Everything you need to know for Mickelson/Brady vs. DeChambeau/Rodgers

In his own words, Davidson’s Alex Ross describes the swings and thoughts on a day when he did the unthinkable — shot 57 at an amateur event in Atlanta.

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PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – Notes and observations from the third round of the Mayakoba Golf Classic at El Camaleon Golf Club.  LEADING LIGHTS KUCHAR BUILDS LEAD Matt Kuchar shot a 6-under 65 to reach 20-under and build up a four-shot lead over Whee Kim (66) at the steamy Mayakoba Golf Classic on Saturday. Richy Werenski (67) and Danny Lee (67) are at 15-under, five back, with everyone else at least six shots behind. This marks the best-ever 54-hole score for Kuchar, 40, a seven-time PGA TOUR winner who finished 76th in the FedExCup last season after being in the top 20 for eight straight seasons. “I can’t imagine doing better through 54 holes,� said Kuchar, who had shot 64-64 the first two rounds. “I did think about it today that it would be nice to get to 7-under to match my first two rounds. … I’ve felt really, really good for three days.� Kuchar hit nine of 14 fairways at El Camaleon Golf Club, where accuracy off the tee is crucial. He’s 34 of 42 in that stat for the week, tied for third in the field. He also continued to hit greens (15 of 18), tame the greens (28 putts), and scramble well (eight of 10 for the week). His only hiccup was a bogey at the par-4 14th, of the two hardest holes Saturday. “This week it’s come together,� he said. “It’s been very satisfying.� Kuchar has used a local caddie this week as his regular caddie, John Wood, takes the week off to attend a reunion. David Giral Ortiz, who caddied for Mexico’s Armando Favela as he won a Mayakoba qualifier two weeks ago, has been the leader’s lucky charm, Kuchar said. Since finishing T3 at Mayakoba in ’08, he had played here just once, doing little besides make the cut. His most recent victory came at the 2014 RBC Heritage. NOTABLES CHAMP’S TOUGH ENDING. Cameron Champ, who won the Sanderson Farms Championship two weeks ago, was still in contention with an outside chance but double-bogeyed the 18th hole for a 69. He went from four off the lead to six back and in a tie for fifth. FOWLER DISAPPOINTED. Rickie Fowler three-putted from what he estimated to be four feet at the 12th and shot 69 to reach 10-under, but at 10 back he’s too far behind. “A little sloppy,� he said. “I missed a few short ones today that cost me probably at least three shots.� FINAU 8 BEHIND. Tony Finau, 9th in the FedExCup, shot 67, one of the better rounds of the day, but is still only 12-under and eight shots off the lead. He’s tied for 15th place. KIZZIRE STRUGGLES. Patton Kizzire was making a good show of it in his first title defense but struggled with a third-round 72 to fall to 10-under, 10 shots off the lead. OBSERVATIONS FURYK FOCUS RETURNS. Jim Furyk has gone from focusing on 12 players’ games to focusing on one player’s game after his turn captaining the U.S. Ryder Cup team. Now he’s trying to ascertain just exactly where he is with that one game, and seeing positive signs after a third-round 66 got him to 13-under total and into a tie for eighth. “It’s kind of fun to get back to playing again,� said Furyk, 48, who made par on 18 after his ball grazed the lip twice, once on his approach and once on his birdie putt of roughly five feet. When he closed with a 63 for a T4 at the Wyndham Championship last summer, it was his first top-five finish since the 2016 U.S. Open (T2). A 17-time PGA TOUR winner who won the 2010 FedExCup, he slipped to 141st and failed to make the Playoffs last season. “It was a lot of weeks where I didn’t really think about golf for me that much,� he said. Now he’s hoping starts at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (MC), Mayakoba and RSM Classic will help him assess his game. “I’ve got a lot of things I need to improve on,� Furyk said. “Had a lot of time off, had a lot of injuries the last few years.�  OFF DAY FOR MEXICO. It’s been a banner year for Mexico on TOUR, with four Mexican players earning full status for this season, and seven total teeing it at Mayakoba. Of the four made the cut at Mayakoba—Abraham Ancer, Jose de Jesus Rodriguez, Armando Favela and Oscar Fraustro—Ancer leads the way after a 67 got him to 13-under. Alas, Ancer’s 4-under score was better than his three countrymen combined, with Rodriguez (72) admittedly struggling in the heat and Favela (70) and Fraustro (71) mostly standing in place on moving day. QUOTABLES Toucan has brought me good luck.I don’t think you could drink enough.It was a lot of weeks where I didn’t really think about golf for me that much. CALL OF THE DAY For play-by-play coverage of the final round of the Mayakoba Golf Classic, listen at PGATOUR.COM. SHOT OF THE DAY

