Tiger Woods starts Masters prep with nine-hole practice round

ALBANY, Bahamas — Charley Hoffman handled the blustery conditions with a 2-under 70 for a five-shot lead in the Hero World Challenge as Tiger Woods fell 10 shots behind. The wind was the strongest it has been all week at Albany Golf Club, and it took the air out of hopes that Woods’ return to competition would find him in the mix at his holiday tournament. Instead, Woods shot 40 on the front nine, didn’t make a birdie until the 14th hole and wound up with a 75. Hoffman overcame a double bogey from a wild tee shot on No. 10 by closing with three birdies over his last five holes. His 70 matched the best round of the day, and only three other players broke par. Hoffman was at 14-under 202.

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Commissioner Jay Monahan said Wednesday the PGA TOUR will not split from the game’s governing bodies to operate under its own set of rules. The Rules of Golf have been a hot topic of conversation, with some players questioning a few of the newly simplified rules that went into effect at the start of 2019 and wondering if the TOUR should make its own rules for the game’s best players to follow, leaving the USGA and the R&A to make and implement rules for others. Monahan was adamant that would not happen. “We have two fantastic professional governing bodies of the game,â€� he said during his annual press conference prior to the start of THE PLAYERS Championship. “We have always played by their rules and we will continue to play by their rules – and we are not going to be playing by our own rules. “We think that the game is best served with everybody playing by the same rules and the same standards. We think it’s a source of inspiration for the game.â€� Monahan said he wasn’t surprised by the rules discussions that have taken place among players and others in the golf community. What was unanticipated, he said, was the lack of communication and transparency between players along with primary organizations. On Wednesday morning, Monahan met with officials from the R&A, the USGA, the LPGA, the European Tour, the PGA of America and Augusta National for two hours in hopes of addressing these issues. “We’re doing what we should be doing as leaders of this industry, which is talking about, one, where we are in the current state of rules. And again, everybody agrees we’re where we thought where we would be,â€� Monahan said. “But more importantly,â€� he added, “I think what’s happened here the last few weeks has just exposed a weakness in our working relationship, which happens when you got a lot of different organizations. So, we’re going to tighten that up, and we’re going to move forward in a way that is going to be good for the game and certainly is going to get us to the right place over time with these new rules, and I think we’re in a really good place right now.â€� Some players have pushed back against Rule 10.2b(4), in which caddies are forbidden from lining up their players from behind. Intent is tricky to pin down, as many caddies stand on the line of their player’s shot not to line up the boss but instead to better understand the demands of the shot at hand. Denny McCarthy was assessed a two-stroke penalty for an alleged violation in the second round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, and both he and his caddie denied any wrongdoing. After a great deal of debate on Twitter and elsewhere, the penalty was rescinded the next day. “In no way, shape or form did I think what I did yesterday was a penalty,â€� McCarthy said. The new drop protocol, Rule 14.3b, which dictates that players take penalty drops from knee height as opposed to shoulder height, also has come under fire, especially after Rickie Fowler was penalized for forgetting and dropping the old way at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship. Players have come to one another’s defense, and in some cases publicly called out the new Rules and the governing bodies. Monahan, though, reminded that the changes have been part of a six-year collaboration between the TOUR and the governing bodies. “We were fully supportive of the new Rules because we were a participant in creating them,â€� he said. “We had equal share, just alongside the other organizations.â€� Rolling out 50 changes at once, he added, meant there were bound to be some things that worked well and others that created debate. The USGA already has revised and clarified Rule 10.2b(4), which also tripped up Haotong Li at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, a European Tour event, in January. Li, who also denied wrongdoing, dropped from a T3 to a T12 finish. “Lost in some of the discussion is all the things that are working really well,â€� Monahan said, “and the list is long, and I think it’s right that we’re two and a half months in and there’s some rules, some existing rules, that are causing debate and discussion. Again, exactly where we thought we would be.â€� Other topics that the Commissioner addressed: MOVE TO MARCH: Asked if he could see THE PLAYERS still holding down its March date in 2050, Monahan didn’t hesitate. “The reason that we’re in March,â€� he said, “is because when you look at the global competitive sports calendar, we felt this was a very strong position and an opportunity for more fans to follow and engage the players and the PGA TOUR earlier in the season, which is good for the event and for the TOUR, and it also showcases our players and hopefully is good for the game, creating a bigger championship earlier in the season.â€� He cited THE PLAYERS as the start of the Season of Championships, the five biggest events in golf over the next five months, and went out of his way to especially thank the PGA of America, which moved the PGA Championship from August to May (New York’s Bethpage Black is the host course this year). “We feel like we put the product in the right place to grow,â€� Monahan said, “and, yes, I do expect that in 2050, which is a long ways off, that we’ll be here in March. And I know you’re going to ask the follow-up question. We’ll be playing THE PLAYERS in March.â€� THE PLAYERS AND MAJORS: Any discussion of THE PLAYERS invariably comes around to whether or not it should be defined as a major. In this case, the first question posed to Monahan asked him to define the tournament. He spoke of its unsurpassed depth of field (50 of the top 50 in the world), the demanding test that is the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, and the exquisite spectating experience. As for its status as a fifth major? “I think we all have to recognize that when you look at the major championships, they’re competitors and they’re also partners,â€� Monahan said. “And the beauty of our game, some people might say, well, you got a lot of different organizations involved in the game of golf. The beauty of the game is we are all trying to build, do the same thing, build the best possible championships. “As we compete,â€� he continued, “I think we’re moving the game forward, we’re growing, we’re improving, and candidly we’re watching each other and those championships inspire us and hopefully in some way we inspire them. But in the long run we’re hopeful that the game is benefiting.â€�

