The Englishman has done exactly that through 54 holes in Palm Harbor, Fla., firing rounds of 70, 66 and Saturday’s three-under 68, enough for a one-stroke edge over Dustin Johnson heading into Sunday. He’s looking to become the first back-to-back winner in the history of the Valspar, which became an event in 2000.

Casey made five birdies and two bogeys in this third round, one of them coming at his final hole of the day for the second day in a row. He’ll need to close better in the final round if he wants to win and improve upon his history with the 54-hole lead. This is the sixth time he’s had it in his career, of which he’s converted only one into a victory (2009 Shell Houston Open), and he’s never broken 70 in any of those final rounds. Making the challenge seem even more difficult is the fact that only three of the last 11 54-hole leaders at the Valspar have finished the job.

Oh, and he’ll have to hold off Johnson, the No. 1 ranked player in the world who made a move on Saturday with a four-under 67. Other than all that, Sunday should be a walk in the park for Casey, who is in search of his third career PGA Tour victory.

Just two back is Jason Kokrak, whose five-under 66 matched the low round of the day and included a hole-in-one at Innisbrook’s par-3 15th. Kokrak, 33, has never won on the PGA Tour.

And then there is Luke Donald, just three back following his third-round, one-under 70. Just being in contention is a small victory for Donald, who is playing on a major medical extension and has teed it up in only one other event in 2019. If the former World No. 1 were to come from behind and win, it would snap a seven-year win drought on tour. His last victory? The 2012 Valspar Championship.

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He hit a stinger 2-iron—an interesting choice given how the 442-yard par 4 meanders uphill and had a back-right pin for the final round—that found the short grass but left him 185 yards. His 7-iron approach landed in the middle of the green but was nearly 40 feet short of the hole. But unlike a hole earlier, when Woods jarred one for birdie from a similar range, this birdie try came up short.

“I bring the right part of that fairway where it cuts in a little bit with 3-wood into play and on top of that the wind is off the left,” Woods said, explaining why he didn’t take more club off the tee there. “If I’m going to squeeze it in, I want to cut it. I didn’t feel comfortable with that. If anything, that 2-iron I could have hit it flatter and hotter but, hey, I’m in the fairway, I got a shot at this thing.”

A shot. What else could you ask for?

Indeed, six months ago, no one was sure Woods would ever play golf again, the 14-time major champion included. He had endured four back surgeries, the last involved having his spine fused, and another round of public humiliation after being arrested on suspicion of DUI in May (the charges were later reduced). A trip to rehab followed to help manage his pain and sleep medication. That he might finish tied for second in his fourth official start back on the PGA Tour is something many hoped for but few risked saying out loud, for fear of not bring taken seriously.

Tiger’s fans had fun cheering on their man come Sunday at the Valspar Championship. (Photo by Getty Images 2)

Even when Woods did return to competition last December at his Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, he looked a long way off, finishing in the middle of the pack of the 18-man field on his home course in what was basically a hit-and-giggle event.

At the Farmers Insurance Open, his first start of 2018, he needed four birdies over his final nine holes at Torrey Pines just to make the cut. Two weeks later at Riviera Country Club and the Genesis Open, he missed it.

But then came the Honda Classic, where he seemed to turn a corner. He finished 12th, but it was more how he did it, putting together stretches of shot-making he used to display with regularity. He led the field in proximity to the hole at 29 feet, 3 inches, and was second in driving distance at 318.9 yards.

This week at the Valspar, Woods made even more tangible progress in his comeback. He broke par every day, the first time he did that in a tour event since Riviera in 2013. On Sunday, he briefly grabbed a share of the lead after opening with a birdie, ripping a long iron from 236 yards over a greenside bunker to 43 feet and two putting on the par-5 first hole.

But then, the magic seemed to disappear. Over his next 15 holes, he made 14 pars and a bogey (on the par-3 fourth, which was something of a nemesis for him). His putter didn’t cooperate like it had the previous three days, and neither did his irons.

“I didn’t feel that sharp with my iron game,” said Woods, who closed with a one-under 70 for a nine-under 275 total. “I played very conservatively into the greens because I wasn’t as sharp as I was [Saturday] and just tried to hopefully get a couple good numbers and fire at a few flags. I kept getting the half club, just one of those days I couldn’t quite get the full club.”

