Hudson Swafford leads by two after 36 holes at Corales Puntacana

LAS VEGAS – It wasn’t supposed to take this long for Peter Uihlein to hold his first 54-hole lead on the PGA TOUR. Heck, it wasn’t supposed to take this long for him to be a regular on the PGA TOUR. But for the third straight day he finds himself in at least a share of the lead at the Shriners Hospital for Children Open chasing a win that many had expected would come earlier. Uihlein is a former world No. 1 amateur who grew up in and around the game of golf with his father Wally being the CEO of the Acushnet Company (comprises Titleist, Footjoy, Pinnacle and Scotty Cameron brands). He won the U.S. Amateur in 2010 and the predictions of a long and storied successful TOUR career came thick and fast. But it didn’t pan out that way and some eight years later the now 29-year-old sleeps on the brink of his big moment. Instead of earning his way on the PGA TOUR as a youngster Uihlein battled first through Europe’s secondary Challenge Tour before moving on to the European Tour. A win at the 2013 Madeira Islands Open secured a place there but he always envisaged a crack at his home TOUR. It wasn’t until a handful of starts in the 2016-17 season earned him enough non-member points to play the Web.com Tour finals that his chance would be realized. Uihlein won the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship and graduated. Last season he finished 64th in the FedExCup with three fifth place finishes his best efforts. Now he has his best look at a win but he must do so while surrounded by players who have already tasted PGA TOUR success and as such may face less nerves on Sunday. “This is all a step in the right direction of where I want to get to. If I want to become a top player in the world, win tournaments, this is what you got to do,â€� Uihlein said. “You have got to get yourself in contention in the final group on Sunday. I’m looking forward to it and should be a lot of the fun.â€� Tied with Uihlein at the top is Bryson DeChambeau who is already a four-time winner including three wins in 2018. DeChambeau backed up his win at The Memorial Tournament with victory in the opening two FedExCup Playoff events. As such he has huge confidence he can make it career win No. 5 at TPC Summerlin. “Knowing that if I can just stay in it and keep executing great shots every single time, I’m going to be tough to beat. That’s just the way it is,â€� DeChambeau said. “I’m striking it really well right now, and I think people know it. Next in line is Lucas Glover, starting one back. His resume has three wins on it, one of which is the 2009 U.S. Open. While he hasn’t won on TOUR since the Wells Fargo Championship in 2011 Glover was third at TPC Summerlin just two years ago having held the 54-hole lead. “I like it here. You got to drive it pretty good and you got to hit your numbers,â€� Glover said. “If I’m striking my irons well I tend to do that. Par-5s are all draw tee shots if you choose, and that’s good for me. Just one of those courses that feel good when I drive up every day, so it’s good.â€� Tied in fourth place and just two back are defending champion Patrick Cantlay and Robert Streb. Cantlay is buoyed by his efforts 12 months ago while Streb won The RSM Classic in 2015 and as such also holds experience to pull from. “It’s great to be around a place that you have good memories from. I think that’s a big thing out here,â€� Cantlay said. “Also knowing where to hit it, where to miss it, and where your ball is going to be no matter what shot you hit. That’s important. And I feel comfortable around here. Looking forward to tomorrow.â€� Rounding out the top six on the leaderboard is Cameron Champ. Last week’s winner at the Sanderson Farms Championship is just three off the pace. That experience, where he lost a four-shot cushion before storming home to win by as many, has him primed for the chase. “To be able to do what I did down the stretch … just the experience alone for me will help,â€� Champ said. “It was the first time in that situation for me, and the same thing this week (trying to back up a win). “I’m trying to just blur everything out and just focus on this event. Feel like I’ve done that well the first three days, and tomorrow just go for it.â€� One thing is clear given the talent up top. If Uihlein does prevail he certainly will have earned it.

