GLENEAGLES, Scotland – Phil Mickelson has played in the Ryder Cup more times than any American. His experience is such that recent captains have leaned on him for observations on everything from pairings to picks. That wasn’t the case with Tom Watson at the helm.

In the week leading up to Watson making his three wild-card picks, Mickelson was asked if the 65-year-old captain had reached out to him. The answer was no, without elaboration.

Then, as if to make a point, Mickelson reached into his pocket for his phone, glanced at it and replied, “Still no.”

Watson might not need any help to find a winning formula for the Ryder Cup. One reason the PGA of America took a chance on the oldest captain ever in the Ryder Cup was his history in the matches.

The Americans haven’t won on European soil since 1993, the last time Watson was the captain. He is adored in Scotland as much as any American golfer, having won the British Open four times on Scottish links. His three Senior British Open titles all were in Scotland.

In the four Ryder Cups that Watson played, only one was held in the United States.

One thing hasn’t changed. Watson approaches these matches with a singular focus.

“The European team is loaded,” Watson said. “But when the matches start at 7:35 on Friday morning, there’s going to be quality of play going on. We’ll just see who wins. I know our team is totally committed to bringing the cup back. I know that. And I’m going to do everything in my power to help them do that and set the stage for them.”

Even so, the generation gap creates a dynamic that brings an element of curiosity to this Ryder Cup. Only two players on his team – Mickelson and Jim Furyk – were playing on the PGA Tour when Watson won the last of his 39 titles in 1998.

Watson has not been at a Ryder Cup since he was captain, and he was slightly defensive Wednesday when asked a series of questions about whether that might hurt him.

“No,” he said flatly. “Because I’ve played in the Ryder Cup four times, and I’ve been a captain once. That’s experience.”

He also doesn’t buy into the notion that he can’t relate to a new generation of players, nine of whom were not even born when he won the first of his eight majors.

“I’ve answered that question before,” Watson said. “They know I’ve played in the Ryder Cup. They understand I’ve been a captain. And they know that I know what they’re doing. They have respect for me and I have the ultimate respect for them. We’re on the same page. We’re professional golfers. Doesn’t matter how old you are or how young you are.”

He certainly has the respect of European captain Paul McGinley, who referred to Watson as his “boyhood hero.” McGinley went to college in San Diego and worked on a practice range when the PGA Tour came to town. McGinley used to ask his friends to cover for him when Watson played a practice round so he could watch.

As a captain?

“I haven’t really been paying attention,” McGinley said. “In regards to what Tom is doing with the team, I don’t even know what groups he’s going out with. I just know he’s going to make some good decisions and he’s going to have a strong American team out there and we are going to be prepared for that.”

McGinley talks of a template that Europe has had for years.

The Americans have no such thing. They have won the Ryder Cup only twice since Watson last was captain – Brookline in 1999 when Justin Leonard made the “putt heard `round the world,” and 2008 with Paul Azinger at the helm at Valhalla.

Watson already raised questions with his picks, stating that he wanted the hot hands and then passing over Chris Kirk, who had won the Deutsche Bank Championship the day before the captain’s picks were chosen.

Will it matter who plays? Does it matter who is the captain?

“Bottom line is he’s a professional golfer with a resume that is awfully deep,” Zach Johnson said. “He’s got a lot of sage advice and wisdom that I think we can certainly dig into and maybe learn from. And then you compound that with the fact that we’re playing a country that he’s had some success in – to put it mildly – I think it’s terrific.”

Mickelson was asked how his own experience could help the Ryder Cup rookies, and he quickly deferred.

“I’ll try to do or say whatever I can,” Mickelson said. “But it’s captain Watson’s team. He’s the leader. It’s been 21 years since the last time we won on foreign soil and the last time it happened, he was the leader. It was also the last year before I started making the teams. So I’m very honored that I have the opportunity to play with him, play for him, and learn from him.”

And now, the Americans will find out if they can win under him again.

GLENEAGLES, Scotland – Rory McIlroy is No. 1 in the world of golf. At the Ryder Cup, he sees himself as one of 12.

McIlroy and the rest of the Europeans have been hearing all week about how the Americans are targeting the top players at Gleneagles. The concept is nothing new. For years, Tiger Woods was the player everyone wanted to beat. Woods is recovering from back injuries and is not at the Ryder Cup for the second time in six years.

