Updates on Tiger Woods from Thursday at the PGA Championship

Since 1947 the world of professional golf has meshed with the captains of industry, entertainment and sport at Pebble Beach Golf Links. The tradition continues in the centennial year of the host course before the U.S. Open arrives in June. This is the final multi-course event of the season as Spyglass Hill Golf Club and Monterrey Peninsula Country Club will help host the field of 156 professionals and their amateur partners over the first three rounds. On the line this week is a purse of $7.6 million with the winner pocketing $1.368 million and 500 FedExCup points. Need Course Info? Check Rob Bolton’s Power Rankings, The First Look and Course Preview. The Landlord With a win this year Phil Mickelson will join the “Prince of Pebble” Mark O’Meara with five titles. The lefty picked up his last winner’s check in 2012 but has finished T2 in both 2018 and 2016. His 10 top-10 finishes are the most in the field. Recent Winners 2018 Ted Potter, Jr. (MC, T16 and MC): All he had to do to take home the big trophy was beat Dustin Johnson heads-up in the final group on Sunday. He did just that and by three comfortable shots. Notable: Potter signed for 61 in Round 3 at MPCC and had a career-best 24 birdies for the week. 2017 Jordan Spieth (T7 2015 and T4 2014): In less than perfect conditions, Spieth torched Spyglass Hill for 65 in Round 2 and followed that with 65 on Pebble Beach in Round 3 and led by six. He only squared four bogeys on the week on just one at Pebble Beach. Notable: His worst payday in six starts is T22. His T4 in 2014 included a 78. 2016 Vaughn Taylor (T10 2015; seven of 11 cuts made): Beginning the final round six shots adrift of Mickelson, his brilliant 65, including an inward 31, stole the show and the trophy. Notable: As with the last four winners from 2018 to 2015, Taylor followed suit by finishing first or second in Par-4 scoring (T2). Key stat leaders Golfers inside the top 25-ish in each statistic on the 2017-18 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week. * – Finished inside the top 10 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am since 2010. Par-4 Scoring:  1  *Dustin Johnson  6  *Jordan Spieth 11 *Kevin Streelman (6th last year) 11 *Jason Day 11 Tony Finau (second appearance) 17 Joel Dahmen 18 *Chez Reavie 20 Matt Kuchar 23 Tommy Fleetwood (first appearance) 24 Johnson Wagner 24 *Hunter Mahan Putting: Birdie-or-Better Conversion Percentage  1  *Dustin Johnson  2  *Phil Mickelson  4  *Jason Day  8  *Grayson Murray  9  Tommy Fleetwood 11 Brandon Harkins 15 Sam Saunders 18 Tony Finau 19 Ryan Palmer 22 *Brian Gay 26 *Jordan Spieth Scrambling  2  Johnson Wagner  6  Alex Cejka  9  Matt Kuchar 11 Joel Dahmen 13 *Brian Gay 16 Ben Crane 18 *Patrick Reed 21 *Jim Furyk 23 *Dustin Johnson 25 *Jason Day 27 *Chez Reavie Levels of Confidence We’ve selected a few players below that should be fairly confident going into this week. Guest List Annuals Dustin Johnson won the weather-shortened event in 2009 defended his title the following year to join Mark O’Meara (1989-90) as the most recent to do so. Of his eight top-10 finishes in 10 weekends, five are on the podium and the worst is T7. … Brandt Snedeker also has two titles here and holds the tournament record of 22-under in 2015. Since his first win in 2013 he’s cashed in four of five including solo fourth in 2017. … Jason Day qualifies as my “Rickie Fowler” selection this week. He’s never MC in nine tries but hasn’t grabbed the trophy yet; T6 or better in four of his last six. … Chez Reavie, T2 last year in his ninth visit, brings the heat again this year after T4 at WMPO.  Regional Specialists 2014 champ Jimmy Walker has bagged four other top-10 paychecks in his last eight starts including T8 last year. … Patrick Reed broke a streak of five of T29 or better with MC last year. … Pat Perez has only missed twice in 16 tries at Pebble Beach. … J.B. Holmes is 10 from 12 with six top-25 finishes including a pair inside the top 10. … Nick Watney pushed to solo second in 2015, one of his 11 paychecks from 15 starts. … Patrick Cantlay cashed T9 as an amateur here in 2013 and hasn’t missed the last two seasons in his other two trips. Long Shots Jim Furyk (18 of 20) posted his last top 10 in 2015 (T7). … Chesson Hadley chased T10 in 2014 with another in 2015 and has only missed once in four trips. … Graeme McDowell won the 2010 U.S. Open here and added T7 in 2014. … Matt Jones (9 of 11) has picked up five in the top 25 and a pair of those have gone for top-10 cash also. Odds and Ends Old and in the Way: Over the last four seasons just Daniel Berger (T10, 2015) and Mackenzie Hughes (T10, 2017) are the only rookies to crack the top 10. With all three courses playing under 7,000 yards it opens up the field, as shown above, to the experienced guy who doesn’t need to hit it 330 yards to compete.

