This might be the best field yet for the fourth version of Tucsonโs PGA Tour Champions event.
Former world No. 1 Vijay Singh is playing for the first time in the newly named Cologuard Classic. Last yearโs 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.
Hereโs how those four stack up entering this yearโs 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 rรฉsumรฉ than Singh. He was No. 1 in the world for 32 weeks in 2004 and โ05, 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.
โWhere is that guy?โ he said, laughing. โWhereโs he gone?โ
Singh, 55, obviously isnโt 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 hasnโt completely translated to the Champions Tour, where Singh has one victory in 25 starts โ a shared championship with Carlos Franco in the 2017 Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf, a team event on a par-3 course.
โI havenโt won yet,โ Singh said. โI 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 everybodyโs 5-, 6-, 7-under.โ
Itโs harder to win on the PGA Tour Champions than many think. Just ask Stricker.
โi feel like iโve been closeโ
โItโs tough to win anywhere,โ 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.
โIt doesnโt matter what tour youโre playing, itโs a challenge to win at any level,โ he continued. โThese guys are all proven winners out here. Iโve made a couple hiccups along the way in a couple of those events to not pull it off, to not win.โ
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 wasnโt 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.
โI feel like Iโve been close,โ Stricker said. โNot that this place owes me anything, but I feel like I want to get it, I want to finally get this place. So thatโs my goal this week.โ
Langer can relate.
EVERYWHERE BUT HERE
Langer has 36 career wins on the PGA Tour Champions, nine shy of Hale Irwinโs all-time record. The German won seven times, including three majors, last year, when he turned 60. Heโs a machine.
Langer has won just about everywhere โฆ except here. Which isnโt to say he hasnโt 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?
โWell,โ he said, โitโs always the same โ be better than the others, right? Canโt afford to make a lot of bogeys around here and got to make some putts. Thereโs a few key holes where par is a good score, but thereโs a bunch of birdie chances as well, and youโve got to just capitalize on those.โ
In his three starts here, Langer is 36 under par. He has fired seven rounds in the 60s and hasnโt shot worse than 71.
Heading into this yearโs event, Langer has 36 straight rounds of par or better, two shy of the tour record.
Whatโs the secret to Langerโs longevity?
โItโs a lot of things,โ he said. โItโs technique, itโs 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.
โItโs like a jigsaw puzzle โ everything comes together.โ
It might be coming together for Daly too.
โGOTTA GO FOR BROKEโ
You donโt have to hit long to win on the PGA Tour Champions. But you have to be aggressive, and that suits Dalyโs ethos.
โYouโve gotta go for broke,โ he said while walking off the ninth green after concluding his pro-arm round Thursday. โIf youโre not shooting 4-, 5- or 6-under par a day, youโre not even sniffing the lead.โ
Lehman won last yearโs tournament here at 20 under. Daly won last yearโs Insperity Invitational at 14 under.
The win wasnโt merely Dalyโs first on the Champions Tour โ 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.
โJust to see if you can do it again,โ he said. โThe short game is everything on every tour, but out here itโs really got to be spot on. I putted really well at the Insperity, and it was just enough. If you can say itโs just enough to win out here, itโs good.โ
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 theyโre sure to be out in force when Daly tees off at 11:40 a.m. on the 10th hole.
โThe fans have just been awesome all over the world,โ Daly said. โI think they relate because I donโt have any skeletons in my closet. I tell them when I screw up. I feel like Iโm pretty humble when I do well.โ