Live leaderboard: Round 3 of WGC-Workday

Mark Hubbard … When a course like Detroit Golf Club rolls over for eagles and birdies, anything can happen, but no on statistically is more familiar with going low than the 31-year-old who is making his 100th start as a PGA TOUR member this week. He’s 37th in the FedExCup on the strength of a co-runner-up in Houston and another four top-13 finishes baked into his 13-for-17 record. Contributing to whole is a TOUR-high 37 rounds in the 60s. That leads Sungjae Im by two and a trio in third by six. Hubbard cashed in each of the first three events coming out of the break, but he’s yet to put four rounds together. At 33rd in Strokes Gained: Putting and T26 in par-5 scoring, he could be lighting his own fireworks this weekend. Maverick McNealy … Suffice it to say that the 24-year-old’s decision to choose professional golf over a career in business has been a good one. After two seasons of grooming on the Korn Ferry Tour, he makes his debut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic lurking in the Rookie of the Year race. Currently 58th in the FedExCup with a T5 among four top 20s and only three missed cuts in 16 starts, he’s fourth in his class in points. No question that his scoring club is the putter. Overall, he’s 22nd on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Putting, 31st in putting: birdies-or-better and 10th in scrambling. Peter Uihlein … With a T14 at Colonial to reopen the season, he proved that he was prepared to play again. It wasn’t the first time he’s enjoyed a solid week in Fort Worth, either, but last year’s T13 didn’t translate into success in the inaugural Rocket Mortgage Classic. He missed the cut on the number. This means that it’s time for second chance for the 30-year-old on conditional status. Nothing jumps off the page analytically over time, but he ranked T17 in greens hit at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Chesson Hadley … He missed the cut here last year during what largely was a long calendar-year 2019 inside the ropes with 14 MCs spanning 22 starts. He turned it around in the fall, but resumed the up-and-down form that must feel promising and demotivating all at once. That’s the life of a touring professional for ya, but his tee-to-green game is a place of encouragement. Sits 32rd in fairways hit, 28th in greens in regulation and T20 in proximity to the hole. He’s even 40th in converting GIR into par breakers, but when he’s missing his targets, there’s an elevated pressure on his putter that helps explain the inconsistency. Smaller greens like those at Detroit Golf Club benefit ball-strikers who don’t measure up on the greens, and he finished T23 on the similarly sized surfaces of Colonial just three weeks ago. Dominic Bozzelli … Saddled with conditional status this season, playing time is restricted, so he licks his chops at every opportunity. His form in 2020, albeit in only five starts, his last at the Korn Ferry Challenge at TPC Sawgrass, is uninspiring, but he was more than comfortable on the greens at Detroit Golf Club last year. He made the most of finishing second-to-last (of 71) in greens hit by ranking ninth in holing par breakers on those chances. This has been his calling card throughout his young career. He’s currently second on TOUR in putting: birdies-or-better. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions.

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PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – It’s been roughly a year since Jason Day first discussed the balloon therapy that helps keep his rib cage in place, strengthens his core and loosens his back. That means a year of 30-minute sessions blowing into balloons at the gym while others are pumping iron. “Mind you, you feel self-conscious because you’re in the gym blowing up balloons and no one else is blowing up balloons,â€� Day said. On the flip side, he’s become pretty adept at it. “Got really good at farm animals and … swords and stuff like that,â€� he said. “If you need a kids’ party, I can do it for you.â€� Related: Leaderboard | Pro-am leaderboard | TOUR Insider: Five wins and Phil’s lucky silver dollar Yes, he knows exactly how that comes across. But at this point, the 32-year-old Australian is trying anything he can to stay healthy and avoid the kind of back problems that have nagged at his career. The latest example came late in 2019 when he aggravated his back during a practice session and was forced to miss the Presidents Cup in his native land. Of course, when he’s healthy, the 12-time PGA TOUR winner is one of golf’s best players. He showed that again Friday at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am when he shot a bogey-free 8-under 64 at Pebble Beach – tying Chris Baker’s 64, also at Pebble Beach, for low round of the day – to move into solo second at 12 under, two shots behind leader Nick Taylor at the halfway point. Both Day and Taylor will be at Spyglass Hill on Saturday in the final day of the three-course rotation. It’s no surprise that Day is playing well in this event. He has six top-10 finishes in 10 career starts, including top-5s in the previous three years. “I would like to change having the top-5s,â€� Day said. “I would like to win.â€� It’s getting close to two years since Day’s last TOUR win at the 2018 Wells Fargo Championship. He was ranked seventh in the world after that win, but a tough 2019 campaign dropped him to 46th entering this week. The pain in his back became so bad – and the stress to deliver on those high expectations became so intense – that he wondered if he should continue playing. Frustrating and losing confidence, he told his wife at one point, “I think I’m nearly done here.â€� But those dark moments subsided. He persevered, hoping his health and his game would improve. Even if he’s not all the way back to where he once was – he ended 2016 as the game’s top-ranked player — he feels better about things. One area that seems to be coming around is his putting. He’s doing less of it during practice rounds – instead of 200 putts that might take more than two hours, he’s about at half that amount – and that’s allowed him to focus more on it. “Hoping that kind of lowering the reps and upping the concentration … will kind of even itself out,â€� he said. Oh, and yes, the balloon therapy helps, too. It was developed by the Postural Restoration Institute more than a decade ago. Day’s trainer Kevin Duffy introduced his client to it. After his round Friday, Day explained how it works. “If I stood with my shirt off, my rib cage always faces right,â€� he said. “So I’m trying — through balloons, blowing into them; I could do it without it – and I’m trying to hold a certain position and get my rib cage back into position. “But through blowing up a balloon, it actually pressurizes everything for you because if you don’t hold that breath and exhale out, it honestly feels like you’re suffocating. That’s the feeling that I’m trying to get.â€� He wants to make sure his thoracic is mobile and that he’s not turning from his lower back. “That’s really kind of why a lot of golfers have back problems because they get too tight in the thoracic and then they get tight hips and then they get their rotation through their lower back,â€� he said. So now, of course, you’re going to picture him blowing into balloons. Smile if you will. But also take another look at the second-round leaderboard. Jason Day is producing more than farm animals this week.

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