SINGAPORE – Canadian Brooke Henderson came out of the gate firing in Saturday’s third round and never looked back, carding a bogey-free 65 to surge into a tie for 3rd at the Women’s World Championship.

Henderson, a Smiths Falls, Ont., product, climbed 12 spots on the strength of seven birdies to play her way into Sunday’s final group at the Sentosa Golf Club.

“It was a great day out there, a lot of birdies. I had nine putts on the back nine, which is really awesome, especially for me, so I’m really happy about that,” said Henderson. “Just a great day and got up-and-down when I needed to and climbed the leaderboard as much as I did today, I’m very happy on moving day.”

The 20-year-old trails the 54-hole leader Nelly Korda by four strokes heading into the finale.

“Yeah, I mean, hopefully I’m within striking distance going into tomorrow, and just keep doing what I’ve been doing all week, try it make as many birdies as possible and get off to a fast start,” added Henderson. “There’s a lot of birdie opportunities, especially the first five holes. So just get off to a quick start and see what happens after that.”

.@BrookeHenderson cruises into contention after firing a round of 65 ?

Check out her highlights here: #HWWC pic.twitter.com/UKMfOpZmxS

— LPGA (@LPGA) March 3, 2018

Korda, whose sister Jessica won the LPGA Tour event in Thailand last week, leapfrogged 36-hole leader Danielle Kang on the heels of a 7-under 65. Kang sits one back in solo possession of 2nd place.

Korda will look to become the second sister pairing in history to both win on the LPGA Tour.

“It would definitely be really exciting, but I can’t think about it too much. I’m just going to relax and take it shot by shot.

Henderson, Korda and Kang will tee off on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. local time.

Canadian Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont., jumped to a red-hot start with a 6-under front nine, before slipping on the back with four bogeys, leaving her with a 70 on the day (-2). Sharp sits in a tie for 57th at 4 over par.

Click here for full scoring.

If ever there was a right person at the right time, it must be Leslie Dunning.

Dunning, Golf Canada’s new president, couldn’t have constructed a more appropriate resume for the position if she had started with it in mind all her life.

Golf credentials? Check.

She was introduced to the game by a forward-thinking teacher at her high school in Mississauga, Ont., who wanted to provide her students with skills they could use throughout life. Unlike team sports, golf could be enjoyed as an individual.

“That gave me confidence,” she recalled during a conversation following her ascendance to the presidency in February. “I don’t think I would have ever stepped on a golf course if I hadn’t had that early exposure to the game.”

Based on her experience, Dunning understandably is a strong proponent of Golf Canada’s Future Links and Golf in Schools program. “I would like to see a [Golf in Schools] kit in every school in the country and that every golf course is connected to at least one school.”

After moving to Calgary with her husband Neill in 1991, she became involved in the junior program at Earl Grey Golf Club where they are members.

Appropriate related background? Check.

Dunning holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Waterloo and an MBA from Queen’s University. She is a chartered professional accountant and certified management accountant. She was selected to the Governor-General’s Canadian Leadership Conference, was Canada’s representative on the World Health Organization’s study to the Navaho Reserve, and was named an honoured alumna by the University of Waterloo.

Volunteerism? Check.

Dunning first volunteered with the Canadian Red Cross as a high-school student. That continued as she moved on to the University of Waterloo. After graduation, she joined the international humanitarian organization full-time, serving more than 36 years in various senior positions. When she retired in 2014, she was Director General, Violence and Abuse Prevention, for Canada.

Her involvement at Earl Grey led to positions on the club captain’s committee and subsequently various roles as a volunteer with Alberta Golf, including serving as president in 2007 and 2008. It was during 2008 that she was asked to assist in Golf Canada’s governance reform efforts. The following year, she was elected to Golf Canada’s Board of Directors as the first Provincial Council Chair. Since then, she has served on and chaired many of the national association’s committees.

Since achieving her national Rules of Golf certification, she has officiated at numerous local, provincial and national events.

