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Lydia Ko has faced plenty of heat over the past couple years. The general questions surrounding her have been about why a teen sensation with 14 LPGA titles to her credit would change her coach, her equipment, her caddieâand why has it been two seasons since her last victory? Thankfully for her sanity, it sounds like she hasnât been paying too much attention to all the critics.
And when she was faced with the chance to change the narrative, Ko stepped up. Five days after turning 21, the New Zealand resident celebrated by claiming her 15th LPGA title, a playoff victory over Minjee Lee at the MEDIHEAL Championship.
Ko didnât just win, she won in style, making an eagle 3 on the first extra hole, the par-5 18th at Lake Merced Golf Club outside San Francisco after hitting her second shot from 234 yards to less than three feet.
For the win!
Lydia Ko is the 2018 @MEDIHEALChamp Champion!!! pic.twitter.com/ffEbJSX9BJ
â LPGA (@LPGA) April 30, 2018
The leader after each of the first three rounds, Ko was asked on Saturday night whether or not she felt pressure from people talking about if sheâs going to win again or not. Ko responded to the question saying, âIâve been very distant from like press and media. No offense.â
It was a typical Ko response: honest, yet perfectly considerate.
The last time Ko had slept on a 54-hole lead was at the 2016 U.S. Open. The last time she had won was a week later at the Marathon Classic. Since that victory, Ko has changed her swing coaches, going from David Leadbetter to Gary Gilchrist to her current instructor, Ted Oh, who she began working with in early 2018. She changed her clubs, moving from Callaway to PXG. And she changed her caddie, multiple times. When all of these changes didnât add up to continued dominance on tour, some questioned whether or not she had made the right choices.
But Ko stayed patient, confident, and relatively quiet about all of the adjustments.
During Sundayâs final round, the lead changed hands multiple times. Ko had started the day one stroke ahead of Jessica Korda. A cold putter kept Korda from making a charge (sheâd finish with a Sunday 74). Meanwhile, early bogeys from Ko brought Lee, who started the day three strokes off the lead, into the mix. Lee made five birdies on the back nine to finish 12-under for the tournament, posting a closing 68.
After making the turn with a 38, Ko improved on the back nine and was sitting at 11 under for the tournament, playing in the group behind Lee. She watched as Lee made her birdie putt to finish at 12 under. That putt meant Ko had to make birdie to force a playoff.
Koâs approach shot came up short on the short par 5, and her chip for eagle grazed the high side of the cup. She tapped in for birdie and a Sunday 71, and the two 21-year-olds went back to the 18th tee for the first playoff hole.
Each player headed into the playoff having had experience winning at Lake Merced in the past. Lee won the 2012 U.S. Girlsâ Junior, where Ko had lost in her semifinal match. Ko won the Swinging Skirts LPGA event in 2014 and 2015 at Lake Merced.
Both put their drives in the fairway. Ko, with a 3-wood in her hands from 234 yards out, hit a towering shot over some branches that hung over the left side of the fairway. It hit in front of the green, rolled up and almost into the hole. Lee made birdie, but it wasnât enough. Koâs short eagle putt rolled in and she left the 18th green in tears.
After the win, Ko opened up more about what it felt like to play 43 starts without a win.
âI was frustrated because sometimes I would go into the Thursday feeling, Hey, I feel like I can actually play really well, and then miss the cut or shoot over par,â Ko said. âI think it was more frustration against myself from myself. I think sometimes self pressure is the biggest thing where you kind of put a lot of load on your shoulders. Thatâs what my mom actually said, hey, just clear your mind, just take away all the weight off your shoulders and just go out and play. Thatâs what I think I was able to do this week, which is always nice when youâre kind of playing without fear and youâre just out there freely.â
Source: Golf Digest
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Inbee Park brings more than her unshakably tranquil demeanor back to the top of the Rolex Womenâs World Rankings this week.
She brings more than her Olympic gold medal and seven major championships to the Mediheal Championship on the outskirts of San Francisco.
She brings a jarring combination of gentleness and ruthlessness back to the top of the rankings.
Park may look as if she could play the role of Mother Teresa on some goodwill tour, but that isnât what her opponents see when sheâs wielding her Odyssey White Hot 2-Ball mallet.
Sheâs like Mother Teresa with Lizzy Bordenâs axe.
When Park gets on one of her rolls with the putter, she scares the hell out of the rest of the tour.
