Tiger’s thoughts about winning this British: ‘Who knows?’

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland—Who knows? That was the question asked by Tiger Woods. Of himself.

  Who knows if Tiger, well past his 43^rd birthday, is able to win this 147^th British Open? Is able to win any golf tournament, major or not?.

  Who knows if the weather, warm, inviting for all Great Britain, indeed for most of Western Europe, will hold for another week or instead with wind and rain turn the Open into the challenge it was meant to be.

  For a while, at St. Andrews, then at Hoylake, Tiger Woods owned the Open, shooting record scores. But that was then, before the emergence of Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy. Before the back surgeries, which made Woods a spectator instead of an entrant.

   Now, at Carnoustie, “Car-nasty,”  north of St. Andrews, across the Firth of Tay, in Angus, Woods returns to the Open after an absence of two years, a man of experience and doubt, not a favorite but still the focus,

   To ESPN, he’s the only man on the course, any course, any event. To both the purist and the casual fan he’s the eternal unanswered query: “Is Tiger Woods going to win another major?”

   The sarcastic response would be, not with Brooks Koepka or Patrick Reed, Dustin Johnson or Justin Thomas in the field. But golf is different than any sport except bowling. There’s no defense. The only effect you have on an opponent is psychological.

   Tiger was on the media room stage Tuesday, facing the skeptics, who as every tournament he plays-- the Open, which starts Thursday is his 12^th of 2018—wonder how much trust should be placed on Woods’ chances. How’s his swing? More importantly, how’s his confidence?

“Each tournament I keep coming back to,” Woods said, perhaps as much to persuade himself as anyone, “I keep feeling a little bit better because I’m starting to play golf again. My feels are much better than they were at the beginning of the year.

 “I have a better understanding of my game and my body and my swing, much more so than I did at Augusta.”

That’s the Masters, in April, where he tied for 32^nd.  Two months later, the U.S. Open, at Shinnecock Hills, a more punishing course than Augusta National, Woods missed the cut, but so did Spieth, McIlroy and Sergio Garcia.

    A couple after  that, the Quicken Loans event, Tiger tied for fourth.

  He’s changed putters for the British. He’s modified his swing, if only slightly. Everything, he insisted, is a little better. It should be by the middle of July, after weeks on different courses in different locations.

  “I’ve put myself up there in contention a couple of times,” said Woods. “I just need to play some cleaner golf and who knows?”

   The Open is links golf, always played on the hard, fast fairways of linksland, along the coasts of Britain  that thousands of years ago were under the Atlantic Ocean or North Sea.

  It is golf played along the ground, with balls rolling forever, golf that demands creativity, golf Tiger said he relishes, hitting a low-running iron 250 t0 300 yards, golf that enables an older player such as Tom Watson in 2009 at Turnberry when he was 59 and lost in a playoff, to keep up with the young guns.

“I’ve always loved playing links golf,” said Woods. “Feel has a lot to do with winning the Open. I think the guys traditionally over the years who have done well have been wonderful feel players and because it can be difficult to get the ball close, wonderful lag putters.”

   Guys like Watson, who won five Opens; guys like Gary Player, who won three, including here at Carnoustie in 1968; and guys like Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Seve Ballesteros won two apiece.

  “There definitely were points in time,” said Woods referring to his post-surgical recovery, “I thought I’d never play in this championship again. Watching it on TV is great, but it’s better in person. I remember how it feels to come down to the last hole with a chance to win. “

  Will he ever have that feeling again? As he said, who knows?

U.S. Open third round: Chaos among the sand traps

By Art Spander

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — Chaos among the sand traps. Phil Mickelson playing by his own rules, or his interpretation of the rules. Dustin Johnson playing by the skin of his teeth.

The wind blew, the bogies grew and the 118^th U.S Open turned into a golf tournament of as many opinions as strokes.

Johnson had his seemingly solid lead get away before recapturing part of it Saturday in an agonizing third round at Shinnecock Hills, which definitively didn’t let its reputation as a brutal, testing course get away.

The last time the Open was here, at the eastern end of Long Island, caught between the devil and the deep, blue sea, was in 2004, and Shinnecock was so unfair that the sponsoring body, the U.S. Golf Association, decided to water the greens in the middle of the fourth round.

This time, looking for redemption as well as a tough championship, the USGA said it had learned from past mistakes and would keep Shinnecock playable. But as approach shots rolled for miles after hitting greens and golfers lost strokes along with their confidence, that promise appeared not to have been kept.

The USGA apologized for course condtions, as if that would ease the pain of those with bad scores. "Thanks guys did Bozo set the course," tweeted Ian Poulter, who shot 76.

 David Fay, a former executive director of the USGA, went on Fox TV and said the course was “close to the edge,” but Zach Johnson, a former Masters and British Open champion, who shot a 2-over-par 72, insisted, “It’s not on the edge, it’s surpassed it. It’s gone.”

That was the word that we believed would apply to Dustin Johnson, who began the day with a four-shot advantage. But it was the advantage that was gone, in a virtual flash. Dustin made double bogey on two and bogies on four, six, seven and eight, and with a 6-over 41 on the front nine he fell behind last year’s winner at Erin Hills, Brooks Koepka, and Henrik Stenson.

When the round finally was done, however, Dustin Johnson, even shooting a 7-over 41-36-77, was in a four-way tie for first at a not-surprisingly high total (for the Open) of 3-over for 54 holes, 213.

Sharing with him were Koepka (72) and two golfers who, because they were so far back after two rounds, had morning tee times, and they beat the wind — and everybody else on the course — with 4-under 66s, Paul Berger and Tony Finau.

Another shot back at 4-over 214 was 2013 winner Justin Rose, who virtually one-putted everything in sight (at least on the front) for a 73. Stenson was at 5-over 215.

Mickelson, on his 48^th birthday and as frustrated as anybody — while others kept their emotions in check — had an 11-over 81 that included a two-shot penalty for hitting a moving ball when it rolled off the green at 13.

Fay, the former chief, said on TV that Mickelson should have been disqualified, but the question is whether the golfer is trying to keep the ball from rolling away or just hitting it when it is rolling.

“Phil didn’t purposely deflect or stop the ball,” said John Bodenhamer, managing director of championships for the USGA, alluding to a rule.

What Phil did, however, was a poor reflection of a man who has won every major except the U.S. Open, as if he could do what he wants.

“It was going to go down in the same spot behind the bunker,” said Mickelson, referring to where he earlier had played from. “I wasn’t going to have a shot.” So he had 10 shots. “I know it’s a two-shot penalty.”

Yes, the Open drives men mad.

Rickie Fowler shot 84 Saturday. His total of 226 was one lower than Mickelson’s 227. That two golfers far out of contention became newsworthy is part of the Open’s mystique and confusion. A few rounds at a course where par is almost impossible has golfers talking — and the media listening.

“I didn’t feel like I played badly at all,” said Dustin Johnson. “Seven over, you know, usually is a terrible score, but I mean with the way the greens got this afternoon ... they were very difficult.

“A couple of putts today I could have putted off the green. But it’s the U.S. Open. It’s supposed to be tough.”

Shinnecock was. Very, very tough.

The Open: Tiger won’t win; Dustin probably will

By Art Spander

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — Halfway through a U.S. Open low in excitement and high in scoring, two assumptions are possible: Tiger Woods definitely will not win and Dustin Johnson probably will.

Neither could be considered a surprise.

Woods unquestionably was once the best golfer in the world. That was then, before aging and injuries. This is now, when Johnson could be considered the best golfer in the world. If nothing else, he’s No. 1 in the world rankings.

And after 36 holes at Shinnecock Hills Country Club, way out on Long Island, he’s in first place of this 118th Open by four strokes, at 4-under 69-67-136, the only player under par.

