Sahith Theegala back in contention at Travelers Championship

SOUTHPORT, England – Mental scars are the most difficult to erase. Despite his best efforts, Jordan Spieth never really purged the demons of that disastrous Sunday at the Masters 15 months ago. Sure, his win in Texas a few weeks later helped. So did three more victories around the world, including his spectacular finish at the Travelers Championship last month. He kept telling us not to worry, that the blown lead at Augusta National – five shots on the back nine – was behind him. It was a couple of bad swings on the 12th hole, nothing else. We wanted to believe him, and why not? He kept winning. But those weren’t majors, and in Spieth’s mind, winning one was the only way to completely get past the 2016 Masters. The only way to erase lingering doubts about his ability to close. So here he was Sunday at The Open Championship. His three-shot lead to start the final round at Royal Birkdale had disappeared in 48 can-you-believe-this minutes. Three bogeys in his first four holes, and now he was tied with playing partner Matt Kuchar at 8 under. The demons began to appear. Negative thoughts. Doubts. Self-destruction. Was it happening again? “It creeps into your head,â€� Spieth said. “I was so confident and all of a sudden, the wheels have kind of come off everything. How do we get back on track to salvage this round and just give yourself a chance at the end? “It took a bogey to do so.â€� Well, it took one of the most drama-filled bogeys in the 146-year history of this event, and one of the most amazing – and impressive – turnarounds you’ll ever see in golf, but yes, the demons are gone now. Jordan Spieth is back on track. Say hello to the Champion Golfer of the Year. And say hello to the third leg of the career Grand Slam. Only Jack Nicklaus has gotten there faster than Spieth, who turns 24 years old on Wednesday. “He’s heard a lot since that ’16 Masters,â€� said Spieth’s caddie, Michael Greller, a vital component in Sunday’s theatrics. “I’m sure somewhere in there, some doubts crept in. He just said, you know what, I know how to do this. He’s done it twice before. Now three times. It was cool to see it, his back against the wall, maybe more than 12 at Augusta in ’16. “To see what he did shows his character and his grit.â€� It wasn’t easy. In fact, Spieth would say afterward that Sunday’s round “’took as much out of me as any day that I’ve ever played golf.â€� Before the round, Spieth tried to keep positive thoughts, and his play through the first three days certainly should have comforted him. But he couldn’t shake the notion that if he failed to convert this 54-hole lead, questions about his closing ability would crescendo. He admitted to feeling the pressure. Unlike the 2016 Masters, Spieth didn’t wait until the back nine to give away the lead. This time, it came early and was spread out over several holes, with Spieth’s putter failing him on a handful of critical and testy par putts. Three-footers started to look like 10 footers. He wondered why shots he had executed before were now failing him. “Sometimes you just can’t really figure it out, put your finger on it,â€� Spieth said. “Am I pulling it? Pushing it? Am I doing both? What’s going on with the stroke? “It’s just searching. And during the round today, I definitely thought any kind of fear or advantage that you can have in this moment over other individuals – not just Matt Kuchar today but other people that are watching – that’s being taken away by the way that I’m playing right now. And that was really tough to swallow. “That kind of stuff goes into your head. I mean, we walk for two minutes, three minutes in between shots. And you can’t just go blank. You wish you could, but thoughts creep in.â€� After the shaky start, Spieth had managed to build back a two-shot lead thanks to a birdie at the fifth hole and a Kuchar bogey at the sixth. But he still seemed shell-shocked and vulnerable. It reached a point that intervention was needed. Spieth hit his tee shot on the par-3 seventh, then began walking down the fairway. Greller called him back. He wanted to say something. Earlier this month, Spieth had posted a photo from his vacation in Cabo that showed him in the company of elite athletes – including Michael Jordan and Michael Phelps, the two best at their respective sports. “You’re that caliber of an athlete,â€� Greller told Spieth. “But I need you to believe that right now because you’re in a great position in this tournament. This is a new tournament. We’re starting over here.â€� It was a much-needed boost, but the dividends didn’t come immediately. In fact, a two-shot swing at the ninth tied the score again. Four holes later, Spieth was on the verge of a total collapse, his tee shot at the 13th hole sailing 100 yards right of the fairways and rolling down the wrong side of a steep dune into thick grass. It became the moment of truth. Taking his time and weighing his options – it would ultimately take 21 minutes; Spieth apologized profusely to Kuchar for the delay — Spieth took an unplayable lie, then worked with the rules officials to figure out where he could hit his third shot. It was from the unlikeliest of spots – the practice range. Using a 3-iron and unable to see the pin, he sent his shot over the dune and near the green. Then he got up-and-down for bogey. He was 1 shot down. But it was the jolt he needed. Despite the lost stroke, Greller told him the momentum had shifted. For more on the dramatics at the 13th hole, click here. Spieth was now the chaser. The nerves of leading had disappeared. “There was just a different energy about him,â€� Greller said. Explained Spieth: “I was still uncomfortable, but I was able to take that shift that I’m talking about where your mind’s going through a bunch of different thoughts, and able to really take it over to the other side and say, this is a completely new situation. There was no other way I could think and still get the job done.