Click here to read the full article…
| Feeling lucky? Try a few spins at IC Wins! Click the link for some bonus codes for this great slot game. |
A quick look at Saturday’s third round of THE PLAYERS Championship. THE LEADER A year ago, maybe even as recently as eight months ago, Jon Rahm probably wouldn’t have found himself with the 54-hole at THE PLAYERS Championship. He would have lost his patience after hitting what seemed like a good shot to the 14th hole that missed the green and left him with a difficult up-and-down. He would have been frustrated at the next hole, too, when his approach came up short and landed in the pine straw. “I might have made both pars, but I don’t think I would have been as relaxed as I was today, and I think that’s what enabled the whole day, right,â€� Rahm said. Indeed. What he calls a year of personal growth has reigned in the 24-year-old Spaniard’s emotions and allowed him to put his best golf on display as it was Saturday during a third-round 64 that left him at 15-under. Rahm will start the final round with a one-stroke advantage over Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood, the first 54-hole lead of his still-young PGA TOUR career. He’s broken 70 in each of the first three rounds on Pete Dye’s challenging creation – one of just two players who can make that claim. A victory on Sunday would be the third – and by far, the biggest of the Arizona State grad’s career. “It would be absolutely amazing to name yourself a PLAYERS champion,â€� Rahm said. “It’s definitely one of those events that they consider to get you in the Hall of Fame. It’s career-defining. “There’s very few select players that get to win here and only a very few number that have gotten to do it more than once, so it shows that to win out here you need to play really, really good golf, so it would be an incredible win if I get to do it.â€� Rahm says he played “OK golfâ€� in his first two appearances at TPC Sawgrass with four sub-par scores and an 82 in his seven rounds. He felt that it was a golf course he needed to learn but says the move to March has benefitted him. “I think the fairways hold up a little bit more,â€� Rahm said. “The greens are not as bouncy even though they’re getting firm. It’s just a little bit easier for me to read the grain on the chips and understand what it’s going to do, so I’m just a little bit more comfortable. “The course playing a little longer, it just plays to my strengths, especially if I’m hitting as good as I am with the irons.â€� He’s been playing well this season, though, winning the Hero World Challenge and posting five top-10s in his last six starts. Rahm ranks first in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green, a key for playing the Stadium Course, as well as in Strokes Gained: Total. Rahm made seven birdies and an eagle on Saturday while dropping just on shot to par. And most importantly, he didn’t let that bogey get to him, playing his next 12 holes in 7 under. “I definitely feel a difference in myself, and it’s been great to feel that pride of all the work that I’ve done to get to this point, so hopefully I can keep doing it tomorrow,â€� Rahm said. ODDS AND ENDS Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy each showed some grit in bouncing back from tough starts Saturday in the final group. Fleetwood opened with a double bogey and was 3 over on his round through seven holes, then played his final 11 holes in 5 under. “The good thing about it was how good I was mentally, the character I showed,” Fleetwood said. McIlroy opened with two bogeys but was a bogey-free 4 under after that. “I showed some character out there, showed some grit,” McIlroy said. It’s the first time in tournament history that Europeans have been 1-2-3 on the leaderboard. Rory McIlroy just shrugged. “A coincidence more than anything else,” he said. “I don’t think you can put it down to much.” Mexico’s Abraham Ancer is solo fifth at 11 under — and evidently he’s eating well this week. He’s staying in a rental house with friends about 12 minutes from the course. Asked what’s on the grill, he replied, “Everything from ribeyes, New York strip filet. We aldo did some scallops. We’ve done a lot of Mexican food as well. It’s been great.” Jim Furyk was definitely worried he’d fall backwards into the water on his second shot at the 18th. His drive ended up just inches from the water, forcing Furyk to stand on the railroad ties. Furyk eventually used a wedge to punch out into the fairway, then quickly hopped forward to stay dry. “I just didn’t have the stability,” Furyk said. “I needed about three more inches and I would’ve been fine.” World No. 1 Dustin Johnson is five strokes off the pace and knows he needs a “special round” on Sunday. “I need to go out and shoot a really good score if I want a chance to win,” he said. Even if he doesn’t, Johnson is in prime shape to post his first top-10 in his PLAYERS career in his 11th start. Brandt Snedeker has recently reunited with swing coach Todd Anderson, and the move is paying off. Snedeker’s 65 on Saturday is his lowest round at TPC Sawgrass, and he’s missed just nine greens this week. “TA knows me so well, kind of knows my swing, and knows me personally, kind of how I process information,â€� said Snedeker, who worked with Anderson up until 2014. “We clicked right away.