While the shot may have caught the rake, that ball wasn’t going very far. The odd occurrence could reignite the “where should golfers put rakes?” debate.
Click here to read the full article…
| Tired of betting on your favorite sports? Check out some casino game at Bovada! Here's a list of Bovada casino bonus codes that will get you started with some nice bonuses. |
AUGUSTA, Georgia – Tiger Woods was always told he was the chosen one but only now does he fully believe he’s a walking miracle. Less than a year after back fusion surgery finally released him from years of pain – Woods is not only back at Augusta National for the first time since 2015 – he’s firmly in the mix to win. That is according to all of his peers and the majority of pundits. Woods is the favorite in many circles. “He’s got a great chance. Look at how he’s played the last few weeks. He’s had four wins here. He’s very comfortable around this golf course, and his game is right there,â€� Rory McIlroy said. “Any time Tiger Woods is healthy and in this sort of form, he’s dangerous at any golf tournament. But given his history here, I think even more so.â€� In his last two starts on the PGA TOUR Woods was runner up and T5 – he felt the cauldron of contention in both. But can he claim PGA TOUR win number 80 on the major championship stage? With his swing speed at near unbelievable levels … anything is possible. It is easily the most amazing aspect of this version of his comeback – the force in which he’s been able to swing the club again. Woods has the fastest recorded swing on TOUR this season at 129.2 miles per hour and his average club head speed of 121.9 miles per hour is fourth on TOUR. It has some players joking with Woods that they need to go under the knife to fuse their own backs for more distance. “The reason why I say I’m a walking miracle is that I don’t know if anyone who has had a lower back fusion that can swing the club as fast as I can swing it,â€� Woods said. “That’s incredible. I went from a person who really had a hard time getting up, walking around, sitting down, anything, to now swinging the club 129. That is a miracle, isn’t it?â€� Woods admits he never expected this sort of result. He thought he’d have a nice comfortable life but was resigned to not being able to generate his old speeds. A year ago he could barely sit at the Champions Dinner. He was trying cortisone shots, epidurals … but in his own words his back was fried. “But all of a sudden I have this pop and my body and my speed’s back and my timing. I’m hitting speeds that I hit in my prime,â€� he continued. “That’s what’s the shocking thing, is I didn’t think I would ever reach north of 120, and I’m cruising at 120. “So that part is very exciting because I know that if I can maintain this, I can play out here for a very long time and be able to have the length to get around pretty much any of the golf courses.â€� This week’s course has always been kind to Woods. With wins in 1997, 2001, 2002 and 2005 and seven top-6 results in nine starts since his last triumph Augusta National is certainly a place he could rekindle the old magic and claim TOUR win number 80. Woods likened the hype to that in 2001 when he came to the Masters with three straight major wins and in search of the famous “Tiger Slamâ€�. “I have four rounds to play, so let’s just kind of slow down,â€� Woods smiled. “I got to go play and then let the chips fall where they may, and hopefully I end up on top. But I got a lot of work to do between now and then.â€�
MELBOURNE, Australia – Two years ago at Liberty National, the Sunday Singles in the Presidents Cup was a mere formality. The Americans’ commanding lead had drained much of the drama out of the final day. No worries this time at Royal Melbourne. Get ready for what could be an epic day Down Under. For the first time since 2003, the International Team enters the Singles session with the lead. It’s not an 11-point lead like the U.S. Team had in 2017, but Ernie Els and his squad will gladly take the two-point advantage (10-8) after the first three days. RELATED: Day 3 match recaps | Day 4 match predictions | Guide to Sunday singles | Anatomy of a comeback: Leishman, Ancer rally Winning the Cup requires 15.5 points, meaning the Internationals could lose the session and still claim victory. It’s a slim margin, with little room for early, but at least it’s the lead. “What a four sessions it’s been,â€� Els said. “It’s been really exciting. You know, it’s been a lot of work, it seems like. I normally sleep quite a few hours a night but I’ haven’t slept too many hours.â€� It’s doubtful he slept many more on Saturday night after his team escaped what loomed as a shutout in Saturday’s Foursomes session. The Americans had two wins in the books and were headed for two more until some late heroics – especially by the duo of Marc Leishman and Abraham Ancer, who rallied from 5 down through 10 holes — produced a pair of ties that might just be the difference when this event concludes. It may take more heroics Sunday in front of a sold-out group of golf fans hoping to witness the first International Team win since its only victory 21 years ago at this same venue. The Internationals actually have a decent showing in Singles. They haven’t loss this session in the last four Presidents Cups. But it hasn’t really mattered, since the Americans have had significant leads going into the final day. That’s not the case this week. “We’re in the middle of a fight and we’re all going to be up for it,â€� said International veteran Adam Scott, hoping for his first-ever Presidents Cup win in his ninth appearance. “… If we go out there and play the way we’ve been playing, we can do this tomorrow.