THOMAS PIETERS

The final Match Play could be the last chance for some players to get into the Masters.

Paul Casey and Jason Kokrak share the lead in Mexico after the opening round of LIV Golf's first tournament of the season.

LIV Golf decides when to hold tournaments by avoiding what its leader, Greg Norman, calls heritage events. More attention should have been given to what LIV Golf has to follow, and what's ahead, that might make the start of its second season have a hard time living up to its moniker. Phoenix delivered Masters champion Scottie Scheffler returning to No. 1 in the world.

Patrick Reed fared better than Rory McIlroy after some pre-tournament friction as the Dubai Desert Classic got off to a wet start with only 11 players managing to finish their weather-affected first rounds.

Mackenzie Hughes wants to channel his disappointment from missing the Presidents Cup into fuel to make sure he's on the next International team.

Dave Stockton won the 1970 PGA Championship at Southern Hills and his nostalgic return this week included the champions dinner for swapping stories of the great shots, the terrible ones and memories of career-making victories. Nobody misses the Masters champions dinner, Stockton noted. The other former PGA champions who were there: Collin Morikawa, Rory McIlroy, Jason Dufner, Keegan Bradley, Martin Kaymer, Padraig Harrington, Shaun Micheel, Rich Beem, Mark Brooks and Jeff Sluman.

For the second year in a row, Scottie Scheffler had to go extra holes to win his group in the Dell Technologies Match Play.

As if the Dell Technologies Match Play isn't fickle enough.

Maverick McNealy was the last man to get into the Dell Technologies Match Play.

Thomas Pieters hit a chip that ran through the 13th green and landed in a sprinkler hole.

Collin Morikawa has had plenty of thinking to do ahead of this week's Dubai Desert Classic.

Sepp Straka of Austria has the lead after the first round of the Olympic men's golf competition.

Jordan Spieth remembers being in a bad place mentally the last time the PGA Championship was at Kiawah Island.

Woodland shot another 74 on Saturday and appeared certain to miss the cut. Maybe we can fix it together.”WEEKEND WITHOUT PHILPhil Mickelson walked down the first fairway of the East course at Winged Foot, the path to the parking lot. Mickelson never considered his return to Winged Foot to be about redemption, which was a good thing. Lefty opened with a 79, his highest opening round in the 29 times he has played the U.S. Open. No one is ever happy with that kind of finish, but a course like Winged Foot and a major like the U.S. Open brings perspective.

After a brutal second round at Winged Foot, the cut line fell at 6-over par, taking some big names with it. ___6:37 p.m.Patrick Reed has surged to the lead in a difficult second round at the U.S. Open. Thomas started the round at 5 under after posting a 65 for the lowest opening round at Winged Foot in a U.S. Open. ___11 a.m.Daniel Berger is making a move in the U.S. Open even as Winged Foot appears to be tougher on the golfers in the second round. ___Andrew Putnam withdrew from the U.S. Open at Winged Foot early in his second round.

Not coincidentally, the big question heading into Round 1 was whether the century-old course would prove too tough even for the world’s best golfers. In five previous Opens played at Winged Foot, only two players have ever finished the tournament under par. We’ll find out whether, and how much, the USGA feels stung by the assault on par beginning with Round 2. And there’s plenty of spots left on those fast greens where a clown’s mouth would actually be a welcome distraction. “They certainly were looking to have the lowest scores (in the first round), given the conditions that we have as well.

6:40 p.m.Benign conditions at Winged Foot have led to some rare low scores at the difficult course. The 24-year-old is competing in his second U.S. Open after a stellar junior career and playing at Wake Forest. 2:35 p.m.Phil Mickelson opened his return to Winged Foot with two birdies but gave both shots back over the next two holes. Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa were waiting on the second tee when Spieth in the group ahead arrived in a golf cart. ___7:30 a.m.Brandon Wu kicked off the 120th U.S. Open with a drive into the right side of the fairway at Winged Foot.

Tiger Woods toss a ball down on the 17th hold during a practice round for the PGA Championship golf tournament at TPC Harding Park Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)SAN FRANCISCO Tiger Woods appears to have something new in store for this PGA Championship: his putter. THE FIELDThis PGA Championship might have set a record for most players who decided not to play. He is the 11th player to withdraw from the PGA Championship since the field was first released six days ago. PACKING FOR A SUMMER MAJOR IN AMERICAThe PGA Championship in August for years meant heat and plenty of sweating.