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It’s been some time since a Canadian has won the RBC Canadian Open. It was 1954 when Pat Fletcher hoisted the trophy, and even longer – 1914 to be exact – since a Canadian-born player won the tournament (Fletcher was born in England). But despite that lengthy drought, there has been no shortage of excellent Canadian performances on golf’s biggest stages. Between TOUR victories, generational inspiration, and Hall of Fame resumes, Canada has a strong legacy in the game. As part of our preparation for the first RBC Canadian Open in three years, let’s take a closer look at the top 10 players in the country’s history. Then we can watch the strong current crop of Canadians – including Corey Conners, Mackenzie Hughes, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin — compete at St. George’s Golf & Country Club. 10. Stan Leonard A three-time PGA TOUR winner, Stan Leonard was a celebrated professional who racked up 38 wins across Alberta, British Columbia, and nationally. He was six-time winner of the PGA of Canada’s national championship – which celebrates its 100th playing in 2022 – and was the low Canadian at the Canadian Open eight times. Leonard won the 1957 Greater Greensboro Open (now the Wyndham Championship), the 1958 Tournament of Champions (now the Sentry Tournament of Champions), and the 1960 Western Open. Leonard, who was inducted in into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 1972, also finished inside the top 10 at the Masters three years in a row. No Canadian had accomplished that until Corey Conners did it earlier this spring. Leonard was also inducted into Canada’s Sport Hall of Fame, the BC Sports Hall of Fame, the BC Golf Hall of Fame, and the PGA of Canada Hall of Fame. 9. Al Balding Balding was a four-time winner on the PGA TOUR and his victory in 1955 at the Mayfair Inn Open was the first by a Canadian in the United States. Two years later he finished sixth on the PGA TOUR’s money list – the highest of any Canadian before or since. He also lost in three TOUR playoffs. One of those losses, at the 1964 Fresno Open Invitational, came to fellow Canadian George Knudson. Balding was a multi-time PGA of Canada champion and won the World Cup alongside Knudson in 1968. His best result at a major was a T8 at The Open Championship. He backed that up with another top-10 finish the next year. Balding was inducted into Canada’s Sport Hall of Fame in 1968, the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame in 2000, the PGA of Canada Hall of Fame in 2014, and Canada’s Golf Hall of Fame in 1985. 8. Stephen Ames Ames was born in Trinidad & Tobago – his grandmother was a champion golfer in his native country – but became a Canadian citizen in 2005. Ames turned professional in 1987 and has won on every TOUR level. His four wins on the PGA TOUR was highlighted by his victory at the 2006 PLAYERS Championship. “This is big,” said Ames at the time. “Forty-eight or 49 of the top 50 players were playing? I beat the top players in the world this week.” Ames, who won on the Korn Ferry Tour and the DP World Tour before notching his first TOUR title, would go on to win twice more on the PGA TOUR (the Children’s Miracle Network Classics in both 2007 and 2009). He’s also a two-time winner on PGA TOUR Champions. Ames had six top-10 finishes at majors in his career and was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 2014. 7. Moe Norman Tiger Woods once said Norman (and Ben Hogan) were the only two golfers in history who have truly “owned” their swings. Sam Snead said Norman was golf’s greatest striker of the ball. The accolades about Norman’s ball-striking prowess continued until his death in 2004, but not before he racked up 55 wins on the old Canadian Tour, the PGA of Canada, and more. He was also the Canadian Men’s Amateur Champion in 1955 and 1956. Norman played 27 events on TOUR (his highest finish was a fourth-place result at the New Orleans Open in 1959) along with five on PGA TOUR Champions. He made 25 of 27 cuts on TOUR and made two starts at the Masters. He was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 1995 and Canada’s Sport Hall of Fame in 2006. Norman’s idiosyncrasies – many attribute it to not receiving proper medical treatment after a car accident when he was 5 or to an autism spectrum disorder – may have caused his TOUR career to be short, but his return to his native Ontario saw him become one of the most beloved characters in the country’s golf history. 6. Lorie Kane Kane was a celebrated youngster growing up on Prince Edward Island, wining the PEI Junior Girls’ Championship twice and the province’s Women’s Amateur nine times. She played basketball at Acadia University as well before turning professional in golf in 1993 and earning LPGA Tour status three years later. She captured the PGA of Canada’s Women’s Championship each year from 1996-1999 and again in 2001 – the year after she won three times on the LPGA Tour. Kane’s 2000 campaign on the LPGA Tour saw her win the Michelob Light Classic, the New Albany Golf Classic, and the Mizuno Classic. Kane, who also has 14 career runner-up finishes on the LPGA Tour, was the second Canadian in the LPGA Tour’s history to have a multiple win season and her three-win campaign saw her win the Canadian Female Athlete of the Year title. Kane’s off-course accolades are numerous. She was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 2015, Canada’s Sport Hall of Fame in 2021, and was named to the Order of Canada (the second-highest honor for a civilian in Canada) in 2006. 