Understanding of golf’s challenges? Check.

While with the Canadian Red Cross, Dunning championed significant initiatives such as Indigenous engagement and cross-cultural training. That experience stood her in good stead as she was selected to lead a Golf Canada working group to develop the association’s new Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Policy.

“There is tremendous diversity among golfers and there are numerous diverse groups that have organized themselves to play golf,” she said in her speech to the Golf Canada annual general meeting in Calgary.  “We want to engage with these groups, learn what they are doing, how we might support them and what we might do together. As we identify these groups, we will reach out to build relationships with them, helping us to understand their needs and interests.  It is our aim to create greater relevancy to more golfers and ensure welcoming environments for all.”

This outreach is not just to golfers, prospective Golf Canada members who want to play the game, Dunning said in our interview, but to welcome those who would like to get involved as volunteers, officials, on provincial and national committees and Boards, etc.

“Two of our Board’s main objectives are to make sure that Golf Canada is relevant and sustainable. Inclusion will help to ensure that programs and services are relevant to all golfers and financial health will help to ensure sustainability for the future.  We understand that our focus on priorities such as diversity and inclusion isn’t just like flicking a light switch. It’s a real cultural shift. And we are committed to that purpose.”

When we spoke, Dunning was in Florida getting ready to head to a meeting. When asked if that meeting was on the first tee at a nearby golf course, she chuckled. “No, it’s not.”

Actually, she was heading out to tour a golf development centre and then attending the annual meeting of the United States Golf Association.

“You’re the president for only one year so I am trying to make sure that every day I’m doing something to grow the game of golf in Canada. That’s my mantra.”

Dedicated? Driven? Absolutely.

SINGAPORE – The distraction of a chipped tooth proved to be no problem for Danielle Kang as she shot an 8-under 64 to take a four-stroke lead at the halfway stage of the Women’s World Championship on Friday.

Kang, who won last year’s Women’s PGA Championship for her first major title, equaled the course record at the Sentosa Golf Club to lead the LPGA tournament at 12-under 132.

“Never too bad to tie a course record,” Kang said. “That’s interesting to hear. I like that.”

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., carded an even-par 72 in Friday’s second round, leaving her in a tie for 15th. The 20-year-old will give chase to the leaders on moving day, teeing off at 8:30 a.m. local time.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp is T62 at 6 over par (75-75).

Nelly Korda, whose sister Jessica won the LPGA Tour event in Thailand last week, had a 66 to be tied for second with fellow American Alex Marina (67) while Minjee Lee (66), Cristie Kerr (67) and Chella Choi (69) were a further stroke back at 7-under.

Kang, who discovered she had broken a tooth after falling asleep while stretching before shooting a 68 in Thursday’s opening round, had eight birdies, four on the front nine and another four after rounding the turn, to post her second straight bogey-free round.

“(My) game is coming easy right now. There are lots of birdies out there. I’m more focused on being present and just hitting the shots. I’m hitting it well, rolling the putt well. So I’m not really worried about the results of how those shots come out. It feels like just a cruising day.”

Kang said her cracked tooth was not painful, but she could still feel it each time she swung the club.

“Every time I hit a shot, I’m like, it keeps scratching – it’s raw here, but it’s OK. I just don’t chew on this side. I’ll be fine,” she said.

“My dentist told me, I’ve chipped another one before, and he said, ‘You don’t break it at that moment’. It’s been broken and it just chips off. So I don’t know how it broke.”

Korda birdied four of her last six holes as she bids to emulate her siblings by winning tournaments this year. Apart from Jessica winning in Thailand with a tournament-record total of 25-under last week, their brother Sebastian won the Australian Open junior boys’ singles tennis title in Melbourne in January.

Their father is 1998 Australian Open tennis champion Petr Korda.

“We obviously have a little bit of a sibling rivalry, but everything is very friendly,” Korda said. “ She (Jessica) does make me want to be a better player, and seeing her win last week after the tough off-season she’s had was definitely very inspiring, and hopefully I can step my game up this week and take it home, but we’ll see.”