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Byeong Hun An has set a target of qualifying for the FedExCup Playoffs finale, the TOUR Championship, in August and hopes to light up the International Team’s chat group along the way as he seeks his first PGA TOUR victory. The 28-year-old Korean rising star tees up at The American Express in California for the first time this week where he hopes to maintain his strong start to the 2019-20 PGA TOUR season. During the fall, he posted three top-10s and a T14 at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions and is currently 20th on the FedExCup points list. As a late inclusion in the Presidents Cup last month in Australia, An played all five sessions and delivered two points in the International Team’s narrow 16-14 loss to the United States “Hopefully I can keep the momentum going from the Asian swing,� said An, who finished T6 at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES in Korea and T8 at the inaugural ZOZO Championship in Japan. Since playing full time on the PGA TOUR in 2017, An has flirted with qualifying for the TOUR Championship, which is exclusive to the top 30 from the FedExCup points list. His best FedExCup finish to date was 42nd in 2017 while he was 53rd last season. A former U.S. Amateur winner, An is hopeful a revised playing schedule will propel him to a first visit to East Lake in August. Over the last few years, he competed in the Middle East on the European Tour to begin a new year, but he will play the West Coast over the next three weeks, including the Farmers Insurance Open and Waste Management Phoenix Open. “It’s nice to have a good start (in fall) compared to the last two years where I didn’t play that many,� he explained. “I’m starting earlier in the West Coast as well and I hope to have a quick start and eventually get into the TOUR Championship … that’s my main goal this year.� An took notice when Rory McIlroy talked about how tweaking his tournament schedule enabled the Irishman to lift the FedExCup for a second time last season. With An’s wife Jamie due to give birth to their first child next month, the Korean made the easy call to swap his travel plans. “In the past, I would only start in Phoenix after the Middle East and I’ll be like in 100th place on the points list and it’s hard to chase the guys,� said An. “That’s why I added this week and the next two. I want to get my FedExCup ranking as high up as possible early on. I’ve been close (to the TOUR Championship) and I feel I need to play more and it seems to be working out.� He is also fired up after watching Australia’s Cameron Smith secure a first individual PGA TOUR title at the Sony Open in Hawaii on Sunday and now dreams of emulating his International Team member. An said the International Team’s Whatsapp group chat has been buzzing recently as Adam Scott won the week after the Presidents Cup, Louis Oosthuizen came close at the South African Open (finishing second to his former International Team partner Branden Grace) and Joaquin Niemann contended at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. “It was incredible to see Cam win. Hopefully I can break through and win one day. Our group chat has been going crazy of late. Hopefully this week someone else can step up, hopefully me or Sungjae (Im) or someone else. It shows the Presidents Cup has helped us. The group chat is still running and it’s great,� An said. Although the International Team came close to toppling the U.S. Team after leading into the final day’s Singles session, An believes the experience of playing for Captain Ernie Els earned him memories to last a lifetime. “It was good because I got a late call from Ernie,� An said. “I wasn’t expecting to play in all five matches which were incredible. I did lose a couple, won one and tied two matches which was fun. It was something I never experienced before and Ernie did a great job. Everyone trusted him and stuck to the game plan. No one had any say on who we wanted to play with and we just had faith in Ernie to pick the pairings. We got the points on Thursday, Friday and Saturday but lost in the end. On paper, the U.S. is a really good team and we were disappointed.� “We just didn’t play well enough in the Singles to beat them. But we showed we could play better in Foursomes and Four-Ball than previously. That’s a great takeaway from the week and it showed Ernie had the right formula. I enjoyed it as it had so much passion as we were playing as a team and not playing for ourselves. When Adam or Sungjae made a putt, I was probably happier than they were! I played for Ernie and I played for the International Team, which was a difference and I guess that was why I showed the passion on the course. “Of course I want to get back into the team … that’s another goal in two years’ time.�

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