Tiger Woods’ motivational text sends U.S. to hot start at Ryder Cup

Perez leads by 1 at CIMB Classic

Click here to read the full article…

Tiger Woods has not ruled out picking himself as a playing captain for next year’s Presidents Cup in Australia should he fail to automatically qualify. Woods was named captain of the U.S. Team over eight months ago for the biennial event against the Internationals that will be held on December 12-15, 2019 at Royal Melbourne Golf Club. At the time he was in the early stages of a comeback from back fusion surgery. Since then he has elevated his game back to winning form, taking out the TOUR Championship for an 80th career PGA TOUR title, and playing well enough to throw up the possibility he could join Hale Irwin (1994) as just the second playing captain in Presidents Cup history. “I’m part of the team either way, okay,â€� Woods said during a reconnaissance mission to Royal Melbourne this week. “I want to compete. I want to play. Being a vice captain the last couple years, you realize you really don’t control the play. You have to sit back and watch. And as a player and as a competitor, you want to always be in control and be able to compete and play.â€� But with just eight spots on the roster going to automatic qualifiers – and with Woods currently sitting 16th on the list – a playing position could hinge on one of four captains’ picks. Woods declared the decision would be one for him to mull over with his assistant captains and most importantly the eight automatically qualified players but he had no aversion to being part of that conversation should form warrant it. Given a new rule stating players only need to play one session prior to singles, Woods could effectively pick himself, and hide himself, if he desired. “After the TOUR Championship, we’ll have our top eight guys, and hopefully I’ll be part of the top eight. If not, then myself and my vice captains are going to have to figure out – as well as the other top eight players – who are the next four guys that will be best served to be part of this team, to come down here and compete,â€� he said. “I’m going to have to defer a lot of information to my vice captains and get a lot of their opinions and also my team, whether or not I can play and do both roles.â€� Woods envisages Royal Melbourne will play much like it did in previous Presidents Cups held at the venue in 1998 and 2011. The 1998 event remains the only outright win the International team has claimed. Each individual Cup, each individual team, has their own uniqueness and their own character, and that’s what’s fun about being a part of these teams, that you’re building relationships that you never thought you would have, and relationships that last a lifetime. “The way the golf course is set up and the way it’s played, it’s very similar to what we face at an Open Championship, so I think guys who play The Open Championship venues well are going to be successful here at Royal,â€� the three-time Open Championship winner said. “It is one of the greatest golf courses in all of the world. The layout is fantastic. It’s very tough. It’s tricky. They’ve lengthened a couple of the holes. But nothing major. Normally over the course of time, a lot of golf courses get modernized, get lengthened, change different angles, add bunkers, whatever it may be, but they haven’t done that at Royal. It’s the same golf course.â€� Making the team without the need for a pick could be a tough ask for Woods given he has already acknowledged a reduced schedule is in his future. Woods finished his 2018 playing commitments last week at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas last week and the soon to be 43-year-old admitted his 19 events was a toll he was unable to handle effectively. “I won’t be playing as much as I did last year. … That was just too much for my body to handle and I was not physically prepared for it,â€� Woods said. “I hadn’t trained for that, so we’re going to make some adjustments for next year.â€� Either way Woods hoped he would be able to put a stamp on his team and believes there will be no hangover or fallout from the U.S. loss in the Ryder Cup this year where Woods was 0-4. “This is a totally different team, totally different players,â€� he said. “We could have a different core of guys. Obviously we have a lot of guys in their 20s that have made the last couple teams but you just never know. “Each individual Cup, each individual team, has their own uniqueness and their own character, and that’s what’s fun about being a part of these teams, that you’re building relationships that you never thought you would have, and relationships that last a lifetime.â€�

Click here to read the full article…

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – There’s a small, handwritten note in the Quail Hollow clubhouse that points out the course record and the direction of the first tee. The sign, which hangs in a hallway that leads out of the club’s bag room, sits under an oversized scorecard, written in perfect Calligraphy, that commemorates the 61 that Rory McIlroy shot here three years ago. It almost had to be replaces Saturday, as Peter Uihlein took advantage of softer conditions to shoot a 62 that put him in contention at the Wells Fargo Championship. Pars on his final three holes kept Uihlein from matching McIlroy’s mark, but Uihlein now owns the lowest score at Quail Hollow since it underwent renovations before last year’s PGA Championship. He has a chance to win after sneaking into the weekend with just a shot to spare. He made just three birdies over the first 36 holes hole, shooting back-to-back 72s to start Saturday’s round in 48th place. “The way the golf course was set up today, it felt you could get after it a bit,� Uihlein said. “The first two days felt like a U.S. Open.� He teed off at 8:46 a.m. Saturday and walked off the 18th green almost an hour before the final group teed off. When he signed for his seven birdies and an eagle, Uihlein was tied for first with 36-hole leader Peter Malnati. It was Uihlein’s best single-round performance this season in both Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green and Strokes Gained: Putting. He parred the first four holes, then played his next six holes in seven under. He capped off the run by hitting a 3-iron to 14 feet at the par-5 10th hole and making the putt for eagle. “It started out very innocently, and then in the middle of that stretch, the quality of shots he hit – the high, cut 6-iron into 6, and then on 10, hitting a 340-yard drive over the bunker and hitting a 3-iron into the green – at that point you kind of sensed that something is going to happen,� said playing partner Mackenzie Hughes, who shot 70. “He played phenomenally. It was a clinic. I was getting lapped.� Uihlein added birdies at Nos. 14 and 15, then concluded his bogey-free round with three consecutive pars. He missed birdie putts of 24 feet and 40 feet on Nos. 16 and 17, then saved par after his approach shot to 18 trickled off the green. A 31-footer at the ninth hole was the only putt for birdie or eagle that he made from outside 15 feet. Five of those eight putts were shorter than 10 feet. He didn’t miss from inside 15 feet Saturday, making all 17 of his attempts. He gained 3.4 strokes with his putter after needing just 25 putts. He holed all five of his attempts from 3-7 feet and both of his putts from 10-15 feet. He is currently the fourth alternate for THE PLAYERS Championship, but could gain entry in the field with a win this week. This isn’t the first time Uihlein had an opportunity to break 60 in a professional event. He shot 60 at Kingsbarns in the 2013 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. He just missed an eagle putt at the last that would have given him the first 59 in European Tour history. The 28-year-old is playing his first season on the PGA TOUR after graduating from last year’s Web.com Tour Finals, where he won the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. He ranks 86th in the FedExCup after finishing in the top 10 in two events in Asia last fall. He finished T10 at the CIMB Classic and T5 at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. Before this week, he’d missed the cut in five of his previous 11 starts. His only top-25s were T17s at the CareerBuilder Challenge and World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. Uihlein switched coaches last December and now works with Justin Parsons. Uihlein made practice swings Saturday with his glove tucked under his right armpit, a drill that helps him maintain the connection between his arms and body. It worked. He hit 15 of 18 greens Saturday, gaining slightly more than three strokes on the field with his approach play. McIlroy’s final-round 62 in 2010 remains the best single round from a Strokes Gained perspective at Quail Hollow in the Wells Fargo Championship. He gained 10.7 strokes on the field with that round, which led to his first PGA TOUR victory. He shot 66-62 on the weekend after making the cut on the number. McIlroy gained 10.2 strokes with his third-round 61 in 2015 that led to his second Wells Fargo Championship. McIlroy’s record is safe. Now Uihlein will focus on trying to win his first PGA TOUR event.  

Click here to read the full article…