At her best, Park is the most intimidating player in womenâs golf today.
âInbee makes more 20- and 30-footers on a regular basis than anyone I know,â seven-time major championship winner Karrie Webb said.
All those long putts Park can hole give her an aura more formidable than any power player in the womenâs game.
âA good putter is more intimidating than someone who knocks it out there 280 yards,â Webb said âEven if Inbee misses a green, you know she can hole a putt from anywhere. It puts more pressure on your putter knowing youâre playing with someone who is probably going to make them all.â
Park, by the way, said Webb and Ai Miyazato were huge influences on her putting. She studied them when she was coming up on tour.
Webb, though, believes thereâs something internal separating Park. It isnât just Parkâs ability to hole putts that makes her so intimidating. Itâs the way she carries herself on the greens.
âShe never gets ruffled,â Webb said. âShe says she gets nervous, but you never see a change in her. If youâre going toe to toe with her, thatâs what is intimidating. Even if youâre rolling in putts on top of her, it doesnât seem to bother her. Sheâs definitely a player you have to try not to pay attention to when youâre paired with her, because you can get caught up in that.â
.@InbeePark talks becoming Rolex Rankings World No. 1 for the 4th time, her goals this year & more from @MEDIHEALChamp
Watch: https://t.co/LwhhwcBMI8 pic.twitter.com/bH2Qg0dORF
â LPGA (@LPGA) April 25, 2018
Park has led the LPGA in putts per greens in regulation five of the last 10 years.
Brad Beecher has been on Parkâs bag for more than a decade, back before she won her first major, the 2008 U.S. Womenâs Open. He has witnessed the effect Park can have on players when she starts rolling in one long putt after another.
âYou have those times when sheâll hole a couple long putts early, and you just know, itâs going to be one of those days,â Beecher said. âPlayers look at me like, `Does she ever miss?â or `How am I going to beat this?â You see players in awe of it sometimes.â
Park, 29, won in her second start of 2018, after taking seven months off with a back injury. In six starts this year, she has a victory, two ties for second-place and a tie for third. She ended Shanshan Fengâs 23-week run at No. 1 with a tie for second at the Hugel-JTBC LA Open last weekend.
What ought to disturb fellow tour pros is that Park believes her ball striking has been carrying her this year. Sheâs still waiting for her putter to heat up. She is frustrated with her flat stick, even though she ranks second in putts per greens in regulation this season.
âInbee Park is one of the best putters ever,â said LPGA Hall of Famer Sandra Haynie, a 42-time LPGA winner. âSheâs dangerous on the greens.â
Haynie said she would rank Park with Kathy Whitworth, Mickey Wright and Nancy Lopez as the best putters she ever saw.
Hall of Famer Joanne Carner says Park is the best putter she has seen since Lopez.
âI thought Nancy was a great putter,â Carner said. âInbee is even better.â
Park uses a left-hand low grip, with a mostly shoulder move and quiet hands.
Lopez used a conventional grip, interlocking, with her right index finger down the shaft. She had a more handsy stroke than Park.
Like Lopez, Park prefers a mallet-style putter, and she doesnât switch putters much. She is currently playing with an Odyssey White Hot 2-Ball putter. She won the gold medal with it two years ago. She used an Oddysey White Ice Sabertooth winged mallet when she won three majors in a row in 2013.
Lopez hit the LPGA as a rookie in 1978 with a Ray Cook M1 mallet putter and used it for 20 years. Itâs in the World Golf Hall of Fame today.
âI watch Inbee, and I think, `Wow, thatâs how I used to putt,ââ Lopez said. âYou can see sheâs not mechanical at all. So many players today are mechanical. They forget if you just look at the hole and stroke it, youâre going to make more putts.â
Notably, Park has never had a putting coach, not really. Her husband and swing coach, Gi Hyeob Nam, will look at her stroke when she asks for help.
âWhen Iâm putting, Iâm concentrating on the read and mostly my speed,â Park said. âI donât think mechanically about my stroke at all, unless I think thereâs something wrong with it, and then Iâll have my husband take a look. But, really, I rely on my feel. I donât think about my stroke when Iâm out there playing.â
Hall of Famer Judy Rankin says Parkâs remarkably consistent speed is a key to her putting.
âInbee is definitely a feel putter, and her speed is so consistent, all the time,â Rankin said. âYou have to assume sheâs a great green reader.â
Beecher says Parkâs ability to read greens is a gift. She doesnât rely on him for that. She reads greens herself.
