Tiger Woods has launched his new apparel line with TaylorMade following the end of his 27-year relationship with Nike.

Woods will tee off in the Genesis Invitational on Thursday wearing the “Sun Day Red” brand, named after his traditional choice of colours for the final round of tournaments.

The logo, a tiger emblem, is also made up of 15 stripes, the number of majors the 48-year-old has won.

“It’s the right time in my life,” Woods said at the launch in Los Angeles.

“It’s transitional. I’m not a kid any more. I want to have a brand I’m proud of going forward.

“Sunday red – it’s me. It started with mom [Kultida]. She thought being a Capricorn that my power colour was red, so I wore red as a junior golfer and I won some tournaments.

“Lo and behold, I go to a university that is red, Stanford is red. We wore red on the final day of every single tournament, and then every single tournament I’ve played as a professional I’ve worn red. It’s just become synonymous with me.”

Woods will make his first competitive appearance of 2024 at Riviera Country Club – in a tournament which benefits his foundation – as he continues his latest comeback from injury.

The former world number one underwent ankle surgery in April last year after withdrawing from the Masters during the third round and did not compete again until the Hero World Challenge in December.

Woods finished 18th in the 20-man field in the Bahamas, but said he was pleased with his progress and believes it is realistic to compete in one tournament a month this season.

Nick Taylor rode a late surge to secure his fifth PGA Tour title in the second hole of a playoff against Charley Hoffman at the WM Phoenix Open.

The Canadian birdied three of his final four holes on Sunday to force the playoff against America’s Hoffman, who soared to the top of the leaderboard with a fourth-round score of 64.

After each man birdied the first extra hole, Hoffman left his birdie attempt short, leaving the window open for Taylor to sink a birdie putt from 11 feet and clinch the title.

It closed out what had been a frantic final day with Zach Johnson and Billy Horschel earlier exchanging angry words with spectators.

Johnson was filmed remonstrating with fans at TPC Scottsdale and could be heard telling them “I’m sick of it” before demanding they “just shut up”.

It was not apparent from the clip, which was posted on social media, what prompted the former US Ryder Cup captain to lose his temper.

In a separate incident, Horschel was seen remonstrating with a spectator for calling out while one of his playing partners, qualifier Nicolo Galletti, was about to hit a shot.

“Buddy, when he’s over a shot shut the hell up man,” Horschel shouted.

“He’s trying to hit a damn golf shot here – it’s our f****** job.”

The WM Phoenix Open is easily the best attended tournament in golf, but the behaviour of some fans has again attracted more attention than the golf itself.

One man was arrested after jumping over the ropes and diving into a greenside bunker on the par-three 16th, where he proceeded to perform ‘snow angels’ in the sand.

Tournament officials were forced to shut spectator gates earlier than planned after being overwhelmed by the turnout and sales of alcohol were temporarily halted.

Former BMW PGA Championship winner Byeong Hun An took to social media to brand the event a “shit show” which was “totally out of control on every hole”.

He added: “Played here multiple times over the years and it was fine until today.”

Zach Johnson and Billy Horschel exchanged angry words with spectators as tempers frayed on the final day of the WM Phoenix Open.

Johnson was filmed remonstrating with fans at TPC Scottsdale and could be heard telling them “I’m sick of it” before demanding they “just shut up”.

It was not apparent from the clip, which was posted on social media, what prompted the former US Ryder Cup captain to lose his temper.

In a separate incident, Horschel was seen remonstrating with a spectator for calling out while one of his playing partners, qualifier Nicolo Galletti, was about to hit a shot.

“Buddy, when he’s over a shot shut the hell up man,” Horschel shouted.

“He’s trying to hit a damn golf shot here – it’s our f****** job.”

The WM Phoenix Open is easily the best attended tournament in golf, but the behaviour of some fans has again attracted more attention than the golf itself.

One man was arrested after jumping over the ropes and diving into a greenside bunker on the par-three 16th, where he proceeded to perform ‘snow angels’ in the sand.

Tournament officials were forced to shut spectator gates earlier than planned after being overwhelmed by the turnout and sales of alcohol were temporarily halted.

