Haotong shoots 65, surprised to be leading PGA

IRVING, Texas – News and notes from Saturday’s third round of the AT&T Byron Nelson, with James Hahn taking a one-shot lead after shooting a 6-under 64. Click here for more from TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas. LEADERS NEED YOUR SUPPORT James Hahn is the tournament leader. That puts him in Sunday’s final group with his closest pursuer, Billy Horschel. He wonders if anybody will be watching. After all, Jason Day is in the group immediately ahead of the leaders. Sergio Garcia is in the group ahead of that. Both are past Byron Nelson champions and currently ranked inside the world’s top five. Meanwhile, FedExCup leader and world No. 1 Dustin Johnson will also start inside the top 20 on the leaderboard. “With DJ and Jason Day,â€� Hahn said, “… I don’t think there’s going to be people watching the final group tomorrow.â€� OK, Hahn was only joking … sort of. That’s certainly a lot of notable firepower going into a final round that could very well become a shootout. But perhaps playing in the shadows of the bigger names will be beneficial. After all, Hahn has won a TOUR event in each of the last two years, both against stellar fields. He’s in his fifth full season on TOUR. He’s ready to handle the pressure of his second 54-hole lead (he tied for third after leading the 2013 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am). “I think having the lead in the golf tournament in itself creates a lot of anxiety and nerves,â€� Hahn said. “If you weren’t nervous leading a golf tournament, there’s probably something wrong with you. I welcome the opportunity. For me, it’s just another test.â€� As for Horschel, he’s chasing after his first win since claiming the 2014 TOUR Championship and the FedExCup. Earlier this season, he was among five players making a playoff at The RSM Classic but was eliminated on the first extra holes. Since the start of the new year, though, he’s rarely been in the mix. He came into this week having missed four consecutive cuts – his longest streak since his rookie season in 2011. But thanks to three consecutive birdies to end his round Saturday, Horschel now has a chance to end his drought after his 4-under 66. “It’s great to be back in the final group,â€� Horschel said. “It’s been a little while. The last four to six weeks hasn’t been ideal for me.â€� Horschel said he found something positive last Friday at THE PLAYERS Championship when he shot 76 after enduring some bad breaks. He left TPC Sawgrass feeling better about his game and the direction it was headed. After three rounds in the 60s this week, his outlook seems to be warranted. “Just felt like this is a turning point,â€� Horschel said. “We’re going to look back at the end of this season and [consider] the second round of PLAYERS Championship [as] the turning point for my season.â€� While the bigger crowds may be elsewhere, Hahn and Horschel should have fun. Both use PXG equipment. In fact, Hahn already was in prime promotion mode Saturday night. “Go PXG,â€� he said. “Buy some clubs. They work.â€� DEFENDING CHAMP IS LURKING Prior to Saturday’s third round, Sergio Garcia told his fiancée, Angela Akins, that he needed to shoot a 65 to get back into contention. He went one better. Thanks to six birdies in his final eight holes, Garcia’s 6-under 64 has him just four shots off the lead. That gives him a chance to successfully defend his AT&T Byron Nelson title. He can also become just the third player in tournament history to win this event three times. The other two are Tom Watson and Sam Snead. “If I can play the same way I played the last couple of days and hopefully put another good round, see what happens,â€� said this year’s Masters champ. “… Still going to be a little bit of ground there to make up, quite a bit more than I would like to. “Obviously that 73 in the first round, it put me in that position. But at least we’re able to put two really solid rounds yesterday and today and hopefully into tomorrow.â€� SHOT OF THE DAY VANISHING FIVE-SHOT LEAD Jason Kokrak entered Saturday’s third round with a five-shot lead, the largest in tournament history. It didn’t last long. Kokrak suffered a triple-bogey at the par-3 fifth and by the time he reached the turn, he had been tied by James Hahn and then Jason Day. Give credit to Kokrak for plugging the leak, though, as he played the next 11 holes in 2 under before a late bogey dropped him into a tie for third with Day. His 72 was the highest third-round score of the top 29 players on the leaderboard. “I’m definitely not out of this golf tournament,â€� Kokrak said. “… I’d rather be stalking people than any other way. … I’m happy with where I’m at.â€� Kokrak said the fifth hole meltdown was caused by new sod in front of a greenside bunker. Instead of being able to splash out of the bunker, he had an awkward lie on the grass. His second shot finished on the other side of the green. After chipping on with his third shot, he then three-putted. “One of those things that happens in golf,â€� Kokrak said. “It was a bad break. If it’s in the bottom of the bunker, it’s not really that hard of a bunker shot. Maybe at worse make bogey there.â€� CALL OF THE DAY   ODDS AND ENDS Dustin Johnson’s 1-over 71 snapped a streak of 14 consecutive par-or-better rounds at the AT&T Byron Nelson. He’ll enter the final round seven shots off the lead. “I’ve got to go out and be aggressive and try to get you a low number,â€� Johnson said. “There’s some good scores to be shot out here at this golf course. I felt like I’m hitting it good enough, if I can roll some putts in tomorrow I’ll shoot a really low number.â€� … Jason Dufner certainly has good vibes here, having won in 2012 and posting two other top-10 finishes. His third-round 65 – which included an eagle at the par-5 16th from inside 7 feet – moved him into a tie for sixth at 8 under. He said he’s a little sad that Sunday will be the final round at this course before the tournament moves to Trinity Forest next year. “In good position going into tomorrow,â€� Dufner said. “Maybe we can send it out with a win.â€� … The 54-hole leader/co-leader has won just four times in the last nine years in this event: Adam Scott in 2008, Dufner in 2012, Brendon Todd in 2014, Steven Bowditch in 2015. … The largest come-from-behind victory after 54 holes is four strokes: Keegan Bradley in 2011, John Cook in 1998, Bob Eastwood in 1985 and Lanny Wadkins in 1973. BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA That’s golf. ⛳ï¸�#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/cVP1B8O480— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 20, 2017 Lots of contenders making moves on Saturday. With 5 birdies in his last 7 holes, @TheSergioGarcia is one of them.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/iNm33TgJQK— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 20, 2017 Three in a row to finish. ðŸ�¦ðŸ�¦ðŸ�¦@BillyHo_Golf books his tee time for the final group on Sunday.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/EEYFfwo6Zl— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 20, 2017