Woods was tied for 86^th place, meaning nowhere, because only the low 60s and ties made the cut to play in the final two rounds. Tiger wasn’t bad in Friday’s second round (stop asking, “compared to whom?”). He shot a 2-over 72. If only he hadn’t shot 78 on Thursday.

That’s when, asked about his mindset after a round that included a triple bogey and two doubles, Woods advised, “Shoot something in the 60s (Friday) and I’ll be just fine.”

He didn’t and he wasn’t. That’s what happens in sports. You can plan, you can practice, but in the end you have to produce. 

Tiger produced for years. Now the production is from Johnson, trying for his second Open championship in three years. “Dustin,” said Woods, grouped with Johnson, “was in complete control of what he’s doing.”

Such a glorious feeling in golf. In life. For everything to go the way we want it, if only for a brief while. Yet bliss can end in the blink of an eye.

In football, the line is you’re always one play away from an injury. In golf, you’re one swing away from disaster — or from success.

Johnson is well aware. He led another U.S. Open, in 2010 at Pebble Beach, and in the final round, his drive on two landed in a bunker. The next thing he and we knew, Dustin went triple bogey, double bogey, bogey on two, three and four, respectively, losing six shots like that and blowing himself out of the tournament.

What Ian Poulter did on Friday at Shinnecock wasn’t quite as severe, but it was no less unfortunate. One shot behind at eight, his 17th hole of the round, Poulter went into a bunker on his approach, bladed the sand shot and took a triple bogey. Then he bogeyed nine.

“It looks really stupid,” Poulter said of his mis-hitting. “I felt stupid knifing the first one. I felt even more stupid chunking the next one. And I didn’t do much better on the next one either.”

A humbling game, golf. Such a harsh description. Such an honest description. Tiger Woods? Five amateurs had lower scores for two rounds in this Open than Tiger. One of them, Matt Parziale, is a fireman in Brockton, Mass. He made the cut.

What a strange Open his has been, with the stars making bogies and double bogies — but Phil Mickelson at least made the cut; Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy did not — the weather turning from light morning wind and rain to late afternoon stillness and sunshine.

Johnson went off the 10th tee at 8:02 a.m. EDT with Woods and Justin Thomas. Conditions were less than ideal. Yet when you’re playing well, the weather is secondary. You just hit and march on.

“Starting out,” said Johnson, “through our first seven or eight holes it was breezy and overcast. So it felt like the course was playing really difficult. But I got off to a nice start. I kind of hung in there and made some good saves for pars.”

Woods, 42, had years of success. He believes he’ll find it once more, which is understandable, if not quite realistic. His putting, once magnificent, now is best described as mediocre. And there’s no record of a golfer who became a better putter as he got older.

“You don’t win major championships,” said Woods, who has won 14, “by kind of slapping all over the place and missing putts. You have to be on.”

Which is why, while others play the last two rounds, he’s off.

Tiger, Phil, Rory, Jordan battered at the Open; welcome to the past

By Art Spander

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — Welcome to the past. Welcome to the days when the U.S. Open was full of double bogies and angry faces, when the greens were as slick as a con man running a street corner crap game and players almost could lose a ball while inexorably they were losing strokes.

Sure, some people didn’t fall victim. Four golfers were even under par in Thursday’s first round at historic Shinnecock Hills, which is so far out on Long Island it seems nearer to London than Manhattan.

But they were only at 1-under, so the four, with scores of 69, Scott Piercy, Ian Poulter, Russell Henley and Dustin Johnson, shared the lead.

But that was just four golfers out of 156. On opening day, when usually at least a dozen — occasionally a dozen and a half — break par. And other than Johnson, Open winner in 2016 at Oakmont, none of the four would be labeled a marquee attraction — like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy.

Those guys could be found stomping around in the rough that makes America’s golfing championship the test it can be. They also could be found way, way down the scoreboard, although not as far down as Scott Gregory, a 23-year-old Englishman who having won the British Amateur two years ago upped and turned pro. Oops.

Gregory, with 10 bogies, three double-bogies, two triple-bogies and only three pars, shot a 22-over 92, the highest score in a U.S. Open in 16 years and sighed, “I didn’t get it off the tee.”

He meant onto the fairway. On a day when the wind blew in off the neighboring Atlantic, some of the more accomplished and better known golfers had the same problem.

In the morning, three of the game’s more famous competitors, Mickelson, McIlroy and Jordan Spieth, were grouped — and were battered, Mickelson shooting a 7-over 77 and coming in lowest among the threesome.

Spieth had his worst Open round ever, a 78, and McIlroy, with seven bogies, three double bogies and three birdies, shot 80.

Tiger, with an afternoon tee time, began with a triple-bogey 7, botched a comeback with consecutive double-bogies at 13 and 14 and shot an 8-over 78.

At least Woods talked after his misfortunes. So give him points for that even if his game was less than impressive.

“It was tough out there, but you shouldn’t make two doubles in a row,” said Woods. “It was frustrating because I hit the ball well. A four-putt. For most of the day, I didn’t putt well.”

Mickelson, who needs an Open for a career grand slam, and McIlroy, who lacks the Masters for his slam, signed their cards and silently slipped away — if silently is an accurate description when fans are hollering for autographs.

Spieth, who has won the Masters, U.S. and British Opens — clever grouping, huh, three guys one short of history — did speak post-round, if for someone who normally explains everything and anything, with uncharacteristic brevity.

“Very difficult,” said Spieth. “Got it off to a good start. It was hard after that. You just have to stay patient and understand that you are going to shoot four-over par once you are four-under through two holes.

“I tried to do too much on the second hole, and it kind of bit me. From there it was kind of a grind. There were certainly some dicey pins, but at the same time there were guys under par. So I could have played better.”

That’s a comment that used to be heard at Opens, where even-par or higher was the eventual winning score. In 1974, seven-over par was good enough on another New York course maybe 100 miles from Shinnecock. That led to a championship for Hale Irwin and a book about the struggle, Massacre at Winged Foot, by the late Dick Schaap.

Things were less severe after that. In fact, for a while the Open didn’t quite look like the Open.

But it did on Thursday, with tough conditions and high scores.

And you were reminded of a comment by Tony Lema, the Oakland kid who became a winner. “The Masters,” said Lema, comparing, “is fun. The U.S. Open is work.”

As it should be.

Only one Tiger Woods

By Art Spander

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — It’s always been this way, hasn’t it, a world of stardom — in sports, the theater, even academics. Pavarotti was bigger than any opera in which he appeared.

In golf, it was Tiger Woods. In golf, it still is Tiger Woods.

He earned the recognition, certainly, as did Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. And yet, one could argue, the sport these days belongs to Jordan Spieth or Rory McIlroy.

What’s Tiger done lately, other than being Tiger?

You mean that isn’t enough? Then you don’t understand television. Or newspapers. Or tournament golf. Or celebrity.

Is it fair that ESPN spends so much time on Tiger when, say, he’s in 14^th place going into the final round?

Short answer: No. Next question.

So far, heading into this 118^th U.S. Open, which starts Thursday at Shinnecock Hills, the stories that haven’t been about Phil Mickelson, runner-up six times but no wins, or about Jordan Spieth, in a putting slump, have been about Woods.

About his return to the Open after missing the last three with his back problems; about the fact it’s been a decade since his last Open (and major) victory, 2008 at Torrey Pines; about his wonderful iron play and erratic putting.

In the NBA, it’s LeBron James, even though Steph Curry and Kevin Durant win titles. In the NFL, it’s Tom Brady, who does win titles. And in tennis it’s Serena Williams, who wins everything and even consents to having a documentary, “Being Serena,” made of her life and game.

Tiger is 42 and hasn’t won a PGA-sanctioned event for five years. And that makes him even more interesting. Can he still do it? Probably; you don’t lose greatness — and if so, when?

This is the last year of Woods’ U.S. Open exemption, an item that’s irrelevant. Somehow, knowing sponsors want a bang for their bucks, meaning good TV ratings, Tiger will be in the field for 2019 — at Pebble Beach, where Woods won in 2000.

