Thomas wins Sentry TOC in sudden-death

LA QUINTA, Calif. – Adam Hadwin used superb ball-striking to shoot the lowest score on the treacherous Stadium Course and continue his strong play in the Desert Classic. Hadwin hit all 18 greens in regulation Thursday en route to a 7-under 65. He made five birdies and holed a 60-yard pitch for eagle on the par-5 16th. Hadwin called it “probably my longest hole-out in like three years.â€� His only bogey was a three-putt from 48 feet on the par-3 sixth hole. He played his final six holes in 5 under par. The Stadium Course is traditionally the toughest of the three courses in use this week, and that was true again Thursday. It played to a 70.9 scoring average, while the field averaged 69.4 strokes at La Quinta Country Club and 69.7 at PGA West’s Nicklaus Tournament Course. “I basically have to shoot probably another three 7-unders to even have a chance,â€� Hadwin said. MUST READS: Round 1, Desert Classic He’s had no trouble going low at this event, finishing no worse than sixth in the past three Desert Classics. He’s 66 under par in his last 13 rounds at this event, including a 59 at La Quinta Country Club in 2017. Phil Mickelson flirted with Hadwin’s mark on Thursday, but came up one shot short. “I’m five back after shooting 7 under,â€� Hadwin said. “I was actually watching the leaderboard, thinking he’s going to try and pass my course record over there. That would be a Phil Mickelson thing to do.â€� Hadwin is 51st in the FedExCup standings thanks to two top-10s in five starts this season. He’s also seeking a spot in his second consecutive Presidents Cup. This year’s Presidents Cup will be played Dec. 12-15 at Australia’s Royal Melbourne Golf Club.

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Had you sought to find a flaw in Tiger Woods’ golf game – at least in his prime – chances are you would have come up empty. He drove it long and very effectively, played long irons as well as anyone, had a killer short game, and putted brilliantly, especially when the pressure was on. Pretty much, he was perfect. But if you were determined to find a hiccup, you were safe with choosing Woods’ left knee. It was his soft spot going back to 1994 when as an 18-year-old, he had surgery to remove two benign tumors. Eight years later, Woods had surgery to remove fluid from around the ACL in that same knee and then in 2007 he ruptured that same ACL while running, though he chose to play through it. Unfortunately, it all caught up to him in the spring of 2008 when he had arthroscopic surgery on the left knee, then was told by doctors he had stress fractures on the left tibia and needed to rest it. That he came back after that short rest to win the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines is a part of golf folklore. But perhaps just as impressively is the fact he rebounded from nearly eight months on the sidelines to claim a second FedExCup title. Devoid of a major, it perhaps gets overshadowed, but this stretch certainly helped amp up the aura. Win No. 66: March 29, 2009 – Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard As the ground shook and the sun fell into the horizon, Woods’ longtime caddie, Steve Williams, leaned into the boss and screamed, “This feels like we hadn’t left.â€� Indeed, if there was a place on the PGA TOUR landscape that offered a comfort zone, it was the 18th hole at Bay Hill. As he had done in 2001 and 2008, Woods made a birdie putt to win at this demanding finishing hole, in front of Palmer, no less, and so Zach Johnson had every reason to place tongue firmly in cheek. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him make a putt when he needed,â€� said Johnson. For the record, it had been 286 days since Woods’ previous victory, the 2008 U.S. Open, though it had taken just three tournaments into the comeback season to post a win. So, yeah, Williams was right; it had to feel like they hadn’t left, much to the chagrin of Sean O’Hair, whose five-shot lead was made to disappear with Woods’ closing 67. By the Numbers: Only PGA TOUR win where Tiger didn’t play the par 5’s under par (even for week). Win No. 67: June 8, 2009 – the Memorial Tournament With a closing 65 to wipe out a four-stroke deficit, Woods gives Jack Nicklaus, the tournament host, plenty of fodder. “I suspect (a 15th major championship) will come for Tiger Woods in about two weeks,â€� said Nicklaus, predicting a U.S. Open triumph. OK, so we’re eight years later and still waiting for No. 15, but Nicklaus’ praise was well-grounded. Just ask beleaguered playing competitor Michael Letzig, who was paired with Woods and said: “I don’t know how to describe it. It was the best golf I’ve ever seen.â€� Or ask Jim Furyk, who said the media was fueling this incredible comeback. “I just wish you all would just quit ticking him off … so he has to come back and keep proving stuff.