‘Totally different' Muirfield Village compared to last week

Brooks Koepka didn’t win a major Friday, but he did win bragging rights. Koepka made quick work of Bryson DeChambeau in their much-anticipated, mano-a-mano showdown from the Wynn Golf Club in Las Vegas. RELATED: Top 5 moments in The Match’s history The Match was scheduled to go 12 holes, but Koepka needed just nine in his 4-and-3 win. Koepka birdied half of the first eight holes, DeChambeau didn’t win one and he conceded the match on the ninth hole. What’s next for this rivalry? It’s hard to say after Koepka was crowned king in Vegas. HOLE-BY-HOLE Hole No. 1 Par-4 Bryson DeChambeau handed out cupcakes on the first tee – a reference to the famous mispronunciation of Brooks Kopeka’s name – and then received a treat of his own on the opening hole. DeChambeau drove into a bush right of the fairway but got free relief because of a sprinkler system near his ball. “That’s another page out of my book,” said Phil Mickelson, who’s a commentator for today’s competition. DeChambeau hit his approach off the pine straw into a bunker but got up-and-down to match Koepka’s two-putt par. Match status: All square Hole No. 2 515 yards, par 4 Mickelson appears to be a graduate of the Tony Romo School of Broadcasting. Mickelson’s read of Koepka’s birdie putt – which Koepka could hear on the AirPod in his ear – earned Lefty a shout-out after Koepka drained the 10-footer. The birdie was good for a 1-up lead over DeChambeau who hit his approach shot into a greenside bunker on the second straight hole. Match status: Koepka, 1 up Hole No. 3 209 yards, par 3 Mickelson called it again. Koepka had the honor and, after Phil declared that Koepka’s tendency is a miss to the right, he did just that, pushing his tee shot right of the green. DeChambeau responded by knocking his tee shot close, his ball coming to rest just a few feet from the water guarding the left side of the green. Winning this hole’s closest-to-the-hole competition was worth a $50,000 donation to the charity of DeChambeau’s choice. DeChambeau misread the birdie chance, however, and he missed a bit low. We may have had out our first bit of controversy after Koepka sank a 3-footer to halve the hole, as he complained that the par putt hadn’t been conceded. Match status: Koepka, 1 up Hole No. 4 494 yards, par 4 Koepka has a case of the rights. Fortunately there was a parallel fairway for his tee shot to find. From one fairway over, Koepka hit the middle of the green. Meanwhile, DeChambeau flew the putting surface from the fairway. “That wasn’t good, guys. That wasn’t good at all,” DeChambeau told the commentators. He attributed it to the increased distance from his offseason workouts, which led Mickelson to quip, “As I lift, I find myself hitting it too hard also.” DeChambeau putted from behind the green, and the two players halved the hole in pars. Match status: Koepka, 1 up Hole No. 5 591 yards, par 5 Koepka rolled his eyes when DeChambeau said a far-off cameraman was in range off the tee. Then DeChambeau’s tee shot almost took him out on the fly. Mickelson called the big blast “so attractive.” Koepka, who nearly drove into the water, hit his second shot into the heart of the green, while DeChambeau was once again unable to take advantage of being in a better position off the tee. His second shot hit a tree and fell short of the green. DeChambeau failed to get up-and-down and Koepka two-putted for his second birdie of the day to go 2 up. Match status: Koepka, 2 up Hole No. 6 161 yards, par 3 Brooks went straight at it on this short par-3. Bryson used a slope past the hole, but sucked it too far back. Increased clubhead speed means more spin, DeChambeau moaned after watching his ball roll past the hole. By winning closest to the pin, Koepka had 500,000 meals donated to Feeding America on his behalf. DeChambeau misread another putt, opening the door for Koepka to take a 3-up lead at the match’s halfway point. Koepka’s 11-foot birdie putt went straight in the heart. His third birdie of the day meant a 3-up lead. “It’s the only sport they let you drink while playing it and there’s a reason why,” Barkley said. DeChambeau may need a cold glass of chocolate milk after losing half of the first six holes. Match status: Koepka, 3 up Hole No. 7 442 yards, par 4 The hole was halved with a generous gesture from Koepka, who gave DeChambeau a tricky par putt to halve the hole. Bryson had an opportunity to win his first hole of the day but blasted his 9-foot birdie putt through the break. Before the missed opportunity, DeChambeau seemed to be turning things around after a pep talk from Phil, with whom he bonded at the Ryder Cup. “Get your brain in theta,” Mickelson told DeChambeau before he hit his tee shot. What was he referring to? Brain waves, of course. DeChambeau described it as “that sweet spot between sympathetic and parasympathetic.” In layman’s terms, DeChambeau said he was trying to enter a flow state. Among the other hot takes – unrelated to anything happening on the course – Barkley declared that yoga is just stretching with a fancy name “so they can charge you more.” Match status: Koepka, 3 up Hole No. 8 464 yards, par 4 Koepka started the hole by telling a tale about how his caddie almost lost the U.S. Open trophy in Las Vegas. Then he all but locked this thing up. “You lost me at U.S. Open trophy,” joked Mickelson, who’s won every major but his national championship. Koepka trusts Ricky Elliott with his clubs, but Koepka’s longtime caddie left one of golf’s greatest prizes outside his hotel room overnight, forgetting to bring the trophy inside after he put it down to pull out his room key. A 4-foot birdie putt gave Koepka a 4-up lead with four holes remaining. And the best trash talking has taken place not between the two contestants but Koepka and Mickelson. Koepka gave Mickelson grief about his pre-match prediction of a DeChambeau win, to which Mickelson replied, “Let me tell you about the PGA Championship.” Mickelson beat Koepka at Kiawah Island this year en route to becoming the oldest winner in major championship history. Match status: Koepka, 4 up Hole No. 9 172 yards, par 3 It was scheduled to be 12 holes. Koepka needed just nine. A conceded birdie gave Koepka the victory. He’d hit his tee shot to 10 feet, and DeChambeau told him to pick it up after missing his own putt from long range. And it ended right after DeChambeau’s best attempt at trash talk. Unfortunately, it was too little too late. “Where is this on the PGA TOUR?” DeChambeau asked after Koepka hit his tee shot. Koepka, of course, has missed his last two cuts and finished no better than T38 in four starts this season. He is known for summoning his best at the biggest moments, and a match against his rival fit that mold. “It’s kind of like my major right now,” Koepka said of The Match. “I’m not going to lie. I just wanted to spank him.” He did. DeChambeau didn’t win a hole against Koepka. Match status: Koepka wins

