Is Finau choking on Sundays or just unlucky?

NAPA, Calif. – Tony Romo got more than halfway to making his first PGA TOUR cut, Stephen Curry entertained in the pro-am, and Phil Mickelson showed off his new physique. But no story was more compelling than that of Cameron Champ. On a day that was fraught with emotion, Sacramento native Champ made a clutch birdie on 18 to edge Adam Hadwin by one, then dedicated the victory to his paternal grandfather, Mack “Pops� Champ, who got him started playing the game and was watching it all play out on TV while in hospice care back home. Welcome to the Monday Finish. THREE KEYS TO SUCCESS 1. Champ was playing for more than himself. Grandpa Mack was denied the opportunity to play golf for years, but taught himself the game while stationed overseas in the Air Force. He made sure Cameron had the opportunities he did not, buying the boy a set of plastic clubs and setting up games in which they played what Cameron termed “jack it around the backyard� golf. Now, though, Mack is in hospice back with Stage IV stomach cancer in Sacramento. Cameron said his grandfather’s situation put golf in perspective, and dedicated the victory to Mack. For more on Champ, click here. 2. He got back at the par 5s. One day after failing to birdie any of the par 5s, Champ, one of the game’s longest hitters, birdied three of the four when he needed it most. No birdie was bigger than the one he made on 18, after Hadwin had birdied three straight to briefly tie for the lead. Champ reared back and hit easily the longest drive of the day on the hole, leaving himself just an 8-iron second shot into the final par 5. He came up short, but with his father, Jeff, and a large contingent of other family and friends on pins and needles, made a clutch up and down to win.   3. He led the field in driving distance, with no drive more crucial than his 369-yard missile at the last. The shot was 33 yards longer than the next longest on 18 in the final round, and set him up for a final birdie to edge Adam Hadwin by one. But Champ’s brawny game also paid dividends at the end of the front nine, when after his drive missed left of the fairway he was somewhat blocked out by the trees at the par-5 ninth hole. No worries. Into the wind, Champ blistered a 232-yard long iron around the tree to just in front of the green, and got up and down for birdie. OBSERVATIONS Hadwin reminds how good he is: There’s still time to impress International Presidents Cup Captain Ernie Els, and Adam Hadwin (67, solo second) is on the right track. His play at the Safeway marked his best finish on the PGA TOUR since winning the 2017 Valspar Championship. “I feel like I’m continuing some of the momentum coming from last year,� he said. “Results didn’t show it, but I was playing some pretty good golf at the end of last year, I just couldn’t put weekends together. To go out, make eight birdies today, I think, on what can be a difficult golf course, depending on where you put your golf ball, I’m proud of the way I played, proud of the way I fought, and yeah, hopefully good things to come.�   Leishman’s back feeling better: It wasn’t that long ago that Marc Leishman had to withdraw from A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier with back pain. “It’s feeling good,� he said after signing for 65, which was tied with Canada’s Corey Conners for the lowest round of the day. “… Been getting treatment. It was a little stiff at the start of the week, but it got better as the week went on, which was nice. Yeah, feeling good again. Happy with how I’m striking it.�    Thomas off to strong start: Justin Thomas (69, T4) opened the new season with another top-five finish, his third straight and the second time in his career that he has posted three in a row. This, after a melanoma scare led to leg surgery and limited some of his preparations for the Safeway. “I just need to keep doing what I’m doing,� he said. “I played very well this entire week, I felt like. I hit a lot of really good putts that just didn’t quite drop, or some things here or there. … Just get ready for Korea and Japan, but just try to get the game sharp and get some rest next week, and see if we can try to go get one or two over in Asia.�    QUOTEBOARD “At least I made him think about it a little bit, didn’t I?� – Hadwin (67) after his three closing birdies briefly tied Champ atop the leaderboard. “I didn’t panic.� – Champ, who bogeyed 17 but won with a birdie at the par-5 18th. “It’s a strange game, isn’t it?� – Marc Leishman (65, third), who birdied from over 23 feet on 18 after having missed twice from inside 6 feet on 16 and 17. “It’s just big for the confidence to get it done and play well.� – Zac Blair (68, T4) SOCIAL SNAPSHOT

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TULSA, Okla. – While major equipment switches the week of a major are rare, one is paying off for Webb Simpson at the PGA Championship. Simpson shot 1-under 69 at Southern Hills on Thursday. It was one of the top rounds in a breezy and blustery afternoon at the Oklahoma course. He used a new set of irons, the Titleist T100s, after committing to the new clubs earlier in the week. “Today felt like the golf that I know how to play. It didn’t feel abnormal. I wasn’t surprised. But I’m very thankful to get off to a good start in a really tough condition day,” said Simpson, whose seven PGA TOUR wins include the 2012 U.S. Open and 2018 PLAYERS. It has been a difficult season for Simpson, who entered the week ranked 141st in the FedExCup. He has just two top-25s this season, and none since the calendar turned to 2022. He’s struggled with his iron game, which is traditionally one of his hallmarks. He ranks 84th in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green after sitting inside the top 25 for six consecutive seasons from 2015-20. Simpson finally relented and made the switch to the cavity-back Titleist T100 irons this week after playing forged, muscle-back blades for almost the entirety of his career. The T100s are forged and have the look of a blade at address while utilizing a cavity-back to increase forgiveness. “I’ve had a couple of short stints with non-blades in my career but not many,” said Simpson, who had been using Titleist’s 620 MB irons. “I haven’t been hitting my irons great. Approach to the green is typically a strength for me; this year it’s been a weakness, and I’ve struggled out of the rough. I keep getting told that these the irons I’m playing are better out of the rough, better with distance control, better with mis-hits, and so I guess I was being stubborn but finally listened and I really like them. “They’re not a whole lot different than mine the way they look, but we’ve had good results with them so far.” Simpson’s caddie, Paul Tesori, recommended a potential switch after Simpson missed the cut at the Wells Fargo Championship. They experimented with the new clubs at Simpson’s home club, Quail Hollow in Charlotte, last week. That was after Simpson discovered them in his garage after fearing he may have given them away. “I don’t know if Titleist will like this or not, but if I don’t use a set I give it to a friend,” Simpson said Thursday. “I’m trying to spread the word for Titleist, you know. So I might have given to a friend, but I see them in there, we bring them out, and all the numbers we tested were way better. “So I still wasn’t certain that I was going to put them in this week so I have both. The biggest thing for me is when I look down I want to make sure it looks good, and then after that all I care about is the numbers and how it’s going to perform out of the rough. So far they’ve passed the test.”

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Round 3 of THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT takes place Saturday from Nevada. Keith Mitchell built a five-shot lead after firing 62-64 over the first 36-holes. Jordan Spieth, Adam Scott, Harry Higgs and Seonghyeon Kim sit T-2 and will have to go low on Moving Day to catch Mitchell. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Sunday, 5 p.m.-8 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 10:15 a.m.-8 p.m. (Featured Groups). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-8 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 3 p.m.-8 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). TOURCast: Get shot-by-shot info in real time with shot tracks and video with TOURCast. TOUR Pulse: Get the PGA TOUR app to utilize TOUR Pulse, which provides users the ability to experience a mix of content, such as video highlights, written hole summaries and stat graphics on every player after every hole they complete. MUST READS Rory McIlroy’s prediction coming true at THE CJ CUP Keith Mitchell builds five-shot lead at THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT Win probabilities: THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT Insider: K.H. Lee’s unusual introduction to golf Revisiting Tiger’s first win in Las Vegas

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