Former BMW PGA Championship winner Byeong Hun An took to social media to brand the event a “s***show” which was “totally out of control on every hole”.

He added: “Played here multiple times over the years and it was fine until today.”

Canadian Nick Taylor is leading the field at the Phoenix Open, one shot ahead of American Sahith Theegala.

Play closed on Saturday night due to darkness at TPC Scottsdale Stadium, with the two only managing to finish six holes of their third round.

The pair battled it out on Saturday, with the Canadian finishing the day at 13 under after Theegala briefly overtook Taylor thanks to a second-round 64.

Theegala then bogeyed his first two holes of the third round but pulled off a birdie on the fourth hole to stay within one stroke of Taylor and the top spot.

Further delays due to frost may be on the cards, which could force play pushed over into Monday.

Canada’s Nick Taylor has matched the TPC Scottsdale Stadium course record at the Phoenix Open to head into the weekend tied for the lead with America’s Andrew Novak.

Taylor finished his first round with an 11-under 60 on Friday, thanks to weather delays that saw the first round spill over into the tournament’s second day.

Returning to the course later on Friday to start his second round, Taylor began on shaky ground before pulling it together with two birdies on the back nine to card a one-under 70.

That puts him equal with Novak at the top of the leaderboard on 12-under.

Due to inclement weather, more than half of the field still needs to finish the second round on Saturday, although more rain is forecast.

Ireland’s Shane Lowry is two shots off the lead held by American Sahith Theegala after a weather-hit opening day at the Phoenix Open.

Theegala hit seven birdies and a bogey in a six-under-par 65 and leads by one from compatriot Andrew Novak after the first day at Scottsdale.

Novak had only completed nine holes with around half of the field needing to complete their first rounds on Friday after a rain delay of more than three hours around lunchtime.

Theegala, who had played 14 holes before the break, said: “The weather was, it was not good, those last four holes felt great.

“I played great and that’s all I can do, really.”

Lowry, 36, who is tied third with S H Kim, started with six birdies and a bogey in his first nine holes, adding one bogey on the way home to finish with a 67. He said the weather made conditions “really bad towards the end”.

“We came back out, the wind was not blowing as strong but the ball was going nowhere, and it was cold and kind of tough,” he said.

England’s Matt Fitzpatrick dropped two late shots after the resumption to fall back to two-under- par, alongside Scotland’s Martin Laird and one ahead of European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald.

Tiger Woods will make his first competitive appearance of 2024 in next week’s Genesis Invitational.

The 15-time major winner announced on social media that he was “excited to be a playing host” at Riviera Country Club – in a tournament which benefits his foundation – as he continues his latest comeback from injury.

Woods underwent ankle surgery in April last year after withdrawing from the Masters during the third round and did not compete again until the Hero World Challenge in December.

The 48-year-old finished 18th in the 20-man field in the Bahamas, but said after rounds of 75, 70, 71 and 72 that he was pleased with his progress

“I think I’ve come a long way,” Woods told NBC.

“From being a little bit rusty to playing four days and knocked off a lot of rust which was great, and just the physicality of actually playing and competing again – I haven’t done this in a while.

“It was nice to get out here with the guys, have some fun and compete. I wish I would have played a little cleaner but there’s always next time.”

Asked about his pre-tournament prediction that he could be able to play one competition a month in 2024, Woods added: “If you ask me right now I’m a little bit sore.

“But once a month seems reasonable. It gives me a couple of weeks to recover, a week to tune up. Maybe I can get into a rhythm. That’s what the plan was going into next year and I don’t see why that would change.”

Europe captain Luke Donald insists Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton have not been “judged” for their decision to join LIV Golf and place their Ryder Cup futures in jeopardy.

Hatton and Rahm won both of their matches together in Rome last year, the fiery characters earning the nickname of “Team Angry” as they helped Donald’s side to a convincing victory over the United States.

As things stand, both will be eligible to qualify or receive a wild card for Europe’s defence of the trophy at Bethpage in 2025 as long as they remain members of the DP World Tour, which requires them to play in four regular tournaments per season.

