Officialsportsbetting.com Golf Betting Tiger Woods set the doubters straight at the 1997 Masters

Tiger Woods set the doubters straight at the 1997 Masters

Tiger Woods had already won twice on the PGA TOUR going into 1997, and he did so again at the season-opening Mercedes Championship in La Costa, California, beating the reigning Player of the Year and Open Championship winner, Tom Lehman, in a playoff to win the event now known as the Sentry Tournament of Champions. There were no more victories leading up to the Masters – at least not official ones. As if to forecast what was about to occur, Woods shot a course-record 59 while playing with TOUR veteran Mark O’Meara at Isleworth on the Friday prior to heading to Augusta. He shot 32–27 from the back tees, which then played to 7,179 yards and a USGA slope rating of 74.4. Basically, that means the course ranked among the toughest in Florida. The next day, they played again, with money on the line: $10 automatic 1-downs, meaning any time a player fell behind by a hole, a new $10 bet started from that point until the end of the nine holes. Starting on the 10th hole, Woods birdied to immediately go 1-up, meaning a new $10 bet was triggered. At the 11th hole, a par-3, Woods had the honors and hit first. “I haven’t even gotten out of my cart, but he hits it and it’s going right at (the flag),” O’Meara recalled. “It one-hops and goes into the hole for a hole in one.” Before even attempting his own tee shot, O’Meara quit. “I put $100 on his cart and said, ‘I’ll see you on the range.’” O’Meara chuckled. “You’re 16-under par for 20 holes. I quit. I’m outta here.” We didn’t know it at the time, but Thursday, April 10, 1997, was the true beginning of what would become the legend known as Tiger Woods. Yes, he’d produced all those amateur exploits. He’d already won three times as a pro. He’d just turned 21 a few months prior. But the opening round of the Masters was also the start of something special. Per tradition, the defending champion, Nick Faldo, was paired with Woods, the reigning U.S. Amateur champion. The six-time major winner Faldo was coming off a victory at Riviera in Los Angeles. Despite having never played in a major championship as a pro, Woods was installed as an 8–1 cofavorite with Faldo and Greg Norman—the tough-luck loser to Faldo a year prior. It was not a smooth start, however, for Tiger. He appeared nervous on the first tee and hit an opening drive to prove it, launching it well wide of the fairway and making bogey. He added three more on the first nine, including the par-5 eighth and again at the ninth to take 40 strokes and stand at 4 over through nine holes. But Woods gathered himself—he said he tried to return to the feelings of a week earlier when shooting 59 at his home course in Florida— and blistered the second nine with four birdies and an eagle. His 6-under-par 30 gave him a round of 70, just three strokes back of first-round leader John Huston (who holed out for an eagle at the 18th, eliciting the Augusta Chronicle headline: “Huston, The Eagle Has Landed”). Faldo shot 75. “He came in with such major attention,” Faldo said. “And he used it in his favor. No player before walked to the first tee with eight policemen around him. Suddenly Tiger decided he needed security. He had a whole different aura. An aura around him where everybody watched him and listened. And everybody wanted a piece of it. Yes, it was amazing. “He went out in 40 and back in 30,” Faldo continued, “and then we didn’t see him for the next 14 years. He left us in the dust. It was a special day.” The azaleas and the dogwoods had no chance. Augusta National was on fire. Paul Azinger played with Woods on Friday, and Woods shot 66 to take the lead. Azinger was just as impressed as Faldo, and says of Woods today, “He’s less afraid of failure than anybody I’ve ever seen.” Even so, a third highly accomplished pro remained unmoved by the emerging phenomenon that was Woods as players looked forward to the weekend. Colin Montgomerie had shot 67 to get into the last group on Saturday. He was three strokes back, but Monty was an accomplished veteran in the midst of winning the European Tour’s Order of Merit (money title) seven straight years (through 1999). He’d contended in majors. “There’s more to it than hitting the ball a long way,” Montgomerie said, anticipating his round with Woods. “And the pressure’s mounting more and more. I’ve got more experience, a lot more experience, in major championships than he has. And hopefully I can prove that.” Nope. The next day, Woods played a near-flawless third round with seven birdies and no bogeys for a 7-under-par 65 while Montgomerie made three front-nine bogeys on his way to a 74. He dropped 12 shots back into a tie for sixth while Woods led the tournament by nine. It was a remarkable display from a 21-year-old playing in his first major as a pro. Woods missed a single fairway and just one green — at the par-4 third, where he saved par with a 10-footer. “I’m probably the reason he did what he did,” Montgomerie said years later. “I played with Tiger on that famous day on the Saturday. I witnessed something very special that day. I thought I would beat him. I was wrong. And everyone else was wrong as well. But I admitted it. “I’d just witnessed something very special,” Montgomerie continued. “I thought I shot a very solid 74 until I lost to him by nine shots. I witnessed something that nobody else had seen.” The Scotsman surprised the writers in Augusta National’s media center early Saturday evening by showing up to talk. Nobody requested him; nobody in their right minds ever thought he would want to talk after the beatdown that had just occurred. But not only did Monty take a seat in front of the scribblers, he also wowed them with his praise of Woods. If there