WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play match previews Day 2

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – Tiger Woods already has one major in his pocket this PGA TOUR season. Will he make it two this week at The Open Championship? We’ll have hole-by-hole updates from Tiger’s first round at Royal Portrush, as he tees off at 10:10 a.m. ET Thursday with American Patrick Reed and Englishman Matthew Wallace. Check this file often as Tiger plays his first competitive round in Northern Ireland. RELATED: Leaderboard | Tee times | Woods sharpens game entering The Open ROUND 1: TIGER HOLE-BY-HOLE No. 1, par 4 (421 yards): No. 2, par 5 (574 yards): No. 3, par 3 (177 yards): No. 4, par 4 (482 yards): No. 5, par 4 (374 yards): No. 6, par 3 (194 yards): No. 7, par 5 (592 yards): No. 8, par 4 (434 yards): No. 9, par 4 (432 yards): No. 10, par 4 (447 yards): No. 11, par 4 (474 yards): No. 12, par 5 (532 yards): No. 13, par 3 (194 yards): No. 14, par 4 (473 yards): No. 15, par 4 (426 yards): No. 16, par 3 (236 yards): No. 17, par 4 (408 yards): No. 18, par 4 (474 yards):

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Editor’s note: Since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, Spain’s Jon Rahm has erred on the side of caution and time is proving him right. The 25-year-old star, now confined in his home in Arizona, is concerned about his family and friends in Spain and also the health situation in the United States and around the world. The three-time PGA TOUR winner, currently ranked No. 2 in the world and the “winnerâ€� of last week’s Mythical Match Play Championship conducted by PGATOUR.COM, shares his thoughts on the current situation and also reflects on life lessons he has learned from golf. Related: PGA TOUR Latinoamérica’s Lange talks coronavirus | How golf has handled global crises | Golf in these times This is not the time to be selfish. It’s very easy to think that you’re young and nothing is going to happen to you if you catch the virus. We have to think about society, everyone we have next to us. You may not have symptoms and yet still transmit the virus. And you don’t know how far it can go and who can get affected. From the bottom of my heart, millennials, please think twice about what you’re doing. I know younger people have less of a risk of being infected, but the people who are being affected the most are our elders. Please stay at home, observe social distancing and wash your hands regularly. It’s a very small price to pay. At this time, my thoughts are with my family in Spain, including my 85-year-old grandma. I’ve kept in touch with them regularly and despite the self-quarantine, they are all in great spirit. I also want to thank everybody in the health care system: nurses, doctors, anybody related and trying to help the people in need. It’s unbelievable what you guys are doing. And we cannot thank you enough. As someone who arrived in the world of professional golf at a young age, I had to learn very quickly from my mistakes. There have been moments that were not my best, low moments when I had to take several steps back and regroup. I’ve been learning from these experiences and I’ve been climbing to where I am now. There are ups and downs all the time. I started playing this game from a very young age with the aim of being No. 1 in the world and being among the best. There are times when you have no doubt and there are times when you think you are not going to get anywhere near it. It is what it is. You have to keep fighting and maintain your confidence. Gradually, you get used to the magnitude that everything we do can have a great positive or negative effect. It is for you to adapt and learn that you have a great platform to help people. And also know that there are many children who consider you their favorite player and that you can and should pass on good values to them. For starters, win or lose, we need to always do it with humility. You’re never going to see me end up angry after losing a tournament. The winner has played better than you and deserves it, so that’s the first thing. In golf, there is also a lot of integrity involved and ultimately, every time you do something wrong in golf, you apply penalties to yourself. You also learn that, as with anything in life, there is a long process in which you have to work hard. You have to follow that process to improve as a person and at whatever you want to do. It’s not a consistent ascent. There are good times, there are bad times, very bad times and very good times. With experience and work, the good ones become even better, and the bad ones less bad. Around a year ago, I had one of those less bad moments when I finished tied ninth in my third Masters Tournament. On two previous Sundays at Augusta National, I’ve been kind of close to the lead, but not that close. Hopefully, the next time I will play well for three days, so on Sunday, I will have more opportunities to win the tournament and serve a good T-bone steak at the champions dinner, as did Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal. There was also one of those even better moments around this time last year when I won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans along with my partner, Ryan Palmer. Ryan and I get along very well and there’s great chemistry. Our game is similar, we like to hit mostly fades and it was a week in which we both played very well. Now, a year later and under the current circumstances, which has seen tournaments including the Zurich Classic of New Orleans being canceled or postponed, the most important thing for us is to assume our individual responsibility and do everything possible to not spread the virus. And if we have to stay home, we stay home. My wife Kelley and I have been keeping busy at home over the past few weeks to stay fit and mentally fresh, exercising and doing puzzles. We look forward to seeing all of you again very soon when the PGA TOUR resumes play. In the meantime, take care, stay safe and stay home.

