Tears flow as PGA Tour pros remember Murray

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Justin Thomas got a lot done in eight holes Saturday, leaving with a one-shot lead over Adam Scott and facing a marathon finish in the rain-delayed Genesis Open. Thomas, a former FedExCup champion, played six holes in the morning, nearly holing a 9-iron and then making par with a flop shot on the green and over the bunker on the par-3 sixth as he completed a 6-under 65 to share the 36-hole lead with Scott, who also had a 65. They started the third round in the afternoon with only about 45 minutes of daylight, and Thomas holed a 12-foot eagle putt to take the lead. Scott missed his eagle attempt on the par-5 opening hole. The final group hit tee shots on the third hole when it was too dark to continue. They were to resume at 6:45 a.m. local time to complete the third round, and then head back onto the course in the same groups to try to finish. Thomas was at 13-under par through two holes of the third round. Tiger Woods completed seven holes and they were loud. Woods made a 25-foot birdie putt from the fringe on his final hole of the second round that assured he would make the cut — he ultimately made it with one shot to spare — and then he made Riviera rock with his start to the third round. Woods made birdie on No. 10, hit 3-wood to 10 feet for eagle on the par-5 11th, holed a 20-foot birdie putt on the 12th and a 15-foot birdie putt on the 13th. Just like that, he was tied for 12th as the leaders were just getting going. Woods remained seven shots behind, and he stopped playing after his third shot on the par-5 17th came up short of the green. Patrick Rodgers, who completed a 67, opened with an eagle and was two shots behind Thomas. The start of the tournament was delayed seven hours by rain Thursday and has been trying to catch up, creating a disjointed feel to the week. Thomas said he could barely feel his toes when he warmed up Saturday morning in temperatures in the low 40s and darkness as he set out to finish the second round. He also was up before dawn on Friday to get ready to start his opening round. Imagine how he felt when told when the third round was to resume. “I’m still trying to get over that 6:45 a.m. start I just heard,” he said. “That’s in a couple of hours.” Conditions were so good that players wanted to get in as many holes as they could, so they launched tee shots on No. 3. But darkness sets in quickly off Sunset Boulevard, and they had no choice but to stop. Scott could hardly see the flag from 136 yards away. “I have no depth perception because I can’t see the flag,” Scott said. Michael Thompson, who didn’t get into the tournament as the first alternate until Sunday, was at 10 under. Rory McIlroy finished off a 63 in the morning to get back in the game, and he had one birdie through three holes in the third round. He was playing with Jordan Spieth, who had a 70 in the morning to finish four behind. Spieth three-putted for par on the opening hole, missing from 3 feet, and three-putted from the fringe on No. 3 for a bogey to fall six shots behind. He also missed a 10-foot birdie on his final shot of the day. But there is a long way to go. Saturday night usually feels like the end is near. Instead, the final group still has just under half the tournament to go. Woods, while seven shots behind, still had 29 holes to play. “All of us have to deal with it,” Woods said. “I’ve got to get in two solid rounds. They’re pushing us to get through it. Give us a bag lunch and we’re off.”

Click here to read the full article…

The third round of the Puerto Rico Open takes place today. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 2:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m. (Golf Channel). Sunday, 2:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. (Golf Channel). TOUR Pulse: Get the PGA TOUR app to utilize TOUR Pulse, which provides users the ability to experience a mix of content, such as video highlights, written hole summaries and stat graphics on every player after every hole they complete. MUST READS Wu leads by one after second round in Puerto Rico Campos at home at Puerto Rico Open Monday qualifiers

Click here to read the full article…

AKRON, Ohio — Justin Thomas took all the drama out of the final World Golf Championship at Firestone, never letting anyone closer than two shots and closing with a 1-under 69 to win the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational for his third PGA TOUR title this season. Sweeter than capturing his first World Golf Championship was the sight behind the 18th green Sunday. His grandparents, Paul and Phyllis Thomas, watched him win for the first time on the PGA TOUR. Paul Thomas was a career club professional and played at Firestone in the 1960 PGA Championship, missing the 54-hole cut. His son, Mike Thomas, also is a career club pro in Kentucky and a former PGA of America board member. “I got a little choked up when I saw grandma and grandpa over there,” Thomas said. “It’s really cool. They don’t get to come out very often.” They saw a one-man show. Playing in the final group with Rory McIlroy, the 25-year-old Thomas made only two birdies. That was all he needed on a day when just about everyone within range was making all the mistakes. McIlroy finished the back nine with consecutive bogeys and never recovered. Ian Poulter shot 74. Jason Day tried to make a run by making three straight birdies, only to play the final six holes in 5 over to shoot 73. Tiger Woods, an eight-time winner at Firestone, started 11 shots behind and figured he would go out with a bang by playing aggressively. He turned in a dud, and a birdie on the 18th hole gave him another 73 to leave him 15 shots behind. “Things could have certainly gone better,” Woods said. “But it is what it is, and on to next week.” Thomas must feel the same way. He had gone five months since his last victory, a playoff win at the Honda Classic. While he didn’t feel as though he were playing poorly, he didn’t have the results to back it up. Now he does, and Thomas heads to St. Louis next week for the PGA Championship, where he will try to join Woods as the only players to win back-to-back in stroke play. Woods did it twice. Thomas had not had a score better than 67, and he had not finished higher than a tie for 28th in his two previous appearances at Firestone. “I’m glad I finally played well around here, just in time to leave,” he said. Firestone has held tour events since the Rubber City Open in 1954. The World Series of Golf began in 1962, and it became an official PGA TOUR event in 1976. In many respects, it was the precursor to the World Golf Championships by bringing in winners from around the world. Bridgestone shifted its title sponsorship to the PGA TOUR Champions, which will bring its SENIOR PLAYERS Championship to Firestone next year. The World Golf Championship instead will move to Memphis, Tennessee. Thomas finished at 15-under 265 for a four-shot victory over Kyle Stanley, who got within two shots of the lead until bogeys on the 13th and 14th holes. Stanley closed with a 68. Dustin Johnson, the world’s No. 1 player who was coming off a victory in the Canadian Open last week, started the final round 10 shots behind and shot 29 on the front nine. A birdie at No. 10 put him three shots behind, but that was all he had. Johnson bogeyed the last hole for a 64 and shared third with Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark, who also had a 64. U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka had a 67 to finish fifth. McIlroy won at Bay Hill in March and has three runner-up finishes, and he had said Saturday afternoon he was tired of finishing second. Not to worry. His 73 gave him a tie for sixth. Thomas becomes the 21st player to win a World Golf Championship and a major, and his three victories tie him with Johnson and Bubba Watson for most on the PGA TOUR this year. The ninth victory of his career moves him to No. 2 in the world, with a shot to regain the No. 1 ranking next week at the PGA Championship. He set the tone early by hooking a pitching wedge over a steep lip in a fairway bunker to just short of the green and saving par with a 6-foot putt, then holing a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-5 second. “It was big because I was really nervous today,” Thomas said. “It felt like it had been a while, but I guess it hadn’t really been that long. I don’t know. I was very nervous, very jittery. To make that putt on 1 and again on 2 just kind of calmed me and got me going for the day.”

Click here to read the full article…