With a well-known fill-in caddie on his bag, Justin Thomas storms from behind with a final-round 65 to become the first three-time PGA TOUR winner of the season at the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational at TPC Southwind. In the process, Thomas becomes the third youngest player to win 13 times on TOUR since 1960, behind only Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus, and regains the No. 1 spot in the world. He also puts some distance between himself and FedExCup No. 2 Webb Simpson with the Playoffs just two weeks away. Meanwhile Richy Werenski, king of the close calls after finishing 126th in the FedExCup last season (by two points!), authors a similarly fantastic finish as he racks up 11 points in the last seven holes to surge past Troy Merritt and win the Barracuda Championship at Tahoe Mountain Club. Welcome to the Monday Finish. THREE KEYS TO SUCCESS 1. Thomas kept it together despite some crazy misses. The FedExCup No. 1 hit some slightly wild shots coming in, most notably at the 15th hole, where his tee shot missed so far left it avoided the water hazard and gave him a chance to get up and down for birdie. Thomas missed his tee shot right at the par-5 16th hole, but laid up and then stuffed a wedge to within three feet for another birdie. He didn’t three-putt or make a double bogey all week, and played tidy golf despite being disappointed by his wedge game. “I didn’t really hit anything too close,” he said. “I just managed my game really well.” 2. He had a short memory. It had been just three weeks since Thomas lost a three-stroke lead and ultimately succumbed to Collin Morikawa in a playoff at the Workday Charity Open at Muirfield Village. Thomas forgot about it, other than reminding himself not to think too far ahead as he had at the Workday. His -1.881 Strokes Gained: Putting total at TPC Southwind marked the sixth worst performance on the greens by a TOUR winner since 2004, and the worst SG: Putting total by a winner since Steven Bowditch (-2.434) at the 2014 Valero Texas Open. Yet Thomas shrugged off missed opportunities on the greens and went to the next hole. That he was second in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green (+7.670) didn’t hurt, either. 3. Werenski kept believing. It’s a nice story that Werenski, the son of a PGA professional in Massachusetts, played his way into the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park this week. Especially because not long ago his TOUR career seemed to be on shaky ground (see below). But through all the close calls, Werenski kept believing that he belonged on TOUR. His team wouldn’t let him forget it, either. “Yeah, a bunch of people have told me that,” Werenski said after making birdie on 18 to win. “My whole team – my swing coach and mental coach and fitness coach and all that, my caddie, everybody. Especially the caddies, the last couple I’ve had, I had Pepsi for a while, Steve Hale, and he always told me, he said, you’ve just got to believe in yourself a little bit. He knew I had a lot of talent and I was good enough to win out here.” OBSERVATIONS Werenski breaks through Richy Werenski has been living on the edge, so the 11 points he banked in the last seven holes (three birdies and an eagle) to capture the Barracuda Championship should perhaps have come as no surprise. Last season he finished 126th in the FedExCup – by just two points. He went back to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, where things weren’t looking promising until he finished T7 on the last day of the season to snatch the 24th of 25 available TOUR cards. “I waited until the last tournament to play well,” Werenski said. Now, after waiting until the last seven holes to put his foot down at Tahoe Mountain Club, he’ll be in the field for this week’s PGA Championship, next month’s U.S. Open, plus the Sentry Tournament of Champions and THE PLAYERS Championship in 2021. What’s more, at 34th in the FedExCup, the native of South Hadley, Massachusetts is a lock to advance to week one of the Playoffs, THE NORTHERN TRUST at TPC Boston. “I’ve kind of always been in that 100 to 125 area,” said Werenski, 28, who never advanced to TPC Boston when it was the second leg of the Playoffs. “So it’s cool to be I think like 34th or something. Haven’t been there before, but I feel like my game is just getting better and better, so we’ll see what we can do with it.” More big times for ‘Bones’ Jim (Bones) Mackay is the hardest-working semi-retired caddie in the business. Last month the on-course commentator for NBC Golf Channel filled in and carried the bag for Matthew Fitzpatrick at the Workday Charity Open and Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide – the partnership bore fruit when Fitzpatrick finished solo third at the Memorial. Now Mackay is in the middle of a two-week stretch with Thomas while Jimmy Johnson, Thomas’ usual caddie, takes some time off the TOUR to address dizzy spells. Week one of the J.T./Bones partnership was a smashing success, which was surprising and not. Mackay had caddied for Thomas before, and has been assigned to follow Thomas many times in his TV