U.S. captain Tom Watson has mentioned McIlroy and Ian Poulter as two key players to beat.

“You knock off the big dog, that gives your team a boost,” Watson said last week.

McIlroy has won the last two majors to establish himself anew as the best player in golf. Poulter has the best record of any active player in the Ryder Cup, winning 12 of his 15 matches including seven in a row.

“I know Watson has been talking about targeting us two and whatever, but at the same time, it’s only one-sixth of the team,” McIlroy said Wednesday. “There’s 10 other world-class players that he has to worry about, as well, and they are just as capable of putting points on the board for Europe. They can try and target us all they want, but there’s guys alongside us that can do just as good a job.”

Colin Montgomerie once said beating Woods felt like it was worth more than one point. McIlroy was having none of that.

“Someone beats me, they win a point – no more, no less.”

This is nothing new for McIlroy. Two years ago, he won the U.S. PGA Championship by a record eight shots, and then won back-to-back in the FedEx Cup playoffs to reach No. 1 in the world going into Medinah. His presence might be even greater at Gleneagles coming off victories in the British Open, U.S. PGA Championship and a World Golf Championship, primarily because Woods isn’t around.

“It’s not hard to pick out the best player in the world right now,” Jim Furyk said. “It’s Rory McIlroy. And Ian has obviously had a great record in this.”

McIlroy was still buzzing on Wednesday morning over an evening spent with former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson.

Boy Wonder caused a stir himself during practice by using a new driver.

It’s rare for someone to make any equipment changes the week of such a big event. Perhaps the most famous was in 2004, when Phil Mickelson signed a new equipment deal with Callaway and changed out his driver and golf ball at Oakland Hills. He was paired with Woods and they lost both of their matches.

McIlroy is aware of that incident – he was a 15-year-old Junior Ryder Cup player who was in the gallery.

“Phil Mickelson nearly hit me off the tees in 2004,” McIlroy said. “I was standing down the left-hand side, so I’m very aware of what he did that week. Hey, look, Phil changed from one equipment manufacturer to another. This is a driver that I’ve actually been using and practicing with since June. I wouldn’t be putting it in the bag if I didn’t feel it was better.”

It appeared to be working fine. McIlroy drove the green on the par-4 14th.

“Everyone saw yesterday it was the only driver I had out there in the bag,” he said. “It’s looking likely that it’s going to be in the bag this week.”

McIlroy then headed out for another day of practice. He was in a group with Sergio Garcia and Martin Kaymer on the first full day of practice. On Wednesday, he was sent out in a group of four with Kaymer, Graeme McDowell and Victor Dubuisson.

David Hearn is focused.

At an intimate event put on by Hearn’s clothing sponsor, Dunning Golf, at Thornhill Golf & Country Club, Hearn admitted to a small group that since they’ve announced golf is returning to the Olympics in 2016, it’s been his number one goal.

The 35-year-old Canadian even marks his ball with Olympic-edition toonies on occasion.

Although Hearn earned over $1 million on the PGA Tour this year – the third year in a row that he’s reached that plateau – he knows there is much still to accomplish.

But Hearn, ever the psychology major, is trying not to get too far ahead of himself as he gets ready for the 2015 season.

“Billy Horschel just showed the world what it means to get on a hot streak and get a little confidence,” Hearn explains. “You never know when that game is going to happen, but you want it to come out in you. I feel like I’m very close to playing that kind of golf more often.”

Hearn admits that he played a lot of good golf in 2014, but not a lot of great golf.

“My game was on the edge all year,” he says.

Hearn struggled out of the gate on the West Coast, making just one out of four cuts. But, he played well on the Florida Swing, including a tie for sixth at the Players Championship, which kick-started his summer. A highlight for Hearn was making it to the Open Championship. He was first alternate and jumped on a plane for his maiden voyage to Europe, in hopes of making the field.

He did so when former RBC Canadian Open champion Mark Calcavecchia withdrew at the last minute. Hearn made the cut, and finished T32.

Hearn admits he didn’t play that well during the FedEx Cup playoffs, but he did have a strong final round at the Deutsche Bank Championship, shooting a 6-under-par 65.

“It was fun. To have a round like that, I’ll have a lot of confidence moving into next year,” Hearn says.

