Instead, Tiger lit up the front nine in his second round, going out in five-under 31 to take the solo lead. And he capped it off with a vintage performance at the par-5, 603-yard 9th hole, starting with a rope of a drive that left him just 271 yards from the green. On his approach, he pulled out a 3-wood and hit it sky high, so high in fact that he and Golf Channel analyst Jim “Bones” Mackay lost sight of it:

271 yards to the hole.

WOW. #QuickHits pic.twitter.com/WK5Pd8PYte

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 1, 2017

If there was any doubt about how Tiger’s back was feeling, this mammoth 3-wood to within 20-feet quieted those doubts. As it was in the air, Woods gave a classic reaction to his caddie, Joe LaCava, saying: “Talk to me, Joey,” to which Lacava replied, “get up a yard.” These guys are in mid-season form!

The post Watch Tiger Woods make his first eagle to give him the solo lead at the Hero World Challenge appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Rahm’s drive “only” went 393 yards, but his approach found the front fringe, and his long putt found the bottom of the hole for a 3 that highlighted an opening 67 that put the Spaniard just a couple shots back of leader Thomas Pieters. Check out how Rahm (sort of) brought “The Monster” to its knees:

393 yard drive
250 yard approach
 56 foot putt

Jon Rahm is just the second player to eagle the 16th hole since 2008. pic.twitter.com/1wYn0zSX9k

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) August 3, 2017

As the tweet says, Jon Rahm, who is making his tournament debut this week, is just the second player since 2008 to eagle the hole, joining Justin Thomas, who needed to chip in after hitting a 413-yard drive during the second round last year. There have only been three eagles made on the hole in tournament history. In other words, Jon, the hole isn’t supposed to be that easy.

In fact, it was Arnold Palmer who first called Firestone’s 16th “The Monster” after making a triple bogey in the 1960 PGA Championship. And before this year’s event, the club renamed a bridge on the hole for Palmer, who passed away last September.

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Heading to what could have been his final hole of the week, Wood was at five-over par, currently just outside the projected cut at the Open Championship. No one wants to miss the cut in a major, especially not in your home country. Wood, from Bristol, England, found the fairway on the 473-yard par-4, leaving himself a good look at the green. Getting a birdie opportunity would give him a chance to get to four-over, right on the cut line at the moment. Instead, Wood left no doubt:

What a way to finish! Eagle on 18 for @chris3wood to put himself inside the projected cut. #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/l4UDra0wjm

— The Open (@TheOpen) July 21, 2017

The eagle-2 on one of the more difficult holes on the course gets Wood to three-over. There are 71 players at four-over or better at Royal Birkdale right now, and with the weather only getting worse, Wood should make plans to hang around for the weekend.

The post The Open 2017: Watch Chris Wood hole out for eagle on the 18th to potentially make the cut appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Update: This is how Sergio hurt his right arm. Took a swipe at the gorse … and the gorse won. #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/Z3uYcQNfBX

— Ryan Lavner (@RyanLavnerGC) July 21, 2017

Golf fans got fescue overload during the U.S. Open at Erin Hills, but gorse never seems to get its proper due when it comes to on-course shrubbery. It’s thick. It’s prickly. And when I brushed my hand up against some by mistake the other day, I half expected to look down and see myself gushing with blood.

Thankfully, though, I was OK. And it appears Garcia is as well, although Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner reported he received some treatment shortly after. Garcia bogeyed the fourth hole, but bounced back with this eagle on No. 5:

Sergio is flying! @thesergiogarcia holes an eagle at the 5th. #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/UZXYSVv6HO

— The Open (@TheOpen) July 21, 2017

And Garcia has made all pars since. Again, the most important thing is his health. Yeah, yeah, he’s got this tournament, but he’s also getting married next week so we’re pretty sure his fiancee, Angela Akins, would be pretty ticked if Sergio showed up to the wedding with his arm in a sling. After all, Garcia wasn’t hitting out of a gorse bush, but rather, hitting one. It’s a mistake in judgement we can all learn from.

Lesson of the day for Sergio: If you're angry, don't take it out on a gorse bush. Gorse is undefeated.

— Mike O'Malley (@GD_MikeO) July 21, 2017

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