â€� Never one to shortchange the customers, Woods nails down the rally with an eagle at the par-5 11th, then approaches that scraped the sky and set up birdies at the 17th and 18th. By the Numbers: Tiger hit every fairway in the final round, marking the only time in his career where he accomplished this feat in the final round of a PGA TOUR victory. Win No. 68: July 5, 2009 – AT&T National No rally from behind needed this time, but Woods did have to shake a 54-hole tie with young and talented Anthony Kim. Just don’t say that Woods – who closed with 67 to shake Kim and hold off Hunter Mahan’s scintillating 62 — intimidated the bold and brash Kim. “You know, you can’t physically intimidate anybody,â€� Woods smiled. Mahan suggested there was no great mystery to why Woods had moved right back into a winning mode. “He’s pretty good. He knows what he’s doing. He knows how to play this game better than anybody,â€� said Mahan. As for Kim, he chalked it up to a learning experience. And just what did he learn? “That if you have a birdie putt, you better make it – especially on the last day,â€� he said. “Tiger obviously wins for a reason.â€� By the Numbers: Tiger finished with a 2.69 Scoring Average on the par 3s, matching his second best Par 3 Scoring Average in his 77 stroke-play victories. Win No. 69: Aug. 2, 2009 – Buick Open “You know,â€� conceded Vaughn Taylor, when asked about Tiger Woods, “he’s always on everyone’s mind.â€� Even on Friday? Taylor smiled and nodded his head. “I’m sure the closer we get to Sunday and the closer he gets to the top, guys always think about him.â€� The conversation was prompted by vintage Woods; having opened with 71 to sit in a tie for 95th, Woods roared past 91 players with a sizzling 63 in Round 2. When he added a 65 on Saturday, he seized the lead, then produced a bogey-free 69 to nail down a three-stroke win, his third in this tournament at Warwick Hills. So, yeah, Taylor had reason to speak the truth, and Aussie Greg Chalmers, one of those who tied for second, agreed with that assessment. “With any other player you might think there’s a chance, but with Tiger, he’s done it so regularly I think his peers know he’s going to close it out.â€� By the Numbers: Was the 10th victory in the ShotLink era where Tiger was perfect from inside 5 feet.  Win No. 70: Aug. 9, 2009 – World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational If the third-round 65 that pushed Woods into second place, just three off Padraig Harrington’s lead, wasn’t enough to give you a sense of the plot, then him playing the first five holes in Sunday’s final round in 4 under surely was. “What are you watching for?â€� Camilo Villegas said after his round to media members watching TV monitors in the scoring area. “You know what’s going to happen.â€� Villegas nailed it, too, as Woods maintained that torrid pace and shot a second-straight 65 to rally past Harrington. He became the first player in history to win seven times on the same course (Firestone) and nailed down his 16th World Golf Championship. “He could play this course left-handed and do well,â€� said Hunter Mahan. True, Woods was helped immensely by Harrington, who made a triple-bogey at the par-5 16th against his opponent’s birdie. Woods’ 70th career win came in just his 234th professional start, an utterly incredible winning percentage of 29.9. By the Numbers: 21st career final round comeback victory. In his career Tiger has come-from-behind in the final round to win in 23 times. Win No. 71: Sept. 13, 2009 – BMW Championship To the list of favorite playgrounds that treated Woods well, Cog Hill didn’t get proper respect, but it surely brought a smile to his face. A third-round 62 – which began with a bogey at the opening hole, too – propelled Woods into a seven-stroke lead, which had even veteran players searching for superlatives. “I felt like we had a tournament within a tournament,â€� said Jim Furyk, who wound up T-2, a whopping eight back. “It was a tournament for second.â€� Aussie Marc Leishman, who shared second with Furyk, was too agog over Woods to be stuck on the huge deficit. “He was amazing,â€� said Leishman, who earned the right to play in the final pairing alongside Woods for the first time in his career. That he was never in position to challenge Woods and get into contention to win didn’t really bother him, either. The experience was what he treasured, even if he never envisioned someone getting to 19 under. “But I guess when you’ve got Tiger in the field, never say never,â€� Leishman said. Given that Woods had won six of 17 starts in 2009, the sixth time in his career that he had won at least six times in a season, you never would have believed it would be more than two seasons before he’d win again. But that is the inexplicable way his career turned just weeks after this dominating win. By the Numbers: Tiger won by 8 strokes, marking his 10th career victory by 8 or more strokes on TOUR. Back to Chasing 82                Chapter 8: The Great Comeback, Part I