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SAN FRANCISCO – YouTube might get a serious workout in the San Francisco area tonight. It seems a little self-motivation via video reflection goes a long way when you’re a big name golf star who is looking to recapture the glory past. Just ask Brooks Koepka as he vies for a third straight PGA Championship. Or Martin Kaymer as he looks to add to his two majors and PLAYERS titles. Or Jason Day, Zach Johnson and Justin Rose for that matter. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Nine things to know about Harding Park | DeChambeau snaps driver Koepka shot a 4-under 66 on Thursday to be just one behind Day’s bogey free leading 65 as he looks to be the first player since Australian Peter Thomson to win a particular major three times in a row. Thomson won the Open Championship in 1954, 1955 and 1956 as the last player to pull off the feat. The only player to win the Wanamaker Trophy three years in a row is Walter Hagen, who won four consecutive PGA Championship titles from 1924 to 1927 when it was a match play event. While Koepka’s recent major form – which includes two of the last three U.S. Open titles – has been stellar, his 2020 season had been poor until last week. The former two-time PGA TOUR Player of the Year had recorded just one top-10 from 10 starts until finishing runner up at last week’s World Golf Championships – FedEx St. Jude Invitational. The key to the change? Old highlights that confirmed he needed to keep his weight shift on his left side, not the right as had crept into his game. Koepka claims his injured left knee is not to blame. “If you looked at it from behind probably where the camera sits most of the time where we’re hitting it probably looks like I’m lined up a little too far left. I’m not, my knee is in the same position, my left foot is just dropped back a hair, and then from there it allows me to actually go forward on the left side and really drive off that right foot and not feel anything in my left side,” he explained. “We watched a lot of video from the PGA the last two years, me and Ricky when we were home on Sunday night and Monday. We watched a lot of the rounds, and it was pretty much the same thing. My feet are kind of usually a little bit staggered probably from a perfect golf swing too far left, but that’s just how we play. It’s nice to feel comfortable over the ball. I’m starting to see it come out of the right pocket, the right window, and that’s exciting.” Kaymer, who won the PGA a decade ago at Whistling Straights and also picked up the 2014 PLAYERS Championship and U.S. Open missed the cut in his return to golf at the Barracuda Championship last week. Last night he was feeling sorry for himself and decided there was just one tonic needed. “I was watching the U.S. Open actually from 2014, the back nine, trying to get some kind of positivity in my game because it hasn’t been much recently because of no play,” Kaymer admitted after a 66 of his own at Harding Park. “I was not that happy for some reason. And then I thought I needed to lift my spirit a little bit. I went on YouTube and I found that video of us playing the back nine. I watched the PGA Championship, also, because of the dramatic finish. I like to go back to those moments. I know you shouldn’t live in the past, but if the past can help you in the present moment, I’ll take it.” Then there was Day. It was five years ago he broke through for his PGA Championship, also at Whistling Straights. It was part of a whirlwind 2015-16 where the Australian would win seven tournaments in 17 starts that included winning the PGA, two FedExCup Playoff events, the PLAYERS and a World Golf Championships. But the last of his 12 PGA TOUR wins came at the 2018 Wells Fargo Championship and he recently fell out of the world top 50 for the first time since entering it in 2010. After missing the cut at the Rocket Mortgage Challenge a month ago Day slipped to 101st in the FedExCup. What to do? He looked at himself in the mirror and reminded himself of the confidence and swagger he carried back in 2015-16. He saw a few clips online of the confidence he carried in his walk alone. “I finally had enough of feeling sorry for myself, and it’s easy to do that in this game because it is so mentally tough. You can start blaming everything else but yourself. Sometimes you’ve just got to pull your pants up and just move on,” Day said. The result has been three straight top 10s leading into this week. And now he sits atop the leaderboard of those from the morning wave. During the height of his streak he went wire-to-wire three out of three times when he held the solo lead after round one. “I feel like the momentum that I’ve had over the last three starts has kind of seeped into this week. I’m excited about — the funny thing is that every day I’m excited to go back to the golf course and play, whereas before I was struggling to get up and going,” Day added. Johnson and Rose also shot 66 in the morning wave making it four major winners as part of the nine-way tie for second that also included Xander Schauffele. No word if Johnson was watching Open Championship highlights from 2015 last night or highlights from his Masters win. Rose might want to dial up 2013 Merion in his web browser tonight. And then there was Tiger Woods. The 82-time PGA TOUR winner was far from his best but still managed to shoot 68, his lowest start to a major since 2012. It was a solid start and keeps him in the mix for a 16th major and record 83rd TOUR win. Woods did have a few hiccups and moments that left him a little sour but hey, if he’s looking for a pick me up tonight, no one has a better YouTube library of highlights.

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