THE GOLF REPORT
PGA Tour 2018: Tiger is back, DJ is from another planet and other news this year on the Tour
Josh Rapp
Jan 16, 2018, 4:33 pm
Tiger Woods is back, and all is right with te golf world. Masters.com
Here we are folks! The 2018 PGA TOUR season has officially begun. Now before you go off and tell me that “technically it already started,” I know. But let’s be honest with each other, those events between the Tour Championship and the Tournament of Champions (sans the WGC event in Shanghai) are borderline meaningless. At any rate, the 2018 season is under way with both new and old excitement. Let’s take a look at some of the news we’ve had and news to look forward to in 2018:
Tiger is back
It would be silly not to start with the most exciting/interesting news that’s been permeating the golf landscape in 2018. That’s right, one Eldrick Tont Woods, a.k.a. Tiger, has officially committed to play in two official tournaments so far. The first (Farmers Insurance Open) is coming up at the end of January (officially, Jan 25-28). This tournament takes place at Torrey Pines where he has won an incredible eight times. Those eight wins include his 14th (and most recent) major, the 2008 U.S. Open. If anyone knows how to get around Torrey Pines, it’s Tiger Woods. The other tournament he has committed to is the Genesis Open (Feb 15-18) at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, CA. Now remember, it’s 2018, not 2000. Tiger is not the player he was back then, and his name no longer carries the weight/intimidation that it once did. However, everyone benefits from Tiger playing in tour events. More people watch, more people attend, and golf is all around better (and richer) when they can bank on Tiger. It’s highly doubtful that Tiger will be near the top of the leaderboard at either tournament, but the oddsmakers feel a bit differently. Tiger hosted and played in the Hero World Challenge back at the end of November. This was a limited field event (only 18 players) and the course was rather tame by PGA standards. However, before the tournament started Tiger was a 66-1 longshot to win at Augusta in 2018. After his opening round 69 at the Hero, that dropped to a ridiculous 33-1, and after Friday it was even lower at 15-1. Some books still have him at that number, while others have come to their senses and brought the number back up. While I won’t put any money on Tiger to win a major this year (or ever again for that matter), it would not surprise me if he did. Bottom line is that Tiger is back playing in meaningful tournaments, and we are all the better because of it.
DJ is from another planet
In other news, Dustin Johnson is not human. If you haven’t seen his near ace on the 433 yard par 4 in the Sentry Tournament of Champions, then you are severely missing out. Check it out here even if you have seen it, because it is that good. Johnson went on to win that tournament by an incredible 8 shots, with a total score of 24-under par. With the ability to drive it that far, and stay that accurate, it’s hard to imagine he would ever lose a golf tournament. He finally broke his major drought in 2016 at the U.S. Open, and ascended to No. 1 in the world at the beginning of 2017. He still sits atop the OWGR and looks poised to make a statement in 2018. It’s my opinion that DJ will win the Player of the Year award for 2018, and will take home multiple tournaments including a couple majors. Quite a bit of my betting dollars will be used on DJ this year (barring any more tumbles down a short set of stairs).
Spieth is still pretty good, too
Jordan Spieth is still good at golf, and even added a Claret Jug to his trophy case in 2017. It took a some incredible putting, and a ridiculous drop that lasted more than 20 minutes; but the Open Championship was his in the end. This makes the PGA Championship in 2018 quite a bit more interesting to watch. He will be competing for the Grand Slam, which only five other players have done (one of them being Mr. Woods an amazing three times.) Jordan also got engaged at the end of 2017, which I assume will be a good thing, but who knows. Congratulations Jordan, but remember where the money comes from: GOLF!
Plenty of other interesting names
Other players to watch out for are the norms: Rory McIlroy is out of the Nike equipment, and looks to be fully recovered from his rib/back injury that occurred last year. He’s been through somewhat of a lull in the past years, but he still has four majors and will be gunning for the Grand Slam at the Masters this year. The reigning Player of the Year, Justin Thomas, has 10-3 odds to win a major this year. He won the 2017 Tournament of Champions, and then shot a 59 in the Sony the very next week. He seemed to be a bit out of form at the Sentry last week, but it’s still very early in the year. The unfortunate part of 2018 is that there is no reason to root for Sergio anymore. After finally capturing that elusive first major at the Masters, it’s not likely that he’ll be getting the same acquiescence from the crowds. However, he did just leave long time sponsor Taylormade, and signed with Callaway. That may not make him any more popular with the fans, but I do think he will play better with the new equipment. There are a few low key names to be on the look out for this year. Tony Finau is a name that few outside the golfing world will know, but he is young and coming into form. He is tall (6’3”) and can mash it like Dustin. Combine that with his improved greenside ability and scrambling strength, and he is a dark horse to win big this year. Another young up-and-comer is Xander Schauffele. He won the Tour Championship at the end of 2017 and just signed a big deal with Callaway. (Callaway seems to be rounding everyone up lately). Without the pressure of needing to win to make money, The X-Man can relax and play his style of golf.
