Scott Piercy extends lead to four shots at 3M Open

Here are nine tidbits from the third round of the Wells Fargo Championship that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte has been the host since the creation of the event in 2003 and plays 7,544 yards to a Par-71. The 2017 WFC was played at Eagle Point Golf Club in Wilmington, NC. PAIN OR GAIN These were the top-10 picked golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO: What a difference a day makes. Quail Hollow Club played over 220 yards shorter on Saturday and obviously easier than the first two rounds. The top four players listed above turned in an aggregate score of 19 under par and all worked themselves back into contention. The No. 8 player on the list above is sitting pretty. Final Paring Jason Day is looking to match Lucas Glover as the only winner to place all four rounds in the 60’s, as he’ll tee it last with Nick Watney in Round 4. The Aussie matched Friday’s 67 with another in Round 3 to post 10 under par and lead by two. Day hasn’t played this event since 2012 when he collected T9 cash. His win at Torrey Pines earlier this season combined with his three opening rounds (69-67-67) suggests he’ll be ready tomorrow regardless of course setup. Watney has now cashed in 11 consecutive weekends with the best of the bunch T20 his last time out on his own ball at the Valero Texas Open. It will be interesting to see how the once “young, up-and-comer” handles the spotlight in the final group with a major champion. Record Course Racking up seven birdies and an eagle against zero bogeys, Peter Uihlein threw down the gauntlet from the morning group that started at +2. He sent the message to the field that scores were out there and the course was ripe for scoring. I’m calling his 62 the new course record as nobody has posted a lower score since the redesign of the opening holes. The toughest thing to do after posting a low round is backing it up with another one. It’s even tougher on Sundays. He made three birdies in the first two rounds. Caution. Back in the Saddle After breaking a streak of cuts made too long to count at the RBC Heritage, Paul Casey has jumped right back into form this week. He also has posted his first three rounds in the 60’s, but a deeper dive shows his hot club this week is the putter. A ball-striking stud that I’ll be watching to see if the flat stick can keep up the pace as he’ll start Sunday three shots back. Lurking Before the week started, it was near impossible to fade Phil Mickelson as he has collected the second-most cash in this event over the years. It’s almost comical that he hasn’t found a way to finally get his hands on the trophy. He’ll begin Sunday five shots behind but his putter and irons finally fired in Round 3. He led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting and was second in proximity on a day where he signed for a bogey-free 64. Big Boy Golf Most gamers have eyes on Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy each week they’re in the field and this week isn’t any different. McIlroy said after the round he’s not comfortable with his game at the moment. If seven birdies and two bogeys is the downside, I’m riding him all the way to finish line tomorrow. As I wrote yesterday, when he came from behind to win in 2010 he posted 66-62 on the weekend to raise the trophy. His 66 on Saturday is the first part of that exacta. … Woods FINALLY threw up a pair of streaks that looked like he’s making birdies again. He circled three in four holes on the front (Nos. 5 thru 8) before seizing momentum with a turkey on Nos. 13-15 on the inward nine. Of course a three-putt bogey on the final hole brought us all back to reality. He’s T31 and nine shots back and will need something special in Round 4 to justify his selection. Moving Day Canadian Adam Hadwin hasn’t MC in 12 tries this season but gamers haven’t seen him since his last top 25 (T24) at Augusta National. His 65 moved him to T11 as he looks to carry his streak of T24 or better to six consecutive events. … Chesson Hadley will cash for the sixth time in as many events tomorrow evening and will look to extend his streak of T20 or better to five in a row. His 66 moved him up 32 spots to T16. Moving Day: Wrong Way Peter Malnati opened Round 3 in the final group but his 75 dropped him to T16. His best finish in the last two years on TOUR is T18, so he’ll be looking to keep it together for one more round. … Sam Burns needs 80 FedExCup points to gain Special Temporary Status. On the best scoring day of the event he joined Malnati as the only two players inside the top 39 who posted scores in the black on Saturday. He dropped 24 spots to T31 and the pressure on the 21-year-old must be something. He’s been in this column enough to take notice for future endeavors. Study Hall With 87 players making the 36-hole cut, MDF took place after Round 3. The big-name victims included Adam Scott (sigh), Hideki Matsuyama and Keegan Bradley … Round 3 played the easiest of the week at 70.368, down from 72.500 in Round 2. Yet, there were only four, bogey-free rounds, the same amount as Round 2. Talor Gooch (66) and Luke List (67) joined Mickelson and Uihlein in a very elite club. … The winner tomorrow, if not already qualified, will take the final spot in the field of THE PLAYERS Championship next week. … Justin Thomas will become World No. 1 if he can finish T11 or better. He’s T31 after using Rickie Fowler’s putter the last two rounds.  

