KAPALUA, Hawaii – Webb Simpson wanted to give his caddie some good news from the golf course Sunday. He delivered a 5-under 68 that gave Simpson a three-way tie for the lead with defending champion Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth going into the final round of the Tournament of Champions.

On a glorious day of sun and surf, Simpson played with a heavy heart.

His caddie and friend, Paul Tesori, was in a hospital in Florida with newborn son Isaiah in intensive care. Simpson said the child suffered a seizure short after he was born with indications of an infection in his brain.

One of Tesori’s best friends in the business is Ted Scott, the caddie for Bubba Watson, who is filling in this week as Simpson’s caddie. Tesori tweeted that he tuned into the telecast at Kapalua in time to see his son’s name on Scott’s hat.

“Paul sent me a text this morning, just told me he loved me and wanted to go out and fight as hard as I would any other day,” Simpson said. “And that’s what Teddy and I did. I felt like we were out there playing for Isaiah. Paul needs something to watch there in the hospital. It’s been a long few days, so hopefully, we gave him something good to see on TV. But it was tough. I was thinking about him a lot out there.”

Winning on Monday won’t be easy.

Simpson ran off four birdies in a five-hole stretch on the back nine, and then hung on with two good pars to reach 14-under 205.

Spieth, the 20-year-old Texan who looks just as good as he did during a sensational rookie season, got back into the mix with a tough birdie on the par-3 eighth and capped off a 69 with a 15-foot birdie putt on the 17th and a long two-putt for par on the 18th.

Spieth won the John Deere Classic last year. This is his first time with at least a share of the 54-hole lead.

The most intimidating figure is Johnson, whose power is suited for the Plantation Course. Johnson also had a 69 and was disappointed at playing the par 5s in 3-under for the day. One of them was a tap-in eagle on the par-5 ninth. But he had to settle for pars on the long holes on the back nine.

One shot hit the front of the green and rolled off the putting surface on the 15th and into a valley. On the 18th, his 4-iron came up short and left him a pitch that had to be perfect. It was a few inches from that. The pitch didn’t have enough roll to glide with the grain and left him a 15-foot birdie chance that he missed.

No matter. He’s still tied for the lead, still in good position to start the new year the same way he did in 2013.

Zach Johnson, who had a three-shot lead going into the third round, couldn’t make anything and shot a 74. His only birdie was a two-putt on the par-5 fifth hole. Still, he was only two shots behind at 12-under 207 heading into the Monday finish.

Instead of building his lead, Zach Johnson effectively gave more players in this winners-only field a chance.

Gary Woodland (67), PGA champion Jason Dufner (69), Brandt Snedeker (69) and Kevin Streelman, who had a 33 on the back nine to salvage a 70, were within three shots of the lead. Masters champion Adam Scott wasted a chance to join them.

Scott was at 11-under and in range of the par-5 15th until he smothered a long iron into the hazard and had to scramble for a bogey. He missed a 7-foot birdie putt on the next hole, missed the green and took bogey on the 17th and closed with a birdie for a 69. He still was only four shots behind.

KAPALUA, Hawaii – On the golf course with the widest fairways on the PGA Tour, Zach Johnson believes that keeping the ball in the short grass is key to success. On a course that favours power players because the par 5s can be reached in two, Johnson didn’t make birdie on any of them Saturday.

Stranger still is that he matched the best score of the day and had a three-shot lead in the Tournament of Champions.

The only explanation is that Johnson is playing some pretty good golf.

“Am I surprised? No. It’s only two days, so it’s halfway done for me,” Johnson said after his 7-under 66 gave him a three-shot lead. “I’m very comfortable as a competitor. One of my goals every year is those par 5s, and I’m a little bitter about that right now. But I’ll get over it.”

Defending champion Dustin Johnson birdied half of the holes at Kapalua for a 66 and was three shots behind, along with Matt Kuchar (68) and Jordan Spieth (70).

Zach Johnson was at 13-under 133.

Dustin Johnson approaches the Plantation Course differently. He birdied all the par 5s with his length, and only fell back with a pair of bogeys on the back nine when he missed short putts. Even so, he was in good position heading into the final two rounds of a tournament that ends Monday.

“This golf course sets up well for me,” Dustin Johnson said. “I can reach all the par 5s, and there’s a few short holes where you can drive it up close to the green. So if I chip and it and putt it well, I’m going to shoot a good score pretty much every time.”

So what does Zach Johnson make of that outlook?

“I would say I’m up by three gross, and by eight or nine net, based on that rationale,” he said.

Clearly, there’s more than one way to get around a course built on a side of the mountain on the west end of Maui.

