Numbers to Know: Sentry Tournament of Champions

FORT WORTH, Texas – It was Sunday afternoon, and Tony Finau was not happy. He had just ended a disappointing PGA Championship with a 9-over 79, tying the worst score in a single round in his PGA TOUR career. His T-64 finish was also surprising, given that he had top-10 results in four of the five previous majors. The critical issue was on the greens. Finau was frustrated with his putting at Bethpage Black, where he ranked 125th in Strokes Gained: Putting. It was the breaking point of a recent stretch of poor putting, and so Finau decided that night to make a seemingly drastic change. “I needed to switch something,� he said. Enter the claw grip. On Thursday, three holes into his opening round of the Charles Schwab Challenge, Finau stood over a birdie putt just under 20 feet. It was the start of Colonial’s Horrible Horseshoe, the three-hole stretch (Nos. 3, 4 and 5) that is among the toughest on TOUR. Finau drilled the putt. At the par-4 seventh, he rolled in a 19-footer. Then on consecutive holes after the turn, he made birdie from 24-1/2 feet (at the 12th) and 27 feet (at the 13th). Then, just for good measure, he saved par at the par-3 16th with a 20-foot putt from the fringe after a poor chip from the other side of the green. In all, he made just under 138 feet of putts with his flatstick Thursday, which explains why he shot a 6-under 64 to grab the early lead. Suffice to say, the change to the claw paid immediate dividends. “It’s something that I’ve kind of been thinking,� said Finau, who entered this week ranked T-100 in Strokes Gained: Putting this season. “It’s an itch I wanted to scratch … To me, it was just perfect time. … If I feel like something is better, I’m not afraid to change, no matter the results.� In truth, the move to the claw may not be as dramatic as it seemed. Finau said he often has practiced with the claw in order to make sure his left hand is in the proper position. “I’m left-hand dominant when I roll the stick,� he explained. “I used to putt cross-handed for about five years. Been putting conventionally now for a couple years. “But I just wanted to switch it up. I haven’t been putting great … Standing over the ball, the most important thing is, do you feel like you’re going to make the putt or not? Outside of everything else, do you believe you can make the putt? … “I wanted to try something difference, and it felt great out there today.� A tight shot-maker’s course like Colonial can sometimes be frustrating for bombers, but Finau was not about to dial back one of his most lethal clubs. He said he stayed with driver off most tees, hitting iron just once and 4-wood another time. Although he found just as many fairway bunkers as he did fairways (three of each), most of his misses were in the short cut. Left with some good lies, he hit 16 of 18 greens – and then took advantage with his putter. Of course, the question now is whether the claw grip will continue to work for him this week. If nothing else, his outlook is much brighter than it was a few days ago.

