19th Hole
Cam Smith accuses Phil Mickelson of ‘gamesmanship’ during LIV showdown
Phil Mickelson has had ‘a week’ at the final event of the LIV Golf series.
Just before the team event finale started at the LIV Miami, the three-time Masters champion had a terrific war of words with Brooks Koepka, captain of the Smash GC team.
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The captains were offered their choice of opponent and, before Koepka could answer, Mickelson suggested they have a repeat of their final round clash at the 2021 PGA Championship, an event the then 51-year-old won to be the oldest of all major winners.
The 32-year-old, himself winner of four majors, came back by suggesting, “If you wanna play we can play but, I don’t know if you know this cause you’ve never been No.1 in the world, but if you finish (No.1) at the end of the year they give you a little trophy so I got two of those, I’ll bring one to show you.”
Amidst the gallery’s laughter, Lefty wasn’t to be left without the last word.
“That’s a beautiful green shirt,” he commented to his rival. “Do you have a green jacket?”
He didn’t quite have the same answers a few days later, when 2022 Open Champion Cam Smith knocked out Mickelson’s team, the Hy Flyers, care of a seven-foot final hole birdie.
However, despite seeing Punch GC team progress, the former world number two accused his opponent of a touch of gamesmanship.
“We both struck the ball good. I probably didn’t hole as many putts as I’d like, but I was able to get the job done there on the last hole,” said the Australian star.
“Yeah, it was a good match,” he continued. “I think Phil maybe had some gamesmanship in there a little bit. He seemed to take forever today. I think we were three or four holes behind, so that was a bit painful. But other than that, it was good.”
Two days later, both Koepka’s ‘Smash’ and Smith’s ‘Punch’ made the last four, to compete on the lucrative final day against Louis Oosthuizen’s Stingers and the team that has dominated the LIV series – the Aces – comprising captain Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Talor Gooch and Pat Perez.
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19th Hole
Notah Begay gives gloomy update on Tiger’s injuries ahead of 2024 Masters
While speaking with USA Today, Tiger Woods’ good friend, Notah Begay III, discussed the health of the 15-time major champion.
“He’s trying to formulate a strategy and approach that he can work within given the constraints that he’s presented with. And he’s got some constraints,” Begay said. “He’s got zero mobility in that left ankle and really has low-back challenges now, which he knew he was going to have.”
At Begay’s tournament he hosts that Tiger’s son Charlie played in, Tiger told him, “My ankle doesn’t move. So, something’s going to take the stress. I mean, the stress is going to transfer somewhere else.”
At the Genesis Invitational, that pain transferred to Woods’ back, causing him to withdraw from the tournament.
“For the past couple months, he’s been trying to find a way to recover,” Begay added. “He can play the golf. We always knew the question was going to be ‘Can he walk the 72 (holes)?’ That’s still up in the air. But can he recover, from one round to the next? That’s the biggest question that I really don’t know and he’s not going to know either until he gets out there and figures out whether the way he’s prepared for this year’s Masters is going to work for him.”
Last year, Woods made the cut at Augusta, but was forced to withdraw over the weekend due to plantar fasciitis.
The week will be sure to test Tiger, as Augusta National is one of the most difficult walks in golf.
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19th Hole
Tommy Fleetwood provides the simple reason why he was spotted at LIV event earlier this year
Earlier this season, PGA Tour star Tommy Fleetwood was spotted alongside Tyrrell Hatton and Jon Rahm at LIV Las Vegas. The European was off that week and was catching up with some of his Ryder Cup teammates at the golf course.
While speaking with The Guardian, the Englishman explained his reasoning for going to the event.
“I really didn’t think that much about it. I was over there, lots of us talk about LIV but never see it so I wanted to see what a tournament was like.
“There are also so many people there that we don’t see any more, who I would still class as friends. Players, people who work on the tour, my trainer works there. So, I had a free morning, went for a few hours and that was it.”
When asked if he knew that his appearance would cause some speculation, Fleetwood acknowledged that he knew it was a possibility.
“It was pretty obvious that would happen but it is difficult when you know there is nothing to it and a lot of people want to make something of it,” Fleetwood said. “That’s just the way things are. I didn’t want to feel like I couldn’t go just because people would say things. I think it came across that I just wanted to go and see friends and that really was the main thing. It was nice to see a lot of people.”
“I obviously know what I am doing, where I am playing. You can’t do much about what’s said elsewhere. It was the same as going to that event, I knew why I was there. I don’t find it distracting at all.”
Fleetwood also gave The Guardian his thoughts on LIV and how the players seemed when he made the visit.
“They are obviously doing pretty well for what they are. The players seem to enjoy it, seem to enjoy playing on that tour; one of the first things I noticed was that everybody seems happy, chilled, relaxed.”
“There are certain things I wasn’t used to; the music, I don’t know how I would feel about playing with that. Beyond that my biggest takeaway was that it was just another golf tournament. Everyone seemed very professional and working very hard. It’s basically just a bunch of people who you knew out here that are now there. So many things have just carried over.”
The 33-year-old is set to tee it up at this week’s Valero Texas Open. He’s struggled a bit so far this season, so he will be looking to find form prior to his trip to Augusta National.
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19th Hole
Report: Tiger Woods has ‘eliminated sex’ in preparation for the 2024 Masters
On Wednesday, the New York Times published a story about Tiger Woods’ 2024 Masters preparation.
According to the article, a friend of Woods told them that he is so focused on Augusta that he’s eliminated sex.
“He’s focused,” Tiger’s friend says. “He’s working really hard in the gym. He’s eating right. He’s even eliminated sex.
“He does that now when he’s preparing: no sex until the tournament is over. He doesn’t want anything to take away his focus.”
The New York Post followed up by asking Woods’ friend if he’s dating anyone since he and his previous girlfriend of six years Erica Herman split.
“There’s no one to speak of,” he said.
Tiger will head into the Masters without having played four rounds of golf since the Hero World Challenge back in December.
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