Tiger: ‘Game-time decision’ on return at Masters

The third round of the RBC Canadian Open takes place today from Hamilton Golf & Country Club. Here’s how to follow all the action. HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 7 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups). Saturday-Sunday, 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3-6 p.m. (featured holes). International subscribers (via GOLF.tv): Thursday-Friday, 11:00 to 22:00 GMT. Saturday-Sunday, 12:30 to 22:00. RADIO: Thursday-Friday, noon-6 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com). FEATURED GROUPS Bubba Watson/Rod Pampling Tee time: 9:30 a.m. ET Harold Varner III/Peter Uihlein Tee time: 9:40 a.m. ET Dustin Johnson/Jim Furyk Tee time: 11:10 a.m. ET Brooks Koepka/Robert Streb Tee time: 11:30 a.m. ET MUST READS Taylor leading four Canadians near top of the leaderboard Brown, Kuchar share 36-hole lead Eyeing his hometown Open, McDowell makes big push at RBC Canadian Open Snedeker ‘felt great’ before his second-round 60 Win probabilities Canadian golf on PGA TOUR stronger than ever CALL OF THE DAY

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KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Cameron Tringale made a 10 at the par-5 16th hole. Carlos Ortiz quadruple-bogeyed 17. And Marc Leishman double-bogeyed 17, bogeyed 18, and missed the cut by one. The last five holes may as well have been a meat grinder at the 103rd PGA Championship at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, and almost no one was spared. RELATED: Oosthuizen, Mickelson share lead | DJ headlines big names to miss cut “Mentally, I don’t think I did anything wrong,” said Branden Grace (71, 3 under), who was at 6 under and leading the tournament when he stepped onto the tee at the fearsome par-3 17th hole. “I stood up there, I picked my target, I hit the shot that I wanted to, but it just didn’t come off.” His ball found the water, and he made double bogey. He bogeyed the 18th to fall two behind co-leaders Phil Mickelson (69) and Louis Oosthuizen (68) – each of whom also bogeyed 18. Dustin Johnson bogeyed 15 and shot 74 to miss the cut by one. Adam Scott (72) bogeyed 15 and 16 to miss by a shot, and Xander Schauffele bogeyed 15 and 18 to finish with them at 6 over. Ian Poulter (70, even) could only laugh about how hard it was at the end. He was cruising at 6 under through 12 holes, but about to turn into the teeth of the wind when he saw a scoreboard in the distance that said he was 6 under and threatening the course record. “And I just started laughing to myself,” he said after going 4 over for his last six. “Like, who in the world would write that and put that on a board with that last five holes to play?” Even with some of the tees moved up, he added, “It’s a brutally difficult finish (into the wind). Straight in, very slightly at times just off the left, and you’re aiming at targets which if you pull it very slightly, you’re in the dunes, and if you cut it, you’re wet or on the beach. It’s intense.” The scariest of the fearsome five finishing holes was 17, which played the hardest in the second round. Mickelson bogeyed it, as did Brooks Koepka (71, 4 under). Kevin Streelman (72, 2 under), who hit the green and two-putted from over 77 feet to par it, called 17, “One of the hardest par-3s we’ve ever played in professional golf right now.” The hole played to a 3.682 stroke average and was No. 1 in difficulty Friday. The 15th was the second hardest at 4.552, and the par-3 14th was the third hardest at 3.539. The 18th hole played to a 4.526 average and was fourth toughest on the day. For the week, 17 and 18 are playing the toughest and second toughest holes on the course, respectively. Harry Higgs (71, 1 under) bucked convention Friday. He hit the green on 17 and 18 before holing trans-continental birdie putts of 59 and 64 feet, respectively. He said it bought him a few extra hours sleep Saturday, and his brother was going to make him a cocktail to celebrate. Charley Hoffman (70, 1 under) did him one better, going 2 under on holes 14-18. “To be completely honest we got lucky,” Hoffman said of a slight let-up from the wind late in the day. “As soon as we made that turn, it did die a little.” They were the exceptions to the rule; nearly everyone died a little on the last five holes.