All in all, it looks to be an exciting season of PGA TOUR golf. Perhaps somewhat heightened by the long-awaited return of Tiger, and bolstered by it being a Ryder Cup year. I’m looking forward to each week on the TOUR, and plan on attending the final major (The PGA Championship) this year. Here’s hoping the bets pay off, and the beer continues to flow all year.
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Stephen Curry closed his eyes and rested his tired head on Jimmy Butler's right shoulder as the superstars shared another postgame moment.
This time, with Butler injured and wearing street clothes — a full-length fur coat at that.
“Well first, he had a fantastic coat on,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “I thought he was going to be way too hot in that thing.”
Sidelined for Game 3 of Golden State's first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets, Butler had a front-row seat to watch his teammate take over Saturday night in a 104-93 win that gave the Warriors a 2-1 lead.
Curry scored 36 points with five 3-pointers and had nine assists and seven rebounds in nearly 41 minutes. He had been determined to do more if Butler couldn't play after injuring his pelvis and suffering a deep gluteal muscle contusion in a hard fall during Game 2.
Butler and Curry can compare notes on their injured backsides, given that Curry has dealt with a bruised tailbone multiple times. For now, Curry appreciates the support, whether Butler is in uniform or not.
And the fur Butler was wearing?
“I almost didn't need a hot pack on the sideline sitting next to him. There was plenty of heat emanating from him,” Curry said before adding, “He's a savvy veteran, high-IQ guy, he's got a presence whether he's active or not where his voice matters, and we needed him to lift everybody up on the bench and give us that energy. His presence matched the fit for sure.”
Kerr wasn't ready to guess whether Butler will be able to play in Game 4 on Monday night.
“He’s literally day-to-day. We have tomorrow off. It will be helpful for him to have another day, and then it’s a night game,” Kerr said. “So he gets a few extra hours. So we’ll see. I have no idea right now if he’s going to play.”
Butler had been set to go through his pregame routine, which he does out of sight on the team's practice court and not the playing floor before games at Chase Center. He had an MRI exam Thursday in the Bay Area a day after he was hurt in Houston.
“We had to have Jimmy’s back while he was out,” said Gary Payton II, who scored 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter. “Hopefully we get Jimmy back for Game 4 and get back to our regularly scheduled program.”
Jonathan Kuminga, who didn't play for three straight games before rejoining the rotation in Game 2 when Butler got hurt, was in the starting lineup for his fourth career playoff start.
Butler went down hard when he was fouled by Amen Thompson late in the first quarter and then missed the rest of the Warriors’ 109-94 Game 2 loss on Wednesday night.
Butler tried to secure a rebound when Thompson undercut him and sent the Warriors star’s feet high into the air so that he came down straight onto his tailbone. Both players thudded to the floor and Butler grimaced in pain, grabbing at his backside. He stayed in briefly to shoot two free throws before going to the locker room.
Kerr appreciated Butler's insight on the bench.
“Jimmy is so smart. He reminds me so much of Andre Iguodala," Kerr said. “Incredible basketball IQ and then the ability to communicate what he’s seeing to his teammates on the bench. I thought Jimmy was important for us tonight in that regard. He was talking to guys throughout the game, and giving them advice, giving some help, and that was big.”
In the Game 1 win against the Rockets, Butler had 25 points on 10-for-19 shooting, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals in 42 minutes. The Warriors are 26-9 since Butler made his debut at Chicago on Feb. 8, including 23-8 in the regular season, a play-in tournament win over Memphis and the three games against Houston.
“We know they are still dangerous without Butler, so that doesn’t change anything as far as that," Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “We didn’t make them pay, especially with the paint shots.”