They will also earn points towards qualification through major championships, but face fines and suspensions for playing in LIV tournaments without the required “conflicting event” releases from the DP World Tour.

Asked ahead of his appearance in the WM Phoenix Open if he had spoken to Rahm and Hatton, Donald told a pre-tournament press conference: “I haven’t seen too many of the guys.

“We still have a group WhatsApp chat and we’re all participating in that chat that we created for Rome.

“There’s nothing adverse or anything within that chat. Everyone understands each individual wants to do the best for themselves and I don’t think anyone is judging Tyrrell or Jon’s decision.

“Jon is someone who decided that was the best choice for him. A lot of guys have decided that going to LIV is the choice that they were comfortable with. I’m not here to judge that.

“There’s been a lot of talks about the World Rankings and should LIV guys get it. Again, I think sometimes there are consequences to certain decisions and I think a lot of these guys knew that going into it.

“Do I see them (on the team)? It’s really hard for me to answer that question now. What I did so well in my captaincy last year was just control what I can control.

“We’re seven months out probably until qualification starts. We have all this talk about being potential deals with the PGA TOUR, with DP World Tour, with the PIF (Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia).

“I have no idea what’s going to happen and for the next seven months I don’t really need to know what’s going to happen because qualification for the Ryder Cup won’t start until then.”

As soon as Rahm’s decision to join the Saudi-funded breakaway was announced, Rory McIlroy said the rules on qualification for the European team would have to be changed to allow the Masters champion to compete at Bethpage.

The four-time major winner subsequently acknowledged that was not strictly accurate and Donald confirmed that he had monitored the form of LIV players who had remained eligible to make the team in Rome.

“Even going back to last year, there was a couple of guys playing on LIV that maintained their membership and I kept an eye on everyone that was eligible for me to be able to pick,” Donald said.

“The guys that decided to resign their membership, yeah, at that point I couldn’t pick them, but at this moment those are the rules and so far I’m sure Jon, I’m sure Tyrrell, they want to be a part of it and they will hopefully adhere to whatever the rules are that allows them to play in the Ryder Cup.”

Wyndham Clark has been declared the winner of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am after extensive wind and rain forced the PGA to cancel the final day of play.

The 30-year-old American was six shots behind before hitting a 12-under-par 60 on Saturday to take the lead on the third day.

He finished on 17-under par, one shot clear of Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg and two shots ahead of France’s Matthieu Pavon after 54 holes.

Strong wind and rain had postponed the final round to Monday, but a statement from the PGA Tour late on Sunday said after consulting the Monterey County emergency authorities and out of an “abundance of caution” for spectators and players, there would be no further play.

In a press conference call on Sunday, Clark said: “It’s pretty surreal right now.

“It’s maybe not the way you dream of winning.

“With that said, a lot of us yesterday had, not that we knew, but we definitely had this outside shot and thinking that maybe this is our last round.”

It was Clark’s third win in nine months after winning his first major at the US Open last year.

American Wyndham Clark shot a course record 60 to take the lead heading into the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am.

The US Open champion made five putts of at least 25 feet in his 12-under-par round with two eagles, nine birdies and one bogey, eclipsing the previous record of 62.

Clark, who had a lengthy eagle putt at the last to break 60, said he had a “really good feel on the greens”.

He said: “I was just, ‘See ball, hit ball, try to hit it where I wanted to’.

“So in my mind I was like, ‘All right, let’s just get us to where we’re putting,’ because the hole seemed like a bucket today.”

Clark’s round does count as a course record on the PGA Tour, despite the players being able to clean and place balls on the fairways.

Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg continued his strong tournament with a five-under-par 67 to sit one shot off the lead with France’s Matthieu Pavon a further shot behind as he chases a second successive victory on tour.

Justin Rose shot a 66 to move to 11-under par – six off the lead – but Rory McIlroy is a further none strokes adrift after a 69.

The final day’s play could be determined by weather with strong winds and rain threatening to delay or cut short play.

American Scottie Scheffler shot an eight-under-par 64 to join Belgian Thomas Detry and Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg in the halfway lead at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Scheffler hit eight birdies without a blemish on his card to sit at 11-under-par while battling a course wet from overnight rain.