Kuchar had his second straight round of 68 with some good birdies and a few bogeys. Spieth had said he shouldn’t make too many bogeys on this course if he kept it in play, though he made one on No. 7 to lose some momentum. Even so, the 20-year-old Texan had few complaints after his opening two rounds of a new year.

Webb Simpson and Michael Thompson, part of a four-way tie for the lead after the opening round, each had a 71 and were four shots behind.

Masters champion Adam Scott, who can get within range of No. 1 in the world depending on his two weeks in Hawaii, had a 70 and was seven shots behind. The Australian was in dire need to a low round to at least have chance going into Monday.

Zach Johnson is going after his second straight win.

The last one was unofficial, yet no less memorable. Johnson was four shots behind Tiger Woods in the World Challenge on the back nine and rallied to catch him, holed out from the drop zone on the 18th hole to force a playoff and then won on the first extra hole.

Except for his Masters win in 2007, it might be the most famous of his 11 victories worldwide.

“When you’re talking about a guy that’s done what he’s done and raised the bar, any time you beat him – especially if you’re playing with him and come back from four shots with eight holes to go, it’s going to happen. So I can deal with that.”

Dustin Johnson has the power that is suited for Kapalua, and even though he had to withdraw from the pro-am with a sore neck, he appears to be hitting his stride. He twice had a batch of three straight birdies on the front nine to go out in 30 and claim a share of the lead, and even after missing the short putts on the 11th and 13th, he made three more birdies in the final five holes. Two of them were par 5s. Both times he had a look at eagle, missing from 20 feet on No. 15 and becoming the first player all week to reach the 689-yard, downhill closing hole in two shots. He two-putted from about 35 feet for one last birdie.

That could be attributed to a slightly more typical trade wind, though Johnson still had to give it two pretty good pops with a driver and a 3-wood.

The course played about a stroke harder than the opening round.

Zach Johnson is starting his 11th year on the PGA Tour. He has won a major (Woods tied for second), played on three Ryder Cup teams and knows his limitation. He said while in awe of what Woods can do, he is past the stage of intimidation. And the same goes for Dustin Johnson.

“I’ve played with him a number of times, too,” Zach Johnson said. “I like watching him hit driver. He’s not a whole lot different than a lot of the other guys I play with because they all hit it a lot further than me it seems like. … I don’t know. Dustin does not intimidate me.”

KAPALUA, Hawaii – Jordan Spieth thought the Plantation Course was a blast to play when he arrived at Kapalua. He had even more fun Friday.

Coming off a sensational rookie season, Spieth opened the new year by never coming close to bogey and making a 12-foot birdie putt on the last hole for a 7-under 66. That gave him a share of the lead at the Tournament of Champions with fellow newcomer Michael Thompson, Chris Kirk and Webb Simpson.

“It’s a course that I shouldn’t make a lot of bogeys on if you keep the ball in play and just think your way around the course,” Spieth said. “Ultimately, I did some good preparation and did a lot of hard work the last two or three weeks getting ready for today, and now just happy to be in good position after the first round.”

The wind off the west coast of Maui was the biggest surprise, shifting direction and speed throughout the opening round on a mostly sunny afternoon. But with an inch of rain overnight, the Plantation Course was soft enough that only two players in the 30-man field of PGA Tour winners failed to break par.

Kirk thought he might be one of them when he first got to this slice of paradise. He had not played since winning the McGladrey Classic at Sea Island two months ago, and his first practice round was a skins game with Matt Kuchar and Scott Brown. Kirk got shut out and figures he shot about 80.

When it counted, he was on the money, especially late in the round by closing with five straight birdies.

The last two were not easy, especially with the wind blasting into him on the 17th hole, a par 4 that measures 545 yards down the hill. He hit a poor tee shot and had to smash a 3-wood into 30 feet for an unlikely birdie. He had to hit 3-wood and 9-iron for his final two shots on 18 to make birdie.

“Some slightly more exciting birdies in the last few holes,” he said.

For the opening round of the year, where players are still trying to shake off some rust, the leaderboard has rarely been this tight.

PGA champion Jason Dufner had four birdies and an eagle on his front-nine 30, only to settle into a string of pars on the back nine for a 6-under 67. Kevin Streelman bogeyed his last two holes and also was at 67, along with Zach Johnson and Ryan Moore. The top 10 players were separated by three shots.

Adam Scott, coming off a two wins and a runner-up in Australia, and defending champion Dustin Johnson were among those at 70

On a day like this, experience might have been overrated.

“I think the more times you play it, the more advantage you have,” Kirk said. “Today was a little bit funny. Today was a day with the wind … I’ve never played in this wind. All the guys who have played here a bunch of times, you’re very rarely going to see that wind. So that could throw some people off that were used to it.”