For the first years of his career, after he left Stanford, turned pro and turned the game upside down and inside out, winning four majors in succession, breaking records, it was about Tiger’s golf. Then, beginning with the disclosures of infidelity, it became about Tiger’s life, the kids, the back surgeries, the recovery periods, the arrest for a DUI when he was on pain killers.

For nearly a quarter century he’s been on the course and in the headlines, captivating the purists, fascinating the curious, someone whose blend of ethnic background in an almost entirely Caucasian sport and virtually unmatched record of achievement made him unique.

And the manner in which he gained his last major, on a painfully injured knee that had him grimacing as he walked toward that ’08 Open, needing 91 holes to edge Rocco Mediate, was heroic stuff.

There’s been no one like Tiger, and while it’s dangerous to make such a prediction, surely there will never be anyone like Tiger.

So what he accomplishes from now on or fails to accomplish cannot be minimized. He’s not the best golfer these days; he remains the best story any day.

Change is inevitable in sports. Athletes grow older and decline, and while there always will be replacements, people who can hit as far, run as fast, the dynamic may be different.

Not too long ago, when Tiger was struggling, the thought — guilty, your honor — was that Rory McIlroy would be the new Tiger. Didn’t they make commercials together? Didn’t Rory win a few majors?

McIlroy is a fine golfer. So is Spieth. So are Patrick Reed, Jason Day and the others who are champions. What we have come to realize is they are not Tiger Woods. They don’t, as the cliché goes, move the needle.

The guess is that more people are wondering what Woods will do in this U.S. Open than anyone else in the field, wondering if he can find the touch with the putter that helped him to 14 major victories, four behind Nicklaus. 

“In a major,” said Woods about the Open, “the mistakes are magnified, as they should be. I’m looking forward to having the opportunity and having the challenge. Whether there’s any extra pressure, I think that’s just natural there would be.

“I mean, it’s a major championship. There’s only four of these a year.”

And in golf, only one Tiger Woods.

Serena, Venus and Tiger — sport can’t go wrong

By Art Spander

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Murphy’s Law? The contrived one that says anything that can go wrong will go wrong? It’s been drop-kicked out of site. Or rolled into the cup for a birdie. Or maybe served into the back court for an ace. If you’re running a sporting event this weekend, everything is going right.

College basketball needs no help, certainly. March Madness has arrived with the conference championships and then Selection Sunday. But it’s the individual sports that get buried this time of year. Unless...

Unless out of nowhere Serena Williams, in her comeback, has to play sister Venus in a third-round match of the BNP Paribas tournament. Unless Tiger Woods, in his comeback, enters the final round of the Valspar Championship a shot out of the lead.

This is a TV producer’s dream. Who doesn’t care? Who won’t watch? It’s as if we stepped back into time, when all you knew about golf was Tiger or about tennis the Williams sisters. A distant replay brought into 2018.

Never mind the purists. The late team owner and promoter Bill Veeck said if he had to depend on baseball fans for his financial support he’d be out of business by Mother’s Day. It’s the fringe crowd that makes our games what they are, who drive up the Nielsen ratings.

Can Venus, who will be 38 in June, knock off younger sister Serena, who’s returned to the game after what amounted to a 14-month maternity leave? Can Tiger, who missed the better part of two years with back troubles, earn a PGA Tour victory for the first time in four and a half years?

One event, the golf, is at Palm Harbor, Florida; the other, the tennis, is next door to Palm Desert, California, where the action Saturday night was delayed when rain moved in from Los Angeles, 125 miles away.

Venus, who hasn’t won this year — she was eliminated in the first round of the Australian Open — was first on Stadium Court One, defeating Sorana Cirstea of Romania, 6-3, 6-4, and was very unemotional about the victory, especially when someone pointed out that she could meet Serena — which she will after Serena’s 7-6 (5), 7-5 victory over Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands.

Yes, the irony of a Williams-Williams match at Indian Wells was unavoidable. In 2001, when they were supposed to play each other in a semifinal here, Venus withdrew four minutes before the match was to begin. The next day, when Serena faced Kim Clijsters in the final, the crowd booed her. Father Richard Williams said the booing was racist. Neither Williams returned to Indian Wells until Serena ended the boycott in 2015.

“I literally didn't even think about it,” said Serena, who is 36, and of course, as the world knows, mother of a seven-month-old daughter. “That's, you know, totally gone out of my mind. First of all, 17 years ago seems like forever ago. Yikes.

“I wish it were a little bit later (in the tournament) but just happy to still be in the tournament at this point. I would prefer to play someone else, anybody else, literally anybody else, but it has to happen now. So it is what it is.”

Which happens to be a popular phrase of Tiger Woods.

Venus always has been the more structured, more protective of the Williams sisters. And, just like Tiger, her interviews are not particularly newsworthy. Asked her mindset if indeed she was to play Serena, Venus said, “She’s playing really well and just honing her game.”

Even though at the time Serena had played only one match, two days earlier, since winning the Australian Open in January 2017 — her 23rd Grand Slam victory.

“Obviously I have to play better than her,” said Venus, “and see how the match goes.” The way the other 28 official matches between them have gone is 17 wins for Serena, 11 for Venus. From the 2002 French through 2003 Australian, they met in four straight Grand Slam finals, Serena winning all four.

The way the Williamses dominated women’s tennis was the way Tiger Woods, 79 victories, 14 majors, dominated men’s golf. They were the ones who kept us paying attention. On the weekend the clocks move forward — but golf and tennis, in a sense, have gone backward.

For Bubba, life and golf great on the Riviera

By Art Spander

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — He kept dropping weight instead of putts. “I just wanted to get healthy,” said Bubba Watson. He also wanted to get his confidence back, play golf with the strength, the imagination and the verve that made him one of the sport’s best, made him a two-time Masters champion.

There was no full disclosure from Watson on Sunday when he won for the first time in two years, at Riviera Country Club, naturally, for a third time. But there were tears of joy.

Ben Hogan, the Hawk, and Lloyd Mangrum, the closer, won three times at historical Rivera. Now, Bubba becomes part of a memorable trio.

And whatever Watson’s ailment — “No worse than a paper cut,” he fibbed — it has been conquered.

So have his doubts. And in the process, so was an excellent field in the tournament now called the Genesis Open.

It was a predictably unpredictable final round at the Riv, with the wind coming off the Pacific less than a mile away, three different players in the lead at one time or another and, in the end, Watson, with a shot around tree branches at seven and then a shot out of a bunker and into the cup at 14, winning by two shots.

Bubba had a tough front nine, one over with three bogies, but was three-under on the back for a two-under 69 and a 72-hole score of 12-under 272. That was two strokes lower than Kevin Na and Tony Finau, who also had 69s. Patrick Cantlay, briefly in first as was Na, finished tied for fourth at 275.

Phil Mickelson, a multiple winner here over the years, had a three-under 68 for 276 and a tie for sixth. For someone four months from his 47th birthday, Mickelson has had an impressive three tournaments, tied for fifth at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, tied for second at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and now tied for sixth in the Genesis, the old Los Angeles Open.

Mickelson, the righthander who plays lefty, also had an explanation why Watson, the lefthander who plays lefty, has done so well at Riviera, with victories in 2014, 2016 and now 2018: Bubba is able to work the ball one way or the other.

“Yeah,” said Watson, “around here it’s all about visualization. It’s all about seeing your shots, using your imagination.”

Yet, to hear him talk about when he was down to 160 pounds (he usually is around 200), Watson, 39, never imagined he would win again.

“I had some issues, some medical issues,” he confided. “But it was nothing, nothing.”

It was more than nothing, or Watson would not have thought about quitting the Tour — something his wife, Angie, knew he wouldn’t do. Or she wouldn’t let him do. 

