The need for speed: How Tringale found success after swinging faster

JACKSON, Miss. – What does it take to win? That question will hover over the final round of the Sanderson Farms Championship, where seven of the top nine contenders would be first-time winners on the PGA TOUR. Max Homa said at the season-opening Fortinet Championship two weeks ago that he plays knowing he’s not the final arbiter of who wins, given the bounces and breaks that must go one’s way to do so. RELATED: Leaderboard | Sahith Theegala’s special feel for the game helps him earn first PGA TOUR card Then he won for the third time. “A hundred percent, I agree with Max that certain things have to go your way for the week for you to be able to win,” said Sahith Theegala, whose third-round 67 left him with a one shot lead over four players. “I don’t think there’s a whole lot of exceptions to that.” The caveat, he added, is that winning is a habit that can be developed over time. Theegala has certainly developed it. A product of Southern California public courses, he went to Diamond Bar High School, the same school that produced Kevin Na nearly two decades earlier. Theegala played for Pepperdine, where he won four times and swept the awards for the nation’s top collegiate in 2020, and also won the Australian Masters of the Amateurs tournament, in Victoria. “I think it’s really important that a lot of guys have learned to win at every level,” he said. Of the four players just one back – Sam Burns (65), Denny McCarthy (65), Cameron Tringale (62), Cameron Young (67) – Burns is the only one with a TOUR win (2021 Valspar Championship). He lost a playoff to Abraham Ancer at the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational in August and is making his first start of the new season. “I haven’t putted it like I want to yet,” said Burns, who ranks a lowly 59th in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting (-1.414). “Hopefully that’s coming tomorrow.” Tringale might be the hottest of the four closest pursuers, having eagled the par-5 fifth and 14th holes and made 130 feet of putts. He’s second in SG: Putting and seeking victory No. 1 in his 311th TOUR start. “Just the competition,” Tringale, 34, said when asked what keeps him motivated. “I love playing, obviously I’ve been out here a long time, I haven’t won, but I love competing and I just want to see if I can keep beating guys and you know you compete every day – Sunday they give the trophies away, but you’re really out there grinding and you’re playing against yourself. “But it’s just fun to see how I can match up when I’m playing well,” he continued, “and even when I’m not, just how to manage that and get the most out of each week. That’s kind of the fun part for me. I’m kind of a journeyman to this point and I’m enjoying the journey.” Six of the last seven winners of the Sanderson Farms have been first-timer winners, with Sergio Garcia last year being the lone exception. (Fresh off the Ryder Cup, he missed the cut this week.) Burns is the highest ranked player in the Sanderson field (25), Aaron Wise (67, T8) is the next player on the leaderboard who has hoisted a trophy on the PGA TOUR (2018 AT&T Byron Nelson). He also has won on the Korn Ferry Tour, Forme Tour, and at University of Oregon. Other proven winners include Corey Conners (66), Andrew Landry (66), C.T. Pan (67) and Nick Watney (71), who are among a sixsome tied for 10th place, just three back. That hardly seems like much distance to make up, considering we’ve already seen a course-record 61 this week. Five-time TOUR winner Watney, 40, will try to break a drought that goes back to 2012. Such dry spells serve to remind how hard it is to win at the game’s highest level, and are one more reason why hopefuls like Theegala, or anyone, really, would do well to heed to words of Homa at the Fortinet. Play hard, do all you can, and go home knowing the end result was never entirely up to you.

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RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico — PGA TOUR rookie Viktor Hovland shot an 8-under 64 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the windy Puerto Rico Open. Related: Leaderboard | Brotherhood of the slump: How TOUR pros found their way back “Hopefully, I just continue doing what I have been doing the first three days,” Hovland said. “It would be unbelievable to have won on the tour already, but I’m just worried about tomorrow. Hopefully, I can hit some good shots and make some putts.'” The 22-year-old Norwegian starred at Oklahoma State, winning the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach, then sweeping low amateur honors at the Masters and U.S. Open. He birdied all four par-5 holes at Coco Beach, the last on the 18th for a back-nine 31 and 18-under 198 total. “I played really well today, kind of the same round as the last two, just been playing really solid off the tee and been hitting a lot of really good iron shots into the greens,” Hovland said. “Early on in the round I didn’t really make that many putts, but I did a really good job of just staying calm. Thankfully, on the back nine I started making a couple putts and got me going.” Martin Laird was second after a 63. He eagled the par-5 second and par-4 10th, holing out with a wedge on 10. “Today was a great day, putts were going in,” Laird said. “I’ve been hitting it great all week. Yesterday, I hit it just as good and just putts were all over the hole and didn’t go in and then today, they did. Nice bonus on 10. Holing a wedge is always a little boost.” Josh Teater was two strokes back at 16 under after a 66. Emiliano Grillo had a 69 to get to 13 under. Patrick Rodgers (66) and Sam Ryder (69) were 12 under.

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Tiger Woods will be accompanied by two of golf’s biggest names when he returns to the PGA Tour at this week’s Memorial.

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