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CARNOUSTIE, Scotland – You, watching back home on your hi-def 65-inch TV screen, go ahead and dream. You, having just paid 10 pounds for a nice fish-and-chips lunch in the spectator village, go ahead and dream. You, salivating in the media center about the possibility of the biggest golf story in a decade (this century?), go ahead and dream. Tiger Woods will not. He will not yet dream about winning his first major in 10 years. He will not project where it might rank in the pantheon of his major victories, currently in a holding pattern at 14. He will not get ahead of himself, even though his third-round 66 at The Open Championship secured a spot among the contenders heading into Sunday’s decisive round at Carnoustie. “We’re not there yet,” he said. “I know what you’re trying to say in asking but let me try and get there first. “Then ask me again.” He may not get there on a Sunday that promises to be full of drama and notable names, each anxious to produce his own winning story. He’ll start the final round at 5 under and in a tie for sixth, four shots off the lead shared by Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele and Kevin Kisner. Two other players are between Woods and the leaders — Kevin Chappell at 7 under and Francesco Molinari at 6 under. But Tiger is closer than he’s been in quite some time, certainly closer to the major form that hasn’t really been on display since four back surgeries left him wondering if he could even continue playing. Of course, he’s famously never won a major when he didn’t hold the 54-hole lead, and it’s a tall order asking him to do it now while he’s still in the midst of his comeback. Dreamers will dream, but the reality of the situation is that Woods may need another super-low round just to have a chance. At least Tiger has that chance. His 66 — his lowest score at any major since the 2012 PGA Championship, and his lowest at The Open since winning in 2006 at Royal Liverpool — was the product of consistent swings, off-the-tee accuracy and a few longer putts, including a 50-footer at the ninth hole that was his longest made putt of the PGA TOUR season. Even before he teed off Saturday, he saw that players were taking advantage of great scoring conditions, especially on Carnoustie’s first 14 holes. That meant the green light was on. “There were a bunch of guys that were putting up great scores, and the golf course was gettable,” Woods said. “I didn’t want to be too far back if the guys got to 10-under par today. I had to stay within reach. “And 5 [under] is definitely within reach.” At one point, Woods even had a share of the lead. That came after a two-putt birdie at the par-5 14th moved him to 6 under. Zach Johnson and Kevin Kisner – the 54-hole co-leaders who started the day at 6 under — had just teed off. It lasted less than 30 minutes until Kisner birdied the third hole. But the buzz was clearly evident – even if Tiger himself never realized he was the co-leader. “I didn’t know I was tied for the lead,â€� he said. “I knew I was within one. But I was right there. After I birdied 14, I still had some work to do. I’ve got four more holes to go. “I was just concentrating on trying to play the last four holes under par. As I said, not to try and let these guys get too far out of reach if they got to double digits.â€� Even if he doesn’t get it done Sunday, the signs are encouraging. Woods leads the field in driving accuracy – he’s missed just nine of 45 fairways this week — and his only wayward tee shot in the third round came with iron on the 18th hole. His drive hit just inches from the Barry Burn but bounced a few yards away into the rough. Woods had to pitch out to the fairway, but his wedge from 83 yards stopped just left of the pin for a tap-in par. He said the feeling on Saturday was similar to how he felt in May at THE PLAYERS Championship when he shot a third-round 65 that included eight birdies in his first 12 holes. Woods backed that up with a final-round 69 that left him tied for 11th at TPC Sawgrass. “In a major? I haven’t played too many,â€� Woods said when asked when the last time he felt this good. “I played pretty similar to this at THE PLAYERS Championship. Obviously the fifth major, possibly, but not like this in one of the big four events.â€� His last major victory was the 2008 U.S. Open, which he won by playing 91 holes on essentially one leg. It was a heroic performance as he grimaced every time he had to bend his left knee. Two days later, he underwent surgery and was out for the season. If and when he wins another major, it will be a different path but a similar sensation. A once- improbable achievement given his health two years ago. Now it’s a possibility. Maybe not on Sunday, but the Tiger of old is showing signs of awakening. “I’ve shown that I’ve been there close enough with a chance to win this year,â€� said Woods. “Given what happened the last few years, I didn’t know if that would ever happen again. But here I am with a chance coming Sunday in a major championship. “It’s going to be fun.â€�

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