Golf

The possibility of seeing Tiger Woods in this year's Masters is growing slimmer and slimmer ... the golf legend just said he's had "very limited" practice work and still has absolutely no idea when he'll be able to return to the PGA Tour.

Woods spoke with the media Wednesday for the first time since he returned to somewhat competitive golf action at the PNC Championship in December -- and he made it clear, he's a long ways away from battling Phil Mickelson at Augusta in April.

Tiger said he hasn't been able to swing his driver or his other woods as much as he'd like due to the leg injury he suffered in a Feb. 2021 car crash ... and added that walking around a course is still challenging.

"I wish I could tell you when I'm playing again," Woods said ... adding that he still has "a long way to go."

Tiger did say his short game -- chipping, putting, and lower irons -- is good ... and he said when he can use a cart, he's totally fine.

But, Woods made it clear -- he's nowhere near ready to walk a course for a full week at a major championship like the Masters.

As for his injured leg, Tiger joked that's it's certainly altered ... telling one reporter, "My right leg does not look like my left."

As we reported, Woods needed multiple procedures to fix comminuted open fractures in his leg following his wreck in L.A. 12 months ago.

Matt James tells TMZ Sports he's planning to say sorry for hitting a photographer with a golf ball last week by treating him to steak and an NBA game.

We got the 'Bachelor' star out in Los Angeles just days after he drilled a camera guy in the leg in Arizona with an errant tee shot ... and he told us he STILL feels bad about the swing.

So much so, James said he's planning a big night out for the photog as soon as he gets back into the Scottsdale area.

James tells us he wants to take the dude to Toca Madera, and then hit up a Suns game. After that, it seems like James feels like they'll be even.

Sam Ryder drilled a hole-in-one during a golf tournament in the Arizona desert -- and the reaction from the crowd would've almost certainly put a smile on Adam Sandler's face.

Check out this insane moment that went down Saturday at the Waste Management Phoenix Open (yes, that's the real name) ... where the golfer was celebrated in true 'Happy Gilmore' fashion, getting showered with both beer and accompanying cans from a rowdy crowd.

While teeing off on the 16th hole -- a par-3, at just 124 yards -- Ryder's ball sailed in the air and then landed perfectly on the green ... rolling on into the cup. Ace, baby!

It was freaking awesome ... and you can definitely tell by how the spectators reacted, literally erupting in cheers, which was quickly followed by beer getting flung up into the air ... and soon, containers getting chucked onto the actual course down below.

Nobody seemed to mind, though ... the Phoenix Open has this sort of rep, so if anything -- it's expected at this point. Of course, that means they gotta go into delays constantly because of "rain" like this on standby and at the ready from the surrounding balcony areas.

And yes, it goes without saying ... folks couldn't help but make the 'Happy' comparisons. Whereas golf tournaments are usually way less raucous than this ... this specific one brings out the best in fans, it seems.

Sam was a second away from doing the bull dance, feeling flow ... and workin' it, workin' it.

Don't feel bad, Matt James ... CC Sabathia also hit a guy with an errant tee shot on the course in Arizona on Wednesday -- drilling a Yankees fan in the leg just hours before the 'Bachelor' star hit a photog in the thigh.

CC's unfortunate drive happened on the 18th hole of the Waste Management Phoenix Open Pro-Am ... when a witness tells us the former Yankees superstar pushed his shot so far to the right on the par-4, it struck a man in the leg.

Video, obtained by TMZ Sports, shows the collision was so powerful ... it actually caused the guy to bleed.

Thankfully, we're told the fan ended up being OK -- and, watch the clip, CC was super nice and apologetic about it all.

Sabathia can be heard chatting it up with the man, who actually said he was a big Yankees and CC fan.

Sabathia ended up signing a golf ball as an apology souvenir ... before he headed off to finish out his round.

In case you were wondering, Sabathia is normally a fairly decent golfer -- reportedly with a handicap in the teens.

Matt James now owes a golf photographer far more than just a bunch of roses ... 'cause the former 'Bachelor' star nailed the dude with an errant tee shot at a Pro-Am event in Arizona on Wednesday, nearly hitting the guy in his family jewels!!!

The hilarious (and terrifying!) scene all went down at the Waste Management Phoenix Open Pro-Am ... when James stepped to the tee box barefoot at the world-famous 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale to try to win some money for charity.