“My wife basically told me to quit whining and play golf,” he said. “I would rather be healthy than play golf, so that’s what I was focusing on. I was focusing on the wrong things. Pitiful me, not how beautiful my life was.

“I got down in weight. My ball speed, my swing, everything had changed, right? And now we’re back to healthy. We’re back to putting on some weight and working out and doing the right things. That’s what’s changing it. I got better. I started eating better, got away from stress.”

His weeks in Los Angeles and Hollywood during the tournament, no matter what the name (Nissan, Northern Trust, Genesis) have been anything but stressful. Four years ago, in 2014, he finished 64-64. Then two years later he won while filming a segment of “Girl Meets World.” This time, on Friday, he played in the NBA Celebrity game, getting a jumper blocked by Tracy McGrady.

After his tenth Tour win, Watson was both elated and defensive.

“I’m not talking about the illness no more,” he said. “I’m here, I’m healthy. There are people a lot sicker in this world.”

However, there aren’t many happier.

“Nobody thought that Bubba Watson from Bagdad, Florida, would ever get to 10 wins. Let’s be honest,” Watson said. “Without lessons, head case, hooking the ball, slicing the ball, can’t putt, you know?”

What we don’t know was exactly what ailed Bubba Watson. Not that it matters one way or another after the way he won, once again, at Riviera.

Bubba‘s World: NBA celebrity games, great golf at Riviera

By Art Spander

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — One day he’s getting a jump shot slammed back into his face. The next day he’s slamming putts into the cup for birdies, even an eagle. This is the world of Bubba Watson, philosopher, celebrity and, most of all, golfer.

So a few hours after, wham, Bubba found out how good the NBA players are, not that he wasn’t aware — Tracy McGrady stuffed Watson’s attempt Friday night in the Celeb All-Star game at Staples Center — we found out how good Watson was in his chosen profession. Not that we weren’t aware.

Bubba has won the Masters, not once but twice. Bubba has won what we knew as the Los Angeles Open but is now the Genesis Open, not once but twice. And with a one-shot lead after Saturday’s third round, he’s in excellent position to win it yet again.

“I love Los Angeles,” he could be heard telling a TV reporter. “Movie stars, basketball games, everything’s here.” Including Riviera Country Club, the home of stars, where Watson shot a six-under-par 65 on Day Three of the Genesis for a 10-under total of 68-70-65—205.

That gave him a one-shot lead over Patrick Cantlay, who had a 69 for 204. Tied for third at 205 are Cameron Smith, who shot a 65; Kevin Na, who shot 67; Tony Finau, 68; and Graeme McDowell, 70. The big guy who won last year, who’s No. 1 in the world rankings, who supposedly had no chance after 36 holes, Dustin Johnson, shot 64 and is at 207.

Bubba, unlike Phil Mickelson (who’s at 208 after a 67) or Ted Potter (who won last week at Pebble but missed the cut this week) is a lefthander who plays lefthanded. He’s also a self-taught golfer — not a lot of golf academies in Bagdad, Fla., and probably not in Baghdad, Iraq, either — who obviously is an excellent athlete. And fine observer.

When someone wondered about the ebbs and flows of the game, Watson, 39, whose last PGA Tour victory was right here in 2016 (the event then was known as the Northern Trust), had a ready answer.

“When you’re talking about this level, these great players, the PGA Tour’s the best in the world," he said. "Look at the guy who won last week (Potter). He can hang with anybody on a given day.

“Did he make the cut here? No? OK. There you go. So he missed the cut. I don’t check leaderboards unless I’m on top. So I’ll check it tonight. Snapchat that!”

Tour players travel, physically (on to another tournament) and mentally.

“Y’all move on quickly,” said Watson, “and we’re still trying to hang onto our trophy. Every week is a new golf tournament. We don’t ever have a break on the PGA Tour anymore. So you don’t have time to keep living the dream and have that three-month break where you can celebrate your victory.”

What Watson celebrated in the sunshine at Riviera — “This golf course stood the test of time,” he reminded about a place unchanged in some 90 years — was his start Saturday. He powered his second shot to within inches of the hole on the 503-yard par-five first.

“It calms you down real fast when you tap in for an eagle.”

A tap-in Saturday but Friday night, among singers (Justin Bieber) and retired NBA players (McGrady was one) in one of the additions to the NBA's All-Star weekend, no tip-ins. And a rude bit of reality.

“We just ran up and down the court,” said Watson of his basketball action. He had played in the game previously. “Some guys wanted to be MVP, so I was trying to pass it and let them have their fun and their moment. I was trying not to get hurt.”

Watson made two free throws, so he didn’t go scoreless.

“I’ll go ahead and say it,” he advised. “When I saw Tracy McGrady come at me, all I thought about was — when bad golfers stand on the tee and they see water to the right, where does the ball go? Way to the left.

“So when I saw him, all I saw was this is my moment to get hurt; this big tank was about to hit me. And I was like, just knock it into the stands. He didn’t touch me, so it was good.”

As was Saturday’s round at Riviera. Swish!

Tiger does nothing right and too much wrong

By Art Spander

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — This wasn’t progress. This was regress. This was agony. This was Tiger Woods making bogies with the consistency he once made birdies and making us wonder, really, if he’ll ever be a shadow of the man who once owned golf.

Here at Riviera Country Club, where legends played, where Ben Hogan and Tom Watson won, where Humphrey Bogart and Dean Martin belonged. Where at 17 Tiger made his debut in a pro tournament.

Where Friday, in the second round of the Genesis Open, neé the Los Angeles Open, Woods figuratively couldn’t do a thing right and did far too much wrong.

A beautiful day in southern California, sunshine, blue skies. A beautiful day unless you were Tiger Woods — who grew up nearby — or his faithful fans, who hadn’t given up hope but, after his second round in the Genesis, may change their minds.

Woods shot a five-over par 76. He had eight bogies — six in a stretch of eight holes, the sixth through the 13^th— and only three bogies. He finished with a 36-hole total of 148, six over par and four above the cut line.

The final two rounds of the Genesis will be played without Tiger, who in his post-round comments only emphasized the obvious, saying, “I didn’t really play that well today.” No, he didn’t.

Yes, it was only 18 holes out of a wonderful career, and he missed weeks because of his back injury before coming back at the end of 2016. But it was a sad exhibition, one reminiscent of the performances of Willie Mays and Joe Namath, Hall of Famers, near the end of their playing days.

Golf isn’t baseball or football. You can play seemingly forever. But rare is the person who can continue to play well. Woods is 42, a critical age, especially for someone attempting a comeback. He said his body at least is healthy, pain-free. But the years might prove insurmountable.

Woods was 13 shots behind the tri-leaders, Patrick Cantlay, the one-time UCLA star; Graeme McDowell, who won the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach; and Sam Saunders, who is Arnold Palmer’s grandson. They’ll have to be the attractions for the final two rounds.

Tiger? He announced Thursday he would enter next week’s Honda Classic, when the PGA Tour shifts from the West Coast to Florida and maybe Woods will advance. Or maybe he won’t.

“I missed every tee shot, and I did not putt well,” Woods said about Friday. “Didn’t feel very good on the greens and consequently never made a run. I knew I had to make a run on the back side, and I went the other way.”

He’s not tournament-ready. Practicing at home in Florida is different than competing in an event in California. Two weeks ago, to his credit, Woods finished 23rd at the Farmers Open in San Diego. But he had won there eight times over years. Riviera is one of the few courses he’s played frequently where he’s never won.

“The game speed amped up is so different from playing at home," he said. "I’ve got to play more tournaments.”

And spend more time playing them. The Genesis was only the 17th tournament in which he failed to make the cut in a pro career that started in 1997, but for a while he went months without missing a cut.

“One of the hallmarks of my whole career is I’ve always hit the ball high with my iron shots, and I have not done that" Woods said. "I think the whole week has been very successful for (the Tiger Woods) foundation, as a tournament.

