Who will take home the helmet in the Cologuard Classic? It could be one of these 4 golfers

This might be the best field yet for the fourth version of Tucson’s PGA Tour Champions event.

Former world No. 1 Vijay Singh is playing for the first time in the newly named Cologuard Classic. Last year’s hot-shot rookie, Steve Stricker, is back for a second crack after finishing second in his Champions Tour debut here. Popular everyman and two-time major champion John Daly is in the field. So is reigning and seven-time PGA Tour Champions Player of the Year Bernhard Langer.

Here’s how those four stack up entering this year’s tournament, which begins Friday morning at Omni Tucson National Resort:

SINGH STILL HAS THAT SWING

In a field filled with major champions, no one has a better résumé than Singh. He was No. 1 in the world for 32 weeks in 2004 and ’05, basically sharing the crown with a fellow by the name of Tiger Woods.

After pounding dozens of balls at the range Thursday, Singh was asked to reflect on his time atop the golf world.

“Where is that guy?” he said, laughing. “Where’s he gone?”

Singh, 55, obviously isn’t the player he was then. But he actually thinks his swing is better today than during his peak on the PGA Tour, which included nine victories and more than $10 million in earnings in 2004 alone.

It hasn’t completely translated to the Champions Tour, where Singh has one victory in 25 starts – a shared championship with Carlos Franco in the 2017 Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf, a team event on a par-3 course.

“I haven’t won yet,” Singh said. “I feel like every time I tee up I should win, you know? But then when you go out there, you put so much pressure on yourself because you look up at the scoreboard and everybody’s 5-, 6-, 7-under.”

It’s harder to win on the PGA Tour Champions than many think. Just ask Stricker.

‘i feel like i’ve been close’

“It’s tough to win anywhere,” Stricker said Wednesday after concluding his pro-am round with some fellow University of Illinois alums.

Stricker has yet to win in seven PGA Tour Champions starts. He has finished in the top three five times.

“It doesn’t matter what tour you’re playing, it’s a challenge to win at any level,” he continued. “These guys are all proven winners out here. I’ve made a couple hiccups along the way in a couple of those events to not pull it off, to not win.”

In his first Champions Tour event here last year, Stricker tied the tournament record with a 10-under 63 in Round 2. He had a two-shot lead heading to the 16th hole Sunday. Tom Lehman ended up claiming the coveted Tucson Conquistadores helmet.

It wasn’t the first time Stricker finished as the runner-up here. He tied for second in his second event as a PGA Tour pro, the 1994 Northern Telecom Open in Tucson.

“I feel like I’ve been close,” Stricker said. “Not that this place owes me anything, but I feel like I want to get it, I want to finally get this place. So that’s my goal this week.”

Langer can relate.

EVERYWHERE BUT HERE

Langer has 36 career wins on the PGA Tour Champions, nine shy of Hale Irwin’s all-time record. The German won seven times, including three majors, last year, when he turned 60. He’s a machine.

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Langer has won just about everywhere … except here. Which isn’t to say he hasn’t contended.

Langer finished third each of the past two years. He tied for ninth in 2015.

So what will it take for Langer to break through?

“Well,” he said, “it’s always the same — be better than the others, right? Can’t afford to make a lot of bogeys around here and got to make some putts. There’s a few key holes where par is a good score, but there’s a bunch of birdie chances as well, and you’ve got to just capitalize on those.”

In his three starts here, Langer is 36 under par. He has fired seven rounds in the 60s and hasn’t shot worse than 71.

Heading into this year’s event, Langer has 36 straight rounds of par or better, two shy of the tour record.

What’s the secret to Langer’s longevity?

“It’s a lot of things,” he said. “It’s technique, it’s the drive to succeed, the willingness to work at it. I have a good team around me. I still like to compete, and I enjoy putting the work in. I prepare well.

“It’s like a jigsaw puzzle – everything comes together.”

It might be coming together for Daly too.

‘GOTTA GO FOR BROKE’

You don’t have to hit long to win on the PGA Tour Champions. But you have to be aggressive, and that suits Daly’s ethos.

“You’ve gotta go for broke,” he said while walking off the ninth green after concluding his pro-arm round Thursday. “If you’re not shooting 4-, 5- or 6-under par a day, you’re not even sniffing the lead.”

Lehman won last year’s tournament here at 20 under. Daly won last year’s Insperity Invitational at 14 under.

The win wasn’t merely Daly’s first on the Champions Tour — it was his first in a professional tournament since 2004. Although he barely hung on for a one-stroke victory, Daly proved something to himself.

“Just to see if you can do it again,” he said. “The short game is everything on every tour, but out here it’s really got to be spot on. I putted really well at the Insperity, and it was just enough. If you can say it’s just enough to win out here, it’s good.”

Daly wants to win again, but he stressed that playing on the PGA Tour Champions is more about enjoying golf.

Daly struggled to handle the pressure of his sudden fame and success on the PGA Tour, leading to myriad off-course problems.

His fans have stuck with him throughout, and they’re sure to be out in force when Daly tees off at 11:40 a.m. on the 10th hole.

“The fans have just been awesome all over the world,” Daly said. “I think they relate because I don’t have any skeletons in my closet. I tell them when I screw up. I feel like I’m pretty humble when I do well.”