â€� For the first time all day, he wore his gameface. He nearly aced the par-3 14th; his kick-in birdie tied Kuchar. He reached the green in two at the par-5 15th … and of course made the eagle putt from 55 feet. He birdied the par-4 16th from 25 feet, then made an 8-footer at the par-5 17th. Birdie. Eagle. Birdie. Birdie. That’s how you close. The walk toward the packed grandstands at 18 gave him time to exhale … and celebrate. “Jordan is a great champion and certainly played that way in the finishing stretch today,â€� Kuchar said, fighting back the disappointment of his own lost opportunity. “It was impressive stuff when a guy does something like that. All you can really do is sit back, tip your cap and say, ‘Well done.’ “It was certainly a show that he put on.â€� Spieth would rather have used a different script – say 17 pars and a single birdie – to shoot the 1-under 69 he produced Sunday. He’d rather have avoided the drama. He’d rather not frazzle any nerves – his own or his fans. “He would rather play boring golf,â€� Greller said. But maybe this was the way it had to be done. Maybe this is how demons are erased, how mental scars are healed. “There’s lot of roads to get there,â€� Spieth said. “… Closing today was extremely important for the way I look at myself.â€� Finally, he can close the book on the 2016 Masters. Time to sip some wine from the Claret Jug and dream about his first shot next month at the career Slam.  

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The second half of the 2017-18 PGA TOUR season opens with one of the toughest tests on the schedule. The AT&T Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio hosts the Valero Texas Open. Hard-track specialist Kevin Chappell returns to defend his breakthrough title. His 12-under 276 on the stock par 72 is tied for the third-lowest aggregate among the eight champions since the course debuted in 2010. Scroll past the ranking for much more on TPC San Antonio and how Chappell solved, er, survived it. POWER RANKINGS: VALERO TEXAS OPEN RANK PLAYER COMMENT The tournament’s all-time earnings leader is 8-for-8 with a win (2016), a T2 (2011), a T3 (2013) and four more top 15s at TPC San Antonio. Logged top 25s in four of last six starts. The 2011 winner has added three top 15s since that breakthrough. Ranks eighth in GIR, 11th in birdies-or-better and T19 in par-5 scoring. Four top 20s in last seven starts. Look out now. He tends to ride a heater. Found some magic with the flat stick at Harbour Town and finished T5. Recorded top fives at TPC San Antonio in 2013, 2015 and 2016. Cooled in last three months, but only relatively speaking. A force at TPC San Antonio where he’s 4-for-4 with no worse than T22 (2010) and a scoring average of 71.25. First visit since 2015. Converted on converging trends here last year. Experiencing duties as a first-time defending champ this week and enters a bit cold, but his tee-to-green game is too good to ignore. Continues to sizzle. T3 at Harbour Town was fifth top 20 in last nine starts. Making fourth trip to TPC San Antonio. Sixth on TOUR in strokes gained: tee-to-green and T19 in par-5 scoring. The course horse hasn’t missed an edition. He has four top 10s (and a T15), including in each of the last three. The course design rewards the native Texan’s confident tee ball. Top 20s in both prior visits to TPC San Antonio (2012, 2017). Ranked second in both fairways hit and greens in regulation at Harbour Town (T16). Finished T5 at Bay Hill a month ago. Sustaining form that yielded a career-best five top 10s in the first half, including a T7 at Harbour Town. Currently 11th on TOUR in the all-around. Placed T4 here in 2015. Perfect in six appearances with three top 15s and a scoring average of 71.58. Two top 10s and two top 30s in his last four starts. Inside top 30 in proximity and strokes gained: putting. First appearance since the inaugural edition in 2010. Served as player consultant on the design. Prior to his unusual experience in defending the Masters, connected three top 10s. Showcased strong tee-to-green work en route to P2 at Harbour Town. Preceded that with a T9 at Match Play and T24 at Masters. Placed T22 here last year; ranking T3 in par-5 scoring. Elevating. Shook off playoff loss at the Houston Open with a T16 at the RBC Heritage where he led the field in strokes gained: putting. Currently 10th on the PGA TOUR in the stat. Front-loaded at Harbour Town but still finished T23. Inconsistent tee-to-green game hasn’t been an issue at TPC San Antonio where he placed fourth in 2011 and T25 in 2016. In the wind (at times) and on tough tracks, he’s gone T16-T13-T8 from Copperhead to Corales to Houston. It makes sense given his roots in Texas and Oklahoma. T42 here in 2016. Zach Johnson, Xander Schauffele and former champions Adam Scott (2010) and Jimmy Walker (2015) will be among the notables reviewed in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider. The annual irony of the Valero Texas Open is that the incredible charity for which the tournament is known – $11 million was raised last year alone – doesn’t extend inside the ropes. Thanks in part to the ubiquitous winds of south Texas, par is a good score