Tiger Woods to play in 2018 National at TPC Potomac

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. – On Friday, Justin Thomas played 30 holes at the Genesis Open in cold, rainy weather. On Saturday, the first dry day of the week at Riviera, he completed just eight holes despite continuous play from sunrise to sunset. On Sunday, for the third consecutive day, he’ll wake up around 4:30 a.m. local time. At 5:45 a.m., he’ll start his warm-up routine (“That’s weird to say,� he mused). Then at 6:45 a.m., he’ll resume play with an approach shot into the par-4 third. He faces the task of finishing 34 holes, and the weather could be challenging. It’ll be in the 40s in the early morning, then a 40 percent chance of showers before noon. But it will all be worth it if Thomas, seeking the 10th win of his PGA TOUR career, can seal the deal at Riviera. At 13 under, the former FedExCup champion has a one-shot lead over playing partner Adam Scott, with Patrick Rodgers and J.B. Holmes another shot back. “I think I’ve seen briefly the forecast is pretty difficult,� Thomas said, “so I’m going to need to be patient because I’m playing so many holes. But long day and stay in it emotionally and stay patient [and] see what we can do.� It’ll be a longer-than-usual day for all 76 players who made the cut. No one has completed the third round, which did not start until mid-Saturday afternoon as the seven-hour delay to start the tournament on Thursday continues to play havoc with the playing schedule. In essence, the Genesis Open is just past the halfway point even though the final day (hopefully) has arrived. Play will resume at 6:45 a.m., and there will be no repairing after the third round as the TOUR tries to avoid a second consecutive Monday finish. Last week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was won by Phil Mickelson on Monday as he and runner-up Paul Casey played two holes to finish their rounds. For some players such as Thomas, it was a limited-action Saturday – up early to complete the second round, then a long rest before teeing off to start the third round. For others, it was a long, full day – an entire second round, followed by a partial third. Rodgers, for instance, played 20 holes. He shoot a 4-under 67, fueled by a chip-in eagle from 131 yards on the par-4 seventh, then played two holes to start his third round, including an eagle at the par-5 opening hole. He’s now one of Thomas’ primary chasers on Sunday. Thomas also eagled the opening hole late Saturday with a putt just inside 13 feet, moving him one clear of Scott, who in 2005 won at Riviera albeit in a shortened 36-hole event that is not recognized as an official TOUR win. That won’t be an issue if he can catch Thomas. “There’s so much golf to play,� said Scott, whose only bogey through 38 holes played was a three-putt on the 17th hole in the second round. “… I’m happy with what I did out there. I’m not really influencing what [Thomas] does at this point in the tourney. It feels like it’s late in the tourney, but it’s only halfway.� Still, he’s glad to be paired with Thomas for both the third and final rounds. “Yeah, that’s good if I’m keeping up with him or ahead of him,� Scott said. “… It’s a big day, a lot of golf. It’s a great day to get your rhythm early and make a move. There’s a lot of guys up there at the moment … if it’s Justin or I, then you can kind of separate and hopefully by the middle of the final round you’ve taken a whole bunch of guys out of the equation.� One of those guys definitely in the equation is Tiger Woods, who was just one shot above the cut line after the second round but vaulted into a tie for 14th with a birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie start (off the 10th tee) in the third round. “I’ve got some work to do,� said Woods, who hopes to get up-and-down to save par at the 17th once play resumes. Among the notables ahead of Woods on the leaderboard are Rory McIlroy (8 under); last week’s runner-up Casey (8 under); three-time Genesis Open champ Bubba Watson (7 under); Jordan Spieth (7 under); and world No. 6 player Jon Rahm (7 under). With lots of golf left to play and hopes of completing the tournament on Sunday, it should make for an interesting – and challenging – day. “Going to be a marathon,� Thomas said.

