Inside the Field: Sentry Tournament of Champions

Welcome to the Stats Insider, where we’ll look at Justin Thomas’ victory at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES. It was his 11th career victory, and second in his last four starts. He appears to be back on track after the wrist injury that interrupted last season. Thomas is just 26, but let’s appreciate the fact that we’re watching a player who seems destined to be in the World Golf Hall of Fame one day. RELATED: Thomas closes out 11th PGA TOUR title | What’s in Thomas’ bag? 1. GOOD COMPANY: In the last 60 years, only two players have collected more victories before their 27th birthday: Tiger Woods (34) and Jack Nicklaus (20). Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth also earned 11 wins before turning 27. Thomas turns 27 on April 29, while Spieth will celebrate that birthday on July 27. 2. WINNER, WINNER: Thomas turned pro after the 2013 Walker Cup, then earned his TOUR card after one season on the Korn Ferry Tour. His 11 wins since joining the TOUR for the 2014-15 season are the second-most in span. Only Dustin Johnson (12) has more wins. Ten of Thomas’ wins have come since the start of the 2016-17 season. That’s two more than anyone else. Only three other players have won more than four times in that span: Dustin Johnson (8), Brooks Koepka (6) and Bryson DeChambeau (5). Thomas has now won four of nine TOUR starts in Asia, winning two times apiece at the CIMB Classic and THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES. 3. CLOSER: Thomas and Danny Lee shared the lead after a three-shot swing on the final hole of the third round. Thomas pulled away with a final-round 67, though, to win by two shots. Thomas has held at least a share of the 54-hole lead on 11 occasions. He’s converted eight into victories. He has a knack for pulling away in the final round. Eight of his 11 wins have been by multiple strokes. Six have been by three or more strokes. 4. IRONS ON FIRE: Thomas’ strong iron play was on display again at Nine Bridges. He was 13 under on the par-4s. That was five strokes better than anyone else in the field. He hit 61 greens, which was third-best in the field. Thomas missed just six greens in the final three rounds. “You have to be in control of your irons and your golf ball and making sure your distances are correct because these greens are very difficult,â€� Thomas said after his win. “Making sure you’re on the right tiers and right spots is very, very important.â€� That explains his success at Nine Bridges. Thomas is one of the best iron players on TOUR. He was second to Henrik Stenson in Strokes Gained: Approach last season. It was the third consecutive season Thomas ranked sixth or better in that statistic. He has the seventh-best Strokes Gained: Approach average since ShotLink started (minimum 300 rounds). 5. SPIETH’S START: THE CJ CUP was Spieth’s first start since the BMW Championship. He finished T8. Spieth, who finished second in Strokes Gained: Putting last season, continues to lean heavily on his putter while he’s sorting out his full swing. He finished second-to-last in driving accuracy at THE CJ Cup while ranking first in putts per greens in regulation (1.61). He hit 11 fairways in the first round but then less than half in the final three rounds (20 of 42). Nine Bridges had the fifth-easiest fairways to hit last season. Last season, Spieth needed 14 starts to record his first top-10. He’s undoubtedly s moving in the right direction – he has three top-15s in his last five starts – but he said Sunday his ball-striking is still “a work in progress.â€�

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SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — PGATOUR.COM’s staff will dive into the big issues each evening after play concludes at Shinnecock Hills. Dustin Johnson has built a four-shot lead at the halfway point, but there’s still a lot of golf remaining on a difficult track. Here are our predictions for the weekend. There is only one man under par. Is the U.S. Open over?  Cameron Morfit, Staff Writer: Absolutely not, especially in light of what happened at the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, the 2010 PGA Championship, and the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions last fall. That last one was probably the most shocking, mathematically, given that DJ had a six-shot lead over his nearest pursuer but shot 77 to lose. And it’s easier to have a meltdown at Shinnecock than any of those places. Just look at Ian Poulter’s triple-bogey, bogey finish Friday. Ben Everill, Staff Writer: Not yet, but it is close. Dustin Johnson has given up leads before but he just looks like he is in that mood where he is going to blitz them. If he shoots 1 under over the next two rounds I don’t think anyone can catch him. Sean Martin, Senior Editor: Hardly. As Brooks Koepka said, “This is the U.S. Open. There’s disaster lurking around every corner.