Even the players at Kapalua for the first time have watched enough of it on television to know how the ball reacts on the ground. That’s why Thompson was so surprised to see that his tee shot on the 18th bounced back a few feet.

“From what I understand from guys that I’ve talked to, that ball at least rolls 40 yards,” Thompson said. “So it’s playing obviously very different.”

Spieth is getting plenty of attention going into a new year, mostly to see if he can back up his amazing rookie season. He had no status on any tour at this time a year ago, and by the end of the year he had won a tournament (John Deere Classic), finished No. 7 in the FedEx Cup and played on the Presidents Cup team.

He is easing his way into the year, coming out to Maui with only his agent, still finding time to enjoy the Pacific and everything else at Kapalua.

“It’s almost like a vacation tournament in a sense,” Spieth said. “It’s been an awesome week so far. Obviously, I’m here for this reason, and I don’t have my family here with me. So there’s definitely more of an emphasis on golf than maybe some other guys are putting into it here. Maybe that’s an advantage.”

DIVOTS: Along with 13 newcomers to Kapalua, there were a few new – or different – faces on the bags. Simpson is using the caddie of Bubba Watson because the wife of his regular looper, Paul Tesori, is about to have a baby. The biggest change was with Patrick Reed, whose wife has carried his bag for his entire professional career. She is expecting their first child, so her brother is taking over. … Kapalua is the toughest walk on tour, especially for the caddies. So it didn’t help when Kip Henley, the caddie for Brian Gay, felt the bag heavier than usual on the fourth tee. He searched into the umbrella pocket and found a bottle of red wine that had been in the bag since the OHL Classic in Mexico last November. Gay gave it to his wife, who was in the gallery.

KAPALUA, Hawaii – Amid the chatter of holidays and college football, Adam Scott already was hard at work on the far end of the range at Kapalua.

He finished up a jumbo-sized bucket of balls by hitting some 20 shots with a 5-iron, turning the green turf into a square patch of brown with each divot. Scott never seemed satisfied. His only conversation with Brad Malone, his swing coach and brother-in-law, was whether he was set properly at the top of his swing.

“No time for a break,” he said when he was done, his tanned face dripping with sweat.

It’s almost as though last year never ended, and Scott would love that to be the case.

His plan to play less and gear his game more toward the majors paid off in a big way when Scott became the first Australian to win the Masters. And he didn’t stop there. He had the outright lead on the back nine of the British Open until tying for third. He was on the fringe of Sunday contention at the PGA Championship and tied for fifth. And then he won the toughest FedEx Cup playoff event, twice more in Australia and captured the team portion of the World Cup with Jason Day.

Scott ended the year at No. 2 in the world, closer to the top than he has ever been. On Thursday, the Golf Writers Association of America announced he had won its male player of the year in a narrow race – five votes – against Tiger Woods.

Now for the encore.

“My goal is to win majors – and now I can say ‘majors’ and not just one,” Scott said with a smile. “I think I’m heading in the right direction. I don’t want to change too much from last year.”

The start of the new year is more like the end of a long stretch for Scott.

He is among the favourites when the Hyundai Tournament of Champions gets underway Friday on the Plantation Course at Kapalua, part of a 30-man field comprised only of players who won on the PGA Tour last year.

Dustin Johnson is the defending champion. Only nine players are back from last year at Kapalua, a testament to how much tougher it is getting to win on the PGA Tour, and the field features 13 players who won for the first time. It no longer is the season-opening event because the new PGA Tour schedule actually began in October, so this is the seventh tournament of the season.

But it still feels like Kapalua always did – a fresh start, loaded with some of the best scenery and no shortage of optimism.

“It’s like the first day of school,” Zach Johnson said.

Scott didn’t take much of a break after his runner-up finish to Rory McIlroy in the Australian Open. He put the clubs away for 10 days and went at it hard in practice last week. After two weeks in Hawaii, he’ll disappear for six weeks, not resurfacing until the Honda Classic that kicks off the Florida swing.

But there is a drive to keep pushing, to keep improving bit by bit. He proved that last year after winning the Masters and refusing to contemplate any kind of celebration until he returned home to Australia.

“I’m happy with how it all worked out between Brad, Steve (Williams) and myself,” he said. “It’s the kind of plans we worked on, that after such a big high in April to not live off winning the Masters for the rest of the year, or the rest of your life. To keep pushing and keep my golf advancing. By the end of the year, I took my game that tiny, half-step further from where I was when I won a major. It’s just getting a little bit better, which is important if I want to achieve everything I ever wanted.”

