Why things don’t look good for Tiger and other big Open questions

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PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – Notes and observations from the final round of the Mayakoba Golf Classic at El Camaleon Golf Club. LEADING LIGHTS KUCHAR GETS IT DONE: Confidence is everything, Matt Kuchar said after winning the Mayakoba Golf Classic by one over Danny Lee (65). It’s the best kind of fuel, and there’s no telling what it might lead to. After a 4 ½ year win drought, including a sub-standard 2017-’18 season that saw him miss the TOUR Championship, Kuchar is excited to see where he can go from here. “I aspire to make Presidents Cup, I aspire to make the TOUR Championship, I aspire to win multiple times in the ’18-’19 season,� Kuchar said. “A major’s still on my list. Those are all goals for me and I think this will help leapfrog that. That confidence because of winning a tournament hopefully propels me to a great ’19.� There were some tense moments after Kuchar bogeyed the 14th and 15th holes, but he made three pars when he had to on the last three holes. His 22-under total broke the tournament record and also marked his career low on TOUR. (For more on Kuchar’s victory, click here.) NOTABLES BOGEYS PLAGUE FOWLER: Rickie Fowler made plenty of birdies at Mayakoba, where he was runner-up a year ago, but again was plagued by what he called “sloppy� play. He made seven birdies but three more bogeys in a final-round 67 that left him T16, eight shots back. FINAU ENJOYS WORKING VACATION: Tony Finau brought his family to Mayakoba and shot a final-round 69 to also finish T16, his best result here since he finished T7 in 2014. CHAMP FINISHES POORLY: Cameron Champ, who won the Sanderson Farms Championship two weeks ago, had a week of late mistakes. After making double bogey to end his third round, Champ made two doubles in his last five holes for a final-round 69 and T10 finish. PEREZ LOW PAST CHAMPION: Pat Perez, who won here two years ago, shot a final-round 67 to finish T6, five shots back of the winner. A new father, Perez has had a busy fall schedule and said he was looking forward to spending some time with his daughter, Piper. OBSERVATIONS LEE ENCOURAGED: Danny Lee couldn’t convert his birdie putt from 20 feet on 18, but shot a 6-under 65 that left him in solo second, one back. As for that putt on 18? He hit it right where he wanted it, he said, but misjudged the speed. The ball never took the break, and missed on the right side of the hole. “I really did hit it on my line where I was looking, but it was a right-edge putt all day,� said Lee, who picked up his best finish since he won the 2015 A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier. “I didn’t want to leave it short and I gave it a little extra, but sometimes it just happens, I guess.� It was Lee’s second runner-up finish on TOUR (T2/2015 TOUR Championship). PIERCY FLIRTS WITH 59: Scott Piercy (62, T6) tied for best round of the week and briefly had designs on breaking 60. He was 9-under through 15 holes, and finished with 12/14 fairways hit, 15/18 greens and 26 putts. “When I birdied 15 I got it to 9 (under par), I was like, I can shoot 59 if I put it in the fairway on 16,� Piercy said. He made three pars coming in to finish T6, his third straight top-10 of the season (T5/THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, T10/Shriners Hospitals for Children Open). “Just excited to end the year on a good note,� he said. “That was my goal for the day.� QUOTABLES They hadn’t seen me win in a long time.I found a little something on the range yesterday. SUPERLATIVES Low round: 62, Scott Piercy (T6) Toughest hole: The 428-yard second played to a 4.222 average. Easiest hole: The 554-yard, par-5 fifth played to a 4.472 average. CALL OF THE DAY SHOT OF THE DAY

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