Tiger Woods updates, Masters, Round 4

MEXICO CITY — Rickie Fowler was penalized one shot Friday in the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship for dropping from the wrong height, a new rule he expects to be changed. Fowler hit a shank on his second shot of the round from the 10th fairway. He got a ball from his caddie and instinctively held out his arm at shoulder-height, then played his next shot to the green. The modernized Rules of Golf that began this year require drops to be knee-height. It’s not unusual for players to use a method that had been in place since 1984 — before Fowler was even born — but in all but one occasion on the PGA TOUR, someone noticed and the player was able to re-drop. In this case, neither Jon Rahm nor Patrick Reed watched him go through the drop, and his caddie was looking at the yardage book. Fowler said someone mentioned to Reed that the drop was shoulder-height, and that’s when Fowler realized what he had done. “It’s on me. I took the shot. It was no big deal,” Fowler said. “But I think with the new rules that have been put in place, it’s not doing any favors for our sport.” With the shank out-of-bounds and the penalty for the incorrect drop, he made triple bogey and shot 73. He called the knee-length drop a “terrible” change, adding, “I definitely think it will get changed.” Rules officials from tours around the world, led by the USGA and R&A, spent five years overhauling the rules to make them simpler and easier to understand for pros and recreational players alike. The change in the drop received most of the attention, mainly for the optics, as some players couldn’t figure out a smooth motion to get their hands at knee-length. This is Fowler’s third tournament of the year, and he said he had no problem the first time he had to take a drop because of all the attention. “We have been making fun of the knee drop for so long that it was ingrained that my first drop was going to be from the knee, like this iconic moment,” he said. “I get to drop from my knee and look stupid.” Fowler said he also didn’t like the rule that a ball dropped from the knee could not roll more than two club lengths away, which was a previous rule for some drops. Because the ball is only falling from the knee, the new rule says it must stay in a relief area one club length in a semi-circle. MUST READS: Round 2, WGC-Mexico Championship Tiger climbs leaderboard after second-round 66 That was the idea behind the change. When balls were dropped from the shoulder area, there were nine things that would have led to dropping again. Rules makers thought that by dropping from knee level, players would be able to get the ball in play quicker. “Maybe there’s a minimum at the knee — you can drop from the shoulder, whatever,” he said. “I mean, it’s not like we’re trying to gain some sort of advantage.” That’s been a common theme among PGA TOUR players, that the drop should be allowed from the knee to the shoulder without penalty. Fowler sees no reason why a shoulder-length drop that stays in the relief area shouldn’t count. The new rule (14.3b) says it must be knee high. “I haven’t heard many of the guys say that the drop from the knee has been a good thing, or that it looks good,” Fowler said. It was the second time this year Fowler has had a tough ruling. The other was on the 11th hole of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, when after two drops on a slope next to the green, he was able to place the ball. After it was in play, and as Fowler was studying his shot by the green, the ball rolled into the water hazard. That rule has been part of golf for years and was not part of the overhaul. “I know that they’re going to bring up that rule, as well, when you’re getting assessed penalties for nothing, really,” he said.

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FORT WORTH, Texas – Jamie Sadlowski’s first tee shot in his first round of his first PGA TOUR start travelled 365 yards. Nobody was surprised. The two-time winner of the RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship is expected to hit it far. But the Canadian native is determined to prove he’s more than just a bomber. That he can use all 14 clubs in his bag and can manage his way around the golf course – and not just impress fans at the range. “I look at this as I’m trying to start a new career and I’m working hard at it,� Sadlowski said after his 3-over 73 left him tied for 75th after Thursday’s first round of the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational. “At the end of the day, I want to prove myself I can play out here.� It was roughly a year ago that Sadlowski decided to retire from his career as a long drive champion – he had performed in approximately 600 exhibitions and show – to pursue his dream as a pro golfer. He’s played a handful of Web.com Tour and Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada events, as well as some overseas events in Australia. But Thursday was the first time he had teed it up in a PGA TOUR event. It was just his 51st competitive round as a pro. Sadlowski is in the field as one of Colonial’s Champions Choices, in which all the tournaments’ living champions choose two promising newcomers. That’s how Jason Day in 2008 and Jordan Spieth in 2013 made the field. The phone call came about two weeks ago and Sadlowski obviously was thrilled to receive the opportunity. Yet it’s ironic that his TOUR debut comes on a course that sometimes gets accused (perhaps unfairly) of taking driver out of a player’s hands. The old-school, tight course is a shot-maker’s dream, hardly a bomber’s paradise. It’s nothing new, though, for Sadlowski. He has played at the Web.com Tour event in Boise, Idaho, and said that Hillcrest Country Club is even tighter than Colonial. He said another Web.com Tour event in Bogota, Colombia, also is not long, even though it’s at altitude. “I haven’t ever found a bomber’s paradise track,� he said after a round in which he hit six drivers on holes 1, 2, 6, 11, 14 and 15. “But this doesn’t take driver out of my hand. And I have a 2-iron that I’m comfortable with. Maybe that helps me, I don’t know. One of these days, I’ll get a longer golf course. But I think I can play this one.� He held his own with playing partners Kevin Tway (who finished at 2 under 68 after a late double bogey) and Brandon Hagy (who shot a 75). And they held their own off the tee – again, no surprise, considering both Tway and Hagy are ranked inside the top 10 in driving distance on TOUR. Sadlowski knows both players, so it was a comfortable pairing. And no, there was no discussion about trying to one-up each other off the tee, no mini-long drive contest suggestions. “I think everybody knows [about the power],� he said. “I don’t think we needed to talk about it.� Sadlowski had the longest drives in the field on hole Nos. 1 (the 365-yarder) and 2 (a 350-yard drive on his hardest swing of the day). He also had a 368-yard drive on the par-5 11th. Only one player hit it farther – Tway, whose drive went 371 yards. For the day, Sadlowski averaged 297.5 yards off the tee on all drives – third highest average behind Jon Rahm (304.3 yards) and Jhonattan Vegas (298.8). But it’s not just power off the tee but also on any shot – Sadlowski will likely face shorter approaches than most of his playing partners, and can reach par-5s with short and mid-irons, like he did on the second hole. He realizes he needs to work on his short game – he successfully scrambled on just two of eight chances and made just one putt over 10 feet. But hey, it’s his first time out. The power will obviously be there. Now it’s just refining the other parts. Getting a taste of TOUR life this week certainly offers plenty of motivation. “It wasn’t that long ago that I was a kid sitting on the couch watching PGA TOUR events – which I still do,� he said, still soaking in the surroundings. “This just doesn’t feel real.�

