Tiger Woods finishes strong at U.S. Open

Tiger had all kinds of trouble hitting the fairway, but despite that he managed to shoot under par at Torrey Pines, no small feat in his return to golf after back surgery.

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• COURSE: Royal Birkdale GC, 7,156 yards, par 70. Considered by many to be the fairest of Open Championship venues, Royal Birkdale dates back to 1889 but took its signature path between sand dunes in a 1922 overhaul by J.H. Taylor and Fred Hawtree. A 1940 Open debut was scuttled by World War II, finally getting its host opportunity in 1954. Peter Thomson won the first and last of his five Open crowns at Royal Birkdale, and Arnold Palmer’s 1961 triumph is considered a turning point in the Open’s fortunes. With subsequent wins by Lee Trevino (1971), Johnny Miller (1976) and Tom Watson (1983), five of Royal Birkdale’s eight Open champions are in the World Golf Hall of Fame. • FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 600 points. • CHARITY: The R&A contributes some $6.5 million annually to programs designed to enhance the game worldwide. Particular emphasis is given to junior golf programs, along with growth initiatives in emerging golfing nations. • FIELD WATCH: Dustin Johnson, FedExCup No. 1, has been absent from a tournament weekend since May, heads a roster expected to feature 73 of the top 75 on this week’s Official World Golf Ranking. … Newly crowned U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, now 11th in the rankings, tees it up for the first time since his record-tying march at Erin Hills. … … Openings remain for the John Deere Classic’s highest top-5 finisher yet to qualify, plus the Scottish Open’s three highest top-10 finishers still without berths. … Among the 12 survivors of local qualifying is Ian Poulter, Europe’s Ryder Cup stalwart who sat out last season’s second half with foot woes and saw his world ranking fall out of Open favor. • 72-HOLE RECORD: 264, Henrik Stenson (2016 at Royal Troon). • 18-HOLE RECORD: 63, Mark Hayes (2nd round, 1977 at Turnberry), Isao Aoki (3rd round, 1980 at Muirfield), Greg Norman (2nd round, 1986 at Turnberry), Paul Broadhurst (3rd round, 1990 at St. Andrews), Jodie Mudd (4th round, 1991 at Royal Birkdale), Nick Faldo (2nd round, 1993 at Royal St. Georges), Payne Stewart (4th round, 1993 at Royal St. Georges), Rory McIlroy (1st round, 2010 at St. Andrews), Phil Mickelson (1st round, 2016 at Royal Troon), Henrik Stenson (4th round, 2016 at Royal Troon). • LAST YEAR: Henrik Stenson outlasted Phil Mickelson in an historic Sunday duel at Royal Troon, emerging three shots clear after posting just the second Sunday 63 to win a major championship. Stenson carded 10 birdies to join Johnny Miller (1973 U.S. Open) as the only major champions to shoot 63 on the final day, also setting a new 72-hole major standard at 20-under-par 264. Though Mickelson’s closing 65 was two shots better than anyone else on the course, he still lost two shots to the Swede. All told, the Stenson/Mickelson pairing notched 14 birdies and an eagle, and their best-ball score would have been 59. J.B. Holmes was a distant third – 11 shots behind Mickelson. • STORYLINES: Despite Johnson’s six victories in the past 13 months, his past two outings have produced missed cuts at the U.S. Open and Memorial Tournament. He hasn’t played the weekend at a major, in fact, since last year’s Open at Royal Troon. … Spain’s Jon Rahm, ranked 297th in the world as a newly minted pro a year ago, now stands No. 8 after a stirring six-shot romp at last week’s Irish Open. He owns seven top-5 finishes worldwide since January, including victory at the Farmers Insurance Open. … Jordan Spieth, who just missed a playoff at St. Andrews two years ago, also brings some momentum after his dramatic bunker-holeout win at Hartford. … Rory McIlroy in urgent quest for form, coming to Royal Birkdale off missed cuts at both the Irish Open and Scottish Open. … Stenson has been hot-and-cold since spring, missing four cuts in his past 10 starts worldwide. Three others, though, have resulted in top-10s. • SHORT CHIPS: In a nod to a weakened exchange rate after Britain’s vote to exit the European Union, this year’s prize money will be paid out in American dollars for the first time. The winner will receive $1.8 million from a total purse of $10.25 million. … Eight of the Open’s past 10 champions were age 35 or older. The exceptions: McIlroy in 2014 and Louis Oosthuizen in 2010. • TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 1:30 a.m.-4 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 4:30-7 a.m. (GC); 7 a.m.-3 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 4-7 a.m. (GC); 7 a.m.-2 p.m. (NBC). • PGA TOUR LIVE: None. • RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 2 a.m.-3 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 4 a.m.-3 p.m. (SiriusXM).

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Since the 2017 NFL season, Tony Romo has spent his Sundays during the fall as the lead analyst for CBS’ top game each week. Prior to that, of course, he played quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. But perhaps this Sunday he’ll be playing golf. Romo is in the field at this week’s Safeway Open, playing on a sponsor exemption as part of the 144-man field at Silverado. It’s his fourth start at a PGA TOUR event, each one as an amateur. Romo is scheduled to work the Minnesota Vikings-Chicago Bears game at Soldier Field on Sunday, but CBS has given him permission to skip the game if he makes the cut. What are the chances of that happening? Well, here’s a look at his previous TOUR results. TONY ROMO’S PGA TOUR RESULTS Here’s what our PGATOUR.COM experts expect from Romo this week at the Safeway Open. BEN EVERILL (Staff Writer): Has as much chance of making the cut as the Dolphins have of making the playoffs this season, so … 0%. SEAN MARTIN (Senior Editor): I’m going to say 5%. He’s a fine amateur player but the PGA TOUR is the biggest stage in golf. MIKE McALLISTER (Managing Editor): I’ll say 1% … well, make it 2% since I grew up in Dallas as a Cowboys fan. But he’s beaten just five golfers (not including WDs) collectively in his three TOUR starts and has missed the cut by a collective 43 strokes. I’m no analytics expert but that doesn’t seem very promising. HELEN ROSS (Contributor): I’ll be generous and say 10%. He’s a solid amateur and obviously a talented athlete. But c’mon, this is the PGA TOUR. It’s a totally different level. ANDREW TURSKY (Equipment Insider): His PGA TOUR playing competitors aren’t defensive lineman trying to rip his head off, and no one can keep him from firing career rounds and slipping under the cutline. The problem is, he hasn’t played very well in professional events, which may affect any confidence he may have had. I’ll go with 9%. CAMERON MORFIT (Staff Writer): I’ll say 5%, but that’s generous. The PGA TOUR is a whole other level, which athletes from other sports always have to learn the hard way. ROB BOLTON (Fantasy Insider): 0%. He’ll be back at his day job on the weekend.

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