The world number one said aside from the weather, it was “just another day”.

“Like on a lot of these back-to-front greens, it’s a big adjustment going from hitting a pitching wedge to hitting an eight iron to try to take off spin,” he said. “It’s little stuff like that you have to adjust to on the course.”

Detry failed to repeat his first day’s efforts of 63 at Spyglass Hill, shooting a two-under-par 70 at Pebble Beach while Aberg hit a seven-under 65 to join the leading trio.

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy’s woes continued as he shot a 74 to finish one-over-par, while England’s Matt Fitzpatrick is four strokes off the pace after a 68.

Fellow Englishman Justin Rose is five-under-par after a 71 while Tommy Fleetwood hit a 72 to be two strokes further back in tied 44th.

Belgium’s Thomas Detry took a one-shot lead after the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-AM as Rory McIlroy suffered a dramatic late-round collapse.

McIlroy, playing his first PGA Tour round of the year after a win and a second place in Dubai, was leading after 14 holes as three successive birdies took him to six-under-par.

But the world number two dropped five strokes in his final four holes at Spyglass Hill – one of two courses being used by the 80-strong field – including a triple bogey at the par five seventh hole after he fell foul of a rule change which cost him a two-shot penalty.

Having dropped within a club length of an unplayable lie, he was informed before signing his card for a final 71 of a change in the rules that a player must drop on the direct line.

“I wasn’t aware that that rule was changed again in 2023, so I took a drop thinking of the 2019 rules when everything was sort of changed, said McIlroy, who trails Detry by eight strokes.

The Belgian started and finished with three birdies as he carded an opening 63, one clear of American Patrick Cantlay.

Matthieu Pavon, who on Saturday became the first French winner on the PGA Tour since 1907, was a shot further back on 65 after the best round of the day at Pebble Beach.

Justin Rose birdied his three holes at Spyglass Hill in a four-under-par 68, one better than fellow Englishmen Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick.

Nick Dunlap, playing his first round as a professional after winning The American Express tournament as an amateur last month, was tied for last place after a four-over-par 76.

Justin Thomas believes he is close to winning tournaments again after ridding himself of the “bad habits” caused by unnecessary swing changes.

Thomas won his second US PGA Championship at Southern Hills in 2022 but endured a first winless year of his career last season, failed to make the FedEx Cup play-offs and needed a wild card for the Ryder Cup.

The former world number one has started 2024 on a much brighter note, finishing third in his first event at The American Express and will contest this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am for just the second time.

“I think at this point it’s just [about] starting to win tournaments again,” Thomas told a pre-tournament press conference.

“I feel like I’m very, very close to doing that and starting to do it often again. But I fully understand that just because you think that doesn’t mean you deserve it or it’s going to happen.

“I just need to keep putting myself in that position and getting in contention. I think that’s what I did so often there for a handful of years. Last Sunday was the first final group I’ve played in on Sunday in a while and it was fun.”

Asked what had made the difference to his game, Thomas added: “I’d say working on the correct things. I think, well I know, that I got into some bad habits swing-wise last year.

“To be perfectly honest, I think it just took a little bit of time to get out of some of those, to kind of get that muscle memory out.

“I would love to go back in time and wish I didn’t maybe push for some of those changes. I felt like my hands and my arms were starting to get higher and higher and higher and I didn’t necessarily love that.

“[But] that’s something that kind of makes my swing what it is. I’ve always had very high hands…so that was an example of me chasing something that I probably didn’t need to.

“My dad and I both realised it was something that we both should have noticed or not pursued. But like anything we learn from it and planning to not make that mistake again.”

Rory McIlroy says he has “changed my tune” on players facing punishment if they wish to return from the LIV Golf Series to the traditional tours.

The world number two has been one of the strongest advocates for the PGA and DP World Tours, but admits he has softened his stance on sanctions against players as the sport looks for a deal between the tours, Saudi’s Public Investment Fund – which backs LIV – and Fenway Sports Group.

“I think life is about choices,” said McIlroy ahead of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California. “Guys made choices to go and play LIV, guys made choices to stay here.

