Europe sweeps afternoon, rallies to Cup lead

SANDWICH, England – Jordan Spieth headed straight to the putting green for a lengthy practice session after a potentially costly flame out late in the third round of The 149th Open. The three-time major winner had moved into a share of the lead late on Saturday at Royal St. George’s only to bogey the final two holes from great positions, leaving the Texan three shots adrift of Louis Oosthuizen’s lead. Spieth’s 1-under 69, that included a three-putt bogey from close range on the 18th green, was a roller coaster ride that left him at 9-under 201 for the championship. Earlier Spieth had reached 12 under through 10 holes and was still sharing top spot with just three holes remaining in his round, despite making bogey on the 11th. But as Oosthuizen (69, 12-under) and Collin Morikawa (68, 11-under) got after the final holes, Spieth imploded. He came up short with a wedge from the fairway on the 17th, spinning back down a severe false front and was unable to get up and down to save par. Then after two great shots into the 18th green left him inside 20-feet for birdie, the 2017 Open Champion sent his first putt two-feet past before missing an attempted quick tap-in for par. “If that was unexpected, (the miss on 18) was shocking. He has to regroup and realize that he didn’t take himself out of the tournament,” former champion now analyst Justin Leonard said. “He was 3 over on his last eight holes…this is the second day in a row that this has happened, just kind of fell asleep a little bit. He has to regroup and realize that he didn’t take himself out of the tournament…the good news is he only has to pass two players.” But those two are major winners. If he is to do so he will need to turnaround his form on the closing stretch at the English seaside links course. If he is to do so he will need to turnaround his form on the closing stretch at the English seaside links course. Through three rounds Oosthuizen has played the back nine in a cumulative 6 under while Morikawa is 5 under on the same stretch. Spieth is just 1 under. While Spieth declined media requests in order to have his practice session his words after Friday’s second round stung rang true. “Those last six holes were kind of frustrating… I got in a weird head space, fatigued there on the 13th green as we were waiting and hitting putts. I just didn’t stay focused like I was early in the round. Wasn’t very sharp.” He claimed Friday it was an easy fix however the results Saturday told otherwise. Perhaps he found it in the session where coach Cameron McCormick kept a close watch.

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FedExCup points leader Bryson DeChambeau headlines the 30-man field that will determine the season champion, as the FedExCup Playoffs once again wrap at Atlanta’s historic East Lake Golf Club. Justin Rose, Tony Finau, Dustin Johnson and defending champion Justin Thomas round out the five players who can lay claim to the $10 million end-of-season bonus simply by winning the TOUR Championship. For everyone else, a little – or a lot – of assistance is required. FIELD NOTES Tiger Woods returns to postseason finale for the first time since 2013, when Henrik Stenson’s victory at East Lake allowed him to leapfrog Woods to the top of the standings. Woods will begin this week at No. 20. … Phil Mickelson is set for his 20th TOUR Championship start, extending his own record. He’ll also become the first man to reach 45 FedExCup Playoffs starts. … Jordan Spieth wound up 31st in FedExCup points, one below the cutoff. … Aaron Wise, winner of the AT&T Byron Nelson in May, is the only rookie to reach the final playoff stop this season. FEDEXCUP Winner receives 2,000 points. STORYLINES DeChambeau, who won both The Northern Trust and Dell Technologies Championship to start the Playoffs, seeks to become the first since Woods in 2009 to win from the No. 1 seed entering East Lake. If not, he’ll join McIlroy (2012) and Jason Day (2015) to win two of the first three Playoffs events but not the big prize. … The annual East Lake points reset gives everyone a mathematical shot at taking the crown. For No. 30 Patton Kizzire to win, though, DeChambeau would have to place in the bottom two at East Lake. … No. 5 Thomas, No. 9 Billy Horschel and No. 17 McIlroy have a chance to join Woods as the only two-time winner of the FedExCup crown. … Woods also can become the FedExCup’s first three-time winner, though he’ll need a win at East Lake, DeChambeau to finish no better than a share of 15th and other help. … BMW Championship winner Keegan Bradley stands No. 6, joining McIlroy (2016) as the only men to win one of the first three Playoffs stops but still needing help at East Lake to win the overall title. COURSE East Lake Golf Club, 7,385 yards, par 70. A Tom Bendelow design when it opened in 1908 as the Atlanta Athletic Club’s original home, the course got an overhaul just five years later by Donald Ross. It’s best known as the place where Bobby Jones learned the game, shooting 80 by age 11 and later stamping his name in history by completing the 1930 Grand Slam. East Lake welcomed the 1950 U.S. Women’s Amateur and 1963 Ryder Cup before a decaying neighborhood sent members moving to the northern suburbs. The AAC itself followed in 1967, leaving East Lake in the hands of 25 members opposed to the move. The club managed to hold on for a quarter-century before a 1993 project was launched to restore the club as a tribute to Jones. The TOUR Championship came to East Lake for the first time in 1998, becoming the annual host in 2004. For those visiting the Atlanta area, must-play courses include Bear’s Best Atlanta (Suwanee, Ga.), the Fazio Course at Barnsley Resort (Adairsville, Ga.) and Heritage Golf Links (Tucker, Ga.). Explore your options at TeeOff.com. 72-HOLE RECORD 257, Tiger Woods (2007). 18-HOLE RECORD 60, Zach Johnson (3rd round, 2007). LAST YEAR The TOUR Championship saw just its third split ceremony of the FedExCup era, with Thomas taking the $10 million season prize despite rookie Xander Schauffele winning the tournament. Thomas finished second on the leaderboard, carding birdies on two of his final three holes to finish off a 4-under 66. But that left him one stroke behind Schauffele, whose 68 was good enough to become the first rookie to win the season finale. It was his second win of the season, joining his win at the Military Tribute at The Greenbrier triumph in June. Thomas’ runner-up placement made him an easy winner of the points race, finishing 660 points ahead of No. 2 Jordan Spieth. East Lake’s closing ceremony had not crowned two winners since 2009, when Mickelson captured the tournament but Woods walked away with top FedExCup spoils. HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 1-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 12:30-2:30 p.m. (GC), 2:30-6:30 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, noon-1:30 p.m. (GC), 1:30-6 p.m. (NBC). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. (featured groups), 1-6 p.m. (featured holes). Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (featured holes). Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (featured holes). RADIO: Thursday-Friday, noon-6 p.m.; Saturday, 1-6:30 p.m.; Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).

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