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SOUTHPORT, England – Mental scars are the most difficult to erase. Despite his best efforts, Jordan Spieth never really purged the demons of that disastrous Sunday at the Masters 15 months ago. Sure, his win in Texas a few weeks later helped. So did three more victories around the world, including his spectacular finish at the Travelers Championship last month. He kept telling us not to worry, that the blown lead at Augusta National – five shots on the back nine – was behind him. It was a couple of bad swings on the 12th hole, nothing else. We wanted to believe him, and why not? He kept winning. But those weren’t majors, and in Spieth’s mind, winning one was the only way to completely get past the 2016 Masters. The only way to erase lingering doubts about his ability to close. So here he was Sunday at The Open Championship. His three-shot lead to start the final round at Royal Birkdale had disappeared in 48 can-you-believe-this minutes. Three bogeys in his first four holes, and now he was tied with playing partner Matt Kuchar at 8 under. The demons began to appear. Negative thoughts. Doubts. Self-destruction. Was it happening again? “It creeps into your head,â€� Spieth said. “I was so confident and all of a sudden, the wheels have kind of come off everything. How do we get back on track to salvage this round and just give yourself a chance at the end? “It took a bogey to do so.â€� Well, it took one of the most drama-filled bogeys in the 146-year history of this event, and one of the most amazing – and impressive – turnarounds you’ll ever see in golf, but yes, the demons are gone now. Jordan Spieth is back on track. Say hello to the Champion Golfer of the Year. And say hello to the third leg of the career Grand Slam. Only Jack Nicklaus has gotten there faster than Spieth, who turns 24 years old on Wednesday. “He’s heard a lot since that ’16 Masters,â€� said Spieth’s caddie, Michael Greller, a vital component in Sunday’s theatrics. “I’m sure somewhere in there, some doubts crept in. He just said, you know what, I know how to do this. He’s done it twice before. Now three times. It was cool to see it, his back against the wall, maybe more than 12 at Augusta in ’16. “To see what he did shows his character and his grit.â€� It wasn’t easy. In fact, Spieth would say afterward that Sunday’s round “’took as much out of me as any day that I’ve ever played golf.â€� Before the round, Spieth tried to keep positive thoughts, and his play through the first three days certainly should have comforted him. But he couldn’t shake the notion that if he failed to convert this 54-hole lead, questions about his closing ability would crescendo. He admitted to feeling the pressure. Unlike the 2016 Masters, Spieth didn’t wait until the back nine to give away the lead. This time, it came early and was spread out over several holes, with Spieth’s putter failing him on a handful of critical and testy par putts. Three-footers started to look like 10 footers. He wondered why shots he had executed before were now failing him. “Sometimes you just can’t really figure it out, put your finger on it,â€� Spieth said. “Am I pulling it? Pushing it? Am I doing both? What’s going on with the stroke? “It’s just searching. And during the round today, I definitely thought any kind of fear or advantage that you can have in this moment over other individuals – not just Matt Kuchar today but other people that are watching – that’s being taken away by the way that I’m playing right now. And that was really tough to swallow. “That kind of stuff goes into your head. I mean, we walk for two minutes, three minutes in between shots. And you can’t just go blank. You wish you could, but thoughts creep in.â€� After the shaky start, Spieth had managed to build back a two-shot lead thanks to a birdie at the fifth hole and a Kuchar bogey at the sixth. But he still seemed shell-shocked and vulnerable. It reached a point that intervention was needed. Spieth hit his tee shot on the par-3 seventh, then began walking down the fairway. Greller called him back. He wanted to say something. Earlier this month, Spieth had posted a photo from his vacation in Cabo that showed him in the company of elite athletes – including Michael Jordan and Michael Phelps, the two best at their respective sports. “You’re that caliber of an athlete,â€� Greller told Spieth. “But I need you to believe that right now because you’re in a great position in this tournament. This is a new tournament. We’re starting over here.