Next on the horizon is a shot at No. 1, even if that’s not part of the plan.

Woods has an average ranking of 11.69, while Scott is at 9.60. And because both play no more than 20 events a year, he’s not far off. There was a time when Woods was on one of his big runs that reaching the top of the world ranking looked impossible to Scott.

“I don’t think I can set a schedule to focus on being No. 1 in the world,” he said. “It can only be a byproduct of everything else I do. It’s no small feat. The guy who’s had a stronghold on it for a long time doesn’t like giving that spot up much. I mean, look, for 10 years it wasn’t even a consideration. He was just playing at another level. But it’s such a long career. He’s going to play at a level that no one ever has for that long.

“But he has different levels of being No. 1, and this is just slightly different,” Scott said. “And the game has changed a bit. He’s still No. 1. It’s a hard spot to get to. Maybe if I play like I have for another 12 months, I might sneak in there. But it’s not something I can focus on.”

KAPALUA, Hawaii – Brandt Snedeker starts a new year in golf with hopes of avoiding an old problem – staying healthy.

The Tournament of Champions, which starts Friday, is his first event since a freak accident in Shanghai two months ago. Snedeker was on a Segway scooter during a corporate outing at Sheshan International when he took a tumble and injured his left knee.

“I had been on one all day in this pro-am,” Snedeker said Wednesday. “I was going down the last hole, seeing how fast I could get it going. I hit a sprinkler head, lost control a little bit and jumped off. I landed on my knee and my knee popped.”

He feared he had torn his anterior cruciate ligament. Just his luck, he only suffered a small tear, along with a cracked tibia and a deep bone bruise. It was enough to keep him out of the Australian PGA, World Challenge in California and the Franklin Templeton Shootout in Florida. Harris English replaced him as Matt Kuchar’s partner in the Shootout, and they went on to win.

Snedeker said the knee feels good, though the real test starts Friday.

He spent last week playing at Hideaway in the California desert, walking 18 holes a day and carrying his own bag. The good news at Kapalua is that he has his caddie. Not so good is that the Plantation Course was built on the side of a mountain, featuring some of the steepest climbs he’ll face all year.

“I’ve had a few aches and pains of playing again, but nothing that concerns me,” Snedeker said. “The only thing I’m worried about is walking 18 holes here. Palm Springs is dead flag. Walking this golf course is a little different.”

And the last time the six-time PGA Tour winner carried his own bag?

“It’s funny, I got into this routine of doing it after injuries,” Snedeker said.

Not so funny is that it has become a routine. In his seven years on tour, Snedeker has had surgery on both hips to correct a degenerative problem. He missed the 2012 U.S. Open because of a rib injury. After one of the hottest stretches of last year – second to Tiger Woods at Torrey Pines, second to Phil Mickelson in Phoenix and then a victory at Pebble Beach – Snedeker had recurring problems with his ribs and missed the next month.

Snedeker said his rookie season was his only injury-free year.

“It’s very concerning,” he said. “I don’t consider myself that, but the evidence bears out that I am injury-prone. Over the course of your career, you’re going to have injuries. I’m hoping all mine are in a five-year stretch.”

He’s been taking medication and paying close attention to his diet to stay on top of his fitness, but just like most people, Snedeker will stray on occasion.

“You get healthy and you forget about it,” he said. “You get injured and you start worrying. I’m no different from anyone else.”

Now, he can hope that’s all behind him. Snedeker believes the best part of his career is ahead of him, and he’s excited about the major championship venues, with Pinehurst No. 2 among his favourite course in America. He was tied with Angel Cabrera going into the final round of the Masters last year, and he has come to love links golf at the British Open, with strong showings the last two years.

His biggest goal for 2014?

“I’m looking forward to playing an injury-free year,” the 2013 RBC Canadian Open champion said with a grin.

KAPALUA, Hawaii – Rory McIlroy is claiming his first win of the new year – his engagement to tennis star Caroline Wozniacki.

One of the top power couples in sports announced their engagement Tuesday night on Twitter, which was Wednesday morning in Australia. A spokesman for McIlroy confirmed he popped the question in Sydney, where Wozniacki is starting to prepare for the Australian Open in Melbourne.

“Happy New Year everyone! I have a feeling it’s going to be a great year!! My first victory of 2014,” McIlroy tweeted. He added a hash tag, “She said yes!!” Wozniacki sent out a similar tweet a few minutes earlier that said, “Happy New Year everyone! Rory and I started 2014 with a bang! … I said YES!!!!”

They included a collage of three photos – her engagement ring, a photo of them together and fireworks over the Sydney Harbor.

