The big question with one round to go in the Zozo Championship is whether anyone can catch local favorite Hideki Matsuyama.
The big question with one round to go in the Zozo Championship, this week’s PGA Tour stop at Accordia Golf Narashino located just east of Tokyo, is whether anyone can catch Hideki Matsuyama, easily the local favorite among the cordial Japanese crowds.
Matsuyama has maintained a slim lead through the past two rounds but doesn’t seem to be all that pleased with his game, which earlier this week he called a 1 out of 10.
There’s no cut in the limited-field Zozo, so it’s a crowded weekend tee sheet. For those who didn’t catch the overnight action from the third round, we’re here to catch you up on where things stand heading into Sunday.
Brooks Koepka and Viktor Hovland lead a strong field in Vegas.
Well, it’s officially that time of year for golf fans. It’s football season, and maybe golf takes a back seat. This week, the PGA Tour heads to TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas for the Shriners Children’s Open.
A few U.S. Ryder Cup team members have made their way to Vegas; Brooks Koepka, Harris English, and Scottie Scheffler. So maybe this week won’t be a wash after all, especially with other big names in the field like Hideki Matsuyama, Rickie Fowler, Patrick Reed, Viktor Hovland, Will Zalatoris, and Louis Oosthuizen.
Let’s jump into all the stats and see if we can find winner.
Golf course
TPC Summerlin
Par 71
7,255 yards
Back for some desert golf this week; artificial water features, bentgrass greens, with a few mountains and canyons to look at. Not my favorite type of golf if I’m going to be honest. Granted, it’s not the same desert golf as the Waste Management, but still.
According to DataGolf, performance off the tee is the least important statistic this week. Short golf course, with fairways on the generous side, is a receipt for every single player in this field to have an opportunity to get into contention. Just look at last years winner (Martin Laird).
Strokes gained approach: The winning score here last season was 23-under. Theses guys will need to make a lot of birdies to contend. How do you do that efficiently? Hit the ball close to the hole.
Data Golf information
Course Fit (compares golf courses based off the degree to which different golfer attributes — such as driving distance — predict who performs well at each course – DataGolf): 1. TPC San Antonio, 2. Monterey Peninsula CC, 3. St. Georges Golf and Country Club
Trending (among the players in the field): 1. Erik Van Rooyen (last 3 starts: 7, 5, T-22), 2. Kevin Na (T-17, 3, MC), 3. Louis Oosthuizen (T-17, T-38, T-14)
Abraham Ancer: Ancer had a fantastic finish to his 2020-21 campaign. Three top 10s in his last four starts, including a win at the WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational.
Ancer is one of the most consistent players on Tour when it comes to accuracy. Last year he was fifth in fairways in regulation, and 22nd in greens in regulation. He was also 12th in scoring average, which is huge this week as the winner is usually around 20-under par.
He’s played in this event three times, two of those finishes are solo fourth and T-4. This will be his first start of the new season.
+2000 to win
Abraham Ancer plays his shot from the 12th tee during the first round of The Northern Trust at TPC Boston on August 20, 2020 in Norton, Massachusetts. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Cameron Tringale: Tringale is off to a hot start this season, with a T-22 finish at the Fortinet Championship, and a T-11 last week at the Sanderson Farms. His great play really goes back to last season, where he strung together four finishes of T-26 or better in his last five starts.
Over his last 24 rounds he’s 31st in Strokes Gained: Approach, and 18th in SG: Putting. I love this combination at TPC Summerlin due to the projected winning score coming Sunday.
He cashed in a top 20 last season at the Shriners, and finished T-2 back in 2015.
+4000 to win.
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Maverick McNealy: McNealy was close at the Fortinet Championship a few weeks ago, but a late shank led to a double bogey and a Max Homa win. However, I loved what he told our Adam Schupak during the week in Napa, and he seems extremely motivated.
He’s finished outside the top 30 just once since the PGA Championship (nine starts). But, he’s missed the cut here twice in three starts, with his best performance being a T-37 in 2020.
+5000 to win.
Maverick McNealy hits his tee shot on the first hole during the final round of the Fortinet Championship at Silverado Resort and Spa on September 19, 2021 in Napa, California. Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images
Scottie Scheffler: Just like my relationship with Will Zalatoris (who I almost put on this list again this week), Scheffler just has to win at some point soon. This week? He’s riding on the fumes of his Sunday singles beatdown of World No. 1 Jon Rahm.