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The last regular-season tournament is the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield CC in Greensboro, North Carolina. The course is a par 70, measuring 7,131 yards. The greens this week will be Champion bermuda. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $750K Flop Shot [$200K to 1st] STRATEGY As mentioned, this is the last stop before the FedExCup Playoffs, which is vital for a few golfers in the field. After this week, the top 125 golfers in FedExCup (FEC) standings will play at Liberty National for the first leg of the playoffs. Golfers like Rickie Fowler (+5500, $8,600), Tommy Fleetwood (+4500, $9,700), Justin Rose (+7000, $8,000) and Francesco Molinari (+13000, $6,800) are inside the top 140 but currently outside the top 125; they’ll need a solid finish at Sedgefield CC this week to increase their chances of making the trip to New Jersey next week. Sedgefield CC is a reasonably straightforward Donald Ross design. Over the previous five years, the average winning score is 21.2 under par. Last year’s winner, Jim Herman (+15000, $6,900), ending up shooting 61 on Saturday and 63 on Sunday, totaling 16-under par over the weekend. We should see a ton of birdies and more eagles than usual this week, and the golfers we choose should be proficient in both over the longer timeframes or at least trending well leading into the tournament. The fairways are tree-lined, and accuracy Off-the-Tee is more critical than sheer distance. The green complexes are challenging with undulations and runoff areas into tight lies around the greens. The greens are Championship bermuda, which the golfers putt on last week at TPC Southwind. The Country Club of Jackson (Sanderson Farms) is another course with a similar green type. A solid putting week and precise iron play, especially with wedges, are paramount to success, particularly on the eight par 4s measuring between 400 to 450 yards. There are five water hazards, which come into play on six holes. You’ll hear a lot about who’s on the “bubble” needing a solid week, and while that is the case, it shouldn’t be weighted too much in your decision making this week. Instead, look at building a DraftKings roster with expensive golfers and cheap options this week. Last year, Jim Herman was $6,100, and 2019 winner J.T. Poston was $7,300. The course sets up for all types of games, and our lineups should reflect that this week. GOLFERS TO CONSIDER Sungjae Im (+3000 to Win, $9,600 on DraftKings) It hasn’t been great for Sungjae, finishing outside the top 40 in his last two events. Over the previous three months, his best finish was an eighth-place at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, another Donald Ross design. While there isn’t a ton of correlation between Detroit Golf Club and Sedgefield CC, we should feel confident that we’re back on bermuda, a green surface Sungjae prefers. Yes, he lost 4.6 strokes putting last week on similar greens. Still, his long-term putting splits on bermuda are fantastic, and we should be treating last week as a potential outlier. His ball-striking hasn’t been elite, but he’s gained strokes with his irons in five-straight tournaments and gained 1.31 strokes with his irons in Memphis over the weekend. He’s done well on similar courses like Waialae CC (Sony Open) and Harbour Town GL (RBC Heritage), finishing inside the top 20 in both over his career. He’s finished no worse than ninth in his previous two appearances here and ranks 10th in Strokes Gained: Total over his last 24 rounds on Donald Ross designs. Sebastian Munoz (+5500 to Win, $8,200 on DraftKings) His ball-striking has been stellar over the past 12 rounds, ranking 11th in approach and just inside the top 45 in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee. His par 4 scoring on holes 400 to 450 yards is stupendous, ranking fourth over the previous dozen rounds. Munoz only has one career win, the 2019 Sanderson Farms, where he gained 6.9 strokes Tee-to-Green and 6.2 strokes putting; that’s what you’re going to need here. While CC of Jackson is not comparable to Sedgefield CC, they have similar green types, which bodes well for Munoz, who hasn’t been putting well of late. Brian Stuard (+10000 to Win, $6,900 on DraftKings) Few have been better with their irons over the previous 12 rounds, ranking ninth in approach heading into this week. With no worse than a 15th-place over his last three starts, Stuard is coming into the Wyndham with momentum. He’s exceptionally accurate Off-the-Tee and is putting well, ranking fourth on the greens over his last dozen rounds. Stuard’s only win was the 2016 Zurich Classic, the last year before it became a team event. If Stuard plays anything like he has been, he’s going to give himself an excellent chance to add another mark in the win column. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $750K Flop Shot [$200K to 1st] Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game. All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL). Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ/WV/PA/MI), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (NH/CO), 1-800-BETS OFF(IA), 1-888-532-3500 (VA) or call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN). 21+ (18+ NH). CO/IL/IN/IA/NH/NJ/PA/TN/VA/WV/MI only. Eligibility restrictions apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for full terms and conditions.

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