Tiger Woods grabs early lead at Zozo Championship, his first event of the year

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — Joaquin Niemann was an 18-year-old amateur when he arrived in West Virginia two years ago and tied for 29th in the only PGA TOUR event he played outside of the U.S. Open. In 2018, he improved to a tie for fifth at the tournament. Now he has a chance to become the first player from Chile to win on TOUR. Niemann shot a 2-under 68 on Saturday to take a two-stroke lead in A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier. The 20-year-old Niemann was 15 under with a round left in the season-opening event at the Old White TPC. “I just feel like I’m almost a member here,” Niemann said. “I just like being out here. Always when you play on a course that you know already it helps a lot. I think this is the course I have played more on tour.” Niemann had a bogey and three birdies, including a 4-foot putt on the par-5 17th. “I’m just really happy the way I’ve been playing,” Niemann said. “This course is really good for me.” No third-round leader has gone on to win the tournament. Nate Lashley, Richy Werenski and Robby Shelton were tied for second at 13 under. Lashley and Werenski shot 65, and Shelton had a 70. Adam Long and Scotty Scheffler were 12 under. Long shot 70, and Scheffler had a 71. Lashley’s story is well known by now. In 2004 his parents and girlfriend were killed in a plane crash in Wyoming. After resuming his career in the PGA TOUR’s minor leagues, he won his first tour title at the inaugural Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit in June after slipping into the field as an alternate. “My mentality is I’m definitely a lot more relaxed,” Lashley said. “I’m just playing, just trying to take that as experience, the way I played in Detroit. You know, I really just kind of kept to myself that week and really just focused and tried to block everything else out. I feel like I’ve done a good job of that so far.” Lashley made bogeys after finding the rough on the par-4 11th and the greenside bunker on the par-3 15th. He chipped in for eagle from 36 feet at No. 17. His tee shot on the 179-yard 18th came as thunderstorms arrived in the area and play was suspended for about 50 minutes. Upon returning, Lashley three-putted from 70 feet. Werensky finished No. 126 in the FedExCup standings last season, one spot from qualifying for the Playoffs. He got his PGA TOUR card back for this season in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. Werensky said that he didn’t get discouraged after missing the Playoffs. Heading into the Korn Ferry Finals, “I had like a, I don’t want to say an epiphany, but just like, `Hey, man just chill out. Relax. I know I’m good enough.” Shelton was tied for the lead with Niemann and Scheffler after the second round. Shelton was 2 over for the day until making birdies at the par-5 12th and par-4 14th. He hopes to use his two wins on the Korn Ferry Tour last season to help stay calm Sunday. “You got to be super patient,” he said. “I mean, it’s hard to do, but hopefully I can manage my nerves tomorrow.” Kevin Chappell couldn’t capitalize on the 11-under 59 he shot Friday, the 11th sub-60 round in tour history. He had a 73 on Saturday and was eight strokes behind Niemann.

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DUBLIN, Ohio — Daniel Summerhays shot a 4-under 68 that took him from a five-shot deficit to a three-shot lead Saturday in the Memorial. More than his solid round was a collapse by Jason Dufner, who lost his lead with four straight bogeys on the front nine and hit two balls in the water on the back nine for a 77. Dufner went from the 36-hole record to four shots out of the lead. At least he’s still in the game, and he has plenty of company. Summerhays was at 13-under 203. Matt Kuchar, who won the Memorial four years ago, ran off three straight birdies on the back nine and shot a 67 that gets him in the final group with Summerhays as he tries to end 82 PGA TOUR starts without a victory. The last three winners of the Memorial had never won on the PGA TOUR, and Summerhays fits that mold. The 33-year-old from Utah is in his seventh year. Bubba Watson overcame a heckler on the 18th hole with one last birdie for a 68. He was four shots behind along with Justin Thomas (69) and Dufner. Rickie Fowler (72) salvaged an up-and-down day and was five behind. But it all started with Dufner. “Today was pretty pathetic on all accounts, so have to play better tomorrow,” he said. It started on the second hole when Dufner missed the green to the left from the rough and took bogey. He missed a 6-foot par putt on the third, then hit into the right bunker on the par-3 4th and made another bogey. And then he three-putted the par-5 fifth for a fourth straight bogey. Dufner was still tied for the lead when his wedge on the par-5 11th spun back down the green and into the water, leading to double bogey. It was a three-shot swing when Summerhays made birdie, and Dufner never caught up. He had said his breathing exercises over putting didn’t mean he would always have good days, and this was a bad one. Dufner had a pair of three-putts, and he twice missed birdie putts from 6 feet. He capped off his day by pulling his tee shot into the water and making another bogey. “The tournament is not over,” Dufner said. “It will be over tomorrow.” Summerhays wasn’t thinking about cutting into the lead when he started. He wasn’t thinking much about anything except the shot at hand, and he kept hitting good ones in the midst of Dufner’s streak of bogeys. “A train wreck can happen at any moment,” Summerhays said. “And that’s why it’s such a great golf course because it does test everything. Legitimately from the first hole to the 18th hole, there’s a double bogey somewhere in there.” Jordan Spieth knows the feeling. He was right in the mix until catching a downhill like in the bunker left of the par-3 eighth. He tried to play a perfect shot and barely got it out, then chipped down to 5 feet and missed the putt, making double bogey. Spieth started the back nine with two straight birdies only to follow with two straight bogeys. It added to a 71, and he was six shots behind.

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LA QUINTA, Calif. – Rickie Fowler rebounded from early struggles in the third round of The American Express and earned the opportunity to put his new swing to the test in Sunday’s final group. Fowler is in third place, four shots behind co-leaders Scottie Scheffler and Andrew Landry after shooting 70 at PGA West’s Stadium Course. Fowler was 2 over after eight holes Saturday, but birdied the par-4 ninth before shooting a bogey-free 33 on the back nine. “We did a good job clawing our way back and making sure we still have a chance going into tomorrow,� said Fowler, who shared the 36-hole lead with Scheffler. Fowler recently switched swing coaches. He started working with John Tillery in late September. Tillery also works with TOUR winners Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown. “I like his philosophy about the swing, not necessarily trying to put it in positions but using the body properly. With the body working correctly, there’s really only one place for the arms and the club to go,� Fowler said. This is just Fowler’s second start of the season. He got married in the fall, then contracted a bacterial infection before playing in the Presidents Cup. Fowler started the season with a T5 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. His work with Tillery has improved the way his lower-body moves in the downswing and made his swing less reliant on timing, Fowler said. He said his swing will look steeper to the naked eye. “The main thing is really the lower body just working. And for me, I feel like it would stall out a bit, more so kind of halfway through the down swing and for my arms to then catch up,� Fowler said. “I used to yank a little bit with my arms from the top of the swing, I get a little steep.�

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