Race to the finish is on for young and old at the Safeway Open

Tiger Woods always travels in a crowd. Whenever he plays, he is surrounded by thousands. In his first tournament in five months and first without fans, he experienced the new normal.

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KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Jordan Spieth, who was going for the career Grand Slam at the 103th PGA Championship at Kiawah, shot a third-round 68 to get to even par for the tournament. He rued several missed chances and will likely be too far back to contend for the victory, which would have given him all four men’s major titles – a distinction held by only Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Nine Things to Know: Kiawah Island “You know, I chipped in and made a long par putt on 15, so I can’t really say that it should have been a lot lower,” Spieth said after hitting just nine greens but getting up and down for par eight times. “But this is a round where I’m walking up the 18th going, man, this could have been special today. I had four or five really with no pace on it lip out today. Obviously had a couple go in. “But it felt like one of those really good 6-, 7-under rounds that ended up being 4,” he added. Spieth’s victory at the Valero Texas Open in early April, his first win since 2017, capped off this year’s best comeback story. He was coming off a T9 at the AT&T Byron Nelson last week. Although expectations were high for Kiawah – he came in ranked 26th in the world, eighth in the FedExCup – the 2015 Player of the Year got behind early with rounds of 73-75 and barely made the cut. He failed to birdie either of the front-nine par 5s Saturday, but made over 100 feet of putts. His only bogey came at the notorious par-3 17th hole, where he missed left of the left bunkers and couldn’t get up and down. At even par for the tournament, he was five behind 54-hole leaders Phil Mickelson and Louis Oosthuizen and assuming he would be as many as seven behind by the end of the day. “Very pleased with climbing back to even,” he said. “I hate being over par at a golf course. I mean, it’s like my biggest pet peeve regardless of when it is in the tournament, and I just hate seeing an over-par score next to my name. So it’s nice to be tied with the course with a chance to beat it tomorrow.” As for beating all the other players, he sounded resigned to having to wait another year. “Yeah, if I were at 4-under and the lead was only 7, then things could be different,” he said. “But I’m not.”

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - Let's try this again. For the second straight Sunday on the PGA TOUR, Lee Westwood (68, 13 under) and Bryson DeChambeau (67, 11 under) will make up the last group on the last day at THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass. "Really looking forward to it," said Westwood, who made nine straight pars to start his third round but made four back-nine birdies. "I enjoy playing with him. I enjoy his company and his caddie's company. It's like round two, the rematch." RELATED: Full leaderboard | Inside THE PLAYERS’ greatest comeback | 20-year anniversary of ‘Better Than Most’ Westwood, 47, will be vying for what he said would be the biggest victory of his career, one that has seen him rack up 42 worldwide victories - including two TOUR wins - but no majors. DeChambeau, 27, would be the first FedExCup leader to win here since Tiger Woods (2013). The final twosome will have plenty of accomplished players behind them. A resurgent Justin Thomas (64) and first-timer Dough Ghim (68) are at 10 under, just three back, while Paul Casey (67) - who made the cut here for just the fifth time in 13 starts - Jon Rahm (67) and Brian Harman (69) are also right in the thick of it at 9 under, four behind. It's the Westwood-DeChambeau reprisal, though, that has people talking. Westwood went into the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard last Sunday with a one-shot lead over DeChambeau, who wound up beating him by a shot. This time the leader Westwood, who will turn 48 next month and would be the second oldest PLAYERS Champion (Fred Funk, 2005), will take a two-shot cushion into Sunday. "Well, in junior golf," DeChambeau said, when asked when he'd last gone head-to-head with the same player in two consecutive tournaments. "That’s about it. But it was the same couple guys." In the ShotLink era (2003) the only other time the same two players have gone head-to-head in the final group in two straight stroke-play events on TOUR was when Adam Scott and Vijay Singh battled for the 2006 TOUR Championship and '07 Sentry Tournament of Champions. Asked what stands out about Westwood after playing with him a week ago, DeChambeau, who ranks eighth in Strokes Gained: Approach The Green through three rounds, didn't hesitate to cite Westwood's girlfriend and caddie, fitness instructor Helen Storey. "She’s keeping him steady and level-headed," he said, "and she’s a rock. Keeps his mind focused on the right things, and she’s been awesome for him. That’s one of his secret weapons, I think." Westwood elaborated. "Yeah, I think at my stage of my career, there’s not a lot a caddie can tell me," he said, "but obviously Helen gets me in a fantastic mood out there, and psychologically she can help me and say the things that I need to hear. She helps me in that aspect an immeasurable amount." As for what impresses him about DeChambeau, Westwood mentioned versatility. Bay Hill, he said, is a different sort of course, allowing a player to "open up the shoulders" and hit the long ball. The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, where hazards lurk seemingly everywhere? Not so much. "Credit to Bryson," said Westwood, who is one for six in converting 54-hole leads/co-leads into victories on TOUR. "You wouldn't association this golf course with his style of game." Not that the Stadium Course is a bad fit, he clarified. It's just not as good a fit as Bay Hill. "But he's up there," Westwood said. "It just shows he can adapt his game." Westwood is seeking to win in his 15th start at THE PLAYERS, which would match the most starts by a first-time winner in tournament history (Tom Kite, 1989; Funk, '05). DeChambeau is seeking to become the fourth to win the week immediately preceding a victory at THE PLAYERS, and first since Woods in 2001. "Definitely not a two-horse race," said Westwood, who had five top-10 finishes in 14 starts here coming into this week. "And this golf course is one of the hardest to front-run on, as well." One hazard neither Westwood nor DeChambeau will encounter Sunday: a lack of familiarity with their playing partner.

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