Top 10 things that can happen in golf in 2019

AUGUSTA, Ga. - After getting off to a bad start, Rory McIlroy's bid for the Masters and the career Grand Slam isn't completely dead. But he may need a miracle Sunday, plus help from frontrunner Dustin Johnson. Clawing his way back after an opening-round 75, McIlroy shot a third-round 67 that was marred only by his continued frustrations at the par-5 13th hole. He three-putted from nine feet to bogey perhaps the easiest hole on the course for the second time this week. RELATED: Leaderboard | Nine things to know: Augusta National Golf Club McIlroy reached 8 under (75-66-67) and was just outside the top 10 on the leaderboard. "Yeah, 11 under for the last two days, I think that sort of speaks for itself," he said. "The good golf was in there, I just didn’t allow myself to play that way on the first 18 holes. This course can do that. This course can make you a little bit careful and a little bit tentative at times. I’ve always said I play my best golf when I’m trusting and freer, and I’ve been a lot freer over the last 36 holes." The two-time FedExCup champion hit 10 of 14 fairways, and 11 greens in regulation. He birdied the ninth and 10th holes, two of the tougher par-4s on the course, and holed out for birdie from the sand on 12. It was the unlucky 13th, though, that got him again. In the first round "Azalea" bit back when he got caught up in the trees left of the fairway and Rae's Creek, and made bogey. This time his 321-yard drive found the thick right rough. He had an opening, but after a long discussion with caddie Harry Diamond, chose to lay up. The sensible play, it nonetheless didn't pay off. Although his 62-yard third shot stopped just nine feet behind the pin, he missed the birdie and his ball slid four feet past the hole. His par effort power-lipped out. "It was where I left my (birdie) putt," he said, explaining his mistake. "The first two feet of it was uphill, and then it went over the crest and started going down, so you had to give it enough speed to at least get it up and over there, and then it just got away from me a little bit. But the greens are getting quicker. Yeah, you’ve got to think about where you’re leaving it." At the par-5 15th hole he was too aggressive, going for the green in two even though he was too far left off the tee. His second shot found the water, and he did well to get up and down for par. At least he managed to birdie both par-5s on the front. McIlroy, 31, would seem to have plenty of time to win here, and the game to do it. But as he's said, the example of Greg Norman shows there are no guarantees. He looked headed for the green jacket until a final-round 80 in 2011, and his best finish remains a 4th in 2015 Although he hasn't played well since the PGA TOUR resumed in June, McIlroy began to show positive signs in his last start at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP @ SHERWOOD, when he led the field with 29 birdies. He's been showing more of the same the last two rounds, but he's likely too far back, with Johnson reaching 15 under par even before he'd played his final par 5. "I just need to go out and shoot a good one tomorrow and see where it puts me," McIlroy said, "but I have zero thoughts about winning this golf tournament right now."

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At the conclusion of the TOUR Championship, the final event of the FedExCup Playoffs, bonus money will be distributed as follows: Top 30 FedExCup bonus money distribution Other FedExCup bonus money distribution

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HOUSTON – The second round of the Houston Open was completed Saturday morning, with Peter Malnati holding a two-shot lead, amateur Cole Hammer making the cut and Tyler Duncan suffering a calamity on the final hole in the final group. A total of 59 players finished their second round after play was suspended for darkness Friday at the Golf Club of Houston, thanks to a two-hour weather delay earlier in the day. Malnati had already completed his round as one of the earlier finishers, reaching 10 under after his bogey-free 7-under 65. He’ll take a two-shot lead over Sepp Straka, Talor Gooch and Scott Harrington into the third round, which will be played off two tees in threesomes in hopes of getting back on schedule. Malnati, Straka and Gooch are in the final threesome teeing off at 2 p.m. ET. It’s only the second time in Malnati’s PGA TOUR career that he has held the lead after any of the first three rounds; he also led the 2018 Wells Fargo Championship after the second round. Malnati’s lone win on TOUR came four years ago at the Sanderson Farms Championship. Hammer, the University of Texas sophomore from Houston playing this week on a sponsor exemption, was among the 20 players making the cut on the number at even par. Hammer finished up a 5-over 77 on Saturday after opening with a 67. Hammer’s only previous PGA TOUR start came as a 15-year-old at the 2015 U.S. Open when he missed the cut. Duncan was safely inside the cut line at 2 under after rolling in a 52-1/2 foot birdie putt at the 17th before misfortune struck at the par-4 18th, which yielded just one birdie in the second round and is playing as the toughest hole on the course this week. Duncan’s tee shot found the intermediate rough near the right-side fairway bunkers. He followed that with a shot landing in the water that guards the left side of the hole. He then three-putted, missing a bogey attempt from inside 5 feet, for a double bogey that left him at 1 over and outside the cutline. Another player missing the cut was Henrik Stenson, playing for the first time this week with a new 3-wood. Rich Beem, playing his first non-PGA Championship tournament since 2014, made the cut at 4 under and is tied for 17th. Current FedExCup leader Sebastian Munoz was among those making the cut at even par.

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