â€� It was a much-needed boost, but the dividends didn’t come immediately. In fact, a two-shot swing at the ninth tied the score again. Four holes later, Spieth was on the verge of a total collapse, his tee shot at the 13th hole sailing 100 yards right of the fairways and rolling down the wrong side of a steep dune into thick grass. It became the moment of truth. Taking his time and weighing his options – it would ultimately take 21 minutes; Spieth apologized profusely to Kuchar for the delay — Spieth took an unplayable lie, then worked with the rules officials to figure out where he could hit his third shot. It was from the unlikeliest of spots – the practice range. Using a 3-iron and unable to see the pin, he sent his shot over the dune and near the green. Then he got up-and-down for bogey. He was 1 shot down. But it was the jolt he needed. Despite the lost stroke, Greller told him the momentum had shifted. For more on the dramatics at the 13th hole, click here. Spieth was now the chaser. The nerves of leading had disappeared. “There was just a different energy about him,â€� Greller said. Explained Spieth: “I was still uncomfortable, but I was able to take that shift that I’m talking about where your mind’s going through a bunch of different thoughts, and able to really take it over to the other side and say, this is a completely new situation. There was no other way I could think and still get the job done.â€� For the first time all day, he wore his gameface. He nearly aced the par-3 14th; his kick-in birdie tied Kuchar. He reached the green in two at the par-5 15th … and of course made the eagle putt from 55 feet. He birdied the par-4 16th from 25 feet, then made an 8-footer at the par-5 17th. Birdie. Eagle. Birdie. Birdie. That’s how you close. The walk toward the packed grandstands at 18 gave him time to exhale … and celebrate. “Jordan is a great champion and certainly played that way in the finishing stretch today,â€� Kuchar said, fighting back the disappointment of his own lost opportunity. “It was impressive stuff when a guy does something like that. All you can really do is sit back, tip your cap and say, ‘Well done.’ “It was certainly a show that he put on.â€� Spieth would rather have used a different script – say 17 pars and a single birdie – to shoot the 1-under 69 he produced Sunday. He’d rather have avoided the drama. He’d rather not frazzle any nerves – his own or his fans. “He would rather play boring golf,â€� Greller said. But maybe this was the way it had to be done. Maybe this is how demons are erased, how mental scars are healed. “There’s lot of roads to get there,â€� Spieth said. “… Closing today was extremely important for the way I look at myself.â€� Finally, he can close the book on the 2016 Masters. Time to sip some wine from the Claret Jug and dream about his first shot next month at the career Slam.  

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ERIN, Wis. – News and observations from Sunday’s final round of the U.S. Open where Brooks Koepka shot a final-round 67 for a four-shot victory over Hideki Matsuyama and Brian Harman. For more of what unfolded at Erin Hills on Sunday, click here to read the Daily Wrap-up. KOEPKA SLAMS THE DOOR Brooks Koepka may be known for mashing drives like American League MVP Mike Trout, but it was his shortest club that separated him from the field on Sunday’s back nine. Koepka one-putted four consecutive holes to take a white-knuckled grip on the U.S. Open trophy. It started with a 9-foot par save at the par-3 13th that kept him tied for the lead. He then made birdie putts of 6 feet, 10 feet and 17 feet to reach 16 under and put the tournament out of reach. “That was kind of the meat of the tournament,â€� said Koepka’s instructor, Claude Harmon. Koepka parred the final two holes to tie the U.S. Open’s 72-hole scoring record (in relation to par). He finished four shots ahead of Hideki Matsuyama and 54-hole leader Brian Harman. The victory moved Koepka from 19th to fifth in the FedExCup standings. Koepka, who led the field in strokes gained: approach-to-the-green, finished third in both strokes gained: off-the-tee and strokes gained: putting. He started the final round one shot back of Harman but birdied the first two holes to take the lead. Koepka added another birdie with a 33-foot putt at the eighth hole. He lost his one-shot lead with a bogey at No. 10 and then parred the next two holes. Koepka missed his only green of the day at the par-3 13th and made what he called a “massiveâ€� par save. “The par save on 13, that built some confidence,â€� Koepka said. “That was kind of the changing point of the round for me.â€� Koepka got up-and-down from a greenside bunker for birdie at the par-5 14th, then hit his 150-yard approach shot at No. 15 to 10 feet. He called it one of his best shots of the week. The birdie at the par-3 17th ended any uncertainty about the tournament’s final result. “He birdied 14, 15, 16, and that was kind of lights out,â€� Harman said. “He went and won the golf tournament on the back nine.