“Unfortunately I’m just not able to play on the weekend.”

Unfortunate for him. Unfortunate for the Genesis. Unfortunate for CBS-TV, which would have had big ratings with Tiger on the tube. People are curious anytime he plays.

“I haven’t played golf in years,” said Woods. “I’m starting to come back, and it’s going to take a little time.”

Or perhaps more time than he has.

Tiger needs something impressive to make cut

By Art Spander

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — The old Tiger, meaning when he was the young Tiger, had his bad shots, the ones that clattered in the trees — like his ball Thursday at the 11th hole at Riviera — or buried in the rough. But more often than not, he also had his miracle shots.

Hey, you don’t win 14 majors and 79 tournaments overall if you can’t pull rabbits out of hats, or more specifically turn bogies into birdies.

But this Tiger no longer is young. Or as agile. Or, so far, as competitive. This Tiger keeps trying to wake up the echoes, then leaves us — and himself — with explanations instead of positive results.

He wasn’t terrible in the opening round of the 2018 Genesis Open (yes, it once was the L.A. Open). Except on the 11th, his second hole of the day, when (you’ve read this before) he hit one dead right off the tee, then (you haven’t read this before) lost the ball among the eucalyptus and, whap, had a double-bogey seven.

After starting with a birdie three on the risk-reward 10th hole, which is short (315 yards) and perplexing (do you try to drive it or lay up?).

All three members of their elite threesome, Woods, Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas, had birdies. But 17 holes later, Thomas had a two-under 69, McIlroy an even par 71 and Woods a one-over 72.

That left him six shots back of Patrick Cantlay and Tony Finau, which after 18 holes is not that important. But Tiger also is one above the early cut line, which is that important. He needs something impressive Friday, say a 68 or 69, to play the last two rounds.

There’s an understanding. This Tiger is 42 (or 19 years older than Thomas, who in 2017 was Player of the Year). This Tiger is returning after years of back pain and several surgeries. This Tiger finds success as much in progress as he does in his standing on the scoreboard.

Maybe Woods will win again — although probably not this week, thus remaining without a victory at Riviera, the wonderful course in a coastal canyon a mile or so from Santa Monica. Maybe Woods never will win again.

Someone post-round asked Thomas how he compared this Tiger with the earlier Tiger, the one who crushed everybody within putting distance.

“I’ve never seen (the other Tiger), so it’s hard for me to say,” Thomas explained. “I would say he’s pretty good. He’s obviously not driving it well. He’s not hitting the shots that he wants. He got it around one-over.

“So I think when he was playing (a lot) and not on all the time off, (Thursday’s round) could have been one or two under.”

Could have. But wasn’t. And we have to wonder whether it ever will be. Now he’s the old champion, facing the new champs. They have their rotten days now and then — last year’s winner, Dustin Johnson, the world's No. 1, triple-bogeyed the fifth hole — but more often than not, they have their brilliant days.

Days that Woods had for more than a decade. Days gone by.

Woods’ card on Thursday was a portrait of erratic golf, five birdies, four bogies and that triple bogey.

“I made really silly bogies out there,” was the Woods assessment of his round. “But overall I thought I hung in there well and grinded.” (That’s golfing vernacular for finding a ball and hitting it again. And again).

And trying to persuade yourself there’s a reason to smile.

“No one’s low out there,” he said, which is accurate only if you don’t consider four-under a low score. ”It’s too hard. The greens are getting a little bouncy (because of the poa annua grass on coastal courses). Those short ones are not easy.”

Naturally, as all golfers are, Woods is optimistic.

“I’m not that far off to really putting some good numbers out there,” he said. “If I can just clean up my card, I can start making my way up the board.”

If he can clean up his card.

The Athletic: Tiger Woods still believes, but can he rediscover 'winning time'?

By Art Spander
The Athletic

PACIFIC PALISADES — He continues to believe, which is understandable, because if Tiger Woods deep down didn’t think he could roll back the years and come back from those months of back pain and inactivity, then how could we believe in Tiger Woods?

Which some do. And a great many don’t.

Woods has returned to Riviera Country Club, classic, historic Riviera, where Humphrey Bogart belonged, where Ben Hogan won, where a teenage Tiger in 1992 played in a pro tournament for the first time. And where Woods never had much success, even in his dominant years.

The Hollywood fantasy lives large at Riviera, with photos on the walls inside the huge Spanish-style clubhouse of Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, Dean Martin — a longtime member — and Jerry Lewis, Clark Gable and Bing Crosby. Myth and reality and tales of Howard Hughes leaving the club because the pro told him he never would be the best golfer in the land.

That’s what Woods used to be. Not just the country, the world. Now, preparing for the Genesis Open, long ago called simply the Los Angeles Open, which begins Thursday at Riviera, Tiger is a man trying to regain the brilliance.

Is he fooling himself? They say you don’t lose greatness, but as months and years creep by, you lose flexibility, lose concentration. Woods says his two children are what’s important in his life. “Priorities change,” was a reminder nobody really needed.

That saying, “You can’t go home again,” is so full of meaning for Woods, who, having grown up maybe 25 miles away, is allowed to think of Riviera and the tournament, L.A. Open or Genesis, as sort of a home — one in which he never got quite comfortable. A second place was his best finish before he stopped entering 12 years ago.

“I love the course,” Woods said Tuesday. “For some reason I didn’t play it well.”

Two weeks ago, down the coast in San Diego, Woods tied for 23rd at the Farmers Insurance Open while playing in a PGA Tour event for the first time in a year. The back that required one surgical technique after another passed a test. And yet?

Golfers last longer in their sport than most athletes do in other sports, an advantage and a disadvantage because suddenly you’re facing the young golfer you used to be.

For the first rounds of the Genesis, Woods is grouped with Rory McIlroy, who is 28, and with Justin Thomas, who is 23.

“I made my debut here in ’92,” Woods said. “I flew out with Justin. He said that was a year before he was born. I’m sorry, but that really put things into perspective fast.”

To McIlroy, winner of four majors, and Thomas, winner of one, last year’s PGA Championship, Woods has been an example, an idol, even an advisor.

“I think now they’re starting to see me as a competitor,” Woods said.

But how much of one?

Surely one of the reasons Woods chose to return to Riviera and the Genesis is the involvement in his foundation, emphasizing education. One scholarship winner asked, “Who’s Tiger Woods?”

“That doesn’t bother me at all,” Woods said.

What does bother him is not winning a Tour event in five years. There’s impatience, although he said it’s tempered by the unavoidable fact his body wouldn’t allow him to take a cut at a golf ball for weeks.

“I’ve been away from the game for a very long time,” he said when asked about expectations, ours as much as his. “I’ve got a lot of room for improvement and a long way to go.”

At San Diego, some of his drives were crooked. He said he spent a week making corrections. Champions do not concede, and as the winner of 79 tournaments, 14 of them majors, Woods unquestionably has been a champion.

“I’d like to win some tournaments,” Woods said. “Jjust like not to feel sore, to play all-out again with …  three days off.”

He's not yet ready to commit to playing in back-to-back tournaments, even with next week's Honda Classic near his home in Florida.

“It would be a great sign if I do play,” Woods said. “It would be a smart sign if I didn’t play. How about that? Does that dance pretty good?’

It dances elusively, even if his thought is direct.

“It’s winning time,” he said.

When hasn’t it been? For Woods or any other pro?

©2018 The Athletic Media Company. All rights reserved.

Ted Potter beats Dustin — and everyone else at the AT&T

By Art Spander

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Ted Potter is what happens to golf. Which is the great thing about the game. Or, if you’re hoping for a winner who is famous, even familiar, conversely one of the problems.

It doesn’t matter if Potter isn’t one of those handsome young guys like Jordan Spieth or Dustin Johnson. Or one of those famous older guys like Phil Mickelson. He beat everyone, including Spieth, Johnson and Mickelson, to take the annual AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Well, in a way it does matter, because golf, a sport without team loyalty as is tennis, needs instantly recognizable champions, so that those peripherally interested in the game won’t look up and ask, “Who’s he?”

