Time to heal: Wie taking rest of season off

ORLANDO, Fla. – For all his winning history here at the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by Mastercard, it was traditionally done with blistering third rounds to get into the lead. That wasn’t the case for Tiger Woods in Saturday’s third round at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge, however. Oh, he birdied three times early and added three on the back nine, and with a 3-under 69 he pushed to 7 under. But unlike in seven of the eight times he has won this tournament, Woods will not be in the lead to start the final round. Instead, tied for 10th. When he slipped home a 12-footer to birdie the 18th and ignite more thunder, Woods casually assessed the situation and stayed unfazed by the commotion. “I’m four back,� he said, knowing the leaders had six or seven holes to play, “and I figure I’ll be five or six back at the end of the day.� He’s a veteran with great wisdom, because true enough, Henrik Stenson and Bryson DeChambeau held serve coming in. Stenson did bogey the par-3 17th and DeChambeau the par-4 15th, but with rounds of 71 and 72, respectively, they ended the day as they began it – atop the leaderboard. At 12-under 204, Stenson finished one clear of DeChambeau, but it would be foolhardy to suggest that Woods can only focus on those two. Not with Rory McIlroy alone in third at 10 under and Justin Rose tied for fourth with Ryan Moore at 9 under. Throw in Charley Hoffman and Rickie Fowler at 8 under and Woods knows there is a formidable group ahead of him. In fact, Stenson, DeChambeau, McIlroy, Rose, Moore, Fowler and Hoffman combine for 41 PGA TOUR wins and 41 more worldwide. Woods’ only victory in which he didn’t have the 54-hole lead here came in 2009, but then, he was alone in second and overtook Sean O’Hair. The challenge is more of a hurdle this time around. “I’m going to have to shoot a low one and probably get a little bit of help,� said Woods, who is playing his fifth tournament after having virtually sat out the previous two seasons. “But my responsibility is to go out and shoot a low one first.� NOTABLES Feels more like it: After a fast start in the Middle East on the European Tour, Rory McIlroy expected to continue that momentum. But coming into Bay Hill, he had missed the cut in two of his four starts on the PGA TOUR and played 13 rounds in 10 over. Those hiccups aside, McIlroy attacked the par 5s on the back – eagle at 12, birdie at 16 – then stuffed his approach to 2 feet to birdie the 18th. With 67, McIlroy got in at 10 under, solo third. “I wanted to at least give myself a chance,� said McIlory, who started six back and is now two back. “I can’t really ask for much more.� Is that any way to treat the host? You’d have to give Fowler high marks for the way he handled a bad break at the closing hole that ended his day on a sour note. His approach from 171 yards was tugged left into a bunker and ended up being as bad a buried lie as you could possibly imagine. He could barely see it, then he could barely move it a few feet. Fowler ended up with a double-bogey, which, on top of a bogey at 17, stung. From one off the lead through 16, he finished 8 under, tied for sixth and four back. He’ll get another chance: Justin Rose is not haunted at all by what happened last week at the Valspar Championship. In contention to win and playing in the final pairing, Rose shot 72 and faded to a share of fifth. “That was a great Sunday, really,� he said. “I really hung in there (without his best game). Hopefully that bodes well for tomorrow.� With a stellar 67, Rose will start Sunday’s fourth round at 9-under, tied for fourth and just three back. QUOTABLES I decided before the tournament that I was going to go ‘Full Zach Johnson’ on that hole. Well, I didn’t go ‘Full GMac.’  I feel like people are more into this (Tiger Woods) comeback this time around. So, it’s fun to play out there, for sure.  SUPERLATIVES Best sense of the calendar: On a day when he wore a green shirt and saw a sea of green everywhere, Graeme McDowell didn’t need to be told that it was St. Patrick’s Day. Which meant he was going to celebrate his bogey-free 69. “What was UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore County), 2,000-to-1? The odds are way less that I’m going to have a Guinness later today.� Best stretch: He was 38 holes into his tournament and Austin Cook had made just four birdies. Then, he made five in a row, starting at the par-4 third. He added three on the back to shoot 66 to move from T-66 to T-18. Most water: Hard to argue that Adam Scott doesn’t feel like he needs a mask and snorkel on the par-5 sixth. He hit his second shots into the water in Rounds 1 and 2, then his third into the hazard Saturday. He is 4 over on the hole. Rudest greeting: The par-4 first hole ranked eighth-toughest (4.000 field average) and was followed by the par-3 2nd, which ranked toughest (3.273). It was particularly painful for Luke List, who started tied for sixth, but promptly went bogey, double-bogey. Longest birdie: Harris English made a putt of nearly 48 feet for one of the few birdies at the 215-yard, par-3 14th.   SHOT OF THE DAY

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AUGUSTA, Ga — A new women’s amateur tournament will be played partially at Augusta National Golf Club the week before the Masters Tournament. Masters chairman Fred Ridley announced the tournament Wednesday, calling it a move to help grow the game of golf. It will be called the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. The tournament will be played over three rounds, with the first two at the Champions Retreat outside Augusta and the final round played on the Saturday before the Masters at the famed Augusta National course. Ridley said Masters officials believe it will be the most widely attended amateur tournament in the world, and by a large margin. The field will consist of 72 women invited by the Masters.

