What went right for Europe, and what went wrong for the U.S.

TORONTO — Tony Finau birdied the final hole Saturday for an 8-under 62 and a share of the RBC Canadian Open lead with defending champion Rory McIlroy. “I didn’t finish the way I wanted to yesterday and I think all it did was kind of light a fire in my belly to get after it today,” Finau said. “That’s pretty much what I did. I made some birdies and I just played really clean golf. ” McIlroy had a 65 to match Finau at 11-under 199 at St. George’s Golf and Country Club. “I’m just happy to give myself a chance, be in the final group,” McIlroy said. “Once I saw, I think Tony had got to 10 or maybe 11, I think I was on like 8 or 9 at the time. I just said to myself, `Let’s just try to get yourself in the final group.’” McIlroy had to wait three years to defend his 2019 title because of the COVID-19 pandemic that canceled golf’s fourth-oldest championship the last two years. “I need to set myself a number and be super aggressive,” McIlroy said. “I know I’m going to have to make some birdies out there to win this thing tomorrow.” Finau had the best round of the week, eagling the par-5 ninth in a front-nine 29 and making four birdies and a bogey on the final nine. He won the FedExCup Playoffs opener last season at Liberty National for his second PGA TOUR victory. “I knew I was playing well, but at any given moment on this golf course you can make a number,” Finau said. “So, there’s no reason to get ahead of myself. I just tried to stay in the moment as much as I could and put together a nice round all the way to the end.” PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas (63), Colonial winner Sam Burns (65), Wyndham Clark (68) and Alex Smalley (67) were 9 under. Thomas eagled the par-5 15th. “It was very — it was easy,” Thomas said. “I mean I just, I played really solid. I didn’t do anything great. I just didn’t do anything bad. … I took advantage of some of the opportunities when I had them there in kind of the middle of the course and just stayed patient and waited for my run.” Clark led after each of the first two rounds. “I got off to a little bit of a slow start.” Clark said. “I was nervous, a lot of people out here, hadn’t been in contention in a little while. But then I calmed down and I really felt good about my game.” Nick Taylor was the top Canadian at 5 under after a 67.

