Hawaii club pro battling cancer makes Sony Open debut at age 60

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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The shot had no equal. And it still doesn't. This week's Waste Management Phoenix Open marks the 20-year anniversary of the only hole-in-one on a par 4 in PGA TOUR history. It happened in the first round in 2001 and was just how Andrew Magee drew it up, his tee ball at the 332-yard 17th trundling onto the green, bonking off of Tom Byrum's putter in the group ahead, and diving into the hole. Confusion ensued. On the tee they couldn't be sure what had happened, on the green they didn't know who had hit the ball. And what would the Rules of Golf say? Even the joke that went around later, that it was the only thing Byrum had made all day, was somewhat murky. Steve Pate attributed the quip to Byrum; Magee to Byrum's caddie. Magee, who was born in Paris, where his father worked in the oil business, was by then a Scottsdale resident and playing in a group that also included Jonathan Kaye and Jerry Smith. Up ahead of them was the threesome of Byrum, Pate and Gary Nicklaus. There is video of the shot - sort of. It shows only a ball zooming by and Pate flinching. Here's how it all went down, straight from those who were there. Magee had double-bogeyed the par-5 15th hole, but after making a long birdie putt at the 16th, he had the honor on 17, where TOUR pros have little difficulty driving the green. Andrew Magee: I’m standing there 332 yards away on the 17th tee, having played there quite often at the TPC of Scottsdale. I knew I couldn’t really get it up on to the green all the way, maybe the front of the green from 332 yards, and I was talking to Jonathan Kaye. He said, ‘You’d better wait a little bit. We’re a little downwind here.' I said, ‘You know what, I don’t really hit it up on that green. I’ve played here a lot. I’d maybe drive it up to the front.' Jerry Smith: Andrew and Jonathan, they’re both very quick players and they’re antsy, and we’re just sitting there waiting for the group ahead. Andrew is just like, he’s just ready to hit. Magee: I was still mad about the 15th hole. I said, I’m just going to go ahead and hit it. It’s not going to roll up to them. It’s going to go to the front edge. Magee reared back and gave it everything he had as he came through the hitting area. Few would remember that Mark Calcavecchia won the tournament by eight shots over Rocco Mediate, or that Magee would finish T44. They would only remember what happened next. Magee: A little puff of wind came up as I took it back, and I just killed this driver. I just killed it. It flew the middle bunker, down the middle of the fairway about 30 yards short of the green and it ricocheted really hard off the back of that bunker and it bounced up on to the green and all I knew was - I was on the tee, I really couldn’t see what was going on. Steve Pate: It was playing short. I think the only reason Andrew - he’d made a double the hole before or a couple holes before and was just not very patient. I was walking across the front of the green reading my putt and a ball came zipping by me. I thought I jumped out of the way, but when I saw the video later, the ball was well past me by the time I jumped. It all happened quickly. Byrum was sizing up a putt from 8 feet when someone else's ball rolled onto the green, struck his putter head, hit the flagstick, and disappeared. Magee: From the tee, the middle bunker kind of hides the front of the green, so I couldn’t see the ball, but my dad was up there to the right of the green, and he was raising his arms. Pate: The ball went past me. Tom Byrum was kneeling down reading a putt and the putter head was resting on the ground, and it deflected off of that and it went in. Smith: We all kind looked at one another like, Did that do what we think it did? Magee: My father was jumping up and down, raising his arms, but I was still numb to the fact that my ball had gone in the hole. I thought maybe I had hit somebody on the green. Pate: I got startled. Walking across the front of the green, I’m not expecting a ball to come whizzing by my feet with some speed. It took a few seconds to process what had happened. Smith: Then the Rules official came up. Magee: I really didn’t know until I got 100 yards from the green. The crowd is still cheering and clapping and my dad is raising his arms and the TOUR official is driving the cart kind of alongside with me, and he goes, ‘Yep, it counts.' I said, ‘Even if I hit somebody? It's not a penalty?' He goes, ‘No, if you hit your own equipment it is, but this is a 1. It’s recorded.' Pate: I’m thinking, S—, he just made a 1. Not something you see every day. Magee: They left my ball in the hole for me to pick it out, and I raised it to the crowd, my dad cheering, just going crazy. Only later in the clubhouse, after I finished my round, did I learn that it’s the only hole-in-one on a par 4 in the history of the TOUR. Given its once-in-a-lifetime improbability, the albatross has had a lasting impact. A plaque memorializing Magee's miracle sits on 17, and he is asked about it routinely. Pate: He shouldn’t have hit because the hole was playing really short, but what happened was so unusual, it was kind of cool to be a part of. Magee: I saw Steve and Gary Nicklaus after the round, and they congratulated me. They weren’t hurt at all. Maybe they felt like they might have been part of the history, too, since their names are also associated with the only hole‑in‑one on a par 4. Jason Kokrak aced the 409-yard, par-4 fifth hole at the Seaside Course during the 2013 RSM Classic pro-am, but it didn't count for history since it wasn't an official round. Pate: I am surprised there hasn't been another one, especially with the trend in the last few years to make more par-4 holes drivable. And guys are already hitting it farther. Smith: To think that that’s the only hole‑in‑one on a par 4 on TOUR is pretty remarkable; even the majors and stuff, they love setting up par 4s that the guys can drive. Magee: Robert Garrigus almost made a one on the same hole I did, but it hit the pin and bounced out. Dustin Johnson came up inches short at Kapalua. Every time there’s a close one I get texts from my friends saying I survived another day. If you Google me, it’s the first thing that comes up. It doesn’t say I won four times on TOUR and played 600 tournaments. I talk about it all the time; people ask me how it went down. I go out to TPC, and all my friends that play out there, they take a picture of the plaque and send it to me. I’m delighted by all of it. I am astonished it’s lasted 20 years; hopefully we can last 20 more.