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LA JOLLA, Calif. – It is fitting that Tiger Woods’ first opportunity to set the PGA TOUR wins record comes at Torrey Pines. He’s won eight times at this course perched on the cliffs above the Pacific Ocean, tying his own record for most wins at a single site. The 2008 U.S. Open remains one of the most memorable performances of his career, and was his most recent major triumph until he won last year’s Masters. Even if he doesn’t win, Woods will pass one milestone this week. RELATED: Power Rankings | Expert Picks | Featured Groups, tee times | Tiger chases No. 83 He’s playing the first two rounds alongside Collin Morikawa and Jon Rahm. Morikawa was born in February 1997, after Woods had already won the first three of his 82 titles. Thursday will mark the first time Woods has played in a PGA TOUR event with a player who was born after Woods turned pro. “In order to be a good player or be considered a good player in football, maybe you can get to a decade of playing in the league. Here, we’re measured by decades,� Woods said in Tuesday’s pre-tournament press conference. “It’s a different sport but it’s neat to see the young kids come out. I’ve only seen Collin hit balls, never had a chance to play with him until this week.� This is Woods’ first official stroke-play start since winning THE ZOZO Championship in Japan to tie Sam Snead’s record of 82 victories. Woods hasn’t been seen since his impressive performance as the playing captain for the United States’ Presidents Cup team. Woods went 3-0 as the U.S. Team made a Sunday comeback at Royal Melbourne. Woods’ precise iron play on the Alister Mackenzie layout was one of the highlights of the week. He was the first playing captain since Snead 60 years earlier to go undefeated in a professional team competition and lead his team to victory. After leaving Australia, Woods didn’t pick up a club until playing on his birthday with his son, Charlie. The celebratory round was an annual tradition between Tiger and his father, Earl. “I just wanted to get away from it,� Woods said Tuesday. “I was a little bit fried physically, mentally, emotionally and just wanted to have it all end.� Woods, who turned 44 on Dec. 30, said that he now has “more bad days than I do good days� physically. Fred Couples said in a post-Presidents Cup interview that Woods sat out the third day at Royal Melbourne because his body wouldn’t allow him to compete. “It’s hard to put it together for all four days as you get older,� Woods said. “It’s just harder.� This week, he’ll face a long Torrey Pines South Course that underwent a recent renovation to prepare for next year’s U.S. Open. Woods has won this event seven times, but it’s been seven years since his last triumph at Torrey Pines. He’s finished T23 and T20 in the past two years, shooting par or better in all eight rounds. The long layout with its thick rough was a perfect venue for Woods to showcase his strength, one of his biggest assets during his prime. Woods, who ranks 18th in this season’s FedExCup, now has to rely on precision and his accurate iron play. “I don’t have the ability to hit the ball as far as I used to compared to the field. … I was one of two guys to hit the ball over 300 yards consistently when I first came out here. Now we’ve got 50-plus guys doing the same thing,� Woods said. “It’s just a different ballgame but at the end of the day it’s how many birdies and how many mistakes can you eliminate throughout a round, throughout a tournament that will lead you to a win. Hopefully that will be the case for me this week.� If it is, Woods will sit alone atop the PGA TOUR’s all-time wins list.

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SAN DIEGO, California — Tiger Woods, playing his first PGA TOUR event in a year, will seek to make the cut and climb into contention in Friday’s second round of the Farmers Insurance Open. Woods opened with an even-par 72 on the South course at Torrey Pines, leaving him tied for 84th after the first round, seven strokes behind leader Tony Finau. Woods will play the par-72 North course starting at 12:30 p.m. ET (9:30 a.m. local). PGA TOUR LIVE has live streaming coverage of Tiger and playing partners Charley Hoffman and Patrick Reed. You can also follow all the action on PGATOUR.COM’s Live Blog below. RELATED LINKS: Tiger’s scorecard | Rd. 1 column | Near-ace video

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