5:56 PM ETJason SobelESPN Senior Writer Close Covered golf since 2004 Former writer at Golf Channel Winner of four Emmys while at ESPNFacebookTwitterFacebook MessengerPinterestEmailprintcommentTiger Woods is back — well, back to hitting golf balls, at least.
On Thursday afternoon, Woods tweeted video of a slow-motion swing with a wedge, which was captioned: “Dr. gave me the ok to start pitching.”
Dr. gave me the ok to start pitching pic.twitter.com/tboq1L3Xdn
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) August 31, 2017
The 14-time major champion hasn't played a competitive round since January. After missing the entire 2016 campaign, he returned late last year with a promising T-15 result (in an 18-player field) at his own Hero World Challenge. He followed that with a missed cut at the Farmers Insurance Open in late January, then was forced to withdraw from the Dubai Desert Classic one week later with what he termed at the time as back spasms.
Soon thereafter, Woods underwent a fourth back surgery..

Its official: We now live in a world where a high school basketball player has his own signature shoe. Well, a high school-aged basketball player, that is. ESPN’s Darren Rovell isn’t so sure LaMelo Ball will be counted as an amateur athlete much longer.

On September 12, Apple is expected to announce its 10th-anniversary iPhone 8 (or “iPhone X,” depending on which anonymous French technology-leak blog you believe). And, like every iPhone announcement over the past 10 years, this one comes with months of pre-release hype, the subject of epic advance buildup that’s basically the nerd-world version of McGregor v. Mayweather, only with fewer belly tattoos.

When you think of Andrew “Beef” Johnston, you probably don’t think of a guy who spends a lot of time in the gym. But the burly Brit has been stepping up his workout sessions of late. And a golf legend has taken notice.
Beef shared some of his gym routine on Wednesday and it didn’t just entail the PGA Tour rookie running on the treadmill for a few minutes.

It’s Patriot Golf Day this weekend. Here's how you can help. Hundreds of golf courses around the U.S. are pitching in

Giancarlo Stanton is having himself a season in 2017. The Miami Marlins right fielder just became one of six players to reach the 50 home run mark before September. Nine more dingers puts him in the super exclusive 60+ home runs in a single season club, something only five players have done in MLB history.

In what should come as no surprise, Lonzo Ball and LaVar Ball will be featured prominently on a new reality show. Also not surprisingly, the show won't be aired on any TV network, but rather Facebook. Kinda like how LaVar was looking for a $3 Billion shoe deal contract for his basketball-playing sons and wound up making his own Big Baller Brand sneakers and sticking a $495 price tag on them.

We know Ian Poulter is a golf nerd: the Englishman showed off his garage filled with his old equipment earlier this year. We also know Poulter likes fancy things, like the collection of expensive cars he owns (the 41-year-old just bought a new matte-black Ford GT to go along with his Ferraris) or the plethora of shiny toys he shares, such as his Audemars Piguet watches.

2:24 PM ETESPN staffFacebookTwitterFacebook MessengerPinterestEmailprintcommentEngland's Callum Shinkwin shot a 6-under 66 in the opening round to earn a narrow early lead at the Czech Masters in Prague.
Shinkwin, 24, produced eight birdies as he ended a five-week layoff in style, earning a one-shot advantage over compatriot James Heath, South African Dylan Frittelli and Swede Pontus Widegren.
Back on 4-under, English duo James Morrison and Chris Hanson are among a group of eight, with 14 players one further behind having shot 69s.
The pack on 3-under includes defending champion Paul Peterson of the U.S and European Tour winners Gregory Bourdy and Soomin Lee of France and South Korea, respectively.