Potter is a portly 34-year-old with thinning hair. You won’t be seeing him in any commercials. But after his three-shot victory Sunday, worth virtually $1.3 million, you will be seeing him high on the money list and, no less significantly, in the field of the Masters in three months.

You’d have thought Johnson, the world's No. 1, a two-time AT&T winner, would be the champion. He began the last round at Pebble Beach tied with Potter at 14 under par, and after two holes he had a one-shot lead.

But Dustin was the one who was stagnant, with a total of four bogies and four birdies, for a 72, while Potter, after a bogey on the first hole, made four birdies and no bogies over the next 17 holes for a 69.

That gave him a 72-hole total of 17-under 270. (Pebble and Spyglass Hill are par 72; the third course in the rotation, where Potter shot 62 Saturday, is Monterey Peninsula, par 71).

Tied for second at 273 were the 47-year-old Mickelson, who shot 67; Chez Reavie, 68; Day, 70, and Johnson. 

Potter, who turned pro out of high school in Florida, probably needed the victory more than Dustin and Phil, or Spieth and Day, major winners all. Nearly four years ago, in July 2014, after missing the cut in the Canadian Open, Potter, flip-flops on his feet, slipped off a curb near his Montreal hotel and broke his right ankle.

He was off the Tour for three years. Even at the AT&T, he entered as a Web.com Tour member and was unsure of getting into the coming week’s Genesis Open at Riviera in Southern California. But now he’s fully exempt, if still not fully known — by the public or some of his fellow competitors.

“There’s a lot of new guys I haven’t met in the last couple of years,” he conceded. ”It’s still an individual game.”

A game in which Potter, who six years ago won his only other Tour event, the 2012 Greenbrier Classic, struggled after his injury, at one point missing 24 cuts in a row. But fellow pro Russell Knox has said Potter is the most talented player he’s ever battled.

Talented, yes, but as Potter admits, a trifle lackadaisical. “I’ve never been a hard worker, I guess,” he said. “I mean, I’m probably better than I think I am.”

He and Johnson were in the final group Sunday, and even if it wasn’t match play there was a feeling of head-to-head. “I had a great day today,” Potter agreed. “Dustin wasn’t, I guess, on his game.”

Johnson said as much. He thought he was prepared, but shots just flew over Pebble’s small greens. They also did for Potter, but on the short par-3 7th, the signature hole, he chipped in for a birdie. “That was one of those moments,” said Potter, who hadn’t had many of late.

Mickelson, a four-time AT&T winner, made a strong run, an indication that although he doesn’t have a victory since the 2015 British Open, Phil might break through again.

“I’ve played similarly all four weeks,” Mickelson said of his rounds this year. “I’ve had much better results the last two weeks (he tied for fifth at the Waste Management Phoenix Open). I’m going to try and take the momentum and carry it to Riviera.”

As is Ted Potter, a Mr. Nobody who now very much is somebody.

Is Dustin a lock to win the AT&T? Unpredictable

By Art Spander

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — So there’s Dustin Johnson, No. 1 in the world rankings, tied for first three rounds into the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which he’s already won twice.

Meaning? Absolutely nothing, and then again a great deal.

The guy sharing first place with Johnson is Ted Potter Jr. That’s Ted Potter, not Harry, and you’d probably think Dustin is a lock to win. But if there’s anything more unpredictable than golf it hasn’t been invented yet, although maybe the weather is a distant second.

Who would have thought that Potter, 34, a one-time winner on Tour, would go out Saturday and shoot a nine-under-par 62 at Monterey Peninsula, where Friday Johnson shot a 64? So MPCC isn’t Augusta National, or even Pebble Beach, where Saturday Johnson had a two-under 70, It still has 18 holes and can be tricky.

As three-time major champion Rory McIlroy knows all too well. He shot a 74 there Friday, which is the reason he missed the cut. Would you have imagined that Rory would be 13 shots worse than Potter on a relatively easy course — keyword, relatively?

Johnson and Potter both were at 14-under-par for 54 holes, a round on each of the courses used for the first three days of the tournament, Pebble, Monterey and Spyglass Hill. Everyone who made the cut, low 60 and ties for the pros, low 25 for the amateurs, plays Pebble for Sunday’s final round.

Making the cut was four-time AT&T champion Phil Mickelson, who at Pebble had a three-putt par on the par-five sixth and a three-putt bogey on 18. His even-par 72 left him five shots back at 206. Missing the cut by three shots at 211 was Gary Woodland, who seven days earlier won the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Did I mention golf was unpredictable?

Or that Potter, who started at 10, bogied his last two holes — after making birdies on his first four (10 through 13) and six of his first seven? Or that Potter is a righthander who plays lefthanded, as is Mickelson? Or that while conditions still were pleasant enough, people and dogs packing the beach at Pebble, a cool breeze arrived for the first time in days?

“The wind out there on the point made the last three holes pretty tough,” said Potter. “But it was a great round today. I’ll go out (Sunday) and feel good about my game. As long as I can keep the nerves under control, I’ll be fine.”

Johnson figured out to do that a couple of years ago. He became infamous for falling apart in the final round of the 2010 U.S, Open at Pebble and missing a playoff by a shot in the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay. Then he turned into a terror, winning event after event, including the 2016 U.S. Open.

“I was playing solid,” Johnson said of his third round. "I feel like it’s in really good form going into (Sunday). I’m going to be in good position, but I’m going to have to go out and play really well if I want a chance to win.”

He has a chance, an excellent one. So does Potter. So do Jason Day and Troy Merritt, tied for third at 203.

Asked if the vibe changes for the final round of any tournament, Johnson said, “Yeah, it does for sure. Sunday you start focusing a little bit more. Probably should have focused more today. But yeah, on Sunday, we’re trying to win the golf tournament.”

Isn’t that the whole idea any day?

Rory comes roaring out at the AT&T

By Art Spander

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — This isn’t football. You don’t try to win one for the Gipper in golf. The game is one of control, of direction. Sometimes the more you practice, or play, the worse you perform.

Something else about big-time golf: It’s lonely. There are no teammates to lend support, physical — that skulled wedge can’t be saved by, say, a diving catch — or mental. There seem to be as many sports psychologists around the Tour as there are teaching pros.

So the premise posited by Jason Day, who’s had his own troubles, that Rory McIlroy lacks desire is a thought based on a premise as judged by a competitor.

“The biggest thing for Rory,” said Day, along with McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson and suddenly Jon Rahm, one of golf’s best, “is the desire part. How much does he really want it? Because he has the tools to be Tigeresque.”

As in Tiger Woods, who was one-of-a-kind.

McIlroy, 28, because of a rib injury, and perhaps the distraction of his marriage — there’s life out there beyond the tee boxes — didn’t win a tournament in 2017. On the PGA Tour. On the European Tour. Tumbled in the World Golf Rankings. He was more mystery than history.

But it’s a new year, and McIlroy has a new outlook. On Thursday he shot a 68, four under par, at Spyglass Hill, in the opening round of the historic AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. That left him three shots behind Kevin Streelman, who shot his seven-under 65 at Spyglass and Beau Hossler, who shot his at Pebble Beach.

It was a glorious day on the Monterey Peninsula, wind light, skies blue, golf impressive.

“I was pleased,” said McIlroy. “A couple of really good weeks in the Middle East. But I’m healthy and able to practice. I’m able to do everything I want to do, so I feel good. I’m in a really good frame of mind, and that helps, too.”

Of course. It’s hard enough to challenge the world’s courses, and some of the world’s finest golfers, if you’re not thinking about the job at hand. As Sam Snead once said to Ted Williams when they were debating the relative difficulty of golf vs. baseball, “We have to play our foul balls.”