Happy New Year everyone! I have a feeling it’s going to be a great year!! My first victory of 2014 #shesaidyes!! pic.twitter.com/gxO7rDDyPY

— Rory Mcilroy (@McIlroyRory) December 31, 2013

That should put to rest two reports out of Ireland at different times this year that they were splitting up. One of those reports was in August, even though McIlroy and Wozniacki had dinner in New York the following night ahead of the U.S. Open in tennis.

They first began to see each other in the summer of 2011, shortly after McIlroy won his first major with a record-setting performance in the U.S. Open at Congressional. They confirmed they were dating a few months later, and they were never shy about sharing their relationship on social media.

He changed his avatar on Twitter of the couple when Wozniacki was No. 1 and McIlroy was No. 2. That changed within six months, when McIlroy first ascended to No. 1 in the world and Wozniacki began a steady decline down the WTA ranking. She now is No. 10, while McIlroy goes into the 2014 season at No. 6.

McIlroy is coming off a rough season in which he failed to meet enormous expectations while changing golf equipment. He also left his management company in a nasty split that is to be settled next year in an Irish court. The 24-year-old from Northern Ireland did not win a tournament until the Australian Open in December.

It was his first year of serious criticism, and McIlroy said it only got to him when it involved his personal life.

“I don’t care what people say about my golf,” he said. “It’s when people start digging into my personal life, that’s where it starts to annoy you – whether it’s Caroline, whether it’s management, all that stuff shouldn’t be a consequence to how I play my golf.”

When he was asked jokingly whether they broke up five or six times this year, McIlroy gave a hearty laugh and said, “Something like that.”

Wozniacki joined him at the World Challenge in California, and then they headed to south Florida and his new home for the first part of the holidays. He later when to Northern Ireland before heading Down Under.

Tweets of congratulations about their engagement began pouring in from Graeme McDowell, Ian Poulter and Francesco Molinari.

McIlroy makes his 2014 debut on Jan. 16-19 in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.

KAPALUA, Hawaii – Four years later, the words of Jack Nicklaus resonate even louder.

“If Tiger is going to pass my record, this is a big year for him in that regard,” Nicklaus said at the start of 2010.

Nicklaus was referring to his record 18 majors, and the major championship venues that favoured Woods – Augusta National, Pebble Beach and St. Andrews, all courses where he had won before. Woods never had a serious chance on the back nine of any major that year. His tally remains at 14.

And that makes 2014 even bigger.

Woods is facing another favourable menu of major championship sites. He already has won majors at Augusta, Royal Liverpool (British Open) and Valhalla (PGA Championship). The U.S. Open is at Pinehurst No. 2, were Woods was third in 1999 and runner-up in 2005.

“I’m trending in the right way,” Woods said recently. “I’ve finished third, second … you get the picture, right? OK.”

A new year begins Friday at the Tournament of Champions at Kapalua, and while Woods is among PGA Tour winners who chose to sit this one out, his performance in the majors this year figures to be a major topic of conversation over the next eight months.

“I always think that the Masters signals a lot with Tiger,” NBC analyst Johnny Miller said during a conference call. “If he doesn’t win the Masters, I think it gives a great, big ‘Uh-oh,’ because that course is so perfect for his game. I’ll leave it at that. But if he wants to get off on the right foot, I think he needs to get off at the Masters.”

There’s a big difference with Woods the last time he faced such a tantalizing rotation of majors.

Nicklaus spoke of a “big year” when Woods was more of a mystery than ever. No one had seen Woods in more than a month going into 2010 and didn’t even know where he was. His personal life at home, his mystique in golf and his appeal in the corporate world were crumbling in spectacular fashion.

Now, he is No. 1 in the world. He won five times last year against some of the strongest fields. He won the Vardon Trophy for the ninth time, the PGA Tour money title for the 10th time and was voted PGA Tour player of the year for the 11th time.

Still, there remains an uncertainty about Woods, mainly because he hasn’t won a major since 2008 and he hasn’t broken 70 on the weekend of any major since the 2011 Masters. That’s a startling statistic for a guy who has built a reputation as golf’s greatest closer.

“It’s getting much harder for Tiger because guys are not wilting on him,” Miller said. “So he’s got a double whammy in that he’s not able to close as well as he used to, and then the guys are more heroic against him like they never were before. … Guys are saying, ‘Yeah, you’re Tiger Woods and you’re the greatest ever, but now at your age, I can beat you.’ He needs to do it in the majors.”

Will familiar venues help?

Not necessarily.

