Schauffele pulls out of AmEx for medical reasons

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PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Tommy Fleetwood has won in Scotland, England, the United Arab Emirates, France, South Africa, even Kazakhstan. Victory in the U.S. hasn’t happened yet. Related: Leaderboard | Contenders at The Honda Classic have endured hardship The Englishman is in position to change that Sunday. Fleetwood birdied four of his final six holes on the way to a 3-under 67 in the third round of The Honda Classic on Saturday, moving to 5 under for the week and one shot ahead of Brendan Steele at PGA National. Fleetwood has been close to getting that elusive win on U.S. soil with two runner-up finishes. “If you’re going to win around here, you’ve proven yourself as an all-around golfer,” Fleetwood said. “Realistically, yeah, it probably is another step in my career. I’m not going to lie and say, `Ah, I don’t really mind about winning in America.’ Of course I do. I want to win everywhere I play and the PGA TOUR is for sure one of those places where I haven’t done it yet.” Steele shot 71. He was alone on the lead through 36 holes at 5 under, birdied two of his first three on Saturday to get to 7 under and then made four bogeys in an eight-hole span. But he survived, which was the order of the day for the leaders. “It feels like a major championship toughness-wise,” said Daniel Berger, who is three shots back. Fleetwood rolled in a birdie from nearly 50 feet on the par-3 17th to highlight his big finish. But he thought his two most important shots on Saturday were putts that dropped on the 10th and 15th holes. And both were for bogey. Let that speak for how challenging PGA National was — yet again. Of the 69 players who made the cut, only 11 broke par on Saturday. Fleetwood’s 67 was the second-best round of the day; Mackenzie Hughes, who made the cut on the number Friday, shot a 4-under 66 on Saturday and went from tied for 59th to start the day to tied for eighth with 18 holes left. Fleetwood’s score of 5 under is the highest by any leader through 54 holes since the Honda moved to PGA National. “It’s just a strong test of your all-around game,” Fleetwood said. Luke Donald birdied the last to finish a 71 and get to 3 under for the week, two shots off the lead. Lee Westwood (71) was tied with Donald going into the final round, surviving an up-and-down day where he birdied two of his first three holes — and then made just one more in the last 15 holes. “I didn’t have my A game today,” Westwood said. “But, ground it out and didn’t do too much damage. I don’t feel like two shots is much around this golf course.” True, but the Honda — at least the current incarnation of it — is not exactly known for comeback victories. Since the tournament moved to PGA National, 12 of the 13 winners have been either first or second after 54 holes. And in terms of deficits overcome, the biggest has been three shots — Padraig Harrington rallied after being three back of Ian Poulter in 2015, and Ernie Els was three shots behind Donald, Matt Jones and Mark Calcavecchia in 2008 before prevailing. Berger (69), Charl Schwartzel (70) and Sungjae Im (70) were tied for fifth at 2 under, three back of Fleetwood. There was a five-way tie for the lead — Schwartzel, Steele, Im, Donald and Fleetwood — on the back side for a brief spell Saturday at 4 under. It didn’t last long as all five dropped a shot within a span of about 15 minutes, a span in which Schwartzel got a reminder of how fast things can change at PGA National. He put his tee ball in the bunker on the par-4 16th, then saw his second shot hit the lip of the sand and plummet into the water to set up a double bogey. “I thought I was really good today out there,” Schwartzel said. “I played well, made a stupid decision on 16, but hit good shots after that and kept going. It’s a tough golf course.”

