Tiger Woods staying patient with his return to golf

Justin Thomas’ hunger is returning, at least in a metaphorical sense. Some of the 20 pounds that Thomas, who’s notoriously lithe for a player who ranks among the game’s longest hitters, has gained this year can be attributed to the festive fare that one is confronted with this time of year. “Coming off of Thanksgiving and Christmas, I’ll be excited to start eating a little better again,â€� said Thomas, who now weighs a hefty 165 pounds. “I’ve been trying to eat as well as I can these last couple weeks, but there’s only so well you can do.â€� Thomas took part in a teleconference Monday to promote his title defense at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, which begins Jan. 4 on Kapalua’s Plantation Course. The winners-only event on Maui will be the first of back-to-back title defenses he’ll face next month in Hawaii. The Sentry will be his first official PGA TOUR event since winning THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES on Oct. 22, as well. The time off was well deserved after a frantic finish to the season that saw him win his first major championship and the FedExCup. Starting with the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, Thomas has won three of seven PGA TOUR starts and clinched the FedExCup with a runner-up at the TOUR Championship. He is No. 7 in this season’s standings as he tries to become the first player to win consecutive FedExCups. “It’s been a nice offseason, but over the last week or so I’ve been starting to get a little hungry and ready to get back out there,â€� said Thomas, who admit that he was underprepared for his appearance earlier this month at the Hero World Challenge. He finished 11th in the 18-man field, one shot behind Tiger Woods and 11 shots behind winner Rickie Fowler. Thomas also completed another tropical trip with Jordan Spieth and Smylie Kaufman before beginning his preparations for Hawaii. I think the hardest part is going to be staying in the moment and recognizing that it’s a new year. It’s a new opportunity for great things. Thomas knows many are curious to see how he copes with all the success he had in 2017. He saw Jordan Spieth face constant comparisons in 2016 to his historic 2015 season. Spieth won twice in the season following his FedExCup-winning campaign, but it was not enough to meet the inflated standards of media, fans and himself. Thomas has sought advice from Spieth and others about how to handle the pressure that can follow a career-changing year. “I know I’m constantly going to get reminded of what I did last year versus this year and whether it’s better or whether it’s worse,â€� Thomas said. “I think the hardest part is going to be staying in the moment and recognizing that it’s a new year. It’s a new opportunity for great things.â€� He’ll immediately be reminded of two impressive performances when the season resumes in January. He was 49 under par in the TOUR’s two Hawaii events last year, winning by a combined 10 shots. He won the Sony Open in Hawaii by seven shots, breaking the PGA TOUR’s 72-hole scoring record with a 27-under 253. His dominant showing, which started with a first-round 59, came one week after a dramatic victory at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Thomas birdied the Plantation Course’s final two holes for a three-shot victory over Hideki Matsuyama. The clutch finish allowed him to avoid losing a large lead that was in danger after his double-bogey at the par-5 15th hole. He called his 8-iron approach into the second-to-last hole one of the most important shots of his career. “If I lose that tournament, who knows what happens last year,â€� Thomas said. “It’s easy to say, ‘What if’, but I think I had a five-shot lead with five to play and if I lose that, it’s going to hurt a little bit.â€� He doesn’t have to worry about that. Instead, he’s trying to continue the momentum he built from a memorable year.

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DP World Tour pro Ricardo Gouveia is making his second career PGA TOUR start at this week’s Barbasol Championship. He jumped to an early lead with an opening-round, 8-under 64 at Keene Trace GC in Kentucky. As part of the PGA TOUR/DP World Tour strategic alliance and joint venture, Gouveia was awarded a spot at the Barbasol Championship based on his position on the DP World Tour Rankings; he currently stands No. 126 on the Race to Dubai. The Portugal native played collegiately at the University of Central Florida and also represented his home country at the 2016 Olympic Men’s Golf Competition. He made his PGA TOUR debut at the 2016 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard in his college town of Orlando. Gouveia made nine birdies in Thursday’s opening round of the Barbasol Championship against one bogey, punctuating his round with a 15-foot birdie at the par-4 18th hole. Here’s Five Things to Know about Ricardo Gouveia. 1. He’s a five-time winner on the Challenge Tour. The Challenge Tour is the DP World Tour’s equivalent of the Korn Ferry Tour, providing a direct path to the DP World Tour for top finishers on the season-long standings. Gouveia has thrived at this level with five career wins, including two victories in 2021, the Italian Challenge and Made in Esbjerg Challenge. He also finished No. 1 on the 2015 Challenge Tour Rankings, winning twice and earning his DP World Tour card. He also finished No. 2 on the 2021 Challenge Tour Rankings to earn back his DP World Tour card. 2. He has featured top-100 in the world and played in the Olympics. After a dominant season on the 2015 Challenge Tour with two wins, three runners-up and two third-place finishes, Gouveia finished the year at No. 83 on the Official World Golf Ranking. He went 3-for-3 in made cuts to begin the 2016 DP World Tour season, including a T7 at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, moving to a career-high No. 77 on the Official World Golf Ranking. By way of his world ranking, he qualified for the 2016 Olympic Men’s Golf Competition in Rio, golf’s first Olympics inclusion since 1904. 3. He moved to the United States to play college golf. Gouveia began his collegiate career at Division II Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, earning NCAA Division II Ping All-America First Team honors and earning the Phil Mickelson Award as most outstanding freshman in Division II golf. He transferred to the University of Central Florida for his sophomore season and maintained success, earning All-America honorable mention honors with 20 rounds of par or better and also being named the Conference USA Newcomer of the Year. He earned runner-up honors at the NCAA Tempe Regional as a junior, and he was named to the American Athletic All-Conference Team as a senior before turning pro. 4. He was pushed to succeed by his college teammates. Gouveia spent three years at UCF alongside Greg Eason, who has competed on the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA TOUR Canada in addition to time as a caddie. The duo enjoyed the offbeat side of college life. Gouveia recalls a time when Eason needed to dry his underwear and had no clear option – so he decided to microwave it. Eason would write motivational quotes on the bathroom walls, and Gouveia credits Eason as an instrumental source of motivation as he refined his game for the professional level. “Every day, he pushed me harder,” said Gouveia of Eason, “and I have to thank him for that.” 5. He has a big opportunity this weekend in Kentucky. Multiple scenarios are in play as Gouveia assumes the spotlight this week at the Barbasol Championship. A victory at Keene Trace would award him a two-year exemption on the PGA TOUR, plus the remainder of this season. Additionally, if Gouveia earns enough non-member FedExCup Points to equal or surpass No. 200 on the final FedExCup standings, he will receive a spot in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, a three-event series in August and September with 25 PGA TOUR cards awarded. The top-200 threshold is currently 78 points, the equivalent of a solo fourth-place finish or better at the Barbasol Championship.

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