Golf Digest Podcast: Sam Saunders says his grandfather Arnold Palmer still inspires him, but it’s his son who unwittingly motivated him to make more cuts

SAN DIEGO (AP) Tiger Woods has been away from the PGA Tour too long to know for certain when a shot is as good as it looks.

This was a 6-iron on the par-3 16th hole on the South Course at Torrey Pines, from 188 yards to a slightly elevated green with a pin tucked behind a deep bunker. The sun was setting behind the Pacific late Thursday afternoon, and the glare made it tough to follow the flight of the ball.

”We can’t see anything land from back there, so we’re just listening for some noise,” Woods said. ”And people started cheering.”

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The ball rolled to the hole and broke a few inches in front of the cup for a tap-in birdie .

Woods brought big crowds back to golf in his latest return to the PGA Tour, and he even produced a few big roars.

There just weren’t enough cheers for his liking.

Playing for the first time since recovering from a fourth back surgery that cost him another year on the PGA Tour, Woods was mostly steady, sometimes spectacular ..

SAN DIEGO (AP) Tiger Woods is starting his PGA Tour season at Torrey Pines, just like the old days.

Only these are far different circumstances.

Instead of high expectations for Woods, Thursday at the Farmers Insurance Open was more about curiosity. He is returning after fusion surgery on his lower back last April, his fourth back operation in three years. When he tried to return after a 16-month break last year at Torrey Pines, he missed the 36-hole cut.

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This will be only his second PGA Tour event since August 2015.

Woods has won this PGA Tour seven times. He also won the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in 2008, along with a Junior World Championship as a teenager. The difference from last year is Woods no longer has pain in his back.

Golf 20/20 isn’t selling a product at the PGA Merchandise Show. But it could be one of the convention's most important exhibits

The Atlanta Hawks are currently tied for the worst record (14-33) in the entire NBA. But they have arguably the league's best form of fan entertainment. And it involves the fans themselves.
RELATED: The Miami Heat's new (“Vice”) uniforms are Don Johnson approved
The Hawks do a segment involving streetball legend Hot Sauce. If you don't know who Hot Sauce is, then you never saw any of the And1 Mixtape Tour. And if you've never seen any of the And1 MixTape Tour, well, that's a shame. Anyway, Hot Sauce still plays/performs, and lucky fans get a chance to try to defend this dribbling dynamo. Or unlucky depending on your perspective, because these fans get absolutely schooled in front of the Philips Arena crowd. Check it out:
https://twitter.com/ATLHawks/status/956537836240556033
It's pretty rough when Hot Sauce starts with the ol' ball off the forehead. That's gotta hurt the noggin and the self pride. Then there's this clip of a guy who actually..

Watching one of your teams struggle from the couch is as frustrating as it gets. In the midst of you're screaming at the TV and beer-sipping, the realization often sets in that there's nothing you can personally do about it. Well, maybe that's just because you aren't as insane as this Kansas Jayhawks fan who took matters into his own hands.
On Tuesday, No. 5 ranked Kansas had a 10-point lead with under 10 minutes to play on the road against No. 12 ranked Oklahoma. With the help of the crowd, and some strategy by Sooners coach Lon Kruger, Oklahoma came storming back to win 85-80. Late in the game, Kruger had his team foul Kansas center Udoka Azubuike, who would end up finishing the game 1-for-7 from the free throw line. As a team Kansas went 6-for-14, giving them an ugly 42.9 percentage on the night. This didn't sit well with one Jayhawk fan, who reportedly showed up to the players dorm on Wednesday offering “free throw advice”. His counseling must have been wor..

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Jamie Donaldson flirted with the European Tour’s first-ever 59 before settling for a 10-under 62 Thursday in the first round of the Dubai Desert Classic.

In perfect scoring conditions at the Emirates Golf Club, the 42-year-old Donaldson took a one-shot lead over Anthony Wall and David Horsey.

Tyrrell Hatton (64) was fourth, while four-time major winner Rory McIlroy was among five players at 65.

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Donaldson, a former European Ryder Cup player now ranked 292nd, started on the 10th hole and made four birdies and an eagle to make the turn at 6 under.

He then birdied the second before picking up four shots in a row from the fourth. He went close to chipping in for another birdie on the 17th but missed his up-and-down for par from the rough at the ninth.

Donaldson, who last won on the tour at the 2014 Czech Masters, said the thought of becoming the first player to shoot a 59 crossed his mind.

”You can never be disappoint..

Jim McIsaac(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)Most of us would probably be aware of a potential investment that could net us millions of dollars. How about 50 Cent? Turns out, he “forgot” he owned Bitcoin holdings that are worth almost $8 million now. Talk about a bonus.
Turns out that 50 Cent's 2014 album Animal Ambition included a deal for him to accept Bitcoin for purchases of the album. Back then, they were worth hundreds of dollars. Now? We're talking millions as the cryptocurrency has taken off.
The rapper shared this on Instagram in a post Wednesday evening, adding in a comment that “I'm a keep it real. I forgot I did that s***.” True story, Fifty.
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RELATED: 50 Cent calls Jay-Z's new album 'golf course music'
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SAN DIEGO (AP) Tiger Woods has played only 23 events on the PGA Tour since his last victory.

He also has gone more than four years without winning.

That shows just how much back problems have sidelined Woods since that victory in the Bridgestone Invitational in August 2013 when he was No. 1 in the world. His next comeback starts Thursday in the Farmers Insurance Open, and Woods checks in at No. 647.

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There’s a reason for the ranking. This will be only his second PGA Tour event since he tied for 10th at the Wyndham Championship in August 2015, so long ago that Jon Rahm – the No. 2 player in the world – was just starting his senior year at Arizona State.

”I just really haven’t played tournament golf in, well, basically since Wyndham in 2015,” Woods said. ”It’s been a long time and so I just want some starts, I want to start feeling what it feels like to be out here and hit shots, grind out scores. It’s been a full year that I’ve played on the Tour so I..

Golf Channel and the union representing striking video/audio workers agree to new contract, ending 11-day labor dispute