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HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Ian Poulter’s father, Terry, is in from the U.K. to watch his son play the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town. So far, he’s gotten quite a show. Poulter extended his bogey-free streak to 45 straight holes and is in position to win for the second time in three weeks after a third-round 67 on Saturday. This, despite the fact that he’s playing for the sixth week in a row and normally spends no more than three straight weeks on the road. “I’m surprised I’m still awake, to be honest,â€� Poulter said. “Six weeks in a row. Normally after three I’m begging for a week off. … My dad said I’ve never had so much sleep before.â€� Luke List (67) and Si Woo Kim (68) will join Poulter in the final threesome Sunday at 9 a.m. Tee times have been moved up, and players will go off of split tees in order to get done around 2 p.m. ET and potentially ahead of the anticipated thunderstorms. Poulter has not made a bogey since the 10th hole of the first round, and he is only two weeks removed from his resounding victory at the Houston Open, where at one point he played 49 holes without a bogey on the way to his third PGA TOUR win. His recent consistency notwithstanding, few careers have seen more ups and downs than Poulter’s over the last year and a half. “There’s been quite a lot of lows in the last 18 months,â€� he said. Lows, as in his lowest ranking: 207th after The Honda Classic last season. (He’s back up to 31st.) Lows, as in thinking he’d lost his TOUR card after missing the cut at the Valero Texas Open last season, when it appeared that he had not fulfilled the terms of his Major Medical Extension from a 2016 foot injury. (As it turned out, the math was wrong. He had done enough, after all.) A T2 finish at THE PLAYERS Championship secured Poulter’s TOUR status for 2018, and he has kicked his game into another gear this season. After going back to the putter he used to spark Europe’s comeback at the 2012 Ryder Cup, Poulter finished T5 at the World Golf Championship-Dell Technology Match Play. He won the Houston Open a week later, earning him an eleventh-hour invitation to the Masters. Now he’s fighting through fatigue and conjuring up some of his best golf. “I needed something to change on the greens,â€� he said of the Medinah putter, with which he has ranked seventh in strokes gained: putting this week. “Going back to something that I couldn’t blame, with a putter that you know has done some great things in the past, there’s no excuses.â€� OBSERVATIONS HORSCHEL TURNS CORNER. Billy Horschel had missed five of his last six cuts and came into this week ranked 160th in the FedExCup. He will play in the second to last group on Sunday after shooting a third-round 67 to get to within two of the lead. The big difference: While he came into the week ranked 119th in strokes gained: putting, Horschel is second in that stat this week. “This course suits me well,â€� said Horschel, who tied for ninth here in his first RBC, in 2013. “I’m striking it well, putting well and thinking well.â€� That last part, the mental side, has perhaps been holding him back, he said. “It’s a little bit more of a mental thing with me right now,â€� said the four-time TOUR winner and 2014 FedExCup champion. “So I need to get back to the way I was thinking my entire career, especially ’13 and ’14.â€� KISNER TRIES TO FORGET 2017. Kevin Kisner was in position to close out a victory at the RBC Heritage a year ago, but he bogeyed four of his last eight holes for a 74 and a T11 finish. Now he’s back to try again. He shot a third-round 66, tied for the best of the day, to get to 10-under and within three shots of the lead. “Last year was pretty pitiful on the back nine Sunday,â€� said Kisner, a two-time TOUR winner who finished second at the recent World Golf Championship-Dell Technologies Match Play, and who came into this week 30th in the FedExCup. “So I’m going to try to make amends with it and do a little better on the back nine. I feel comfortable. I’m swinging great and I’ve got a lot of confidence, so I’m looking forward to it.â€� S.W. KIM OVERCOMES NERVES. It was a long wait before Si Woo Kim started his round in the last twosome with then-leader Bryson DeChambeau. So long, in fact, that Kim was surprised to realize he felt nervous. “I was a little disappointed because I was nervous on the first few holes,â€� said Kim (68, one back), who will defend his title at THE PLAYERS Championship next month. “…Having a really late tee time today, I felt that was a big waiting period for me. So my body needed to adjust to that.â€� A day after taking just 23 putts and shooting a 65 with a triple-bogey, Kim said he felt slightly less sharp on the greens (27 putts). Still, he is fourth in the field in strokes gained: putting (+5.762) for the week. NOTABLES BRYSON DECHAMBEAU – Second-round leader got off to a great start with a birdie on the first hole, but a triple-bogey at the second and doubles at 13 and 17 led to a 75. He’s seven back. DUSTIN JOHNSON – Making his first start here since he missed back-to-back cuts here in 2008-2009, world No. 1 and native South Carolinian shot 72 and was well back at 3-under. WESLEY BRYAN – Defending champ shot his second straight 71 to remain 2-under. Only three players have successfully defended at the RBC: Payne Stewart (1989-’90), Davis Love III (1991- ’92) and Boo Weekley (2007-’08). DAVIS LOVE III – After making the cut on the number, five-time winner fell back with a 74. JIM FURYK – The two-time RBC champion (2010, 2015) shot 73 to fall to 2-over. QUOTABLES I’m surprised I’m still awake.Last year was pretty pitiful on the back nine on Sunday.It’s such a great area. My wife’s family is here, and my family is here. We just tried to make a vacation out of it. SUPERLATIVES Low round: 66 by Byeong Hun An, Charley Hoffman, Kevin Kisner and Tyrone Van Aswegen. Longest drive: 356 yds (Dustin Johnson/No. 15) Longest putt: 34’ 11â€� (Charles Howell III/No. 18) Toughest hole: The par-4 3rd (4.169)

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Jim Herman rallied to win the Wyndham Championship on Sunday for his third PGA Tour title.

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