Fujimoto takes slender lead into Singapore Open final round

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LAS VEGAS – Jason Day has continued his long-held belief of family first, pulling out of the Hero World Challenge to support wife Ellie through the early stages of a third pregnancy. Day was due to tee it up at his native Australian Open in Sydney on November 23-26 before flying back to the Bahamas the following week but will now forego the chance to be part of Tiger Woods’ comeback to spend less time away from his family. Woods is making his first competitive appearance since overcoming a fourth back surgery. Day missed the 2012 Open Championship to be at the birth of his first child Dash and the Australian summer of golf in 2015 for their second child Lucy. The couple’s third child is due in June, meaning Day’s place in the 2018 U.S. Open could be in question. Day hasn’t played in Australia since 2013. Since that time, he has become a major winner and spent time as world No. 1. As such, he felt it imperative to support his homeland when a choice had to be made. “I am thrilled we are having a third child and want to be a part of the journey as much as possible just like I was for Dash and Lucy,â€� Day confirmed. “I have always said family first and given I really wanted to support Australian golf this year and play in the Australian Open that unfortunately means I can’t join Tiger and the others at the Hero World Challenge this time around. “I wish his event much success and hope to return to it in the future.â€� Day’s withdrawal coincided with countryman Marc Leishman’s decision to also skip out on the 18-man field in Albany, with Leishman deciding to instead play in the Australian PGA on the Gold Coast. Leishman recently had his third child, a daughter Eva, and also has a rule not to be on the road too many weeks in a row. He originally planned to miss the Australian summer of golf and only play in the Bahamas, before having a change of heart. Coming off the best season of his life where he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and the BMW Championship Leishman’s home ties proved too enticing. “I’ve won on most tours around the world except Australasia. It’s a goal of mine, something that’s really missing from my resume,” Leishman told Australian reporters. “Getting that trophy at the PGA would be an awesome way to end what has been a really good year so far. “I was in to play that (Hero World Challenge). It’s a two-hour flight from my house over in America so I could zip down there, play the tournament and be home but it just wasn’t sitting right in my stomach that I wasn’t going home this year.â€� Leishman is also favored to pick up the prestigious Greg Norman medal, awarded to the best Australian player on the world stage of golf. Coming into the field in the Bahamas are former Open Champion Henrik Stenson and U.S. Presidents Cup team member Kevin Chappell.

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GREENSBORO, N.C. — Henrik Stenson shot a 4-under 66 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead in the Wyndham Championship. The 2013 FedExCup champion and The Open winner in 2016 was at 16-under 194 at Sedgefield with a round left in the PGA TOUR’s last regular-season event of the season. Webb Simpson, Kevin Na and Ollie Schniederjans were tied for second. Na shot a 65, Schniederjans had a 66 and Simpson — a North Carolina native who won at Sedgefield in 2011 — had a 68. Johnson Wagner was 14 under after a 65. Simpson had sole possession of the lead late in the round, before Stenson caught him during his birdie binge on the back nine. The Swede pulled even with Simpson with birdies on four of five holes, a run he capped by sticking his second shot on the par-4 17th some 10 feet from the hole and converting that putt. He could have ended his round with another one, but pulled his 15-foot birdie putt wide right and settled for par. Still, his 72-hole score is second-best in tournament play at Sedgefield, surpassed only by Carl Pettersson’s 191 in 2008. Simpson — a local favorite who grew up in Raleigh, played in college at nearby Wake Forest and named his third child Wyndham after that victory here — shared the 54-hole lead with Ryan Armour at 13 under. Simpson birdied his first hole, then reeled off 11 consecutive pars before briefly taking sole possession of the lead with birdies on the 13th and 15th holes. He sank a 20-foot birdie putt on No. 13 and two holes later, he settled for birdie after missing a 35-foot eagle putt on No. 15. Simpson could have caught Stenson on the 18th, but he pulled a 15-foot birdie putt left. Schniederjans — a 24-year-old, third-year pro from Georgia Tech — is chasing his first victory on tour and his fifth top-10 finish of the year. After shooting a 63 on Friday and starting his round two strokes off the lead, he became the first to 16 under with his birdie on the par-5 15th, hitting his second shot into the primary rough but recovering by chipping to 10 feet and converting the putt. Then came trouble on the next hole. His tee shot on the par-3 16th landed in a low greenside bunker, and he stuck his chip into the rough just above the sand on his way to a bogey that dropped him back a stroke. Na — who hasn’t won on tour since 2011 — joined Stenson in making a big move on the back nine. He had birdies on Nos. 14, 15 and 17, landing his second shot inside of 10 feet.

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