Dustin Johnson cruises to 20th TOUR win in WGC Mexico Championship

Here are nine tidbits from the third round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. The TPC Louisiana in Avondale has been the host since 2005 and plays 7,425 yards to a Par-72. PAIN OR GAIN These were the top 10, plus one, picked golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO: *Did not make cut. There was plenty of movement on Saturday as the teams played the final round of the best-ball format. Today was the day to make birdies and make up ground with two chances to score on every hole. Tomorrow is going to test the nerves, trust and execution as alternate shot returns. Remember, there were only five rounds in the 60’s during the first go-around. REDEMPTION SONG The partnership of Scott Brown and Kevin Kisner will enter the final round as 54-hole leaders by a shot. The duo posted another beauty in the best-ball format as their 64 saw them post 20-under-par 196. They’re now 38-under in the best-ball format in this event. Kisner carried the weight today as they counted six of his seven birdies AND two bogeys. It’s no secret that Brown entered this week not in his best form. He’ll need to give his red-hot partner even more help tomorrow. Their 70 in the first alternate shot included only one bogey and no others and I’d bet they’d sign for that right now! UTAH MAFIA Speaking of not playing well recently, Daniel Summerhays currently sits No. 212 in the FedExCup standings. His season and career could change dramatically tomorrow as he looks for his first-career win in his 204th event. Tony Finau has gone close twice this season with a solo-second place finish at the Safeway Open and T2 at the Genesis Open. They fired 72 with five birdies and bogeys in their first attempt at alternate shot. NOT FADE AWAY Michael Kim and Andrew Putnam neither have won on TOUR but that hasn’t prevented them from battling the first three rounds. They haven’t squared a bogey on the week but did have to count a double in their first crack at alternate shot. The signed for 69 on Friday to take the 36-hole lead but couldn’t get obnoxiously low on Saturday to maintain or increase it. They are one of only two groups in the top 13 without a win on TOUR (Tyler Duncan/Adam Schenk is the other). They are currently the only group in the top 13 to break 70 in alternate shot this week. They’ll start one shot behind in the penultimate group so that could ease some of the pressure. WOULDA Sitting alone in fourth place two shots out of the lead is Brice Garnett and Chesson Hadley. They circled 11 birdies Saturday to bounce up 15 spots and have a sniff in the final round. They’ll be lamenting the fact that they had to circle a triple-bogey eight on No. 18 in their alternate-shot round on Friday. It stings even more that No. 18 is a Par-5 hole! They only have one other bogey on the week so keep an eye on them! COULDA Saturday Billy Horschel and Scott Piercy also fired 61 to get into the chase as they will start Sunday three shots out of the lead T5. What’s worse than signing for a triple on a Par-5 hole? How about making back-to-back doubles after opening birdie-birdie on Friday? They added two more bogeys that afternoon and added them up for 73 before bouncing back with 11 birdies Saturday. With seven wins between them, including a FedExCup, TOUR Championship and Zurich Classic, this group has PLENTY of pedigree of those within touching distance. SHOULDA If pedigree is to be an angle, the 2012 Zurich Classic and 2013 PGA Champion Jason Dufner brings five wins to the table. His partner Pat Perez has two of his own in the last 18 months. Neither had any form to speak of entering the week but I couldn’t tell today! They fired 61 with 10 birdies and an eagle. Yep, they had to count a bogey and also have a double on their card from Friday. There’s plenty of experience in this group of 40-somethings! MOVING DAY WRONG WAY! Nate Lashley and Rob Oppenheim opened some eyes when their bogey-free 69 on Friday jumped them into the top three. Just to illustrate how easy TPC Louisiana was playing on Saturday, the pair turned in 68 and dropped 11 spots to T14. The rookie-vet combo will need to dial up another low one to claim either’s first top 10 of the season. Round 1 co-leader Lucas Glover and Chez Reavie gave three shots back on Friday with 75 to drop to T12. Their 67 Saturday was almost two shots above average and they fell seven more spots to T19. Imagine if they didn’t make TWO eagles! The biggest drop of the day went to Chad Campbell and Matt Jones who plummeted from T3 to T24. Their 63-70 to open moved them up. Their 70 on Saturday sees them seven shots out of the lead and in need of serious help. STUDY HALL Slappin’ each other around, Matt Kuchar and Bubba Watson had more giggle than hit today as their 68 dropped them 17 spots to T24. The second time of best-ball resulted in even lower scores than the first round. Saturday’s 65.222 average was more than half-of-a-shot better than 65.887 on Thursday. Round 2’s average score in alternate shot was 73.863 so there’s the benchmark for Sunday. Last year the formats were switched as the final round was four-ball. Gamers preparing for the Wells Fargo Championship next week at Quail Hollow Club should be reminded that this event was NOT played on this track last year. Eagle Point was the host for Brian Harman’s victory as Quail Hollow Club prepared for the PGA Championship won by Justin Thomas.

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The PGA of America on Monday afternoon released the field list for the 104th PGA Championship at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma, next month. Tiger Woods and defending champion Phil Mickelson are on the list, along with 16 other PGA champions, although there’s no guarantee that Woods, especially, will play. Mickelson, 51, had one top-10 finish last season, but he made it count, winning the PGA Championship at Kiawah. He has 45 PGA TOUR victories, including six majors, and was last seen in action missing the cut at his hometown Farmers Insurance Open in late January. Woods, who nearly lost his right leg in a single-car accident in Los Angeles early last year, returned to competition at the Masters Tournament at hilly Augusta National last month. He opened with an encouraging, 1-under 71 but faded from there, his limp becoming ever more pronounced as he struggled to a 78-78 weekend. He finished 47th and committed to playing the 150th Open Championship at the notably flat Old Course at St. Andrews in July. “I don’t quite have the endurance that I would like to have had,” Woods said at the Masters, “but as of a few weeks ago, didn’t even know if I was going to play in this event. “To go from that to here,” he continued, “we’re excited about the prospects of the future, about training, about getting into that gym and doing some other stuff to get my leg stronger, which we haven’t been able to do because it needed more time to heal. I think it needs a couple more days to heal after this, but we’ll get back after it, and we’ll get into it.” He called his performance at Augusta National one of the most memorable of his career, thanked doctors for saving his leg, and praised physical therapists for helping him return to high-level competition. As for the PGA, he said he would have to wait and see how he feels, even though Southern Hills was the site of his fourth PGA Championship victory in 2007. It has since been updated by Gil Hanse, and will be hosting the PGA Championship for the fifth time, more than any other course. The full field won’t be set until May 9, after the final round of the Wells Fargo Championship, and will include anyone in the top 70 in PGA Championship points not already qualified.

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