Ryan PierseNick Kyrgios is the Most Interesting Man in the (Sports) World
“Ryan's best chance is just hanging in there and challenging Kyrgios' nervous system…just his emotional capacity to deal with the stress and adversity.”
—Steve Weissman, Tennis Channel
I heard those words Sunday morning while watching Nick Kyrgios take on Ryan Harrison in the finals of the Brisbane International, a lead-up tournament to next week's Australian Open. I understand what Weissman meant—Kyrgios is famously mercurial, to the point that the adjective “mercurial” is a staple in every piece of literature about the man, and Harrison seemed to be slowing the match by subtle degrees in order to antagonize him—but I also knew he was wrong. Because Kyrgios, despite doing his stubborn best to give us a public demonstration of the term “head case” on too many occasions to count, also happens to be one of the best pressure players in tennis. In a final, in front of his home fans, he would be impos..

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) Dustin Johnson hit one of the best shots he never saw.

Not all of it, anyway.

The Sentry Tournament of Champions had reached that stage where all that was left to decide was the margin by which Johnson would win. He had a two-shot lead to start the final round at Kapalua, stretched to six shots at the turn and was leading by five when he reached the 343-yard 12th hole, where the final 120 yards are down the a steep hill with the Pacific Ocean on the horizon.

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That’s where Johnson delivered the signature moment in the first PGA Tour event of the new year.

He knew his drive was good when he hit it. What he missed was the ball catching the right bounce to feed it onto the green, and then rolling straight toward the pin until it stopped just inches away from a hole-in-one.

”I could see it until it landed, but I knew it was on a good line,” he said. ”I know exactly where I want it to come down out of the air, and it did. So I knew i..

We get it: January golf is not on the public's radar. A shame, because Jason Dufner just changed the hat game for good.
Rickie Fowler's Hawaiian shirt sent waves through social media, yet Dufner saw Fowler's Jimmy Buffet tribute and raised it with this remarkable headgear, featuring the Notorious B.I.G.
FacebookPinterestCliff HawkinsLittle known fact: Ben Hogan used to rep a cap featuring a Louis Armstrong silhouette.
This was far from Dufner's only gem in Maui, busting out a USA flag hat:
FacebookPinterestGregory ShamusAnd camouflaged Toronto Blue Jays bill earlier in the week:
FacebookPinterestGregory ShamusTruly an inspiration to us all.
Dustin Johnson walked away with the Tournament of Champions trophy, but thanks to his helmet swagger, Duf left Maui as the winner.
WATCH: THE LOOP VIDEOS

Here's every golf-related thing you need to know, including Dustin Johnson's win, for the morning of Jan. 8.

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) A new year brought out the best in Dustin Johnson, who powered his way to an 8-under 65 and an eight-shot victory Sunday in the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

In a field that featured the top five players in the world, Johnson made a strong opening statement that a No. 1 ranking he has held for nearly a year might be difficult to take away.

Johnson stretched a two-shot lead to six shots at the turn, then delivered the biggest moment of the week with a drive on the par-4 12th hole that stopped 6 inches from the cup for a tap-in eagle. He also drove the par-4 14th hole.

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He finished at 24-under 268. The eight-shot margin of victory was his largest ever, and it was one short of the tournament record set by David Duval since this event moved to Kapalua in 1999. Jordan Spieth also won by eight shots in 2016.

”I knew I was playing well, and it’s a golf course I’m really comfortable on,” Johnson said. ”I was really driving it well this..

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) A new year brought out the best in Dustin Johnson, who powered his way to an 8-under 65 and an eight-shot victory Sunday in the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

In a field that featured the top five players in the world, Johnson made a strong opening statement that the No. 1 ranking he has held for nearly a year might be difficult to take away.

Johnson stretched a two-shot lead to six strokes at the turn, then delivered the biggest moment of the week with a drive on the par-4 12th hole that stopped 6 inches from the cup for a tap-in eagle.

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He finished at 24-under 268 for his 17th career victory.

Jon Rahm closed with a 69 to finish second and move to No. 3 in the world.

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) On the day PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan announced more than $180 million given to charities last year, he shared how the tour turned to Jack Nicklaus to help protect golf’s model for raising money.

The tax-exempt status of the PGA Tour and other sports leagues was in jeopardy late last year under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Part of the Senate version of the bill included a subsection called, ”Repeal of Tax-Exempt Status for Professional Sports Leagues.”

That’s when Monahan decided to call Nicklaus at his office, but he dialed his mobile phone.

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”He whispers, `Hello?”’ Monahan said Sunday at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. ”I said, `I need your help.’ I walked him through the whole scenario. I said, `I need you to make some phone calls and write some letters. We need to go full bore on this thing.”’

Nicklaus whispered because he was in a field in upstate New York. He told the commissioner he’d get started when he got back ..

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan is as excited as anybody about the potential for Tiger Woods' return to competitive golf

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) Justin Thomas is one of those players who doesn’t like to share his goals until the end of the season.

Except for one.

He wants to win, because that means he gets to start the year at Kapalua.

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”I hope that is my first tournament of the year for the rest of my career,” Thomas said.

He’s not alone, of course. Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson do. So does Rickie Fowler, who probably needs to get back here more often. This was only the third time that Fowler has played in the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

It seems so obvious.

Who wouldn’t want to come to Maui the first week of January and play against a small field with no cut while looking down from the Plantation Course at the occasional breach of a humpback whale in the Pacific waters that separate Maui from Molokai, the island that looks much closer than eight miles away?

Tiger Woods, for one.

Woods won at Kapalua in 2000 in that epic battle with Ernie Els. He never fin..

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) PGA champion Justin Thomas is using a television on-course reporter to caddie for him next week in Honolulu while his regular caddie recovers from a foot injury.

But not just any TV reporter.

He said he’ll be using Jim ”Bones” Mackay at the Sony Open. Mackay spent 25 years with Phil Mickelson until they parted ways last summer. Mackay now works for NBC and Golf Channel walking the course. He was with the Dustin Johnson pairing on Saturday at Kapalua.

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Jimmy Johnson has been dealing with plantar fasciitis and a tear for the last few months. He was in a boot for 10 days before arriving at Kapalua, but the severe terrain has taken a toll. He likely will be in a protective boot for at least a month. Thomas’ father, Mike, caddied for his son Saturday.