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Brett Stegmaier is no John Madden. He doesn’t fear flying so much that he keeps an Amtrak schedule handy. He doesn’t own a luxury RV – complete with sauna – for those long cross-country trips like the famous NFL coach turned sportscaster once did, either. But even so, Stegmaier admits that he gets nervous when he steps on a plane and squeezes his 6-foot-3 frame into one of those cramped middle seats. “I wouldn’t say I’m afraid, I’m just kind of uncomfortable,â€� Stegmaier says good-naturedly. “It’s not my favorite thing to do. But I don’t like freak out or anything.â€� Madden actually did, though. He stopped flying in 1979 when he suffered a panic attack after getting on a plane in Tampa. Madden steeled himself and made it through the flight but hasn’t flown since. In Madden’s biography on Wikipedia, there’s even a section on his aviophobia. Stegmaier has a similar entry in his on PGATOUR.COM – right after his favorite TV shows, movies, sports teams and websites. It says: Not many people know that he is afraid of flying. Stegmaier says his aviophobia might actually stem from a long-standing fear of heights. In fact, he remembers a family trip to Toronto where the CN Tower was on the sightseeing agenda. At the time, the needle-like CN Tower was the tallest in the world. “And I wouldn’t go up in it,â€� recalls Stegmaier, who was 10 years old at the time of that vacation. “It was probably the first time I ever (realized I was scared of heights). I think I was embarrassed about it. Now I just kind of laugh about it.â€� Stegmaier can drive over tall bridges but he doesn’t know how comfortable he’d be if he were walking across them. And don’t even mention those high-rise hotels. “If I’m on the tenth floor of a hotel and there’s a balcony, I’m super uncomfortable with going outside.,â€� Stegmaier says. “I’m thinking if I slip and fall — you think the stupidest things.â€� At the same time, though, Stegmaier doesn’t mind looking out into the wild blue yonder when he’s buckled up in a plane. In fact, he’ll take another flight if no window seats are available. “If I can look out the window, I’m way more comfortable than sitting in the aisle,â€� Stegmaier says. “It’s weird. I don’t know how to explain it.â€� And while lots of aviophobics fear take-offs and landings, it’s the cruising part that bothers him. Oh, and the turbulence, even though Stegmaier knows flying is the safest form of travel. “There’s not much really I can do,â€� he admits. “I stare out the window. That’s the only thing I do. Even if we are in the clouds, I stare out the window. “Then once we land after a rough flight, I just feel an intense amount of relief. I don’t say I’ll never fly again, I just don’t look forward to it.â€� When he can drive between tournaments in four hours or less, don’t be surprised if you find Stegmaier in a car. But his fear of flying didn’t deter the second-year PGA TOUR pro from flying to Malaysia last fall. And that flight was 16 hours. Of course, he was flying business and had a seat that converted into a flat bed. “If I’m stuck in the middle in the back, I would be super uncomfortable,â€� he says. “… I was totally fine on that flight. “The hour and a half flight from Atlanta to Palm Beach, I don’t look forward to those at all.â€� Interestingly, Madden’s wife Virginia had her pilot’s license. And Stegmaier’s sister works for an airline — and “loves everything about flying.â€� Her husband flies propeller planes. “Which I won’t get into,â€� Stegmaier says firmly. “I don’t do that. I don’t even like the (regional) jets. And I don’t fly privately.â€� Still, flying is a necessary evil – kind of like going to the dentist, Stegmaier says. After all, PGA TOUR sanctioned events are played in 21 different states and nine different countries this year. “This would be a tough job if you didn’t want to get on a plane,â€� Stegmaier says with a wry smile.

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