Cut prediction: RBC Canadian Open

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PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Davis Riley made three birdies from tough spots to close out the front nine and then kept right on rolling Saturday until he had a 9-under 62, a tournament scoring record and a two-shot lead in the Valspar Championship. RELATED: Leaderboard | Wesley Bryan needs ‘special’ Sunday at Valspar Championship And just like that, a Masters invitation is in view for Riley, a 25-year-old PGA TOUR rookie. He played before the largest gallery at steamy Innisbrook, most of them there to watch the other Alabama alum in the pairing. Justin Thomas did his part with a third consecutive 66, which any other year would have set a tournament record. Riley stole the show with a creative chip-and-run from out of the rough and under a tree, and with a 70-foot bunker shot that clanged into the cup on the fly at No. 9. Those were two of his nine birdies on the Copperhead course — he had only 20 putts for the round — that helped him turn a five-shot deficit into a two-shot lead. “It’s always fun when you get to play with a good buddy and Justin obviously is one of the best players in the world,” Riley said. “There was definitely a level of comfort there for that.” Riley was at 18-under 195, breaking by four the tournament record last set a year ago by Sam Burns, who remains very much in the mix to win back-to-back. Matthew NeSmith, who set the 36-hole record and led by four shots when he made the turn, made his first bogey of the week at No. 10 and dropped three more shots. He sprinkled in enough birdies and a solid par save on the 18th for a 69. Riley and NeSmith will be in the final group Sunday. Thomas and Burns (67) were three shots behind and have the experience of winning. Adam Hadwin, who won at Innisbrook five years ago for his only PGA TOUR title, shot 70 and was five shots behind. NeSmith had reason to wonder what happened. He did everything right, with birdies on the par 5s, at 15-foot birdie putt on No. 7 and an 8-foot birdie on the ninth to reach 18 under. But he began showing a few cracks in his iron game, going into a bunker on the 10th, long on a pair of the par 3s and hitting a poor chip that led to bogey on the 16th. Even so, he was right there with a chance to win for the first time and earn a trip to the Masters, where his dad used to work as a part-time caddie. “This is what I’ve dreamed of as a little kid, coming out here and playing in the final group,” NeSmith said. “On the PGA TOUR the final group is the coolest thing in the world, and to have that opportunity and to play well was great. And I just tried to enjoy the walk. It’s hard. It’s obviously very hard. But I did a good job. “The goal was to finish 18 holes and enjoy the walk and we did both of those things today, so I’m pretty happy.” Thomas has gone more than a year since his last victory, at THE PLAYERS Championship, and stayed in the hunt amid the Riley show. He made a tough par save to close out the front nine and matched Riley with a 31 on the back nine to remain three behind. Even Thomas got caught up in Riley’s performance. “It was really impressive,” Thomas said. “It’s a big moment for a rookie — anybody — and he handled it like a rock star and made 9 under look very, very easy barring a crazy chip-in there on 9.” The Copperhead course played slightly tougher with the strongest breeze of the week on the tree-lined property. Even three days of sunshine couldn’t make the greens too firm, and players still took aim and scored low. The average score was 69.7. Xander Schauffele had a 68 and was in the large group at 11-under 202.

