Round 3 Tour Championship highlights

BLAINE, Minn. – Richy Werenski birdied three of the last four holes Saturday to erase a four-stroke deficit and catch Michael Thompson for the 3M Open lead. After sharing the halfway lead, Thompson and Werenski traveled on vastly different paths to each shoot 3-under 68 before walking together to the clubhouse even again. They were at 15 under at the TPC Twin Cities. Charl Schwartzel shot a 66 in the third round, pulling even with Tony Finau for third place at 13 under. Max Homa posted a 64, making a big jump to fifth at 12 under. RELATED: Full leaderboard | After long layoff, Van Pelt finally likes where his game is going Thompson, who entered the week well below the cut for the FedExCup Playoffs in 151st place, made three straight birdies on the front nine. The 35-year-old, whose only career PGA TOUR win was at the Honda Classic in Florida in 2013, knocked in another one on the 590-yard, par-5 12th hole to move to 16 under. Thompson held a four-stroke lead until the 15th, when his game on the greens suddenly faltered. His 8-foot putt for birdie went long, and he settled for par. Werenski, who was one spot off the FedExCup cut last season and came to Minnesota in 89th place, birdied the 15th hole to move up. So did their playing partner Finau, making up for three earlier bogeys. Thompson rolled a 15-footer too long on the 17th green, too, taking just his second bogey of the entire tournament as a light rain began to fall on another muggy and breezy afternoon in this suburb north of Minneapolis as the heat index reached the upper 90s. Thompson, whose best finish was a tie for eighth at the RBC Heritage in South Carolina, started 18th with even more trouble by hitting his drive into the drink. There were 248 balls hit into water hazards over Thursday and Friday, the most through two rounds on the PGA TOUR this season. Thompson’s next try after the penalty stroke landed in the green-side bunker, but he saved par with a clutch chip out of the sand that landed 7 feet from the cup. Werenski, whose 63 in the first round is tied for the low score of the tournament, birdied that hole. That set up a Sunday duel with a handful of competitors well within striking distance. That includes Schwartzel, the 35-year-old South African who has two career TOUR victories. He just missed an eagle on the 18th, when his 70-foot shot from the bunker almost dropped in. “It was a slow motion lip-out,” Schwartzel said. Homa, who missed the cut on four of his last five starts, had eight birdies. “I guess it’s been, I don’t know, four or so months since I’ve been in any kind of heat other than the cut heat, so it was kind of nice to just keep doing what I was doing at the beginning of the season,” said Homa, who bogeyed the 17th. Tringale made four birdies and an eagle over his first eight holes on the way to tying his career low score with a 63, last posted in 2011. He only needed 25 putts, giving himself an outside chance for his first tour win. “Golf’s a game of confidence. I love where I’m at. I love where my game’s at,” Tringale said. “Sundays are a different day, so I’m excited about the opportunity.”

Click here to read the full article…

STRAKA EARNS FIRST TOUR TITLE AT THE HONDA CLASSIC Austria native Sepp Straka has demonstrated a propensity for resilience in his professional golf career. In summer 2018, shortly after signing up for Q-School, he won the Korn Ferry Tour’s AdventHealth Championship to rescue his status and proceeded to earn his first PGA TOUR card that fall. The next season, he recorded two top-12s in his final four starts to qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs as a rookie and maintain full TOUR status. Straka followed a similar script Sunday at The Honda Classic. Beginning the day five back of Daniel Berger at always-demanding PGA National (Champion), Straka methodically plotted his way into contention with 1-under play through the first 13 holes, and he rose atop the board with three birdies in the final five holes. As rain began to descend in south Florida, Straka signed for 10-under total and waited out the final pairing, ultimately finishing one clear of Shane Lowry for his first TOUR title. Straka’s University of Georgia teammate Keith Mitchell earned his first TOUR victory at The Honda Classic in 2019, and Mitchell was on hand – despite the rain – to congratulate Straka late Sunday afternoon. Straka earns 500 FedExCup points for his efforts, moves to No. 14 on the season-long FedExCup standings and becomes the latest Georgia Bulldog to conquer the Bear Trap. TOUR HEADS TO BAY HILL AND PUERTO RICO Bryson DeChambeau last week announced his plans to enter the field at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. It was big news from the defending champion, who has battled injuries for much of the season. “It’s important to Bryson to try and defend at an event that has Arnold Palmer’s name on it, so he’s doing everything in his power to play,” DeChambeau’s agent Brett Falkoff said. DeChambeau is one of the many stars slated to compete at one of the TOUR’s most prestigious events. Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and current FedExCup leader Hideki Matsuyama are among the game’s best who will tee it up at Bay Hill. Due to the event’s elevated status, the winner will receive a three-year TOUR exemption (instead of the usual two years) and 550 FedExCup points (instead of the usual 500). The Puerto Rico Open will also take place this week from Grand Reserve Country Club. There will be plenty of international up-and-comers, PGA TOUR winners – including former world No. 1 Luke Donald – and many of the top 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour graduates heading to Puerto Rico for the 14th playing of the event. VIDEO OF THE WEEK MIC CHECK “I didn’t tell anybody in my family that I was going to play that Monday qualifier because I wanted to give them a surprise, and I could give them that, so it was like magical. – Martin Contini, who finished T-16 at The Honda Classic BY THE NUMBERS 2006 – With his victory at the Cologuard Classic, Miguel Angel Jimenez became the first player since Loren Roberts in 2006 to win two of the first three events in a season on PGA TOUR Champions. 5 – The number of shots Daniel Berger led by entering the final round at PGA National. It was the largest 54-hole lead on TOUR since Jon Rahm led by six shots after Round 3 of the 2021 Memorial Tournament presented by Workday. Rahm was forced to withdraw before Round 4 during that event due to a positive COVID-19 test. Berger lost Sunday after a 4-over 74 and finished solo fourth. COMCAST BUSINESS TOUR TOP 10 The Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 highlights and rewards the extraordinary level of play required to earn a spot in the TOP 10 at the conclusion of the FedExCup Regular Season as determined by the FedExCup standings. The competition recognizes and awards the most elite in golf.

