England’s Matt Wallace and France’s Victor Perez shared the lead on 10 under par after the third round of the Dutch Open, where two shots separated the top nine on Saturday.
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Shane Caldwell — who met the golf star at Augusta National thanks to the power of social media — has passed away.
KAPALUA, Hawaii — Collin Morikawa seized control on the stretch of scoring holes on the back nine at Kapalua to pull away from the elite field, making four birdies over his final five holes for an 8-under 65 and a six-shot lead in the Sentry Tournament of Champions. No one could keep up with Morikawa, a two-time major champion who went to a putting coach late last year and is seeing it start to pay off. It makes for a frightening complement to his supreme iron play. Morikawa has yet to make a bogey over 54 holes on the Plantation Course at Kapalua, and he has rarely come close. He made a 10-footer for par on the fourth hole to avoid a long three-putt, making that as pure as so many of his birdies. Morikawa was at 24-under 195, six shots clear of U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick, Masters champion Scottie Scheffler and J.J. Spaun. Morikawa is among 10 players at Kapalua who failed to win this year. Now it’s an elevated event with a $15 million purse, and the PGA TOUR chose to expand the field to include anyone reaching the FedExCup finale at East Lake. One more round like this and Morikawa can be assured of a tee time for next year. Scheffler, who along with Spaun started two shots behind, tried to keep up with Morikawa. The birdies dried up on the back nine, however, and Scheffler missed a 4-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th that at least could have put him in the final group. He had to settle for a 69. Fitzpatrick had five birdies over his last seven holes in his round of 66 and will be in the final group for his first trip to Hawaii. Spaun dropped two shots on the back nine, one when his ball spun off the 13th green and rolled 50 yards down the fairway, the other when his second shot to the par-5 15th sailed left and into the native grass. He had a 69. Max Homa had no trouble with Kapalua, making a career-high 10 birdies for a 63 and wondering exactly how he did it. That only got him to within eight shots of the lead. “It didn’t feel like I played four shots better than my last two days combined, but I did,” he said. “It’s just not a very good game for your mind. But it was nice to shoot 10 under.” Jordan Spieth was three shots behind to start the third round and lost ground with three bogeys in his round of 71. Everyone is chasing Morikawa, and it looks to be hopeless. Morikawa began his scoring with a 12-foot eagle putt on the par-5 fifth hole, made a tough 20-footer for birdie on the next and did everything right by doing so little wrong.
CARNOUSTIE, Scotland – Rory McIlroy’s return to the site of his first Open Championship has been rejuvenating. Seeing images of himself competing as a mop-topped amateur has reminded him of the care-free approach he once had. Expectations can be a heavy burden, and they’ve caused McIlroy to be too tense in the majors this year. He failed to seize the opportunity when he played his way into the final group at the Masters, then shot himself out of the U.S. Open before half the field had even teed off in the first round. “I’ve been a little too careful and too tentative,� he said. “Last day at Augusta, even the first day at Shinnecock, I was holding on a little too much. This week, one of my main thoughts is just to get it go. Just go out there and give it your all. I’d rather fail by trying 100 percent than by holding back. So far, it seems to have worked. McIlroy has opened The Open Championship with consecutive 69s to enter the weekend in contention for his second Claret Jug despite playing in the harder half of the draw. He shot 2 under par Friday while playing through the worst of the rain. Many players have been hitting irons off the tee at Carnoustie, using the firm fairways to roll their balls to the proper spot and avoid the penal pot bunkers. McIlroy didn’t want to be cautious, though. He wanted to rely on the best club in his bag, the driver. Friday’s rain forced him to abandon that plan, but the weekend’s sunny forecast should allow him to return to it. “With the dampness and the cold, a lot of fairway bunkers were in play with driver, where, if it’s dry and a little warmer, you’re flying those bunkers,� he said. “If the conditions do change and go back to the way they were yesterday, I’d see myself hitting a lot more drivers again. McIlroy, the 2016 FedExCup champion, is seeking his first major in four years. He won both The Open and PGA Championship in 2014, giving him four major victories in a four-year span. He has made just three bogeys through 36 holes at Carnoustie, where he was low amateur 11 years ago. He had four birdies and two bogeys Friday. “It was definitely a day where, don’t shoot yourself out of the tournament instead of trying to press on and build a lead or get an advantage,� McIlroy said. OBSERVATIONS Zach Johnson has already won one Claret Jug and been a consistent contender at The Open Championship. Over the past seven Opens, he has finished in the top 16 in six of them. “I feel like this championship more than any tournament completely magnifies exactly what I need to work on, my strengths and weaknesses,� he said. “Once I learned that – I don’t know if it was the first year or the second year or the third year – I just gravitated towards this style of golf. Johnson is back in contention at The Open after shooting 69-67 in the first two rounds. Johnson’s links career didn’t get off to a strong start. The Iowa native missed the cut in his first three Opens, shooting over par in five of those six rounds. He hasn’t missed a cut here since. He first played the weekend in an Open at Carnoustie in 2007, shooting 68-70 on the weekend to finish T20. He doesn’t remember much about that week, though. “The only shot I remember hitting here was an 8-iron on the eighth hole, which is a par-3, and I hit it out of bounds,� Johnson said. “I remember making the cut and thinking, ‘Man, this is good. Finally.’ He’s had a lot of success in the Open since, and it continued Friday.