Woods forever is linked with Augusta National because of his record score (270) and margin of victory (12 shots) in the 1997 Masters, his back-to-back wins (2001-02) and that magic moment with his chip on the 16th hole that led to his playoff win in 2005. But he has not added to his wardrobe of green jackets in eight years, his longest drought in any major. Who saw that coming?

And while he is trending in the right direction at Pinehurst No. 2, the Donald Ross design has gone through a restoration project that eliminated rough and replaced it with sandy dunes, pine straw and wire grass.

Woods won the 2006 British Open at Royal Liverpool when it was firm and fiery, a links that was more yellow than green because of a dry summer. Woods hit only one driver the entire week. It might not be the same course if England gets a wet summer – and yes, it does rain in England – and players see Hoylake green, lush and longer.

Valhalla is where Woods made what he considers the biggest putt of his career, a 6-footer on the final hole for birdie to force a playoff that he won over Bob May in the PGA Championship. It gave Woods his third straight major in that amazing summer of 2000.

If that seems like a long time ago, it was. Woods will not have seen Valhalla in 14 years when he returns this summer.

The best gauge of Woods and his pursuit of Nicklaus is more about him than the course he is playing. More than St. Andrews or Pebble Beach, more than Hoylake or Valhalla, it’s best to consider Southern Hills. That’s the course that supposedly gave Woods fits because of its tight, bending, tree-lined fairways. Woods won the 2007 PGA Championship that year, proof that when he’s on his game and in the right frame of mind, he can win any major on any course.

More significant than where the majors are played in 2014 is the fact Woods turned 38 on Monday.

By age alone, Woods has been ahead of Nicklaus’ pace in the majors since winning his seventh major in 2002 Masters at age 26. They are tied now. Nicklaus also had 14 majors when he turned 38, and then he added his 15th major that summer in the British Open.

That’s what makes this a big year for Woods.

KAPALUA, Hawaii – The Tournament of Champions has all the PGA Tour winners from the previous year, but that doesn’t translate into the strongest field. Only six of the top 20 at are Kapalua to start the new year, led by Masters champion Adam Scott at No. 2.

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are sitting this one out, as they have for years now. Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose and Graeme McDowell also stayed home because they are members of the PGA and European tours and played deep into 2013.

The field is a better reflection of just how hard it is getting to win on the PGA Tour.

The list of those who failed to qualify is nearly as impressive as those who did – Rory McIlroy, Steve Stricker and Sergio Garcia from the top 10 in the world, along with Jason Day, Ian Poulter, Luke Donald, Charl Schwartzel, Jim Furyk and Keegan Bradley to round out the top 20.

Also missing is Hunter Mahan, Bubba Watson and Nick Watney.

Only nine players who were in the field at Kapalua have returned this year, starting with defending champion Dustin Johnson.

This is worth keeping in mind going into a Ryder Cup year.

The strength of a team is not always who’s playing, but who is not. Europe was at its strongest in the mid-2000s when players like Rose, Poulter, Casey and Garcia were not locks to make the team. That led Colin Montgomerie to suggest that Europe was deep enough to field two teams.

To consider the strength of the Americans right now, consider the Presidents Cup three months ago. The team featured the usual suspects of Woods, Mickelson and Stricker. But look at who didn’t make that team – Furyk, Watson, Dustin Johnson.

That could shape up as one of the top story lines for 2014 as players try to make their respective Ryder Cup teams. It won’t be easy.

“You’ve got to look at 10 guys vying for seven spots,” McDowell said of Europe’s team. “There’s going to be two or three guys who miss – good players, quality players. I would assume (Captain Paul) McGinley’s wild cards are going to be very hotly contested. No doubt it’s going to be a tough team to get on.”
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THE KING PAYS TRIBUTE: In his final “State of the Game” published on Golf Channel’s website, Arnold Palmer offered poignant tributes to some of the golf personalities who died in 2013. He also wanted to set the record straight that Frank Stranahan had as much to do with invigorating the British Open as Palmer did.

The British Open didn’t always get the best players, mainly because it cost more money to get there than players made in the tournament. Palmer went over in 1960, having won the first two majors that year, and he won the claret jug in 1961 and 1962.

“I am often given credit for ”salvaging“ the British Open in the early 1960s,” Palmer wrote. “We can argue whether or not the game’s most historic championship really was in danger of sinking, but it is safe to say that after World War II, many American competitors simply found it easy and more profitable to compete here in the United States. Frank never quit on the Open. He continued to compete there on a regular basis, and finished second in 1947 and 1953.

“His devotion to the Open Championship is what inspired me to go over in 1960. I won the following year, and I’ve been credited ever since with ”saving“ the Open, but it was Frank who paved the way.”
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MILLER TIME: No other golf announcer gets under a player’s skin like Johnny Miller, who has developed his own style – and vocabulary – in his 20 years with NBC Sports. Could the two-time major champion take it as well as he can dish it out?

