OB SPORTS GOLF & LEISURE
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SPRING 2018
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obsports.com
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TOUR REPORT
> Jordan Spieth hit the recovery
shot of the year to win the 2017 British
Open and struck the sand shot of the
year to capture Hartford.
> Rickie Fowler ripped a final-
round 61 to triumph at Tiger's Hero
event – and he's absolutely due to win
a major.
> World No. 1 Dustin Johnson was
2017's pre-Masters favorite until a slip
down the stairs at his Augusta rental
home derailed him. DJ blew away the
field at Kapalua to claim the 2018 Sen-
try Tournament of Champions.
> Big basher Jon Rahm reached No.
2 in the world after his playoff win at
the CareerBuilders in Palm Springs.
> You can't count out 2017 Masters
champ Sergio Garcia, who won early
this year in Singapore, nor steady (and
healthy again) Justin Rose, runner-up
to Garcia last year, who has climbed to
World No. 7.
> Will it be a first-timer, such as
World No. 5 Hideki Matsuyama or en
fuego Englishman Tommy Fleetwood?
> Comeback kings Rory McIlroy or
Jason Day, or – yes, I'll say it – Tiger
Woods or Phil Mickelson?
Give me the dazzling flowers, the
limited commercials, the par-3 contest
and the pimento cheese sandwiches. I
devour it all. Mostly, though, bring me
the roars echoing through the pines on
a Sunday afternoon, when three or
four of the biggest names in golf battle
it out on the back nine.
That, friends, is a tradition unlike
any other.
•••
PARIS CAN'T WAIT
After the thrilling though decisive
victory by the U.S. over Europe in
Minnesota at the 2016 Ryder Cup and
then a dominating romp at the 2017
Presidents Cup, some media types
have been forecasting a runaway win
for the Yanks at the 2018 Ryder Cup in
late September.
C'mon, man!
Europe may have witnessed an exo-
dus of its long-time stalwarts, but a
new breed of sensational talents will
make this competition as exciting as
ever.
Start with the venue: Le Golf Na-
tional's Albatross course, a 40-minute
fi
