After long layoff, Van Pelt finally likes where his game is going

THE OVERVIEW Cameron Champ is making his professional debut at this week’s OHL Classic at Mayakoba. He doesn’t yet have his PGA TOUR card, but once he secures it, expect the following prediction to come true at some point during his career. He will lead the TOUR in driving distance. OK, we’re not exactly going out on a limb with that one. Champ, the former Texas A&M star, showed earlier this year at the U.S. Open that he can outdrive the best players in golf. Not only did he lead the field at Erin Hills in driving distance, his 324.4-yard average (all drives) was 10 yards longer than the next players on the list, Trey Mullinax and eventual U.S. Open champ Brooks Koepka. On the measured holes (two per round), Champ averaged 337 yards. That was Champ’s first start in a TOUR event. His second came at last month’s 2017-18 season opener, the Safeway Open. Playing in a threesome that included former long-distance driving champion Jamie Sadlowski and former TOUR driving distance leader John Daly (the first TOUR pro to average more than 300 yards in a season), Champ averaged 311.9 yards on all drives in his first two rounds before missing the cut. Sadlowski averaged 317.9 yards while also missing the cut. Patrick Rodgers led the field on all drives for the entire week with a 306-yard average. Although Champ certainly relies on his strength off the tee, he knows that to succeed on TOUR, he’ll need a well-rounded game. At the U.S. Open, he was in contention through two rounds (tied for 4th) and eventually finished T-32 by finding Erin Hills’ generously wide fairways at a 75 percent clip. At the narrow Silverado layout, he hit the fairway just 35.7 percent of the time. Champ arrived early at El Camaleon to give himself more prep time. Despite the tight layout, he said the course “fits my eye and suits me well.� He’s figured out that it will again be important to find the fairway this week. Thus, his gameplan includes keeping his biggest weapon in the bag most of the time. “I’ll probably hit 2-iron on the majority of the holes,� Champ said. “Par 5s, obviously I’ll hit drivers.� Last week at Bear Creek Golf Club in Murrieta, California, Champ played in the second stage of Web.com Tour Q-School and finished inside the top 20 who will advance to the final stage in December. With at least some status secured, Champ opted to turn pro this week in the middle of his senior season at A&M. He’s playing on a sponsor’s exemption, one of the maximum seven that he can utilize. “I learned a lot from the first two pro events I played in,� Champ said. “Just have to get into my own groove and how to prepare right, how many practice rounds, how much practice, when to practice, when to leave the course, when to get there. I think I’ve kind of got it down for myself.� The one thing he definitely has down is his length off the tee. Until further notice, it will be his calling card. “I’m a pretty quiet, humble kid,� Champ said. “I don’t say much, but whenever I tee off, it kind of says it all.� THREE PLAYERS TO PONDER 1. PAT PEREZ: Defending champ. Current FedExCup points leader. Already a winner on TOUR this season. It’s a good time to be Pat Perez. 2. RICKIE FOWLER: His first career start in the OHL Classic is also his season debut. Time to start sending JT and Jordan a few messages. 3. CHESSON HADLEY: Top-five finishes in each of his first three starts this season. The only thing he hasn’t done thus far is finish first. Maybe that happens this week. THE FLYOVER The Mayan-influenced clubhouse offers a unique view for players as they stand on the tee at El Camaleon’s finishing hole, the 458-yard par-4 18th. Two years ago, the hole was the second-toughest on the course, playing to a stroke average of 4.214. Last year, it was a little friendlier, playing to a stroke average of 4.087 that ranked seventh most difficult. That made it the 21st most difficult finishing hole out of the 50 that were played on TOUR last season. Here’s a look at the 18th green and the clubhouse. WEATHER CHECK There should be some interesting weather this week at Mayakoba, with rainy conditions and challenging wind gusts for most of the week. PGA TOUR meteorologist Joe Halvorson reports that “instability increases Friday through the weekend as a cold front approaches and stalls out just north of the Yucatan Peninsula. This feature will bring chances for scattered showers and thunderstorms, in addition to increased northeasterly winds. Temperatures are forecast to reach highs in the middle 80s.� For the latest weather forecast from Playa de Carmen, Mexico, click here for the Travelers Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK I can’t believe what’s transpired in 12 months … I was just hoping, you know, not to get hurt and hopefully get my card back and that kind of stuff – and here I am, I won twice and now I got to 18 in the world. I just can’t believe it. ODDS AND ENDS 1. NOTABLE NAMES. Rickie Fowler and Patrick Reed are each making their first appearances in this event, helping to raise the quality of the field. In fact, eight of the 24 players who competed at last month’s Presidents Cup are at Mayakoba this week – U.S. teammates Fowler, Reed, Charley Hoffman and Kevin Chappell, along with International players Emliano Grillo, Jhonattan Vegas, Anirban Lahiri and Si Woo Kim. 2. STROUD’S STREAK. The OHL Classic is in its 11th year, and Chris Stroud has yet to miss a start. He’s the only player in the field to have competed in all 10 of the previous events. During that span, he has three top-15 finishes – his best a T3 in 2014 – and has missed the cut just twice. 3. HOME-GROWN FAVORITES. There are five players from Mexico in the field this week – Abraham Ancer, Roberto Diaz, Oscar Fraustro, Carlos Ortiz and Jose de Jesus Rodriguez. Ancer, ranked 287th in the world, is the highest-ranked of those five. “I think it’s great for Mexico that since we have this tournament here, it’s helping more Mexican players come out and play and see where their game is,� said Perez, who is of Mexican-American descent. “I think it’s awesome.�

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Tiger won a little more than $2 million by claiming his fifth green jacket. That’s only the beginning of the money conversation.

