After fighting his swing, Justin Thomas finds himself atop PGA Championship

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – It was just last week that Vijay Singh turned 56 years old. No word on how he celebrated, but it’s doubtful any present could be better than the one he might give himself Sunday. Singh is just 18 holes away from becoming the oldest winner in PGA TOUR history, as his 5-under 65 in Saturday’s third round of The Honda Classic put him within striking distance of the lead. Sam Snead currently has the record for oldest winner, at 52 years, 10 months, 8 days when he won the 1965 Greater Greensboro Open. Just six other players have won PGA TOUR events in their 50s, the most recent being Davis Love III, who was 51 when he won the Wyndham Championship in 2015. Singh, of course, could shatter Snead’s record by more than three years. He understands the enormous challenge that awaits him Sunday. “I’m physically quite capable of doing it,� Singh said. “Mentally, I’m going to go out there and see how my mind works. If I just don’t let anything interfere, I think I can do it.� It’s been 11 years since Singh’s last TOUR win, the 2008 Deutsche Bank Championship – the second of his back-to-back wins in the FedExCup Playoffs that year that helped seal his FedExCup title. But he does have recent success on PGA TOUR Champions, with four career victories, including three in 2018 – including the Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship and the Charles Schwab Cup Championship. Asked what he might be able to draw from those wins, Singh replied: “Playing the Champions Tour, you’ve got to make a lot of birdies. It’s all about making a lot of putts, a lot of birdies there. That brings, I guess, aggression out of you, and you go out there and you know you have to make birdies. “It’s just like the Web kids coming over here. They feel the same way – they’re going to make a ton of birdies. I think anything I take away, it’s that. You’ve got to score well on the Champions Tour, just like you’ve got to score well here.� Just three years ago, Singh finished T-6 at The Honda Classic, shooting four rounds of par or better. Four months later, he was runner-up at the 2016 Quicken Loans National, finishing with a final-round 65. That’s the last time he’s had a top-10 finish on TOUR. Since then, he’s made 36 starts on the PGA TOUR, with 22 missed cuts. That includes both of his starts this season. But just when it appeared his days as a Sunday contender were done, Singh has found his game again in the first 54 holes this week. “Today I played really well,� Singh said after his six-birdie, one-bogey round. “Today I played like I know how. I just let it go and the swing was a lot more freer. If I did what I did today – this is how I used to play. I don’t know what I found, but I’m going to see if it’s still there tomorrow.� Putting has been his nemesis the last decade – the last time he ranked inside the top 100 in Strokes Gained: Putting was in 2006, when he was 99th in that category – but he ranks inside the top 30 in the field this week, and he had a terrific putting day Saturday. He made all 16 putts inside 10 feet, including all four in the 5-10 foot range. He has a new long putter that he put into play recently and “that kind of inspired me, and I’m putting really well with it.� Added Singh: “There is no tension in my body. Putting has been great this week. Standing over the putts, there’s no fidgeting feelings or anything like that. I guarantee if I had a short putter, I would feel a little tense and anxious, but this long putter, I felt pretty much nothing …. “Putting is another thing that kind of stopped me from scoring well, and this week I made a lot of putts with it, and I hope I can do that again tomorrow.� Singh, of course, is long fabled for his tireless work ethic, but even those long hours on the range can’t guarantee he’s up to the rigors of a stress-filled Sunday. He does have one suggestion to solve that. “That should give me a cart tomorrow,� Singh joked. “I deserve one.� Don’t worry, Vijay. If you win The Honda Classic, they’ll give you something much more valuable.

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Two rounds are in the books at the Genesis Scottish Open. There was a clear better side of the draw with tee times, which was frustrating for players and some in the golf betting community. Players on the early/late side of the draw averaged 143.64 strokes over the first two rounds. Meanwhile, players on the late/early side averaged 145.39. This amounted to a 1.75 stroke difference; for some, it was the difference between making or missing the cut. Despite shooting a 2-over 72 on Friday, first-round leader Cameron Tringale will take a three-shot lead into the weekend over two players – Gary Woodland and Doug Ghim. Instead of waiting for The Open Championship next week, the BetMGM online sportsbook offers a few betting opportunities this weekend, including live betting. Odds for players to win are updated constantly, including during their rounds, so there’s always a chance to bet on a player to win. Here’s a look at a few players’ odds to win outright following Friday’s second round. Cameron Tringale +400 Tringale (-7) is having a ton of success on the greens through the first two rounds. He’s leading in Strokes Gained: Putting, gaining over four strokes against the field – the best of any player. For the year, Tringale ranks 65th in Strokes Gained: Putting. Since 2017 on the PGA and DP World Tours, players have led by three or more shots after the first two rounds 23 times. Of those 23 players, 19 went on to win. This is the second time in his career Tringale has led after two rounds; heefinished T-2 at the 2014 Barclays and T-9 at the 2021 Valero Texas Open. Xander Schauffele +450 Despite being four shots back of Tringale, Schauffele is only slightly behind him regarding odds to win. He fired a 5-under 65 to put himself in contention going into the weekend. Schauffele leads the field after two rounds in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, gaining over four shots against the field. The 28-year-old won the Travelers Championship two weeks ago and the JP McManus Pro-Am earlier this week. Gary Woodland +900 Like Tringale, Woodland followed up his 64 on Thursday with a 2-over 72 on Friday, but he’s still near the top of the leaderboard going into the weekend. He had a stretch of three straight birdies on his second-nine Friday. After two straight missed cuts, Woodland finished T-10 in his last start at the U.S. Open. Doug Ghim +2000 Ghim has been consistent, firing a 67 on Thursday followed by a 69 on Friday to find himself three shots behind Tringale going into the third round. Ghim is eighth in Strokes Gained: Putting, which seems to be a key. Four players inside the top 13 are currently top 10 in Strokes Gained: Putting this week. The 26-year-old has two career top-10 finishes. * Visit BetMGM.com for terms and conditions. 21+ years of age or older to wager. BetMGM is available in AZ, CO, DC, IA, IN, IL, LA, MI, MS, NJ, NV, NY, PA, TN, VA, WV, or WY only. All promotions are subject to qualification and eligibility requirements. Paid in free bets. Free bets expire in 7 days from issuance. Minimum deposit required. Excludes Michigan Disassociated Persons. Please Gamble Responsibly. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO, DC, LA, NV, WY, VA), 1-800-270-7117 for confidential help (MI), 1-800-GAMBLER (IN, NJ, PA & WV), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA) or call (877-8-HOPENY) or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), call or text the Tennessee REDLINE: 800-889-9789 (TN) or call 1-888-777-9696 (MS). Sports betting is void where prohibited. Promotional offers not available in Nevada.

