Photo Gallery: The Open Championship, Round 3

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SHANGHAI  — Dustin Johnson shot a 4-under 68 in blustery conditions that led to big numbers, building a six-shot lead in the WGC-HSBC Champions and leaving him one round away from becoming the first player to win three World Golf Championships in the same year. He got plenty of help from Brooks Koepka. They were tied for the lead through seven holes Saturday until a four-shot swing on the par-5 eighth hole. Koepka drove into the hazard off the tee, and then found the hazard again on his approach to the green. He missed a 6-foot putt and took triple-bogey 8. Johnson smashed his drive over the trees and into the fairway, and with a thick splotch of mud on his golf ball, he sent that into the left rough above the green. He hit a flop shot to 15 feet and holed it for birdie. Just like that, his lead was four shots, and no one got any closer the rest of the way. Johnson was at 17-under 199. Koepka hit into the water from a bunker on the par-5 closing hole at Sheshan International and had to make a 6-footer to save bogey. That gave him a 73, leaving him six shots behind. Henrik Stenson, finally starting to round into form, shot 69 and was at 10-under 206. Even with more wind anticipated Sunday, this was turning into another exhibition for Johnson, the world’s No. 1 player. “I’m in a good position going into tomorrow,” Johnson said. “But I’m still going to have to go out and play a really solid round if I want to get it done.” Johnson earlier this year won the WGC-Mexico Championship and the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in Texas. Not even Tiger Woods with his 18 titles in the World Golf Championships ever won more than two in one year. Johnson already has five such titles, and he’s the only player to have won each of the four. He won the WGC-HSBC Champions four years ago. “If Dustin keeps on playing the way that he’s done this week, I think it’s going to be a one-man show tomorrow,” Stenson said. “But you never know. Tough wind, and this golf course has a couple of holes where you can certainly have a number. It’s never over until it’s over.” Koepka discovered the hard way how big numbers can wreck a round. The U.S. Open champion was practically flawless at the start, running off three straight birdies to take a two-shot lead. Johnson responded with a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-3 fourth and driving into the rough just short of the par-4 seventh green, hitting a delicate flop-and-run to 3 feet for birdie to catch Koepka. And then after a lengthy wait on the tee at No. 8, it all changed. With the wind at the players’ backs, and with sheer power of Johnson and Koepka, the line was over trees that have grown so tall in recent years they can’t see the fairway. Johnson hammered his tee shot and knew from experience he was fine. Koepka caught his drive on the toe and it turned over from right-to-left. His caddie ran down toward the area to see if he had a shot, and quickly realized it was gone. Koepka hit his third shot from the tee, and then his fourth turned left into the hazard again. He had no choice but to take another penalty and head back to the fairway, and after a good wedge, he missed the putt for his 8. Koepka also missed good birdie chances on No. 9 and 11, and good par chances on Nos. 10 and 12 that he felt could have given him momentum. “It was definitely windier today,” he said. “I didn’t think it was playing that difficult. Definitely should be able to shoot 4 under out here, minus a triple and whatever else I had, a lot of bogeys.” He wasn’t alone. One reason for the waiting on the front nine was Patrick Reed, who had a triple bogey on the opening hole and a pair of double bogeys for an outward nine of 44. Two more double bogeys on the back nine led to an 82. Si Woo Kim made an 11 on the eighth hole. Sheshan International played to an average score of 72.73, two shots harder than the opening round. Conditions likely will be tougher for the final round, made even more difficult by the No. 1 player ahead by six shots.

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The Monday qualifier for this week’s Palmetto Championship at Congaree was held a day early to accommodate U.S. Open qualifying, but it didn’t lack any of the inherent drama. The final spot in the Palmetto field came down to an eight-man playoff, which was won by Brant Peaper. Akshay Bhatia, Hayden Springer, Garrett Osborn, Stewart Jolly, Peyton White, Charles Huntzinger and Evan Grenus joined Peaper in the playoff. Cody Blick, Tain Lee and former NCAA champion Broc Everett will join Peaper in the field. Lee has qualified for three TOUR events this year. The Palmetto Championship will be the second PGA TOUR start of Blick’s career. He made 10 birdies Sunday en route to shooting 7-under 65 at Belfair in Bluffton, South Carolina. He finished in the top 15 of the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada’s Order of Merit (now known as the Forme Tour) in both 2017 and 2018. Following his success in the Great White North, he famously shot 63 in the final round of the Korn Ferry Tour Q-School after getting his clubs stolen hours before teeing off. Blick was sidelined with a back injury 10 starts into the 2019 KFT season, however. He failed to keep his Korn Ferry card after missing the cut in all six of his medical starts in 2020. QUALIFIERS Cody Blick Age: 27 College: San Jose State Turned pro: 2016 PGA TOUR starts: 1 Cuts made: 1 PGA TOUR earnings: $7,128 Twitter: @blick_golf Notes: The Palmetto Championship will mark Blick’s first start on the PGA TOUR since the 2017 Barracuda Championship (T61). Blick missed all six cuts on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2020 while playing on a medical extension. He made two cuts on the PGA Latinoamérica Tour in 2020, finishing T52 at The Championship at Echelon Golf Club and 52nd at the Classic at The Club at Weston Hills. Tain Lee Age: 31 College: Claremont McKenna College Turned pro: 2011 PGA TOUR starts: 2 Cuts made: 2 PGA TOUR earnings: $32,315 Notes: The Palmetto Championship will be Lee’s third career PGA TOUR start (all in 2021). He finished 69th at the Farmers Insurance Open and 59th at the Valero Texas Open after Monday qualifying for both. … Lee won the Jack Nicklaus Award in 2010 as the top player in NCAA Division III. Broc Everett Age: 26 College: Augusta Turned pro: 2018 PGA TOUR starts: 3 Cuts made: 0 Twitter: @Brocandroll10 Notes: Everett has made three starts on the Korn Ferry Tour this season, making one cut (T54 at Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Aetna). Most recent PGA TOUR starts came in 2019 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Wells Fargo Championship. Everett won the 2018 NCAA individual title. Future PGA TOUR players Doug Ghim (3rd), Scottie Scheffler (6th) and Matthew Wolff (T7) finished in the top 10 that week. Everett played baseball, basketball track and golf in high school, and was member of several choral groups. Brant Peaper Age: 26 College: Indiana Turned pro: 2013 PGA TOUR starts: 0 Twitter: @peapshow25 Notes: This will be Peaper’s PGA TOUR debut. He played three events on the Korn Ferry Tour between 2016 and 2018 and made the cut in six of 30 Forme Tour starts between 2014 and 2019. Was a first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2013, including a win at the Wolf Run Intercollegiate. NOTES Notable who missed qualifying: Hayden Springer, Akshay Bhatia, John Augenstein, M.J. Daffue (AT&T Byron Nelson Monday Qualifier), J.J. Killeen. 2020-2021 Monday Qualifier Statistics Last event’s qualifier results: AT&T Byron Nelson, M.J. Daffue (MC), John Lyras (MC), Dylan Meyer (T68), Tom Lovelady (MC) Total money earned by Monday qualifiers on TOUR this season: $651,473 Best Finish: M.J. Daffue (T12, Sanderson Farms Championship) Next Monday Qualifier: Travelers Championship at Ellington Ridge Country Club (Monday June 21, 2021)

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