âI think what impresses me most is Inbee has a natural stroke,â Beecher said. âThereâs nothing too technical. Itâs more straight through and straight back, but I think the key element of the stroke is that she keeps the putter so close to the ground, all the time, on the takeaway and the follow-through. It helps with the roll and with consistency.â
Park said thatâs one of her fundamentals.
âI keep it low, almost like Iâm hitting the ground,â Park said. âWhen I donât do that, I miss more putts.â
Beecher believes the real reason Park putts so well is that the putter brought her into the game. Itâs how she got started, with her father, Gun Gyu Park, putting the club in her hands as a child. She loved putting on her own.
âThatâs how she fell in love with the game,â Beecher said. âGetting started that way, itâs played a huge role in her career.â
Source: GolfChannel.com
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Are you interested in playing summer golf competitively? Well here is your chance! The North Bay Junior Golf League season begins in June and there will be weekly tournaments which consist of a 2 person scramble format at different golf courses in the area each week. All players must be Youth on Course Members and they must sign up by May 31st to reserve their spot on the team!
For more information or to get your junior signed up for the team please email our Head Golf Professional Taylor at tbattaglia@
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6pm Check In · 6:30pm Start · $40 per person
18 Holes, 9 in the Sun, 9 in the dark
Come join us at the Fairgrounds for some Summer Glow Ball! Admission fee includes 9 holes of golf, range balls, tee prize, hot dogs, chips, sodas and water.
Check in starts at 6:30pm and we will have a shotgun start for the 9 holes. Food will be served before the round during check in time. The format will be a 4 person scramble (substitute the different format to match the type of event) with prizes going to first, second and third place teams!
To sign up your team or to be paired up with another team please contact us with your name, phone number, and credit card information to reserve your spot.
You can also sign up in our pro shop! Just ask one of our shop attendants!
April 27: 4 person scramble
June 29 2 person scramble
July 27: Modified alternate shot
September 28: 2 person scramble
October 26: 4 person scramble; Best Costume Contest for this event.
The post âš Glow Ball Scramble â April 27! âš appeared first on Fairgrounds Golf Course in Santa Rosa, CA.
Masters champion Patrick Reed says he doesnât believe in one company sponsoring a golfer entirely. At least thatâs his stance right now.
But the decision to play with a mixed bag of clubs â and not commit to one big-name brand â could be costing him millions, experts say.
The 27-year-old winner of six PGA Tour titles parted ways with Callaway Golf last year and told CNBC this week, âItâs hard to believe that there is one company that makes 14 perfect golf clubs.â
Golf Channel equipment expert Matt Adams sees Reed in a âunique situationâ financially. He estimates winning a Masters could pay out between $12 million-$15 million from corporate appearances, speaking fees and endorsement dollars. That number could be even higher for Reed considering heâs a free agent with his clubs.
âI donât think (Reed) is looking for or stressed about finding an (equipment) deal. Thereâs no rush,â said Adams, whoâs worked in the golf industry for more than 25 years. âHowever, when youâre the Masters champion, referred to as Captain America, and itâs a Ryder Cup year, I get the feeling that equipment companies will be knocking on the door and would love to sign somebody of (Reedâs) caliber, particularly when they can offer him a lot of money in a category where heâs not making anything in.â
Thereâs been an overall decline in equipment deals because of how the market has changed, Adams notes. But he says the decline has generally hurt PGA Tour players less accomplished than Reed, whoâs ranked No. 11 in the world.
âFor someone as high a caliber as him to win the Masters without an equipment deal is extremely rare,â Adams said. âFive to 10 years ago, you would have been hard-pressed to see any Tour player who didnât have an equipment deal, but thereâs not as much money as there used to be.â
After the Masters, Reed seemed unfazed that heâd miss out on a bonus that golfers typically receive from their equipment sponsor after winning a major championship. âThe biggest thing was, I wanted to be different,â he told CNBC.
Just how different is it? Reedâs decision to sign with Nike for a clothing deal thatâs separate from his equipment falls in line with Tiger Woodsâ decision to be sponsored by Nike for apparel but TaylorMade for clubs and Bridgestone Golf for balls.