â€� It won’t be easy. The first match out Sunday pits arguably the two best players this week: Tiger Woods versus Abraham Ancer. Woods, the playing captain for the U.S., sat out both sessions Saturday to give himself plenty of rest. It was a risky move, given that Woods had won each of his two matches with partner Justin Thomas. But his players rose to the occasion, cutting the Internationals’ lead from three points to two. Woods was always going to be the first one out in Singles so that he could finish his match and assume his captaincy duties. He probably didn’t expect to match up against Ancer, the Presidents Cup rookie from Mexico. But Ancer’s produced the most points of any International player this week, winning 3.5 out of a possible 4 and joining Leishman in that spirited rally against Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler. It’s why he’s been dubbed Aussie Abe. “People here have been absolutely phenomenal with me, and I think with the whole team,â€� Ancer said. “It’s been a lot of fun.â€� Woods, of course, hopes to end that fun in the opening match. “At one point it looked like we were going to be down 1-9, and for the International Team only to get one point from that point on, for us to fight back and get eight points, was a huge, huge win for us today,â€� Woods said. “We’re looking forward to going into Singles tomorrow.â€� Els chuckled as Tiger described the Americans’ rally. It wasn’t quite that dire for the Americans, and Els wasn’t falling for Woods’ mind tricks. “You’re the absolute optimist, aren’t you?,â€� Els said to Woods while they held their joint press conference, “My God.â€� The U.S. Team will need 7.5 points to win the Presidents Cup, a total the Americans have produced in just four of the 12 Singles sessions in Presidents Cup history. The last time they reached that total was 14 years ago. Each team can argue it has momentum – the Americans by reducing the deficit built early by the Internationals; and the Internationals who avoided the sweep to maintain the advantage. But maybe it doesn’t matter. “Momentum means nothing because we’re all going to go to bed and wake up tomorrow and everybody is going to play differently,â€� said American Gary Woodland, who faces Sungjae Im in a battle of Presidents Cup first-timers. “ …  It’s going to be 0-0 when we tee it up in the morning, and we’ve got to go out and win matches.â€� Given what we’ve seen the first three days at Royal Melbourne, winning this Presidents Cup won’t be easy. But at least the potential for drama is incredibly high. It’s a nice alternative to two years ago.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – News and notes from the final round of the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow where Justin Thomas fired a 68 to win his first major championship by two strokes. For more information on the final round, click here to read The Daily Wrap. THOMAS WINS AMONGST FRIENDS We’ve seen those SB2K17 spring break pictures from the Bahamas plastered all over social media. Think Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler swimming, soaking up the sun, sinking putts and shooting hoops. A pint-sized pig even nosed his way into some of the photos. On Sunday at Quail Hollow, Spieth and Fowler stood as inconspicuously as they could on the 18th fairway watching as their best bud won his first major championship. “It’s awesome and I think they know I would do the same for them,â€� Thomas said. “It’s a cool little friendship we have.â€� Also on hand was Bud Cauley, Thomas’ roommate in Jupiter, Florida, and also a former Alabama golfer, who teed off at 9:35 a.m. in the 10th group of the day. “I just didn’t believe Bud Cauley stayed around,â€� Thomas said. “He’s one of my best friends. I was about ten minutes from going to tee off and he was walking off to go sign his scorecard. “So he hung around for an entire 18 holes just to stick around, and not knowing what could happen.â€� Spieth, who won the Open Championship last month, had started the final round 11 shots off the pace, his chance to complete the career Grand Slam essentially gone. When he finished off his round of 70, though, Spieth could tell things were going Thomas’ way. Fowler, who is seeking his first major championship, was in the thick of things, playing just six groups ahead of Thomas. He shot 67 and waited with Spieth, both players maintaining a low profile and letting the spotlight shine on their friend. “But I think that kind of shows, you know, where the game is right now, where all of us are,â€� Thomas said. “I mean, we obviously all want to win. We want to beat the other person. “But if we can’t win, we at least want to enjoy it with our friends. I think that we’ll all be able to enjoy this together, and I know it’s going to make them more hungry, just like it did me, for Jordan at the British, or whatever you want to say.â€� REED SETTLES IN The way Patrick Reed saw it, Sunday was a microcosm of his season. Yes, he had a chance to win the PGA Championship. But everything had to fall into place, and while Reed closed to within a shot as the Green Mile loomed, Justin Thomas was just too strong. “This year’s kind of been, kind of the moral of the story of today,â€� Reed said with a sigh. “Very frustrating; a lot of good things going on, but falling just a little short.