WGC-Mexico, third round: Leaderboard, tee times, TV schedule

CROMWELL, Conn. – Paul Casey woke up Sunday morning with a four-shot lead and a stiff neck. Eventually, both would evaporate during a disappointing final round at the Travelers Championship. Casey, seeking his second PGA TOUR win of the season, carded a 2-over 72 that dropped him into a four-way tie for second behind winner Bubba Watson, who rallied from six back with a 63 to claim his third career Travelers title. Casey’s score tied for the worst score among the top 41 players on the leaderboard. Casey, who also lost to Watson in a playoff at TPC River Highlands in 2015, spent the entire round Sunday fighting his swing. With a chance to still win a tournament late in the day, the swing issues were clearly evident when he pulled an 8-iron at the par-3 16th to set up a crippling bogey, then found the water on the right with his tee shot at the 17th for another bogey. “Just about summed up how I felt about my golf swing,� Casey said. “All credit to Bubba – 63 is a great round of golf, in what I felt were very tricky conditions. “Just frustrating I didn’t have more. Didn’t have a comfortable swing to go out there and do something with.� Casey said his neck was tight after a poor night’s sleep and that it was a “struggle warming up.� But he noted that it didn’t bother him the entire round, eventually loosening up a little. It was evident, though, that his swing on Sunday was not the same as the first three days when he rolled out to a four-shot advantage, tying the tournament record for biggest 54-hole lead. The day before, Casey shot a third-round 62 in which he hit all 18 greens in regulation. But from the very first tee shot Sunday, Casey could tell that he was off. He ultimately birdied the hole, but it was his only birdie of the final round. He hit just 10 of 18 greens Sunday. “It was awful,� Casey said. “First few holes were not good. You know, just wiping across it. Either pulling it or flaring it right. That’s difficult to play with on benign conditions – and extremely difficult to play with when it’s slightly windy like it was today. … “I fought as hard as I could, which I’m proud of. Not many times you put me on a golf course and I only make one birdie.� Casey was asked if the sting of not sealing the deal Sunday was tempered by his win earlier in the season at the Valspar Championship. That victory ended a nine-year drought on the PGA TOUR after his first TOUR win in 2009 at the Houston Open. He said getting into position to win again has only increased his appetite. He has a heavy schedule the rest of the PGA TOUR season, and then hopes to follow that with an appearance at the Ryder Cup. “This is only going to be more fuel,� he said. “It’s annoying and I’m frustrated by it. But I feel very good about it … injury-free and excited for the rest of the season. “Ask me again in November, and if I don’t have another victory, then I will be disappointed. This is merely kind of posturing for what could be a very good climax.�

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PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Ernie Els played with two guys Thursday – Adam Scott and Kiradech Alphibarnrat — who dearly hope to be on his International Team this December at the Presidents Cup in Australia. Given the way Els played in the first round at PGA National, maybe there were three potential players in the group. Els’ 4-under 66 is his best opening round in his last 37 PGA TOUR starts and leaves him near the top of the leaderboard going into Friday. He had a much better day than his two International hopefuls, as the Aussie Scott shot a 2-over 72 while Thailand’s Aphibarnrat had a birdie-free 75. The World Golf Hall of Famer from South Africa turns 50 in October, about two months before he captains the International Team at Royal Melbourne. Unlike his U.S. counterpart Tiger Woods, whom Els expects will be a player-captain now that Woods is back into winning form, Els hasn’t been in contention enough the last few years to merit such talk. Els currently is 94th in the International Presidents Cup standings, but should he win this week, perhaps the chatter would start. When the International Team won its only Presidents Cup in 1998 at Royal Melbourne, Els was 3-1-1 that week. He’s won three Heineken Classics at the course, and in 2004 he shot a 12-under 60 that remains the composite course’s record low. “The success he had at Royal Melbourne, he can pick himself, the way he’s playing,â€� fellow South African Charl Schwartzel said Thursday. But Els told GolfChannel.com after his round that it’s simply “not in the equation.â€� “There’s so much to do, especially on my side of the captaincy,â€� Els explained to GolfChannel.com. “Tiger could be a little bit more comfortable doing it. He’s got a team of guys who have played Ryder Cups and Presidents Cups and who have been around it for many years. “I can see doing it from their point of view, but, from my point of view, I have a lot of work to do. I have to educate the guys around the golf course, how it sets up, how to play it. There’s a lot of things on my mind. It would be a difficult decision.â€� Of course, on top of those protestations, it’ll take more than one good round for the chatter to really crank up. He had just one poor shot – an 8-iron at the par-3 15th that found the water and eventually resulted in a double bogey. “That freaking 15th hole is no good at all on this golf course,â€� he said. After that, though, he was a bogey-free 4-under on his last 12 holes, with his longest putt on the final nine holes less than 8 feet. It was 11 years ago when Els won at PGA National. Although the course has undergone a couple of renovations since then, including one that was completed in November, Els thinks it’s actually closer now to the kind of track he won on in 2008. “The greens are firmer,â€� Els said. “They’re still very new. I remember back in ’08, the course was very dry and the ball was running and the greens were very firm, and it’s kind of similar now. It’s really important to get the ball in play. I don’t think length is going to be a huge factor this week.â€� Els’ last TOUR win was in 2012 at The Open Championship. That was his 19th career win on TOUR, and so he’s now seven years into his quest to get that coveted win No. 20. Last week at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship, it was Dustin Johnson who won for the 20th time on TOUR. Will Els make it two straight weeks of career-defining milestones? “I’m 49 now, so it’s not going to mean too much, but obviously 20 is a great number,â€� Els said. “Secretly on TOUR among the players, you know when you win 20, you get some benefits. It’s late in my career, but I’ll take any win now. “I’m not thinking about it. I’m just thinking about tomorrow’s round and so forth. But it would be magic.â€� The bigger magic trick, of course, might be swinging a club instead of driving a golf cart this December in Australia. It seems far-fetched, but a string of 66s and a win or two might force him to reconsider the possibility.

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