Sixth-annual East Lake Cup to air live on Golf Channel, Oct. 26-28

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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FORT WORTH, Texas – Ten years ago at Colonial, four of the world’s top six players were in the field. So were all the reigning major winners. The weather provided perfect scoring conditions. In other words, very little wind. It was a birdie-fest. Lowest cut in tournament history. No surprise that the Colonial scoring record was set that week, with Zach Johnson becoming the first player to break 260 for four rounds on this historic course. He shot 64-64 on the weekend to finish at 21 under. RELATED: Leaderboard | How to bounce back from a 4-putt or a triple bogey | ‘Strange’ and ‘odd’ atmosphere for the TOUR’s official return So now it’s 10 years later. Another loaded field, with the world’s top five players. Again, scoring conditions seem ideal. And through 36 holes, a ton of birdies have been made. Another low cut. TOUR pros, playing competitively for the first time in three months, obviously haven’t forgotten how to light up a scorecard. The man who holds the current scoring record is prepared to lose it to someone else by Sunday night. “If conditions stay like this, with how the winds are supposed to be, especially in the morning – it wouldn’t surprise me,â€� said Johnson, a two-time Charles Schwab Challenge winner. Tournament leader Harold Varner III is more than halfway there, reaching 11 under thanks to his final birdie of the day in Friday’s second round. He’s followed by 2016 champ Jordan Spieth at 10 under. Another shot back is a group headed by world No. 1 Rory McIlroy, making his first start at Colonial. So is Justin Thomas, who is a shot behind McIlroy. The leaderboard is stacked and heavy with notables. While no fans are allowed on-site, the big names should generate plenty of eyeballs on live streams and network television this weekend. Unless the winds pick up considerably – the forecast calls for a slight increase to 12 mph max for both days – there should continue to be low scoring. But there will be a slight twist in the direction … and that could make a significant difference, according to Spieth. On Thursday, the wind came from the east-northeast. On Friday, it was east-southeast. Spieth said that played “into bombers’ hands … a lot of the holes where it’s normally straight into the wind and it’s blowing 10 to 15 in May, it’s blowing 2, 3 miles an hour straight off the left, and you can fly all the bunkers.â€� Spieth spent the first two rounds looking back at the threesome behind him – McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka – and kept seeing how close they kept coming to his group. “Some of these holes, they’re just hitting flip wedges into,â€� Spieth said. “They’re just bombing it over everything. With how receptive the greens are, that makes it a bit easier.â€� So easy, perhaps, that it took a full day for McIlroy to adjust to a course he’s seeing for the first time. He admitted after his 2-under 68 on Thursday that he had distance control issues with his wedges. Luckily, the house he’s renting this week has a golf simulator. So he went down to the basement to hit a few balls in hopes of solving the issue. It must have worked – he shot 63 on Friday. “I just needed to sort of dial them in a little bit,â€� McIlroy said. But if you think the big hitters are going to dominate the weekend … well, Colonial doesn’t roll over that easy. It will always be a shot-maker’s course, giving the best ball-strikers a chance. For every bomber like McIlroy, Gary Woodland or Bryson DeChambeau (he of the 195 mph ball speed that “quite honestly, I can’t use it out hereâ€�) on the front page of the leaderboard, there’s also guys like Varner (who has been stuffing his mid-irons this week) and Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele. A slight wind switch could take away the power advantage. “I think the weekend is going to change a bit,â€� Spieth said. “I think it’s moving more towards the south where it’s supposed to be. But I would say if anything I think it’s played a stroke or two easier in my opinion just off of the wind direction and the lack of wind that we’ve had.â€� No matter what, it seems like Colonial is headed for a memorable finish, with big names battling it out under the shadow of the Ben Hogan statue that greets visitors heading down the steps to the course. About the only thing this week’s event doesn’t have that 2010 did is fans and stands. Oh, and a couple of frozen margarita machines to counteract the heat. For golf to return after three months is one thing. For so many recognizable names to be in contention, well … “Watching from afar, this is a golf course that’s always let the best players rise to the top,â€� McIlroy said. “You have to be in complete control of your game, hit fairways, hit greens, convert some putts. “Yeah, the leaderboard is a who’s-who of golf right now. I’m just happy to be in the mix.â€�

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