Matt was gunning to be the closest to the pin on the par-3 ... but you can see in the video, he had trouble even getting the ball off the ground.

His first hack was terrible -- he got nothing but grass and dirt -- and then he shanked his second swing so badly, it went 15 yards to the right and drilled a camera guy right in the thigh.

James was super sorry for the miss ... he ran over immediately and gave the guy a hug and offered him the golf ball as an apology souvenir.

The man, meanwhile, said, thankfully, he was OK.

"We came within centimeters of causing some real damage," James said of the shot. "I'm going to try to find him. I'm going to sign this ball for him. And I'm going to take him out to dinner."

Added the photog, "He felt bad. I felt it ... Next year, I'm wearing a cup."

Might be necessary, 'cause James said he intends to come back in 2023 for redemption.

Bill Murray's at it again ... just two years after he ripped a fan's tequila shot at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am -- he repeated the feat at the same place this weekend!!!

The hilarious moment -- like the one in Feb. 2020 -- was all captured on video on Saturday ... showing Murray taking a lime wedge and a cup of booze from a fan just before he was set to hit his next shot on a hole.

The footage is laugh-out-loud funny ... you can see Murray grabbed a cup from a woman, shot the tequila no problem, and threw both the container and the lime into the crowd.

The fans loved it -- one yelled, "Let's go! What a boss!" -- and everyone nearby cheered and hollered.

Of course, this is becoming a bit of a tradition for Murray at the famous golf event ... you'll recall, just two years ago, he downed a fan's tequila shot there in epic fashion as well.

Murray isn't known as the world's best celeb golfer -- but he's certainly one of the most fun ... in fact, he hit a no-look putt over the weekend that had everyone cracking up too.

Mark Lye -- a former PGA Tour pro -- was fired from his golf radio host job this weekend ... after he said on-air that watching the WNBA made him want to shoot himself.

Lye made the disparaging comments on SiriusXM's "The Scorecard" show on Saturday ... while trying to explain why he's now a fan of women's golf.

"You know, the LPGA Tour to me is a completely different tour than it was 10 years ago," Lye said. "You couldn't pay me to watch. You really couldn't. Because I just, I couldn't relate at all."

He continued, "It’s kind of like, you know, if you're a basketball player -- and I'm not trashing anybody -- please, don't take it the wrong way -- but I saw some highlights of ladies basketball. Man, is there a gun in the house? I'll shoot myself than watch that."

Lye told GOLF.com the comments almost immediately got him fired ... saying SiriusXM officials canned him a short time afterward.

"I was terminated about comments made about the WNBA," said Lye, who added that he did apologize for the words in the ensuing segment.

SiriusXM confirmed the firing to GOLF.com, saying the 69-year-old "will no longer be hosting."

Lye put out a statement on Twitter on Sunday following the firing ... appearing to defend the comments.

"The fact that I can’t relate to WNBA does not make me sexist in any way," he wrote. "All you haters should listen to the whole segment, where I completely glorified womens golf, which I love to cover. Thanks for listening."

A bobcat used an Arizona golf course's bunker to hunt down a duck (or goose) last week ... and video of the scene is WILD!!!

Several golfers caught the cat in action at Silverleaf Country Club in Scottsdale on Friday ... showing the bobcat stalking a flock of birds on the 15th hole at the course.

You can see in the footage ... the cat used the hole's layout perfectly to get his lunch, hiding in the sand before springing into action.

The animal ended up catching one of the birds with its teeth -- and eventually hauled his meal off into the desert.

The golfers on the course were stunned by it all, laughing in shock ... while a person behind the camera yelled, "That's amazing!"

A golfer in Australia is now in the market for a new driver ... 'cause a giant crab destroyed his on the course.

For real.

The crazy scene happened Down Under recently ... when a golfer stepped away from his bag for just a few moments and returned to find a massive robber crab hugging his clubs.

Video of the scene is wild -- you can see in the footage, the guys were stunned as the crab had its pinchers all over the golfer's TaylorMades.

"Hello, buddy!" One of the golfers said to the tiny beast. "What're you stealing?! What're you stealing?!"

Eventually, the men tried to shake the thing off the clubs ... but check out the clip, the crab wouldn't let go!

The crab ended up holding on so tightly, it snapped the shaft of the guy's driver. And, because nobody wanted to lose a digit, it also ended up stealing one of the club's headcovers too!!