Jessica Korda (70) reached the halfway point at 6-under, level with Austin Ernst (67), Lizette Salas (67), Charley Hull (68) and Ha Na Jang (68), while several other big names lost ground.

Top-ranked Shanshan Feng finished at 4-under after a second consecutive 70 while Michelle Wie lost ground with a 73 and overnight leader Jennifer Song stumbled with a 75, including a quadruple-bogey eight on the par-4 third.

MEXICO CITY – Two of the European Tour’s hottest players brought their best golf to their first World Golf Championship.

Louis Oosthuizen, a world-class player for the better part of a decade, drilled a long iron into 4 feet for eagle on the par-5 15th and had birdies on two of the short par 4s at Chapultepec Golf Club for a 7-under 64 in the Mexico Championship on Thursday.

Right behind were two players unfamiliar to the world stage, though they sure didn’t play like it.

Shubhankar Sharma, the 21-year-old from India and the only two-time winner on the European Tour this season, holed an eagle chip after making the turn and finished with a wedge into 2 feet for birdie and a 65.

“I was very nervous in the morning, but very happy with the way I put it all together,” Sharma said.

Chris Paisley of England, who followed his victory in the South African Open with a pair of top 5s against strong fields in the Middle East, had his name atop the leaderboard for most of the warm afternoon until he came up short of the 16th and made his lone bogey in a round of 65.

“After the win in SA, I didn’t want to just be happy with winning. I wanted to kind of press on and that’s what I did,” Paisley said. “I’m taking that attitude into the rounds, as well. If you get defensive or you back off at all against players like you’ve got this week, then you’ve got no chance of winning.”

Sharma won his first European Tour event late last year at the Joburg Open, also played at altitude, and then last month he closed with a 62 to win the Malaysian Open. He was in Oman and Qatar before coming over to Mexico, and fatigue was hardly an issue, even walking the hilly course at nearly 7,800 feet above sea level.

?????????????????

Players representing SIX different nations are in the top 10 @WGCMexico.

Check out the highlights from Round 1. ? pic.twitter.com/mpW85GfeG8

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 2, 2018

“I’m actually relaxed now. I just wanted the first round to get out of the way,” Sharma said. “You’re always very happy when you start with such a low round, especially for me. This is such a big event. I would say this is taking some pressure off me, playing well on this course.”

Xander Schauffele also was at 65, while Rafael Cabrera Bello and Kiradech Aphibarnrat were at 66. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., shot a 1-under 70 to tie for 23rd.

This World Golf Championship lived up to its name for at least one day. The top six on the leaderboard came from South Africa, England, India, Spain and Thailand. The lone American, Schauffele, has a German father with French heritage and a mother who was born in Taiwan and raised in Japan.

Defending champion Dustin Johnson opened with a 69, the kind of round that showed that a slightly softer Chapultepec allowed for low scoring, but there were big mistakes equally available. Johnson found that out on No. 14, his fifth hole of the round. From a cluster of trees, Johnson hit one of them and knew he was in trouble when he could hear the ball go through bushes on the other side of the boundary fence.

Johnson had another shot disappear under a tower. He made six birdies for the round.

“I had some really good holes, I had some really bad holes,” Johnson said. “I felt like I was just struggling all day. But I did putt pretty well. When I did have good looks, I made them, which definitely kept my score at least respectable. The way I hit it, I probably should not have shot 2 under.”

Bubba Watson, coming off a victory at Riviera, also had a 69 and had reason to feel even worse. He was leading at 7 under until running off four bogeys in a six-hole stretch at the end of his round.

Justin Thomas didn’t carry over his best form from last week’s playoff victory at the Honda Classic. He opened with a 72, leaving him eight shots out of the lead.

“It’s probably the worst I’ve ever felt over the ball in my life,” Thomas said.