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The PGA TOUR heads to Bermuda for the third Butterfield Bermuda Championship. Brian Gay returns to defend his title – his first PGA TOUR triumph since 2013 – while a mix of major champions, TOUR winners, and up-and-coming stars round out the field. FIELD NOTES: Masters winners Patrick Reed and Danny Willett are set to tee it up in Bermuda… Matt Fitzpatrick – fresh off his second Ryder Cup start and recent European Tour victory at Valderrama – is in the field… Ryder Cup assistant captains Graeme McDowell and Luke Donald are heading to Bermuda. McDowell competed in the Grand Slam of Golf here, an event that pitted the year’s four major winners against each other, as did Lucas Glover and Jason Dufner, who also are in this week’s field… Plenty of graduates from the Korn Ferry Tour are in the field looking for some early-season success on the FedExCup standings. Some notables include Stephan Jaeger and Joseph Bramlett, who were the leading points winners from the Regular Season and Korn Ferry Tour Finals, respectively, and Mito Pereira, who earned a three-win promotion in 2021… Sponsor exemptions include 2021 Walker Cup teammates Austin Eckroat and John Pak, who have since turned pro, and Texas Tech’s Ludvig Aberg, the world’s third-ranked amateur. Pak was the No. 1 player in this year’s PGA TOUR University rankings and swept college golf’s player of the year honors, winning the Haskins, Hogan and Nicklaus awards. Eckroat finished third in the PGA TOUR U rankings and parlayed the Korn Ferry Tour status that he earned into two top-15s in three starts. By virtue of finishing in the top five of PGA TOUR University, they are exempt into the final stage of Korn Ferry Tour Q-School, which will be held Nov. 4-7 in Savannah, Georgia. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points. COURSE: Port Royal GC in Southampton, Bermuda, par 71, 6,828 yards. Designed by Robert Trent Jones, Port Royal is the longest course on the island. At under 7,000 yards, though, it demands tight shot-making and straight driving. The course, which hosted the Grand Slam of Golf from 2009-14, underwent a $14.5-million renovation just over a decade ago to prepare for the TOUR’s arrival. STORYLINES: Port Royal GC in Southampton, Bermuda, par 71, 6,828 yards. Designed by Robert Trent Jones, Port Royal is the longest course on the island. At under 7,000 yards, though, it demands tight shot-making and straight driving. The course, which hosted the Grand Slam of Golf from 2009-14, underwent a $14.5-million renovation just over a decade ago to prepare for the TOUR’s arrival. 72-HOLE RECORD: 260, Brendon Todd (2019) 18-HOLE RECORD: 62, Scottie Scheffler (first round, 2019), Brendon Todd (fourth round, 2019). LAST TIME: Brian Gay, then 48 years old, won on the PGA TOUR for the first time since 2013, defeating Wyndham Clark in a playoff. Gay, who had made 169 starts on TOUR since his previous victory – and had eyes on joining PGA TOUR Champions come 2022 – fired a closing 64 (capped off with a birdie on the 72nd hole). He birdied the first playoff hole and won for the fifth time on TOUR. He became the oldest TOUR winner since Davis Love III at the 2015 Wyndham Championship in the process and built off a T3 results at the Bermuda Championship the year prior. Clark’s runner-up result was his best career finish on the PGA TOUR. Ollie Schniederjans, Stewart Cink, Matt Jones, Doc Redman, and Denny McCarthy – whose 8-under 63 in the final round was the round of the week – rounded out the top five. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-4 p.m. (Golf Channel) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).

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