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Today, we'll take you all the way
through the second hole of Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods.
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Justin Thomas iron down the left side here at ten.
Well, there's my first surprise of the day
is Justin Thomas with his Lincoln Power laying up on the 10th hole.
But he has laid that up absolutely perfect for that angle back to that back pin.
Dennis, what's the environment like down there?
It is really amazing,
I mean, there's probably two or 300 people up by the green in the corner and it's
completely packed up on the right hand side of the tee box here.
There's probably the better part of 1000 people already here on property
and we're talking about before most people get up here in L.A.
it's a lazy morning L.A.
usually, but it is gorgeous out here right now, the wind
playing down breeze for the player, so it's definitely gettable.
Dexterity tournament host, please welcome Tiger Woods.
1992 is a 16 year old amateur.
He made his PGA Tour debut.
Now, at the age of 42 years old, Tiger makes his second start of
the season. Just the lay up
that's going to just fine up
the left hand side should be good.
Boy, does he look good, but he looks
maybe a little bit better, I guess we all did back in 1992
on the tee from Cypress California
amateur Tiger Woods.
On March first, 1992, a 16 year
old kid named Tiger Woods made his PGA Tour debut at Riviera Country Club.
The crowd was so loud and it was like kind of deafening.
Since then, Tiger has given that crowd much more to roar about.
Fresh air fire after seeing it up
at the Genesis Open for the first time as a pro in 1997, Tiger
racked up eight consecutive top 25 finishes, including two runner ups
come full circle in order to be a 16 year old
teen on the PGA Tour event tonight could have ever imagined.
He returns this week for the first time in twelve years, this time
as tournament host.
Hard to believe the tiger does not have a win at the Genesis Open.
Couple of runner up finishes worth noting in 1998 it wasn't here at Riviera.
It's down the road of Valencia Country Club as Riviera got ready
to host the senior PGA Championship.
99 finished second to Ernie Els
and now K.J., who laid up into the fairway bunker John.
Yeah, I think he was expecting that ball
to be in the fairway, but it chased him to that bunker to get it.
There was a really good shot and looks like he's going to walk off of here with
an easy four, which
I guess and and all things hasn't been that easy for a lot of players.
Finished 26 last week at Pebble Beach,
so his game may be starting to round into shape.
Does Riviera fit one specific style of player?
I mean, to me, I would say no.
I mean, I think that it's it's really,
as I touched on earlier, it's it's a second shot golf course.
Obviously, it's important to hit the ball in the fairway to control the ball, but
it's not the recipe for success around here.
You have to be a great iron player and you have to put the ball really well
to win around Riviera, but I really don't think that it favors
one particular player.
I mean, I think that anyone can get around.
It's just all about strategy and staying patient with it. Billy Hurley,
who just lost a playoff to Jordan Spieth to get on the Player Advisory Committee.
I don't know if he had a chance to see that on Twitter,
but the video is worth a look. That was a pretty, pretty funny
campaign. I guess that they had going, and Billy did a good job with that.
I saw the video the other day and in Jordan embraced it pretty well, too.
When they talked to him about it, he laughed about it. And
I just saw another Instagram photo about Jordan Spieth winning the campaign.
four for the PAC chairman.
Yeah, not often do you see two people
running against each other in a campaign where one endorses the other?
That's right. Pretty creative, though. By Billy Hurley.
There's K.J. for four.
Oh, well. Not too surprising
because this is one of the most difficult courses to putt from three feet.
We take a look. five out of the past seven years,
it has been the number one hardest course from three feet.
Tough to read, sometimes Pollyanna can get bumpy.
What's the reason?
Yeah, obviously early in the morning, they should be in great shape.
But yes, as the day progresses, you'll get the footprints.
The balls will bounce a little bit and pull in as a tough surface to put on.
It is a tough surface to read if you're not used to it or familiar
with it. But it's just, you know, these greens at Riviera.
I feel like they have a lot of little subtle breaks and stuff where they
where they cut these hole locations,
which makes it difficult to make these three footers.
Well, let's head down to the ground.
Dennis Paulson is with our first of two feature groups
Perfect Live for Tiger and Perfect Angle.
The problem is it's playing down when the shot you want a little bit
more wind in your face, but playing downwind,
John, you mentioned the fact that you land short here.
You're dealing with a little saddle, the bunker and it's going to skip left
flight in this town needs a huge hop.