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A year ago, Jordan Spieth’s return to the PGA TOUR winner’s circle at the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio was the culmination of months of elite play. A Saturday 61 at TPC Scottsdale launched him into contention at the WM Phoenix Open, where he was tied for the lead entering the final round (he ultimately tied for fourth). He would hold the outright 54-hole lead the following week at Pebble Beach, then post strong finishes at The Genesis Invitational (T-15), Arnold Palmer Invitational (T-4) and WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play (lost in round of 16). Spieth’s ascent would peak in his home state of Texas, then carry on to a strong performance at Augusta National. How did he rediscover his best golf, and how close is he to finding it again? Spring Forward When Spieth arrived to the 2021 WM Phoenix Open, he was in the statistical doldrums. He ranked 204th on TOUR for the season in Strokes Gained: Approach, and not much better in scoring average (183rd). Of 242 players to statistically qualify to that point in the season, only 11 were hitting fewer greens in regulation than Spieth (59.4%). His Official World Golf Ranking had dropped to 92nd, his worst position since the summer of 2013, the week before his first TOUR victory at the John Deere Classic. Then, Scottsdale happened. Across the months of February and March of 2021, Spieth ranked third on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Approach per round, trailing only Collin Morikawa and Sergio Garcia. His form with his iron play during that stretch – gaining 1.20 strokes per round via approach shots – well-surpassed what he did in 2015, when he was PGA TOUR Player of the Year. That season, he averaged about 0.62 Strokes Gained: Approach per round, 11th-best on TOUR. Spieth’s putting improved during the stretch, too, but not to the levels of his approach game. In February and March, Spieth ranked 37th on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Putting, a big jump from earlier in the season (0.06 per round, 119th). In all, 67% of Spieth’s total strokes gained during this stretch came from his stellar approaches. At TPC San Antonio, Spieth’s incredible improvement in his wedge game led him to victory. He led the field for the week in average proximity from 50 to 125 yards (10 feet, 5 inches). His average distance from the hole in those situations was more than 10 feet better than the field average for the tournament. This was especially significant considering where Spieth was with this part of his game months prior: entering Phoenix, he ranked 235th on TOUR from that range (23 feet, 4 inches), limiting his birdie possibilities after having wedge in his hands. The ball-striking trend continued down Magnolia Lane into The Masters. The 2015 champion ranked in the top 10 that week in both Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and Strokes Gained: Approach. No player gained more strokes than Spieth did tee-to-green (3.44 per round) for the tournament. It was his putting that let him down – of 54 players to make the cut, only three had a worse Strokes Gained: Putting performance than Spieth for the week. Spieth wouldn’t win again in 2020-21, but he got awfully close a couple of times. He finished runner-up at both the Charles Schwab Challenge and at The Open Championship. He put together eight consecutive tournaments where he amassed positive Strokes Gained: Approach, something he did in fewer than half of his starts in 2020. By the time the season concluded, Spieth had ascended from 161st to 24th in scoring average. Recent Outlook While Spieth got close at Pebble Beach earlier this year (2nd place, two behind winner Tom Hoge), his form statistically hasn’t been as sharp since spring of last year. That isn’t to say Spieth has been playing poorly: he’s averaging positive strokes gained per round in every discipline. During that span, he’s a respectable 37th on TOUR among qualified players in scoring average. This season, he’s averaging his most Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee per round since 2018 and is in the top 25 in average driving distance for the first time. Again, the biggest statistical difference between Spieth’s recent play and when he was red-hot comes from his approach numbers. Spieth is gaining just 0.14 strokes per round with his approach play since last May, a drop-off of more than a full stroke from that February-March stretch. It adds up to more than 4 strokes per 72 holes, a deficit that is virtually impossible to overcome with the other facets of his game. As for that wedge play that was so good in San Antonio a year ago: This season, Spieth is ranked a strong 20th in average proximity from 50-125 yards, at 16 feet, 1 inch. However, his average score to par in those situations – just -0.07 to par – is ranked 168th. Spieth simply hasn’t been converting those opportunities – the TOUR average from that position is -0.16, more than twice as good in relation to par. No player in each of the next two TOUR fields has had as much success on those courses as Spieth has. A return to friendly confines could be just what’s needed to bring out the best in the 12-time TOUR winner.

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