â€� He knew he had no margin for error on Sunday. Reed started the final round of the PGA Championship five strokes off the lead. He couldn’t afford to make bogeys. He couldn’t squander birdie opportunities, either – not on a course like Quail Hollow. Reed succeeded in making birdies, carving out seven through 15 holes. But he gave three shots back with bogeys, including at the 18th, and ended up falling two shy of victory. “To be as far back as I was coming in today, to win a golf tournament, you have to make every one of them,â€� Reed said. “You can’t sit there and you can’t miss putts. Even if they are 30-footers, if you’re that far back to win, you have to make all of them. “Unfortunately I wasn’t able to do that, and that’s why I’m sitting here disappointed.â€� Still, Sunday’s tie for second came with some positives. It was, after all, Reed’s first top 10 in 16 major championship starts and his best finish of the season, as well. The five-time PGA TOUR champ also moved inside the top 10 for an automatic Presidents Cup berth. Most of all, though, Reed came away pleased by how comfortable he felt being in contention at one of the game’s biggest events. “My first two years at the majors, I was putting too much pressure on myself,â€� Reed said. “I was making them way bigger than they needed to be. They are still golf tournaments. There’s still 72 holes. You’ve got to go out and play some good golf. “At the end of the day, what I loved to see was when I got in contention today, when I went on that run to get myself actually in the golf tournament … I didn’t feel any different. I didn’t feel any pressure.â€� KISNER HUNGRY FOR MORE Kevin Kisner was nothing if not resilient at the PGA Championship. He held at least a share of the lead after each of the first three rounds, and even when Kisner finally lost it on Sunday, he kept fighting back. In the end, though, the treacherous Green Mile – and the surging Thomas – simply proved too much for him. But Kisner is ready for more. “It’s fun trying to compete,â€� he said. “Fun trying to see what you can do. There’s only a certain number of people in the world that get that opportunity, and that’s why we’re out here.â€� Kisner says he gets his tenacity from his parents. And nowhere was that determination on display more than during the 2015-16 season when he lost in three playoffs before picking up his first win last fall. “They taught me about being a good person and believing in yourself,â€� Kisner said. “And to be the best you’ve got to work hard and that’s what I’ve done in my career.â€� This week at Quail Hollow, Kisner, who ranks 127th in driving distance, was able to offset that deficit with a red-hot putter. At least through the first three rounds. On Sunday, though, the putts that fell early in the week spun out of the cup. Kisner estimated he missed at least three of 8 feet or less but even so, he was feeling good about his chances. “I really liked the way I started out, hitting the ball solid and gave myself a lot of looks,â€� Kisner said. “Just not making the putts that I need to make to win major championships A waterlogged approach at the par-5 seventh was a jolt to the system. It led to his first bogey and is something Kisner says will “hauntâ€� him. “I actually went back for one more club and got too greedy with it,â€� he said. “That should be — that’s one of the holes I have to make 4 on to compete, and walk away with 6 was painful.â€� A birdie at the 10th hole was followed by back-to-back bogeys. But Kisner rolled in birdie putts at Nos. 14 and 15 to get within a touch of Thomas before he faltered over the Green Mile, playing it in 3 over for the second straight day. “That’s not going to be fun to look at,â€� Kisner said. “I thought I had to get to 10 starting the day to win and that was about right. I had every opportunity. I just didn’t finish it off.â€� ODDS AND ENDS Chris Stroud picked up his first PGA TOUR win seven days ago at the Barracuda Championship. On Sunday, he played in the final group at the PGA Championship and ended up with his first top 10 in a major, a tie for ninth. Not a bad week’s work. Stroud, undaunted by the closing 76, called it a “dream come true,â€� adding later the experience was “absolutely unbelievable.â€� “You know, all these guys, J.T., I mean, he’s a deserving champion.â€� Stroud said. “He came out hard. Once he won, everybody knew he was going to win a lot, and he won two in a row, I think, this year, both in Hawai’i he won, Mr. 59. “These guys are really good. The commercial’s right.â€� … As if the Green Mile isn’t taxing enough, Jon Rahm had an added challenge on the 18th hole. His approach landed on the bank of the creek. He had no stance and ended up standing to the side of the ball, facing away from the green. Rahm then held the club backwards in his right hand and made contact, advancing the ball onto the green. He then two-putted for bogey – which certainly would have made the great Seve Ballesteros proud. “If I tried to stand in front of the ball, I’d really have to chop it down,â€� Rahm said. “The only way to hit it on line would be to hit in front of my legs, so that was no option. I’m not gonna hit it left-handed because that’s too much of a gamble for me. And I couldn’t stand in the water because it was so high. “To me, it seemed like the only logical option. It’s straight back, it’s straight backthrough. It’s a very consistent movement.â€� Louis Oosthuizen, who shot 70 on Sunday and tied for second with Francesco Molinari and Reed, has now finished runner-up in all the majors – and THE PLAYERS Championship. He lost in a playoff to Bubba Watson at the 2012 Masters, tied for second at the 2015 U.S. Open and Open Championship and was runner-up at the PLAYERS earlier this year. Oosthuizen has one major to his credit – he won the 2010 Open Championship at St. Andrews. SHOT OF THE DAY BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA
