With baby on the way, Casey ‘torn’ on playing finale

Cameron Smith won his fifth PGA TOUR title with a one-shot victory at THE PLAYERS Championship. Check out the clubs he used to get it done. RELATED: Final leaderboard Driver: Titleist TSi3 (10 degrees, A1 SureFit) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 6 X 3-wood: Titleist TSi2 (15 degrees @16, D4 SureFit) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 8 X 7-wood: Titleist TS2 (18 degrees @19, D4 SureFit) Shaft: UST Elements Red 8F5 (X) Irons: Mizuno Pro Fli-Hi (3), Titleist T100 Black (5-9) Shaft: KBS Tour 130 X Custom Matte Black Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (46-10F, 52-08F, 56-08M, 60-10S) Shafts: KBS Tour 130 X Putter: Scotty Cameron 009M Prototype Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Super Tack

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NASSAU, Bahamas – Tiger Woods wore black slacks and a red, camo-style shirt at the Hero World Challenge at Albany Golf Club as the sun beat down early Sunday afternoon. RELATED: Insider: Woods’ big paradigm shift Only this time Woods wasn’t competing, leaving others to fight for the Hero trophy. Instead, as he had all week, he was practicing on the back of the range, watched only by a couple from Ohio and a family of four from Florida, their kids wondering aloud if they could get an autograph. “He’s so tall!” one of the kids said. Anyone feeling pangs for the largely absent Woods over the last year had to have felt encouraged by the Hero, where sightings of the tournament’s non-playing host were like a game of Where’s Waldo. Woods had been out of sight since being badly injured in a single-vehicle accident in Los Angeles in February, doing the hard work of convalescence and rehabilitation in private. The Hero, though, provided a stage for his public reemergence. There he was early in the week hitting 3-woods, a scene captured by a lone PGA TOUR videographer. Wait. Now Woods was on the back patio of the clubhouse jokingly telling Mike Thomas, Justin’s dad, to come watch him do driver testing. Then he was hitting drivers. Woods sat for his first press conference since he nearly lost his leg in a single-vehicle accident in Los Angeles in February. He did a jokey interview with Golf TV. He made an extended visit to the NBC/Golf Channel booth to chat with Steve Sands and David Feherty. Hanging over everything was the question of when the 82-time PGA TOUR winner will tee it up again in competition, and how much he might resemble his old self. In his press conference, Woods said his right leg was so badly injured that “amputation was on the table.” His days playing a full schedule are over, he added. Could he foresee playing in the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews next July? Woods said he wants to do so, having won the Open there twice, but couldn’t make any promises. “To see some of my shots fall out of the sky a lot shorter than they used to is a little eye-opening, but at least I’m able to do it again,” he said, allowing that he has no timetable for when he might be capable of playing PGA TOUR-quality golf again, if only sporadically. It was a sobering assessment. On the other hand, he teased with his words and deeds a much earlier appearance, at the father-son PNC Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Grande Lakes, Dec. 16-19. “I can play hit-and-giggle golf,” he said. That perfectly describes the PNC, which features major winners and their sons or fathers. It’s where Woods’ son, Charlie, wowed as the youngest-ever participant at age 11 last year. Woods could take a cart and, as he did last year, not bother to hit drives on the holes where Charlie has split the fairway. Whether or not he plays later this month, he seems content. He thanked the doctors and nurses for helping him get his life back. He talked about his foundation as it rolls into its 25th year, highlighting some of the inspiring kids who have been through his STEM-heavy learning academy. He praised Bryson DeChambeau and his doings in the world of long drive, which has surpassed what Woods and John Daly, the longest hitters of their era, could have accomplished in that world. He praised Collin Morikawa, who at 24 has become a Tiger-like force on TOUR. As for when Woods impress like that again, the 15-time major winner will turn 46 later this month and has alluded to his 2019 Masters title as perhaps being the exclamation point on his career. Then again, who knows? He asked his family for their blessing on his next comeback, should his right leg continue to improve and allow for it, and they’ve given the green light. “I’ve come off long layoffs and I’ve won or come close to winning before,” Woods said. He’s not the same player, his leg may never be the same, but it’s Woods. Never say never.

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ERIN, Wis. – FedExCup leader and defending U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson was asked if his prodigious length and status as World No. 1 would intimidate his rivals this week at Erin Hills. “I hope so. Shouldn’t it?â€� he said with a smile. It probably should. But privately some of his rivals are feeling better about their chances against the man who has won six times in the last 12 months on the PGA TOUR including his breakthrough at Oakmont, three World Golf Championship events and a FedExCup Playoff event. Why? Because Johnson arrived late to Erin Hills this week due to the birth of his second son, a healthy baby boy and brother to Tatum named River Jones Johnson. Perhaps his mind might be elsewhere? “It helps that Paulina and my son, they’re at home now,â€� Johnson said. “She’s a lot more comfortable and everybody is healthy. Obviously I don’t have to worry about them. Obviously that’s a big relief, not having to worry about them. “But now I’ve got to play golf. This is why I’m here. I’m here to play golf. I’m here to compete. So that’s what my job is this week.â€� Johnson went one further saying being a dad was a help to his game and has made him a better player. “It’s been great. It just gives you a whole new perspective on things, where before kind of golf was the most important and now my family is the most important,â€� he said. “At the end of the day whether I’m having a good day or bad day, when I either see my family or talk to them, whatever, if I was upset or even if I was happy with the way I played, none of that matters. Just I’m always happy and excited to be with them.â€� Maybe the confidence of others comes because Johnson just missed the cut at the Memorial Tournament, his last start. He shot 78-74. “It actually worked out pretty well that I missed the cut the Memorial, even though I didn’t want to,â€� Johnson said. “I came up here and got to practice for two days. So it definitely helped with my preparation coming in because I knew I wasn’t going to get here until Tuesday afternoon. “Even though I came in late I didn’t feel like I was behind the eight ball at all because I got to prepare ten days ago or so.â€� Perhaps some feel a new venue with lots of blind spots off the tees may pose a problem. Some still suggest his pairing with brother and caddie Austin could be a detriment in these situations. “My brother was here with me, but I did have one of the local guys,â€� Johnson said of his decision to get help from a local caddie on his earlier reconnaissance mission. “Obviously, it was kind of good for the first time around to have one just to – on a few holes, you need to know where to hit it. And if you haven’t played here before it definitely helps if someone knows the course. It was definitely helpful in trying to figure out some lines off the tees.â€� And now what about the factors playing into Johnson’s favor. Like the storms and rain that has softened up the lengthy Erin Hills allowing him to bomb away. It will certainly help him as he looks to be the first to defend the U.S. Open since Curtis Strange in 1988 and 1989. “I think it sets up very well for me,â€� he said modestly while revealing the longest iron he needs to hit into greens has a 5 on it. “I hit a lot of drivers. If they play it all the way back, I’ll hit a lot of drivers. And it depends on the wind, too. There’s only a couple of holes where I might not hit a driver. But for the most part I can hit a driver on just about every hole. “I’m excited to come back and defend this week. The game feels like it’s in really good shape. I’ve been working really hard at it the last couple of days. I feel like I’m prepared, I feel like I’m ready.â€� To those not intimidated… perhaps you should rethink. 

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