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RIDGELAND, S.C. – Rickie Fowler, hot off a runner-up finish at last week’s ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP in Japan, finished up a long practice session at Congaree Golf Club Tuesday and exhibited genuine excitement when he learned his grouping for Thursday’s opening round at THE CJ CUP in South Carolina. Fowler will play alongside 2022 FedExCup champion Rory McIlroy, his south Florida neighbor, and South Korea’s Tom Kim, golf’s fresh-faced, 20-year-old rocket ship. (A bonus: Kim has Fowler’s good friend and former caddie Joe Skovron on his bag.) It wasn’t that long ago, or so it seems, that Fowler was the kid strapped to the PGA TOUR launch pad. The high-flying California motocross daredevil and gunslinging Oklahoma State Cowboy was the game’s resident star in waiting. He certainly has had shining moments, winning five PGA TOUR titles, including THE PLAYERS, earning more than $42 million, becoming a highly sought-after pitchman and performing on U.S. Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup teams. He may reside at 106th in the Official World Golf Ranking, but he is a first-team A-lister. As needle-movers go, few can move it more than Rickie. Fowler will turn 34 in December, and he finds himself in a different mode in this season of his career. Fowler is busily rebuilding and rebooting after a few dismal campaigns defined mostly by struggle. Fowler made 60 starts over his last three seasons starting in 2019-20, and finished in the top 10 four times. (Consider that in 2014, he had top-5 finishes in all four major championships.) Outside of golf, Fowler said his life could not be better. He and his wife have an 11-month-old daughter who fills their lives with joy. The hard work on the golf course, even through challenging times, never has stopped, and lately, finally, there is real optimism in his tank. (“You’ve seen that Rickie wants to get back to where he was and play at a high level again,” said Billy Horschel, Fowler’s former Walker Cup teammate.) Fowler’s solid performance in Japan, where he lost by a shot to Keegan Bradley, came on top of a tie for sixth at the season-opening Fortinet Championship in Napa. It’s early days, as they say, but in 10 rounds this season Fowler has yet to shoot anything higher than 70. When the charter from Japan touched down Monday morning, Fowler, wanting to stay awake and adjust to his new time zone, just walked the golf course at Congaree to see it. His mind, understandably, was in a pretty good place. “It’s just nice to see some things head in the right direction, to start to build some momentum and confidence,” he said. “That’s definitely something we struggled with the last few years. I might have a good week here or there, but nothing ever back-to-back, or able to build on a good week, anything like that. It (the finish at ZOZO) was definitely good to see.” There are two keys to Fowler’s improved play. In a word, Fowler seems to have simplified the many swing thoughts and new feels that seemed to complicate his long game, or at least prevent it from feeling natural. He returned to the tutelage of the sage Butch Harmon, the man with whom he started this journey. Fowler said he feels terrible that things did not work out with coach John Tillery, who had been teaching him for a period. They certainly worked at it. He said his days with Tillery, and all he learned, have been a sturdy bridge to start up with Harmon again. “I can’t say enough good things about him (Tillery),” Fowler said. “We were living and dying with it together, and I really wouldn’t be in this position that I am now, playing, and being able to do the stuff with Butch, without learning all the stuff that I did with Tillery. It’s a bummer that we didn’t have the success that we wanted, but it also kind of laid the groundwork for right now.” His work with Harmon has led him to a steeper swing plane with his left arm that gets his hands in a better spot, gives him more room to swing, and makes his swing far more efficient. More importantly, Fowler’s confidence in his putting has returned, too. That’s huge. He led Strokes Gained: Putting in 2016-17, and finished as high as 13th four seasons ago, but he has been completely lost on the greens the last two seasons. In 2021-22, he was 161st in the category. That will put pressure on every nook and corner of one’s game. He doesn’t have a great explanation why it seems to be so improved of late, and didn’t putt great on Sunday, when he might have put forth a better challenge to Bradley, who also hadn’t won in a few seasons. But since going to a new putter in Memphis, his final start of last season – where Fowler opened with 65 – the putting has started to build, like a burgeoning drumbeat. So the swirling swing thoughts are reserved only for practice sessions, and the mindset on competition days is “Let’s go play golf.” That, and the 10-footers are starting to find the hole. That combination can ease a golfer’s mind in real time. “That (improved putting) frees up so much from just getting to the green,” he said. “That’s something that, the last couple of years, I never had that … to let myself free up.” The CJ CUP in South Carolina will be Fowler’s last start of 2022. He loves to play in Mexico, at Mayakoba, but his good friend Justin Thomas is getting married that week in November, and Fowler is a groomsman. So he will play this week and carry his positive vibes into 2023. Give Fowler credit. Through the tough times, his chin seldom dropped, and he never has not been shy discussing the process of his long climb back. He carries some pretty good perspective to the struggling times he has endured with class. “This isn’t life out here. This is part of life; it’s what we get to do,” Fowler said. “It’s fun, though not all the time. Looking back, it wasn’t an enjoyable time, but it’s part of it, and it’s ultimately how you come out on the back end, and how you get through it. … If handled and done the right way, it’s only going to make you better.” And Fowler, if nothing else, is better, and just bold enough to harbor aspirations that, in his mid-30s, he can be better than ever.

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