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It took a late birdie to pull it off, but Michael Thompson secured his second PGA Tour win on Sunday afternoon at the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities.
WILMINGTON, N.C. – Francesco Molinari resumed pole position while FedExCup leader Dustin Johnson barely made the cut as players completed their second rounds at the weather-delayed Wells Fargo Championship at Eagle Point Golf Club early Saturday morning. Molinari went 1 under for his seven holes, bogeying his last — the difficult, par-4 ninth — to card an even-par 72. He was at 6 under, one ahead of Billy Hurley III (69), Seamus Power (71), who finished Friday, and John Peterson, who played his last six holes in even par Saturday. “I managed to stay patient, just keep doing my thing,” Molinari said. “Holed a couple of nice putts, 17 and 18 last night, and then played well at the restart this morning. So, obviously, I’m pleased with where I am at the moment.” MORE: Live leaderboard | Third-round tee times | Weather Hub Rookie Jon Rahm, who is fourth in the FedExCup standings and finished his second-round 71 on Friday, was part of a large group of eight players at 4 under par, just two back. The 68 players who hadn’t completed their second rounds were in position by 7:30 a.m. and the horn blew to resume play in calm, cool conditions—much more benign than the day before. Although the attendance at Eagle Point has been robust, most people were still pouring their coffee and buttering their toast as Johnson stood on the 14th tee to resume his second round in the early-morning chill. He made a routine par, his birdie putt barely sliding by the cup, and birdied the par-3 15th hole. At that point he was 1 under par and going in the right direction. Over the next two holes, however, Johnson seemed to show the rust accumulated since he hurt his lower back falling down a flight of stairs the Wednesday of Masters week. Johnson blew his drive way right and bogeyed 16, and badly hooked his wedge approach to bogey 17, too. When he failed to birdie the par-5 finisher, Johnson could take comfort only in the fact that he had 36 more holes to figure it out as he goes for his fourth victory in his last four starts. His second-round 75 left him at 1 over, just good enough to make the cut, and ended his streak of 13 straight rounds of even par or better in stroke-play tournaments. He was seven behind. Adam Scott also barely made the cut at 1 over par. Phil Mickelson, who was disappointed in his double-bogey finish Friday to shoot 72, is at 1 under par overall and five off the lead. He is making his 20th PGA TOUR start in North Carolina, where he has never won. There are 43 players under par and within five of the lead going into the last 36 holes.
LOS ANGELES — Rory McIlroy had a 3-under 68 on Saturday at Riviera and shared the 54-hole lead with Matt Kuchar and Adam Scott going into the final round at The Genesis Invitational. Riviera is a thorough test, and the greens are difficult enough that no one could run away with it. Tiger Woods managed to run the other direction with a 76 that left him 15 shots behind. Kuchar had a two-shot lead at the start of the gorgeous day and kept there with three birdies and no bogeys through 12 holes. But he started to miss short putts, made three bogeys in a four-hole stretch and had to rally with a birdie on the 17th to regain a share of the lead with a 70. Scott holed a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th for a 67 that gives him a great chance to start his new year off with a win. Scott last played about two months ago when he won the Australian PGA Championship. He has a trophy from Riviera in 2005, even if the PGA TOUR doesn’t count it as an official win because it was shortened to 36 holes by rain. They were at at 10-under-par 203, and the final round figured to be wide open. Sixteen players were separated by four shots. Harold Varner III birdied his last two holes for a 69 and was one shot behind, along with Russell Henley (68). Dustin Johnson, who won at Riviera three years ago, had only two pars over his final 12 holes. That stretch also featured five birdies and an eagle for a 67. He was two shots behind, along with Joel Dahmen (66). Still in the mix was Hideki Matsuyama, who bogeyed his last hole Friday and was the last player to make the cut. Matsuyama played in the final group off the back nine, away from all the attention, and posted a 64. He was four shots behind and very much in the picture. Woods will have to wait another year to win at Riviera, another week to seek his record 83rd victory on the PGA TOUR. In a spot where he couldn’t afford to drop shots, he made more mistakes than he had all week, especially on the greens. He four-putted from 18 feet on No. 13, his second four-putt in as many tournaments this year and the first times since 1998 that Woods had multiple tournaments with a four-putt. He three-putted the 17th for par. He finished with a three-putt bogey from about 12 feet on the 18th. It added up to a 76, leaving him at the bottom of the pack. It was his highest score since he opened with an 81 at Royal Portrush in The Open Championship last summer, and the first time since the PGA Championship in May that Woods had consecutive rounds over par. “I hit the ball quite a few times, especially on the greens, and it was a long day,” Woods said. “I didn’t have a feel for it, I didn’t see my lines, I couldn’t feel my pace and I was just off. … Obviously, there wasn’t a whole lot I did right today, and figure it out tomorrow.” Woods said he wasn’t ready for the WGC-Mexico Championship next week and was not sure when he would play next. The idea is to peak for the Masters, still about two months away. Woods wasn’t alone in his struggles. Sung Kang missed a 2-foot putt during a stretch of three straight bogeys. Ryan Palmer took six shots to get out of a greenside bunker on No. 14 and made 9.