was any doubt about the outcome the next day, with Woods leading Costantino Rocca by nine strokes, Montgomerie did his best to dispel it. “We’re all human beings here,” he said. “But there is no chance humanly possible that Tiger Woods is going to lose this tournament.” Reminded that Norman lost a six-shot lead a year earlier, Montgomerie said, “This is different; this is very different. Faldo’s not lying second, for starts. And Greg Norman’s not Tiger Woods.” Woods put to rest any doubts about squandering the lead with two birdies and two bogeys over the first nine. Rocca never got closer than eight strokes. At that point, all that was left was the 72-hole scoring record, which Woods set by shooting 3 under on the second nine—and converting a tricky par putt at the 18th—to finish 12 strokes ahead of Tom Kite. It was a coronation amid the towering pines. Woods, a man of color, took his place among the game’s greats at an event that did not invite its first Black player until the year he was born. That man, Lee Elder, was at Augusta. He had flown from Florida to Atlanta that morning and was driving—too fast—to Augusta when he saw the red flashing lights in his rearview mirror. As the officer, who Elder noted was also Black, began writing out a ticket, Elder made his case. “I gave him the whole story,” Elder said. “‘There’s history about to be made in your state. Tiger Woods is about to win the Masters. I’m just trying to get there before he tees off.’ “He just kept writing and writing,” Elder continued. “When he got through, he gave me the ticket and said I either had to sign it or follow him to the precinct.” And then there was the final kicker. “He told me, ‘I don’t know who Tiger Woods is, and I don’t like golf,’” Elder said. Few would not know the name Tiger Woods again after this day. Black workers at the club snuck a peek at him on the first tee and stood on the balcony of the old manor clubhouse, cheering him as he putted out on the 18th while his record-setting performance was witnessed, in part, by some 44 million television viewers during the final round. Those who played with him could only wonder. At the time, they weren’t contemplating the social ramifications of his play; they were simply marveling at what was on display. Woods set the tournament scoring mark of 270, 18 under par, and became the youngest player to win the title. His 12-shot victory was the largest in any major championship going back to the 1862 Open at Prestwick. There, Tom Morris Sr. won by 13 shots—in a field that saw just eight players and on a 12-hole layout that was played three times—at a time when Abraham Lincoln was the U.S. president and golf had yet to be established in the United States. Woods later set a new standard when he won the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach by 15 strokes. “It’s always a pleasure to speak about him,” Rocca said from his home in Italy years later. “He has done so much for golf. It wasn’t surprising. I had played with him when he was an amateur at the U.S. Open (the year prior at Oakland Hills). I saw the potential he had.” After his victory, Woods greeted Earl and Tida behind the 18th green. The hug with his dad aired a million or more times over the years and played repeatedly for comparison when Woods won the Masters for the fifth time in 2019 and hugged his son, Charlie, behind the same 18th green. Before he could get comfortable in his first green jacket, Woods took a call from President Bill Clinton, and later described it as if it were a chat with one of his buddies. “He just said he was proud of the way I played,” Woods said. “He also said, what meant a lot, the best shot he saw all week was the shot of me hugging my dad.” Phil Mickelson was long gone, having missed the cut. (Mickelson didn’t miss another Masters cut until 2014.) Jim “Bones” Mackay, his then-caddie, watched the Woods coronation on TV. “I couldn’t believe a kid his age could consistently back off shots because of wind changes and be as composed,” Mackay said. “His golf I.Q. was incredible. I remember thinking, look at this guy; he’s backing off shots; he’s waiting on his wind, which is the key to playing well at Augusta, in my opinion. We all knew about the swing and the putting stroke. But at that point, I’m realizing how smart he is on the course and how composed. That kind of blew me away.” All in the game felt the same way. Even though the final round was a foregone conclusion well before Woods even got to the course, it was riveting. Nobody could take their eyes off the proceedings. And it sparked even more interest in Woods and what he would do next. Nobody knew what was coming, but they certainly would be glued to their televisions, as golf ratings soared whenever Woods played. A commitment to a tournament meant sent organizers scrambling to add concession facilities, parking places, grandstands, hospitality options, and security. It was wild. And it virtually never subsided, no matter when and where Woods played.

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Veritex Bank Championship
Type: Winner - Status: OPEN
S H Kim+1800
Hank Lebioda+2000
Johnny Keefer+2000
Alistair Docherty+2500
Kensei Hirata+2500
Neal Shipley+2500
Rick Lamb+2500
Trey Winstead+2500
Zecheng Dou+2500
Seungtaek Lee+2800
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Zurich Classic of New Orleans
Type: Winner - Status: OPEN
Rory McIlroy / Shane Lowry+350
Collin Morikawa / Kurt Kitayama+1400
Billy Horschel / Tom Hoge+1800
J.T. Poston / Keith Mitchell+1800
Thomas Detry / Robert MacIntyre+2000
Wyndham Clark / Taylor Moore+2000
Nicolai Hojgaard / Rasmus Hojgaard+2200
Aaron Rai / Sahith Theegala+2500
Ben Griffin / Andrew Novak+2800
Nico Echavarria / Max Greyserman+2800
