Woodland surprised to share island flight to Hawaii with Obama family

HONOLULU (AP) — Gary Woodland had a brief vacation with wife Gabby on the Big Island before coming over to Oahu for the Sony Open. Never was a 45-minute flight more memorable.

They were in the second row on the Hawaiian Airlines flight. The final passengers to board were in the first row — former President Barrack Obama, his wife and two daughters.

“That one surprised me," Woodland said. “I was surprised he was on a commercial flight.”

Woodland thought it was strange when they boarded the flight and were told their overhead luggage needed to be stored toward the back of the plane, not in first class. Before long, he said five or six federal agents boarded the plane.

“I knew President Obama was playing golf at the same place I was, so I knew he was in town,” Woodland said. “Then I saw the Secret Service and I had an inkling. When they told us to put our luggage in the back, I had never seen that before in first class.”

Woodland said the flight was full, but the Obama family was the last to board and “I don't even think people knew he was on the plane.”

“It was a cool experience,” Woodland said. “There was no talking. I would have loved to have talked to him, but I didn't want to bother him, either. Just to see the whole operation — how they did it, when we landed, five or six more Secret Service — it was cool.”

Obama loves golf and sports. Unclear is whether the former president recognized the 2019 U.S. Open champion at Pebble Beach. Woodland said he and his wife were asked to deplane first.

“I said, ‘Thank you for your service’ when I got off the plane,” Woodland said. “I don't know if he recognized me or not. I know people who know him and they say he's a massive sports nut and a golf fan. He gave me a thumbs-up when I got off the plane.”

Shot clock

One match into the inaugural TMRW Golf League season, the hi-tech indoor circuit already has prompted suggestions for the PGA Tour. Matt Fitzpatrick and Rickie Fowler said as much when they answered simultaneously after their New York club won the opener.

“Shot clock.”

“That was my favorite part of TGL,” Webb Simpson said.

Is it possible? Enough that it will probably get some consideration when the PGA Tour puts together a working group of players for yet another look at pace of play under Commissioner Jay Monahan's “Everything is on the table” message at the end of last year.

It has been done in professional golf. The Shot Clock Masters debuted on the European tour in 2018 at what previously was the Austrian Open. The tournament had a lapse in sponsorship, the COVID-19 pandemic arrived and it became one-and-done. Four penalties were handed out, mainly because players said they forgot about the clock.

Is it practical? There would be significant expense involved in adding more rules officials, or spending a lot of time training volunteers operating what could be as many as 54 clocks on 18 holes (tee, fairway, green).

“I think people would be in favor of it, but it would be an adjustment,” Sony Open winner Nick Taylor said. “Certain shots are not equal, like in a playoff or a putt to make the cut — now that would be interesting. But it would speed things up, no doubt.”

TGL is helped by already having an indoor arena with a lot of lights, including the shot clock. One idea is to have a green, yellow and red light on tour to keep spectators from counting down to zero, while still letting players know time is running out.

Simpson mentioned two allowable bad times per round. He also said while fines don't work, perhaps cumulative fines for taking too long will get players' attention.

“I would be so for it," he said. "Me and some players talked about it a few days ago. It would be an investment on the PGA Tour. You have to get trained people. We'd have to iron out the kinks, like rulings. But I think you could do it.”

Keegan’s mission

Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley was two shots out of the lead going into the final round of the Sony Open, got off to a slower start than he wanted and tied for sixth, three shots out of a playoff. It was his third top 10 in his last five starts dating to his BMW Championship victory.

Bradley now is No. 11 in the world, making him the sixth-ranked American.

So much of the attention is on whether he will play his way on his Ryder Cup team. That’s a bridge to cross this summer. Bradley is trying to play good golf for other reasons.

“I’m on a mission to be the best player that I can be, one of the best players in the world,” he said.

He hasn’t won a major since his rookie year in 2011, and he hasn’t challenged in a major since the U.S. Open at Brookline in 2022. That tops his list of priorities. Right behind is winning on the PGA Tour, which he has done each of the last three years.

“I’d like to make that four years in a row,” he said. “But I really want to be looked at as one of the best players in the world. Me being the Ryder Cup captain doesn’t have anything to do with that. I still feel like I’m in the prime of my career, playing the best golf I’ve ever played, and I want to keep building on that.”

Quick impressions

Jesper Svensson of Sweden made the best first impression among the 10 European tour players who earned PGA Tour cards this year. He played the back nine in 30 at the Sony Open and tied for 10th.

How he made it to Hawaii is still hard for him to believe.

“Two years ago, I didn’t even have a category on the Challenge Tour,” Svensson said. “It’s been a crazy journey.”

Svensson, who won the Big South Conference title twice at Campbell University in North Carolina, lost his card in 2022 and was playing in the Nordic Golf League when he received an exemption to the B-NL Challenge Trophy in the Netherlands and shot 66 the last day to win.

That led to a European tour card, and he won the Singapore Classic. He effectively clinched a PGA Tour card with his tie for seventh in the DP World Tour Championship.

The only other player from the 10 European tour members to play the Sony Open was Rikuya Hoshino, who missed the cut. Matteo Manassero and Antoine Rozner will join them in The American Express.

Golf Digest Middle East reported that Tom McKibbin of Northern Ireland, who got the last card, is on the verge of joining LIV. Because the PGA Tour season has started, if he goes to LIV then a card would not go to Jordan Smith, who finished 11th in the European tour category.

Divots

Lucas Glover hit a bunker shot in the third round of the Sony Open that brought a strange experience. There was a dead baby sea turtle, about the size of a casino chip, next to his ball. He played the shot without touching it. “I thought I was going to make it,” Glover said. “Are they good luck?” He did manage to get up and down. ... Florida State junior Luke Clanton now has as many runner-up finishes as missed cuts (2) on the PGA Tour in his nine tournaments since June. ... Matt Kuchar in 2019 is the last 54-hole leader to win the Sony Open.

Stat of the week

Nico Echavarria of Colombia was at No. 292 in the world going into the last week in October. In his last six starts, he won the Zozo Championship, had a top 10 in Mexico, was runner-up at Sea Island and lost in a playoff at the Sony Open. Now he is No. 41.

Final word

“Usually when I play early and everyone is at even.” — Zach Johnson on the last time he saw his name on the leaderboard. He was two off the lead going into the weekend at the Sony Open.

___

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf