With one week until the Masters, checking in on the big storylines in PGA, LPGA, LIV

Alan Bratton liked the low numbers. Scores are usually the first data that coaches consult when seeking new recruits, but these were outliers that indicated Bratton was looking at special players. Rickie Fowler was 15 years old and still wearing braces when he shot 62 to win Southern California’s high school championship in 2004. He was the first freshman since Tiger Woods to win that title. RELATED: Fans at home will be able to contribute to TaylorMade Driving Relief’s COVID-19 relief efforts thanks to PGA TOUR Charities’ online and Text-To-Give donation platforms powered by GoFundMe Charity. Click here to donate. MORE: TaylorMade Driving Relief to benefit COVID-19 relief efforts | Live golf set to return | Seminole Golf Club ready for its close-up This was an earlier time, though, before the widespread adoption of smartphones and social media, so it was still possible for such a sensation to stay a secret. Fowler hadn’t competed much outside California, so Bratton, then the assistant golf coach at Oklahoma State, thought he was ahead of the curve when he watched Fowler at the Western Junior. He kept his distance to avoid tipping off other coaches. There was just one problem. Fowler won the tournament. With a final-round 64, including a birdie on 18, for a one-stroke win. The secret was out. A few years later, Bratton heard about another special player going low. The tip came from a recruit who casually mentioned about playing a tournament where the winner shot 61 and won by 13. Bratton, who had become Oklahoma State’s head coach in 2013, needed to know the name of the kid who dusted the field by more than a dozen strokes. It was Matthew Wolff. While their stints in Stillwater, Oklahoma, were separated by a decade, ties run deep between Cowboys. Fowler returns to his alma mater often, playing golf with each member of the team and giving the players his phone number. Wolff’s team had dinner at Fowler’s house when they were in town for a tournament. Fowler was on hand to congratulate Wolff when he won. So it made sense for Fowler and Wolff to be teammates when the TaylorMade Driving Relief match was in the works. They’ll need to tap into their penchant for shooting low scores if they want to succeed May 17 at Seminole Golf Club. Their opponents in this four-ball skins game – Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson — also have something in common. They’re the current and former World No. 1s. “I’ve seen some fan reaction saying how much of a favorite Rory and DJ are, so Matt and I are going in as underdogs,â€� Fowler says. “We’re ready to bring the upset.â€� Team chemistry could be an equalizer for the former Cowboys, though McIlroy revealed recently that he and Johnson had discussed teaming for this year’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Fowler and Wolff met when Fowler returned to campus for homecoming. “We clicked right off the bat,â€� Wolff says. For obvious reasons. Both developed unique swings while growing up on public golf courses in Southern California. For Fowler, it was on the Murrieta Valley Golf Range, which co-owners Bill Teasdall and Barry McDonnell ran out of a single-story portable building on land that used to be a horse stable. McDonnell became Fowler’s first teacher. Wolff spent his formative years taking lessons from George Gankas at Westlake Golf Course, a 5,000-yard layout with artificial-turf mats on its driving range. In junior golf, both players heard critics say they should change their unique swings. Neither heeded the advice. Bratton liked that each player developed his own swing and wasn’t afraid to stick to it, even in the face of criticism. He says he could recruit both players with his ears, not his eyes, because of the quality of the sound at impact. “I love to look for natural swings,â€� Bratton says. “It doesn’t mean it has to be different, but I certainly want a kid who understands how to make adjustments on their own. You see a lot of kids who are trying to do something that someone else told them to do. There’s incredible instruction out there, but sometimes kids don’t understand or try to do something that’s not natural to them.â€� Though Fowler can’t match Wolff’s swing speed, Bratton says there are similarities to their playing styles, as well. “Once they make up their mind, they wind up and go,â€� says their former coach. “They look like they’re having fun when they play.â€� For each fan donation that is made using a Mastercard, Mastercard has announced a donation match program through which they will match the first $250,000 of all fan donations made through the PGA TOUR Charities’ GoFundMe platform. Click here for more.

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Sure, it would have been great if this happened 15 years ago … or if they put up their own cash … or if it were free. Bob Harig’s counterargument? So what? It’s still Tiger vs. Phil.

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PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Albin Choi always dreamed of winning on the PGA TOUR. He just hoped it would be as a player. Choi got his first PGA TOUR win Sunday, but it was as a caddie for The Honda Classic champion Sungjae Im. Choi was a fortuitous fill-in on Im’s bag. It was Choi’s first week caddying for his friend, whom he met during Im’s lone season on the Korn Ferry Tour. Ki Taek Lee, a former college teammate of Jon Rahm’s, will be Im’s caddie for the next two weeks. Lee, who has caddied for K.J. Choi, was on Im’s bag at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship but missed last week to attend a wedding. Related: Monday Finish: Im breaks through | Im withstands pressure to win The Honda Classic Now Choi hopes the experience can help him continue his professional career as an injury to his left wrist heals. “Just seeing what it takes to be a PGA TOUR winner and being there inside the ropes, it was really good,â€� Choi said Sunday. “I haven’t felt that in a very long time.â€� Im won The Honda Classic by one stroke over Mackenzie Hughes. Im and Hughes both shot 66, matching Sunday’s lowest score, while playing in the fourth-to-last group. Choi was a groomsman in Hughes’ wedding. “That was really crazy,â€� Hughes said about the pairing. “I thought it was kind of a dream come true because my caddie is a good friend of mine, and I get to walk with Albin who I’ve known since junior golf days. It was a lot of fun. We had a few good laughs out there.” Choi, 27, is a former Canadian Amateur champion and was the 2013 Atlantic Coast Player of the Year while playing for North Carolina State (he won the award one year after someone named Brooks Koepka earned that honor). Choi turned pro in 2013 and won two years later on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada. He finished sixth on the Order of Merit that year. He’s played the past four seasons on the Korn Ferry Tour, collecting five top-10s in 110 career Korn Ferry Tour starts. Choi, who lives in Jupiter, Florida, lost his status after finishing 117th on the regular-season points list last year. He started caddying at nearby Old Palm Golf Club about four months ago while nursing a wrist injury. This was his first time caddying on the PGA TOUR. He had experience at PGA National, though. Choi got his Korn Ferry Tour card with a T14 finish in the 2015 Q-School at PGA National. “I know how hard it is to navigate your way through this golf course. … I just felt like the experience kind of helped me today,â€� Choi said. “From a player standpoint, I kind of knew what he was feeling at certain times, and I felt like I could kind of draw upon my experiences to help him out today and to keep his head in the right place.â€�

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