role. What made it more intriguing was that Thomas played the final round alongside Phil Mickelson, with whom Mackay spent almost his entire career as a caddie until three years ago. “I honestly was 50/50 on thinking if it would work out this short-notice,” said Thomas, who only called Mackay on Tuesday afternoon of Memphis week. They’ll go for their second straight win at this week’s PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park. QUOTEBOARD “I just managed my game well.” – Justin Thomas on winning without his best stuff “That’s why it’s fun to play.” – Richy Werenski on the volatile modified Stableford format “I feel like my game’s right there.” – Brooks Koepka, aiming for a third straight PGA win WYNDHAM REWARDS The Wyndham Rewards Top 10 is a season-long competition that offers a $10 million bonus for the 10 golfers who end the regular season at the Wyndham Championship inside the top 10 in FedExCup points. The player atop the standings will earn $2 million, with varying payoffs for the others through $500,000 for the 10th place finisher. Justin Thomas solidified his position at No. 1 and now has a 713-point lead over No. 2 Webb Simpson. Daniel Berger, a two-time winner at TPC Southwind, tied for second to reenter the Top 10 at No. 8. Only two weeks remain until the start of the FedExCup Playoffs. Here’s how the standings look heading into this week’s PGA Championship. SOCIAL SNAPSHOT
Online Sports Betting
Justin Thomas delivers at WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational
With a well-known fill-in caddie on his bag, Justin Thomas storms from behind with a final-round 65 to become the first three-time PGA TOUR winner of the season at the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational at TPC Southwind. In the process, Thomas becomes the third youngest player to win 13 times on TOUR since…
NBA Power Rankings: Where all 22 teams stand after the opening weekend
The Rockets and Raptors both upset top teams, while the Spurs and Trail Blazers fight for the No. 8 seed in the West. Click here to read the full article…
BetMGM signs with PGA TOUR as an Official Betting Operator
The PGA TOUR announced today that BetMGM has signed a multi-year content and marketing relationship to become an Official Betting Operator of the PGA TOUR. By joining the TOUR’s Official Betting Operator program, BetMGM will have rights in the United States to use PGA TOUR marks, rights to advertise within TOUR media and TOUR partner…
Pirelli launches ‘360 degree investigation’ into British GP punctures
Formula One tyre supplier Pirelli has launched a comprehensive investigation into what caused the series of dramatic tyre failures at the end of the British Grand Prix. Click here to read the full article…
Numbers to Know: WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational
Welcome to Numbers to Know, where we’ll take a look a closer look at Justin Thomas’ victory in the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. This was Thomas’ 13th career victory and second World Golf Championships title. 1. BETTER BY THE DOZEN: Twelve of Thomas’ 13 wins have come in the past four seasons. No…
NBA restart real or not: Our experts’ new look at eight big questions
Our NBA experts weigh in on the biggest trends after the first weekend of basketball. Click here to read the full article…
Hernández: Radar gun reveals the scope of Shohei Ohtani’s comeback struggle
It’s clear from Shohei Ohtani’s velocity alone that the Angels’ Japanese phenom is nowhere close to the same pitcher he was before his 2018 Tommy John surgery. Click here to read the full article…
A bizarre but fitting end to a frayed relationship
First, Yoenis Céspedes could not be found. Then, he was safe. Then, he had opted out of the 2020 season over COVID-19 concerns, ending a swirling saga with the Mets. Click here to read the full article…
Mavs clinch playoff spot to end 3-year drought
The Mavs officially clinched a playoff berth due to the Grizzlies’ 108-106 loss to the Spurs on Sunday afternoon, ending their playoff drought at three seasons. Click here to read the full article…
Spurs thwart Grizzlies’ late rally, pull to within 2
DeMar DeRozan knocked down two go-ahead free throws with a second left to put the Spurs up on Memphis, bouncing back from missing two just 12 seconds earlier that would’ve iced the game. Click here to read the full article…
Richy Werenski wins first PGA TOUR title at Barracuda Championship
TRUCKEE, Calif. — Richy Werenski holed a flop shot from the 16th fairway for a five-point eagle and birdied the last for a one-point victory over Troy Merritt on Sunday in the Barracuda Championship. Werenski won for the first time on the PGA TOUR, scoring 13 points in the final round on Tahoe Mountain Club’s…
Racing fears for future after crowd trial cancelled
Glorious Goodwood felt more like Gloomy Goodwood this weekend despite the sunshine after a pilot scheme to welcome 4,000 spectators was cancelled at short notice due to an uptick in coronavirus cases. The scheme had offered hope for dozens of racecourses in Britain that they could admit the public at some point this year following…