McIlroy, partnering with his father, Gerry, kept most of his shots on the fairways. “It was awesome,” said Rory. “It was great being out there with him.”

“A couple of messy holes coming in,” said Rory. “I recovered well. In the end I made a good bogey on 16, a great par on 17. It was nice to finish with a birdie on 18.”

Phil Mickelson, now 47, was the other pro in the foursome, shooting a three-under 69. The differential in ages between Rory and Phil is reason that golf is such an appealing game — 19 years — but on Thursday their rounds differed by only one stroke. As Raymond Floyd, a multiple majors winner, told us, “The golf ball doesn’t know how old you are.”

But it does know how effective your swing is. And your putting is. You can be young or old, intense or relaxed. The only thing that matters is how many strokes you take.

A year ago, McIlroy was taking more than he wanted. But in January, in tournaments at Abu Dhabi and Dubai, part of the early events of the European Tour, McIlroy had a second and a third. His confidence was up. His health was back.

“I haven’t played a lot over the past 18 months for various reasons,” he said. “I was sort of ready to call it quits for the year after the Dunhill (in October). I was sort of dejected and wanting to get away from it all.

“Now I’m rejuvenated and optimistic. Now there’s nothing in my way. There’s nothing stopping me from playing a full schedule.”

There doesn't seem to be any lack of desire, especially when McIlroy insists, “I want to be one of the best players to ever have played the game. I have a great opportunity over the next 10, 12 years to play great golf and leave my mark on the game.”

Or, really, to embellish the mark he’s already left.

The Athletic: AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am endures as a singular celebration of golf

By Art Spander
The Athletic

PEBBLE BEACH — You start with arguably one of the game’s three most impressive datelines — St. Andrews and Augusta are the other two — add decades of history, laughs and people named Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, and are blessed with an event that’s as much a treasure as it is a tournament.

The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is a mid-winter celebration of sport and, yes, entertainment, when amateurs — some with big names, some with big games — pair up with champions on three courses that are as beautiful as they are testing: Pebble, Spyglass Hill and Monterey Peninsula Country Club.

Read the full story here.

©2018 The Athletic Media Company. All rights reserved.

Mickelson, man of the past, talks about the future

By Art Spander

NAPA, Calif. — It’s the past that makes us think of Phil Mickelson, the Masters triumphs, the battles with Tiger Woods, the win in the Tucson Open when he was a 20-year-old student at Arizona State. But for Phil and the golfer who beat him Sunday in the Safeway Open, the talk was of the future.

Even though at 47 Mickelson seemingly is near the end of his career on the regular PGA Tour.

Even though he hasn’t won since 2015.

Phil tied for third in the Safeway. The winner for a second straight year was Brendan Steele, at 15-under-par 273. Tony Finau was a shot back. Mickelson and Chesson Hadley were two more behind, at 276.

Two days ago, Mickelson made a bold forecast. He promised he would win. Maybe here, at Silverado Country Club. Maybe in China, where in two weeks he’ll make his next start, at a tournament where he’s twice finished first.

Steele, a southern Californian as is Mickelson, seconded the motion.

“He’s very close,” Steele said of Mickelson, with whom he plays frequently. “He’s been playing really well. I think the only thing that’s holding him back is missing a few fairways here and there.”

Which is what Phil did on the front nine on Sunday, shooting one-over 37. And then, after a run on the back nine, what he did on the little (370-yard) 17^th, making a bogey after a birdie at 16 and before a closing birdie at 18.

Missing fairways has always been Mickelson’s weakness, as if a golfer who’s won five majors and 42 tournaments overall can be said to have a weakness. 

What he can do is get the ball into the cup, putting, chipping, blasting, and in golf there’s nothing more important.

You can recover from a shot into the trees. You can’t recover from missing three-footers.

Mickelson shot a two-over 70 the final day of this Safeway, his only round of the week out of the 60s, a score that was a shot worse than those of Steele and Finau.

“When I’ve been home with him,” said Steele, “he’s had good results. He’s trending in the right direction ... I don’t see any reason why he can’t be competitive for a really long time. I’ve always said I think Phil can win at Augusta well into his mid-50s, he knows the course so well. I don’t see him slowing down anytime soon.”

Mickelson won’t slow down over the next two weeks. He will stop, going east to attend parents day at Brown University in Providence, R.I, where the eldest of the Mickelson children, Amanda, is a freshman. Then we will see what happens on the course.

“The game has come back,” he insisted, “and my focus is much better.”

One of the problems for relatively older athletes is a loss of concentration. They perform well for a while, say an inning or two, a set or two, a round or two, and then they fall apart.

The oldest golfer to win a major was Julius Boros, 48, who took the PGA Championship back in the 1960s. Jack Nicklaus won the Masters at 46 in 1986. Subsequently he would return, get in contention and then make bogies.

Silverado played tough Sunday. There was a stiff wind, and the pins were on raised areas of the greens. Mickelson said he liked the challenge and also believed correctly that none of the leaders, including Steele, would get far ahead.

“It was fun to be in the mix,” he said, sounding like a rookie. “It was fun to have a chance.”

The optimism grows from the results.

“It’s just easy to see the ball starting on the right line,” he said. “Iron play’s back, distance control, putting. I’m staying (in the) present and hitting shots.”

What he most wants to hit after four years is the winner’s circle.

The fans still chant for John Daly

By Art Spander

NAPA,  Calif. — His game? Well, John Daly made the cut in a regular PGA Tour event for the first time in two years, didn’t he? His fame? Just listen to those fans. “Daly, Daly, Daly,” they chanted as he walked out of the scoring trailer.

They love him. Still and always. At age 52, perhaps more curiosity than competitor, although since he will play all four rounds at the Safeway Open — and people such as Keegan Bradley and D.A. Points will not — John is far from a relic.

He was given an exemption. He gave the sponsors an attraction.

Daly and Phil Mickelson were the most recognizable golfers in the field at Silverado Country Club. Phil, four back of first-place Tyler Duncan with a round to go, has an outside chance for a win. John has a great chance to keep the crowd engaged.

We know the pain he’s put others through, put himself through, the alcoholism, the domestic spats, It wasn’t that long ago down in Winston-Salem when sheriffs brought him in, although they didn’t charge him. Here, sheriffs from Napa County serve as his protection on course.

Can’t be too careful with your stars. And for better or worse, with that tempestuous history, with those garish (and copyrighted) Loudmouth trousers, with golf still seeking to expand its audience in these post-Tiger days, Daly remains a star.

He may be a regular on the Champions (seniors) Tour. He may have been at the other end of the Saturday groupings, with Ted Potter Jr. and Martin Piller last off the 10^th tee. No matter. He was John Daly, winner of the 1991 PGA Championship and the 1995 British Open — and with his reputation and personality, the common man’s links hero.

Grip it and rip it. That was the Daly mantra. Isn’t that what every golfer tries to do? Not a lot of grace or subtlety. Just like John.

“People were awesome,” said Daly about his trip around the course. He shot a one-under 71, his second straight sub-par round, and is at a cumulative two-under 214.

“I got a lot of offers to have a beer.”

John is the guy next door, except this guy next score can hit the ball more than 300 yards and, when things go right, display a putting touch that belies his size (uhm, is 320 pounds a fair estimation?) and helped him birdie the 18^th hole Friday to make the cut on the number, one-under 143.

He’s never been qualified or chosen to make America’s Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup teams, which in the selection process may be more intent than oversight. Golf people have not taken kindly to Daly’s lifestyle — although they love the way he brings in spectators.

Daly is a cottage industry. His web site advertises “Daly’s Deals,” offering everything from those flowered trousers to Smith’s Workwear flannel shirts to trucker caps with the slogan “Grip it N Rip it” that cost $19.99. That’s a deal?

A musician of sorts, singer and guitar player, Daly the other night took part in one of the concerts that in the evening follow the golf at the Safeway. “Someone said they thought I was pretty good,” confessed Daly.

