Tiger Woods unsure if he’ll ever play competitive golf again

I for one am glad to see Tiger back in the mix of golf as a Captain’s assistant for the President’s Cup Team.  It is crazy, but expected to see how he sort of took over the press conference with questions regarding his return.  It shows that despite everything he has been through, there are genuine interest in his return.  It does not sound like he will be back anytime soon, but the anticipation of a possible return………it has fans ears at attention.  Your thoughts……..

 

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Tiger Woods said Wednesday he doesn’t know when he’ll play competitive golf again.

Or if he ever will play again.

“I don’t know what my future holds for me,” Woods said at Liberty National Golf Club, where he is one of USA captain Steve Stricker’s assistants for the Presidents Cup that begins Thursday.

Woods, 41, had fusion surgery on his back on April 19 – his fourth procedure to his back since April of 2014. The 14-time major champion and winner of 79 PGA Tour titles has not played since he withdrew from the Dubai Desert Classic on Feb. 3 after an opening-round 73. He recently began chipping and putting in his back yard in Florida and has progressed to hitting 60-yard shots.

While he said he feels fine, Woods answered in the affirmative when asked if he could see himself not ever playing again. But he remains optimistic that he will return to the PGA Tour.

“My timetable is based on what my surgeon says,” Woods said. “I’m still training. I’m getting stronger. But I certainly don’t have my golf muscles trained because obviously I’m not doing anything golf related.

“Overall I’m very optimistic how I’m progressing. Like I said, the pain’s gone, but I don’t know what my golfing body is going to be like, because I haven’t hit a golf shot yet. So that’s going to take time to figure that out and figure out what my capabilities are going forward, and there’s no rush.”

For now, Woods’ immediate future is the Presidents Cup. While he won’t hit one shot this week, he said he’ll have a blast.

“It’s the pure enjoyment about, one, the competition, but also being with the guys that’s a different role, not a player,” he said. “I’m trying to help the other assistants, the other players, and obviously our captain. And it’s been a lot of fun. I had a great time last year (at the Ryder Cup) and having a blast this year. This is a great group of guys.”

Jim Furyk, another assistant to Stricker, said he’s glad Woods is here.

“The younger players on both sides, they grew up, he was our dominant player, the face of the PGA Tour and they grew up idolizing him,” Furyk said. “Having him here in the team room and here with those guys is invaluable. It’s a two-way street. It’s great for Tiger. As much as he’s been injured, it’s probably wonderful for him to be out here among the camaraderie and provides just so much experience and knowledge.”

Woods was also asked for his thoughts on players taking a knee in protest during the national anthem at NFL games.

“Obviously there’s a lot of unrest right now, whether it’s political or racial, in this country right now,” he said. “And that’s something that obviously has happened before in the past, and it’s happening right now in America. So hopefully things can be healed. That we can progress as a nation and come together, not just only the near future, but for perpetuity.”

Source: usatoday.com

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Web.com victory for one of Georgia Tech’s Finest!

Echelon Golf Club Would like to congratulate Georgia Tech’s own Chesson Hadley for his Web.com victory!

BOISE, Idaho — Chesson Hadley rallied to win the Albertsons Boise Open on Sunday to put himself in position for fully exempt PGA Tour status halfway through the four-event Web.com Tour Finals.

Hadley shot a 6-under 65 at Hillcrest Country Club — birdieing Nos. 15-17 and closing with a par — for a one-stroke victory over Ted Potter Jr. (67) and Jonathan Randolph (69).

His PGA Tour card already secured with a ninth-place finish on the Web.com Tour’s regular-season money list, Hadley earned $180,000 to overtake Brice Garnett for the No. 1 spot on the combined regular-season and Finals money list in a bid for fully exempt PGA Tour status. He also tops the Finals money list. If he takes either spot, he will also earn an exemption into The Players Championship.

“I proved to myself that I’m good enough to play on tour,” said Hadley, 2014 Puerto Rico Open winner on the PGA Tour. “When you lose your card, you start thinking and you get to some pretty dark places. It’s so awesome to be going back there. I’m kind of fired up about getting that No. 1 spot.”

Hadley finished at 16-under 268 for his second Web.com Tour victory of the season and fourth overall. He began the round five strokes behind leader Tyler Duncan.

“I know I came out of nowhere. No cameras showed up on me until I was on 16,” Hadley said. “Obviously, every win is such a great feeling. The course was not playing easy, and I just kind of hung in there.”

Hadley, Potter and the other top-25 finishers on the Web.com regular-season money list have earned PGA Tour cards. They are competing against each other for tour priority, with regular-season earnings counting in their totals.

 

The others — Nos. 26-75 on the Web.com regular-season money list, Nos. 126-200 in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings, and non-members with enough money to have placed in the top 200 in the FedEx Cup had they been eligible — are playing for an additional 25 cards.

Randolph wrapped up a card with his $88,000 check.

“Obviously, that was the goal at the start of the week,” Randolph said. “I know that’s where I belong, and I proved it to myself, being able to come out here and get it done this week.”