â€� ANOTHER BIG STAGE Koepka’s U.S. Open victory came with an added benefit. It likely clinched his first appearance in The Presidents Cup. Koepka jumped from ninth to fifth in the United States’ team standings. The top 10 on Sept. 4 will earn automatic selections for the team, which will compete against the International Team on Sept. 26-Oct. 1 at Liberty National. Koepka played his first Ryder Cup last year, going 3-1-0 in the United States’ victory at Hazeltine. He went 2-0 with Brandt Snedeker, winning a foursomes and four-ball match, then lost a four-ball match with Dustin Johnson. Koepka beat Masters champion Danny Willett, 5 and 4, in Sunday singles. Harman jumped from 13th to ninth in the standings after finishing T2 at Erin Hills. He’s never represented the United States in a professional competition, but he did play in the United States’ victories in the 2005 and 2009 Walker Cups. TWO PATHS TO T2 Hideki Matsuyama shot Sunday’s low round, while Harman couldn’t keep pace with Brooks Koepka’s late birdies. Matsuyama and Harman started Sunday separated by six shots, but ended the day tied for second at 12 under. Harman shot even-par 72 after starting the final round with a one-shot lead. He struggled from the tee, though, hitting just eight of 14 fairways. “I just wish I would have been able to put a little more pressure on the course. I didn’t drive it as well as I would’ve liked,â€� he said. It was his first top- 25 in eight majors. He’d missed the cut in five of his previous seven starts in golf’s Grand Slam events. His lack of prior success in these events provided little solace, though. “I don’t believe in moral victories. I had an opportunity today and I didn’t get it done,â€� said Harman, who beat Dustin Johnson to win the recent Wells Fargo Championship. Harman is No. 10 in the FedExCup. Matsuyma teed off more than an hour before the final group, and made birdie on five of his final eight holes to shoot 66 put pressure on the leaders. It was too little too late after starting the final round six shots off the lead, though. “I learned that I have to put four good rounds together,â€� said Matsuyama, who moved to No. 2 in the FedExCup. “I played two good rounds, but it wasn’t enough.â€� In addition to Sunday’s 66, he also fired a 65 in the second round. He was a combined 1 over in the other two rounds, firing a first-round 74 and a 71 on Saturday. BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA ROOKIES BOOK RETURN TRIPS Xander Schauffele survived a sudden-death playoff just to earn a spot at Erin Hills. He made the most of the opportunity, finishing fifth in his first major championship. It not only matched the best finish of his PGA TOUR career, but earned him a return to this tournament. The top 10 finishers at Erin Hills earned exemptions into the 2018 U.S. Open. He broke par in three of four rounds to finish at 10-under 278 (66-73-70-69). That result catapulted him from No. 135 to No. 107 in the FedExCup. “I couldn’t be happier. I shot 3 under on my last seven holes,â€� Schauffele said. “There is no better way to finish a tournament than that.â€� The U.S. Open’s Father’s Day finish was special for Schauffele, whose father, Stefan, is his coach. Stefan Schauffele played semi-pro soccer and was a competitive decathlete in Germany who moved to San Diego at age 23 after being hit head-on by a drunk driver. The accident left him blind in his left eye and ended his athletic career. He took up golf and became a scratch golfer within two years. Schauffele wasn’t the only PGA TOUR rookie to finish in the top 10. Trey Mullinax finished ninth after making birdies on the final three holes to fire 68. His top-10 at the U.S. Open came one week after he finished T18 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. He credited a motivational talk from his father, Chip, with helping him have two successful weeks. “(I was) just kind of in a bad spot, down in the dumps a little bit,â€� Mullinax said. “Me, my dad and coach and agent and everybody got together and surrounded me. (We) went back to the drawing board and went back to what I do well.â€� Mullinax moved from 139th to 123rd in the FedExCup. NOTES • Justin Thomas shot 75 on Sunday, 12 shots higher than his record-setting 63 in the third round. He made his only birdie of the day at No. 10. Thomas fell to T9, but still collected his first top-10 in his eighth major championship. “It wasn’t going to be like yesterday,â€� said Thomas, who hit half the greens in regulation Sunday. • Si Woo Kim, winner of THE PLAYERS Championship, finished T13. It was his third major start, and the first time he made the cut. Kim, who shot 75 on Sunday, finished at 6-under 282. This was just his second start since his victory at THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. Kim ranks 25th in the FedExCup. • Bill Haas’ T5 finish was his first top-20 in nine U.S. Open starts and just his second top-10 in a major. This was Haas’ 31st start in a major. • Brandt Snedeker’s T9 finish was his seventh top-20 in his past nine U.S. Open starts. He’s finished in the top 10 five times in that span. • University of Texas senior Scottie Scheffler finished T27 to earn low-amateur honors by a stroke over Texas A&M senior Cameron Champ, the long hitter who was in the top 10 through two rounds. Scheffler shot 1-under 287 (69-74-71-73). “I was trying to compete and see if I could win the golf tournament,â€� said Scheffler, who missed the cut at last year’s U.S. Open after shooting a first-round 69. “I thought it would be pretty cool winning the U.S. Open as an amateur, and that was my goal coming in. Coming into today, I realized I didn’t really have a shot anymore, but I still wanted to play my best golf and see what I could do.â€� Champ finished T32 at even-par 288 (70-69-73-76).

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