Noh double-bogeys on 18th, falls into 3-way tieNoh double-bogeys on 18th, falls into 3-way tie
Yealimi Noh fell into a three-way tie atop the Volunteers of America Classic on Saturday after she double-bogeyed the par-4 18th.
Day: December 6, 2020
How will Seahawks’ backfield shake out with Chris Carson, Carlos Hyde back?How will Seahawks’ backfield shake out with Chris Carson, Carlos Hyde back?
Slowly but surely, Seattle’s backfield is returning to full strength, giving fantasy owners tough choices on who to roll with going forward.
Hoge seeks first PGA Tour win, trails Grillo by 1Hoge seeks first PGA Tour win, trails Grillo by 1
Tom Hoge, without a win in his PGA Tour career, birdied four of the last five holes to shoot a 65 and pull within one shot of Emiliano Grillo at the Mayakoba Classic.
Justin Thomas cards 62, moves into contention at Mayakoba Golf Classic presented by UNIFINJustin Thomas cards 62, moves into contention at Mayakoba Golf Classic presented by UNIFIN
PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico - Since his rookie PGA TOUR season in 2014-15, Justin Thomas has demonstrated an unmatched propensity for going low. Thomas carded 9-under 62 in Saturday's third round of the Mayakoba Golf Classic presented by UNIFIN, marking his 11th score of 9-under or better since joining the TOUR. No other player has carded more than five rounds of 9-under or better in that span. After an opening-round 72 at El Camaleon GC, Thomas has moved into the mix at the final FedExCup event of the 2020 calendar year, carding scores of 67-62 over the last two days. The University of Alabama alum shares fifth place at 12-under total, four back of leader Emiliano Grillo. Thomas, 27, knows another low round Sunday is likely necessary in order to hoist his 14th TOUR title. He has also proven over recent years that he has the tools to do it. "I'm trying to birdie every single hole," said Thomas of his recipe for carding 62 on Moving Day at El Camaleon. "A course like this, as easy as it can play when you get ball in hand (Saturday played as lift, clean and place in the fairway), as soft as it is ... if you know how far you're hitting your irons or wedges, the ball is going to stay right where it lands, especially with no wind like yesterday or today. So I feel like I can use that to my advantage. "You can't put a ceiling on this place when you're playing it. You've just got to try and make as many as you can." Thomas did just that on Saturday. Beginning the day on No. 10, he recorded nine birdies against zero bogeys, including birdies on five of his final seven holes to move into contention. After admittedly struggling on the greens Friday, Thomas quickly turned things around. He has started working in recent months with putting coach John Graham, in an effort to complement sound mechanics with new feel concepts. One of the goals: swiftly adjusting mid-tournament when experiencing struggle with the flat stick. Mission accomplished on a bogey-free Saturday. "I just made some more putts," said Thomas of his third round. "I very easily could have shot 62 yesterday. I told my dad, the worst 67 in the history of golf, I think it was yesterday. I played unbelievably; I just really struggled on the greens. "It's crazy to say that I left some out there, but I finally made some putts and felt a little better over it." This fall, Thomas has already recorded career-best finishes in the Masters (solo fourth) and U.S. Open (T8). His last win came at the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational in early August, and he maintains full belief in his potential for many more wins in the coming years. With another low round Sunday - of which he has demonstrated his capability time and again - that 14th TOUR title could occur amidst the Mayakoba mangroves. "Hopefully tomorrow will be a day where I make them all," he said.
Emiliano Grillo holds one-shot lead at Mayakoba Golf Classic presented by UNIFINEmiliano Grillo holds one-shot lead at Mayakoba Golf Classic presented by UNIFIN
PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — Emiliano Grillo steadied himself with a pair of birdies over the last six holes Saturday for a 3-under 68, giving the Argentine a one-shot lead going into the final round of the Mayakoba Golf Classic presented by UNIFIN RELATED: Leaderboard | Bhatia proving he belongs Tom Hoge, without a win in his PGA TOUR career, birdied four of the last five holes at El Camaleon Golf Club for a 65 to get within one shot of the lead. After two days of rain, the course was soft and susceptible to low scores and quick movements, and there were plenty of both. Players were allowed to clean and place their golf balls in the fairway. Adam Long ran off seven birdies on his opening nine holes before he slowed and had to settle for a 63. Justin Thomas, who started on the back nine, played bogey-free for a 62 to get back in the mix. He was four shots behind. Tony Finau also got in on the action, but only briefly. Finau made a hole-in-one on the 103-yard fourth hole with a gap wedge. He followed with three more birdies on the front nine and got within one shot of Grillo at one point. But he was wild with the driver, and it finally caught up with him. Finau bogeyed the 11th and 12th, and he failed to make birdie on the par-5 13th with an iron for his second shot. He had no birdies on the back nine, dropped another shot on the 18th and wound up with a 69, leaving him five shots behind. Grillo was at 16-under 197. His only victory was in the season-opening Safeway Open in 2015 in his debut as a PGA TOUR rookie. He rallied that day at Silverado. Sunday will be the first time he takes a lead into the final round on the PGA TOUR, but he should get some confidence from being at Mayakoba. This was his 19th round at El Cameleon, all of them under par. "Started in the lead, finished in the lead, that’s kind of the idea," Grillo said. "Hopefully, one more of those." Even so, it figures to be a wild chase in the final official PGA TOUR event of the year. Ten players were separated by five shots, and Saturday showed that ground can be made up quickly. "Didn't have it on the back nine for me. Luckily I'm still within reach," Finau said. "A lot of guys scored today. Hopefully, I'm one of those guys tomorrow that takes it low. It's going to take probably a low to mid-60s round for me tomorrow." Viktor Hovland, who won in Puerto Rico in one of the final events before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down golf for three months, put together a string of birdies of his own down the stretch for a 63 that left him alone in third, two shots behind. Thomas didn’t feel as though he played that much differently from the second round, when he had a rough time on the greens in the afternoon and finished with two bogeys for a 67. He said he told his father it might have been the worst 67 ever shot. "I felt like I could have shot 60, 61, 62 and shot that," he said. "So I just really just tried to go out there and didn't really have a game plan or mentality, just try to hit the fairways and, with the ball in hand, just attack and make a bunch of birdies. And we did."