Hossler fires 60 to run up 2-shot Wyndham lead

Tiger Woods shot a 5-under 65 Saturday at the Tour Championship to take his first 54-hole lead in a tournament since 2013. He holds a three-stroke advantage over Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose heading into Sunday’s final round.

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The PGA TOUR enters the home stretch of events prior to the FedExCup playoffs with the 3M Open in Minnesota. Michael Thompson defends from 2020 while reigning FedExCup champion Dustin Johnson tops the field. FIELD NOTES: Dustin Johnson will tee it up at the 3M Open, looking for his first victory on TOUR since the Masters in November. He has had just two top-10 finishes during this calendar year and withdrew after the first round in Minnesota in 2020 due to a back injury… 54-hole Open Championship leader Louis Oosthuizen is set to make his 3M Open debut… Some of the other major champions set to tee it up in Minnesota include Charl Schwartzel, Jason Dufner, Gary Woodland, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson, two-time TOUR winner this season Stewart Cink, Sergio Garcia, and recent winner Lucas Glover… Rickie Fowler will make his tournament debut along with American Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker… Included in the Sponsor Exemptions are a foursome of college studs: Quade Cummins, Ryan Hall, John Pak, and the University of Minnesota’s Angus Flanagan. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points STORYLINES: Matthew Wolff returns to action on the PGA TOUR. The 2019 3M Open winner, which he won in his rookie season, was disqualified from the Masters and took a two-month break to focus on his mental health before coming back at the U.S. Open. He played the Travelers Championship (MC) and the Rocket Mortgage Classic (58) before choosing not to play the Open Championship. Wolff’s win came in just his third TOUR start as a pro… Fans, in full capacity, will be allowed back on site for 2021 and there will be a new, large spectator hub built out around the par-3 17th. COURSE: TPC Twin Cities, par 71, 7,431 yards. Designed originally by Arnold Palmer, the layout traverses naturally rolling terrain 15 miles north of Minneapolis/St. Paul on a former sod farm. Minnesota native and multi-time TOUR winner Tom Lehman was the player consultant for the course that features lots of water. One of the signature holes is the 7th, dubbed “Tom’s Thumb” after Lehman himself – it’s a risk/reward par four. 72-HOLE RECORD: 263, Matthew Wolff (2019) 18-HOLE RECORD: 62, Scott Piercy (first round, 2019), Bryson DeChambeau (second round, 2019), Matthew Wolff (third round, 2019), Lucas Glover (fourth round, 2019) LAST TIME: Michael Thompson found the winner’s circle on the PGA TOUR for the first time in seven years after he won the 2020 3M Open by two shots over Adam Long. Thompson had only one other top-10 finish on the 2019-20 TOUR season (T8, RBC Heritage) and started the year missing his first seven of 11 cuts. However, Thompson opened with a 7-under 64 and kept it steady through the weekend. He birdied No’s 16 and 18 on Sunday to hold off Long, who climbed 11 spots on the leaderboard in the final round to get into the mix. He birdied three of his first five holes on the back nine to put the pressure on Thompson, but despite birding No’s 16 and 18, like Thompson, a bogey on the penultimate hole ultimately derailed his chances. Nine golfers finished tied for third at 16-under, while defending champion Matthew Wolff was two shots further back and finished T12. HOW TO FOLLOW (All times ET) TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 2:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday 7:45 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (Featured Groups). Saturday-Sunday, 7:45 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes). RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 1 p.m.-6:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Each day at THE PLAYERS Championship, PGATOUR.COM’s staff writers will dive into the big issues and questions everyone is discussing. Spoiler alert — we don’t always agree. Dustin Johnson has never had a top-10 finish at THE PLAYERS. Will he remain in contention after his co-leading 6-under 66? Mike McAllister (Managing Editor) – Difficult to think the world No. 1 won’t stay in the hunt but consider me skeptical. Track record’s just not there. But if he shoots another 66 on Friday… Sean Martin (Senior Editor) – I think so. He’s the No. 1 player in the world, so there’s no reason to think that he won’t. He just has to remain disciplined and stick to his game plan. Ben Everill (Staff Writer) – Contention… Yes. Will he win? No. I don’t think his putting will stay as solid over the next three rounds. Cameron Morfit (Staff Writer) – It seems likely. He believes he’s found something with his putting with the new putter and his new use of the Aimpoint system of green-reading. And that self-belief should carry him through to some more solid rounds. What kind of odds would you give Si Woo Kim to repeat after his opening 67? McAllister – Still not good, but he continues to impress me at the TOUR’s signature course. Hit 12 fairways and 14 greens on Thursday. Martin – No one has ever repeated at this event, so history is against him. This course is so penal, and field so strong, that it’s no surprise that no one has gone back-to-back. Everill – I’ll offer 30-1. Si Woo certainly loves this place and is an almost robotic talent at times but history and the quality of others who also started well are against him. Morfit – Around here I’d say maybe 5-10 percent. No one has ever repeated. Kim played well enough to win at RBC Heritage, and he looks imminently comfortable at TPC Sawgrass, but we were reminded how quickly the course can strike back when he made those back-to-back bogeys on 7 and 8. In 10 words or less, describe the Tiger-Phil-Rickie performance. McAllister – Misconceive, underachieve and long sleeves. Martin – Underwhelming. Everill – A tough day at the office. Morfit – A mild letdown, but the afternoon conditions were tougher. Biggest surprise of the opening round? McAllister – The kneejerk reaction is Steve Stricker but he talked me off the ledge after his 67. “I’m not surprised,â€� he said. “I feel like I’m capable of putting up a round like this.â€� Gotta love the last-man-in shoots 67 story. Nice job, Keith Mitchell. Martin – Phil’s 79 is definitely up there, but I think that Keith Mitchell’s 67 deserves this honor. The rookie was the last man in the field. He didn’t get in the event until Wednesday. Nice debut. Everill – The obvious one is Keith Mitchell but to be honest Adam Scott’s 69 surprised me a bunch given his recent lack of form. The former PLAYERS champ is free-falling down the world rankings but now has a chance to arrest the slide. Hope he does. Morfit – Given the fact that Dustin Johnson had no top-10 finishes in nine starts here, his 66 was pretty surprising. Funny how quickly we forgot about the world No. 1. Keith Mitchell’s 67 was unexpected, as well. Biggest non-surprise of the opening round? McAllister – Matt Kuchar off to a strong start. He’s won here before, and though he denies it, I suspect he wanted to make amends for his last trip around TPC Sawgrass (an 81 in third round last year). Martin – Sergio Garcia’s 68. Playing the final three holes in 3 over par was a surprise, but the guy is a perennial contender at TPC Sawgrass. Everill – That Phil Mickelson struggled while wearing his new button-down office shirt. I just can’t get used to it. Morfit – This is a tie between past champions Sergio Garcia (68) and Matt Kuchar (66). They love TPC Sawgrass, and they showed it yet again.

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