PGA

Tiger Woods didn't look like his prime self while shooting a four-over 74 in Thursday's opening round of the 2022 PGA Championship. 

He said afterward his leg is feeling far from 100 percent in his second official PGA Tour event since he suffered serious leg injuries in a February 2021 car crash.

"My leg is not feeling as good as I would like it to be," he told reporters. "We'll start the recovery process and get after it tomorrow."

He detailed how it is impacting his swing: "I just can't load it. Loading hurts. Pressing off it hurts. Walking hurts. Twisting hurts."

It's remarkable that Woods is even walking the course and competing at golf's highest level at 46 years old and after suffering such serious injuries that amputation was under consideration.

Still, Thursday's performance did not hold up when compared to his opening round in April's Masters.

He put on a show on the way to a one-under 71 in the first round of the year's opening major, which helped him make the cut. While he faded as the weekend continued and ended up at 13 over and in 47th place, it was a testament to his greatness that he was playing Sunday.

Woods may not be playing Sunday at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, if his first round and the pain he is feeling are indicators for his chances to make the cut.

Consistency on his approach was an issue as well.

Bob Harig of Sports Illustrated noted the legend found just seven of 18 greens in regulation even though he hit 10 fairways.

Woods was part of a star-studded pairing with Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth.

McIlroy won this event in 2012 and 2014 and could be on his way to a third PGA Championship title after shooting a five-under 65. Spieth was two over after the opening round but is in better position than Woods to make a run at the cut line (top 70 and ties) in Friday's second round.

Dave Stockton wasn't exactly heartbroken Southern Hills Country Club didn't have to make a plate for Phil Mickelson at the annual champions dinner ahead of the PGA Championship.

"It was a fun evening. Phil was not missed," Stockton, winner of the PGA Championship in 1970 and 1976, told reporters of the occasion. "I think Phil would have been a big distraction whether he was here. The story here this week is the PGA."

PGA of America confirmed on May 13 that Mickelson wouldn't be in the 2022 tournament field to defend his 2021 championship.

The golf legend has been in effect exiled after comments from an interview he gave to The Fire Pit Collective's Alan Shipnuck were published in February.

Mickelson spoke in favor of the Saudi-backed breakaway golf league despite calling the Saudi Arabian regime "scary motherf--kers" who "have a horrible record on human rights." He defended his support by saying the Saudi league presented "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates."

The 51-year-old issued a statement saying the comments "do not reflect my true feelings or intentions," adding he has acted in "the best interests of golf, my peers, sponsors and fans."

The damage was already done by that point, though. The six-time major champion hasn't competed in a PGA Tour event since the Farmers Insurance Open in January.

According to ESPN's Mark Schlabach and Kevin Van Valkenburg, Mickelson's continued absence "has left some pros and others wondering if we'll ever see Lefty on the PGA Tour again."

However, given how news cycles work, all could be forgotten by the time next year's PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club rolls around.

Bryson DeChambeau will have to wait until at least the U.S. Open in June to compete for the second major golf title of his career.

The PGA Championship announced DeChambeau withdrew from the tournament, which starts Thursday at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, because of a hand injury. Denny McCarthy will take his place in the field.

DeChambeau underwent surgery on his left wrist in April and wrote the following on Instagram:

I made attempts to play through this injury at three recent events, including the Masters, but this is typically an injury that requires surgical treatment. Through continued discomfort from the fracture, it has caused me to alter my grip and swing, resulting in my inability to compete at golf's highest level. This has not been easy physically and mentally for me.

For now, I will be taking the appropriate time needed to rest and recover from this procedure and look forward to competing at the highest level within the next two months.

He missed the cut in April's Masters while shooting 12 over through two rounds. He also missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open in January and Valero Texas Open in April prior to the surgery, though he did compete in the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play event in March. 

DeChambeau made an effort to compete in the PGA Championship and tweeted on Monday that he was "going to test how I am feeling over these next couple days and decide on whether to compete."

He then followed up on Tuesday by tweeting: "Held up nicely today. Lets see what tomorrow brings."

Alas, he will not compete, which clears the way for McCarthy as the first alternate to participate in the year's second major championship.

DeChambeau won the 2020 U.S. Open after finishing in fourth place at the PGA Championship six weeks earlier. However, he took a step back in last year's PGA Championship with a tie for 38th place.         

Tiger Woods joined the list of voices who have distanced themselves from Phil Mickelson in the wake of Mickelson's previous comments about the PGA Tour. 