â€� Ollie Schniederjans made a “lot of big swing changesâ€� in the off-season, which may explain his struggles to contend in any given start. He’s missed the cut seven times in 13 starts, and his best finish since the start of 2019 is a T-57. But through three rounds this week, he’s found his game, and his putting was superb in shooting 65 Saturday. “To finally have a round like today and just to feel like I do about my game, to feel like I have a chance out there to go low and get in contention in big tournaments – I haven’t felt like that,â€� Schniederjans said. “Last year I didn’t feel like that.â€� NOTABLES BRANDT SNEDEKER (65/10 under) – Not only was it his lowest score in 29 career rounds at TPC Sawgrass, it’s also the first time he has gone bogey-free here. KEEGAN BRADLEY (68/10 under) – The 18-hole co-leader bounced back from a tough Friday by playing the last 12 holes in a bogey-free 6 under. ADAM SCOTT (68/9 under) – Terrific front side (4 under) and was bogey-free until he found the water on his approach at 18. JUSTIN ROSE (68/8 under) – A birdie-birdie-birdie finish gives Roses a small glimmer of hope on Sunday. RICKIE FOWLER (68/7 under) – A bogey-free round and knocked it inside 6 feet for birdie at 17. DUSTIN JOHNSON (69/10 under) – Moved into prime lurking position with a solid round (15 of 18 greens). Has one eagle, 10 birdies and just one bogey on the back nine this week. PATRICK REED (69/9 under) – Shot 69 for the third consecutive day and has just four bogeys this week. BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU (69/8 under) – Missed only one fairway Saturday but his irons were a bit off (11 of 18 greens hit). WEBB SIMPSON (70/6 under) – The defending champ posted a 70 for the third straight day. Made 36-foot putt for eagle at 16. JUSTIN THOMAS (70/3 under) – Paired with Bubba Watson in the first group out Saturday, they raced around TPC Sawgrass in about 3 hours. Watson also shot 70. JIM FURYK (71/10 under) — The good news is that he avoided falling into the water after a uneasy stance on the railroad ties at 18. The bad news is he’s five shots off the lead. TIGER WOODS (72/3 under) – Three bogeys going out; three birdies coming in. At least he rallied to avoid missing Saturday’s second cut. FRANCESCO MOLINARI (72/2 under) – Last week’s winner at Bay Hill just hasn’t found the gear to get him in contention. BROOKS KOEPKA (73/Even) – Suffered back-to-back doubles on the front side, and another double on the 10th. Immediately bounced back with an eagle at 11. Hello, rollercoaster! SERGIO GARCIA (74/3 under) – Any chance of contending was snuffed out when he found the water at 17. The love-hate relationship continues. WORTH WATCHING 73-FOOT BIRDIE PUTT by Vaughn Taylor at the third hole 45-FOOT EAGLE PUTT for Tony Finau at the par-5 16th 35-FOOT EAGLE PUTT for Webb Simpson at the par-5 16th NEAR-ACE AT 17 for Tiger Woods THEY SAID IT I think I’m the better-looking one, so they put me in the last group.”You gotta use the left hand. He used the other hand. I’ll give him a lesson later. I think one at 17 tomorrow would be very appropriate on St. Patrick’s Day. BY THE NUMBERS 3 – Number of bogeys Rory McIlroy has made this week, fewest in the field. 7 — Players who did not make Saturday’s second cut, as the field was reduced to the top 70 and ties. The seven include: Jason Dufner, Anirban Lahiri, Tyler Duncan, Patrick Rodgers, Kevin Na, Adam Long and Patton Kizzire. 28 – Numbers of inches in Tommy Fleetwood’s bogey-putt that he missed on the opening hole Saturday. SUPERLATIVES STROKES GAINED LEADERS: Off-the-tee (Tommy Fleetwood, 2.289); Tee-to-Green (Jon Rahm, 6.090); Approach-the-Green (Jon Rahm, 5.477); Around-the-Green (Brooks Koepka, 4.088); Putting (Ollie Schniederjans, 4.017); Total (Jon Rahm, 7.513). LONGEST DRIVE: 368 yards – Ollie Schniederjans on 11. LONGEST PUTT: 73-feet, 11 inches. Vaughn Taylor drilled a birdie on the par-3 3rd. LONGEST HOLE-OUT: 190-yards – Ryan Moore. Holed an incredible eagle on the usually tough par-4 5th. MOST BIRDIES: 7 – Keegan Bradley (68), Hideki Matsuyama (66), Eddie Pepperell (68), Jon Rahm (64), Brandt Snedeker (65). BOGEY-FREE ROUNDS: Rickie Fowler (68), Brandt Snedeker (65) HARDEST HOLE: Par-8 8th and Par-5 18th. Played to 3.225 and 4.225 respectively. Just 18 birdies between the two.
