KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) Dustin Johnson sat outside the Honolua Store on the first day of the new year, scarfing down the ”Hobo Breakfast” of steamed rice and eggs as the sun was just starting to filter through the Cook pines that line the entrance to Kapalua.

He abruptly closed the lid on his carton and announced, ”Let’s go.”

That about sums up the anticipation of the start to a new year in golf.

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Johnson is No. 1 in the world, a 33-year-old entering his prime who won four times last year. Right behind him in the world ranking are Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm and Hideki Matsuyama, four players 25 or younger.

Still to come: another return of Tiger Woods, this time with strong indications that he is healthy again.

”I think this year, the unknowns are very exciting,” Spieth said. ”I think with the amount of depth and talent at a younger age, mixed with the guys in their 30s that are playing – No. 1 in the world, D.J. – some other phenomenal pla..

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) Dustin Johnson sat outside the Honolua Store on the first day of the new year, scarfing down the ”Hobo Breakfast” of steamed rice and eggs as the sun was just starting to filter through the Cook pines that line the entrance to Kapalua.

He abruptly closed the lid on his carton and announced, ”Let’s go.”

That about sums up the anticipation of the start to a new year in golf.

Article continues below …

Johnson is No. 1 in the world, a 33-year-old entering his prime who won four times last year. Right behind him in the world ranking are Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm and Hideki Matsuyama, four players 25 or younger.

Still to come: another return of Tiger Woods, this time with strong indications that he is healthy again.

”I think this year, the unknowns are very exciting,” Spieth said. ”I think with the amount of depth and talent at a younger age, mixed with the guys in their 30s that are playing – No. 1 in the world, D.J. – some other phenomenal pla..

Using the stats sheet as catalyst, here are New Year's resolutions for five of the sport's brightest stars.

Tiger Woods' absences at Kapalua give way to talk of his return to tour golf

FacebookPinterestMike EhrmannRickie Fowler engages a young fan during practice prior to the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National Golf Club on September 29, 2016. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/PGA of America via Getty Images)

Fred Astaire, for the uninitiated, was a legendary dancer who once noted that “the hardest job kids face today is learning good manners without seeing any.”
So what does Rickie Fowler have to do with this? Well, we’ll let the National League of Junior Cotillions explain, beginning with its mission statement:
“To act and learn to treat others with honor, dignity and respect for better relationships with family, friends and associates and to learn and practice ballroom dance.”
We can’t attest to Fowler’s ballroom dancing abilities, but his affability quotient is highly regarded. And apparently kids do see good manners, and those who are part of the National League of Junior Cotillions recognize them from Fowler.
On Tuesday, the NLJC named Fowler No. 1 in its annual list of..

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) Jordan Spieth now can remember 2017 for a silver jug and a diamond ring.

Spieth confirmed Tuesday that he proposed to longtime girlfriend Anne Verret, and while he kept the details to a minimum, she said yes.

”It was a fantastic year,” Spieth said.

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The 24-year-old Texan won the claret jug with a three-shot victory in the British Open at Royal Birkdale to become the third youngest player in history with three legs of the career Grand Slam. He won the Masters and U.S. Open in consecutive majors in 2015.

Were the nerves greater at Birkdale or Chambers Bay, or when he proposed?

”I was probably most nervous at the British,” he said. ”I was pretty confident this past winter. But yeah, it was a good offseason. … I forget how I felt the back nine of Chambers. British is still fresh, engagement is still fresh. I’ll probably at some point end up forgetting (nerves) at the British, but I won’t probably forget the engagement.”

Spieth an..

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) European Tour chief Keith Pelley believes the eight-tournament Rolex Series was a ”monumental step” in his goal to make the tour a viable alternative. One indicator was that Europe had nine weeks when its tournament offered more world ranking points than the PGA Tour, the most since 2013.

Europe also made a tiny dent – or didn’t lose any ground – in the PGA Tour’s substantial gap when it comes to strength of field.

The average PGA Tour event in 2017 offered 56.27 points to the winner, compared with 41.17 points for European Tour events. That’s a difference of 15.1 points per event, compared with a difference of 15.4 points a year ago.

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However, throw out the four majors and the four World Golf Championships, and regular PGA Tour events offered an average of 49.43 points. That’s more than all but four regular European Tour events – Abu Dhabi, the BMW PGA Championship (which is guaranteed 64 points as a flagship event), the Scottish ..

On Wednesday night, Philadelphia 76ers G-league affiliates, the Delaware 87ers (not making this shit up), will kick off 2018 in very Semi-Pro fashion with Nickelodeon Night, a celebration of '90s kid hi-jinx and nuclear green slime that may or may not include Jackie Moon wrestling a live bear. What Nickelodeon Night will most definitely feature according to Twitter, however, are a remarkably ugly set of SpongeBob-inspired unis designed specifically to annoy the rival Erie Bayhawks off the court. Feast your eyes on the squareness:
https://twitter.com/darrenrovell/status/948224658905731072
Now we've seen some truly crazy alternate uniforms this year—from the Gators' gator skin get-ups to the minor-league hockey team who wore three different Mighty Ducks jerseys in a single game—but these green polka dot/squareshort combos are far and away the most retina melting.
On the plus side, though, all ticket sales, as well as proceeds from the SpongeBob jersey auction, will benefit..

Brian BahrThe Winter Olympics in South Korea are a month away, and for everyone other than curling groupies, biathlon tailgaters and Lindsey Vonn’s exes, that means Olympic hockey, until recently the best sporting event in the world, non-Puppy Bowl division. We say “until recently” because for the first time since 1994 the killjoys at the NHL have elected to not send players to the Games, fueling all kinds of questions about who will be playing in PyeongChang, and whether you should drag your musty gear out of the attic just in case. To that last part, we say don’t strain yourself, the teams are already taking shape, but it’s worth reviewing some of your questions just to get you up to speed.
For starters, why no NHLers this time?
The NHL let its players participate in the Games between 1998 and the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and I guess you can call it a success if you’re one of those weirdos who liked watching the best players in the world compete passionately for their countrie..

Kirby LeeBarry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants during 9-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers at SBC Park on Thursday, June 24, 2004. (Photo by Kirby Lee/Getty Images)When it comes to Barry Bonds' career, everyone is going to have a different opinion. None of them or wrong or 100 percent right, but we can all agree that no batter has ever been feared by pitchers more than the former San Francisco Giants outfielder. The ball had the potential to leave the park every time he stepped to the plate, which something you can only say for select few players in MLB history. It's why he was once intentionally walked with the bases loaded.
Because of this, you'd think any pitcher that had the unfortunate task of facing him during their career would say he was the scariest guy to throw to, right? What about the guy who faced him more than any pitcher ever? That would be Greg Maddux, who had the audacity to call the all-time MLB home run leader* the “easiest” hitter to pitch to, s..