It's a big one, needs another one. And that's looking good.
Wow, that's talented right there. Well, control.
Yeah, that was a great shot by Tiger, and like you said, Dennis, I mean, if he flew
that about five or ten more yards, that ball kicks left in the bunker.
Tiger, just here we see him again, just float flighted that nicely, lands
it short of that little saddle that Dennis just talked about one hot chick
like a 14 time major winner.
And can Justin Thomas follow the leader
throughout this? Wow.
Well, I mean, I think really, that's a
byproduct of leaving the ball in the right position off the tee,
even though they laid up JT got it all the way down to the end of the fairway.
Hit a little low.
Basically, like Tiger did, one heart kind of checks
releases out like a putt judge perfectly.
And now McIlroy can hit the green from here.
Didn't there's not no chance
I think he was trying to find a place to play his third from?
There was no chance at the green from where he was.
Well, when we were analyzing the whole earlier, John, you put two big
red XS, right where McIlroy was, yeah, that was really surprising to see him.
You know, I know he hit a three wood off the tee there and you know, it's golf,
but to see him hit the ball to the right there, I mean, he knows
that's the only place you can't hit it. So
just a, I guess, a poor swing for him to start off his round.
But now work cut out to get this ball up and down.
We've seen so many players leave these bunker shots
in the bunker for their first drop.
So Denis, I'll ask you if you know
where you can't hit it, isn't it gnawing at you in your brain?
How do you block that out? Well, and that's the whole thing.
I mean, you take one part of this whole lot of play,
and there really isn't a place to miss here at number ten,
except for the left over here by the ball, birch trees and short.
But then you're not really going for the green, and all depend upon the line
and get to see the line.
But this is actually very doable if he doesn't have a downhill lie.
Well done. I guess getting it right,
it's not so bad, after all.
A little smile there.
He knows he really stole one with the birdie there on the 10th
from where his tee shot was.
Yeah, I was more than doable.
That is worth that is worth one more look.
I mean, even McIlroy knows.
That was just executed perfectly,
I mean, the ball comes out, ships releases like a pole.
He read it Perfect.
Just over ho hum birdie.
Well, as if the crowds weren't excited enough, that should get them
pretty frothy, a little chum in the water now birdies on the card.
And we'll skip back to the tee
as our first of two featured groups
to cover waves of Matt Kuchar.
Phil Mickelson and Tommy Fleetwood.
I mean. See everybody guarding their eyes, trying to look down the fairway,
a good indicator that the sun now starting to rise and getting down
in the canyons of Riviera.
Yeah, it's like they're they're trying to figure out
if the group has gotten off the green yet to send these guys on their way.
They should be able to see that they're standing behind the green.
With her hands folded, everybody's out of the way, and I'm not sure
what's going on here.
Maybe there has been an announcement yet.
You know, it looks like they're they're just confused as to whether or not
they're waiting for them, but looks like they got the green light here.
Well, gentlemen, and the first to play gentlemen,
this is a 7:32 time, 37, 32 time.
The players infrastructure Mr. Merkle Center for Fleetwood,
first on a tee from Sea Island, Georgia.
Please welcome Mat Co-Chair.
39 year old Matt Coucher
sits 83rd in the race for the FedEx Cup title
and 18th in the world.
And Cooch are going
with a driver there, I predict Coutu would be a lay up of this 10th,
so we've seen Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas lay up and Kucha this.
Could this be the first one?
Not so close, but
so far, so wrong.
Look at this shot that he's going to be facing downhill
lie a flop over the bunker.
I mean, such a great tee shot to end up with that kind of result.
two time champion went back to back did Phil Mickelson
in eight and nine
the chief in hand?
Plenty of firepower.
Good line now cutting a little bit.
That's long. Excited to go, but we've got a Bobby Fleetwood.
We could see the ball there, so it may not be sitting too badly.
And we know Phil's got one of the best flop shots ever.
He's going to need it
because that's what he's going to have to hit the silver option.
Well, if you don't know much about Tommy Fleetwood, get ready to have some fun.
A wonderful striker of the golf ball ranked 30th in the world
and a good player for a long time
all the way back to his amateur career
. A really great line
from this story.
Oh, a little unlucky there, that ball just kind of
somehow plugged when it landed there instead of bouncing up on
the green or just beyond.
Well, how about that, would you have thought, Matt Kuchar,
the most times driving the temple for Aaron Baddeley as a champion here?