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Tournament Match-Ups - R. McIlroy / S. Lowry vs C. Morikawa / K. Kitayama
Type: Tournament Match-Ups - Status: OPEN
Rory McIlroy / Shane Lowry-210
Collin Morikawa / Kurt Kitayama+160
Tournament Match-Ups - J.T. Poston / K. Mitchell vs T. Detry / R. MacIntyre
Type: Tournament Match-Ups - Status: OPEN
J.T. Poston / Keith Mitchell-130
Thomas Detry / Robert MacIntyre+100
Tournament Match-Ups - J. Svensson / N. Norgaard vs R. Fox / G. Higgo
Type: Tournament Match-Ups - Status: OPEN
Ryan Fox / Garrick Higgo-125
Jesper Svensson / Niklas Norgaard-105
Tournament Match-Ups - N. Hojgaard / R. Hojgaard vs N. Echavarria / M. Greyserman
Type: Tournament Match-Ups - Status: OPEN
Nicolai Hojgaard / Rasmus Hojgaard-130
Nico Echavarria / Max Greyserman+100
Tournament Match-Ups - M. Fitzpatrick / A. Fitzpatrick vs S. Stevens / M. McGreevy
Type: Tournament Match-Ups - Status: OPEN
Sam Stevens / Max McGreevy-120
Matt Fitzpatrick / Alex Fitzpatrick-110
Tournament Match-Ups - W. Clark / T. Moore vs B. Horschel / T. Hoge
Type: Tournament Match-Ups - Status: OPEN
Billy Horschel / Tom Hoge-130
Wyndham Clark / Taylor Moore+100
Tournament Match-Ups - N. Taylor / A. Hadwin vs B. Garnett / S. Straka
Type: Tournament Match-Ups - Status: OPEN
Nick Taylor / Adam Hadwin-120
Brice Garnett / Sepp Straka-110
Tournament Match-Ups - A. Rai / S. Theegala vs B. Griffin / A. Novak
Type: Tournament Match-Ups - Status: OPEN
Aaron Rai / Sahith Theegala-120
Ben Griffin / Andrew Novak-110
Tournament Match-Ups - J. Highsmith / A. Tosti vs A. Smalley / J. Bramlett
Type: Tournament Match-Ups - Status: OPEN
Joe Highsmith / Alejandro Tosti-130
Alex Smalley / Joseph Bramlett+100
Tournament Match-Ups - A. Bhatia / C. Young vs M. Wallace / T. Olesen
Type: Tournament Match-Ups - Status: OPEN
Akshay Bhatia / Carson Young-120
Matt Wallace / Thorbjorn Olesen-110
1st Round Match Up - Gerard / Walker vs Hoey / Ryder
Type: 1st Round Match Up - Status: OPEN
Gerard / Walker-110
Hoey / Ryder-110
1st Round 2 Ball - Fishburn / Blair v Byrd / Hadley
Type: 1st Round 2 Ball - Status: OPEN
Fishburn / Blair-140
Byrd / Hadley+115
1st Round 2 Ball - Hoey / Ryder v Smalley / Bramlett
Type: 1st Round 2 Ball - Status: OPEN
Hoey / Ryder-115
Smalley / Bramlett-105
1st Round Match Up - McIlroy / Lowry vs Poston / Mitchell
Type: 1st Round Match Up - Status: OPEN
McIlroy / Lowry-180
Poston / Mitchell+150
1st Round 2 Ball - Streb / Merritt v Ramey / Lower
Type: 1st Round 2 Ball - Status: OPEN
Ramey / Lower-155
Streb / Merritt+130
1st Round 2 Ball - Poston / Mitchell v Gerard / Walker
Type: 1st Round 2 Ball - Status: OPEN
Poston / Mitchell-145
Gerard / Walker+120
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Jeeno Thitikul+900
Nelly Korda+1000
Lydia Ko+1400
A Lim Kim+2000
Jin Young Ko+2000
Angel Yin+2500
Charley Hull+2500
Haeran Ryu+2500
Lauren Coughlin+2500
Minjee Lee+2500
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1st Round 2 Ball - Kohles / Kizzire v Hubbard / Brehm
Type: 1st Round 2 Ball - Status: OPEN
Hubbard / Brehm-110
Kohles / Kizzire-110
1st Round 2 Ball - Pavon / Perez v Bezuidenhout / Van Rooyen
Type: 1st Round 2 Ball - Status: OPEN
Bezuidenhout / Van Rooyen-115
Pavon / Perez-105
1st Round Match Up - Garnett / Straka vs Davis / Svensson
Type: 1st Round Match Up - Status: OPEN
Garnett / Straka-130
Davis / Svensson+110
1st Round 2 Ball - Straka / Garnett v Hardy / Riley
Type: 1st Round 2 Ball - Status: OPEN
Straka / Garnett-130
Hardy / Riley+110
1st Round 2 Ball - Thorbjornsen / Vilips v R. Hojgaard / N. Hojgaard
Type: 1st Round 2 Ball - Status: OPEN
R. Hojgaard / N. Hojgaard-130
Thorbjornsen / Vilips+110
1st Round Match Up - Rai / Theegala vs Horschel / Hoge
Type: 1st Round Match Up - Status: OPEN
Horschel / Hoge-110
Rai / Theegala-110
1st Round 2 Ball - Malnati / Knox v Davis / Svensson
Type: 1st Round 2 Ball - Status: OPEN
Davis / Svensson-155
Malnati / Knox+130
1st Round 2 Ball - Hoge / Horschel v Lowry / McIlroy
Type: 1st Round 2 Ball - Status: OPEN
Lowry v McIlroy-180
Hoge / Horschel+150
1st Round 2 Ball - Hodges / Dufner v Snedeker / Reavie
Type: 1st Round 2 Ball - Status: OPEN
Hodges / Dufner-125
Snedeker / Reavie+105
1st Round 2 Ball - Theegala / Rai v Bhatia / Car Young
Type: 1st Round 2 Ball - Status: OPEN
Theegala / Rai-125
Bhatia / Car Young+105
1st Round 3 Balls - J. Thitikul / H. Ryu / Y. Tseng
Type: 1st Round 3 Balls - Status: OPEN
Jeeno Thitikul-140
Haeran Ryu+150
Yani Tseng+850
1st Round 2 Ball - Shelton / Mullinax v Pak / Montgomery
Type: 1st Round 2 Ball - Status: OPEN
Shelton / Mullinax-125
Pak / Montgomery+105
1st Round 2 Ball - F. Capan III / Knapp v Cole / Saunders
Type: 1st Round 2 Ball - Status: OPEN
F. Capan III / Knapp-130
Cole / Saunders+110
1st Round 3 Balls - J.Y. Ko / Y. Saso / B. Henderson
Type: 1st Round 3 Balls - Status: OPEN
Jin Young Ko+115
Brooke Henderson+175
Yuka Saso+275
1st Round 3 Balls - A. Yin / G. Lopez / M. Sagstrom
Type: 1st Round 3 Balls - Status: OPEN
Angel Yin+125
Gaby Lopez+185
Madelene Sagstrom+230
1st Round Match Up - McGreevy / Stevens vs Hisatsune / Kanaya
Type: 1st Round Match Up - Status: OPEN
McGreevy / Stevens-115
Hisatsune / Kanaya-105
1st Round 2 Ball - Hisatsune / Kanaya v B. Taylor / Skinns
Type: 1st Round 2 Ball - Status: OPEN
Hisatsune / Kanaya-145
B. Taylor / Skinns+120
1st Round 2 Ball - Stevens / McGreevy v Sigg / Kisner
Type: 1st Round 2 Ball - Status: OPEN
Stevens / McGreevy-160
Sigg / Kisner+135
1st Round 3 Balls - N. Korda / L. Vu / P. Tavatanakit
Type: 1st Round 3 Balls - Status: OPEN
Nelly Korda+110
Lilia Vu+200
Patty Tavatanakit+250
1st Round 3 Balls - C. Hull / L. Grant / S. Lewis
Type: 1st Round 3 Balls - Status: OPEN
Charley Hull-110
Linn Grant+160
Stacy Lewis+450
1st Round 2 Ball - Dickson / Crowe v Hoshino / Onishi
Type: Including Tie - Status: OPEN
Dickson / Crowe+120
Hoshino / Onishi+110
Tie+500