ATLANTA – And then there were three. The TOUR Championship had turned into a runaway for Patrick Cantlay when he made four birdies in a stretch of five holes for a four-shot lead over Jon Rahm and an eight-shot lead over 2017 FedExCup champ Justin Thomas halfway through round three at East Lake. But “Patty Ice” – the moniker he earned with clutch putting in winning the BMW Championship – cracked a little with bogeys at the 11th, 14th and 16th holes. After an uneven 67, he leads by two over Rahm (68) and a five over Thomas (65) going into Sunday’s final round. The lead would have been one and four, respectively, but Cantlay sank a 23-foot birdie on 18. “I enjoy pressure golf because it’s everything I’ve practiced to do,” he said. Cantlay had not historically played East Lake well, with his best in three starts a T20. He hadn’t even made it to the 30-man TOUR Championship since 2019. But on Sunday, when he will play with Rahm for the 21st time in his career, he will be playing for the $15 million first prize, plus, very likely, Player of the Year honors as the only player with four wins this season. Rahm, meanwhile, could make the argument for Player of the Year if he gets it done on Sunday. It would give the world No. 1 two big wins this season – U.S. Open, TOUR Championship – and the FedExCup. He also is on track to win the scoring title and lead the TOUR with 15 top-10s. It’s been a peculiar season for Thomas, a former world No. 1 who has dropped to sixth. Since his epic comeback victory at THE PLAYERS Championship in March he has notched just one top-10 finish, a T4 at THE NORTHERN TRUST to open the FedExCup Playoffs last month. Also, Thomas has hit just 12 of 28 fairways the last two days. “I gained some shots on the leaders today, and that’s what’s most important,” he said. Said Rahm, who was in negative numbers in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green for the third round, “Not my best. Great off the tee, I must say … Just wasn’t as sharp as I wanted to be with my irons. It was one of those days where there was a lot of in-between numbers.” Kevin Na (66, 13 under) has an outside chance at seven back. Abraham Ancer (bogey-free 65) and 2014 FedExCup winner Billy Horschel (67) are 10 back. Cantlay began the week with a four-shot lead over Rahm and a six-shot lead over Thomas. The No. 1 seed and 54-hole leader’s closing birdie on 18 seemed potentially bigger than just one shot, given that Thomas three-putted the hole for his only bogey and Rahm could only manage a par. “I thought it was big for momentum,” Cantlay said. “It was a nice putt to make, especially being out of position on that hole. And I’ll take that momentum into tomorrow.” Four of Rahm’s five TOUR wins have come when he’s trailed through 54 holes. For Thomas, it’s six out of 14. He was hoping to be just four back – he was three behind leader Lee Westwood through three rounds at THE PLAYERS – but now the number is five. Rahm said he was proud of himself for finding a way to hang in there without his best stuff, giving himself a chance Sunday. Meanwhile, “Patty Ice” Cantlay just keeps pressing ever closer to FedExCup history. “Getting in that moment is exactly why I’ve practiced for all those hours growing up and all those hours my whole life,” he said. “And so getting to do it when it’s important, I mean, that’s exactly why I play golf. I love it.”
