How’s your preparation going?
What are your expectations for the week?
“It’s firm.
It’s been a while.
To achieve that goal this year you almost have to hit a shot with right-to-left spin.
Additional changes have been made to the 2nd, 4th and 6th greens.
They’ve made one of the hardest holes on the course even harder.
And Xander Schauffele suspects the greencoats have also done some more tweaking than they’re letting on.
“There’s so many small nuances I feel like to the property,” he said.
“Like the back of 14, that back left pin going over the green used to be good.
“I wasn’t ready to play,” he said.
“My body wasn’t ready.
My game wasn’t ready.
And I thought that when I was at Hero, once a month would be a really nice rhythm.
Hasn’t worked out that way.
But now we have major championships every month from here through July.
So now the once a month hopefully kicks in.”
So, yeah, once we start the hole, it’s a bit of a challenge.”
As for whether he believes he can win…he said what you’d expect him to say.
“If everything comes together, I think I can get one more,” he said.
Woods was not asked about his recent meeting with Saudi Public Investment Fund chairman Yasir al-Rumayyan in the Bahamas.
He was not asked anything about the future of the PGA Tour, LIV Golf or any potential merger.
I tried to but was not called on.
“I understood my position, yes,” Rahm said.
Or more of an agreement or expedited agreement.
But, unfortunately, it’s not up to me.
But I would hope it would be something that would help expedite that process.
But at the end of the day, I still did what I thought was best for myself.”
A little less golf, for sure, but that’s not automatically negative.
“You’re saying like playing a little bit less is a bad thing.
Which I wouldn’t think it is.
But then once competition starts, it doesn’t really matter.
He said he feels the same juice at LIV Golf events that he did at, say, Riviera.
Or anywhere else on the planet when he has a scorecard in his back pocket.
“I understand there’s less people.
I understand the team format’s a little different.
But the pressure’s there.
Like, I want to win as bad as I wanted to win before I moved on to LIV.
So, yeah, going down the stretch when you’re in contention is the exact same feelings.
That really doesn’t change.
Why would he make the move after such an incredible stretch?
The answer points to the uneasy marriage between a golfer’s feelings and his scores.
“I mean, it’s one of those things,” Hovland said.
Things have changed, though.
At least that’s what the results suggest.
Let’s see how it goes this week.
Yes, McIlroy was the last of all 89 competitors to register for the week.
The thought process: treat this tournament just like all the others.
He’s done fine in those.
I feel like I made a couple of good strides in that direction last week in Texas.
Yeah, it’s just sort of nice to get home after a week and reset.
I came up here last week to play two practice rounds at the start of the week.
So I feel like I’ve already got most of my prep work done.
So it’s just about going out there and being relaxed and being in the right frame of mind.
He said his recovery has been “miraculous” and he was able to play 9 holes without pain.
“It’s probably the best worst thing (that could’ve happened).
Fred Couples played his annual nine-hole practice scroll with Justin Thomas and Tiger Woods.
And, like every year, he have a glowing review of Tiger’s game.
“I think the last thing he’s thinking about is making the cut,” Couples said.
“Now, the weather is – I don’t know how the weather is supposed to be.
He can play well in winds and rain and all that.
Can he win here?
You know what, yeah.
I’ll be stunned if he makes the cut.”
He used a blade style for all five major championship victories.
He enters this week as the biggest favorite since Tiger Woods in 2013, but he hardly seems bothered.
“I try not to look too far into the future,” Scheffler said.
“I’m excited about how I’ve been playing to begin this year.
I had two nice wins, which was obviously a bunch of fun.
Then I was close in my last start as well.
I really am not looking much past tomorrow.