He played with Johnson and Jon Rahm, who also had enough mistakes to limit him to a 67. Rahm ran off three straight birdies early in the round, but on the par-5 15th, he drove right into the trees and had no option but to pitch out sideways. Then, he sailed his third shot over the green into the bunker, leading to bogey. He also three-putted for bogey on the front nine, though he had plenty of firepower, which was good for Mexico.

Rahm has pledged $3,000 for every eagle and $1,000 for every birdie to relief efforts from the earthquake in Mexico. One round in, the tally is $6,000. Also at 67 was Pat Perez, who celebrated his 42nd birthday on Thursday.

Jordan Spieth, who didn’t decide to play until late last week, opened with a 70.

The Grey Goose World Par 3 Championship begins tomorrow at the fabulous Fairmont Southampton Turtle Hill Golf Club in Bermuda.

This year’s 36-hole championship, which takes place March 2-3, sees a number of talented golfers from across the globe compete for the title and their share of the $50,000 (USD) purse.

“The field this year for the Grey Goose World Par 3 Championship is incredibly deep with many great players,” said Adam LeBrun, tournament director. “It would be almost impossible to pick a favourite because there are so many nice players. But the player who does come out on top will definitely have earned the championship.”

The field includes:

• Four-time PGA Tour winner, three-time American Ryder Cup member and a member of the PGA TOUR’s ’59 Club,’ Chip Beck
• Golf Channel analyst and WEB.COM winner, Charlie Rymer
• The PGA of Canada’s No. 3-ranked player, Billy Walsh
• Past champions Chris Ward and Daniel Augustus
• PGA Tour player, Omar Uresti
• Golf Digest’s Fashion Director, Marty Hackel
• Actor and comedian, Gerry Dee
• TSN Sports Centre anchors Natasha Staniszewski and Laura Diakun
• Best-selling author and award-winning musician, Jeremy Taggart
• Social media influencers McKenzie O’Connell, Ryan Rustand, Bradley Converse and Stephanie Gibri

For the full field and first-round tee times, click here.

Players in this year’s Grey Goose World Par 3 Championship also have an opportunity to win $1-million (USD). The competitors with the lowest gross scores in the professional, men’s amateur, men’s senior and women’s amateur divisions through the two championship rounds will qualify for the $1-Million Hole-in-One Shootout. One additional amateur qualifier will be determined by the closest-to-the-hole contest on the 18th hole during the final round of the championship.

As in previous years, the PGA of Canada and the Bermuda Tourism will continue as partners for this signature golf event in Bermuda, with WestJet and Travel Edge coming aboard as proud sponsors for 2018.

Past champions of the Grey Goose World Par 3 Championship include Bermudian Daniel Augustus, PGA Tour winner Nick Taylor, PGA of Canada member Ian Doig, American Jordan Mitchell, Mark Mouland of the European Senior Tour, Thomas Curtis, Rafael Becker and last year’s winner Chris Ward

In addition to the professionals in the championship, the field is rounded out by an impressive list of amateur golfers—from Bermuda, the United States, Canada and Europe—vying for titles in the men’s, women’s and senior amateur divisions.

Ottawa’s Camelot Golf & Country Club will open its fairways to elite talent from across the globe when it plays host to the World Junior Girls Championship from Sept. 9-14, 2018.

In addition to 72-hole team and individual golf competitions, the World Junior Girls Championship will be a celebration of the sport with a focus on developing the game. Prior to the tournament getting underway, the World Junior Girls Championship will host a coaching summit, a girl’s skill development clinic and a Junior-Amateur Event.

The opportunity to host the week-long event spurs a sense of pride for Camelot’s membership.

“We’re truly excited to be sharing our course with the top girls from around the world,” said Greg Richardson, Camelot’s general manager & chief operating officer. “We’re invested in the growth of the game at all levels and are our membership is proud to do our part in hosting world-class championships.”

The World Junior Girls Championship is conducted by Golf Canada in partnership with Golf Ontario, and supported by the R&A and International Golf Federation. Recognized as an ‘A’ ranked event by the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR), the World Junior Girls Championship will run for its fifth time.