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Austin Cook (+10000 to win) … Golf. You just never, ever, ever, ever know. After enduring a dreadful 2021 that included 17 missed cuts, including 11 in a row at one point, he settled for 136th in the FedExCup. And even that was possible because a playoff loss at the Shriners last fall served as approximately 64 percent of his season total in points. A T15 at the Barracuda Championship in August was a glimmer, but it wasn’t until a seemingly pedestrian T32-MC-T11 in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals that translated into real success and fully exempt status on the PGA TOUR once again this season. Although splashing at 42nd in the pecking order of his category, he’s already on the board with a T11 at the Fortinet Championship and a solo 67th at the Sanderson Farms Championship, so he’s poised to climb into the top 10 when the first reorder occurs at the conclusion of The RSM Classic, which he won four years ago. Adam Svensson (+8000 to win) … When I signed off on my comment beside him at No. 137 in the full-membership fantasy ranking, I had revised “reinvented” to “refined” as a description of his evolution as a professional golfer. In his only previous spin on the PGA TOUR in 2018-19, the Canadian was among the top 25 in numerous measurements of ability from tee to green, but as it often is with fresh faces, poor putting relegated him to the Korn Ferry Tour. Suffice it to say that he doesn’t belong there, either. With two wins among eight top 10s, he’s back in the big leagues. To the message of what’s better, he slotted 36th on the KFT in putts per GIR during its two-year season, but he still checked in at sixth in accuracy off the tee and 11th in GIR. The ball-striking captured my attention for Port Royal, but the improved putting qualified him for this prop. Cameron Percy (+8000 to win) … This already is his second appearance as a Sleeper this season, and that’s OK. He lined up here for the Fortinet Championship and finished T64. He needed better to fulfill the terms of a Minor Medical Extension but the 47-year-old Aussie is set with conditional status for the remainder of this season. Sometimes, the absence of that hovering is addition by subtraction, but he’d look good in the vacuum of these variables, anyway. He’s cashed in eight consecutive PGA TOUR starts and he’s 2-for-2 at Port Royal where the wind likely connects with the muscle memory of his formative years Down Under. He also led the TOUR in 2020-21 in greens in regulation and finished T7 in proximity to the hole. Beau Hossler (+8000 to win) … After opening last season with five straight paydays in the fall, he went cold until June but four top 25s still left him on the outside looking into the FedExCup Playoffs and ultimately conditional status this season. Still just 26 years of age, he can get over on the learning curve as if he never sputtered. Perhaps a season-opening T16 at the Fortinet Championship served as a combination of a devil-may-care approach and relatively recent form, but it projects to continue at Port Royal where he’s finished a respective T24 and T26, the latter including a second-round 68 on a day when the field averaged 73.64. He split only four (of 14) fairways and hit nine greens in regulation that day, but this patented putter delivered as he needed it just 22 times on the greens. Mark Hubbard (+5000 to win) … Second appearance for the 32-year-old. He finished T41 in the inaugural edition but sat T20 entering the final round. After what was a career campaign in 2019-20, he backpedaled into more familiar territory well outside the top 125 in the FedExCup last season, but he ranked 19th in fairways hit, T52 in Strokes Gained: Putting and T4 in par-3 scoring. Of course, it now means that with conditional status, he has nothing to lose and everything to gain. He’s also picked up the pace in recent months with 13 cuts made in his last 16 starts on two tours. All four top 20s baked in that stretch were on the PGA TOUR, including a T16 at Silverado last month. Odds were sourced on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021. For live odds, visit betmgm.

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Xander Schauffele had the presence of mind to bring his Olympic gold medal with him to Memphis, just not enough bravado to wear it around his neck as he emerged to resume life on the PGA Tour after winning the Olympic men’s tournament on Sunday.

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