"Phil has said some things that I think a lot of us who are committed to the Tour and committed to the legacy of the Tour have pushed back against," Woods told reporters Tuesday. "He's taking some personal time. And we all understand that. But I think that some of his views on how the Tour could be run, should be run, [there's] been a lot of disagreement there. ... We all wish him the best when he comes back. Obviously, we're going to have [a] difference of opinions [about] how he sees the Tour and we'll go from there."

The 15-time major winner added he hasn't spoken recently with Mickelson.

PGA of America confirmed last week that Mickelson had withdrawn from the PGA Championship, thus turning down the opportunity to defend his 2021 title. 

That prolonged his current exile from the PGA Tour. He hasn't appeared in a tour event since the Farmers Insurance Open in January.

The 51-year-old is still dealing with the fallout from an interview he gave to Alan Shipnuck that Shipnuck published in February for The Fire Pit Collective. 

Mickelson called the Saudi Arabia regime, which is backing a breakaway golf league, "scary motherf--kers" who "have a horrible record on human rights." However, he described the new Saudi tour as "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates."

Rory McIlroy described the remarks as "selfish" and "egotistical," and Justin Thomas struck a similar tone by saying Mickelson made an "egotistical statement."

Ahead of the PGA Championship, McIlroy explained that he doesn't want to see Mickelson frozen out altogether:

Woods didn't speak about his one-time rival in quite the same terms as McIlroy and Thomas, but he seemed to make his opinion on the matter pretty clear.

Rory McIlroy called Phil Mickelson's absence from the 2022 PGA Championship "unfortunate" and said he wished the golf legend was on hand to celebrate his 2021 title in the event.

"This should be a celebration, right?" McIlroy told reporters. "He won a major championship at 50 years old. It was possibly his last big, big moment in the game of golf. I think he should be here this week and celebrating what a monumental achievement he achieved last year.

"It's unfortunate. It's sad. Yeah, I don't know what else I can say."

Mickelson has not played on the PGA Tour since missing the cut at January's Farmer's Insurance Open. He has not played any competitive golf since making controversial comments about the Saudi Arabia government and PGA Tour.

“They’re scary motherf--kers to get involved with,” Mickelson told Alan Shipnuck of the Fire Pit Collective. “We know they killed [U.S. citizen and journalist Jamal] Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights. They execute people over there for being gay. Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates."

Mickelson was among the golfers who were denied an exemption by the PGA Tour to play in the Saudi-backed LIV Golf league's event next month in London. He is one of several players who have been linked to the new tour, but his comments have done seemingly irreparable harm to his public reputation and put his playing status in doubt.

"It's crazy," golfer Kevin Kisner told Mark Schlabach and Kevin Van Valkenburg of ESPN. "It's a pretty big fall. I can't imagine what he's gone through mentally and emotionally through that whole year. But a little bit of humble pie never hurts anyone."

Mickelson, 51, became the oldest player in history to win a major at last year's PGA Championship, a moment that was widely celebrated as a once-in-a-lifetime achievement. His seeming disappearance from public life, which has included the loss of numerous sponsorship deals, shows how quickly someone can fall because of their words. 

Spectators looking for star power at the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, will have the opportunity to find plenty of it in one place during the first two rounds.

That is because Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth will all be part of the same group, per ESPN's Bob Harig.

The trio tee off at 9:11 a.m. ET during Thursday's first round and 2:36 p.m. ET during Friday's second round.

While McIlroy and Spieth are two of the biggest names in the sport, Woods will be the main storyline.

The 15-time major champion and winner of 82 PGA Tour events will play in just his second official tour event since November 2020 after serious leg injuries he suffered in a February 2021 car crash.

Woods underwent surgery and even said amputation was under consideration.        

His first official PGA Tour tournament appearance since the crash came in April's Masters when he impressed with a one-under 71 in the opening round and made the cut before fading into 47th place over the weekend.

That he was even able to walk the course and compete for four straight rounds was notable, and the time off since then may help him take strides during his second major of the year.

Woods is no stranger to success in this tournament and location, as he is a four-time PGA Championship victor and won the title at Southern Hills in 2007. That was his 13th career major championship, and he has since won the 2008 U.S. Open and 2019 Masters.

The 46-year-old is not the only multiple winner of this event in his star-studded group, as McIlroy won the 2012 and 2014 PGA Championship. Spieth is a three-time major champion but is still looking for his first PGA Championship title to complete a career Grand Slam.

Getting off to a quick start as part of the headline group will be imperative if he plans on accomplishing the feat.