One group’s arduous trek at THE PLAYERS Championship

SILVIS, Ill. — Sebastian Munoz of Colombia had a 4-under 67 on Saturday for a one-shot lead going into the final round of the John Deere Classic that feels as though it’s just getting started. RELATED: Leaderboard | Bryson DeChambeau selects new caddie Rain overnight and more during the third round left the TPC John Deere soft and prone to low scoring, and just about everyone took advantage. Munoz overcame two early bogeys by keeping a clean card on the back nine. He took the lead with a tee shot into 6 feet on the par-3 16th hole and was at 16-under 197. He led by one shot over Brandon Hagy, who is still looking for his first PGA TOUR victory in his 93rd career start. Hagy also had a 67. Five players were two shots behind, a group that included Scott Brown, who had a 63 to match the low score of the round. Adam Long (64), Cameron Champ (64), Kevin Na (66) and Ryan Moore (68) joined him at 14-under 199. “The beauty of this place is it ain’t over until it’s legitimately over,” said Zach Johnson, a past Deere winner who had a 67. He was six shots behind. Ten players were within three shots of the lead, all of them knowing what it would take in the final round — birdies. Lots of them. “You’re going to have to be in attack mode here,” Brown said. “Typically, it’s at least 20-under par or a little more. For me, that’s another 7 under for tomorrow if you look at it that way.” Five of the last six winners of the John Deere Classic finished at 20 under or better, the exception being Bryson DeChambeau four years ago when he captured his first PGA TOUR title at a paltry 18 under. Luke List is among those within three shots of the lead despite his struggles. List began the weekend with a one-shot lead. He didn’t make a birdie until the 10th hole, and when he missed a 6-foot birdie attempt on the final hole, he had to settle for a 71. Even so, he still has a chance at his first PGA TOUR title. Of the 20 players within five shots of the lead, seven have never won on TOUR. Five of the seven players within two shots of Munoz are not yet eligible for the Open Championship next week a Royal St. George’s in England. The leading player from among the top five gets in the final major of the year. Munoz already is eligible, while Na has withdrawn because of international travel requirements. Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker, a three-time winner at the John Deere Classic who chose to help celebrate the tournament’s 50th anniversary instead of defending his title in the U.S. Senior Open Championship, had a 68 and was seven shots behind. Stricker birdied his last three holes.

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The 117th U.S. Open Championship is being contested in Wisconsin at Erin Hills Golf Course for the first time starting today. Here’s where you can follow all the action. Round 1 tee times Round 1 U.S. Open leaderboard Watch: FOX Sports 1 (11 a.m.-6 p.m. ET), FOX (6-9 p.m.) Listen: SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio and FOX Sports on SiriusXM (noon-8 p.m. ET) Groups to watch Hideki Matsuyama, Rickie Fowler, Jon Rahm Tee time: 7:51 a.m. on Thursday off No. 10 Kevin Kisner, Billy Horschel, Branden Grace Tee time: 8:24 a.m. on Thursday off No. 1 Martin Kaymer, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson Tee time: 8:35 a.m. on Thursday off No. 10 Marc Leishman, Pat Perez, Si Woo Kim Tee time: 1:14 p.m. on Thursday off No. 1 Brad Dalke (a), Wesley Bryan, Brendan Steele Tee time: 1:14 p.m. on Thursday off No. 10 Bubba Watson, Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia Tee time: 1:36 p.m. on Thursday off No. 1 Jason Day, Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy Tee time: 2:09 p.m. on Thursday off No. 1 Steve Stricker, Stewart Cink, Phil Mickelson Tee time: 2:20 p.m. on Thursday off No. 1

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WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va. — Kevin Chappell, needing two birdies in his final two holes to shoot 57 on Friday at A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier, was not only battling The Old White TPC golf course, but he was also battling a shortage of “newâ€� golf balls. After every birdie Chappell makes during competition, he switches to a brand new golf ball, because he says that there’s only one birdie in each ball. The problem on Friday was that Chappell made 11 birdies in 16 holes, and he only had 11 new Titleist Pro V1 golf balls in the bag to start the round. That meant, with two holes left and sitting at 11-under par for the day on the par-70 golf course, he had to reuse a golf ball that he had already made birdie with. Chappell said, in a press conference following his Friday round of 59, having to reuse birdied-out golf balls could be the reason why he failed to birdie his final two holes. “We ran into a problem there, and that could have been the reason… why I didn’t make those putts on the last few holes,â€� Chappell said. In troubleshooting mode down the stretch, Chappell tried out two different used golf balls on his final two holes (he started on the back nine). “When I made birdie on 7, and I reached in [my bag] on 8 tee, there were no more new balls in the new ball pile,â€� Chappell explained. “So I had to reuse a ball… I reused a ball on 8, and I didn’t like the way that one went. So I put that one back and grabbed another one, and reused a ball on 9.â€� Using the already-been-birdied golf balls, Chappell two-putted from 54 feet 3 inches on his 17th hole for par, and he missed a birdie putt from 10 feet 9 inches on 18. Throughout the course of the round, Chappell did make his fair share of putts, however. He made 141 feet 2 inches worth of putts in total, picking up 5.008 strokes over the field. While he may attribute those made putts to his golf ball superstition, he also has a new prototype putter in the bag that helps with his setup. Chappell has a custom, half-mallet TaylorMade Mullen putter in his bag with a hosel that adds offset to the putter. Since Chappell sets up with his hands behind the putter face on occasion, the offset helps Chappell achieve his desired putter loft. “It’s got a lot of offset on it,â€� Chappell explained about his putter. “I tend to get my hands back when I putt, so this the grip sits in front of the face already. So if my hands tend to get back, they’re already in front of the face, so the putter has the proper amount of loft on it. The putter is actually the second version of a prototype putter made by Chris Trott, Director of Global Tours at TaylorMade. Due to Chappell’s love of the onesie clothing style, Trott stamped the first prototype putter “onesie,â€� and the second one “twosie.â€� So, Chappell’s custom TaylorMade Mullen putter that he used to shoot 59 on Friday has “twosieâ€� stamped on the sole. “It’s the second iteration of a putter that TaylorMade makes, and I have quite the onesie collection at my house,â€� Chappell said. “Chris Trott with TaylorMade, he named the first [prototype putter] ‘onesie.’ This one has a little bit more offset, so this one is called ‘twosie.’â€� Chappell currently sits in 5th place at 10-under par through two rounds, three strokes behind the leaders.

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