Justin Thomas copied Tiger Woods’ wardrobe, grip as a kid

NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. — Max McGreevy completed a 9-under 63 on Saturday to share the second-round lead and had a one-stroke advantage when darkness suspended third-round play in the PGA TOUR’s Barbasol Championship. Much of the field began the third round in the evening in sunny conditions after heavy showers hit Keene Trace for the second consecutive day. More than 2 1/2 inches of rain over two hours delayed play for nearly 5 1/2 hours, with bare-footed grounds crew using buckets to clear water from bunkers. McGreevy and Matti Schmid, a former University of Louisville player, each shot 63 and were at 16-under 128 after the completion of the second round — a stroke ahead of first-round leader Adam Svensson. Those three were among the last to tee off and completed three holes. McGreevy opened with a birdie, Svensson birdied the par-3 second hole and Schmid was even after a bogey on the second hole. Ricardo Gouveia carded a 7-under 65 in the second round for a 15-under 129 total and was even through three holes. Sean O’Hair, Kevin Streelman and Trey Mullinax were each at 14 under, with O’Hair and Streelman completing four holes. McGreevy’s remarkable second round completed on Saturday morning ultimately featured 10 birdies, including four over a five-hole stretch on the front to overshadow the American’s lone bogey on the par-4 seventh hole. Schmid’s bogey-free round included nine birdies, including three on Keene Trace’s four par-5 holes. “I don’t know if I put 10 birdies together in a tournament the last couple of weeks, so to put it together in one round regardless how easy the course was playing felt really good,” McGreevy said earlier in the day. “Golf swing feels good, putter feels good. Just kind of giving myself looks and just seemed to keep going in the hole.” Just a few golfers were able to tee off soon after the second round was completed. Darkness also suspended play Friday, when fog and thunderstorms caused nearly 5 1/2 hours of delays.

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OVERVIEW Note to Bubba fans: Circle Feb. 14-17 and June 20-23 on your calendars, the dates of the 2019 Genesis Open (L.A.) and Travelers Championship (Hartford, Connecticut), respectively. Watson, 40, has racked up half of his 12 PGA TOUR titles at those two tournaments, and will go for his fourth win at each next year. He is coming off his first three-win season — Genesis, World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, Travelers — but got all those wins by June 24, when he came from six back to beat Paul Casey at TPC River Highlands, site of his first career win. If there was such an award as Player of the Half Year, or Two Thirds of a Year, it would have been Watson. Alas, he faded to finish 10th in the FedExCup, and went 1-2-0 in his fourth Ryder Cup.    In addition to Riviera and TPC River Highlands, look for possible Bubba breakouts at Club de Golf Chapultepec, home of the WGC-Mexico Championship (Watson was second at the 2014 BMW Championship at Cherry Hills in Denver’s thin air); Augusta National (two Masters titles and counting); and Bethpage Black, home of the PGA Championship in May (Watson contended at the 2009 U.S. Open before a 75 left him eight back of Lucas Glover). Biggest uphill climb of ’19: the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, where Watson has finished no better than T35 in four starts at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. — By Cameron Morfit Click here to see who else made the Top 30 list. BY THE NUMBERS FEDEXCUP UPDATE Current 2018-19 position: N/A Playoff appearances: 12 TOUR Championship appearances: 8 Best FedExCup result: 5th in both the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons SHOTLINK FUN FACT Bubba Watson has recorded 149 eagles since 2006, the most of any player on the PGA TOUR in that span. INSIDER INSIGHTS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Bubba Watson in 2019. TOUR INSIDER: When you turn 40, as Watson did in November, it’s natural to wonder what’s left. Even if he stopped now, he would likely be headed for the World Golf Hall of Fame, and would not lack for things to do. He’s a husband and father with either full or partial ownership of a candy store, a Chevy dealership and a minor-league baseball team. But assuming he want to build on his already impressive victory total (especially for a guy who didn’t win at Georgia or on the Web.com Tour), Watson’s Strokes Gained stats last season — 108th in Putting and 174th in Around-the-Green — leave no doubt as to how he can improve in 2019. — By Cameron Morfit     FANTASY INSIDER: The lefty is the highest in our Top 30 who didn’t appear in last year’s series, but that’s what happens when he went from one of the worst seasons of his career (that included challenges with health and adapting to a new golf ball) to one of the best. In switching back to his trusted Titleist, he prevailed three times and paid salary gamers who kept the faith with little evidence in tow. Now as a 40-year-old with multiple interests outside the ropes commanding his attention, not to mention his first priority as a family man, we should expect a rollback to something in between the last two seasons, but he plies his craft with power and a panache that will transcend his age for years to come. — By Rob Bolton EQUIPMENT INSIDER: Bubba’s golf clubs match his personality and style of golf perfectly; they’re unique. The big-swinging lefty uses a pink G400 LST driver (7.6 degrees) with a ping Bi-Matrix X prototype shaft. He also has 15 wraps of tape on the grip underneath his left hand, and 13 wraps of tape underneath right hand. He also still uses Ping S55 irons, with pink paintfill, that have custom lies and lofts and an “extreme heel grind,â€� according to Ping. His Glide 2.0 wedges also have pink paintfill on them, and they’re stamped with “Bubba’s Sweetpotâ€� on the back cavities. As for the flatstick, he uses a Ping PLD Anser prototype with, you guessed it, pink paintfill. — By Andrew Tursky STYLE INSIDER: Bubba continues to be one of the more colorful players on TOUR. His colored gloves and bespoke high-tops are a perfect match for his personal style. When it comes to apparel, he often seems to be swimming in his shirts. In 2019, slimmer fits will help Bubba to produce cleaner looks. — By Greg Monteforte

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He understands the larger conversation around social justice going on in America and the significance of a black golfer winning the sport’s first event back after a 91-day shutdown. He isn’t thinking about that. He just wants to get his first Tour win.

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