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They met dignitaries, received rings, got semi-famous. But Solomon Dobbs' wild ride as a member of the Charles R. Drew Charter School squad that won the Georgia Class A boys' golf championship in 2019 - the first all-Black high school team and first public school in Atlanta to do so - is over. Dobbs has moved on. He now plays on the golf team at Morehouse College in Atlanta, where he earned a 3.7 grade-point average last semester. Because of the pandemic, he lives at home and takes his classes on Zoom. But at least three days a week he gets in his Hyundai Elantra and drives to Drew Charter's home course, East Lake's Charlie Yates Golf Course, a nine-hole Rees Jones design, where he practices amongst his old coaches and teammates. Because it's never really over. "They're my family," says Dobbs, 18. If you need a break from the chaos and the fear, from the torrent of tragedies, from polling figures brought to you at all hours because, you know, Nov. 3, then behold Dobbs and Drew Charter. Something is definitely going right here. This marks the 20th playing of the TOUR Championship at East Lake, Bobby Jones' old stomping grounds and the centerpiece of a comprehensive community revitalization in Southeast Atlanta. Support from the TOUR Championship reached $3.5 million last year - a tournament record - which went to the East Lake Foundation, Grove Park Foundation, Purpose Built Schools Atlanta and the First Tee of Metro Atlanta. The East Lake Foundation, in turn, supports Drew Charter, which is churning out citizen golfers like Dobbs. Golf continues to be the catalyst for it all. Or is it family? Sarai Dobbs, Solomon's little sister, is a rising senior who is expected to challenge for the No. 1 spot on Drew's girls team in the spring. She hit the ceremonial first tee shot at the TOUR Championship in 2017, while Solomon did it twice (2016, 2018). "I did better the second time," he says. "The first time I couldn't see the ball." Sarai, too, admits she was nervous. "People are there watching, you're on TV, you can get anxious and overwhelmed, but I was really excited to hit it." She striped it down the middle. Their parents, Tobar, managing partner of a real estate equity firm, and Leslie, a human resources manager for a digital company, have watched in awe and delight. Neither comes from a golf family, but when they enrolled their kids at Drew Charter, a cradle-to-college school (pre-K through 12th grade) where golf is taught in P.E. by instructors from The First Tee, it didn't matter. "Having our children attend Charles R. Drew Charter School was probably one of the best decisions my wife and I have ever made," Tobar says, "because it's had such a tremendous impact on them and their education. Of course, golf has been a focal point of that. The leadership at Drew has been absolutely phenomenal at creating an educational model, and having them participate in that educational community has been a godsend for them and our entire family." Solomon continues to be connected to the TOUR Championship. Thursday afternoon, the day before the tournament begins, he will join Jakari Harris, another Atlanta junior golf product who recently graduated from Hampton University, an HBCU in Virginia; TOUR pros Zach Johnson and Ryan Palmer; plus two celebrity guests for a closest-to-the-pin contest in the Golf With A Purpose Charity Challenge at East Lake. His long-term goal is to return to Drew as the golf coach. Joe Weems, the current coach, welcomes it. "One of the great things about coaching," says Weems, 47, "is teaching others to coach." He talks with pride about "the pipeline" - the team's Cook brothers (Jalon and Matthew), Leonard brothers (Marcus and Myron), and McCrary siblings (Christopher and Jordan). And the Dobbs family, of course. And others. Upperclassmen. Underclassmen. Varsity. J.V. Middle-school prospects. Like any family, Drew golf alumni keep in touch and share their successes. Anthony Ford, formerly the Eagles' No. 1 player, is at North Carolina A&T on a golf scholarship. Connor Mason, another player from the 2019 state championship team, plays for the College of Wooster. Treveon McCrary is vying for a spot on Savannah State's team. Simone Obelton, the first female golfer to represent Drew at state, will graduate from Tuskegee as an engineer. This year's girls team, with Sarai Dobbs, Hailey Fisher, Adia Barnes and Shelby Ross, may be Drew's best shot at a state title, assuming the season happens. Weems' biggest regret from last season - canceled, alas, due to the pandemic - was that the girls didn't get a chance to compete. "Sarai has been our No. 1 for a long time," he says. "She's been our rock. She's been really a great leader, but we like to move it around and give all our kids a chance to lead. Last year Hailey was captain, and Sarai supported her. There's a lot of kids who look up to Sarai and she knows that." The success of the golf program has been contagious, with Drew adding a J.V. program last year. Athletic Director Tracy Edwards - a former basketball player at Georgia who was teammates with Angie Ball, Bubba Watson's wife - tried the sport and is now hopelessly addicted. "I've set some future goals for myself to be competitive, thanks to the kids," Edwards says. "My best was 108, so I'm still taking notes and trying to find the right clubs and different things. "It's humbling and full of life lessons," she adds. "It's a good game to learn." As for the chaos and fear in America, and tragedies that seem to roll in like the tides, Edwards and others at Drew Charter are acutely aware of what's happening in the wider world. They know the names Jacob Blake, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others. When will it end? "The only way we will stamp out racism in this country is through unity," Tobar says. "Each one of us must stand up to racial injustice wherever, and whenever, it is encountered. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said it best: ‘Injustice anywhere, is injustice everywhere.' We are human beings. We can calculate the speed of light, and we can colonize outer space. Surely we can rid this country of its racist tendencies, traits, and habits, but only if the will to do it exists." Drew Charter had peaceful protests after Floyd's death, underlining the school's commitment to equality for all people and bringing closure to systemic racism and oppression. "We want to be a beacon of hope for our community," Weems says. "A model of excellence where we break all of those stereotypes that people might have about African American golfers. Be the best, show integrity, and when faced with racism make sure to fight it in a positive way." Being excellent means continuing to practice hard, work out in the off-season, eat right - the team's second-year strength and conditioning coach sees to that. It means keeping family close even while widening the circle to help nearby high schools that might be less golf-savvy. And it means support for alumni like Solomon so that he can help others coming up through the pipeline. The family is thriving, the connections growing ever stronger. Two decades into the partnership between the TOUR Championship and East Lake, there's so much going right.

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