Despite what the calendar reads, the 2015 season begins anew in just a few weeks at the Frys.com Open, and Hearn will be in the field. Since finishing his season at the Deutsche Bank, Hearn has been spending time at his Branford, Ont. home.

“I’ve been taking a few days off, then working pretty hard, then taking a few days off,” he says. “The last round of the playoffs motivated me more than anything. My game is really close, and I want to keep that going.”

Hearn was welcomed at Thornhill – the host course of the 2014 Canadian Junior Girls Championship – by representatives of Dunning Golf, one of Hearn’s new sponsors from 2014.

Dunning, a premium line of clothes engineered for golfers who are serious about the game, fits with Hearn’s professional persona.

“It’s the right choice for what my image should be,” explains Hearn.

That image is one of a man who admits he wouldn’t wear anything from Rickie Fowler’s closet, a man who is determined to be the best golfer he can be, and, of a family man.

There will be a new distraction in Hearn’s life in a couple of weeks, as his wife, Heather, is due with their second child at the end of October.

“Being a parent is so much fun. It’s so fun to teach our kids and see their minds take in the world around you,” Hearn says. “It makes you realize how lucky we are to play golf and travel the world.”

For Hearn, he hopes that world travelling continues over the next two years. Especially with the Presidents Cup taking place in South Korea in 2015, and of course, the Olympics in Brazil in 2016.

Hearn says that although he didn’t think too much about the Presidents Cup in 2013, once Graham DeLaet got on the team, he realized it wasn’t out of reach.

“I thought, ‘holy jeez, I wasn’t too far off that myself,’ and it was something that would be a big goal of mine,” he says.

Five other Canadians – Mike Weir, Graham DeLaet, Roger Sloan, Nick Taylor, Adam Hadwin – will join Hearn on the PGA Tour in 2015, and Hearn says the future of Canadian golf is bright.

“We have younger guys coming on Tour. Adam (Hadwin) has been playing great golf and I think he’s going to come on Tour and continue to play great. There’s going to be lots of Canadians on Tour for a while,” says Hearn. “We all want to see the next Canadian win, and the next Canadian at the Presidents Cup.”

Hearn’s goals are lofty, but not unattainable. He wants to get to the Tour Championship, and hopefully make the Presidents Cup team too. He’s putting in the work now to get there.

And this is why David Hearn is focused.

“Next year is a big year,” Hearn admits. “We have a lot to play for.”

David Hearn at Thornhill G&CC (Adam Stanley)

Chalk up one more Canadian to watch for on PGA Tour leaderboards during the 2014-15 season.

With Abbotsford, B.C.’s Adam Hadwin and Merrit, B.C.’s Roger Sloan having already secured their PGA Tour playing privileges after cracking the top 25 on the Web.com Tour’s regular season money list, the stage was set for one of the most clutch final rounds in Canadian golf history.

Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., a former Team Canada member, joined the pair as PGA Tour rookies for next season after firing a blazing 7-under 63 on a breezy day at TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley Course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

Taylor, 26, would go on finish 37th on the Web.com Tour eligibility category.

Hadwin, Taylor and Sloan, as well as Mark Hubbard, Carlos Sainz Jr. and Justin Thomas, talk about earning their PGA Tour cards at the 2014 Web.com Tour Championship in the video below.

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – FedEx Cup winner Billy Horschel’s wife Brittany gave birth to their first child Tuesday night, two days after his Tour Championship victory in Atlanta.

Daughter Skylar Lillian Horschel weighed in at 6 pounds, 6 ounces and was 20 inches.

“The last few weeks have been a whirlwind with so many incredible moments, but being able to share this moment with Brittany was the biggest win of my life,” Horschel said. “I’m so happy I was here, surrounded by the people I care about, as we welcomed Skylar into the world. Now I can start getting her ready to win the 2032 NCAA Women’s Golf Championship for the Florida Gators!”

Horschel won the season-ending Tour Championship on Sunday at East Lake to take the FedEx Cup title and $10 million bonus. He won the BMW Championship the previous week in Colorado.

Skylar Lillian Horschel was born 8:48pm. 20 inches. 6 pounds 6 oz. @britt_horschel and Skylar are healthy! #happyPops pic.twitter.com/LKjN4Y4Anf

— Billy Horschel (@BillyHo_Golf) September 17, 2014

Adam Scott is looking for a caddie now that he and Steve Williams have decided to end their partnership.