We have had the time of our lives in NYC! Thank you @pgatour and New York City for being such awesome hosts! So much fun! #TheMasters #MastersChamp2018 pic.twitter.com/4HIyukGoli
â Patrick Reed (@PReedGolf) April 10, 2018
Nike stopped making golf equipment in 2016, creating a major wave of free agency for some of the top equipment brands. Since leaving Callaway last year, Reed hasnât signed with another equipment company.
While under contract with Callaway, he was seen using other brandsâ clubs and blamed lackluster results on his equipment.
âThatâs the trade-off, when those two things are at conflict,â said Southern California associate professor David Carter, the executive director of the schoolâs sports business institute. âAn athlete in this situation has to weigh whatâs best for his on-course performance and long-term, off-course financial wellbeing.â
While Reedâs situation with no equipment sponsor is unusual, there are other recent high-profile examples. Brooks Koepka also bucked the trend when he won the 2017 U.S. Open by using a bag full of irons he wasnât paid to play with.
Koepka, who had used Nike equipment before it got out of the club-making game and now has an apparel deal with the company like Reed, was courted by Mizuno Golf. Although he wasnât under contract, Koepka used Mizuno irons created specifically with him in mind (as an athletic long driver) for the U.S. Open.
In another sign of how much the market has changed, Sergio Garcia split with longtime sponsor TaylorMade after 2017, the year he won his green jacket, and signed on with Callaway.
Adams says big-name players such as Tiger or Rory McIlroy can make more than $20 million a year from their apparel and equipment deals combined, and those deals are typically written long term for five to seven years. But the numbers greatly vary below the top-tier names, with mid-range golfers averaging closer to the $1 million-$5 million range for shorter terms.
According to experts, most equipment companies will sponsor around five to seven notable Tour players, and their contracts require a golfer to use 12 or 13 of 14 clubs with the brand. Tigerâs deal is the rare exception to the rule.
In 2016, Phil Mickelson earned $50 million off the course from appearance fees, course design and a list of sponsors that included Callaway and Rolex, according to Forbes. The only active athletes to earn more outside of their normal salaries that year was Roger Federer ($60 million) and LeBron James ($54 million). And Jordan Spieth more than doubled his sponsorship earnings after he won two majors in 2015
âThe position that Reed is in now is a good one because of his notoriety,â Carter said. âWhether itâs good, bad or indifferent, he has an emerging brand that gives him a tremendous amount of leverage with these (equipment) companies.â
Reedâs case presents an interesting dilemma: Comfort with his clubs or dollar signs. Itâs worth noting that he earned $1.98 million for his Masters victory and has just over $22 million in PGA Tour earnings overall.
At Augusta National last weekend, Reed used a Ping driver, Titleist and Callaway irons, Artisan Golf wedges, a 7-year-old Nike 3-wood club and an Odyssey putter. And he used a Titleist Pro V1 ball.
âHe would be passing up quite a bit of money,â Carter said of Reedâs lack of equipment sponsor. âBut if heâs being true to himself and his personal brand, he could monetize it elsewhere. He could do a deal when heâs comfortable. But it almost seems inevitable for him to sign (an equipment contract). You can only go rogue for so long without it having a (financial) effect.â
Contributing: David Dusek of Golfweek
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AUGUSTA, Ga. â Welcome to the Masters morning rundown, your one-stop shop to catch up on the action from Augusta National. Hereâs everything you need to know for the morning of April 6.
Spieth sets the pace
What slump? Jordan Spieth racked up seven birdiesâincluding five consecutive on the backâand an eagle on Thursday afternoon to take the Masters lead on Day 1.
Itâs not so much that Spieth went low, but how. While he made the most of the 11 greens he hitâon the nine holes where a red number was recorded, six were spurred by approaches within 12 feetâSpieth chalked up two of his best shots to his putter. An eagle putt on the eighth and, of all things, a five-foot bogey putt on the seventh.
âIt was a very difficult putt, and I could have dropped to over par,â Spieth said. âAnd it led to stepping on No. 8 tee feeling like, okay, regrouped, letâs grab three coming in.â
Given his early-season struggles have been attributed to the flat stickâhe entered the week ranked 185th in strokes gained: puttingâSpiethâs 1.33 putts per green mark was an auspicious sign, and to the rest of the field, a bad omen. It wasnât a flawless round; he driver was problematic, and he did make three bogeys. As it was routinely pointed out, one good putting round does not erase three months of woe. But confidence breeds more confidence, and on a course that Spieth has made his de facto home, Spieth is brimming with it heading into Friday.