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – A quick look at Friday at THE PLAYERS Championship, where weather won the day once again. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Weather updates from TPC Sawgrass THE LEADERS WALK-OFF HOLE-OUT: Brice Garnett’s final shot Friday was a memorable one. He holed out with a sand wedge from 96 yards to eagle the par-4 fourth hole and tie Tommy Fleetwood and Tom Hoge for the lead at 6 under. Fleetwood and Hoge both shot 66 on Thursday. Garnett was on the fifth tee box, about to start his 14th hole of the tournament, when play was suspended because of unplayable conditions caused by the persistent rain that fell Friday. “We were just trying to stay in the moment and not get too ahead of ourselves with all the rain. It’s something exciting,” Garnett said. “Something that you kind of wish you would keep playing and keep the momentum going, but the course is unplayable. So we’re happy to come in.” Garnett arrived at THE PLAYERS ranked 186th in the FedExCup. His best finish in his first 11 starts of the year was T50 but he’s coming off a T7 at last week’s Puerto Rico Open. He continued his good play Friday, making four birdies and an eagle in the 13 holes he played. STORYLINES RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY (PART 2): Rain was the biggest story for the second consecutive day. Thursday’s opening day of THE PLAYERS was delayed more than four hours because of inclement weather, allowing less than half the field to complete its first round. Just four hours of play were completed Friday before play was suspended again because of unplayable conditions. Players did not return to the course Friday, leaving 47 players yet to complete the first round (Luke List withdrew mid-round) and a requiring a Monday finish at earliest. “We’re into a Monday finish,” said PGA TOUR Chief Referee Gary Young. “We know that.” The opening round will resume no earlier than 11 a.m. ET Saturday, with players to receive the next update at 7 a.m. ET. The last Monday finish at THE PLAYERS came in 2005, with Fred Funk as champion. INSPIRED DAY ON TRACK: Former PLAYERS champion Jason Day carded an impressive 3-under 69 in his return to competition following the passing of his mother last week. The Australian reached 4-under twice on the back nine after par-5 birdies only to give a shot back each time on the following holes. Day was a late WD from last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational when he rushed to his mother Dening’s side as she lost her five-year battle with cancer. While the emotions remain raw, Day is making his best efforts to continue to do what his mother loved watching him do. On Friday he shifted some praise to his friend and caddie Luke Reardon who helped him stay focused on the task at hand. “You need a lot of commitment but also having a good game in these conditions,” 2016 champion Day said of how to excel in rainy surroundings. “A good caddie also helps maybe a shot or two out there when it’s tough. Luke knows what he’s doing, it definitely helps, and commitment is huge, especially when you come down the stretch. 17 and 18 are brutal, especially with rain.” OPPORTUNITY GAINED: As of last Sunday night, Michael Thompson was fifth alternate for THE PLAYERS. As of Friday morning, he was first alternate with 12 players yet to begin Round 1. After Tyler McCumber’s early-Friday withdrawal (shoulder injury), Thompson was next man up, and he took advantage with two birdies and an eagle in his first five holes. He stands 2-under through 12 holes, currently T33. FOUR-SPOT FOR TOP SPOT: Four players have a chance to usurp Jon Rahm for the world No. 1 position upon the conclusion of THE PLAYERS Championship. A world No. 1 scenario exists for each of Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland, Patrick Cantlay and Scottie Scheffler. Click here for a deep dive into the scenarios. NOTABLES DANIEL BERGER (5 under thru 16): He was 1 over after seven holes, but then birdied six of his next nine holes (Nos. 8, 9, 11-12, 14-15). DUSTIN JOHNSON (4 under thru 16): The former FedExCup champ had hit his tee shot at the island-green 17th to 18 feet when play was delayed. A 68 would match his second-best opening round at this event (his lowest is 66). SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER (4 under thru 15): The FedExCup leader is off to another strong start, going bogey-free thus far. He has won two of his past three events, including last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. He could go to world No. 1 with a win. BROOKS KOEPKA (3 under thru 15): A double-bogey at No. 5 is his only over-par hole thus far. He also has five birdies. JUSTIN THOMAS (2 under thru 15): The defending champ was 1 over after four holes but rebounded with birdies on three of TPC Sawgrass’ most difficult par-4s, Nos. 5, 7 and 14. RORY McILROY (1 over thru 15): It was an up-and-down day for the 2019 champ. He followed a bogey on the first hole with three consecutive birdies, but then made three bogeys and no birdies the rest of the way. COLLIN MORIKAWA (E thru 15): Three birdies and three bogeys have him at even par. He also could go to No. 1 in the world this week. WORTH WATCHING BY THE NUMBERS 4 – Number of balls hit into the water at 17 thus far, out of 119 players to complete the hole. 6 – Number of players currently bogey-free. Kramer Hickok (67) and Taylor Pendrith (68) hold the only two completed bogey-free rounds, while Brice Garnett (6-under thru 13), Scottie Scheffler (4-under thru 15), Zach Johnson (2-under thru 14) and Denny McCarthy (2-under thru 13) have the chance to join them. 1 – Only one of the 18 holes at TPC Sawgrass is yet to yield at least one penalty shot during the extended first round. The par-4 sixth hole hasn’t been a pushover, playing as the 11th most difficult so far at 4.008, but it is penalty-free. 47 – Players who still need to complete the first round upon the resumption of play, which will occur no earlier than 11 a.m. ET Saturday.

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