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Call it the Great 8. Tiger Woods has eight wins in 15 starts at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club, which far surpasses the entire careers of most PGA TOUR pros, but it’s not unique to him. He’s also won eight times at Torrey Pines, home of the Farmers Insurance Open and 2008 U.S. Open, and Bay Hill, home of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.  What really sets Woods apart at the WGC-Bridgestone is how hard he’s had to work (seven extra holes against Jim Furyk, four extras with Stewart Cink), in addition to the inevitable walks in the park (an eight-shot win over Justin Rose and Rory Sabbatini, a seven-shot margin over Keegan Bradley and Henrik Stenson). Also, the quirks. Don’t forget those.  Woods has won in moonlight (2000) and sunlight. He has flirted with 59 (2000, 2013). He has relegated two Phillips (Mickelson, Price) to second place in consecutive years. He’s beaten so many players at this tournament, you want to alphabetize his victims. (Allenby, Bradley, Cink, DiMarco …) He has let his clubs do the talking (Sabbatini, ’07), won while putting poorly (’05), and explored every square inch of the property (clubhouse shot, ’06).  Sometimes, he admitted, he even got lucky (’01).  The Great 8 features two 61s and a 62 among his 59 total rounds. (He WD’d one round short of a full tournament in 2014.) It features an almost unfathomable stretch from 1999 through 2009. In that 11-year span, in which Woods played 10 WGC-Bridgestones (he was injured in ’08), he won seven times; added T2, 4th and T4 finishes; and was a combined 103 under par.  No wonder Woods has been open about trying to get into the world top 50 in order to qualify for the last WGC-Bridgestone at Firestone South. He arrives in Akron after nearly winning The Open Championship, a performance that earned him a spot in the Bridgestone by getting him into the top 50 of the world ranking. Here is our attempt to rank his history of dominance, the likes of which this tournament will likely never see again. 1. A Shot In The Dark (2000) Final score: 259 (64-61-67-67) Position after 54 holes: Leader by 9 Victory margin: 11 shots Runners-up: Justin Leonard, Phillip Price This one wasn’t close, but it provided Woods’ most memorable shot at Firestone. On the final day, play continued past sunset because of a three-hour rain delay. No one wanted to stay an extra day for a finish that was merely a formality. It was pitch black by the time the final group reached the 18th hole. “If the tournament was tied, I guarantee it would have stopped,â€� Woods said. He rewarded those who stayed until the end by knocking an 8-iron stiff. Camera flashes and fans holding lighters illuminated the final hole. “I could see the flag. I just couldn’t see the shot,â€� he said. It was a unique scene for a PGA TOUR event, though Woods said that playing in the dark reminded him of late-afternoon rounds with his father while growing up in Southern California. This was another dominant performance in a season that was full of them. He won the year’s first two majors by a combined 23 shots, then defeated Bob May in a dramatic playoff at the PGA Championship. The WGC-Bridgestone Invitational was held the following week. Even though he was fighting the flu, Woods didn’t slow down. He flirted with 59 in the first two rounds and set a TOUR record by shooting 125. The win made Woods the first player since Byron Nelson in 1945 to win at least eight times in consecutive seasons. 2. The Playoff That Wouldn’t End (2001) Final score: 268 (66-67-66-69) Position after 54 holes: 2nd, two behind Jim Furyk  Victory margin: Won playoff Runner-up: Furyk An extra seven holes of sudden-death were needed to decide the winner of the 2001 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. The playoff took two hours to complete. “It was a war out there,â€� said Woods, who was on the way to winning Player of the Year honors for the fourth time in five seasons. “Neither one of us gave an inch.â€� Woods shot a final-round 69 to catch Jim Furyk, but both players bogeyed the final hole to finish tied. Furyk holed out from a bunker to extend the playoff, but also missed three birdie putts from inside 10 feet during sudden-death. He couldn’t help but rue his missed chances.  “I played well enough to win,â€� Furyk said. “My putter kind of failed me. I kept getting real quick downhill, left-to-right putts to win the tournament.â€� Woods admitted he’d been on the ropes more than once. “On every single one of them, Steve and I said, ‘It’s over,’ because he’s such a great putter, he’s got to make one of those,â€� Woods said. “I was very lucky he didn’t make any of them.â€�   3. Off the Clubhouse, Into the Winner’s Circle (2006) Woods hits clubhouse, wins trophy Final score: 270 (67-64-71-68) Position after 54 holes: T2, 1 behind Stewart Cink  Victory margin: Won Playoff Runner-up: Cink This was one for the blooper reel and the highlight reel. In the second round, Woods hit a 9-iron on the ninth hole and watched as his ball cleared the trees, caromed off the concrete and landed onto the clubhouse roof. A kitchen worker found it and, after a lengthy ruling, Woods got a drop and made bogey.   Firestone’s dominant force had to win this one without his A game. Cink was his biggest challenger. They had a two-shot swing on the 16th hole after Woods missed a 4-foot par putt. Then they were tied after Cink birdied the 18th hole. Both players ended regulation at 10-under 270. The playoff nearly ended immediately after Cink’s birdie chip barely missed. He missed his 18-foot birdie putt on the high side at the second extra hole and faced an 8-foot par putt to close out Woods on the third extra hole. He missed that, too.  Woods finally saw his chance on the fourth playoff hole hole. He was staring down an 8-foot birdie putt to win his fourth consecutive tournament. As soon as they finished, both players, along with third-place Jim Furyk (68), would be headed for a charter to Ireland to start practicing for the Ryder Cup at the K Club. “Just end this thing now,â€� Woods told himself. He did.  His 52nd PGA TOUR victory tied him with Byron Nelson for fifth-most in history, and marked his seventh consecutive season with at least one WGC win. 4. On Top of the World (1999) Final score: 270 (66-71-62-71) Position after 54 holes: Leader by 5  Victory margin: 1 shot Runner-up: Phil Mickelson The World Golf Championships began in 1999, and so did Woods’ dominance of Firestone. Woods finished in the top five in his first two trips to Akron for the World Series of Golf, but it wasn’t until the tournament became a WGC that he hoisted a trophy. The swing changes that Woods made the previous year were paying dividends in 1999. Woods had already won four times by the time he arrived at Firestone for the inaugural World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, including his second major. He’d held off a teen-aged, scissor-kicking Sergio Garcia two weeks earlier to win the 1999 PGA. Woods used a third-round 62 to take a five-shot lead at Firestone. “You can have anyone sit here and say, ‘I have a shot tomorrow,’ but they are just kidding themselves,â€� said Fred Couples, who shared second place with Nick Price. The final round wasn’t as easy as Couples predicted, though. It turned into a duel with Phil Mickelson, almost two decades before there was talk of a $10 million, made-for-TV match between the two stars. Mickelson birdied six of the first 11 holes while Woods was 1 over par after back-to-back bogeys on 14 and 15. Woods had to hole a crucial putt on the 17th hole, just as he had done at Medinah. He was clinging to a one-shot lead when he holed a 20-foot birdie putt from the fringe. After a flubbed chip on the final hole, he had to two-putt from 60 feet to finish one ahead of Mickelson. “There’s something about having to make one on 17. I stay focused,â€� Woods said. This victory was the start of a four-tournament winning streak to end the season. The greatest year of his career was right around the corner. 5. Flirting With 59 (2013) Final score: 265 (66-61-68-70) Position after 54 holes: Leader by 7  Victory margin: 7 shots Runners-up: Keegan Bradley, Henrik Stenson Woods’ most recent victory came at Firestone five years ago. It was a vintage performance. He held a seven-shot lead at the halfway mark after flirting with 59 in the second round. He played his first three holes in 4 under, then started the back nine with four consecutive birdies. Woods was four under through his opening three holes and added another birdie at No. 7. After four straight birdies to open the back nine, he was 9 under par on the par-70 course. He had to settle for five consecutive pars, though, to tie his course record. “I felt I was in total control of my game,â€� he said. Woods shot 68-70 on the weekend to cruise to a seven-shot win. Little did we know that he’d return to Firestone five years later without another win on his remarkable resume. 