Scott said in a statement Wednesday that he and Williams are at different stages of their lives.

Williams has been on the bag for 14 majors – 13 with Tiger Woods. He began working with Scott in the summer of 2012. He helped read the putt on the 10th hole at Augusta National last year when Scott became the first Australian to win the Masters.

Williams lives in New Zealand and has said he wants to cut back on his schedule. He says it became clear his plan was not going to fit with what Scott wanted. Williams said he would consider part-time work if the right job came along.

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PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Rory McIlroy is the Vardon Trophy winner and the PGA of America’s player of the year for the second time.

McIlroy won the points-based player of the year award on the strength of his two majors at the British Open and PGA Championship. Winning two majors comes with a 50-point bonus. McIlroy also won the Bridgestone Invitational.

McIlroy had an adjusted scoring average of 68.62 to win the Vardon Trophy over Sergio Garcia (68.95).

The 25-year-old from Northern Ireland also won the PGA’s player of the year and the Vardon Trophy in 2012.

The PGA Tour awards a separate award for player of the year based on a vote of the players. Voting for that ends Sept. 25.

ATLANTA – Billy Horschel capped off the best three weeks of his career with the biggest payoff in golf.

Horschel pulled away from a self-destructing Rory McIlroy early, and then holed two clutch putts that felt like $10 million to hold off Jim Furyk on the back nine at East Lake. He closed with a 2-under 68 for a three-shot victory in the Tour Championship to capture the FedEx Cup.

Horschel’s career earnings were just over $4.5 million coming into the year.

He collected $11.4 million in one day – most of that the $10 million FedEx Cup bonus – with an incomparable run through the playoffs.

The 27-year-old from Florida was runner-up in Boston, a winner in Denver and he cashed in big in Atlanta. Horschel was No. 69 when the playoffs began a month ago. No one had ever won the FedEx Cup starting lower than No. 19.

He epitomized what these playoffs offered – one month for anyone to get a hot hand. Horschel shot in the 60s his last 12 rounds.

“He was clutch when he needed to be,” McIlroy said. “He played the best golf this week and I’m happy for him.”

The only boos Horschel heard all day was doing the Gator chomp walking off the 18th green before a host of Georgia fans.

The timing was great for Horschel – not so much for the American team going over to the Ryder Cup in two weeks. U.S. captain Tom Watson made his three picks after Horschel’s runner-up finish in the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Now the hottest hand in golf – he should move up to No. 14 in the world – will be watching from home. Horschel figures to be plenty occupied. His wife is expecting their first child, a girl, in two weeks.

Furyk closed with two bogeys for a 69 and his fourth runner-up finish this year. He has not won since the Tour Championship four years ago. McIlroy never recovered from three straight bogeys around the turn, and three late birdies only helped him pick up some FedEx Cup cash. He closed with a 71 and wound up No. 3 in the FedEx Cup, which is worth an additional $2 million.

Chris Kirk, who started the Tour Championship atop the FedEx Cup standings, closed with a 68 and tied for fourth with Justin Rose (69) and Jason Day (69). Kirk wound up second in the FedEx Cup and earned a $3 million bonus.

Horschel finished at 11-under 269.

McIlroy will have to settle for a season worth more than $10 million – two major championships and the undisputed No. 1 player in golf. Whatever hopes he had of his first FedEx Cup ended early. He hooked his tee shot into the water on the par-3 fifth and made double bogey to fall three shots behind.

Needing to start picking up ground on the 600-yard ninth hole, he blasted his drive so far right that it wound up a foot away from the out-of-bounds fence of the practice range. There was no way out. With his caddie and a rules official ducking in the holly bushes, McIlroy slashed out with a wedge over the bushes and through a gap in the trees that only he saw. Next, he had a mobile TV truck lowered to ground level to get his third into the fairway. But his wedge came up short, and he made bogey.

Two more bogeys later, including another three-putt at the 10th, he was five shots behind and out of the mix.

By then, it was a two-man race between Horschel and Furyk.

Horschel won by not losing. He raced a 50-foot putt nearly 8 feet by the hole on the 13th, and calmly sank the par putt to keep a one-shot lead. Furyk, playing in the group ahead of Horschel, got up-and-down for birdie on the par-5 15th to tie for the lead, only for Horschel to get up-and-down from a bunker to regain it.