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CHICAGO, Ill. – So far, so good for Phil Mickelson. Mickelson has won the TOUR Championship at East Lake twice (2000, 2009) but if he is to make it a third time he must first negotiate his way into the FedExCup top 30 at the BMW Championship. With an opening 5-under 66 leaving him tied 10th and just four off the lead at Conway Farms the veteran has put himself inside the projected top 30. Now he has to stay there. Mickelson, who found form in Boston two weeks ago with a T6 finish, started 36th and now projects to 29th. It’s been a frustrating year for the Hall-of-Famer who feels his form hasn’t translated to good scores. “I don’t know if validation would be the word I would use. Certainly encouragement and it would be a real positive given the lack of results,â€� Mickelson said when asked if a berth at East Lake would validate his year. “If you watch on the range and through the round it looks better than the score is. Now the score in the last five rounds have matched up. So, to make it into East Lake would be great.â€� Mickelson, who suffers from arthritis, has recently revealed a tweak in his medications and how he deals with it have helped unclog his mental game. The 47-year-old is able to focus more, particularly on the greens. He was 10th in strokes gained: putting in the opening round. “I was able to get my energy back up, get my focus back up and I think going bogey-free it shows that I’m much more in tune with each shot and really only hit one or two tee shots that I wasn’t happy with and then from there was able to recover and play a good, solid round,â€� he explained. “You have to be able to get connected to the hole (when putting) so that no matter how perfect the stroke is if you don’t tie in the speed with the line that you’ve chosen and get it connected to the hole you’re not going to make putts. “And that’s one of the things I’ve really struggled with on the greens is getting connected to the hole.â€� BUBBLE WATCH Here are the players who are projected to move inside and outside the top 30 that will advance to the final leg of the FedExCup Playoffs, the TOUR Championship. QUOTE OF THE DAY We have so much to play for every week but especially in these FedExCup Playoffs. All of a sudden you have a really good week, you could legitimately have a chance of winning the FedExCup. TOP 5 WATCH The Top 5 players entering the TOUR Championship will control their own destiny at East Lake. Here’s a look at how the current top 5 fared Thursday at the BMW Championship. 1. Jordan Spieth (65). Needed just 24 putts in a solid bogey-free 65. Spieth is protecting his top spot at the moment nicely. Projected first. 2. Justin Thomas (67). Bounced back from a double bogey to stay in contention for another Playoff win. Projected to second. 3. Dustin Johnson (71). Scrappy opening but Johnson showed character after falling to 3-over through opening six holes. Work to do from here but remains projected third. 4. Hideki Matsuyama (72). The Playoffs have not been too friendly to Matsuyama thus far. A tough day with the putter left him floundering. Projected to fifth. 5. Jon Rahm (69). Looked likely to make a surge after three straight birdies to close front nine. But an even par back nine stalled his push. Projected to sixth. FEDEXCUP NOTES • Danny Lee’s season officially ended on Thursday after the Kiwi was forced to withdraw early in his round with a lower back injury. Lee tried to get treatment on the course to continue but was unable to power on. At 69th in the FedExCup entering the week he will not advance to the TOUR Championship. • Team USA could have an early “winâ€� in the Presidents Cup with Phil Mickelson projected inside the top 30 and Louis Oosthuizen projected out. The TOUR Championship represents another competitive week to keep the game in sync. Mickelson was a captain’s pick for the U.S. team while Oosthuizen is a member of the Internationals. As it stands all 12 USA members project inside the Top 30 now. Just 5 Internationals project there. “To make it into East Lake would be great and also great to play the week before the Presidents Cup and help me keep my games sharp,â€� Mickelson said. • Jason Day, the winner at Conway Farms in 2015, came in ranked 28th and in danger of missing Atlanta. A 7-under 64 to be tied second projects him inside the top 10. • Charley Hoffman continues to flirt with wins. His 64 left him tied second and projected to 8th in the FedExCup standings. He and Paul Casey (projected 9th) remain the highest players without victories this season. • Marc Leishman started the week ranked 7th in the FedExCup and, after his opening 62, projects into the all-important top 5 at 4th. But he needs to remain in the top 2 to keep his spot, such is the impressive seasons of those above thus far. • The biggest potential mover of the week is Jamie Lovemark. At T2 after his -7 64 Lovemark projects up 39 spots from 58th to 19th.

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Round 3 of the Sanderson Farms Championship take place Saturday at the Country Club of Jackson in Mississippi. Will Zalatoris, Nick Watney and Sahith Theegala share the lead with PGA TOUR Rookies Cameron Young and Hayden Buckley just a shot behind. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Sunday: 4 p.m.-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel), times subject to change. PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 8 a.m.-7 p.m. (Featured Groups). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 1 p.m.-7 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 2 p.m.-7 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). TOURCast: Get shot-by-shot info in real time with shot tracks and video with TOURCast. TOUR Pulse: Get the PGA TOUR app to utilize TOUR Pulse, which provides users the ability to experience a mix of content, such as video highlights, written hole summaries and stat graphics on every player after every hole they complete. MUST READS Will Zalatoris shoots 61 to share lead at Sanderson Farms Championship Will Zalatoris inspired by U.S. Ryder Cup win Insider: Chesson Hadley’s big leap

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