Hittin’ the Links is back! After a bit of a hiatus, (hey, at least it was shorter than Tiger’s) we’re back to recap the week that was in the game of golf.
It was a rather eventful one, as a 14-time major championship winner returned to the PGA Tour (kind of), a young up-and-comer got back into the winner’s circle, and the prospective 2018 European Ryder Cup captain gets leaked. We also check in with Retief Goosen, Tony Finau, and Derek Jeter.
Let’s hit the links!
Hole #1: Tiger Returns
If you are currently living under a rock, you might not have heard that Tiger Woods played a competitive round of golf (four of them, in fact!) for the first time in nearly a year and a half. He made the return at the Hero World Challenge, an 18-player tournament that he hosts in the Bahamas, and finished 15th. He managed to lead the field with 24 birdies, but a smattering of bogeys and doubles hurt him, and he looked a bit gassed after finishing with a 76 on Sunday. [Link]
Hole #2: Don’t Get a Golfer Any of These Gifts
As any golfer can tell you, while we all appreciate a good gift, most golf-related gifts flat-out suck. They’re either tacky, needlessly expensive, or basically useless. Seriously, if anyone out there stumbled upon this while researching for a gift to give a golfer, just buy them a box of Titleist ProV1 golf balls. They’re still needlessly expensive, but very useful, and something that many golfers wouldn’t buy themselves. Just don’t buy any of the gifts on this list: [Link]
Hole #3: Matsuyama Wins Hero World Challenge
Hideki Masuyama won his fourth tournament in five starts, prevailing over a strong field at Albany. He’s the sixth-ranked player in the world, and looks to be one of the top competitors going into the 2017 Masters. [Link]
Hole #4: Hero World Challenge WITB
Tiger Woods was just one player of many with new clubs in the bags, as Nike’s former staffers look elsewhere and everyone else tries to get their bags set for the upcoming season. [Link]
Hole #5: Tony Finau’s Son Undergoes Surgery
Let’s all hope the little guy pulls through. [Link]
Hole #6: Thomas Bjorn to be named 2018 Ryder Cup Captain
According to Golf Digest’s sources, 45-year-old Thomas Bjorn is set to captain the 2018 European Ryder Cup team as he look to avenge the U.S.’s 2016 victory at Hazeltine. [Link]
Hole #7: Tiger Makes Huge OWGR Jump
By virtue of his 15th-place finish in the Hero World Challenge, Tiger Woods jumped from 898th to 650th, directly between the immortal Sean Riordan and everyone’s favorite Simon Yates.[Link]
Hole #8: Derek Jeter Says Golf is the Most Frustrating Thing He’s Ever Done
Then he jet-skied home on a seat made out of melted-down Gold Glove Awards.
[Link]
Hole #9: Weekly Woods Wrap-up
Since Tiger’s already gotten quite a bit of air time this week, let’s take a look at one of his contemporaries, Retief Goosen, who staked his claim as one of the best players of the 1990s and 2000s despite being struck by lightning at 17.
[Link]