His record at this golf tournament isn’t great, with a T-74 and missed cut (shot 6-under and missed the cut, that’s tough). In his last 10 starts, he had four top tens, and seven finishes of T-22 or better.
+2000 to win.
Sleeper of the week
Pat Perez hits his tee shot on the 1st hole during round two of the Safeway Open at Silverado Resort on September 11, 2020 in Napa, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
For me, it’s impossible to look at Pat Perez and not think Vegas. And as an Arizona native, he knows desert golf as well as anyone on Tour.
He missed the cut in his last appearance at the Shriners, but in 2019 finished solo third, and grabbed a T-7 in 2016.
Over his last 24 rounds on Tour, his best two strokes gained categories have been approach (33), and putting (14). If he put’s it in the fairway this week, look for Perez to make a run.
Who’s in position to win, and who failed to get it done
The players in the Sanderson Farms Championship separated themselves in Saturday’s third round at Country Club of Jackson.
Here are the winners and losers from Day 3:
Winners
Sahith Theegala
The 23-year-old remained atop of the leaderboard for the third straight day after carding 5-under 67. Theegala scored his second-consecutive 67 to get to 18 under, one shot better than a quartet of players entering Sunday. Theegala has continued his streak of “playing well” only two weeks after he earned exemption on the PGA Tour.
Matthew Wolff
Wolff used the momentum from his 36-foot putt to make the cut on the nose on Friday to to climb up the leaderboard Saturday. Wolff birdied six times in the third round to score 65, his lowest score since last season.
It was one of the great tag lines because it was oh so true. To tee it up this season on the PGA Tour means you’re one of the top-200 golfers in the world. Heady stuff. What separates the best of the best is an ability to handle the pressure on Sunday. Some are better than others. Winning is what it’s all about, but there is also something to be said for being good enough to cash big enough paychecks to keep your card year after year and bank some serious bucks.
No one has earned more money without winning on Tour than Cameron Tringale, who will have another chance to end his winless drought on Sunday at the Sanderson Farms Championship after shooting 62 in the third round. Tringale enters the final round at 17 under, one shot behind 54-hole leader Sahith Theegala. Could Sunday be his day to remove his name from this list or could he become the first to surpass $15 million in earnings without a ‘W’? Only time will tell. Here are the 10 golfers who have won more than $10 million without ever winning on the PGA Tour.
The win is the third of the 26-year-old Champ’s career.
Louis Oosthuizen lipped out with a shot from just inside 100 yards on his final hole that would have tied Cameron Champ and given the South African a share of the 3M Open lead in the clubhouse at 14 under.
Instead Oosthuizen had to settle for the clubhouse lead one back at 13 under, putting the pressure on Champ to finish strong. The 26-year-old made birdie on No. 15 to take a two-shot advantage but hit a wayward drive left that found the thick rough on the final hole. After two lay ups to get back in the fairway, Champ spun his approach shot to a couple feet and signed for a 5-under 66 on Sunday at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota, to earn his third win on the PGA Tour. Champ previously won the 2019 Safeway Open and 2018 Sanderson Farms Championship.
The Houston resident had struggled in recent events. Before a T-11 at the John Deere Classic two weeks ago, Champ had missed the cut or withdrawn in his previous five starts. The former Texas A&M Aggie is now the fourth player 27 yeard old or younger to win a Tour event in each of the last three years, joining Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa and Bryson DeChambeau.
Tringale is knocking on victory’s door after a 5-under-par 66 on a breezy, hot Saturday at TPC Twin Cities.
BLAINE, Minn. – Cameron Tringale is 18 holes from ridding himself of two unwanted asterisks attached to his record.
Since 2009, Tringale has made 305 starts as a professional on the PGA Tour, the most of any player during the span who has not won. And his $13,973,828 in career winnings is the most in the PGA Tour’s history by someone who has not won.
But in his 306th start this week in the 3M Open, Tringale is knocking on victory’s door after a 5-under-par 66 on a breezy, hot Saturday at TPC Twin Cities. In a bogey-free round highlighted by an eagle from four feet on the par-5 12th, Tringale moved to the top of the leaderboard at 12 under through 54 holes.
“I am in a great position,” Tringale said when asked about his mindset going into the final round. “I don’t have stress for my card, I just feel like I have tons of upside tomorrow and I’m excited to kind of play with that freedom.
“I’m happy with kind of everything, honestly. I’ve liked just about every putt I’ve hit. Hopefully, I’ll continue to do that tomorrow. I drove it pretty well and gave myself some looks that I capitalized on. I really just saved my tail quite a few times with the putter.