The key moment came at the 16th, where Horschel drove into the trees, pitched out to the fairway and came up about 30 feet short on his third shot. Right when it looked as if he might blink first, Horschel drained the par putt to stay in front.

Ahead of him, Furyk came up well short of the 17th green and missed a 12-foot par putt. Horschel was already on the 18th tee when he watched Furyk three-putt the par-3 18th hole for another bogey. He put another shot in the middle of the green, taking away all the drama from the finish.

Not that it mattered to him.

Horschel is young enough – this is only fourth full year on the PGA Tour – that $10 million still matters. He conceded on Saturday that it would be hard not to think about it. Along with the bonus ($9 million in cash), Horschel gets a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour.

ATLANTA – Rory McIlroy made up a two-shot deficit on Billy Horschel at the Tour Championship on Saturday, setting up a $10 million showdown to end the PGA Tour season.

McIlroy overcame a pair of three-putt bogeys by rolling in a 25-foot eagle putt on the 15th hole, and closing with a tough chip from thick grass behind the 18th green that allowed him to save par for a 3-under 67.

Horschel led by as many as three shots during the third round at East Lake until he dropped two shots on the back nine and had to settle for a 69.

They were at 9-under 201. And they had plenty of company in what was shaping up as one of the most enticing finishes in the eight-year history of the FedEx Cup.

Jim Furyk, winless since he captured the FedEx Cup four years ago, had a 67 and was two shots behind. He would have to win to have any chance of joining Tiger Woods as the only multiple winners of golf’s biggest bonus.

Rickie Fowler (67), Justin Rose (66) and Jason Day (70) were three shots behind.

“It’s going to be an exciting day,” Horschel said after posting his 11th consecutive round in the 60s during the FedEx Cup playoffs.

McIlroy has been losing a little energy since that high-charged performance that carried him to major titles in the British Open and PGA Championship, with a World Golf Championship sandwiched in between. He knows he’s already had the best year, and he would like nothing better than to end it right.

“I’ve come here with the ultimate goal of trying to cap it off and trying to put an exclamation point on it or the icing on the cake or whatever you want to call it,” McIlroy said. “Would it be poetic justice? I’d feel really good about it.”

McIlroy says he hasn’t been playing his best, certainly not at the same level as Hoylake or Valhalla, where he won his two majors. But he was good enough. He three-putted the par-3 second hole, missing a 3-foot putt. He had to make a 4-footer to avoid his third four-putt in two weeks.

But all was forgotten when he drilled a 5-iron from 209 yards up the hill on the par-5 13th to the back collar of the green, just over 25 feet from the flag. He knocked that in for a share of the lead, and then hung on with pars.

Horschel, coming off a runner-up finish at the TPC Boston and a victory last week at Cherry Hills, stretched his lead to three shots with a 6-foot birdie putt on No. 8 and matching two-putt birdies with McIlroy at the ninth.

Both players made bogey on No. 10, and McIlroy appeared to be in more trouble at the par-3 11th until the world’s No. 1 player chipped to 8 feet and saved par, and Horschel missed his 15-foot birdie attempt.

“My short game really saved me today,” McIlroy said. “I think the par putt on 11 was a big momentum putt in the round after three-putting 10 and Billy being in there pretty close and just narrowly missing for birdie. I think being able to hole that par putt was big.”

The top five seeds at the Tour Championship – Horschel is No. 2, McIlroy is No. 4 – only have to win the Tour Championship to capture the FedEx Cup. This is the first time that two top-five seeds are in the final group of the final tournament of the year.

Furyk doesn’t need to do the math. He only knows he has to win, and that was his priority after another year of close calls. Ditto for Fowler (No. 9) and Day (No. 10).

“Really all you can ask for going into the week is to be in a position to win Sunday,” Fowler said. “The tournament is really going to start tomorrow on the back nine. I know pretty much most of the scenarios for me. I know if I win I’ve got a pretty good chance. I know there’s some possibilities of some extracurricular activities if certain things line up properly.”

He was referring to the most bizarre possibility of all – if Fowler and McIlroy are tied at the end of regulation, there would be a sudden-death playoff to determine who wins the Tour Championship. And if Fowler were to win the tournament in that case, there would be another playoff to decide the FedEx Cup and the $10 million.

