Monday Finish: WGC-HSBC Champions, Sanderson Farms Championship

Tiger Woods paused just long enough to change into his signature red shirt between the third and fourth rounds of the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP in Chiba, Japan, on Sunday.  Now, after playing 29 holes and building a three-shot lead over Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, he has history squarely in his sights. When players go back out to finish the final round at 7:30 a.m. Monday local time (6:30 p.m. ET Sunday on Golf Channel), Woods will be going for his 82nd PGA TOUR victory, which would tie Sam Snead for most all time.   RELATED: How to watch Round 4 | Chasing 82 | Visual Stories: Tiger’s Top 10 shots “Yeah, I have,â€� Woods said, when asked if he’d played this much golf in one day since he had his left knee operated on for the fifth time two months ago. “But it’s in a cart.â€� Woods has won in all sorts of ways. This one, should he hang on, has been a test of endurance. Tournament officials have been playing catch-up since Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club received 10 inches of rain in a typhoon that wiped out the second round before it began. Still, the first official TOUR event in Japan is on the verge of ending like so many before it.   “I think it’s the mind,â€� said Woods (64-64-66), when asked what was most taxing about playing so many holes Sunday, when he completed his round at 1:12 p.m. local time, changed his blue shirt for a red one, and went back out for the final round at 2 p.m. “Being in it for 10 hours is a long period of time … the mind tends to wander a little bit and just got to grab it and make it come back and be 100% committed on the shot.â€� Woods is also coming back from knee surgery. He considered having his left knee operated on for the fifth time in late 2018, but wanted to play a full schedule last season and put it off. He won the Masters Tournament, fell off, and after failing to qualify for the season-ending TOUR Championship two months ago, had the arthroscopic procedure done Aug. 20. “It’s great to see him healthy, first and foremost,â€� said reigning FedExCup champion Rory McIlroy (72-65-63), who is in fifth place, seven off the lead, with just two holes of his final round remaining. “Yeah, as soon as I get done tomorrow, I’ll be a very interested viewer.â€� Players were not re-paired after the third round, so even though Woods’ closest pursuer is Matsuyama, he is still playing with U.S. Open Gary Woodland. Both players are competing not only for the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP title but to justify a captain’s pick for the Presidents Cup in December. Woods will name his captain’s picks Nov. 7.  Woodland was considered a good bet to make the team even before the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP began; Woods, the U.S. Captain, was more of an unknown in light of his recent health issues. Now, however, both look likely to be playing for the U.S. at Royal Melbourne, Dec. 12-15.  “(Woods) played unbelievable today,â€� Woodland said after Sunday’s marathon session, which he finished at 12 under, tied with Sungjae Im, six back. “Let a couple get away on a couple par 5s, but pretty impressive the way he’s hitting the golf ball.â€� Play was called for darkness at 4:40 p.m. local time with 46 of 76 players still on the course.   Woods played his first 11 holes of the final round in 2 under, with three birdies and a bogey.  The ending looked all but written in stone as he completed his third round with a three-shot lead over Matsuyama, as he is 24 for 24 at closing out tournaments with a lead of three or more going into the final round. The lead reached five until Matsuyama birdied the 11th and 12th holes to get it back to three before players were pulled off the course for the day. “I have a lot of ground to make up tomorrow,â€� Matsuyama said. “I need to play well to even have a chance, but I will give it a shot and do my best.â€� Woods, who won the 2004 and ’05 Dunlop Phoenix tournaments in Japan, has won 93.1% of the time with at least a share of the 54-hole lead, tops on TOUR. Still, the scarcity of scoreboards on the course has given him pause as he’s tried to keep an eye on his closest pursuers. “We had to ask a few times what’s going on up there, to get updates,â€� he said. “That’s probably been the only thing that’s different than normal.â€� Well, that and the significance of a potential 82nd victory. Snead was 52 when he won his 82nd; Woods, who returned from back fusion surgery to win the TOUR Championship two seasons ago and the Masters last April, is 43.  They are the only two players with 80 or more TOUR titles, and soon, it seems, they will be tied at the top. “Well, if I do what I’m supposed to do, and get the job done, then I get a W,â€� Woods said. “I guess that will add up to the 82 number, but my main focus is doing what I need to do to get the W first.â€�

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PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Eight times this season, Sam Burns has been atop the leaderboard after every round except the one that mattered. That changed, finally, at the Valspar Championship. RELATED: Leaderboard | Winner’s Bag: Sam Burns, Valspar Championship Burns got some help from Keegan Bradley hitting into the water on the 13th hole, and then the 24-year-old from Louisiana took it from there with two big birdies that led to a 3-under 68 and a three-shot victory Sunday. Burns won for the first time on the PGA TOUR after twice failing to convert 54-hole leads in the Vivint Houston Open last fall and the Genesis Invitational at Riviera in February. The victory moves him into the top 50 in the world, 14th in the FedExCup and all but assures a spot in the U.S. Open, along with his first trip to the Masters next spring. Burns was wiping away tears when he tapped in for a meaningless bogey on the final hole, especially to see his wife, parents and other family members pour onto the green to celebrate the moment with him. “I’ve worked so hard for this moment,” Burns said. “They’ve all sacrificed so much.” He had reason to believe this moment could have come sooner. Burns wasted a good start at the season-opening Safeway Open. He closed with a 2-over 72 to tie for seventh in the Houston Open. He lost a two-shot lead at Riviera, coming up one shot short of a playoff. “Those moments in the past, you really learn a lot,” Burns said. “This week coming down the stretch, I tried to stick to our process.” Bradley and Burns were tied through 36 holes and 54 holes, and they stayed that way through 12 holes on another blistering day at the Copperhead course. That changed with one swing. Bradley came up well short on the par-3 13th and went into the water, leading to double bogey. Burns saved par with an 8-foot putt for a two-shot lead. Burns was three shots ahead through 13 holes on Saturday and he struggled to retain a share of the lead, so he knew what was possible. This time, though, Bradley had no chance. Burns followed with a wedge that stopped next to the hole for a tap-in birdie on the par-5 14th. He put Bradley away with a 7-iron to 18 feet and a birdie putt that brought the most emotion he showed all day, a hard fist slam. He had a four-shot lead with two holes to play, the water and worst hazards behind him. No one else had much of a chance. Max Homa briefly tied for the lead with a birdie on the par-5 opening hole. He didn’t make another birdie the rest of the day, missing several chances around the turn and ending his hopes with a double bogey on the par-3 15th without hitting into the water. He shot 74. Cameron Tringale was lurking but never seriously challenged. He shot 68 and shared third with Viktor Hovland, whose had a 65 but started too far back at the start of the day. Abraham Ancer (69) finished fifth. Burns built a quick two-shot lead on the front nine Sunday. Bradley answered with a pair of birdies, and then made a 15-foot birdie putt from the fringe on No. 9 to take a one-shot lead to the back nine. The final round started to take shape on the par-5 11th, both hitting wild tee shots and good escapes from the trees. Burns won the wedge contest, making a 15-footer for birdie, to tie for the lead. Bradley fell back with his double bogey and never caught up.

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