McIlroy’s moment: Why winning the Masters this year would mean more

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — Emiliano Grillo steadied himself with a pair of birdies over the last six holes Saturday for a 3-under 68, giving the Argentine a one-shot lead going into the final round of the Mayakoba Golf Classic presented by UNIFIN RELATED: Leaderboard | Bhatia proving he belongs Tom Hoge, without a win in his PGA TOUR career, birdied four of the last five holes at El Camaleon Golf Club for a 65 to get within one shot of the lead. After two days of rain, the course was soft and susceptible to low scores and quick movements, and there were plenty of both. Players were allowed to clean and place their golf balls in the fairway. Adam Long ran off seven birdies on his opening nine holes before he slowed and had to settle for a 63. Justin Thomas, who started on the back nine, played bogey-free for a 62 to get back in the mix. He was four shots behind. Tony Finau also got in on the action, but only briefly. Finau made a hole-in-one on the 103-yard fourth hole with a gap wedge. He followed with three more birdies on the front nine and got within one shot of Grillo at one point. But he was wild with the driver, and it finally caught up with him. Finau bogeyed the 11th and 12th, and he failed to make birdie on the par-5 13th with an iron for his second shot. He had no birdies on the back nine, dropped another shot on the 18th and wound up with a 69, leaving him five shots behind. Grillo was at 16-under 197. His only victory was in the season-opening Safeway Open in 2015 in his debut as a PGA TOUR rookie. He rallied that day at Silverado. Sunday will be the first time he takes a lead into the final round on the PGA TOUR, but he should get some confidence from being at Mayakoba. This was his 19th round at El Cameleon, all of them under par. "Started in the lead, finished in the lead, that’s kind of the idea," Grillo said. "Hopefully, one more of those." Even so, it figures to be a wild chase in the final official PGA TOUR event of the year. Ten players were separated by five shots, and Saturday showed that ground can be made up quickly. "Didn't have it on the back nine for me. Luckily I'm still within reach," Finau said. "A lot of guys scored today. Hopefully, I'm one of those guys tomorrow that takes it low. It's going to take probably a low to mid-60s round for me tomorrow." Viktor Hovland, who won in Puerto Rico in one of the final events before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down golf for three months, put together a string of birdies of his own down the stretch for a 63 that left him alone in third, two shots behind. Thomas didn’t feel as though he played that much differently from the second round, when he had a rough time on the greens in the afternoon and finished with two bogeys for a 67. He said he told his father it might have been the worst 67 ever shot. "I felt like I could have shot 60, 61, 62 and shot that," he said. "So I just really just tried to go out there and didn't really have a game plan or mentality, just try to hit the fairways and, with the ball in hand, just attack and make a bunch of birdies. And we did."

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HOUSTON — Ahead of the 2019 Houston Open at the Golf Club of Houston, PGATOUR.COM caught up with some of the world’s top golfers to see what equipment they’re using and testing. Highlighted in this week’s equipment gallery are the clubs of Keegan Bradley, Henrik Stenson, Cole Hammer, Chris Baker, Chad Campbell and more.  RELATED: Henrik Stenson retires trusty 3-wood

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Caddies should’ve been compensated with hazard pay. They may need to re-sod the drop area before Sunday. RELATED: Remembering five toughest days at TPC Sawgrass High winds – including gusts up to 35 mph – hit TPC Sawgrass on Saturday and nowhere were their impact more strongly felt than at the course’s trademark hole. One of Richard Branson’s private islands had a higher population density than the 17th hole on Saturday. Just hitting the green was cause for celebration. Twenty-one players had to play the 17th hole Saturday afternoon as they completed the weather-delayed first round. An extra 48 hours wasn’t enough time to prepare for what awaited. Those 21 unlucky souls combined to put 10 balls into the lake that surrounds No. 17. They played the hole in an average score of 4.1 strokes. There were calls from some on social media, most notably Golf Channel commentator and former TOUR winner Brandel Chamblee, to suspend play because of what was happening at 17. They wanted a rules official to step in, like a boxing referee protecting an overmatched opponent from being pummeled by Mike Tyson. But, after two days of heavy rains that soaked the Stadium Course, the show had to go on. The sun was finally shining on TPC Sawgrass, and the wind wasn’t blowing hard enough to move balls on the greens, the one condition that would have necessitated another suspension of play. The difficulty was apparent right from the start, as the first three players to play the hole Saturday all hit it into the water. These guys were no slouches, either. It was the star-studded group of Xander Schauffele, Brooks Koepka and Scottie Scheffler. An innocuous wedge shot under calm conditions, players were debating between 7- and 8-irons at 17 on Saturday. They needed to calculate the perfect combination of trajectory and force to find the putting surface. Hit it too high and your ball could be knocked down by the wind, which was blowing into the players and from the left. Hit it too low, however, and it may not take enough yardage off. That’s exactly what happened to Billy Horschel. His ball was still in the air when he barked, “That’s over the green.” He was right, as his ball bounced off the back of the island and into the lake. “I knew it. I knew it,” he barked at his caddie. “I told you I flight it better than everyone else.” Matt Kuchar hit a 6-iron, his ball sailing over the water and onto the walkway that leads players on and off the island green. “At least it’s dry,” someone said after Kuchar’s ball landed in that awkward position. Many players took a detour to the drop area before arriving at the walkway. Five of the first nine players to visit 17 found the water. The group of Matt NeSmith (4), Brendan Steele (6) and Emiliano Grillo (7) played the hole in a combined 17 strokes. The wind was blowing so hard that there were ripples on the lake. It was strong enough to nearly topple a staff bag. Jim Mackay had to hold Collin Morikawa’s bag upright while Morikawa’s caddie, J.J. Jakovac, discussed the tee shot at 17 with his boss. The hat of Matt Kelly, the caddie for Marc Leishman, was whisked off his head and into the crowd by the wind. Kelly’s boss was one of the fortunate ones, hitting his tee shot to 7 feet. Leishman raised his fist to the crowd when his ball found the green, earning an enthusiastic ovation from the fans. Zach Johnson, the next man to hit, offered Leishman a congratulatory fist bump. It was reminiscent of the hardest day in the 17th hole’s history, the first round of the 1984 PLAYERS, when it played to a 3.85 scoring average. “It’s the easiest par 5 on the course,” John Mahaffey joked about TPC Sawgrass’ 17th. Let’s be fair. It was at least a tough par-4 on Saturday.

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