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Here are nine tidbits from the third round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. The TPC Louisiana in Avondale has been the host since 2005 and plays 7,425 yards to a Par-72. PAIN OR GAIN These were the top 10, plus one, picked golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO: *Did not make cut. There was plenty of movement on Saturday as the teams played the final round of the best-ball format. Today was the day to make birdies and make up ground with two chances to score on every hole. Tomorrow is going to test the nerves, trust and execution as alternate shot returns. Remember, there were only five rounds in the 60’s during the first go-around. REDEMPTION SONG The partnership of Scott Brown and Kevin Kisner will enter the final round as 54-hole leaders by a shot. The duo posted another beauty in the best-ball format as their 64 saw them post 20-under-par 196. They’re now 38-under in the best-ball format in this event. Kisner carried the weight today as they counted six of his seven birdies AND two bogeys. It’s no secret that Brown entered this week not in his best form. He’ll need to give his red-hot partner even more help tomorrow. Their 70 in the first alternate shot included only one bogey and no others and I’d bet they’d sign for that right now! UTAH MAFIA Speaking of not playing well recently, Daniel Summerhays currently sits No. 212 in the FedExCup standings. His season and career could change dramatically tomorrow as he looks for his first-career win in his 204th event. Tony Finau has gone close twice this season with a solo-second place finish at the Safeway Open and T2 at the Genesis Open. They fired 72 with five birdies and bogeys in their first attempt at alternate shot. NOT FADE AWAY Michael Kim and Andrew Putnam neither have won on TOUR but that hasn’t prevented them from battling the first three rounds. They haven’t squared a bogey on the week but did have to count a double in their first crack at alternate shot. The signed for 69 on Friday to take the 36-hole lead but couldn’t get obnoxiously low on Saturday to maintain or increase it. They are one of only two groups in the top 13 without a win on TOUR (Tyler Duncan/Adam Schenk is the other). They are currently the only group in the top 13 to break 70 in alternate shot this week. They’ll start one shot behind in the penultimate group so that could ease some of the pressure. WOULDA Sitting alone in fourth place two shots out of the lead is Brice Garnett and Chesson Hadley. They circled 11 birdies Saturday to bounce up 15 spots and have a sniff in the final round. They’ll be lamenting the fact that they had to circle a triple-bogey eight on No. 18 in their alternate-shot round on Friday. It stings even more that No. 18 is a Par-5 hole! They only have one other bogey on the week so keep an eye on them! COULDA Saturday Billy Horschel and Scott Piercy also fired 61 to get into the chase as they will start Sunday three shots out of the lead T5. What’s worse than signing for a triple on a Par-5 hole? How about making back-to-back doubles after opening birdie-birdie on Friday? They added two more bogeys that afternoon and added them up for 73 before bouncing back with 11 birdies Saturday. With seven wins between them, including a FedExCup, TOUR Championship and Zurich Classic, this group has PLENTY of pedigree of those within touching distance. SHOULDA If pedigree is to be an angle, the 2012 Zurich Classic and 2013 PGA Champion Jason Dufner brings five wins to the table. His partner Pat Perez has two of his own in the last 18 months. Neither had any form to speak of entering the week but I couldn’t tell today! They fired 61 with 10 birdies and an eagle. Yep, they had to count a bogey and also have a double on their card from Friday. There’s plenty of experience in this group of 40-somethings! MOVING DAY WRONG WAY! Nate Lashley and Rob Oppenheim opened some eyes when their bogey-free 69 on Friday jumped them into the top three. Just to illustrate how easy TPC Louisiana was playing on Saturday, the pair turned in 68 and dropped 11 spots to T14. The rookie-vet combo will need to dial up another low one to claim either’s first top 10 of the season. Round 1 co-leader Lucas Glover and Chez Reavie gave three shots back on Friday with 75 to drop to T12. Their 67 Saturday was almost two shots above average and they fell seven more spots to T19. Imagine if they didn’t make TWO eagles! The biggest drop of the day went to Chad Campbell and Matt Jones who plummeted from T3 to T24. Their 63-70 to open moved them up. Their 70 on Saturday sees them seven shots out of the lead and in need of serious help. STUDY HALL Slappin’ each other around, Matt Kuchar and Bubba Watson had more giggle than hit today as their 68 dropped them 17 spots to T24. The second time of best-ball resulted in even lower scores than the first round. Saturday’s 65.222 average was more than half-of-a-shot better than 65.887 on Thursday. Round 2’s average score in alternate shot was 73.863 so there’s the benchmark for Sunday. Last year the formats were switched as the final round was four-ball. Gamers preparing for the Wells Fargo Championship next week at Quail Hollow Club should be reminded that this event was NOT played on this track last year. Eagle Point was the host for Brian Harman’s victory as Quail Hollow Club prepared for the PGA Championship won by Justin Thomas.

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The all-Australian pairing of Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman could have been over before it began at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans after Smith let his partner trim his infamous mullet on tournament eve. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Smith, Leishman have point to prove Staying together in a house near TPC Louisiana, Smith was about to head out to a local barber for a tidy up on Wednesday until his mate stepped up. “I said I needed to get a cut and I was going to go get one yesterday afternoon. Leish said, I can do it, I cut my boys’ hair at home. So I put faith in him, and I think he did a pretty good job,” Smith said after the pair opened with an impressive 9-under 63 in Four-Ball to be just one shot off the lead. It was a brave move as Smith’s hair has become the two-time PGA TOUR winners good luck charm and if things had of gone wrong – well – “I would have killed him,” Smith, who won this event in 2017 with Jonas Blixt, smirked. “But the lines were there. I had a barber do it last year, so all Leish had to do was like a coloring in, just don’t go outside the lines. I had a pretty good template to work with. It wasn’t too tough.” Leishman, a five-time TOUR winner who teamed with Smith to a runner-up finish at the 2018 World Cup, was as comfortable with the clippers as he is over a 3-footer. “During the quarantine, the start of last year when all the hairdressers were closed, my boys were getting a bit scruffy and I cut their hair,” he explained. “I will say I was a bit nervous the first few chunks I took out, but they turned out pretty good, so I was confident I could handle the short sides for Cam.” The duo’s attention now turns to the Foursomes format on Friday, also known as alternate shot. Leishman, who technically contributed just one of the teams birdies while Smith made an eagle and six birdies, was hoping to make his presence felt. “We were pretty good (today). I had the pars covered on most holes, and he had the birdies covered,” Leishman said. “It was great to be playing with someone who’s got a hot putter and putting himself in good positions on pretty much every hole. It made my job pretty easy. Hopefully I can fire up tomorrow and be ready for the foursomes.”

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