1st Round 2 Ball - Peterson / Rosenmuller v Roy / Cone
Type: Including Tie - Status: OPEN
Peterson / Rosenmueller+120
Roy / Cone+110
Tie+500
1st Round 2 Ball - Canter / Smith v Salinda / Velo
Type: Including Tie - Status: OPEN
Canter / Smith-110
Salinda / Velo+145
Tie+500
1st Round 2 Ball - Ventura / Rozner v Widing / Fisk
Type: Including Tie - Status: OPEN
Ventura / Rozner+115
Widing / Fisk+115
Tie+500
1st Round Match Up - Cauley / Tway vs Valimaki / Silverman
Type: 1st Round Match Up - Status: OPEN
Cauley / Tway-115
Valimaki / Silverman-105
1st Round Match Up - Ghim / C. Kim vs Hossler / Putnam
Type: 1st Round Match Up - Status: OPEN
Ghim / C. Kim-120
Hossler / Putnam+100
1st Round 2 Ball - Cauley / Tway v Ghim / C. Kim
Type: Including Tie - Status: OPEN
Cauley / Tway+125
Ghim / C. Kim+105
Tie+500
1st Round 2 Ball - Champ / Griffin v Hossler / Putnam
Type: Including Tie - Status: OPEN
Champ / Griffin+130
Hossler / Putnam+105
Tie+500
1st Round 2 Ball - Haas / Laird v Lipsky / D. Wu
Type: Including Tie - Status: OPEN
Haas / Laird+140
Lipsky / D. Wu-105
Tie+500
1st Round 2 Ball - Phillips / Bridgeman v Valimaki / Silverman
Type: Including Tie - Status: OPEN
Bridgeman / Phillips+105
Valimaki / Silverman+125
Tie+500
1st Round Match Up - Vegas / Yu vs Duncan / Schenk
Type: 1st Round Match Up - Status: OPEN
Vegas / Yu-135
Duncan / Schenk+115
1st Round 2 Ball - Duncan / Schenk v List / Norlander
Type: Including Tie - Status: OPEN
List / Norlander+105
Schenk / Duncan+125
Tie+500
1st Round 2 Ball - Higgs / Dahmen v Novak / Griffin
Type: Including Tie - Status: OPEN
Higgs / Dahmen+160
Novak / Griffin-120
Tie+500
1st Round Match Up - M. Fitzpatrick / A. Fitpatrick vs Echavarria / Greyserman
Type: 1st Round Match Up - Status: OPEN
Echavarria / Greyserman-120
M. Fitzpatrick / A. Fitpatrick+100
1st Round 2 Ball - Echavarria / Greyserman v Vegas / Yu
Type: Including Tie - Status: OPEN
Greyserman / Echavarria+105
Vegas / Yu+130
Tie+500
1st Round 2 Ball - Moore / Clark v Morikawa / Kitayama
Type: Including Tie - Status: OPEN
Kitayama / Morikawa+105
Moore / Clark+130
Tie+500
1st Round Match Up - Fox / Higgo vs Detry / MacIntyre
Type: 1st Round Match Up - Status: OPEN
Detry / MacIntyre-120
Fox / Higgo+100
1st Round 2 Ball - Detry / MacIntyre v M. Fitzpatrick / A. Fitzpatrick
Type: Including Tie - Status: OPEN
A. Fitzpatrick / M. Fitzpatrick+150
Detry / MacIntyre-110
Tie+500
1st Round 2 Ball - Johnson / Palmer v SW. Kim / Bae
Type: Including Tie - Status: OPEN
Johnson / Palmer+135
SW Kim / Bae+100
Tie+500
1st Round 3 Balls - C. Boutier / A.L. Kim / M. Khang
Type: 1st Round 3 Balls - Status: OPEN
A Lim Kim+140
Celine Boutier+175
Megan Khang+220
1st Round 3 Balls - H. Green / L. Coughlin / N. Hataoka
Type: 1st Round 3 Balls - Status: OPEN
Lauren Coughlin+165
Nasa Hataoka+170
Hannah Green+190
1st Round 2 Ball - Fox / Higgo v N. Taylor / Hadwin
Type: Including Tie - Status: OPEN
Fox / Higgo+115
N. Taylor / Hadwin+115
Tie+500
1st Round 2 Ball - Watney / Hoffman v Villegas / Donald
Type: Including Tie - Status: OPEN
Villegas / Donald+140
Watney / Hoffman-105
Tie+500
1st Round 3 Balls - A. Furue / L. Ko / A. Yang
Type: 1st Round 3 Balls - Status: OPEN
Lydia Ko+115
Ayaka Furue+165
Amy Yang+300
1st Round 2 Ball - Cummins / Gotterup v McCarty / Andersen
Type: Including Tie - Status: OPEN
Cummins / Gotterup-105
McCarty / Andersen+140
Tie+500
1st Round 2 Ball - Tosti / Highsmith v Wallace / Owen
Type: Including Tie - Status: OPEN
Olesen / Wallace+110
Tosti / Highsmith+120
Tie+500
1st Round 2 Ball - Gordon / Riedel v Meissner / Goodwin
Type: Including Tie - Status: OPEN
Gordon / Riedel+130
Meissner / Goodwin+105
Tie+500
1st Round 2 Ball - Lashley / Springer v Whaley / Albertson
Type: Including Tie - Status: OPEN
Lashley / Springer+100
Whaley / Albertson+135
Tie+500
1st Round 2 Ball - Chandler / NeSmith v J. Paul / Y. Paul
Type: Including Tie - Status: OPEN
Chandler / NeSmith+160
J. Paul / Y. Paul-120
Tie+500
1st Round 2 Ball - J. Svensson / Norgaard v Thornberry / Buckley
Type: Including Tie - Status: OPEN
Svensson / Norgaard-140
Thornberry / Buckley+190
Tie+500
1st Round 2 Ball - Del Solar / Manassero v Ayora / Del Rey
Type: Including Tie - Status: OPEN
Ayora / Del Rey+110
Del Solar / Manassero+120
Tie+500
1st Round 2 Ball - Mouw / Castillo v Suber / Coody
Type: Including Tie - Status: OPEN
Mouw / Castillo+115
Suber / Coody+115
Tie+500
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Type: Winner - Status: OPEN
Steven Alker+700
Stewart Cink+700
Padraig Harrington+800
Ernie Els+1200
Miguel Angel Jimenez+1400
Alex Cejka+2000
Bernhard Langer+2000
K J Choi+2000
Retief Goosen+2000
Stephen Ames+2000
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Type: To Win A Major 2025 - Status: OPEN
Scottie Scheffler+160
Bryson DeChambeau+350
Xander Schauffele+350
Ludvig Aberg+400
Collin Morikawa+450
Jon Rahm+450
Justin Thomas+550
Brooks Koepka+700
Viktor Hovland+700
Hideki Matsuyama+800
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Type: Winner - Status: OPEN
Rory McIlroy+500
Scottie Scheffler+500
Bryson DeChambeau+1400
Ludvig Aberg+1400
Xander Schauffele+1400
Jon Rahm+1800
Justin Thomas+1800
Collin Morikawa+2000
Brooks Koepka+2500
Viktor Hovland+2500
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US Open 2025
Type: Winner - Status: OPEN
Rory McIlroy+500
Scottie Scheffler+500
Bryson DeChambeau+1200
Xander Schauffele+1200
Jon Rahm+1400
Ludvig Aberg+1400
Collin Morikawa+1600
Brooks Koepka+1800
Justin Thomas+2000
Viktor Hovland+2000
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The Open 2025
Type: Winner - Status: OPEN
Rory McIlroy+500
Scottie Scheffler+550
Xander Schauffele+1100
Ludvig Aberg+1400
Collin Morikawa+1600
Jon Rahm+1600
Bryson DeChambeau+2000
Shane Lowry+2500
Tommy Fleetwood+2500
Tyrrell Hatton+2500
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Ryder Cup 2025