Still, he had the place on full-tilt all week, the crowds understandably loud gave the display they were seeing out of Woods.

But is this a real step forward, or just a tease from Tiger to make us all think that winning more golf tournaments, maybe even majors—maybe even the year’s first major in less than a month at Augusta National—is still possible?

Four sub-par rounds at Innisbrook was a first for Tiger in a PGA Tour event since 2013. (Photo by Ryan Young/PGA Tour)

“I don’t see it going backwards from here,” Brandt Snedeker said of the 42-year-old Woods’ game. “Only going to get better.” Snedeker should know having played five rounds with Woods this year.

Woods isn’t back. Not all the way. Only a victory would signal that because ultimately that is the only standard that has ever applied to him. But he is moving in the right direction—he jumped from 388th to 149th in the World Ranking with his Valspar finish—and doing it faster than anyone could have expected. And this was his first top-five on the tour in 1,659 days.

What else could you ask for?

“I felt very comfortable,” Woods said of being in contention late on Sunday. “I’ve been here before a few times. … My game was quite solid this entire week. As a whole, I felt very good about what I did this week.”

He should feel even better about next week as he travels a few hours up the road to Orlando and Bay Hill, where he has won eight times in his career.

“I’m very excited,” he said. “Nice to get back.”

Nice to have him back on a Sunday, too. It won’t be the last.

The post It wasn’t a win, but Tiger Woods has us believing that day is coming, perhaps even soon appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Christopher Powers
After Friday’s second round of the Valspar Championship, Paul Casey said “I want to win this week, but if I don’t I want Tiger to win this week.” One of those wishes came true.

Casey played a brilliant round on Sunday on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook, closing with a six-under 65 to earn his second PGA Tour victory, his first since the 2009 Shell Houston Open. It’s also his first worldwide victory since the 2014 KLM Open on the European Tour.

“He (Woods) made it look easy for such a long time, and it’s not,” said Casey, who finished at 10-under 274. “I’ve won a few times in Europe, [but] to take this long to get my second victory on the PGA Tour, it’s emotional. I’ve worked so hard, I’m so happy for it.”

Casey’s won more than a few times on the European Tour, 13 to be exact, which always made his lack of victories on the PGA Tour so puzzling. He’s given himself plenty of chances though, finishing inside the top seven now 21 times since the beginning of 2015, including two runner-up finishes that year. Sooner or later, win No. 2 was going to come.

“A lot of practice. I work hard at it. I think the biggest thing was I lost a friend last Saturday, at Mexico, played with a heavy heart, maybe that was the difference.”

The Englishman made seven birdies and just one bogey on Sunday, needing just 21 putts along the way. The winning putt ended up being a 21-footer for birdie at the par-3 12th, the last Casey made all day. In addition to this win, he’s made all six cuts this season, finishing inside the top-20 five on five of those occasions.

Finishing in a tie for second at nine-under 275 were Woods and Patrick Reed, who looked to be in prime position to get into a playoff with Casey when he found the green with his approach shot at the 18th hole, needing only a two-putt par. His birdie effort was so short that it rolled back to his feet on the treacherous 18th green, leading to a bogey for a three-under 68.

In the group behind Reed, Woods mounted a late charge, finally making his second birdie of the day from 43 feet at the par-3 17th to get to nine under. His last birdie effort at the 18th came up two feet short, and he cleaned up the par for a one-under 70. It was an exciting week for the 14-time major champion and a promising sign. He’ll be back next week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, where he looks to capture his ninth career victory.

Sergio Garcia, who matched Casey’s Sunday 65, finished alone in fourth at eight-under 276. Rory Sabbatini and Justin Rose tied for fifth at seven-under 277.

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“I am excited,” Woods said after a four-under 67 Saturday that has him one stroke off the lead going into the final round of the Valspar Championship. “I feel good.”

Eleven months ago, he felt anything but that after undergoing spinal fusion surgery, the last of four procedures on his battered back in a three-year span. It was nothing short of a medical Hail Mary.

Then came an ugly, made-for-TMZ arrest on suspicion of DUI in South Florida last May (the charges were later reduced), followed by a stint in rehab for Woods to better manage his pain and sleep medication.

