Inside the Field: Travelers Championship

LAS VEGAS — Patrick Cantlay came within one putt of a 59 on Saturday, instead matching his low score on the PGA TOUR for a share of the lead with 20-year-old Tom Kim going into the final round of the Shriners Children’s Open. If the third round was any indication, anything goes on the TPC Summerlin high above the Las Vegas Strip. Cantlay had five birdies in his opening six holes, and then poured it on again down the stretch with five birdies in a six-hole stretch that put him on the cusp of his first sub-60 round. He had a birdie putt from just inside 25 feet that broke sharply to the right, and Cantlay played it a little too high of the cup. It was his first 60 on TOUR as a pro — his other 60 was at the 2011 Travelers Championship as a 19-year-old amateur after Cantlay finished his freshman year at UCLA. Cantlay has never shot 59 even at his home course of Virginia Country Club in Long Beach, California, and he smiled when asked about the stress of his final putt. “I would have liked to have made it, yeah,” he said. And then his thoughts turned to a final round, which shaped up as a dandy. Kim is a budding star, having won the Wyndham Championship and delivering big moments in his debut at the Presidents Cup. He birdied five of his last six holes, sticking a wedge to 2 feet on the 18th, for a 62 that put him in a tie with Cantlay at 19-under 194. They were three shots clear of a Mito Pereira (67) and Matthew Ne Smith (63), with defending champion Sungjae Im (63) another shot behind. For Cantlay, a good performance in Las Vegas is familiar. He picked up his first PGA TOUR victory in a playoff at the TPC Summerlin in 2017. He twice was a runner-up in Las Vegas. His worst result was a tie for eighth in 2020 when he had a share of the 54-hole lead. “I think I drive the ball in the fairway a lot here, and I’m not afraid of hitting driver on most every hole, so I have a lot of wedge into greens, and I have a lot of looks,” Cantlay said. “If I make a bunch of putts, I can shoot low scores.” He’s been doing that all week, only on Saturday he kept hitting it a little closer and made most of the mid-range putts he had been missing. Cantlay putted for birdie on every hole, and that birdie chance for 59 on the 18th was his second-longest putt of the round. But then, Cantlay also knows what to expect at Las Vegas, and his work is not done. “No lead is safe around here,” he said. Pereira started the day with the lead, shot 67 and wound up three shots behind. Kim played bogey-free and needed a big run at the end to keep pace. “We haven’t run away with it,” Kim said. “I have to play well tomorrow. I’m sure a lot of guys are thinking that.” There were nine scores of 64 or better on a perfect day for scoring. The course average for Saturday was 67.9. Perhaps another example of the low scoring was Cantlay. His group of NeSmith and S.H. Kim played so well that Cantlay never hit first from a tee box on the back nine. NeSmith had a 63 and S.H. Kim had a 64. Cantlay already has won twice this year — one was with Xander Schauffele in the team event in New Orleans — and a victory Sunday would move him to No. 2 in the world.

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ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Chris Kirk holed an 18-foot putt for eagle on his final hole for a 9-under 63 and a one-shot lead in the RSM Classic. Kirk played the par 5s on the Plantation Course at Sea Island Golf Club in 5 under Thursday. The seven lowest scores of the opening round came on the Plantation Course during a picturesque afternoon on the Golden Isles. Joel Dahmen had a 64, while the group at 65 included Sea Island resident Hudson Swafford, Jason Kokrak and Brian Gay. Nick Watney and Brice Garnett each had a 5-under 65 on the Seaside Course, which will be used for the final two rounds. Kirk won at Sea Island four years ago for the second of his four PGA TOUR victories. The RSM Classic is the final PGA TOUR event of the calendar year.

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DETROIT (AP) — Bryson DeChambeau got the result he was looking for from transforming his body. With jaw-dropping drives and some clutch putts, DeChambeau won the Rocket Mortgage Classic by three strokes Sunday for his first victory of the season and sixth overall. DeChambeau shot a 7-under 65 at Detroit Golf Club, birdieing four of the first seven holes and closing with three straight. He finished at a career-best 23-under 265. Matthew Wolff (71) was second. He started the day with a three-shot lead and hurt his chances with five bogeys over his first 10 holes. Kevin Kisner (66) finished another stroke back. DeChambeau removed all doubt with a strong finish. He made a 30-foot birdie putt at No. 16, a short putt for birdie on the next hole and uncorked a 367-yard drive to set up another short putt at 18. DeChambeau came into the week with six straight top-eight finishes and was the only player with top 10s in the first three events after the restart from the coronavirus. He won for the first time since the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in November 2018. DeChambeau has dramatically changed his body, adding 40 pounds of mass, and took advantage of the time he had to work on his physique during the COVID-19 pandemic. His power was on full display in the Motor City with drives routinely went about 350 yards. DeChambeau’s drive on the 621-yard, par-5 fourth went way left and landed in greenside rough on an adjacent hole. He cleared trees and landed just short of the green, sending his approach 276 yards and he two-putted from 37 feet.

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