Woods paired with Reed to start Ryder Cup

KAPALUA, HI – Despite being in idyllic Maui, it was getting tough for Viktor Hovland to sport his trademark smile. The Norwegian superstar arrived on the island for the Sentry Tournament of Champions on the Dec. 29, set for a week of preparation after a holiday break in his home country. Alas, his golf clubs failed to join him. Flying high after recent wins at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba and the Hero World Challenge during the last two months, Hovland had put away his clubs in Oslo’s winter conditions to reconnect with family and friends over Christmas. He was content the week in Maui would bring sufficient time to get his swing back into a groove. But in the end the world No. 7 had just 24 hours to prepare after his trusty Ping sticks failed to follow him on a travel adventure halfway around the world. Hovland flew from Oslo through Paris and on to Seattle where he was left waiting for his bag for half an hour. Then he was told it had inadvertently been sent off course. “My duffel bag and my mom’s duffel bag was there, but we waited 30 minutes for my golf bag and it didn’t show up,” Hovland said. “I asked someone and they said they sent it through Salt Lake City, apparently.” The delay meant a missed connection to Maui forcing him onto another airline which complicated the search and saw his clothes delayed. “It was a big headache,” Hovland added. “But we got the clothes the next day and then it seemed the golf bag was just somehow sitting in Seattle for five days straight. “They didn’t really know where it was, so I was concerned they lost it initially. And then after a couple of days, they said they physically had it. That got me more frustrated. If you can see the bag, it shouldn’t be that hard to put it on the flight.” That left the 24-year-old doing what most do in Maui. Vacationing. “I really didn’t do anything. I worked out, ate, went to the beach… just had a vacation essentially,” he said. “I really haven’t touched a club since the Bahamas so I was planning on getting here to practice the whole last week and get back into it. Obviously, the preparations haven’t been ideal this time around.” Hovland resorted to using the clubs of his caddie Shay Knight for a little bit of practice. “He has Ping clubs, so that was good. But obviously different specs and different clubs so it wasn’t ideal but at least when you haven’t hit balls, the main thing is to just kind of get a feel for it.” Hovland’s drama wasn’t over. Replacement irons overnighted by Ping from Arizona got delayed in Honolulu and didn’t beat his regular bag which finally arrived late Tuesday night. The bag was roughed up and his back up driver had been snapped. At least he hadn’t planned to use it. In fact, he is still using a driver that belonged to James Hahn – one he was able to borrow in Mayakoba when Danny Lee accidently broke Hovland’s own driver on the range while testing out a speed drill. He would go on to win that week and subsequently still has it. With expectations now lowered for this week, would Hovland struggle to smile like has become his custom or would this equipment fiasco once again prove a good omen? “I was pretty frustrated there a couple of times,” he admitted. “But it’s not ideal that I have to spend these next couple of days to try to get back into things and find my swing. “It’s a little different case because I was playing pretty good and then testing James’ driver, it was really good. I’m still playing that driver … It’s a little different this week, but I’m getting better every day.”

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Could another Tiger Woods comeback be on the horizon? Justin Thomas said it’s possible as Woods continues to progress in his recovery from his February car accident. “I know that he’s going to try,” Thomas said on the “No Laying Up” podcast. Woods told Golf Digest earlier this year that his physical rehabilitation from the accident has been “more painful than anything I’ve ever experienced.” According to Thomas, Woods has been able to maintain his trademark sarcasm and sense of humor during the tedious process, though. “It’s groundhog day. Every day is exactly the same for him,” Thomas said. “He’s able to be a dad again, which is most important. He’s still his sarcastic a-hole self, so nothing’s really changed there. So I’m glad to see he’s as chipper as always.” A recent photo of Woods at one of his son’s golf tournaments showed him standing without crutches. Woods, who won his 15th major at the 2019 Masters and a record-tying 82nd PGA TOUR victory later that year at the ZOZO Championship, was recovering from a back procedure when he was involved in a serious car accident in February in Southern California. Thomas did say that Woods won’t compete again, however, if his game can’t meet his standards. “I don’t see him ever playing if he can’t play well,” Thomas said. “He doesn’t strike me as a guy that’s going to play at home shooting a bunch of 75s and 76s and he’s like, ‘All right, I’m gonna go give Augusta a try this year.’ That’s just not gonna be him. “But at the same time, I know how determined he is. I know he’s gonna want to at least try to give something again. Obviously, I hope he does. But at the same time, as long as he can be a normal dad again, that’s the No. 1 priority again and the rest is a bonus.” Woods is scheduled to host his Hero World Challenge on Dec. 2-5 in the Bahamas.

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Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf is getting a chilly reception in Oregon, its first stop in the United States, and there are concerns that the event could bring protests to North Plains, a town of just 3,400 people.

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