Type: Winner - Status: OPEN
USA-150
Europe+140
Tie+1200

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Most fans know about his 73 PGA TOUR wins and 18 professional major championship titles, and some might even know that Nicklaus won the first PLAYERS Championship at Atlanta Country Club in 1974. Others may know him as a businessman; more than 600 professional tournaments have been played on as many as 90 Nicklaus-designed courses. Or as a philanthropist; the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation, founded in 2004 and headquartered in Miami, has outpatient centers throughout South Florida and collaborates with pediatric hospitals across the country to diagnose, treat and prevent childhood illnesses. Bring up Nicklaus’ legacy around today’s TOUR pros, though, and they talk about something far more personal: his influence on their lives both on and off the course. “I think Jack figured out how to balance family and golf,� says 79-time TOUR winner and two-time FedExCup champion Tiger Woods. “With Sam and Charlie, I try very hard not to miss a game, a school function or something that’s important to our family. Sometimes I’m unable to attend, but I want to be there supporting them every time I can.� Adds Bill Haas, six-time TOUR winner and 2011 FedExCup champion: “I try to live my life like my dad would, but I would say they’re similar in that I could ask, Well, what would Jack do here? If we could all act the way Jack acted on and off the golf course, then we’d be a lot better.� How is Nicklaus’ impact being felt by today’s generation of TOUR pros? The question is as valid today as it ever was. FIRST IMPRESSIONS Several players talk about having been in awe when they first met Nicklaus, so much so that they weren’t quite themselves. Come to find out they needn’t have been so nervous. Stewart Cink, six-time TOUR winner: “His youngest son, Michael, played on our golf team at Georgia Tech for my last three years. I met Mr. Nicklaus for parents’ weekend, and the day after I met him, I played 18 holes with him. I remember I had about an 8-foot putt that I knew was to tie him, and I was pumped when I made it. After the round, he said, ‘Did you know that last putt was to tie me?’ And I said no. [Laughs] I lied to him. To this day I regret that, and I’ve told him that I’d like to go back and redo that conversation. My answer today would be, ‘You’re dang right I knew it was to tie the greatest player of all time!’� Kevin Streelman, two-time TOUR winner: “My rookie year, I got in the Memorial. Missed the cut at Colonial, flew to Columbus on Saturday morning. Me and my caddie at the time, Mike Christensen, a teammate at Duke, played early Sunday. There was nobody out there, just us. We play nine, we’re sitting there having lunch at the beautiful halfway house there, and these two balls come down the fairway, and there’s Jack and Jackie, playing a twosome. So, I go to Mikey, ‘Let’s introduce ourselves and say thanks for having us, and see if maybe he invites us to play the back.’ And he did. I saw the man and his passion; he really cared about the way he was hitting the ball. A true professional. I played really well, shot 30, and it was surreal. He treats people the right way, and the way he prioritized his family is something I aspire to do, too.� Patrick Rodgers, the nation’s top collegiate in 2014: “I met him when I won the Nicklaus Award, and was floored by how humble he was. He treated me like I was his grandson or his son. He helped me out with playing at his golf course in Florida, the Bear’s Club, and has supported me and pushed me and helped me believe that I can be as good as I want to be. Coming down the stretch, sometimes I’ll think: What would Jack Nicklaus do? Last year at the John Deere Classic, I got off to a slow start in the final round, was one over through eight. I thought about Mr. Nicklaus, that grit and toughness, and I birdied nine, 10, 13 and 15.� Anirban Lahiri, 2017 Presidents Cup International Team member: “He’s very, very approachable, more so than I would have thought. The first couple of times, it’s hard to talk because you’re in the presence of greatness. It was nice of him to extend me membership at the Bear’s Club, which is not exactly easy to come by. I remember writing a letter to him. I never thought, growing up, that I’d get to share that kind of relationship with him.� Justin Thomas, the 2017 FedExCup champion: “The first time we got together, it was for two, two and a half hours at his house one night after dinner. It was my rookie year, 2015, January or February, and I’d had a chance to win the [CareerBuilder Challenge], and played well at the Sony. I hadn’t won, I was getting closer, and I wanted some advice on winning and closing.� EXCELLENCE AND GRIT Nicklaus was meticulous in his preparation, arriving at some tournaments a full week ahead of time in order to get acclimated to the course or even the time change. Woods: “Jack has had a great approach to the majors. He was always prepared and often did his best in the most important tournaments. He was a runner-up in a major 19 times, a record that will likely never be broken, and finished in the top three 46 times. That’s absolutely incredible.� Bryson DeChambeau, 2017 John Deere Classic champion: “He was one of the first to make yardage books. He’d chart the course. He was very precise on the course and in business; his precision and his determination to be right led to a lot of success. I try and emulate that, and why not? Aim small, miss small. Right?