Leaderboard: Crowded at the top at 3M

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – There’s a small, handwritten note in the Quail Hollow clubhouse that points out the course record and the direction of the first tee. The sign, which hangs in a hallway that leads out of the club’s bag room, sits under an oversized scorecard, written in perfect Calligraphy, that commemorates the 61 that Rory McIlroy shot here three years ago. It almost had to be replaces Saturday, as Peter Uihlein took advantage of softer conditions to shoot a 62 that put him in contention at the Wells Fargo Championship. Pars on his final three holes kept Uihlein from matching McIlroy’s mark, but Uihlein now owns the lowest score at Quail Hollow since it underwent renovations before last year’s PGA Championship. He has a chance to win after sneaking into the weekend with just a shot to spare. He made just three birdies over the first 36 holes hole, shooting back-to-back 72s to start Saturday’s round in 48th place. “The way the golf course was set up today, it felt you could get after it a bit,� Uihlein said. “The first two days felt like a U.S. Open.� He teed off at 8:46 a.m. Saturday and walked off the 18th green almost an hour before the final group teed off. When he signed for his seven birdies and an eagle, Uihlein was tied for first with 36-hole leader Peter Malnati. It was Uihlein’s best single-round performance this season in both Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green and Strokes Gained: Putting. He parred the first four holes, then played his next six holes in seven under. He capped off the run by hitting a 3-iron to 14 feet at the par-5 10th hole and making the putt for eagle. “It started out very innocently, and then in the middle of that stretch, the quality of shots he hit – the high, cut 6-iron into 6, and then on 10, hitting a 340-yard drive over the bunker and hitting a 3-iron into the green – at that point you kind of sensed that something is going to happen,� said playing partner Mackenzie Hughes, who shot 70. “He played phenomenally. It was a clinic. I was getting lapped.� Uihlein added birdies at Nos. 14 and 15, then concluded his bogey-free round with three consecutive pars. He missed birdie putts of 24 feet and 40 feet on Nos. 16 and 17, then saved par after his approach shot to 18 trickled off the green. A 31-footer at the ninth hole was the only putt for birdie or eagle that he made from outside 15 feet. Five of those eight putts were shorter than 10 feet. He didn’t miss from inside 15 feet Saturday, making all 17 of his attempts. He gained 3.4 strokes with his putter after needing just 25 putts. He holed all five of his attempts from 3-7 feet and both of his putts from 10-15 feet. He is currently the fourth alternate for THE PLAYERS Championship, but could gain entry in the field with a win this week. This isn’t the first time Uihlein had an opportunity to break 60 in a professional event. He shot 60 at Kingsbarns in the 2013 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. He just missed an eagle putt at the last that would have given him the first 59 in European Tour history. The 28-year-old is playing his first season on the PGA TOUR after graduating from last year’s Web.com Tour Finals, where he won the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. He ranks 86th in the FedExCup after finishing in the top 10 in two events in Asia last fall. He finished T10 at the CIMB Classic and T5 at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. Before this week, he’d missed the cut in five of his previous 11 starts. His only top-25s were T17s at the CareerBuilder Challenge and World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. Uihlein switched coaches last December and now works with Justin Parsons. Uihlein made practice swings Saturday with his glove tucked under his right armpit, a drill that helps him maintain the connection between his arms and body. It worked. He hit 15 of 18 greens Saturday, gaining slightly more than three strokes on the field with his approach play. McIlroy’s final-round 62 in 2010 remains the best single round from a Strokes Gained perspective at Quail Hollow in the Wells Fargo Championship. He gained 10.7 strokes on the field with that round, which led to his first PGA TOUR victory. He shot 66-62 on the weekend after making the cut on the number. McIlroy gained 10.2 strokes with his third-round 61 in 2015 that led to his second Wells Fargo Championship. McIlroy’s record is safe. Now Uihlein will focus on trying to win his first PGA TOUR event.  

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Nine people died in a fiery, head-on truck-van collision, including six college golfers and their coach. Fellow classmates say they aren’t sure how they will cope once the condolences fade and the memorials disperse.

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LAS VEGAS — Bryson DeChambeau holed an eagle putt from just inside 60 feet on the 16th hole that carried him to a 5-under 66 and a one-shot victory over Patrick Cantlay in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open on Sunday. DeChambeau won for the fourth time in his last 12 starts on the PGA TOUR. He had to survive a wild back nine at the TPC Summerlin in which four players had a share of the lead at some point. Cantlay, trying to become the first player to win back-to-back in Las Vegas in nearly 20 years, made a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-5 16th hole to take a one-shot lead. But from a bunker right of the green on the par-3 17th, Cantlay was fooled by the amount of sand under his ball and flubbed the shot. One hole behind him, DeChambeau rolled in his long eagle putt from just off the green and celebrated with a big uppercut. Cantlay missed his long par putt, giving DeChambeau control of the tournament. Cantlay birdied the 18th for a 65, but it wasn’t enough when DeChambeau played the final two holes conservatively for pars to finish at 21-under 263. DeChambeau won for the third straight season, and fifth time overall on the PGA TOUR. The 25-year-old American began his big run with a playoff victory at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, and then won consecutive FedExCup Playoff events in New Jersey and Boston. He said he was playing Las Vegas to shake off a little rust, and it turned into another victory. “I was able to play some great golf,” DeChambeau said. “I’m happy to get it done.” Not since Jim Furyk in 1998-99 had anyone successfully defended his title in Las Vegas, and Cantlay looked as if he might get it done when he drove the green on the par-4 15th for a two-putt birdie, and then rolled in another good birdie after having to lay up on the 16th. His tee shot into the 17th was a fraction away from catching a slope and feeding toward the hole. Instead, it tumbled into the bunker to set up what appeared to be a relatively simple shot. “When I dug my left foot in, it didn’t have a bunch of sand,” Cantlay said. “I hit the shot and there was more sand under the ball. I didn’t anticipate it.” He wasn’t the only player stung by the outcome. Former U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover had a 4-foot birdie putt on the 15th hole that would have given him a share of the lead with three holes to play. Glover missed the putt, and then missed a 30-inch par putt. One hole later, he was three shots behind. Glover finished with a triple bogey for a 71 and tied for seventh. Peter Uihlein, who shared the 54-hole lead with DeChambeau, didn’t make a birdie until the 11th hole, finished bogey-bogey for a 75 and tied for 23rd. Sam Ryder was one shot behind when his second shot to the par-5 16th bounced off a knob and back into the water. He managed to save par and birdied the last hole with a 15-foot putt for a 62 to finish alone in third. Rickie Fowler (63), Abraham Ancer (66) and Robert Streb (68) were another shot behind. DeChambeau won for the fifth time in just his 68th start as a pro on the PGA TOUR, dating to his victory in the John Deere Classic in 2017.  

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