Tiger Woods’ accident brings out well wishes from across the world

Tiger Woods tees it up in just his second start of 2019, once again seeking a breakthrough on the hometown venue that has left him empty-handed more than any other on the PGA TOUR. Bubba Watson serves as the man to beat, though, defending a third title in his past five visits to famed Riviera Country Club. Dustin Johnson, the 2017 winner at Riviera, seeks to build on a win in Saudi Arabia while Bryson DeChambeau and FedExCup points leader Xander Schauffele also enter with momentum from recent victories. The event also marks the first U.S. start of the year for Sergio Garcia. FIELD NOTES: Francesco Molinari, the Open Championship titleholder, also heads an infusion of overseas pros readying for a stretch that includes THE PLAYERS Championship and two World Golf Championship stops. … Rory McIlroy makes his third start at Riviera, where he has tied for 20th in each of his previous two visits. … All told, the Genesis lineup is projected to feature 20 of the FedExCup’s top 30. … Fred Couples, 58, a two-time winner and perennial Riviera favorite, returns on a sponsor exemption after a two-year hiatus. It will be his 35th appearance, five more than anyone else in tournament annals. … Tim O’Neal, three times a winner on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, tees up on the tournament’s Charlie Sifford Exemption to promote diversity. O’Neal was the 2018 Player of the Year on the APGA circuit formed to develop minority golfers. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points. STORYLINES: Woods takes his 10th crack at mastering Riviera, the only PGA TOUR venue he’s played more than four times professionally without ever tasting victory. He missed the cut last year, when he ended an 11-year absence to return as tournament host. He’s twice been runner-up in the event. … Watson seeks a fourth victory in a six-year span, though he’d need to break a pattern of winning in even-numbered years. … Johnson continues his busy schedule, still with no break since flying back from victory at the Saudi International. Last year’s share of 16th broke a run of four visits with no finish lower than fourth. … Late berths into next week’s WGC-Mexico Championship are available for anyone who moves into the top 50 in the world rankings or the FedExCup’s top 10. COURSE: Riviera Country Club, 7,322 yards, par 71. A timeless classic since its 1927 premiere, Riviera has lured a Hollywood who’s who ranging from Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin to Humphrey Bogart to Dean Martin to Jack Nicholson to Mark Wahlberg. Designer George Thomas mulled 15 possible layouts before deciding on one known for some of the TOUR’s most memorable holes. The par-3 sixth is famed for its bunker in the center of the green, and No.10 remains perhaps the best drivable par-4 in golf. Ben Hogan’s three wins in an 18-month span – two L.A. Opens and the 1948 U.S. Open – earned Riviera the nickname “Hogan’s Alley.� Riviera also has staged two PGA Championships, a U.S. Amateur and a U.S. Senior Open, and will be the site of the 2028 Olympic events. For those visiting the area, must-play courses include Trump National GC (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.), The Links at Terranea (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) and Tustin Ranch GC (Tustin, Calif.). Book your reservations via TeeOff.com. 72-HOLE RECORD: 264, Lanny Wadkins (1985). 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, George Archer (3rd round, 1983 at Rancho Park GC), Ted Tryba (3rd round, 1999 at Riviera CC). LAST YEAR: Watson became just the third man to win three times at Riviera, shrugging off a dubious basketball cameo to do what he does best on weekends. Watson closed with rounds of 65-69, following an NBA Celebrity All-Star appearance best known for getting his shot viciously swatted by Tracy McGrady. Laughs gave way to tears by Sunday, as Watson overtook Patrick Cantlay with a bogey-free back nine for his 10th career PGA TOUR victory. It also ended a two-year drought in which the two-time Masters champion endured health issues that prompted rapid weight loss and thoughts of retirement. Watson also won in 2014 and ’16, joining Hogan and Lloyd Mangrum as the only men to win three times at Riviera. HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 2-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6:30 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (featured groups). Saturday-Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-6 p.m. (featured holes). GOLFTV: International fans can stream PGA TOUR LIVE coverage from Thursday-Friday, 14:30 to 23:00 GMT. Saturday-Sunday, 16:30 to 23:00 via subscription to GOLF.TV. RADIO: Thursday-Friday, noon-6 p.m. Saturday, 1-6 p.m. Sunday, 1-6:30 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).