Miller will never know.

He said on a conference call leading to the Tournament of Champions that he played in a different era of TV commentary.

“In my era, nobody said anything but namby-pamby stuff,” Miller said. “Nobody ever said anything that would make you upset. As Dave Marr said, we were just gilding the road back then, just making everybody look good.”

Miller does believe in compliments. He’s not afraid to praise. But he believes golf is much bigger than it was in the 1970s, and viewership expects more.

“It’s not just a cute little sport, or an awesome game,” he said. “Now it’s sort of a world sport, and in the public view, they want more than, ‘That was a fantastic wedge shot 30 feet right of the hole.’ That’s not what they want to hear.

“I hate to say it, but I’m probably the guy that got announcing a little bit more real, sort of an ‘X Games’ type of announcer,” he said. “And sometimes I wish I wasn’t the way I am, but that’s the way I talk about my own game, so it’s just the way I viewed it. I wasn’t trying to rip anybody, but I have a high standard, and I feel like the best players in the world should perform. And if they don’t, I’m not going to just say, ‘Oh, that was a bad break’ or something.”
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GOLF CHANNEL ON RADIO: Golf Channel no longer will just be seen. Starting this year, it also will be heard.

Golf Channel is expanding to radio for the first time in a broadcast agreement with SiriusXM. Programming will start Monday on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio (XM channel 93, Sirius channel 208).

The programming that will be featured on radio includes “Morning Drive” hosted by Gary Williams, which is a natural fit. When “Morning Drive” began, its studio looked like it was built for a radio talk show. The only problem was it could only be seen on television.

“Radio is a natural extension as Golf Channel continues to expand,” said Mike McCarley, president of Golf Channel.

SiriusXM already has beefed up its programming this year with shows hosted by the likes of Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson and Ben Crenshaw.
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MR. CLUTCH: Jack Nicklaus is regarded as golf’s most clutch putter during his generation. That apparently included playing against his sons.

Jack Nicklaus II was asked recently if he could recall the first time he beat his father.

“I had a putt to beat him or Dad had a putt to miss or whatever, he seemed to always make it, and I seemed to always miss,” Jackie Nicklaus said. “Honestly, I don’t know if I recall the first time I beat him. It doesn’t happen very often. It still doesn’t happen very often.”

Nicklaus said all four of his sons have beaten him in casual games. But he never let them win.

“If I had a 30-foot putt to keep one of them from beating me, I probably made it,” Nicklaus said. “And the reason for that is that I’ve always felt like I don’t want to ever give them anything. If they’re going to beat me, they’ve got to beat me, and I think when you do that, then they feel like they’ve really earned it.”
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DIVOTS: More than just PGA Tour winners are at Kapalua this week. In the days before tournament week starts, the Plantation Course featured Rory Sabbatini, Scott Piercy and Scott Verplank, all of whom are on Maui for vacation. Verplank is taking an exemption for career money and will make his first start next week in the Sony Open. He said he last played Waialae in 1987. … Ryo Ishikawa, who earned his PGA Tour card back through the Web.com Tour Finals, moved to the top of the priority ranking in the first reshuffle on the strength of a runner-up finish in Las Vegas. … The 30-man field at Kapalua includes 13 first-time winners.

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STAT OF THE WEEK: Tiger Woods is the only player to win the Tournament of Champions and a major in the same year since it moved to Kapalua in 1999.

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FINAL WORD: “It’s hard to predict golf. It was pretty easy to predict Tiger there for a while.” –  Johnny Miller.

The putt that Adam Scott thinks about most wasn’t the one that won him the Masters. The best shot Justin Rose hit at the U.S. Open didn’t even stay on the green.

The majors were filled with great shots, even if they didn’t produce the obvious outcome.

Scott’s putt on the 18th at Augusta National ultimately got him into a playoff when Angel Cabrera answered with a great birdie of his own. Rose’s 4-iron into the 18th at Merion ran off the back of the green into a collar. It was a relatively simple up-and-down from there, though such a great shot deserved better.

Every major has a signature shot. Some are easier to define than others.

And with every major champion, there is another shot that is just as pleasing to them, even if it doesn’t get as much attention:

THE MASTERS

The putt that made Scott the first Australian in a green jacket was a 12-footer for birdie on the second playoff hole at No. 10. Scott, however, believes the defining moment of this Masters was the 20-foot birdie putt he made on the 18th in regulation.

Adding to the significance of the putt was his reaction. Scott, the image of GQ, transformed into WWF as he screamed with all his might, “C’mon, Aussie!”

