Watch live: Final round of Workday Championship

KAPALUA, Hawaii – One round is not a great sample size but for now Bryson DeChambeau is a genius. As he had indicated he would in the months leading up to golf’s new rule changes, DeChambeau took advantage of one of the much talked about alterations – being able to putt with the flagstick in. The five-time PGA TOUR champion alternated between leaving it in and taking it out throughout his opening round at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and drained a number of putts that rattled off the flagstick. After he signed for a 4-under 69 one stat stood out – he led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting at +3.868. While Justin Thomas said he couldn’t take himself seriously if he left the stick in earlier this week, DeChambeau’s results are as serious as they come. “I feel like I maximized my potential on that, especially on 16 today, where it’s kind of blowing downwind, five percent slope, straight downhill you want that pin to help. So that’s what I kind of did and utilized it to my advantage,â€� DeChambeau said. “I felt like for the most part I needed the pin to be in and it went in and it was a very nice help.â€� One of the concerns was playing partners may be inconvenienced but Dustin Johnson said there was no issue. “It was definitely weird, well not weird, but different looking watching somewhat putt with the flag in but it actually worked out where it wasn’t a big deal today,â€� Johnson said. “It didn’t really slow us down or anything. There were a couple of times where if we were close and the flag was out I would just putt it because I knew he would put in back in.â€� The two spoke briefly before the round about the issue with Johnson just advising DeChambeau’s caddie to grab the flag on the greens so as it wouldn’t be an issue. DeChambeau, who is currently running eighth in the FedExCup, will continue to monitor how it works for him over time. “It’s so situational and I don’t know when it’s actually going to hurt me, if it is going to hurt me. So that’s why I got to understand that, when it does hurt me I’ll know and that I won’t do it anymore,â€� he said. “But as of right now it seems like it’s a pretty nice benefit. “On 14, I kind of pushed it a little bit and it went in the right side and if I hit it a little harder it may lip out, but instead it hit the flag and went in easily. So it’s totally situational, still liquid, I’m still learning, under competition, when it’s the right thing to do.â€� DeChambeau wasn’t the only player to leave the flag in on a few occasions, but they were not for strategic purposes. Marc Leishman tapped in his first eagle of 2019 from three-inches and couldn’t help but laugh at himself as he had left the pin in.  “I thought I could just lag it in the front edge and make sure it didn’t hit the pin and bounce out,â€� he joked. “It was the first one I’ve done, probably the last, but I thought I better get one out of the way.â€� MUST-READS    Tway taps in to Kapalua memories Mid-round interviews a hit

Click here to read the full article…

ST. LOUIS – Tiger Woods was 3 over par through two holes at the 100th PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club on Thursday, but battled back to shoot an even-par 70. He was five behind the early first-round leader, Rickie Fowler, and feeling good about turning a potentially terrible day into a not-so-bad one. “It kept me in the golf tournament,â€� said Woods, who started on the back nine. “I could have easily gone the other way, being 3 over through two. A lot of things could happen. Not a lot of them were positive, but I hung in there and turned it around.â€� After being sidelined for years by various ailments, including four back surgeries, Woods is in the midst of a comeback season that has seen plenty of highs. At the Valspar Championship in just his fourth start this season, he shot four under-par rounds for the first time since THE NORTHERN TRUST in 2013. At The Open Championship at Carnoustie last month, he briefly seized the lead before struggling on the back nine and ultimately finishing T6. The top-10 finish nudged him into the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking and got him into last week’s World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone South, where he’d won eight times. He got into contention but shot 73-73 on the weekend to finish T31. Woods was not at his best again at Bellerive on Thursday. Of his 118-yard approach over water at the 11th hole, he said, “I stuck it in the ground,â€� coming up some 12 yards short on the way to a double-bogey 6. Still, he minimized the damage by making three birdies and no bogeys over his last 10 holes. He hit 9 of 14 fairways and 11 of 18 greens, and took 27 putts. “This is a long run,â€� he said, pleased to still be within five of the early first-round leader, Rickie Fowler. “These are marathons. These are four long days. They’re slow rounds.â€� Woods had the same score as playing partner Rory McIlroy (70) and was one behind the third member of the group, Justin Thomas (69), the defending PGA champion who is coming off a victory at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational last weekend. Being grouped with two stars from the next wave had Woods in a reflective mind, and he recounted a story about playing with Jack Nicklaus at the 2000 PGA at Valhalla, which he had told at the PGA Champions Dinner here earlier this week.   “Jack at Valhalla, 18 years ago, that was his last PGA, and he was telling me the story that he played with Gene Sarazen in his last PGA,â€� Woods said. “It’s interesting what this game of golf can do, how we can basically last for so many different generations. “… The reason I was telling the story is because J.T. invited me to speak a little on behalf of himself and PGA of America, and J.T. was 7-years old when we were at Valhalla, and he was in the clubhouse when I made that putt on 18. So, kind of trying to tie in Gene Sarazen, Jack, and little J.T. there, and now he’s PGA champion for the last year, 17 years later. So, it’s pretty neat.â€�

Click here to read the full article…

Click here to read the full article…