� Geoff Ogilvy, eight-time TOUR winner: “I’ve read all the golf books, and his was great: Golf My Way. He has a chapter on practice that everyone out here should read, how he prepared for tournaments. He could remember every practice-round score he had for the majors. He’d get there like 10 days in advance, and would keep score every day. I remember thinking, I don’t play practice rounds like that. I changed when I could. He seemed to retain that presence and focus for golf that I had when I was a kid and up to 21, 22, 23, but you get married and have kids and lose that. The message of the way he practiced: Don’t hit a shot that you’re not 100 percent into.� Jim Furyk, 17-time TOUR winner: “I was probably affected, originally, by his play and his style and being the best of our time and being the best when it counted most in majors, and being methodical in the way he worked his way around the golf course.� Aaron Baddeley, four-time TOUR winner: “I spoke to him on the phone about preparing for the majors, and he said he would go and play a 72-hole stroke play two weeks beforehand to figure out what he needed to do for the tournament, and then he would work the next week on whatever that was that he needed to do. I started doing that; I played four practice rounds once for the British Open before the actual week of the British Open had even started.� Lahiri: “I’ve picked his brains a couple of times about putting on poa annua. He always played good on the West Coast, and poa annua is something I never putted on growing up. He said his key was speed; he said he always put a speed on it where he would never three-putt. He said if I don’t three-putt on poa annua, then I’m gaining shots on the field.� Rory McIlroy, 14-time TOUR winner: “I bump into him from time to time at the Bear’s Club, and he’ll say, ‘What are you working on? What are you feeling in your swing?’ And I’ll tell him, and it’s such a simple response. He’ll say, ‘Well, if you’re pulling the ball, just try and cut it for a few days.’ [Laughs] It’s like, Yeah, I never really thought of it like that. He’s got a very simplistic way of viewing the game, which has been a great reminder that you don’t have to overthink things.� FAMILY AND PERSPECTIVE Whether he was traveling by car in the early days or taking Air Bear later on, Nicklaus made sure to get home for his five kids’ games, recitals, birthdays and other important occasions. Charles Howell III, two-time TOUR winner, two-time U.S. Presidents Cup Team member: “I only have two kids, but I’ve picked his brain on his ability to balance a family with successful professional golf, and he’s always been open about it. He was never away from his family for more than two weeks; that was one of their first big rules, and he’d plan his schedule around that. I do that, too, although I’m only at the very beginning of this.� McIlroy: “I’ve gotten to know the Nicklaus family a bit just from living down there and playing at the Bear’s Club. Golf wasn’t everything to him, which is probably why he didn’t try too hard when he was out there. He knew that there was much more at home for him; he didn’t have to go win a golf tournament, that’s not what defined him. I think that’s a great mental space to be in, and a great balance to try and emulate. My wife travels with me every week, but hopefully when I have a family one day it’ll be like that.� Jonathan Byrd, five-time TOUR winner: “I’ve heard stories about how they used to travel together; that’s impacted us. My wife is blown away every time we go to the Memorial that Barbara knows her name, she knows our kids’ names. We’re just blown away by that, the intentionality of that.� Zach Johnson, 12-time TOUR winner: “Barbara knows my kids’ names! It’s unbelievable what she retains. She’s the First Lady of the PGA TOUR. I love how he makes his family a priority and how he credits Barbara for a lot of it. I try to do the same.� Rickie Fowler, Bear’s Club member and four-time TOUR winner: “We see him a little when we’re home. I haven’t sat down with him for an extended period of time yet; we’ve been working on that, trying to get over, my girlfriend, Allison, and I just going and having dinner with him and Barbara. That’ll definitely be a time when we could learn a lot from them, but just spending time with them is fun. They’re probably one of the best teams that this sport has ever seen. A lot of guys try to emulate that.� William McGirt, 2016 Memorial champion: “I was at the member-guest at Seminole and Barbara saw me from behind and walked up and said, ‘How are Sarah, Miles and Caroline?’ And Caroline was 6 months old when I won that tournament!� Jeff Maggert: “They used to criticize him for only playing 18 or 20 tournaments a year, which wasn’t a lot at the time, but he said he wanted to be home with his five kids. Well, I’ve got five kids now, too, from 29 to 13, so I have a fuller respect for what he did. I realize when my kids have an important activity, it’s only going to happen once and it’s important to be there. I’m going to play more than 1,000 golf tournaments in my career, so missing a tournament to go see one of their activities is kind of a no-brainer, really.� Sam Saunders, grandson of the late Arnold Palmer: “Other than my grandfather, Mr. Nicklaus was as much an influence on my career as anyone. One of the biggest struggles out here is being away from my wife and my two boys, and when I grow older, I would like to have not only the friendship but also the working relationship that he has with his own sons.� Although he played a limited schedule of 18-20 tournaments a year in order to prioritize family, Nicklaus, ironically, may have sharpened his on-course performance by doing so. Maggert: “When he came to play, he came to play, because he wasn’t going to waste a tournament. He didn’t come out to have a good week; he came out to win.� Cink: “He prioritized his family first and made his life so evenly balanced and well-rounded that golf wasn’t everything. He wanted the performance; he didn’t need the performance. I’ve always tried to follow his example there.