“And just try not to overthink it; that’s the key, isn’t it?”
If Tringale is to shed himself of those annoying asterisks, he’ll have to earn it. On a day that saw eight players grab at least a share of the lead, 22 finished within four shots of the lead, with another seven winding up five back.
“The putter’s felt as good as it has in a long time,” Woodland said. “Seeing putts go in has been huge, but I’m also starting to hit the golf ball well, I’m starting to control my irons, drive the golf ball semi in play the last couple days. But I’m feeling pretty good about my game compared to where I’ve been the last year and a half. I’ve got a long way to go, but when I trust what I’m doing, I’m pretty good.”
He trusted his gut after making double-bogey six on his first hole, when he short-sided himself and then bladed his chip across the green. From there he made six birdies without a bogey.
“I knew I was playing well,” Woodland said. “I had a great warmup. Yesterday I didn’t feel very good on the golf course, just didn’t feel very comfortable and it was the best round I played in a year and a half. So, I had a lot of confidence with a good warmup today, so that’s what I told myself on 2. And I hit a great drive on 2 and really got momentum going and played solid all day.”
McNealy, whose girlfriend is LPGA Tour star Danielle Kang, is looking for his first victory. The 25-year-old has been in the mix this year, finishing second to Daniel Berger in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and tying for fourth behind Stewart Cink in the RBC Heritage.
“I’ve got a chance to win,” he said. “I’ve learned every single time I’ve been in the mix on the back nine Sunday. Picked up a few things here and there, AT&T, Hilton Head and Colonial, and I’m excited to put those things into practice tomorrow when the heat’s on.
“I’m sure I’ll learn something else, but we’ll see if I can execute on those.”
By finishing T-3 at the Valspar, Cameron Tringale is now the player who has won the most money without ever winning on the PGA Tour.
PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Cameron Tringale earned a dubious distinction this week at the Valspar Championship.
By finishing tied for third with Viktor Hovland and earning $407,100, Tringale became the answer to the question: Which player has won the most money without ever winning a PGA Tour event.
The 33-year-old Tringale entered the week $37,390 behind Englishman Brian Davis, who had previously held the distinction with earnings of $13,374,228. Tringale now tops the list with $13,743,938.
When asked if he was aware that he was on the verge of setting the mark, he said simply, “No.”
Tringale finished a career-best second at the 2015 Zurich Classic of New Orleans and tied for second twice, at the 2014 Northern Trust and the 2016 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. He’s also recorded a third-place finish at the RSM Classic in November.
He did win a silly-season event, the 2015 QBE Shootout with Jason Day.
Tringale, who turned pro in 2009, entered the week No. 89 in the world and ranked No. 149 on the all-time Tour money list.
He has made 298 starts, the most on Tour without a win since 2009.
Tringale signed for a 3-under 68 on Sunday and a 72-hole total of 13-under 271.
Tringale is off to his best start in years, bouncing back from the horror of being disqualified from last summer’s PGA Championship.
SAN ANTONIO — Surprised to see Cameron Tringale’s name hovering around the top of the leaderboard through two days at the PGA Tour’s Valero Texas Open?
But ever since last August’s faux pas, Tringale has been flying somewhat under the radar in the process. In 14 starts this season, the California native has made 11 cuts and finished in the top 25 on six different occasions, including a third-place finish at November’s RSM Classic and a T-7 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February.
And during Friday’s second round on the TPC San Antonio Oaks Course, Tringale showed just how good his form has been of late — following a pair of bogeys and a par by ripping off five straight birdies to grab the lead. It marked the fourth time he’s ever turned that trick, the last one coming at the aforementioned RSM Classic.
“I knew I made a nice birdie on 13, a tough par 3. But then 14 was a pretty easy, easy hole today. Then I just hit a lot of really good iron shots to those holes. I think my furthest putt was four feet after 13, so just good approaches to the green. Still gotta roll those in, but was able to do it,” he said. “I was 2 over through two, so I was really just trying to get back into the round and get into the red numbers again. I think when those things start to happen, you’re just kind of focused on where you’re at.
“But then I looked back and I thought, wow, that was five in a row and I didn’t even birdie 18, which is probably the easiest of all of them.”
Tringale has enjoyed success at the Valero before — he had two top 10 finishes early in his career (5th in 2011 and 8th in 2012). He also joins Charley Hoffman and Jimmy Walker as the only players to have played the event every year for the last decade. Both Hoffman and Walker have Valero titles during that span. (Hoffman, for the record, shot a 66 on Friday to get to 3 under for the tournament.)