His golf used to be very good, and when he was younger it was hard not to muse about Daly, who at one time had such a great future. Now it's hard not to wonder, had he kept his life in order, what might have been.

That’s a game so many of us play, speculation. And true, Daly possibly could have done much, much more. Still, he’s playing golf effectively enough to make the cut against people a generation younger and hear appreciative fans chant, “Daly, Daly, Daiy.”

That’s no small achievement for big John.

Maverick in 'the coolest office in the world'

By Art Spander

NAPA, Calif. — The issue is less one of ambition than it is of inevitability. Greatness must not be denied. Which is why a half century ago, the big guy from Ohio — Jack Nicklaus, by name — turned pro despite proclaimed intentions of remaining amateur, selling insurance and playing golf for the joy and glory of it.

Which is why Maverick McNealy, who also had so many reasons to stay amateur, made that 180-degree turn you just knew was coming. And, with KPMG on his cap (like Phil Mickelson) and Under Armour as his attire (like Jordan Spieth), suddenly was playing as a pro.

Nicklaus, arguably the greatest player of all time (yes, Tiger Woods supporters will be allowed to disagree), idolized Bobby Jones, who as an amateur in 1930 won the Grand Slam.

So, thought Jack, maybe he could repeat the accomplishment. But the Grand Slam — the U.S. and British Opens and U.S. and British amateurs — has changed, with the PGA Championship and Masters replacing the two amateurs.

Golf also has changed. Like baseball, football, soccer, basketball and hockey, only the very best find room at the top. Nicklaus couldn’t stay amateur if he wanted to conquer the sport. Nor, five and a half decades later, could McNealy, the young star (age 21) from Stanford.

The Safeway Open this week at Silverado Country Club is McNealy’s first tournament since becoming a pro, though not his first pro tournament, since he has competed in the U.S. and British Opens and several other events. Two rounds in after Friday, McNealy is doing well enough, five-under par 68-71—139, seven back of the leader, Tyler Duncan.

McNealy had been high on the leader board, seven under par after his 16^th hole, the 350-yard 8^th since he played the back nine first. But he botched the drive and after taking a penalty shot for an unplayable lie and five more shots including two putts, McNealy had a triple-bogey 7. Stirred but not shaken, he birdied the par-5 ninth.

“I made a mess of No. 8,” agreed McNealy, “but I did a good job of staying level and not getting out of my rhythm. And it paid off with a good birdie on the last hole.”

The kid is very much under control, even if an occasional shot might not be. Asked if in the 80-degree weather on a course surrounded by vineyards and history he was having a good time, McNealy quickly responded, “Yeah, this is the coolest office in the world.”

It was 46 years ago, 1971, when another golfer from Stanford made his pro debut at Silverado, which is located some 80 miles north of the campus.

Tom Watson had earned his PGA Tour playing card — something McNealy hasn’t had the chance to do — a few days earlier in Florida, then zoomed back to California to enter what was called the Kaiser International Open. Watson made the cut and in the following years, winning five British Opens, two Masters and the ’82 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, made his mark.

Watson’s father went to Stanford. So did McNealy’s, as a graduate student in the M.B.A. program. From there Scott McNealy became a dot-com billionaire with Sun Microsystems. He also became a fine golfer, down to a 3-handicap, if not as fine as his eldest son.

In late 2016 and early 2017, Maverick was No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. In 2015 he became the third from Stanford, along with Tiger Woods and Patrick Rodgers, to win the Haskins Award, presented annually to the best male collegiate golfer in the country.

So many trophies. Now so many expectations.

Asked what he learned as a collegian that will carry him to success as a pro, he said, “I think there’s so much you learn about yourself from being in those situations. I played some of my best rounds ever when the heat is on in the final round.

“Obviously these guys are really good. But being in the mix in tournaments is something I’m very familiar with from college.”

But in a sense he’s graduated, to playing the very best, the pros. It was inevitable.

No Spieth or Thomas, but the Tour restarts with the Safeway

By Art Spander

NAPA, Calif. — No Jordan Spieth. No Justin Thomas. No real separation from the end of the last schedule — wasn’t that 10 minutes ago? — to the start of the next, which was Thursday. No problem for the PGA Tour?

Well...

Yes, the Safeway Open is here, smack in the middle of wine country, and so is one player everybody from Torrey Pines (where he grew up playing) to Turnberry knows, Phil Mickelson; a couple others who most know, two-time major winner Zach Johnson and defending champ Brendan Steele; and a great many the Tour hopes we’ll come to know.

Among the NFL and college football games, the baseball playoffs and the beginning of the NHL season — good lord, did the Sharks really play the Philly Flyers on Wednesday night? — perhaps you didn’t notice.

But that’s not your problem, that’s golf’s.

Golf follows the sun, and unlike the past two years, there’s a great deal of that and 80-degree temperatures at Silverado Country Club for the Safeway. Golf no longer follows the calendar.

We know it’s a spring and summer sport (in some minds, the Tour starts with the Masters in April and concludes with the PGA Championship in August). But the guys who haven’t picked up the big trophies and checks want to play all the time. And the PGA Tour wants to keep them playing.

So a little sleight of hand is required. Instead of making the fall events, the ones after the Tour Championship, seem like add-ons, the Tour wants us to believe that the year starts in October, right now, and not in January. OK, but it still hasn’t persuaded most of the big guns.

Golf and tennis, other than the top events such as the Masters, Wimbledon and so on, require individual stars. If you’re trying to get attention against the Raiders or 49ers, you need a Spieth. Or a Rory McIlroy (who played this tournament two years ago when it was the Frys Open). Or a Brooks Koepka. Everyone on Tour is an excellent golfer or he wouldn’t be on Tour. Only a few are excellent box-office attractions.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t compelling stories. Maverick McNealy, the best amateur in America, the Stanford grad who said he wouldn’t turn pro, is playing his first tournament as a pro at the Safeway (he shot 68). Sang-Moon Bae won this tournament in 2014 as the Frys and then had to spend two years in the Korean military (he shot 73). Chris Stroud is among the leaders of hurricane recovery efforts in his hometown, Houston (he shot 76).

It’s just that as in music and acting, some, through success and style — usually both — are ahead of the rest, making the world stop and check them out, even the part of the world that doesn’t really care about acting or singing. Or golf.

They may be one of many — there are dozens of fine golfers on Tour — but really they’re one of a kind. Tiger Woods could fill a gallery. Still can, even though his best golf is someplace in the distance. Just the name —Tiger Woods — gets us to stop.

Long ago, when Arnold Palmer was the man, those involved in tournaments would tell the media — actually, in those days it was the press — “Write about some of those other guys so the public will find out how interesting they are.” But legends are not invented, they develop. Tiger, Arnie, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman and, yes, Mickelson earned their status.

Phil had one of the later tee times Thursday, and unsaid, you understood that was for The Golf Channel, which is showing the Safeway. He finished around 5:40 p.m. PDT, near sunset in California, some viewers home from work; at prime time in New York, just before Thursday night football.

Mickelson, with a 69, may not have been the leader — Steele, Tyler Duncan and Tom Hoge were in front with 7-under 65s — but he was the anchor. The TV schedule was proof. And Phil only was here because the agency that represents him, Lagardere, is running the tournament.

Whatever works. Or in the case of Jordan Spieth or Justin Thomas, whatever doesn’t. Fore!

Los Angeles Times: Justin Thomas wins his first major by claiming victory at the PGA Championship

By Art Spander
Los Angeles Times

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It was inevitable that Justin Thomas would win a major golf championship. His talent had been apparent since he was in grammar school. Sooner or later he would win a big one like his pal Jordan Spieth.

Sooner arrived on a humid Sunday at the 99th PGA Championship, when player after player, five in all, held or shared the lead until there was the 24-year-old Thomas holding it for good.

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2017, Los Angeles Times