� McIlroy: “The balance that he had in his life fulfilled him and made him a better person, but it also probably helped him win a few more golf tournaments.� DECENCY AND SPORTSMANSHIP Whether agreeing to a tie in the 2003 Presidents Cup in South Africa or conceding a putt to Tony Jacklin at the 1969 Ryder Cup at Royal Birkdale, Nicklaus has been the consummate sportsman. Davis Love III: “Because Jack knew my dad, I got to know the kids, and then I went to school with Jackie at Carolina; we were on the same team, so we got to go to the Nicklaus’ house, which was really cool. My brother was on the golf team, too, and he had a temper, and Jack didn’t get mad at us when my brother broke Barbara’s tennis racket.� Saunders: “What I think Mr. Nicklaus does as well as anyone, including my granddad, is support the game. I first played with him when I was 15. I was good, but I was just 15. When I was 17, I won the Florida High School State Championship and I got the nicest letter from him. I have it framed next to the picture of me playing with him and my grandfather at Augusta. He doesn’t know how much that meant to me. I didn’t quite ever have the perception of my granddad as the famous golfer because he was my grandfather. I saw Mr. Nicklaus as the famous golfer. And he’s been kind enough to get me into the Memorial a couple years when I haven’t gotten in on my own. He treats me like family.� Lahiri, Bear’s Club member: “He’s at the club quite often and hits balls once in a while, but mostly he’s in a cart just observing quietly. He’s always very encouraging, never condescending. It borrows confidence and positivity, and it can’t come from a better source.� Nicklaus has scaled back on his business commitments, but that doesn’t mean he’s slowing down. Even at 78 he made a run at winning the Masters Par 3 Contest, where he delighted in the hole-in-one by his grandson/caddie Gary. Four days later Nicklaus seemed to delight in Patrick Reed’s win, tweeting congratulations. And his presence at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide continues to make it one of the most anticipated stops on TOUR. J.J. Henry: “He’s engaged in everything he does, whether he’s going to his grandson’s Buffalo Bills game, or watching him at Florida State, or dotting the i at the Ohio State game. He loves fishing, he loves hunting. He’s probably down in the Florida Keys bone-fishing right now, knowing Jack. Everyone out here wants to be like him on the course, but off the course, too.� D.A. Points, three-time TOUR winner: “I try to do a lot of things that Jack Nicklaus has done. I work hard. I try to be respectful. I try to be competitive; he has a very competitive nature. But he understood how to take time out for family. He loves to fly fish and do other stuff, and I think that’s important as opposed to just beating balls. You’ve got to be a well-rounded person, and I think Mr. Nicklaus has done that as well as anybody.� GIVING BACK: THE NICKLAUS LEGACY Nicklaus was part of the First Tee Capital Campaign in 2000, and with Barbara dedicated the opening of the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in West Palm Beach in 2004. He continues to use his celebrity for good, leaving not just the game but also the wider world in a better place. Fred Funk: “Jack was my idol as a golfer, and that was what we all noticed in the beginning. The charitable part, I don’t think anybody saw until late in his career. Now everybody does something for charity. For me, my passion is the veterans, so I do everything I can for them.� Funk also co-hosts the Champions for HOPE Gala and Golf Classic at TPC Sawgrass, June 15-16, which benefits the J.T. Townsend Foundation to provide adaptive equipment for children and adults with disabilities, and helps fund pancreatic cancer research through the Mayo Clinic. But when it comes to players who have followed Nicklaus’ emphasis on philanthropy, he’s not alone. Daniel Berger, 2016 and 2017 FedEx St. Jude Classic champion: “A few months before The Honda Classic in 2015, I went to the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Palm Beach. I thought it was really cool to see what he stood for and was involved with; they had a little fair for the kids, and I wanted to check it out. I hung for a little bit and saw what they were doing, and I told myself if I was ever in a position to help, I’d want to do that. I try to do anything I can; if Mr. Nicklaus ever asks, it’s a pretty easy answer: yes. I play in The Jake Pro-Am at the Bear’s Club, for his grandson that passed away, the Monday of Honda, which raises a lot of money for pediatric health care. Probably 40 or so PGA TOUR players, pretty much any of the top guys in the area, play in that. I got involved in an organization called Teen Cancer America through my caddie, Grant Berry, and his wife. It was started by Roger Daltrey from The Who, and it’s how I got to hang out with a few young kids at UCLA Medical Center in 2016. Grant wears the TCA logo on his hat, and I had it on my bag for my first FedEx St. Jude Classic win. Obviously, the FedEx St. Jude has meant a lot to me, and every year that I’ve played I’ve had the opportunity to go to St. Jude Hospital. I’ve probably been there three or four times. I am always inspired by the children and their families, and seeing the work done at the Hospital makes golf seem not that important.�

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The First Look: AT&T Byron NelsonThe First Look: AT&T Byron Nelson