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The PGA TOUR joined the American Gaming Association (AGA) as the newest Have A Game Plan.® Bet Responsibly public service campaign partner to educate golf fans on responsible sports betting. As part of the campaign, the TOUR will develop content that encourages its fans to "Know When to Lay Up" and bet responsibly. The co-branded responsible gaming content will appear on social and digital platforms along with public service announcements that will air on PGA TOUR Radio. "A key pillar of the PGA TOUR's sports betting strategy is responsible gaming and ensuring our fans are equipped with the appropriate resources so they are properly prepared and educated," said Scott Warfield, VP of Gaming at the PGA TOUR. "By aligning with the American Gaming Association in support of its Have A Game Plan campaign we're able to align our efforts and provide a consistent message focused on responsible gaming." The TOUR joins NASCAR and the National Hockey League (NHL) as league partners in the campaign, which focuses on the fundamentals of responsible sports betting: setting a budget and sticking to it, keeping betting social, knowing the odds, and playing with trusted, regulated operators. Monumental Sports & Entertainment and the Vegas Golden Knights have also committed inventory in support of the campaign. "The AGA is thrilled welcome the PGA TOUR to our growing responsible sports betting campaign," said Casey Clark, AGA Senior Vice President, Strategic Communications. "As legal sports betting continues to expand in both availability and popularity, it is imperative that responsible gaming education keeps pace. Today's announcement is a testament to the TOUR's thoughtful approach to sports betting and marks an important step in continuing to engage all industry stakeholders in our shared responsibility to educate fans on safely and responsibly betting on sports." Launched in 2019, the AGA's Have A Game Plan campaign provides consumers with a state-by-state guide on where to find legal operators, spotlights the basics of sports betting, and raises awareness on signs of problem gambling. This partnership is the latest in a string of progressive and industry-leading sports betting initiatives by the TOUR. Following the Supreme Court's decision that overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018, the TOUR instituted a robust integrity program in collaboration with Genius Sports and later that year announced a global partnership with IMG ARENA to license its official, live scoring data to betting operators all over the world. The TOUR's official sports betting partners include BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel, and PointsBet, and the organization continues to evolve its innovative GolfBet partnership with The Action Network. The TOUR is also a platinum member of the National Council on Problem Gambling.

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