Click here to read the full article…

THE OVERVIEW It was a perplexing season for the man from Japan, but a strong finish gives his passionate fans back home high hopes for 2019. Hideki Matsuyama followed the best year of his career with a winless campaign in 2018. He had four top-10s last season, but none between January and September. He almost missed the TOUR Championship for the first time in his career until posting five straight top-15 finishes to end the season. He placed fourth at the TOUR Championship and turned a disappointing season into the second-best FedExCup finish (13th) of his career. Matsuyama, 26, is still among the game’s young stars. He has qualified for East Lake in all five of his full seasons as a pro and, even after going winless in 2018, owns five PGA TOUR victories, including two World Golf Championships. He’s already made three Presidents Cup appearances, as well. If he can continue the form he displayed at the end of 2018, this upcoming year could be another good one for Japan’s biggest star. — By Sean Martin Click here to see who else made the Top 30 list. BY THE NUMBERS FEDEXCUP UPDATE Current 2018-19 position: 96th Playoff appearances: 5 TOUR Championship appearances: 5 Best FedExCup result: 8th in 2017. SHOTLINK FUN FACT After two top-5 finishes in his first three starts on TOUR last season, Hideki Matsuyama then finished the season with two top-5 finishes in his last three starts to become the biggest mover in the FedExCup Playoffs. INSIDER INSIGHTS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Hideki Matsuyama in 2019. TOUR INSIDER: Matsuyama has become a stalwart of the International Team and he has the chance to follow in the footsteps of a mentor next year. Royal Melbourne, the site of the 2019 Presidents Cup, also was the site of the Internationals’ victory in 1998. That team was led by Matusyama’s countryman, Shigeki Maruyama, who went 5-0. Maruyama served as a Captain’s Assistant at Matsuyama’s first Presidents Cup. — By Sean Martin FANTASY INSIDER: At No. 9 in my full-membership fantasy ranking before the season started, he’s the first inside that top 10 appearing in our Top 30 series this month. His 2017-18 season was a learning experience for us as he logged middling results amid ongoing discomfort in his left wrist. He then grinded out the Playoffs to advance to the TOUR Championship as the lowest opening seed (76th). For all of the frustration that he’s presented in real time with injuries, he’s entirely worth the plunge in every situation. — By Rob Bolton EQUIPMENT INSIDER: Week-to-week, Matsuyama’s 14 club competition setup is probably the most difficult to predict on TOUR. From Monday-Wednesday of event weeks, it’s not unlikely to see Matsuyama with 25-plus clubs in his bag; he’s typically testing different driver setups, sets of Srixon irons, numerous Cleveland or Callaway wedges with different lofts and grinds, and one-off Scotty Cameron putters. At the Tour Department at Cleveland-Srixon’s headquarters, there’s a dedicated locker space strictly for Matsuyama’s backup equipment. Most recently, he’s switched into a Callaway XR Speed driver and a TaylorMade GAPR driving iron, both equipped with Graphite Design Tour AD-DI shafts. — By Andrew Tursky STYLE INSIDER: Hideki is one of the more interesting dressers on TOUR. He always walks a sartorial tightrope with graphical prints, tonal patterns, pinstripes or bright colors. Sometimes he pulls it off; other times his kits look busy and have too much contrast. In 2019, I’d like to see Matsuyama take a “less is moreâ€� approach by using bright colors as accents rather than as the centerpieces of his outfits. — By Greg Monteforte

Click here to read the full article…