After all the physical and mental trauma Woods had endured, he had become a shadow of his former self, an incongruent and to some extent an irrelevant figure as the game seemingly passed him by with new stars emerging. Even as recently as last fall Woods himself wasn’t sure if he would ever be able to play golf again.

Yet here we are. The Hail Mary was completed, and a 42-year-old Tiger has come out the other end of the tunnel, too. After just 13 rounds this year, he is on the precipice of one of the greatest comeback stories in all of sports, not just golf.

Related: Who is Corey Conners and could he really be the one to stop Tiger Woods winning on Sunday? 

Impressively, Woods displayed an assortment of shots off the tee on Saturday. A stinger 2-iron on 10, a hard cutting 3-wood on 16, a big, low drawing BB of a drive on 14, where his clubhead speed was clocked at 129.2 mph, the fastest of any measured drive on tour this year. He followed it with a “smoking” 4-iron onto the front of the green on the par 5.

Ryan Young/PGA Tour Tiger signs autographs after a solid Saturday 67 puts him just one off the lead at Innisbrook Resort.

“I’m starting to see him get into a pretty good groove out there and hit the shots he’s trying to hit,” said Joe LaCava, Woods’ caddie. “Shots he’s trying to hit, he’s pulling them off.

“I don’t want to get carried away from one good tournament, but you could see signs of him playing well and hitting it better, so, no, I’m not surprised.”

There were birdies (five), a chip-in, a walk-it-in putt, fist pumps and club twirls. There was a swagger. The crowd swelled to eight deep, and it was vocal.

Rookie Corey Conners, who has led after every round this week, could practically count the number of people following his group playing behind Woods on one hand. Not that he minded.

“It was really cool,” the wide-eyed, smiling Canadian said. “Obviously, I grew up watching Tiger and kind of idolized Tiger, and seeing that today was really cool. Couple big roars and put a smile on my face.”

He wasn’t alone.

Brandt Snedeker got a kick out of watching Woods chip in for birdie from a squirrelly lie behind the green at the ninth. He’ll be paired with Woods again on Sunday in the second-to-last twosome. It will be the fifth time they have played together this year.

“It’s just him to a tee,” Snedeker said. “I see him do stuff like that, let’s you know he’s back enjoying it and having fun. Just kind of vintage Tiger.

“He’s getting better every round. He’s driving it 10 times better than he was at the start of the year.”

Ryan Young/PGA Tour
This is Tiger’s 70th time he’ll go into the final round within at least one stroke of the lead. He has gone on to win in that situation 62 times.

Still, Woods is trying to temper expectations, as he has all year.

“There’s a packed leader board,” said Woods, who is tied with Snedeker and Justin Rose at eight under, with Patrick Reed and Sam Burns tied for fifth two strokes back. “There’s so many guys who played their way back up into this tournament.”

None, though, loom as large as Woods.

Sunday will mark the 70th time that he has been within at least one stroke of the lead going into the final round on tour. He has gone on to win 62 times, and 89.8 percent conversion percentage. To put that in perspective, since 2013, which is the last time that Woods won, the rest of the tour with a one-shot lead has gone on to win just under 25 percent of the time.

“I’m excited,” Woods said again. “I’ve been ready to go. I’m excited to play. It’s going to be fun.”

And is shaping up to be one hell of a comeback story.

The post Tiger Woods is 18 holes away from turning his comeback story into an epic tale of redemption appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

“It’s something that I just find really cool,” Conners said with a smile. “Obviously, he did something.”

But so did the 26-year-old Canadian rookie, who stuffed his wedge on the same par 4 to within a foot to set up a tap-in birdie of his own just a few minutes later.

“That was nice to kind of settle down from that,” he said.

That’s one way to put it.

Conners added birdies at Nos. 11 and 12 and finished with a three-under 68 to take a one-stroke lead at nine-under 204 into the final round over Justin Rose, Brandt Snedeker and Woods.

“You can’t ignore it, I guess,” said the former Kent State All-American of the looming presence of Woods and the chaos that goes with it. “But [I] just try to stay focused on my game. I think I’ve been doing a good job of that throughout the week so far and just keep that going.”