5. Marlene Stewart Streit Streit is one of the most accomplished amateur golfers in the history of the game – regardless of country. She is the only golfer to have won the U.S., British, Australian, and Canadian Amateur Championships along with dozens of other high-level amateur events across Canada and around the world. She is the only Canadian in the World Golf Hall of Fame and the only golfer in the country’s history to be named Canada’s Athlete of the Year more than once. Streit is a four-time winner of Canada’s Female Athlete of the Year title, was given the Order of Canada, the Order of Ontario, and was inducted into Canada’s Sport Hall of Fame in 1962 – when she was only 28 years old. She showed no signs of slowing down as she’s advanced in age, either. Streit won the 2003 USGA Senior Women’s Amateur at age 69 – the oldest champion in the tournament’s history. 4. George Knudson Knudson won eight times on the PGA TOUR in an 11-year span and was the winningest Canadian in the TOUR’s history for more than three decades. His winning resume as a professional is robust – both at home and abroad – as an individual and as part of a team. He represented Canada in the World Cup nine times, winning as an individual in 1966 and with Balding as a team in 1968. Knudson had one of the silkiest swings in Canadian golf history and he wielded it to win five PGA of Canada National Championship titles and earn low Canadian honors at the Canadian Open five times. He was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 1986 and Canada’s Sport Hall of Fame in 1969. 3. Sandra Post Post was the first Canadian to achieve several milestones on the LPGA Tour. She was the first Canadian to play the LPGA Tour and as a rookie, in 1968, she won a major championship (the then-LPGA Championship). She was, at the time, the youngest golfer to win a women’s major. Her young age (20 years, 20 days) would not be topped by a women’s major winner until 2007. Post would go on to win eight times on the LPGA Tour and was the first Canadian to win more than once in the same season – a feat she accomplished twice, in both 1978 and 1979. She was a celebrated junior and amateur golfer in Ontario and decided to skip college. The decision turned out to be the right one, as she won Rookie of the Year honors in her debut season. Post, who was named Canada’s Athlete of the Year in 1979, was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 1988 and bestowed the Order of Canada in 2004. 2. Mike Weir Canada’s most celebrated male golfer is also responsible for inspiring the current generation of TOUR starsA. Almost every golf fan in the country can recall where they were when Weir captured the Green Jacket in 2003, becoming the first Canadian male to win a major. Weir won eight times on the PGA TOUR including a World Golf Championship and the TOUR Championship in 2000 and 2001, respectively. His Masters title came in his three-win season of 2003. That year Weir made it to third in the world and was named Canada’s Athlete of the Year. Weir played on five Presidents Cup teams and has been an assistant captain in 2017, 2019, and 2022. He received the Order of Canada in 2009 and was inducted into Canada’s Golf Hall of Fame the same year. He was inducted into Canada’s Sport Hall of Fame in 2017 and has seen a career resurgence since joining PGA TOUR Champions. He won for the first time on the over-50 circuit last year and continues to be a threat when he tees it up. 1. Brooke Henderson The only golfer on this list not to be inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame has still had the greatest career of them all. And the reason why she’s not a Hall of Famer yet? Because she’s only 24. Henderson, who has won 10 times on the LPGA Tour, is the winningest Canadian of all time on either the LPGA or PGA Tour. She’s won one major so far – the 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship – along with the CP Women’s Open in 2018, becoming the first Canadian to win on home soil since Jocelyne Bourassa in 1973. Henderson’s amateur career peaked when she was ranked as the No.1 amateur in the world in 2014. She skipped college and turned professional, winning her first event on the LPGA Tour in 2015 by eight strokes at just 17 years old. She was named Canada’s Female Athlete of the Year in back-to-back years in 2017 and 2018, won an ESPY Award in 2019 as the ‘Best Female Golfer’ and earned the LPGA Founders Award that same year. And, well, she’s just getting started.

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PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico  — Patton Kizzire carried some momentum from last week in Las Vegas by running off six straight birdies and opening with a 9-under 62 that gave him a two-shot lead Thursday in the OHL Classic at Mayakoba. Kizzire closed with a 64 in Las Vegas to tie for fourth, his best finish in more than a year on the PGA TOUR. Playing in the first group, Kizzire finished the front nine with two straight birdies, and then made four straight birdies on the back nine at the El Camaleon Golf Club at Mayakoba. A bogey on the 18th gave him a 62. Vaughn Taylor played bogey-free for a 64. Rickie Fowler, playing for the first time since the Presidents Cup, was at 65 along with PGA TOUR rookie Brandon Harkins.

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