Alex Cejka also clinched a card. He was fourth at 14 under after a 69.

Duncan had a 74 to tie for fifth at 12 under. He also locked up a tour card.

Six-time PGA Tour winner Hunter Mahan had a 74 to tie for 61st at 3 under. He has made $21,320 in the two events after finishing 182nd in the FedEx Cup standings.

Source: ESPN.com

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Opening 62 for Leishman leaves him with a 2 shot lead in the BMW Championship!

The excitement of the BMW Championship was the pairing of Johnson, Speith, and Thomas, but Marc Leishman kept under the radar until he carded his 8th birdie on his way to a tournament leading 10 under 62 and a 2 shot lead going into the weekend.  It was impressive to watch and i can’t wait until later to see how he follows that 62 up.  Your thoughts……

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Marc Leishman left his golf clubs in his garage during his week break from the FedEx Cup playoff and it didn’t change anything. He made 10 birdies in the opening round of the BMW Championship for a 9-under 62 to build a two-shot lead.

Jason Day made the biggest change of his career and had a 64, his best start in 16 months.

The race to the FedEx Cup finale got off to a blistering start Thursday at Conway Farms, and no one could top Leishman. The Australian finished third at the TPC Boston two weeks ago, did nothing last week except practice putting in the room above his garage, and then ran off seven birdies in a nine-hole stretch in the middle of his round and matched his best score on the PGA Tour.

“When you play golf and all you’re thinking about his making birdies, it’s a lot easier than trying to not make bogeys,” Leishman said.

Day made five birdies on the back nine to atone for a sluggish start in a tournament where his expectations were up in the air. He decided last week that Colin Swatton, the most meaningful figure in his golf career, would no longer caddie for at least the rest of the year. Day instead used an old roommate from his school days in Australia, Luke Reardon. If that wasn’t enough, he also changed putters.

That might not have been nearly as significant as the good vibes from a six-shot victory at Conway Farms two years ago. Whatever the case, he had no complaints about his lowest score since a 63 in the AT&T Byron Nelson in May, and his best opening round since a 63 at The Players Championship a year ago, which was the last tournament he won.

“A good step in the right direction, especially with having Luke on the bag,” Day said. “Obviously, not having Colin on the bag is something different and I just didn’t know how I was going to play. I think Luke did a fantastic job out there. We worked well together and hope we can keep that going.”

Charley Hoffman, picked for the Presidents Cup a week ago, birdied his last two holes for a 64. Jamie Lovemark also had a 64 with a little more style, drilling a fairway metal over the creek to 8 feet for eagle on the par-5 18th.

Jordan Spieth, a runner-up in the last two FedEx Cup playoff events to take over the No. 1 spot in the standings, turned a wild tee shot into a birdie on the opening hole, added a 30-foot birdie from off the green at No. 5 and settled down the rest of the way for a bogey-free 65.

“I felt like I really stole a few shots out of this golf course, which is rare to feel like you scored better than you played,” Spieth said.

Also at 65 was Rickie Flower, who showed a streaky side. Fowler birdied the first hole. He bogeyed the second hole. He followed with nine straight pars. And then he ran off six straight birdies, capped by a 65-foot pitch from short of the 17th green.

Fowler had a chance to match a career best with seven straight birdies, but he chose not to take on the stream at the par-5 18th and laid up. He hit wedge to 12 feet and missed the birdie putts, with no regrets.

This was only Thursday, and he saw no need in ruining a big finish with a shot he would have had to hit flush.

“Come Sunday, if I’m in good position, that will be a go, and see what happens,” he said.

Tony Finau, Keegan Bradley and Rafa Cabrera Bello also were at 65, while Phil Mickelson played bogey-free and opened with a 66.

The top 30 in the FedEx Cup after this week make it to the Tour Championship at East Lake for a mathematical shot at the $10 million bonus, with odds significantly higher depending on the position in the standings. The top five players – Spieth, Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson already are assured that position – would only have to win at East Lake to claim golf’s richest prize.

Thomas hit a tee shot into the water on the par-3 11th and made double bogey, though he still shot 67. Johnson had a three-hole stretch at 4 over early in his round and recovered for a 71.

For players like Mickelson, Finau and Bradley, they need to play well over the next three days to get into the top 30.

Mickelson found something a few weeks ago, whether it was medication or his diet as it relates to psoriatic arthritis, but it has given him great clarity of the shots he sees and more energy to keep his mind from drifting. He tied for sixth two weeks ago outside Boston and was sharp again at Conway Farms.

Lefty already is assured of competing in his 23rd consecutive team competition as a captain’s pick for the Presidents Cup. Now he’d like to make it back to East Lake.

Source: Golf.com

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Great mornings at The Overlook @ Echelon!!

The morning drive into work can be very uneventful, but when you drive up to views like this…….it makes the day just that much better!!!! Come on in and join us for lunch starting at 11am and you can see for yourself. Oh…..and yes, we are open to the public!!

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