Spieth exorcises major demons, inches closer to history

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GREENSBORO, N.C. – Russell Henley planned to head back to the hotel on Saturday night and help his wife entertain their two young children. RELATED: Tee times moved up for final round | FedExCup update from Saturday He’d probably read to them before they go to bed. Shoot, the man who owns a three-stroke lead through three rounds of the Wyndham Championship might even change a dirty diaper or two. “They’ll wear you out,” Henley said, good-naturedly. How’s that for putting life in perspective? And it’s just what Henley figures he needs as he contemplates Sunday’s run at what would be his fourth PGA TOUR title. It will be a quick turnaround, with tournament officials opting to start off two tees with players in threesomes from 7-9:01 a.m. on Sunday to beat what approaching storms. And the field will face a different course at Sedgefield Country Club that absorbed heavy overnight rains. Henley plans to be ready, though. The lanky Georgian admits that he was a little tentative on Saturday. Nervous, even. And he never could quite get things going like he had in shooting rounds of 62 and 64 to grab the lead at the midway point of the tournament. In fact, until Henley made a 33-footer for eagle at the 15th hole, a third-straight score in red numbers on the normally generous Donald Ross layout was hardly a sure bet. He eventually closed with a three-putt bogey for a 69 that sent him home looking to clear his mind. “I’ve never had a four-shot lead, so just kind of dealing with all the thoughts that are not wanted in my head and just trying to focus on what I want to do,” Henley explained. “The first two days everything was obviously going my way and I was playing really well and scoring well, so that’s not going to happen every time. “These rounds are kind of what make and break really good tournaments, so I’m really thankful to be under par today.” Three other players have held the lead outright after each of the first three rounds this year – Sam Burns at The Genesis Invitational, Louis Oosthuizen at the Open Championship and Harris English at the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. If Henley comes out on top Sunday, though, he would be the first of the four to go on to win. He would also be the first wire-to-wire winner at what is usually a volatile Wyndham Championship since Brandt Snedeker won his second title in 2018. Among those chasing Henley on a generally generous course that yielded a 59 to Snedeker in 2018 are Tyler McCumber, who is alone in second, and a pack of six tied at 11 under that includes the recent Olympic silver medalist who represented his wife’s homeland of Slovakia, Rory Sabbatini. Sabbatini came to Greensboro after celebrating in Bratislava and quickly got down to business. There is a sense of urgency this week because he’s doesn’t have his playing privileges locked up for the 2021-22 season – although he’s currently projected to move from No. 141 to 122 in the FedExCup. If he stays inside the top 125 come Sunday, he’ll keep his card and can save his career-money exemption for another rainy day. As an added bonus, Sabbatini would be headed for Liberty National and THE NORTHERN TRUST, the first FedExCup Playoffs event. “I do potentially have a flight reservation, but I don’t know which direction,” he said earlier in the week. Also among those tied for third is Kevin Kisner, a fan favorite and like Henley, a former Georgia Bulldog, who has finished tied for eighth, 10th and third in three of his last four starts at Sedgefield. He would have owned second alone, too, on Saturday had it not been for bogeys on his last two holes. The mission on Sunday is simple for the 37-year-old from Aiken, South Carolina. “Struck it nicely all day and gave myself a ton of chances,” Kisner said. “Two three-putts. Could have been really special. I gave myself chances all day, I don’t think I missed but two greens, the first and the last. Keep that up and try to get rid of those dumb bogeys.” McCumber is also a lock to make the FedExCup Playoffs for the first time in just his second year on TOUR. He’s found some momentum at Sedgefield, which he calls a “thinker’s course,” too, after missing the cut in his last six starts. “Golf doesn’t always give you the results you want,” said McCumber, who finished second at the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship last fall. “You’ve got to stay in the process, and I feel like I’ve been doing that pretty well and getting rewarded for it through the first three rounds this week, so taking that momentum into tomorrow.” He won’t be the only one, though. There are 14 players within five shots of Henley’s lead, including Webb Simpson, the 2011 champ, who has finished tied for third or better in each of the last four years. The 70 he shot on Saturday ended a streak of 18 consecutive sub-par rounds at the Wyndham and included his first triple bogey at Sedgefield in 846 holes. He’s in a group of six tied at 10 under – that includes former major champions Adam Scott and Justin Rose — after chipping in for par on the final hole. “It was a perfect ending to a very weird day, very frustrating day,” said Simpson, who was headed to the range to work out a recurring miss-hit to the left. “I had the position to shoot 4, 5 under again and just didn’t get it done.” Don’t be surprised to see someone go even lower than that on Sunday as they race to the finish line.