â€� I feel like every time the media prematurely hands a player a trophy, the golf gods yank it out of his hands. Dustin Johnson is definitely the favorite but there is still a lot of golf to be played. History does favor Johnson, though. This is the seventh time someone has led by four or more shots after 36 holes. Only Tom McNamara in 1909 failed to convert such a large lead into victory. Jonathan Wall, Equipment Insider: I think so. DJ isn’t anywhere close to the player he was in 2010 when he collapsed over the weekend at the U.S. Open. He won’t run away and hide, but he’s not giving up this lead the way he’s playing at the moment. Four shots feels like eight the way Shinnecock is playing. There’s no rain in the weekend forecast and the winds are supposed to be relatively calm. What do you think will be the winning score? Morfit: Having seen Tommy Fleetwood and Brooks Koepka each put a 66 on the board today, I’d say the winner will have to get to 4 under, which means DJ merely has to tread water. Easy, right? Everill: I think 5 under is enough to win outright. If they set it up super hard then as low as 1 under could still win. Martin: Johnson holds the answer in his oversized palms, but I think 5 under is a safe bet. Shinnecock Hills drains easily so, even with two days of rain, Shinnecock Hills can still play firm and fast this weekend. And that is a scary proposition for the field because of the steep slopes of closely-mown grass that surround these poa annua putting surfaces. Wall: My guess is 5 under. I think DJ posts another red number tomorrow and strolls to victory.  How far down the leaderboard can you realistically look for a potential champion? Morfit: I would say anyone at 4 over is still within shouting distance, but obviously in need of a terrific weekend. Alex Noren is on that number and has the chops to make a big move like that. Everill: I don’t think you can go past the guys at 3 over. That’s already giving the world’s best player a seven-shot head start. If those guys can manage a 5-under weekend and get some help from Johnson, they have a slim chance. Martin: The 10-shot rule is no longer used in determining the cut, but I’m going to apply it here. Players at 6 over par should have the benefit of playing in good scoring conditions Saturday morning. We saw a couple 66s on Friday. If someone at 6 over can shoot 65 on Saturday, they’ll likely start Sunday in contention. Wall: I think anyone at 3 over has a chance, but someone is going to need to throw out a 65 or 66 to have a realistic shot on Sunday.  Who do you expect will make the biggest move into contention on Moving Day? Morfit: I like the fire that Rickie Fowler is showing right now. He’s been asked a lot this week about not having won a major, and he hasn’t shied away from saying he’s got the game to get it done. He’s showing as much so far and is right there without shouting distance. He’ll start Saturday in ninth place, six shots behind Johnson. Everill: Defending champion Brooks Koepka. A very nice 66 today continues his form of late. Since his return from injury he has gone low multiple times and having already won the event the nerves shouldn’t be a factor. Plus he loves DJ, and loves beating him more. Martin: My heart says Phil Mickelson. And I can talk my head into agreeing. He is 6 over par but hitting the ball really well. He’s missed just two fairways this week and hit 15 of 18 greens Friday. He knows how to play Shinnecock Hills. I could see him taking advantage of some good scoring conditions early Saturday. Wall: I love Rickie Fowler’s position. He looked under control today and has a realistic chance to take down DJ if he posts 66 or 67 on Saturday. Sooner or later he’s going to shed the major-less title. This feels like another great opportunity.  Halfway through the U.S. Open, how do you feel about Shinnecock Hills’ performance? Morfit: The golden sunlight that fell over the course Friday afternoon was absolutely stunning, and with the wind down I really think it was Shinnecock at its best. I’m glad some of the ones who were caught in the strongest winds Thursday morning got to play in those absolutely primo conditions Friday night. Everill: It is a gorgeous part of the world and a wonderful golf course. I feel nostalgic for the sand belt courses of Melbourne with every step. I think it has proven itself a worthy part of the championship rotation. Martin: We saw completely contrasting conditions over the first two days at Shinnecock Hills and it was a challenge in both of them. It isn’t hard to find an unhappy player at a U.S. Open, but even Ian Poulter, who admitted that he hated this tournament for 14 years, said that he was pleased with the course setup. Johnson, Tommy Fleetwood and Brooks Koepka showed us that good scores are out there but Shinnecock Hills is a bear even in the best conditions. Wall: Tough but fair. This is exactly what the USGA was hoping for at the beginning of the week. Even without the wind over the weekend, players are still going to get all they can handle. In my opinion, Shinnecock helped the U.S. Open reclaim its identity as the toughest test in golf.