Reigning FedExCup champion and world No. 1 Dustin Johnson headlines the field at the AT&T Byron Nelson, which moves to TPC Craig Ranch for the first time. Sung Kang defends his maiden PGA TOUR title from 2019 after the event was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. FIELD NOTES: Dallas native and Special Temporary Member Will Zalatoris, runner-up at the Masters, will be aiming for his first PGA TOUR win. This will be his first time playing the Byron Nelson as a pro; he played in 2016 as a teenage amateur. Zalatoris missed the cut at the Wells Fargo Championship, his first early exit since November… While TPC Craig Ranch is new for the tournament, it’s not for the defending champion. Sung Kang is a member of the club and looks to become the first since Tom Watson to defend his Byron Nelson title. Watson won three years in a row… World No. 1 Dustin Johnson is looking to break out of a lull with the PGA Championship around the corner. He hasn’t notched a top-10 finish on TOUR since February. This is Johnson’s first start at the Byron Nelson since 2017. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points. STORYLINES: Dallas native and Special Temporary Member Will Zalatoris, runner-up at the Masters, will be aiming for his first PGA TOUR win. This will be his first time playing the Byron Nelson as a pro; he played in 2016 as a teenage amateur. Zalatoris missed the cut at the Wells Fargo Championship, his first early exit since November… While TPC Craig Ranch is new for the tournament, it’s not for the defending champion. Sung Kang is a member of the club and looks to become the first since Tom Watson to defend his Byron Nelson title. Watson won three years in a row… World No. 1 Dustin Johnson is looking to break out of a lull with the PGA Championship around the corner. He hasn’t notched a top-10 finish on TOUR since February. This is Johnson’s first start at the Byron Nelson since 2017. COURSE: TPC Craig Ranch, par 72, 7,468 yards. Designed by Tom Weiskopf and completed in 2004, the course has hosted events on the Korn Ferry Tour along with Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School. This is the first time TPC Craig Ranch has hosted a PGA TOUR event. The move to TPC Craig Ranch, which is located in McKinney, Texas, comes after two years at Trinity Forest – an ambitious design by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. TPC Craig Ranch will host the Bryon Nelson for the next five years. It features Zoysia fairways and bentgrass greens, and Rowlett Creek crosses the course 14 times. 72-HOLE RECORD: 259, Steven Bowditch, 2015 at TPC Four Seasons. Aaron Wise and Sung Kang’s 23-under 261 in 2018 and 2019, respectively, are the lowest against par; Bowditch was 18 under after heavy rain turned TPC Four Seasons into a par 69 for the final three rounds. 18-HOLE RECORD: 60, Arron Oberholser (2nd round, 2006 at Cottonwood Valley GC), Keegan Bradley (1st round, 2013 at TPC Four Seasons). LAST TIME: With the 2020 AT&T Byron Nelson cancelled due to the pandemic, this year sees Sung Kang defend his 2019 title – his maiden TOUR victory. After a 61 in the second round, Kang converted the 54-hole lead and won by two over Matt Every and Scott Piercy despite bogeying the 72nd hole. Every got close but bogeyed the par-4 15th and couldn’t birdie any of the final three holes. Piercy’s 64 on Sunday was tied for the round of the day, but he started the final round too far back. Brooks Koepka finished solo fourth, while five golfers finished T5 including Peter Uihlein and Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who tied Piercy’s 64 in the final round. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 3:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel), Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS) PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 7:45 a.m.-6:30 p.m. ET (Featured Groups). Saturday-Sunday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. ET (Featured Groups), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 1 p.m.-6:30 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). TOURCast: Get shot-by-shot info in real time with shot tracks and video with TOURCast. TOUR Pulse: Get the PGA TOUR app to utilize TOUR Pulse, which provides users the ability to experience a mix of content, such as video highlights, written hole summaries and stat graphics on every player after every hole they complete.

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Expert Picks: THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGESExpert Picks: THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES

How it works: Each week, our experts from PGATOUR.COM will make their selections in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. Each lineup consists of four starters and two bench players that can be rotated after each round. Adding to the challenge is that every golfer can be used only three time per each of four Segments. The first fantasy golf game to utilize live ShotLink data, PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO allows you to see scores update live during competition. To learn more or sign up click here. MORE FANTASY: Power Rankings | The Confidence Factor CDW, an official partner of the PGA TOUR, offers its weekly fantasy selection. Here’s this week’s “Data-Driven Decision.” The computer selected scrambling, greens in regulation and strokes gained: off-the-tee as the three most important statistics this week. After calculating this season’s ranks in those categories of every player in the field, the computer made the following prediction for this week’s winner. THINK YOU’RE BETTER THAN OUR EXPERTS? The PGA TOUR Experts league is once again open to the public. You can play our free fantasy game and see how you measure up against our experts below. Joining the league is simple. Just click here to sign up or log in. Once you create your team, click the “Leagues” tab and search for “PGA TOUR Experts.” After that? Pick your players and start talking smack.

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