Jordan Spieth finish his first round of #theMasters in 1st place with a score of -6 pic.twitter.com/cZB42N36BQ
â Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 5, 2018
Finauâs âmiraculousâ 68
On Wednesday night, it appeared Tony Finau wouldnât be able to tee it up in Round 1. Which made what transpired on Thursday all the more shocking. As night fell on Augusta National Thursday night, the 28-year-old finds himself near the top of the leader board.
RELATED: Introducing Golf Digest All Access, a new way to improve
Despite dislocating his ankle in celebration at the Par-3 Contest, Finau cobbled together a four-under 68, one of the best rounds on Day 1. The tourâs leader in driving distance still had plenty of oomph off the tee, and though his irons werenât on (hitting just half of the greens in regulation) his putter was, with a field-best 1.28 putts per hole.
He did it with âquite a bitâ of tape. And a hell of a lot of heart.
âIt was nothing short of a miracle ,â Finau said.
This is Finauâs first appearance at the Masters, and as itâs been noted, this is a tournament not kind to newbies. Considering what he just accomplished on one ankle, taking down that history doesnât seem too daunting.
Tigerâs so-so Round 1
The buzz never stopped for Tiger Woodsâ first Masters round in three years. The problem was, Woods never got going, posting a one-over 73.
The 14-time major winner was able to make two birdies on the final five holes, yet his poor driving continues to rear its ugly head. This was especially evident on the par 5s, which have been the bane of his existence this season (101st in par 5 scoring), failing to make birdie on Augusta Nationalâs long holes.
To his credit, Tiger was okay with his round, and feels like heâs in position to strike.
âYes, I played in a major championship again, but also the fact that ⊠I got myself back in this tournament, and I could have easily let it slip away,â he said. âI fought hard to get it back in there, and Iâm back in this championship. It will be fun the next 54 holes.â
It will. The Masters always is. But Woods needs a solid Friday to make sure heâs part of that mix.
Sergioâs terrible, no good, very bad hole
Sergio Garcia came to Augusta Nationalâs 15th hole at two over in his first round as reigning Masters champ. His score was decidedly higher when walking to the 16th tee. After hitting a 320-yard drive on the 15th, leaving 200 yards and change, the Spaniardâs approach went into the water. As did his fourth. And six. And eighth. And, you guessed it, 10th.
However, the 12th found land, and the 38-year-old sunk the 10-footer. The final damage? An octuple-bogey 13.
âI donât know,â Garcia responded when asked to explain the hole. âI donât know what to tell you. Itâs one of those things. I feel likeâI donât know, itâs the first time in my career where I make a 13 without missing a shot. Simple as that. I felt like I hit a lot of good shots and unfortunately the ball just didnât want to stop. I donât know, you know, itâs one of those things. So itâs just unfortunate, but thatâs what it is.â
The 13 tied for the highest score in Masters history, and the highest score on the 15th, âbeatingâ the 11s of Masashi (Jumbo) Ozaki, Ben Crenshaw and Ignacio Garrido. To Garciaâs credit, he bounced back on the 16th with a birdie. But itâs safe to say he wonât be defending his crown.
Dayâs suds-soaked shot
That Jason Dayâs drive at the first went left is not a shock; that side is a common bailout for players on the opening tee. What makes Dayâs shot unique is where his second landed: into a patronâs beer.
The 2015 PGA champâs approach sailed to the right, clattered around the Georgia pines, hit a patronâs shoulder and landed in a libation. Told by an official that Day needed to identify his ball, the fan obliged, downing the drink to the amusement of his fellow patrons and Day.
Unfortunately for Day, he was unable to save par from the suds-soaked spot, walking away with a bogey. The rest of his front nine wasnât much better, making the turn in 40 and finishing with a 75. But at least he had a story to cheers to after the round.
Source: Golfdigest.com
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AUGUSTA, Ga. â Tiger Woods was on the driving range Tuesday at the Masters after playing nine holes in a foursome that included Phil Mickelson when Rory McIlroy sidled up and made him laugh. McIlroy said he had told Woods, âI never thought Iâd see the day: Tiger and Phil playing a practice round at Augusta.â
Yes, it was hardly practice as usual at Augusta National when Mickelson and Woods, the gameâs great rivals who had circled each other like birds of prey for more than two decades, played nine holes together ahead of a major for the first time in their storied careers.