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ATLANTA (AP) — Xander Schauffele ended his rookie season by winning the TOUR Championship. Justin Thomas ended the best season with the FedExCup. Schauffele, a 23-year-old from San Diego who was worried about keeping his PGA TOUR card just over three months ago, swirled in a 3-foot birdie putt on the final hole Sunday for a 2-under 68 and a one-shot victory over Thomas. He became the first PGA TOUR rookie to win the TOUR Championship since it began in 1987. Thomas never had more reason to celebrate finishing second. He capped off a season of five victories, including his first major at the PGA Championship, by claiming the FedExCup and the $10 million bonus. It was the first time in eight years that two players celebrated at East Lake. Tiger Woods won the FedExCup and Phil Mickelson won the TOUR Championship in 2009. The surprise guest to the party was Schauffele. “It’s been a wild ride,” he said. It began with a tie for fifth in his U.S. Open debut, and he followed that a month later by winning the Greenbrier Classic. He wouldn’t even have been at the TOUR Championship until he played his final six holes in 6-under par last week at Conway Farms to get into the top 30 in the FedExCup. And then he played like he belonged on such a big stage, especially on the back nine. Starting on the par-3 11th hole, he one-putted four straight greens from outside six feet — one of them for birdie, the rest for pars, all of them clutch. Thomas caught up with birdies on the 16th and 17th, but the PGA champion missed the fairway on the 567-yard closing hole and couldn’t reach the green in two. His 25-foot birdie putt snapped off to the left just in front of the cup. Schauffele saved par from right of the 17th green for the fourth time on the back nine, and then smashed a 347-yard tee shot on the 18th that left him an approach just short of the green. He putted that up to three feet and then nearly missed. The ball hit the left edge and swirled 270 degrees before dropping in the front. But it was enough to finish at 12-under 268, a victory worth $3.75 million, $2 million of that for finishing third in the FedExCup. He also moved to No. 32 in the world. Thomas was among the first to congratulate him outside the scoring room. “It was a grueling day for sure,” Thomas said. Schauffele is another member of the high school class of 2011, and by far the most unheralded against the likes of Spieth, Thomas, Daniel Berger and others. Asked earlier in the week what he knew about Schauffele, Thomas replied, “Not much, except that he’s very good or he wouldn’t be here.” Thomas won more than the FedExCup. He also wrapped up the PGA of America’s points-based award for player of the year. He’s a lock to get the players’ vote as PGA TOUR player of the year, and he won the Arnold Palmer Award for claiming the money title with over $10 million. Thomas wrapped up the FedExCup when Jordan Spieth, the No. 1 seed, couldn’t sustain momentum after holing out from the 10th fairway for eagle and nearly holing out again from the 13th fairway. Spieth closed with a 67 and tied for seventh, earning a $3 million bonus for finishing second in the FedExCup. He had few regrets, not after a season in which his three victories included the British Open for the third leg of the career Grand Slam. “J.T. obviously is very well deserving of winning the FedExCup,” Spieth said. “Not winning a playoff event, I almost cheated my way into winning the FedExCup when he really deserved it.” Thomas had the FedExCup wrapped up with two holes to play thanks to mistakes behind him. Paul Casey, who now has gone 144 starts on the PGA TOUR since his last victory in the 2009 Houston Open, lost a two-shot lead in five holes but was still in the game until he put his tee shot into the water on the par-3 15th. He played alongside Kevin Kisner, who also went into the water and lost his chance of winning at East Lake. Kisner had a 70 and tied for third with Russell Henley, who shot a 65. Casey closed with a 73 and finished fifth.

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