at TPC San Antonio, which tips at 7,435 yards. Last year’s field averaged 72.853 and it still didn’t score high enough to rank inside the top half of any of its first eight editions. The tournament’s co-leaders in bogey avoidance (Carl Pettersson and Kevin Tway) squared eight bogeys or worse, most for any pacesetters in the stat in any non-major since the 2016 Farmers Insurance Open (that included one round on an easier Torrey Pines North). The course relents – with due respect – off the tee. The challenge increases multi-fold on approach into greens that average 6,400 square feet. That’s a typical area for putting surfaces on the PGA TOUR, but designer Greg Norman infused undulations that shrink the overseeded bermudagrass landing areas into some of the most difficult targets of the season. Those hills and curves also defend against Stimpmeter readings of approximately 11 feet, which is lower than most other courses due to the winds. The 2017 field averaged 10.43 greens in regulation per round, third-lowest of any host course, so it’s not surprising that seven of the 12 golfers who finished inside the top 10 on the leaderboard ranked inside the top 10 in GIR for the week. The par 5s aren’t pushovers, either. They’re always among the most challenging groupings of any course. This is one of the areas that explains how Chappell prevailed. He went bogey-free 8 under to slot T3 in par-5 scoring average for the week. He also ranked third in greens hit and T10 in proximity, and he capitalized on his chances in finishing fourth in birdie-or-better percentages after hitting GIR. As usual, Mother Nature will play a role this week. Varied threats of rain and boomers are forecast for Friday and Saturday. Sustained winds of 15-20 mph will precede the front and reenter the picture on Sunday, which projects to be beautiful otherwise. Seasonable daytime highs in the upper 70s will assist cutting through humidity. Touring professionals who embrace this kind of experience can look forward to many more years of it. Last October, it was announced an extension of the existing sponsorship through 2028. It includes a shift to a permanent spot in advance of the Masters. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton covers numerous angles in between tournaments. Look for his following contributions this week. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Facebook Live, Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done, Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Champions One & Done * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO, which also publishes on Tuesdays.

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TWICE AS NICE FOR HOMA AT WELLS FARGO Forgive Max Homa if he was a little emotional Sunday. He and his wife Lacey recently found out that they would be having their first child, and then he went out and won the Wells Fargo Championship for the second time and earned his fourth PGA TOUR win. “I feel like life’s good,” Homa said. “I’ve got a good life, and I’m playing some good golf.” It was the fourth TOUR win for the 31-year-old Homa and his second this season following a victory at the Fortinet Championship in September in Napa, California. On Sunday, Homa battled the cold, wet conditions better than anyone in the field and finished with a final-round, 2-under 68 to win by two shots over Matt Fitzpatrick, Cameron Young and Keegan Bradley. Homa moved up 14 spots to No. 6 in the FedExCup standings after picking up 500 points. “Sometimes my life feels too good to be true and this is one of those cases,” Homa said. TOUR TAKES ON TEXAS FedExCup leader Scottie Scheffler headlines the field at the AT&T Byron Nelson, which features seven of the top 15 players in the Official World Golf Ranking. K.H. Lee, who won at TPC Craig Ranch last year for his first PGA TOUR title, returns to defend. RBC Heritage champion Jordan Spieth, twice a winner in his native Texas but never at the AT&T Byron Nelson, also returns after a break. Justin Thomas is looking for his first victory of the season. The 2017 FedExCup champ has six top-10 finishes in 11 starts this season. Brooks Koepka and Hideki Matsuyama are teeing it up on TOUR for the first time since the Masters. Dustin Johnson is in action for the first time since getting married to Paulina Gretzky while Xander Schauffele is making his AT&T Byron Nelson debut. TPC Craig Ranch is a par 72 and plays to 7,468 yards. The course, which has also hosted the Korn Ferry Tour Championship, made its debut as a PGA TOUR host in 2021. The winner will receive 500 FedExCup points. THE TURN VIDEO OF THE WEEK MIC CHECK “Perspective is running rampant today.”- Max Homa, who is expecting his first child with his wife Lacey, after winning the Wells Fargo Championship on Mother’s Day BY THE NUMBERS 65 – Final round (-7) for Steve Flesch to win the Mitsubishi Electric Classic outside Atlanta by one shot over Padraig Harrington, Fred Couples and David Toms. 69 – Sunday score for Brent Grant (-3) to win the Korn Ferry Tour’s Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation. 62 – Course record at TPC Craig Ranch in 2021 set by Sam Burns in the second round of the AT&T Byron Nelson. COMCAST BUSINESS TOUR TOP 10 The Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 highlights and rewards the extraordinary level of play required to earn a spot in the TOP 10 at the conclusion of the FedExCup Regular Season as determined by the FedExCup standings. The competition recognizes and awards the most elite in golf.

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