It was Mickelsonâs idea, and Woods embraced it. âWe enjoyed it,â Woods said.
This very public thawing of their relationship proved an irresistible attraction at Augusta National, where, strangely, birdsong is heard but birds are rarely seen. Thatâs what made the sight at the 13th hole doubly surreal. As Mickelson and Woods were playing the 510-yard par 5, a large crane strutted across the fairway.
The crane joined the huge gallery in time to see Woods hit his second shot to within 40 feet of the pin. The roar after Woods stepped up and sank the eagle putt was deafening. The crowd erupted again after he made a much shorter attempt for another eagle at 15. When the noise quieted to a loud murmur, one patron remarked, âIt sounds like Sunday and itâs only a practice round.â
Mickelson and Woods beat the other half of the foursome, Fred Couples, the 1992 Masters champion, and the Belgian Thomas Pieters, in a contest that wasnât close. âIt was very loud and very fun and they hit some real good shots,â Couples said. âWow.â
Mickelson wore a long-sleeved, button-down shirt that inspired a joke from his playing partner. âThe only thing that was missing was a tie,â Woods said.
Woods has gotten the better of Mickelson on the course many more times than not, but according to their peers, it is a tossup as to who is ahead in the war of wit.
âItâs pretty even,â said Jordan Spieth, who has heard them up close at Ryder Cups and Presidents Cups.
He added, âTiger has more accolades than just about anybody in the sport â you know, nobody wants to go out there and just say, âIâve won this or this or this or this,â and Philâs kind of better at getting under peopleâs skin.â
Woods, 42, is an introverted only child. Mickelson, five years his senior, is an extroverted firstborn with two siblings. The one important thing they have in common â a burning desire to win â is probably the primary factor behind their lack of closeness all these years. Remember: Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer became fast friends only after they stopped banging heads on the golf course.
âOh, man, heâs very, very, competitive,â Woods said of Mickelson. âHeâs feisty. Heâs determined. He always wants to win.â
Woods, of course, could have been describing the man in the mirror. Justin Thomas, whom Woods mentored while on the mend from multiple back surgeries, played a practice round with him on Monday. Thomas noted a change in Woodsâs demeanor as they prepared to compete with each other. Woods, he said, was âa little harder to get stuff out of than when he was hurt and I was asking him questions.â
Mickelson has tour victories in four decades, but younger players like Thomas, the reigning P.G.A. champion, almost universally looked up to Woods when they were growing up.
âHe was winning about every other tournament he played in,â Thomas explained.
In some ways, though, Mickelson had the more auspicious start to his career, winning his first PGA Tour title when he was still an amateur. He has won 43 Tour titles, including five majors, while Woods has 79 tour wins, including 14 majors.
If Mickelson hadnât played in the same era as Woods, he might have â10 to 12 majors,â Couples said.
Mickelson isnât so sure. âItâs very possible that thatâs the case,â he said, âand itâs also possible that he brought out the best in me and forced me to work harder and focus to ultimately achieve the success that Iâve had.â
Six golfers in their 40s have won a Masters title. Led by Mickelson and Woods, at least a half-dozen here this week have a chance to become the seventh. The others include the 2007 champion, Zach Johnson, 42; Charley Hoffman, 41, who led after the first two rounds last year; Paul Casey, 40, who has top-six finishes in each of the past three years; and Ian Poulter, 42, who secured the final berth with a playoff victory Sunday in Houston.
After Mickelson won the World Golf Championships event in Mexico City last month in a playoff against Thomas, Woods described Mickelsonâs first victory since 2013 as âvery, very cool to watch.â
Woods tied for second a week later at the Valspar Championship outside Tampa, and Mickelson said he sent Woods a text message after he played his way into contention. Mickelson said he had told Woods that it felt âlike it was a different time continuum, because I found myself pulling so hard for him.â
This week they are less rivals than two men united against Father Time, a much more formidable opponent than Couples and Pieters combined.
âI find that I want him to play well,â Mickelson said, âand Iâm excited to see him play so well.â
At the start of the practice round, Woods teed off first. Someone asked how the group had decided who got that honor. An impish smile creased Mickelsonâs face.
âWe just went right in order,â he said. âHe has four jackets, I have three jackets, Fred, then Thomas.â
Mickelson winked. âItâs a respect thing.â
Source: nytimes.com
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