6. A Four-Peat … of Sorts (2009) Final score: 268 (68-70-65-65) Position after 54 holes: 2nd, 3 behind Padraig Harrington  Victory margin: 4 shots Runners-up: Harrington, Robert Allenby Woods’ four-peat at Firestone had to wait a year. He missed the 2008 Bridgestone Invitational because of the knee surgery that followed shortly after his U.S. Open victory. He was back to his winning ways when he returned to Firestone a year later, even if he didn’t get off to a great start. He was five shots back of Padraig Harrington after 36 holes. Woods’ Saturday 65 moved him into second place, but he still trailed the Irishman by three. Harrington said he didn’t notice the roars and the charge. He didn’t know who he’d play with Sunday until he putted out on the 18th green. “Three-shot lead, is that enough? Probably not,â€� Harrington joked. Harrington was a formidable opponent. He won The Open Championship in 2007, then won the final two majors of 2008 while Woods was on the sidelines. Woods got off to a strong start, though. He eagled the second hole en route to a front-nine 30 that gave him a two-shot lead. Harrington led by one after Woods bogeyed the 13th and 14th holes. The battle turned on the par-5 16th, Firestone’s famous “Monster.” Woods hit an 8-iron to a foot. Harrington hit his approach over the green. His next shot came out hot and went into the water fronting the green. He made an 8 to fall three behind with three holes remaining. Game over. It was Woods’ 16th WGC title and 70th PGA TOUR win. 7. Sabbatini Smackdown (2007) Final score: 272 (68-70-69-65) Position after 54 holes: 2nd, 1 behind Rory Sabbatini  Victory margin: 8 shots Runners-up: Sabbatini, Justin Rose After winning the last two titles at Firestone in close battles, Woods claimed a third straight – and sixth overall – with an eight-shot demolition derby. But it didn’t look like his run would necessarily continue … until fate provided an enemy Tiger could pounce on. Woods was four back after two rounds, but a third-round 69 moved him into second place. He trailed Rory Sabbatini by just one shot. Earlier in the season, Woods overtook Sabbatini to win the Wells Fargo Championship. Woods beat him by five shots in the final round but Sabbatini declared that Woods was “more beatable than ever.â€� Sabbatini got a second chance on Sunday in Akron.  And Woods was ready. He came out on fire with four birdies in the opening six holes. A stress-free 65, compared to Sabbatini’s 74, said plenty. “Everyone knows how Rory is, and I just go out there and just let my clubs do the talking,â€� Woods said afterward. Woods won the PGA Championship the following week, then went T2-1-1 in the FedExCup Playoffs to claim the first FedExCup. 8.  Woods beats DiMarco. Again. (2005) Final score: 274 (66-70-67-71) Position after 54 holes: Co-leader with Kenny Perry  Victory margin: 1 shot Runner-up: Chris DiMarco It was a season that saw Woods’ remarkable streak of made cuts end at 142 at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship. It was also a season that saw him summon some of his best golf to dispatch Chris DiMarco. Just as he had done at the Masters earlier that season, and just as he would do at the 2006 Open Championship, Woods relegated DiMarco to second place by doing just enough to beat the fiery Floridian. “I just could not make a putt,â€� said Woods, who missed five times from inside 8 feet in the final round. He trailed Kenny Perry at the turn, but as the final round wore on it became clear that his greatest challenge would come from DiMarco. Playing four groups ahead of Woods, DiMarco watched his 20-foot birdie putt melt over the hole on 18. His final-round 68 briefly looked like it might be enough to beat Woods, though. Woods made a long curler for birdie on 16, then saved par after an errant drive on 18 to preserve the victory. “If you’re hoping for him to make bogey,â€� said a rueful DiMarco, “you didn’t do what you needed to do.â€� It was Woods’ 10th win in 20 WGC starts. — Ben Everill and Sean Martin contributed

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