Maybe it's Kutcher's turn.
If the 10th has anything to say about it?
2006, John, on Sunday, you started with your drove it to seven feet.
Tiger for birdie.
All right to left, and this has got some pace,
this is a pet that you got to be careful that it can get away from you.
It's one of those few.
Spin this out on the high edge
you can really kind of miss, but this will be out of the hole.
There shouldn't be a lot in it.
It is a little downhill.
Is wind aided right now, the wind pretty fresh right now at ten.
McIlroy from the Bunker Woods
from the center of the green, two birdies.
And boy, his putting stroke,
John looked great at Torrey and he picks up right where he left off.
Yeah, I mean, have you seen anybody ever in the game
put on polenta grains as good as Tiger Woods?
I mean, that ball rolled and over and perfectly right in the center of the cup?
Great start for Tiger Woods.
Now, Thomas, not much in
this just firm, it is back up the hill.
Right. And all around, good putt all around, good hold for this threesome.
Flushed it. Birdie, birdie, birdie.
We are off and running here at PGA Tour Live.
Stick with us so much more to come from Riviera.
Set for detonation.
Justin Thomas, you're on the 11th.
And this is just
bombs away here for for JT on this 11th hole.
I mean, a dead straight hole
sometimes the most difficult to hit, but no problem there for Justin Thomas,
so he should have a pretty good go with this green into.
In our first look at Tiger Woods new shaft, excuse me, McIlroy, then tiger.
This may have a vapor trail behind it
after holding out for bunker, he will be amped up.
And now our first look at Tiger Woods with driver in hand,
Johnny replaced the shaft, added some lost to his driver.
What does that do for him?
Well, it's going to give him a little more control, probably get
a little bit more spin on the golf ball, which you know, spin is control.
I know you don't want too much, so there's a fine line, but
this is going to be the the big club for Tiger.
He's done everything in his return.
Well, except drive the ball tiger, and that looked a little late
there to the right, but he doesn't seem too anxious about it.
I will go so find that one, but first, Phil Mickelson.
Oh my goodness, what does he have?
Well, and as Phil
looks his over, tries to figure out what to do, we'll watch Tommy Fleetwood.
And this is a great
look here from behind Tommy, that little navy seal in the bunker.
That's the challenge here, flying it beyond that and stopping it in time.
He's got to stop.
OK, not too bad there.
That's a pretty easy putt back up the hill.
And now to fill.
It's a lie, something he can work with.
It really didn't look that bad to me,
and you know, these are the types of shots that Phil Mickelson loves to play.
I mean, he he loves the challenge around the Greens and you know, he's
right now just trying to visualize, I'm sure, where to to try to carry the ball
or land the ball.
But he is going to send this ball straight up in the air.
And if anybody anybody can pull this shot off, this is the man
you'd want hit in the shot for you.
Look like you caught that obviously a little heavy.
Big Devitt came out of there, so.
And couture with a better life, but in the same predicament.
It's such a good tee shot to be.
To result in this type of angle and pitch
easy. Oh, got a lot of spin on that ball that was well done there, Bob Kocher.
Well, from one Olympic medalist to another,
we send it down to Dennis Paulson with a special guest.
Gentlemen, thanks a lot. Kyle Lowry I.
What I saw was an interview, a basketball player.
I figured I'd be talking to somebody up here, just six feet of man.
You're here for the All-Star Game this week and you're a golf geek,
which is awesome.
Yeah, I'm here for the All-Star Weekend, but I got an opportunity to come out here
and watch this great tournament and see a great group in front of me.
A great group of guys. Is fantastic.
It's a kind of a dream come true.
We're talking about it before we got started here
and you said, Man, how can you get this many people?
Quite, I don't have that happening when I'm playing my game
and we've got 20,000 people
screaming and hollering, I think I play a lot better with that.
Didn't have quite the fans out here.
Is that weird? You know, as a tour player,
my scariest moment ever was at the St Andrews in 2000.
We're on the 18th hole and there's 30,000 people
and I could hear a car across the street drive in my car.
They're all paying attention. This is scary. It's pretty scary.
But you know, these guys are professionals.
This is what they do.
They concentrate on their game.
For my game, I need the fans screaming, hollering,
yelling, talking trash because it makes it a lot easier for me.
Well, your golf game, you said you're 14 and a half, but you're
you actually have got the bug, don't you?
Yeah, I love the game.
