Ko sets mark with No. 1 ranking; Zhang in top 50

FORT WORTH, Texas — Webb Simpson shot a 3-under 67 on Saturday to break out of a crowd and take the third-round lead at the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational. At 9-under 201, Simpson was two strokes ahead of Danny Lee and Paul Casey after both of them made long birdie putts at the 18th hole. Stewart Cink and Kevin Kisner were three strokes off the lead. Part of a four-way tie for the 36-hole lead, Simpson went ahead alone to stay after consecutive birdies to start his back nine. He made a 6-foot birdie putt at the 387-yard 10th and a 12-footer at the 630-yard 11th before finishing with seven consecutive pars. It is only the second time in 12 years at DEAN & DELUCA for the 54-hole leader to have more than a one-stroke advantage. Defending champion Jordan Spieth shot a 68 with a caddie switch after making the turn, and was at 4 under. Spieth’s regular caddie, Michael Greller, left the course after 11 holes because of heat exhaustion on a steamy day with temperatures in the 90s and the heat index higher than that. Damon Goddard, the personal trainer for the player and the caddie, carried the bag the rest of the round — a stretch when Spieth had a bogey and two birdies. Lee and Kisner also were tied for the second-round lead, along with Scott Piercy, whose shot 72 to fall five strokes back. After three birdies and three bogeys his first eight holes Saturday, Lee had a steady stream of pars until finishing with a 16-foot birdie for a round of 69. Casey, who shot 68, was alone in second for only a couple of minutes. He made a nearly 25-foot birdie putt that had just enough speed to fall into the cup at No. 18, while Lee was playing in the group behind him. Casey was 1 over for the day without a birdie until starting his back nine with three birdies in a four-hole stretch that included a bogey. Piercy was still within a stroke of the lead at 8 under after a par-saving 13-foot putt at the 12th hole after driving into the rough and hitting his approach in a greenside bunker there. Piercy then promptly hit his tee shot at the par-3 13th into the pond on way to a double-bogey. He followed with another bogey at 15 when he drove into the rough and then hit into a greenside bunker, and did the same at No. 18. Simpson, the 2012 U.S. Open winner playing in the final group, started the round with birdies at the first two holes. He gave one of those back with a bogey at the par-3, 192-yard No. 8 after missing the green with his tee shot. Since losing a playoff to Hideki Matsuyama at Phoenix, Simpson had missed four of nine cuts before this week. The four-time PGA TOUR winner’s best finish in that stretch was a tie for 11th at the RBC Heritage.

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Jerry McGee thought he might be in line for some good luck that week. He had come to the Florida Panhandle in April of 1975 to play in the Pensacola Open. One night before the tournament began, he and his wife Jill had dinner in a local restaurant. "We ordered oysters and I found a pearl in one of mine," McGee told the Morning Journal of Lisbon, Ohio last year. "I guess that was a good omen." It was, indeed. After opening with a 69 that left him five strokes off Andy North's lead, McGee steadily climbed the leaderboard. He led by one stroke through 54 holes thanks to consecutive 66s and ended up beating Wally Armstrong by two strokes. The win was the first of four on the PGA TOUR for McGee, who died Wednesday at the age of 77 just weeks after moving to Florida to be closer to his family. His son Mike, who is married to LPGA legend Annika Sorenstam, posted on Facebook that McGee was admitted to the hospital on Saturday. "He went downhill quickly," Mike McGee wrote. "Lots of complications that had been brewing. We were blessed that my parents moved to Orlando and we could all say our goodbyes and be together. "He had struggled for a while and I really believe that after many years of us wanting them to move closer that he finally acquiesced because he knew this was coming. Once my Mom was settled here he was at peace." McGee, who was born July 21, 1943 in New Lexington, Ohio, was a fixture on the PGA TOUR in the 1970s and PGA TOUR Champions from 1993-2004. He started out playing baseball and football but became interested in golf after his parents divorced and his mother later married a club professional. "When I was 14, some friends of mine took me to Firestone to watch the tournament; it was the Rubber City Open at that time," McGee told the Tribune Chronicle of Warren, Ohio in 2014. "And from that day on, I wanted to play professional golf." McGee played at Ohio State, then turned pro in 1966 and joined the PGA TOUR the following year. He made 404 starts and won four times, including twice in 1979, and played on the victorious U.S. Team at the 1977 Ryder Cup at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. "Outside of my family, playing on that team was the greatest thrill of my life," McGee told the Morning Journal in 2020. "To be one of 12 golfers picked to represent your country, I still get chills thinking about it." The slender 5-foot-9, 160-pound McGee was known on TOUR for his short game. He played in 26 majors and posted a trio of top-10s, including a tie for fifth in his 1972 Masters debut. "It's ironic the Masters is next week," Mike McGee wrote on Facebook. "That was by far his favorite week of the year and during his radiation treatments for cancer years ago, he played Augusta National in his mind." McGee was plagued by nagging injuries during his career and eventually sidelined by hypoglycemia, also known as low blood sugar, in 1981. He took a job as director of golf at Oak Tree Country Club in West Middlesex, Pennsylvania, where he go on to work for 12 years. During the last year of his employment at Oak Tree, McGee had a sign on his desk that said: 1993. It was a reminder that he would be eligible for what is now known as PGA TOUR Champions that year. "Everybody asked, ‘What's that,'" McGee recalled in a 2005 interview with the Tampa Tribune. "I just kept it between me and well, me. That was the year I turned 50, when I could join this tour. I gave it a shot. I've done well." McGee made 318 starts on the Champions Tour and posted five top-three finishes. He earned more than $3.2 million in a dozen seasons, including the 1999 campaign that was interrupted by surgery to remove cancerous tumors on the left side of his neck and the base of his tongue. After the surgery, McGee had 6 ½ weeks of radiation. He returned to PGA TOUR Champions four months later and ended up playing in 130 more tournaments before retiring after the 2004 season. "I was so lucky," McGee told the Tribune Chronicle. "I've gone to places, met people, that I would never had the opportunity to without the game of golf." In addition to his wife Jill, Jerry is survived by his brother, Don Holden (Joel); his daughter, Roxane Love-McGee; his son, Michael McGee (Annika Sorenstam); and his daughter, Michelle McGee (Mark Riley); along with grandchildren, Dylan Love, Ava McGee, Will McGee, and Liam Riley. There will be a Celebration of Life at a later date. Memorial contributions can be made to the Youngstown State women's basketball team.

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