But Tringale knows he’s only halfway home, and it will take stellar play over the final two days to earn his second PGA Tour victory — a team win with Jason Day at the 2014 Franklin Templeton (now QBE) Shootout is his only other one.
“My takeaway was that it was a good day. I made a lot of birdies and took advantage of when I was in the fairway, I took advantage most of the time. Except for the last hole, I kept it in play and just had a lot of looks and a few went in,” he said. “I’d like to hit a few more fairways. My driver was just kind of leaking left, or not fading back. Hit a few extra drives tomorrow. But other than that, I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing.”
Cameron Tringale was disqualified from the PGA Championship for the second time in the last seven years.
For Cameron Tringale, Friday at the PGA Championship was a case of deja vu all over again, as baseball Hall of Famer Yogi Berra once memorably put it.
During the 2nd round of the 102nd PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park, Tringale signed for a score lower than he actually made on the par-3, No. 8. He signed for a 3 but made a 4.
After his scorecard was officially certified, he then left the scoring area, but later returned to notify the Scoring Referee of his mistake. He was subsequently disqualified for violating Rule 3.3b(3).
As rule 3.3 – Wrong Score for a Hole – states, if a player returns a scorecard with a wrong score for any hole:
Returned Score Higher Than Actual Score. The higher returned score for the hole stands.
Returned Score lower Than Actual Score or No Score Returned. The player is disqualified.
Tringale, 32, had signed for 2-under 68 and was going to be sweating out the cutline the rest of the day.
But this isn’t the first time Tringale was disqualified from the PGA Championship for a scoring violation.
In 2014, a guilt-ridden Tringale called the Tour and disqualified himself after finishing T-36 and earning $53,000. He claimed to have missed a stroke when attempting to tap in on the 11th hole of the final round.
“Realizing that there could be the slightest doubt that the swing over the ball should have been recorded as a stroke, I spoke with the PGA of America and shared with them my conclusion that the stroke should have been recorded,” Tringale said in a statement after the 2014 PGA.
• No. 17 at TPC Scottsdale allows players to go for the gusto, but water down the left side can make for some nasty medicine for those who miss (or who putt into it).
• The Flowering Peach (No. 3) at Augusta National has been altered less than any other because Alister MacKenzie thought it was a near-perfect design, teasing players with its length, but with a thin strip of green to aim for only the most daring choose to take the bait.
But what if a risk-reward hole is only really the latter? That’s what’s happened Saturday at TPC Twin Cities on the short-made-shorter No. 16, which essentially became eye candy for PGA Tour golfers.
With the tees pushed up, the hole was barely a full driver for some in the field. The hole became simple target practice.
Cameron Tringale was one of five to eagle the hole on Saturday, his highlight in putting together a career-tying 63 — the same number he’d posted back in 2011 at the Northern Trust.
“Yeah, 16 they had the tee way up so it was drivable. I think it was 289 to the hole straight into the wind. I cut a little driver to like 20 feet middle of the green and rolled that one in,” Tringale said. “That was a nice spark to get my round to the next level. I love making eagles, they’re so fun. That just put a boost in my step and kept rolling it from there.”
A back-left pin placement allowed players to take aim, since they had ample room to land the ball coming into the flag. The forward tees made a hole that had played difficult the first two days far too easy.
While Tringale was one of five eagles, the hole also surrendered 39 birdies to just 22 pars. Only two players in the entire field bogeyed the hole, which played to just 3.309 strokes. The hole had played to 3.994 and 4.092 the first two days.
Tony Finau, who is tied for second at 13-under, made a bit of a mess of the hole, pushing his drive right into a native area, but he did salvage par with a solid six-foot par putt. Afterward, he acted like he’d taken a big weight off by salvaging par at the short hole.
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“(It was a) nice break on 16, I thought that was just huge for me to make 4 there. On a drivable hole, you don’t really want to give up a shot, so I was happy to make 4 and just get in the clubhouse only a couple shots back,” Finau said.
Before the inaugural event last year, tournament director Hollis Cavner said he thought TPC Twin Cities would offer a formidable challenge to Tour players. The course had previously hosted a Champions Tour event.
”We want birdies and train wrecks,” Cavner said. ”We feel very comfortable that this golf course is going to play hard and fast. It’s going to play long. If we get wind, it’s a game-changer.”
Tee and pin placements like those on No. 16 did plenty to bring birdies Saturday, but not train wrecks.