I play every opportunity I can on during the season on the road.
You know, I think the game and the NBA, the golf game has taken a bug to all
the NBA players and something competitive that we all love to do. It's fun.
This is something we can get out there and I'll do together.
Thanks for stopping here to be with me for a couple holes
and be hanging out watching Tiger play some golf. I can't wait. I'm excited.
All right, guys, back to you. Now Phil, his third shot on the 10th.
Stay. I feel very fortunate there.
That bomb that ball of his didn't roll back in his pitch mark
that it made in the sand, so.
And as we watch Phil somehow try to figure out a way to save par,
we can report that Tiger Woods, his drive never came out of the trees
down the right side, so he's going to read and replay the shot.
So what's the ruling if it stays in the tree?
Well, if you if you can't identify
the ball, which these towering eucalyptus trees out here at Riviera,
you can tell how difficult it be to get up there and identify a golf ball.
Then it's deemed to be a lost ball, so
his only option is to go back to where he last
played the previous shot with a penalty and Tiger's playing his third.
So a little bit of a hip
hop for Tiger Woods on the first two holes, birdies
the 10th, his first of the day and then loses a ball in the trees
here at 11:00 a.m.
and much better swing there.
The second go around.
He, you know, looked a little late on.
That first swing left it out to the right, but that swing definitely looked like
he released the club nicely and was able to get it back in the fairway. So
see if he can maybe knock it on the green and make a bogey and get out of here.
All right. Dennis and Kyle are down with Justin Thomas.
He's set to play his second here on the 11th.
Right down the center of the ferry, we're still back at the tea guy,
so I'm not going to lie to you because I'm not I'm not going to be able to see him
hit it to the green as a green is clear tigers ball, though, guys, actually,
I think it would between the trees and got down in the Branka through there.
They couldn't find it in the long grass.
Ball had to come out of the eucalyptus tree,
but that ball was 30 right at his target line.
second one stripe is Thomas is set to play now just only two and a half times.
Immediate reaction would indicate
that he does not like it and for good reason,
and not his not his best swing there, but he's got a lot of green to work with.
I mean, missing that to the right would be the mistake there.
So over there on the left side, it's just all going to be dependent.
And somewhere in there is Rory McIlroy.
But first, it will be Tiger
in this, John would be his third shot.
This will be his fourth shot.
He played his third from the tee.
So this will be his fourth.
So, you know, if he could somehow
knock this honor up around the green, he could still manage to
get out of here with a bogey.
I guess mathematically still a pars employ.
Work left to get that one up and down just to save bogey.
It's a tiger off the tee, hits the right trees
and now with his fourth shot, hits the left trees back to ten with cooch.
Yeah, I think great drive,
tough result wear that tee shot ended up, but
an easy for there for Matt Couture, I don't think he's
going to be too disappointed walking off of that green with a par.
Well, so far the 10th five birdies, five pars,
four bogeys and a double.
Can order anything on the menu here at the task, can't you? Yes, you can.
I mean, it's again, it's kind of what we touched on
at the beginning of the show here, talking about how good of a short
drivable par four this really is and how difficult it can be.
Great look here by our camera crew.
They work so hard to bring us the best shots from around the course.
All right. Great save there for Mickelson.
Hard work and poor there fulfill.
It's a misleading stat
that the 10th is one of the easiest Greens at Riviera to putt
because nobody's hitting the green.
Yeah, I mean, everybody like you, we see here Fleetwood putting from
really only about twelve or 13 feet, but he's just off
the edge of the green, so.
And up to McIlroy at eleven third shot.
And that is where he did not want to hit that golf ball,
especially with a look like a little flighted kind of lob wedge
shot that he tried to to play to that back pin there on eleven so.
Well, what started with so much promise, three birdies on their first told the day
has turned to consternation, saying Tiger's getting ready to hit his fifth.
So McIlroy is long in three.
And Justin Thomas is way left.
Dennis and Kyle down with us, Tiger, this fifth shot now.
Yeah, this ball just got in the rough, sitting down a little bit in the wind.
They really miss the weather today.
I mean, they say five or six miles an hour, it's blowing,
what, eight to twelve right now. Maybe right now, Dennis Easy.
In Tiger's face, out of the left, you know
this is all about control the ball on the ground.
Pretty well, George.
Okay, very good shot. Very good.
And we saw him hit a nice controlled wedge.
John, on his first hole, does it again here out of the Kikuyu.