Related: Tiger Woods is 18 holes away from turning his comeback story into an epic tale of redemption

Indeed. Conners, who finished six strokes out of Monday qualifying but got in the field anyway as the third alternate when Kyle Stanley withdrew from the event, has led after every round this week at the Valspar. Not bad for someone who previously had made just 16 PGA Tour starts and never finished any round better than T-21.

Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Conners has played in just 16 previous PGA Tour events, and never finished better than T-21 at the end of any round until this week.

Playing behind Woods on Saturday didn’t seem to faze him, either. Conners opened with birdies on three of his first four holes and made three more around the turn before saving par from the sand on 17 and staying calm when his ball moved slightly on the green on 18, requiring a word from a rules official.

“I got into the field late, and kind of came in here with nothing to lose,” he said. “Just go and take advantage of a good break, and I felt really good about my game for the last little while. I ust wanted to get another opportunity to play, and fortunately I was able to get that opportunity this week and had a good week so far.”

Now comes the hard part, with Woods, Rose and Snedeker breathing down his neck. Arguably the most pressure packed moment previously in Conners’ golf career was playing in the final of the 2014 U.S. Amateur, where he would fall to Gunn Yang at Atlanta Athletic Club.

Come Sunday, Conners will be paired with a major-championship winner Rose for the final round and will play in front of Woods again.

“The last two days, I think draw on those experiences and yeah, just try to stay calm, stay with the process and be patient like I have the last few days,” Conners said. “I was thinking about that when I finished the round, that felt nice to kind of keep myself in the lead most of the day and the same thing [Sunday].”

Easier said than done.

The post Who is Corey Conners and could he really be the one who keeps Tiger Woods from winning on Sunday? appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Christopher Powers
A double-bogey late in his second round pared his lead in half, but Corey Conners still shot a two-under par 69 on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook in Palm Harbour, Fla., and will take a two-stroke lead into the weekend, with some compelling players lurking close behind.

“Really happy to be in the position I am and to be here, first of all,” Conners said. “Really excited. Kind of a new position for me, but what I work for, and looking forward to a fun weekend. It will be a challenge but I feel like I’m up to it and feel good about my game.”

Conners, who is tied for second in the field with nine birdies, was up to the challenge from the start on Friday, making three birdies on his first seven holes and turning in three-under 32. When he finally slipped up at the par-3 fourth (his 13th), Conners bounced right back at the par-4 seventh, hitting his 134-yard approach to tap-in range.

After getting into the field this week as a third alternate, the 26-year-old from Canada finds himself alone atop a leader board that features names like Tiger Woods, Paul Casey and Justin Rose not far behind.

“It will be a fun experience. The nice thing is there’s a ton of Canadian fans,” he said. “I think this is an important winter destination for Canadians. I’ve been feeling a lot of Canadian love out there and yeah, looking forward to more of that and I think it will be a lot of fun.”

Among a group two back at four-under 138 is Woods, who carded a three-under 68 that was bogey-free until his final hole. It was a second-round charge that had his fellow competitors in awe, including Casey and Brandt Snedeker, who each shot 68s to join Woods at four under. There even came a point where he held a solo lead for the first time since 2013 after making his fourth and final birdie of the day at the par-5 fourth (his 14th).

“I keep getting a little bit better here and there, making these little subtle tweaks and I’ve done that from tournament to tournament,” Woods said. “As I’ve said, I just need to get a little bit more tournament time in and I think I’ve done that and I’m starting to get a better feel for it. I’m figuring the rhythm of the rounds. I’m hitting the shots. I don’t have a problem posting scores. Not like I’m able to play more feel golf, just trying to figure out how to play golf again.”

Even with all the excitement surrounding this latest step in the comeback, Woods still knows there’s work to do.

“Got a long way to go, 36 holes. The wind is going to be totally different, conditions are going to be different, come close to coming out of the south this weekend. Ball will be flying a little bit further. Be a completely different test than what we had last couple days.”

Also at four under are Kelly Kraft (70) and Ryan Palmer, who shot the second-lowest round of the day, a five-under 66 that included a back-nine 31.

Five players are at three-under 139, including a trio of major champions in Rose, Webb Simpson and Keegan Bradley. Jimmy Walker (71), Patrick Reed (69) and Louis Oosthuizen (69) are at two-under 140.

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