Tiger and Rory vs. Spieth and JT: Top moments from The Match

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DETROIT — Troy Merritt took off his cap and briefly bowed his head to acknowledge a roaring crowd after the first ace of his PGA TOUR career. RELATED: Leaderboard | Inside the Field: John Deere Classic He didn’t get to enjoy the moment for long. Merritt’s hole-in-one gave him a three-shot lead, but he gave a stroke back on the next hole with a bogey and shot a 5-under 67 on Saturday. Joaquin Niemann took advantage of the opening to share the third-round lead at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Niemann, who shared the 36-hole lead with Tom Lewis, pulled into a tie by two-putting from 46 feet at 17. He parred the final hole, the toughest one on Detroit Golf Club, for a 68. Hank Lebioda (66) and Cam Davis (67) were a stroke back, and Brandon Hagy (68) was another shot behind. Lewis (71) was among six players three shots back with a legitimate shot on the relatively short course with receptive greens. “The mindset will be make a few birdies, but don’t give any away,” Merritt said. “Make them work to come and get us and hopefully it’s good enough in the end.” Rickie Fowler (68) was in a pack of 10 five shots back, while first-rounder leader Davis Thompson (72) was six shots back. After opening with a course-record tying 63, Thompson has played the last 36 holes in 1 over with rounds of 73 and 72 The 35-year-old Merritt made his first hole-in-one on the PGA TOUR — from 219 yards with a 5-iron off one bounce — to give him a three-stroke advantage. Merritt was fired up, and the fans were, too, a year after no spectators were allowed to attend the 2020 Rocket Mortgage Classic due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s awesome to have the fans back out here, whooping and hollering the good shots,” he said. “Commiserating with the bad shots and even hearing some of the comments you probably don’t want to hear.”” After his bogey, he closed with with six straight pars. Merritt, who is from Iowa, won his second PGA TOUR title at the 2018 Barbasol Championship. The next year, he missed two months of competition due to a surgery that removed a rib after he had blood clot that run from his chest to his left elbow. He entered this week with three top-10 finishes this year — including a pair of them in May — to put him within one of matching the most he has had in a year since making his PGA TOUR debut in 2010. Merritt moved atop the leaderboard quickly after starting his round Saturday at 9 under, one shot off the lead. He had four birdies through seven holes and lamented not having another, missing a 14-foot putt on the ninth hole. His ace on the par-3 11th put him at 6 under for the day and he may have had a hard time composing himself. “We had time to settle down before the next tee shot,” Merritt insisted. Merritt, though, missed the fairway to the right on the 493-yard, par-4 12th. Then, he was long on a chip and 14-foot putt, giving him a bogey and cutting his lead to a stroke. The 22-year-old Niemann had two birdies over his last five holes to put him in a position to win for the second time on TOUR. He became the first player from Chile to win on the PGA TOUR at The Greenbrier in 2019. “Everybody’s going to have their own moment and I had my moment pretty early,” said Niemann, who has four top-10 finishes this season.

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Patrick Reed and Collin Morikawa are among several PGA TOUR players trying to unseat Europe's top stars as the 2020 season-long Race To Dubai champion on the European Tour this week. Reed, an eight-time PGA TOUR winner, leads the European Tour's Race to Dubai standings heading into this week's DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates. He leads the way in Europe's season-long race thanks to his victory in the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship and top-15 finishes in this year's three majors. He is trying to become the first American to win the Race to Dubai. His closest competitors are a pair of familiar faces. Reed's fellow American, Collin Morikawa, is third in the standings with the knowledge that regardless of what Reed, or current second-place holder Tommy Fleetwood, do in Dubai, he can also take it all with a win. The 23-year-old is in great shape after his PGA Championship triumph in August, his third PGA TOUR win, and is also the main contender for the European Tour Rookie of the Year. Veteran Englishman Lee Westwood is playing in his 12th consecutive DP World Tour Championship, and at fourth in the standings is the only other player guaranteed to become Europe's No. 1 player should he win this week's tournament. The 47-year-old won the inaugural tournament in 2009 and is the only player to feature in each edition since. The 65-player field is composed of the leading 60 members available on the Race to Dubai, plus 2019 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year Sungjae Im, who is an affiliate member) and four other members inside the top 75 in the world ranking who were not otherwise exempt. Viktor Hovland, winner of last week's Mayakoba Golf Classic presented by UNIFIN, is among that group. Hovland, who like Morikawa turned pro just last year, rose to No. 15 in the world after his win in Mexico. Hovland joined legends Rory McIlroy, Seve Ballesteros, Sergio Garcia and Jon Rahm as the only Europeans in the last 75 years to win multiple PGA TOUR titles before turning 24. Hovland also joined the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jerry Pate and Lanny Wadkins as the only players in the last 75 years to win the U.S. Amateur and multiple PGA TOUR titles before turning 24. Everyone else on that list won at least one major and a PLAYERS Championship. While the top four have their destiny in their own hands, the 2,000 points available to the winner means mathematically any player could become Race to Dubai Champion with victory in the DP World Tour Championship. Fleetwood and Westwood have both won the Race to Dubai before, in 2017 and in 2009 respectively, with Westwood also winning the former Order of Merit in 2000. Christian Bezuidenhout, who is coming off back-to-back victories in South Africa, Victor Perez, Aaron Rai and Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard champion Tyrrell Hatton would be Race to Dubai Champion with victory provided Reed doesn't finish second alone. The DP World Tour Championship winner receives $3 million while a bonus pool will be awarded to those members finishing within the top 5 on the final 2020 Race to Dubai Rankings, starting at $500,000 for the winner.

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