"Just let him have it, mate," one of the golfer's said. "He's beaten us."

Making sure his O-linemen were happy for the holidays didn't come cheap for Kyler Murray ... 'cause TMZ Sports has learned the golf gifts he gave to his teammates this week cost $5K apiece!!!

The Arizona signal-caller shelled out the goodies to his personal protectors on Monday -- partnering with True Spec Golf to give them each a custom bag and custom clubs.

The package was sweet -- the bag featured every O-lineman's name and number and came complete with 13 total clubs -- including a driver, woods, hybrids, irons and wedges.

A rep for True Spec Golf tells us every players' clubs were properly fitted to them ... and in its entirety, the gift cost over $5,000 per bag.

Don't worry, the guys all appeared to love the presents from Murray ... smiling ear to ear while tagging balls at the True Spec Golf location in Scottsdale.

"It was a privilege to host Kyler Murray and his teammates at True Spec Golf," said the President of True Spec Golf, Ryan Richardson. "Similar to our everyday customers, some of the guys came in with years of experience and others were brand new to the game."

"It was great to show them how our data-driven, brand-agnostic approach at True Spec can improve anyone’s game regardless of skill level.”

At the moment, it's unclear if Murray -- who's previously gifted his O-linemen with scooters and paintings in the past -- will make this a yearly tradition, but we're told he will be coming back for a club fitting of his own following the season.

John Daly says after watching Tiger Woods' return to the course this weekend ... he's as confident as ever that the legend will break Jack Nicklaus' records after all.

The Big Cat has been hunting Jack's mark of 18 major victories for years ... but after his February car crash, most believed Woods wouldn't get the four more wins he needs to hold the title.

But, Daly says Woods' effort at the PNC Championship just 10 months after mangling his leg in a car wreck showed the dude will still likely get the victories required for the coveted record.

"Tiger's going to be fine," Daly said on "Fox & Friends" two days after he and his son held off Tiger and Charlie Woods for the PNC title.

"He looked good. He looked a little tired, but he still looked great. And, he'll be back. I can see it in his eyes. He's probably going to beat Jack Nicklaus' records and be the greatest of all time."

Daly and Tiger are pals ... but JD ain't blowing smoke -- Tiger did look outstanding in his golf comeback.

Even though he needed a cart to finish all 36 holes of the tourney, he and Charlie tore up the course, finishing the event in second place, just two strokes behind the Dalys.

It's unclear what Tiger's next tourney will be -- but at least participating in a major event in 2022 doesn't seem out of the question.

Tiger Woods is back to playing pro golf again -- this after his nasty car wreck -- and he's doing alongside none other than his own ... both of whom have some ground to gain.

Round one of the PNC Championship is underway Saturday at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Grande Lakes in Orlando, where TW and Charlie Woods joined forces anew to play in a little father-son competition among other golfers and their kids.

As you can imagine, the fanfare was at an all-time high for the Woods family ... as this marks the first time Tiger has played in an actual tourney of any kind since getting crumpled in his automobile accident in February ... which left his legs shattered.

For Tiger's tee-off, everybody's eyes were on him ... and he hit a pretty decent shot to kick things off, with one guy clearly excited behind him -- shouting, "Welcome back, Big Cat!"

From there, Charlie started getting into his groove as well ... looking like a chip off the old block as he teed off himself with a beautiful drive -- which his dad later sunk with a putt.

From the outset, they were looking pretty good as a team ... but at the moment, they're well behind. As it stands, Team Woods is tied for 13th place as they approach the 11th hole. There's 36 holes total that they'll get through between today and tomorrow, and they're just past the midway point for today's round.

Basically, they're playing from behind right now ... but they have a ways to go before the day's out -- and could easily pull ahead, especially if they play as well as they have been thus far. And, as most everyone knows by now, never count Tiger Woods out.

Bigger picture though -- Tiger is looking fantastic out there ... as is his boy.

It's pretty miraculous to see the guy out here after everything he's been through. He addressed that before hitting the links, writing ... "Although it's been a long and challenging year, I am very excited to close it out by competing in the @PNCchampionship with my son Charlie. I'm playing as a Dad and couldn't be more excited and proud."