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Phil Mickelson faces perhaps the biggest challenge of his historic golf career as he partners with NBA legend Charles Barkley against two-time Super Bowl champion Peyton Manning and current Golden State Warriors NBA legend and three-time NBA Champion Stephen Curry in Capital One's The Match: Champions for Change. Stone Canyon Golf Club in Oro Valley, Arizona is our host as 44-time PGA TOUR winner Mickelson tries to get Barkley's notoriously unreliable swing smooth enough to get through against near-scratch golfer Curry and single digit handicapper Manning. RELATED: How to watch The event will contribute toward and highlight diversity, equality, and inclusion through donations to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and organizations that support them (Thurgood Marshall Fund, United Negro College Fund) while raising awareness and spotlighting opportunities for diversity and equality in sports. As many of us lay back in a food coma following Thanksgiving feasts it's also important to note The Match will support Feeding America. Around 50 million people may face hunger in the U.S. during 2020's pandemic times, including more than 17 million children. The competition format will be modified alternate shot match play where each player will hit a tee shot and the team can then choose their best option before continuing in alternate shot fashion until the ball is holed. PRE MATCH The smack talk has already begun with Manning handing Barkley a special kit that includes an airhorn he can blow if he gets lost in the desert. Clearly these four champions are out for some fun while raising money and awareness for great causes. Mickelson has his calves out in all their glory - and he'll likely need them to carry a pretty big load given what we've seen out of Barkley in the past. But the 44-time PGA TOUR winner is at least talking a confident game - while reminding us he'll be hitting bombs and hellacious seeds to put some pressure on the Curry/Manning combo. And hey, look at this, Barkley has actually made some decent contact on a few at the range. Could an upset be on the cards? GO TIME Just minutes away from the start of The Match and players are getting their final warm up moments in. Mickelson is dialed in on the putting green while Barkley is trying to stretch out his back before he submits it to his swing that usually resembles a frog in a blender. Curry and Manning have that look of quiet confidence but there's also a whiff of nerves coming from the duo who, at their best in their respective sports, were seemingly impervious to jitters. The anticipation for the smack talk battle is just as high as it is for the golf itself. HOLE BY HOLE HOLE 1: (par 4, 426 yards) The Curry / Manning team gets off to a fine start after Curry splits the fairway. Mickelson then busts out his driver and lets the group know, "I wouldn't normally hit driver here but I just want to set the tone," and cuts the corner of the dogleg left opener, but finds the rough. Barkley then takes iron and hits a perfect draw into the fairway, but it's well back meaning they decide to use Mickelson's shot. Manning pulls his approach ever so slightly to the fringe of the green, but ensures Curry will get a birdie look from around 20 feet. Mickelson tells Barkley the shot is 70 yards as he's worried about pace through the rough. It's actually 55 yards. Mickelson math backfires and Barkley hits it through the green to the back fringe leaving about 70-feet. "I won't do that to you again," the TOUR star is forced to say to his teammate. Mickelson lags it down to six-feet giving Curry a chance to win the hole, but his effort comes up well short. "I don't recall Tiger leaving you five-footers," Mickelson chirps to Manning referencing the previous Capital One's The Match where Tiger Woods and Manning bested Mickelson and Tom Brady 1up. Barkley leaves his par putt on the high edge and lips out but Manning makes no mistake and an early lead is established. Hole Result: Curry / Manning WIN Hole Scores: Curry / Manning - Par; Mickelson / Barkley - Bogey Match Score: Curry / Manning 1up Mickelson / Barkley Hole 2: (par 5, 559 yards) A change in strategy for the Mickelson / Barkley team is instituted immediately as Barkley defies all odds and finds his second straight fairway off the tee. Mickelson's drive is significantly longer, but they choose Barkley's ball, allowing Phil to try to reach the green in two. The 50-year-old comes up just short to the front of the green. After a sweet Manning drive, Curry lays up to a number that Manning clearly loved as his wedge shot tracks to the hole and actually lips out before settling about six-feet away. Unfortunately, Curry pushes the birdie putt out to the right. That miss proves costly as Barkley produces an impressive long lag putt from the front of the green to five-feet and given the chance to square the match, Mickelson makes no mistake. "I made a mistake there in strategy and gave them a hole," Mickelson says of the opening hole. "But Chuck and I can make pars and birdies on this course if we play to our strengths and with him that's his putting so I'll work on giving him those chances." Hole Result: Mickelson / Barkley WIN Hole Scores: Curry / Manning - Par; Mickelson / Barkley - Birdie Match Score: Curry / Manning ALL SQUARE Mickelson / Barkley Hole 3: (par 4, 304 yards) We've hit the Ford Mustang Mach-E Drivable par 4 challenge where a Hole-in-One would trigger a $5 million donation to HBCUs, an eagle nets $1 million, a drive within 10-feet is worth $250,000 and the winner of the hole $100,000. Mickelson doesn't even need driver and lets loose, coming up with a shot to the back fringe of the green. Barkley brings out his driver for the first time and snipes a low bullet that they can dismiss. Both Curry and Manning have a crack with driver with the former NFL star's shot just short and right in the rough the best of the two. Curry chips out, but the ball rolls out significantly so Manning must try for an unlikely birdie. It doesn't quite have the gas to get there and they settle for par. Barkley has a putt for the $1 million and the hole with Mickelson reminding him to "quieten his mind," and forget about the money, the cameras and all of the outside noise. His 25-foot eagle effort has some heat and runs five-feet past. The stress of it all is evident on his face, but you'd be hard pressed finding many 25 handicappers (Barkley's official number) able to do much better under the spotlight like this. Mickelson proves his pedigree by converting the birdie to win the hole and take their first lead in the match. Hole Result: Mickelson / Barkley WIN Hole Scores: Curry / Manning - Par; Mickelson / Barkley - Birdie Match Score: Mickelson / Barkley 1up Curry / Manning Hole 4: (par 4, 374 yards) Barkley has clearly been in some sort of golf boot camp like back in the day when he was part of the Hank Haney Project on Golf Channel. His swing is holding up fairly well under pressure and he once again finds the middle of the fairway off the tee. This allows Mickelson to go full flex with his calves and try to hit a bomb up near the green. "I've only seen one better resurrection," Gary McCord quips of Barkley's game in commentary. Mickelson does hit a huge drive that finds the fairway, but the 50-yard pitch would have to go over a bunker and find the correct tier of the green so he learns from the opening hole and decides to back his approach game from distance against Barkley's short game. A clever shot to about 18-feet makes the strategy appear genius. Manning's drive hooks into the left rough leaving Curry under enormous pressure given the momentum of the match. The Warriors weapon steps up in the clutch and pounds a good drive up near the green, albeit into the left rough. The angle for the short wedge approach is a good one though. Manning, mindful of needing to get the ball to the back tier where the pin is located, is just a tad aggressive and sends the second shot into the back rough, but close enough for Curry to use his putter for their third. That effort rolls some 10-feet past the pin. Barkley's attempt to win the hole with birdie from 18 feet is tracking, but ends up just short. It's good enough though when Manning pushes his par putt. Hole Result: Mickelson / Barkley WIN Hole Scores: Curry / Manning - Bogey; Mickelson / Barkley - Par Match Score: Mickelson / Barkley 2up Curry / Manning

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