Team Belgium takes big 3rd-round lead at World Cup of Golf

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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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Jordan Spieth didn't win the Waste Management Phoenix Open, his 1-over 72 leaving him two behind winner Brooks Koepka and in a tie for fourth. Still, the week brought some good news - especially considering he almost didn't come. "I’m really excited about the progress that has been made in the first two weeks," said Spieth, who went from a missed cut at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, his only other start of 2021, to having a chance to win deep into the back nine at TPC Scottsdale. RELATED: Final leaderboard | Dissecting the PGA TOUR's nuttiest ace ever "It is far from where I want it to be as far as how it feels," he continued, "but, boy, I was debating not even playing this week, dropping out on Friday afternoon last week." Longer hitters like Koepka have historically feasted at TPC Scottsdale, and Spieth admits it "isn’t a great golf course for me historically." He had missed the cut in his last two starts here, in 2020 and '18. He also didn't like what he saw from his game at Torrey Pines. An AT&T ambassador, he had circled next week's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on his calendar. "I thought I could then go in to Pebble a little fresher," he said. "Boy, I’m glad I came." Spieth played his way into the final group, final day for the first time since the 2018 Open Championship. He set a new personal best with 10 birdies in his third-round 61, tying his lowest-ever score on the PGA TOUR. And he easily eclipsed his previous best in seven starts this season, T38 at THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK. All in all, it was a very good week for the former world No. 1 who has struggled mightily and came into the Waste Management 92nd in the world, 179th in the FedExCup. Driving accuracy plagued him again in the final round Sunday. He missed the first fairway so badly he was in the native area up against a bush, a position from which he could not reach the green with his second shot. He bogeyed. In the end, he would hit just five fairways in the final round and 23 of 56 for the week, last among those who made the cut. Spieth's putting, so electric in rounds one and three, was off, as well, as he took 33 strokes on the greens and was 61st (of the 66 players who made the cut) in Strokes Gained: Putting on Sunday. Still, no one ran away from the field, and he hung around. When he birdied the par-5 13th hole, there were nine players either tied for the lead or, like Spieth, one back. Fittingly, it was another wayward tee shot that all but sunk his chances, Spieth's hooked drive at the par-5 15th hole. The ball bounded down the fairway before toppling into the water, and after taking a one-stroke penalty and a drop, all he could do was salvage a par. When Koepka pitched in for eagle at 17, Spieth was three back with three holes remaining. It wasn't to be, although a birdie at the last sent him off in a good mood. He had seen good signs, stress-tested his game, and injected no small bit of excitement into the tournament. "Yeah, I think from a viewership point of view it definitely gets everyone excited," said Rory McIlroy after a final-round 64 and T13 finish. "And the way he plays. I mean, I watched the back nine yesterday. Absolutely insane what he was doing. It’s typical Jordan. "... It was awesome to see him back to sort of the - not the old Jordan because he’s only like 27 or something - but back to showing us what he can do," he added. Spieth now heads to the AT&T and the rest of the season with a better sense of where he is with his game, and having acquitted himself well for a guy who hadn't been in the heat in ages. "I’m only looking forward," he said. "Only looking at this from a positive angle right now. I really am. ... I think I believe in what I’m doing. A result like this just helps confirm what I was already feeling, and that just moves the needle the right direction."

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