Sindelar, Price now healthy, happy ... and in contention

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Stan Badz/PGA TOUR

A slimmed-down Joey Sindelar is just happy to be playing golf after a health scare last year.

BOCA RATON -- A year ago, Nick Price wasn't sure how much more competitive golf he wanted to play.

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Three months ago, Joey Sindelar was lying in an Intensive Care Unit bed after suffering a pulmonary embolism.

Saturday, both of the Champions Tour's well-liked guys looked happy and healthy after shooting matching seven-under 65s to charge into contention entering the final round of the Allianz Championship at Broken Sound.

Both players have to deal with a leaderboard more crowded than an early-bird buffet at a South Florida restaurant. They're tied for fifth place at 11-under 133, two shots behind Tim Simpson (65) and Tommy Armour III (64), who's trying to win his second start on the Champions Tour after finishing runner-up last week in Naples to Fred Couples. John Cook (66) and Bernhard Langer (65) are tied for third place at 12-under 132.

"There's so many guys up there, it's going to take another round in the mid-60s to win it," Price said. "You know somebody is going to go low like Armour did last week (he shot a 61). That's the kind of golf we all want to play."

Sindelar is just happy to be playing golf. During the Charles Schwab Cup last Oct. 31, he felt a shortness of breath. After five holes he was taken to a nearby hospital where doctors discovered he had blood in both lungs from clotting.

"They said it was a good thing I didn't play another hole or we wouldn't be having this conversation," Sindelar said. "There I was ... fat, dumb and happy, playing in our biggest tournament of the year, and the next thing I know I'm in the ICU. It was quite the wakeup call."

Sindelar has dropped about 10 pounds, and said he wants to lose some more. He's also like to drop enough putts Sunday to win his first Champions Tour title after a pair of runner-up finishes.

"That would be a wonderful thing to win out here," Sindelar said. "It's great to have a chance."

Price admits he was a little burned out and frustrated with his game. Many had expected the World Golf Hall of Famer to dominate the Champions Tour when he turned 50 in 2007, but he failed to win his first two seasons. That all changed with his victory in last year's Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am. He finished in the top 10 in almost half his starts.

"If I had putted better, I might have won four or five times last year," Price said. "My career on this tour has been pretty disappointing, but I'm excited about playing again. I'm ready to win multiple times on this tour."

A little more competitive fire isn't the only thing different about Price's belly. He went to a belly putter this week for the first time in his career. He might have done well to make the move earlier -- he has averaged just 27.5 putts in the first two rounds. Price said he made his move at the urging of his caddy, Matt Minister.

"What I thought was funny about it was Nick said I was putting badly, so he made me a long putter," Minister said. "When I made a putt on the first hole during a practice round, he said, 'If that can help you that much, I should try it.'

"It frees him up. He doesn't have to think too much. He just rolls the ball."

Nobody is rolling his rock better than Armour. Including his last round at Naples, he's averaged 64.0 in his last three starts.

"I'm playing well and the ball is going where I'm aiming," Armour said in his usual low-key fashion. "I'm going to play aggressively, like I always do."

Simpson has battled health issues even greater than Sindelar. He contracted Lyme disease in 1991 and it left him with a neurological disease known as benign essential tumor. He had to have an electric stimulator implanted deep in his brain to help control shaking and prevent seizures.

Simpson returned to competitive golf in 2006. His best finishes on the Champions Tour were a pair of runner-ups in 2008.

Simpson knows all about Armour's tendency to go low and the resumes of Price and Langer. But he knows something else.

"I'm looking forward tomorrow to taking a shot at 'em," he said. "Whether I win or lose, I'm going to go down swinging."