“No matter what I do in my career from now on, I think it’s going to be the one I’m remembered for,” Scott said. “Even if I do happen to win other big tournaments or majors, it might not quite be everything that Augusta was.

“There’s no doubt, as I look back in my career, that’s going to be the one moment I’ll think of first as a far as a signature moment.”

He won’t forget the 6-iron, either, as good as any shot he struck all week.

On the second playoff hole, Scott had 191 yards from a hook lie in the 10th fairway. Cabrera already was on the green with a reasonable look at birdie.

“I didn’t want to sling a 7-iron in there,” Scott said. “It wasn’t the right shot. The atmosphere was heavy and I was jacked up, but I had to hold a 6-iron. Somehow, I managed to hit such a beautiful shot. If you asked me to do it right now, I couldn’t. But I had it at that moment. Absolutely, it’s the best shot of my life right now.”

U.S. OPEN

Rose had a one-shot lead on the 18th hole at Merion. He was 229 yards from the pin, and just 15 feet behind the plaque that commemorates Hogan’s 1-iron into the 18th during his 1950 U.S. Open victory. While it was not as historic as Hogan’s moment, it was the signature shot of his first major.

“It has to be the 4-iron into 18, given the poignancy of the hole, the iconic photograph we’ve all grown up with and the 18th hole of a major,” Rose said. “That was the one that put it away.”

Adding to the pressure was the wait. Luke Donald was taking a penalty drop, leaving more time for Rose to contemplate the consequences of the shot.

“I appreciated the situation I was in and relished it,” Rose said. “And luckily, the shot came off. I drilled it. It came off perfectly.”

He believes the 18th hole played a big role earlier in the week. Rain kept the second round from being completed on Friday, and Rose was in the last group that managed to finish without having to return Saturday morning. He watched Phil Mickelson ahead of him make birdie to share the 36-hole lead. Rose missed the fairway, hacked it out of rough and had 115 yards to a pin that was just over the false front, a shot that required close to perfection.

He delivered, hitting wedge to 7 feet.

“It was pretty dark by this time,” he said. “But I wanted to hit the putt. Even if I missed, the advantage was there to sleep in. It was a slippery, downhill, left-to-righter for a 69 to stay even par. From a momentum point of view, just finishing and giving myself time in bed for the rhythm of the week … that was big.”

BRITISH OPEN

Mickelson didn’t hesitate when asked for the signature shot of his British Open victory _ the 3-wood on the par-5 17th that set up a two-putt birdie.

“Very simply put, there was no margin for error,” he said. “If I miss it a little bit to the right, it goes in a bunker and I have a very difficult par. I have to go out sideways and try to get up-and-down for par. If I miss it left, it’s the worst rough on the golf course and I could lose my ball or have an unplayable lie. But if I hit it perfectly, there’s a good chance I could have a two-putt birdie. And that’s what happened.

“I hit it dead perfect at the time I needed it most,” he said. “If I made birdie, I felt like I would win.”

Mickelson’s closing 66 at Muirfield is considered the best round of the year, and one of the best final rounds in any major. He made birdie on four of the last six holes. As much attention as that 3-wood receives, Lefty was equally pleased with a 5-iron into 8 feet for birdie that started his big run.

It was on the 13th hole, 190 yards and dead into a strong wind to a narrow green.

“If you miss it at all, the ball gets blown off sideways, and you saw it with just about every player behind me,” Mickelson said. “I hit it so solid and perfect through the wind the ball just soared. It was the prettiest shot.”

PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

Jason Dufner had a two-shot lead with three holes to play. Leads like that can disappear quickly at a major, especially with the tough, two closing holes at Oak Hill.

Jim Furyk hit his approach to 10 feet on the 16th, easily birdie range. Dufner followed with a sand wedge from 105 yards that spun back to a foot, which stands out as his signature moment at the PGA Championship (though a case could be made for the love tap he gave his wife when it was over).

“I was trying to take it a little bit past the pin on the right,” Dufner said. “Obviously, with a wedge in hand, I was thinking it could be a makeable birdie effort. Inside a foot is great for me because I struggle with the putter.”

Not so obvious – except to Dufner – was how he played the par-3 11th hole for the week. At 226 yards, it was the sixth-toughest hole at Oak Hill. Dufner never had a birdie putt outside 20 feet in all four rounds, and he played the hole in 1-under par for the week.

“It was one of the tougher holes, and I made it easy for me,” he said. “The 16th is the shot people are going to remember. The one people will forget about is to play that hole (No. 11) in 1 under and never sweat a bogey. That’s a pretty good deal.”