As you well know by now, Tiger's been on a long road of recovery since his February crash ... but steadily, he's been rehabbing and getting back onto golf courses. The only question now is ... will he eventually feel good enough to hop back into a solo PGA tournament???

Tiger Woods appears to be fully back ... the golf legend hit the range Friday with his son, Charlie, and seemed to have no limitations as he gears up for his first tourney since his crash.

The two Woods' smacked balls for around 20 minutes in preparation for Friday's pro-am as well as Saturday's PNC Championship ... and Dad was showing no signs that he had just suffered a significant injury back in February.

Tiger hit both his irons and his woods with ease ... with the ball jumping off of his clubs on every swing.

Of course, Tiger was also in coach mode -- watching Charlie's swing intently in between his own hacks.

Woods and Charlie then teed it up for their pro-am round -- and Tiger looked good there too, blasting his driver around 280 yards.

Tiger and Charlie are slated to tee off at the big event in Orlando, Fla. on Saturday afternoon -- and it'll officially mark the first time Tiger has participated in a tournament since he mangled his leg in a February car crash in Los Angeles.

Woods has said he'll be very picky with his events from here -- vowing to never be a full-time golfer again -- but ya gotta imagine if things go well this weekend, The Masters in April 2022 is not out of the question.

NBA baller J.R. Smith is a star on the court, on the links AND in the classroom ... 'cause the champ just got his grades back for his first semester of college -- and he got a 4.0!!!

Smith -- who skipped college to go straight to the NBA in 2004 -- decided to revisit the opportunity to get an education and enroll at North Carolina A&T this past summer.

So far, he's been crushing it as a student ... announcing his grades are better than what most people even dream of.

"I can't even describe the feeling," Smith said on Tuesday. "I ain't even gon' lie to you, a lot of hard work went into that s***."

The 36-year-old former Cavs guard had originally enrolled at the prestigious HBCU with the intent of making it on the golf team ... but the sense of achievement he feels from his perfect GPA is deeper than anything he could have hoped.

"I ain't gon hold you, this s*** is a heavy one right here lifted, especially when you always hear about your disabilities and all this s*** that plays a part in why you can't think the way you want to, calculate s***, formulate s*** the way you want to."

Smith said he worked his ass off all day, every day to make it happen ... and all that hard work has paid off big time!!!

He was meme'd throughout his career for silly moments ... but now, he's getting the last laugh.

Tiger Woods is back ... the golf legend has just committed to playing again nearly 10 months after his car crash -- officially signing up for next week's PNC Championship with his son.

The event will take place beginning on Dec. 16 in Orlando, Florida ... and it's a huge deal -- considering it'll be the first time Woods has competed on the course since he horrifically broke his leg in a Feb. 23 car crash.

As we previously reported, Woods suffered comminuted open fractures in his right leg -- and he said last week the injuries were so bad, amputation was a very real possibility.

But, Tiger's made huge strides in his comeback -- swinging his golf clubs regularly ... and now, he clearly feels he's ready to compete in a tournament.

While the PNC Championship is certainly not the Masters -- it's still a 36-hole event that'll pit Tiger and his son, Charlie Woods, against some of the biggest names in golf -- including John Daly, Justin Thomas and Bubba Watson.

"Although it’s been a long and challenging year," Woods said of his impending return, "I am very excited to close it out by competing in the PNC Championship with my son Charlie. I'm playing as a Dad and couldn't be more excited and proud."

Tiger Woods says the only lift he was able to do following his horrific car crash earlier this year was bench press -- and he claims he hit it so hard, he was able to put up 255 pounds!!

The golf superstar made the revelation to Golf Digest this week ... saying in the weeks after he busted his leg in the infamous L.A. wreck back in February, all he could do to stay fit was get underneath iron and bounce it off his chest.

"I got to where I was doing like 250, 255," Woods said.

Of course, that's not exactly Aaron Donald or James Harrison numbers in the weight room ... but, remember, Tiger only weighs 185 pounds -- and he's 45 years old!

To give even more context to how impressive the feat is ... Woods -- who was notorious for his weight lifting back in his prime -- says the most he's ever been able to bench was 285.

Tiger, though, says his bench numbers have gone down now that he's gotten healthier ... explaining he's able to incorporate far more lifts into his routine, so the bench has taken a back seat.

"Now that I'm doing other things -- more functional stuff," Woods said, "I've gone away from benching."