Fowler first would have to make up three shots on McIlroy, which is not easy under any circumstances. And while McIlroy is running low on fuel, there’s only lap left.

“I just want to win,” McIlroy said.

ATLANTA – Billy Horschel showed why he might be the hottest player in golf at the moment with another 4-under 66 on Friday in the Tour Championship. It was his 10th straight round in the 60s. He already has a victory and a runner-up finish in the FedEx Cup playoffs.

And now he gets to take on the best player in golf.

Rory McIlroy rode three big putts and one bizarre break – a tee shot landed in a spectator’s pocket – on his way to a 65 that left him two shots behind and put him in the final group at East Lake going into the homestretch of the FedEx Cup.

At stake for both of them – along with Chris Kirk – is a shot at the $10 million bonus.

“I’m a guy that when I feel good about my game, I’ve got some confidence that I’m going to figure out some way to play well and post a number,” Horschel said.

That he has done.

Horschel is 35 under par in his last 10 rounds. He was runner-up at the Deutsche Bank Championship two weeks ago, when he squandered a shot to at least get into a playoff by chunking a 6-iron into a hazard. And he followed that with a victory in the BMW Championship at Cherry Hills.

And now he has a pair of 66s, putting him at 8-under 132 at East Lake.

McIlroy made his only bogey with a buried lie at the face of a bunker on No. 4, causing him to blast out sideways. He bounced back with birdies, and poured it on at the end of his round with a 12-foot par save, a 20-foot birdie and a 25-foot birdie.

And then there was his par on the 14th, which looked ordinary only on paper. His tee shot drifted right into the pine trees, clattered around and dropped straight down. No one knew where it went until a fan realized it had fallen into the front pocket of his shorts.

PGA Tour rules official Robby Ware made sure the fan had not moved, and McIlroy was given a free drop under Rule 19-1-a.

Retrieving the ball? McIlroy wasn’t going there.

“I know how sweaty my pockets are. I’m not going into anyone else’s,” McIlroy said. “I need to stop hitting it off line. Things happen there.”

McIlroy was joined by Jason Day, who made bogey on his last hole for a 67; and Kirk, who made two bogeys on the back nine that offset a run of four straight birdies around the turn for a 68.

Kirk, Horschel and McIlroy are among the top five seeds in the FedEx Cup, meaning a victory would guarantee the $10 million bonus.

McIlroy seized the No. 1 ranking by winning the British Open, a World Golf Championship and the PGA Championship in successive starts. He was the top seed going into the FedEx Cup, though because the points are reset for East Lake, the 25-year-old from Northern Ireland always knew it would come down to the Tour Championship.

As much as he wants to end a great year on a high note, McIlroy appears to be playing with no concerns.

“Before coming into these FedEx Cup playoffs … it was going to be a great season, anyway,” he said. “I wanted to cap it off in style, and I’ve given myself a chance to do that over the next two days. I’m going into this week with nothing to lose. I’m the one that’s got the two majors this year. I’m the one that’s had the great season. Those are the guys that are trying to cap off a great season for themselves.

“No matter what happens over the weekend, it’s going to be OK,” he said. “But I still want to win this thing.”

McIlroy and Horschel first mixed it up seven years ago when they were amateurs at the Walker Cup. Horschel beat him in singles on the 18th hole, and the next morning teamed with Rickie Fowler in a foursomes win over McIlroy and Jonny Caldwell. Horschel was shouting and pumping fists, as he always does, and it rubbed McIlroy the wrong way. In the final singles session, McIlroy beat him 4 and 2.

That was a long time ago. Neither harbors a grudge.

McIlroy has gone on to win four majors at age 25 – only Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Bobby Jones have done that – while Horschel picked up his second career win last week. They last played together as pros at the Honda Classic this year, where McIlroy had rounds of 66-63 and Horschel missed the cut.

“He’s a good buddy,” Horschel said. “If I happen to come out on top and we’re battling out these next two rounds, that means a lot. The guy won three straight events in a row, and two of them happened to be majors. I think that’s pretty impressive. He’s at that stage where when you’re able to go toe to toe with one of the best players and the No. 1 ranked player in the world and you’re able to come out on top, that gives me a lot of confidence.”