Top 30 Players to Watch in 2019: No. 13 Patrick Reed

JEJU, South Korea – Justin Thomas fired a 2-under-par 70 to take a one-stroke lead after the third round of THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES. The reigning FedExCup Champion offset a lone double bogey and a bogey with five birdies to reach the clubhouse at 9-under 207. Scott Brown had back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 10 and 11 but recovered with a birdie on 15, adding to the one he had on the par-4 No. 5. Anirban Lahiri of India moved into a share of third place with Australian Marc Leishman (71) after a 69 that included four birdies and a bogey. Whee Kim (70) was the highest placed of the 16 South Korean players in the field, tied for fifth after a 72. Overnight leader Luke List struggled with the windy conditions and fell into a tie for eighth place after a 76. List had three bogeys on the front nine and a pair of double bogeys on the back nine. Jason Day also struggled with the wind, carding a 71 to be tied for 16th.

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KAPALUA, Hawaii – It was like 2018 all over again for Rory McIlroy. The former FedExCup champion wanted to rectify his final group woes at the Sentry Tournament of Champions to open 2019 but alas he just continued where he left off in 2018. On six occasions around the world last year McIlroy played in the final group in the final round and in all six he failed to win. He talked about needing patience in those moments. But on Sunday in Kapalua he may have been too patient as he started three off the lead but was overtaken from behind. Only five of the 33 players in the field shot worse than McIlroy’s 1-under 72 in calmer conditions. Winner Xander Schauffele shot 62. The average was 69.7. It dropped McIlroy to a T4 finish on debut in Maui. “My attitude was much better today, I didn’t press at all, I was very patient, it’s just something I’m going to have to persist in, just keep putting myself in these positions and honestly, I don’t think anyone could have beaten Xander today,â€� McIlroy said. “Obviously I could have shot a better score, but I did what I wanted to do. I gave myself plenty of chances, I hit most of the fairways, I hit most of the greens, just couldn’t get the ball to drop.â€� After three rounds of decent putting McIlroy ranked 27th in the field Sunday in Strokes Gained: Putting making just 31-feet of total putts. “Anything that was right-to-left I missed on the high side and anything left-to-right I missed on the low side. So Just one of those days where it just didn’t happen,â€� he said. “I’m going to go home and sort of reflect on this week and reflect on what was good and what maybe wasn’t so good and work on a few things and come back out and having learned a little more about my game than I knew coming into this week.â€� MUST-READS Schauffele embraces underdog mentality Woodland rues missed chance

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DUBLIN, Ohio – Tiger Woods had trouble finding his best rhythm after his group was put on the clock in the opening round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. The 81-time PGA TOUR winner and five-time winner at Muirfield Village still scratched out a 2-under 70, five back of Ryan Moore’s early 65. But he took heart in the knowledge that last time he won the event, in 2012, he also opened with a 70. RELATED: Watch PGA TOUR LIVE | Leaderboard | Tee times | Featured Groups | Chasing 82 The trio of Woods, FedExCup reigning champion Justin Rose and defending Memorial Tournament champion Bryson DeChambeau were officially put on the clock with eight holes to go in their round. But they’d been chasing from the start after all three needed to take time scrambling for pars on the 10th hole, their first of the day, and Rose made a tough double bogey on the par-5 11th right after. “That was frustrating, because we still had the last eight holes we were on the clock. (So) I did have to speed up,â€� Woods said. “We walked quicker. We got to the ball, slowed it back down trying to get in our natural rhythm.â€� While Woods said the trio tried all the little tricks to get back in position, DeChambeau was assessed a bad time on the par-5 fifth hole, meaning another could have resulted in a penalty. “It’s one of those things where we’re trying to get back in position, but unfortunately the way things work sometimes … when we tried to speed up and tried to get back into it, we kept making mistakes to not allow ourselves to catch up with the group ahead of us,â€� Woods said. “The group ahead of us, JT (Justin Thomas) doesn’t take a lot of time, Rory (McIlroy) plays quick, and Jordan (Spieth) was 7-under through 13 holes. So they’re obviously playing fast. And we were obviously not.â€� All the same, Woods was able to card two birdies in his last three holes to rescue what had been a pedestrian round. Woods was decent off the tee, hitting 11 of 14 fairways, but then hit just 10 of 18 greens. “It was close to being easily a few more under par. It was soft enough; it was gettable. And I just didn’t quite do it,â€� Woods lamented. “I had a couple loose irons. But look at the scores, they’re all getting after it today. I was close to being out there with them. “I just need to not make a couple loose mistakes like I did today, and it could have easily turned and shot 5- or 6-under par today.â€�

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