that to him I thought it might just break him out of any funk he was in so I said to his interpreter Bob – you tell him he’s one of the best young talents I’ve ever seen and tell him I know he is going to win a major. “And hey, eight years later the prophecy came true but it wasn’t really going out on a limb, we all knew it was going to happen.” Price said he’d formed that opinion prior to the week at Muirfield Village where Matsuyama would go 1-3-1 as a rookie during the US 18.5-15.5 win. He could sense it in tournaments leading up to the event where he walked a handful of practice rounds with prospective team members. “I had obviously stopped playing on the regular TOUR before Hideki surfaced but I remember watching him play when he first popped up as a youngster. It was immediately noticeable that he had a beautiful golf swing and his short game looked amazing,” Price remembered. “When they announced I was going to be captain I obviously started to watch him play in person and I was so impressed with his demeanor. He seemed unflappable. He’s a great young man and I was really happy to have him on all three of my Presidents Cup teams.” And he was cheering Matsuyama home last April, on the edge of his seat watching the finish of the Masters, knowing how big the moment would be in a historical sense. “It was probably the greatest thing to happen in golf for some time,” Price says. “The Japanese have long revered the Masters and to have their first male major champion win there is something very special indeed and great for the International exposure of the game.” Price isn’t done with predictions when it comes to Matsuyama. “I don’t think the Masters is his last major win either,” he says. “Once the dust settles he will be back on the horse and he’s going to be looking for the second one. It won’t surprise me if he wins three, four or even more of them.” Let’s hope Matsuyama also takes this prediction to heart.

Click here to read the full article…