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PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Bubba Watson received an interesting message from his longtime caddie, Ted Scott, before he got on the grounds at Innisbrook Resort for the Valspar Championship this week. As the two readied for only their second start at the Copperhead since 2011 (Watson missed the cut in 2017, his only other trip since then), Scott offered some words of wisdom to Watson:  Let’s play really, really smart.  “It might have been Sunday night, or Monday, but he texted me and he said, ‘To play good around here you’re going to have to play boring golf,’â€� Watson said. “So I joked with him and said, that’s my whole game – boring. You have to pick and choose your battles around here.â€� Watson chose them well over 72 holes, shooting 3-under 68 on Sunday to tie for fourth, his second top-5 at this event. As always, he played aggressively off the tee – hey, this is Bubba we’re talking about – but with his irons, he decided to play a little more conservatively into the greens.  “We looked at the top 10. What does it take to get in the top 10?â€� Watson said. “It’s about greens in regulation here we figured out and so you had to just kind of plot along and that’s kind of what I did. I hit a driver a lot because I love it, I dinked it here and there, but I hit a lot of irons off tees just to get the ball in play. Even if I laid back a lot further, I trusted my iron game to hit some of the greens and that’s really what I did.  “I putted really good today, the other days were just decent. For me it was good though.â€� The performance was Watson’s best since a tie for fourth at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in early February, which represented Watson’s only top 10 in seven starts this season. He started Sunday six shots behind Paul Casey and knows that at the Copperhead, lots of crazy things can happen. Watson birdied his first hole but would add only one more in his next 12 holes. “When you start out slow and don’t make any birdies … you’re like, well, second place ain’t bad, let’s try for that, and then third place and fourth place,â€� Watson said. “So it’s one of those things where, yeah, you have that vision (of catching the leader) and then after nine holes you realize that vision is gone so now just get a good finish, a good top 10 or top 5 if you have a chance.â€� Watson said his goal once he reached 10 victories was to get to 15 (he has 12). Now 40, he says he’s been inspired by watching fellow left-hander Phil Mickelson win at 48 (“I’ve got eight years,” he joked). Watson’s next stop is Austin for the Wolrd Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, a tournament he won a year ago, dispatching fellow Georgia Bulldog Kevin Kisner in the finals, 7 and 6.  “I vote every year not to have Match Play, because I feel like I have a better chance in 72 holes (stroke play),â€� Watson said with a smile. “But nobody ever asks me.â€� 

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Tiger Woods will return to PGA TOUR action for the first time in four months after the 82-time winner committed to next week’s the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide in Columbus, Ohio. Woods, a five-time winner of the Memorial Tournament, joins the field at Muirfield Village for his first official PGA TOUR event since he hosted the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles at Riviera Country Club in February. It will also mark Woods’ first start since the COVID-19 pandemic began shortly thereafter. Chasing a record 83rd TOUR win to break out of a tie with Sam Snead atop the all-time wins list, Woods was last seen in action at Capital One’s The Match: Champions for Charity on May 24, when he and former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning beat Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady at Medalist Golf Club. Woods has played at Muirfield Village 17 times in his career, winning the tournament in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2009 and 2012. He has never missed the cut at Muirfield and has further top 10 finishes in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2019. Woods was also a member of the U.S. Presidents Cup team that won at Muirfield Village in 2013. Clearly he likes the place that Jack (Nicklaus) built. “I’ve always enjoyed Muirfield. I’ve always tried to play at Jack’s events. What he’s meant to the TOUR and he’s meant to all of us has players, I’ve always tried to support his events and I just happened to play well on his golf courses too,” Woods said in 2018. “Whether it’s here or most of the Nicklaus Design courses that we play, I seem to play them well. But this one in particular is very special to him, it’s very special to us as players. Obviously because of what he’s done to the golf course, but more so what he’s meant to us as players.” Currently Woods sits 41st in the FedExCup and 14th in the world rankings. He got the 2019-20 PGA TOUR season off to a roaring start with a victory at the inaugural ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP in Japan last October. As playing captain, he led the U.S. to a come-from-behind win at the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne in December. He tied for ninth at the Farmers Insurance Open on one of his favorite courses, Torrey Pines. Woods, 44, then struggled on the weekend at the Genesis to finish 68th, and later revealed that he was having mobility issues with his surgically fused back. He skipped The Honda Classic and did not play the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, another of his favorite events. He also didn’t feel well enough for THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass, where he is a two-time champion. That event was eventually canceled after the first round due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now, though, Woods is ready to go again. The pandemic hit the pause button on the season and has given Woods time to get well physically. He looked like his old self at The Match at Medalist, his home course, as he hit fairways and led his team to victory.

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