“If people still have eligibility on this tour and they want to come back and play or you want to try and do something, let them come back.

“I think it’s hard to punish people. I don’t think there should be a punishment.”

In June, after plans for a merger between the rival tours were announced, McIlroy said “the people that left the PGA Tour irreparably harmed this Tour” and “we can’t just welcome them back in”.

“Obviously I’ve changed my tune on that because I see where golf is and I see that having a diminished PGA Tour and having a diminished LIV Tour or anything else is bad for both parties,” he said.

“It would be much better being together and moving forward together for the good of the game.

“That’s my opinion of it. The faster that we can all get back together and start to play and start to have the strongest fields possible, I think, is great for golf.”

McIlroy, who served on the PGA Tour board before stepping down in November, was speaking in the wake of LIV naming England’s Tyrell Hatton as its latest recruit and said he had spoken to his Ryder Cup colleague before the announcement.

“I’ve talked to him quite a bit about it over the past month,” he said. “It got to the point where they negotiated and got to a place where he was comfortable with and he has to do what he feels is right for him.

“I’m not going to stand in anyone’s way from making money and what they deem life-changing money.”

McIlroy is making his seasonal PGA Tour debut at Pebble Beach this week, having started the year by finishing second to Tommy Fleetwood at the Dubai Invitational and winning the Dubai Desert Classic.

He will play more tournaments in the build-up to the US Masters this year, starting with a first appearance at Pebble Beach since 2019.

“You need to keep it fresh,” he said. “I don’t find that (keeping motivated) overly difficult.

“I think there’s always things that you want to achieve and that you can get better at.

“Trying to have a growth mindset to goal-set and try to achieve certain things is something that I’ve just learned to do as my career has progressed.”

Tyrrell Hatton has become the latest player to join LIV Golf and will make his debut in Mexico this week as part of Masters champion Jon Rahm’s team.

The world number 16 has career earnings of more than £20 million, having won six times on the DP World Tour and the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational, but has not lifted an individual title for three years.

The 32-year-old had entered this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on the PGA Tour, but will now contest the Saudi-funded breakaway’s first event of 2024 in Mayakoba.

Hatton is joined on Rahm’s Legion XIII team by former top amateur Caleb Surratt and Zimbabwe’s Kieran Vincent, who won his place via the LIV Golf Promotions event.

“I’m really excited for this next chapter, to link up with Jon Rahm and Legion XIII and to get started this week in Mexico,” Hatton said.

Hatton and Rahm won both of their matches together in last year’s Ryder Cup in Rome, the fiery characters earning the nickname of “Team Angry” as they helped Luke Donald’s European side regain the trophy.

Hatton’s defection will therefore be of huge concern to Donald as he attempts to spearhead a first Ryder Cup win on away soil since 2012 at Bethpage next year.

As things stand, Hatton will be eligible to qualify or receive a wild card as long as he remains a DP World Tour member, which requires him to play in four regular tournaments per season.

He will also earn points towards qualification through major championships, but faces fines and suspensions for playing in LIV tournaments without the required “conflicting event” releases from the DP World Tour.

In April last year, an arbitration panel ruled that the Tour had the right to sanction players for such “serious breaches” of its code of behaviour, a case sparked by 12 players appealing against fines of £100,000 and suspension from the Scottish Open for playing LIV’s inaugural event in June 2022.

It is understood that fines and suspensions are assessed on a case-by-case basis, with former LIV player Bernd Wiesberger having regained his DP World Tour membership after serving a ban and paying all of his fines.

Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood resigned their memberships in the wake of the arbitration panel’s decision, while Henrik Stenson was sacked as Ryder Cup captain after joining the Saudi-funded breakaway.

It remains to be seen if the LIV rebels will be handed a route back to the Ryder Cup via the ongoing negotiations between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which bankrolls LIV Golf.

The initial December 31 deadline for the Framework Agreement to be formalised has been extended, but the PGA Tour is also reported to being on the verge of a deal with a consortium of US-based investors which includes Boston Red Sox and Liverpool owner John Henry.

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