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Retief Goosen was out on a putting green when the call came. He didn’t recognize the number, but a week earlier Jack Nicklaus had called and let him know he was a finalist in the running for a place in the World Golf Hall of Fame and the announcement would come on this day. So nervously he picked it up. He recognized the excitable voice of a fellow South African immediately. And the news was good. He’d made the cut. “It was Gary Player on the phone. It’s always great hearing Gary’s voice, but he sounded extremely excited, and when he told me, yeah, I sounded very excited,â€� Goosen said. “It was a great moment, and I felt shaky after that. We can’t wait for the actual day to come around, and getting to that great place, the Hall of Fame.â€� He missed a lot of putts on the putting green after that. But of course, in his prime, when he was winning seven PGA TOUR events including two U.S. Opens (2001, 2004) and a total of 33 worldwide trophies the putts were steaming into the hole. He was also a member of six straight International teams in the Presidents Cup from 2000 to 2011. “It was always a goal. You just try and play your best out there and do good for the game, and the rest will come all by itself,â€� Goosen said of his impending induction. “Once Ernie (Els) got in there, I thought this is something I would like to strive for. I thought if I could pull off a few more wins and do some good for the game, I could have a chance. Obviously there’s been so many great South Africans that has been inducted.â€� Goosen will enter the Hall of Fame officially at a ceremony on Monday, June 10, 2019 to be held in Carmel ahead of the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. Joining him will be four other extremely worthy inductees. Australian Jan Stephenson enters in the Female Competitor category while Americans Peggy Kirk Bell, Dennis Walters and Billy Payne join via Lifetime Achievement. Kirk Bell, who was a charter member of the LPGA and was a renowned golf instructor, will be inducted on a posthumous basis. Stephenson was notoriously known as one of the LPGA’s first pinup girls, doing whatever it took to get attention focused on her sport. At one stage she was dating Donald Trump, a pathway that it turns out could have taken her to the White House rather than the Hall of Fame. “Somebody asked him that when we were playing golf and he said, “We would have already been divorced by now.â€� He answered that I guess. I guess everybody asks now that it’s become public … life would have been so different,â€� she mused. “I try to imagine what it would have been like, because I had said to him — I wouldn’t have been able to play golf. He said, “Well, you could have been the club champion at Winged Foot.â€� “I don’t think I would have got in the Hall of Fame. I can say that to him now.â€� But it wasn’t all about celebrity for Stephenson. She turned plenty of heads with her golf also, winning 20 times professionally including three major championships. In more recent times Stephenson has continued the growth of the game as one of the founders of the Women’s Senior Golf Tour. Stephenson was also honored with the Order of Australia Medal in 2018 for her contributions to the game. She was tearful when she heard because she thought she’d missed out. “I’m so emotional. I was crying when Nancy Lopez called me yesterday because I knew she was going to tell me I didn’t make it again, and I didn’t hear her when she said I made it,â€� Stephenson admitted. “Because when she started the conversation the same way two years ago, she said, “I know you’ve worked so hard for the LPGA but you didn’t make it.” “So she started exactly the same way yesterday, “I know you’ve worked really hard” and so I started crying. And then she said, “But this time you’ve been recognized and you’ve made it.” “I’ve been crying, goosebumps, couldn’t sleep. It was like winning the U.S. Open all over again.â€� Payne is the former Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club (2006-2017) where, during his tenure, significant advancements took place. Under his leadership there was the introduction of female members into the club’s membership; the spawning of the Drive, Chip & Putt National Championship with the USGA and PGA of America and the establishment of the Asia-Pacific Amateur and Latin America Amateur tournaments, each offering guaranteed Masters’ spots to the winners. Payne was also a main driver for golf’s return to the Olympic Games. Walters is an elite golfer who was paralyzed from the waist-down at the age of 24 following a golf cart accident. He has since dedicated his career to sharing life lessons and inspiring fans and disabled golfers of all ages through golf clinics and special performances at more than 3,000 worldwide appearances. Walters is one of only 11 honorary lifetime members of the PGA of America and he was honored with the 1978 Ben Hogan Award and was a 2018 recipient of the USGA’s Bob Jones Award. These five Inductees will bring the total number of World Golf Hall of Fame Members to 160.   “The 2019 Induction Class is one of the most well-rounded groups we’ve had to date,â€� Jack Peter, President of the World Golf Hall of Fame, said.  The Class of 2019 was elected by the Hall of Fame’s Selection Commission, which debated a group of 15 finalists. The Inductees each passed the required 75 percent voting threshold – approval by at least 12 of the 16 members.   The Selection Commission was Co-Chaired by Hall of Fame Members Nancy Lopez, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Annika Sorenstam and included the members of the World Golf Foundation Board of Directors and a mix of institutional and at-large seats.   The finalists were vetted by the Hall of Fame’s Selection Sub-Committee. The Sub-Committee vetted every candidate that met the qualifications of the Hall of Fame’s four Induction categories.

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