ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) After a long layoff from golf, Rory McIlroy has some newfound sympathy for Tiger Woods.

The 28-year-old Northern Irishman is making a comeback at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship after ending his season early last year. He has not played a round since the final day of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on Oct. 8.

McIlroy, a four-time major champion who has slipped to No. 11 in the world rankings, last won the Tour Championship on the PGA Tour in September 2016. He injured a rib in his first outing of 2017 – at the South African Open – and felt its after-effects throughout the year.

Article continues below …

McIlroy, who has seven top-five finishes in his last eight starts in Abu Dhabi, said Tuesday he felt mentally low because of his physical issues.

”Honestly, I was excited to be done. I could have shut it down after the PGA Championship very easily and taken the rest of the year off, but I didn’t. I played six events after that, playe..

Angelina Ye, a 16-year-old high school, shoots a closing 71 to win the AJGA's Annika Invitational … while playing in front of Annika Sorentam

All due respect to my friend Shane Ryan, Justin Thomas is NOT the baddest man in golf. That mantle belongs to Henrik Stenson.
This is a guy who was upset that his house was burglarized, not because items were stolen, but that he wasn't there to deliver an ass-whoopin' to the intruder. Amidst the flowery veneration of Augusta National, he rolled down Magnolia Lane to “Ice Ice Baby.” Most importantly, in one of the greatest duels in major championship history, the Swede stared down Phil Mickelson at Troon in 2016, coming out as Open champion with a final-round 63. There's a reason they call him “Iceman,” after all.
And then there's this. Despite suffering an injury at the WGC-HSBC's infamous photo ops, Stenson decided to spit in death's face by hopping on a camel for another pre-tourney shoot, this time in Abu Dhabi.
https://twitter.com/EuropeanTour/status/953159466983284736
Did he risk his career for this ridiculous stunt? Maybe. But it's better to die..

15 tips to get ready for your best year: Tour pros such as Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, and top instructors including David Leadbetter and Stan Utley are going to teach you how to winterize your game while you wait for the big thaw.

We scoured the Internet to find the best deals you can grab right now

MTB Black and Red balls designed to cater to different spin requirements on approach shots while offering similar driver and greenside performance

Ping Golf's new Vault line continues with its hallmark True Roll technology that allows mishits to roll like center strikes

HONOLULU (AP) Patton Kizzire never lost his cool even in the midst of a wild week on Oahu he won’t soon forget.

He woke up Saturday morning to a push alert about a ballistic missile strike on Hawaii that turned out to be a false alarm.

Kizzire received a text the next morning from the PGA Tour about another strike, this one real, of the labor variety. The camera and audio production crew for Golf Channel walked off the job during the final round of the Sony Open when contract negotiations stalled. While it didn’t affect anyone’s game, it was no less strange to see so many TV towers that were vacant during the final round at Waialae Country Club.

Article continues below …

If that wasn’t enough, the caddie of fellow Auburn alum Blayne Barber collapsed and was in critical condition with bleeding and swelling in his brain.

So it was only fitting that the Sony Open concluded Sunday with the longest playoff in its 53-year history, ending along the shores of the Pacific Ocean on th..

HONOLULU (AP) Patton Kizzire figured he was in for a long day when his putting stroke wasn’t up to his standards.

He just wasn’t expecting the Sony Open to go this long.

The longest playoff in more than five years on the PGA Tour finally ended Sunday when Kizzire two-putted for par from just off the green on the par-3 17th hole, and James Hahn’s 8-foot putt to keep it going caught the right edge of the lip and spun away.

Article continues below …

”It wasn’t pretty,” Kizzire said. ”I was able to get it done.”

Kizzire, who closed with a 2-under 68, became the first multiple winner on the PGA Tour this season. He went head-to-head with Rickie Fowler and beat him by one shot in the OHL Classic in Mexico last fall for his first PGA Tour title. He was in a four-man battle on the back nine at Waialae that was whittled down to Kizzire and Hahn, who closed with a 62 to match him at 17-under 273.

And the fun was just getting started.

Kizzire had to watch three times as Hahn had a ..

HONOLULU (AP) Patton Kizzire outlasted James Hahn in six extra holes to win the Sony Open to become the first multiple winner on the PGA Tour this season.

Kizzire, who won the OHL Classic in Mexico last fall, closed with a 2-under 68.

That turned out to be the easy part.

Article continues below …

James Hahn shot 62 in the final round Sunday and got into a playoff with Kizzire at 17-under 263.

They matched two pars and two birdies on the par-5 18th. They matched pars when they went to the par-3 17th. It ended on the par 3 along the Pacific Ocean when Hahn putted from right of the green to about 8 feet, and his par putt caught the lip.

”It wasn’t pretty,” Kizzire said. ”I’ll take it any way I can get it.”

Hahn, who won both his PGA Tour events in playoffs at Riviera and Quail Hollow, had birdie putts from 10 feet and 6 feet on the par-5 18th hole at Waialae Country Club that would have won it. He made a 6-foot birdie another time to extend the playoff.

Kizzire had to get..