Nestled in Ottawa’s east end, Camelot is no stranger to running Golf Canada championships. The venerable club has hosted the 2012 Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, a Canadian Women’s Tour event, the 2017 Canadian Junior Girls Championship, as well as final qualifying for the 2017 CP Women’s Open.

The 26-year-old club will provide an opportunity to showcase Canada’s capital to the world’s top 63 junior golfers from 20 countries across the globe.

“Being in the nation’s capital presents a lot of opportunities for visiting girls to explore, including museums, parliament buildings and embassies of their respective countries,” added Richardson. “We’re very proud to welcome competitors, coaches and spectators to Camelot and the great city of Ottawa.”

Many of the Canada’s top-ranked golfers have competed in the World Junior Girls Championship since its inception, including Team Canada Amateur Squad athlete and Camelot member, Grace St. Germain. LPGA superstar Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., who currently sits at No. 14 in the Women’s World Golf Rankings, competed in the 2014 inaugural competition.

“It’s a great tournament, a great championship… To be able to compete against the best in the world and represent Canada is really a dream come true,” said Henderson at a CP Women’s Open press conference in August. “I’ve been able to do that since I started my career. I think the best thing is just to have fun, to enjoy it, to embrace everything and try to use it as a learning experience.”

In 2017, Spain completed a thrilling comeback to overcome an eight-stroke deficit in the final round, unseating the 54-hole leading Koreans in the first team playoff in championship history. Seo-yun Kwon salvaged redemption for the Korean trio, capturing medallist honours in the individual competition – also in the first extra hole.

Admission to the championship is complimentary all week.

Learn more about the championship at www.worldjuniorgirls.com

SINGAPORE – Jennifer Song shot an opening 7-under 65 to take a two-stroke lead at the Women’s World Championship on Thursday.

The 28-year-old American reeled off seven birdies at the Sentosa Golf Club in a round that was interrupted for two hours by lightning.

Michelle Wie and Ji Eun-Hee (both 67) were tied for second while Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., and eight others finished a further stroke back at 4 under.

Henderson, 20, collected seven birdies against three bogeys to sit tied for 4th.

.@BrookeHenderson shoots a first round of 68 at #HWWC and sits three shots off the lead! Watch highlights from her day: pic.twitter.com/fe1mSuMUEg

— LPGA (@LPGA) March 1, 2018

Top-ranked Shanshan Feng (70) bogeyed the last hole, while No. 2 Lexi Thompson (75) struggled in making five bogeys.

Alena Sharp of Hamilton was in a large group at 3 over par.

Still chasing her first LPGA win eight years after turning professional, Song took the outright lead when she made five birdies in an eight-hole stretch.

“At times it has been a great struggle because I know I can win out here, but I just never have been given that chance yet,” Song said. “But I kept believing that someday it will happen. I think that’s the reason why myself and other golfers are still grinding because we believe that we can win out here.”

Wie has not won since she captured her first major at the 2014 Women’s U.S. Open. She led in Singapore last year after the first and third rounds.

“I made a lot of birdies from the trees today, so that’s a plus,” Wie said.

Wie looked to be in discomfort in her final few holes, shaking her left wrist, which was already heavily bandaged, but said it was nothing unusual for her.

“It looks a lot worse than it actually is. It’s really not that bad,” she said. “My wrist, I just have arthritis and I just try to work through that. You know, it’s been a little bit of a struggle but I’ve got a good game plan going, more preventative more than anything. But it just looked a lot worse than it actually is.”

Ji also bogeyed her last hole but managed to stay clear of a chasing pack of nine players at 68 – Henderson, Ariya Jutanugarn, Danielle Kang, Chun In Gee, Jessica Korda, Madelene Sagstrom, Chella Choi, Su Oh and Park Sung Hyun.

Korda, who won in Thailand last week, spoiled her round with a double-bogey 5 on the seventh while Kang managed to post a bogey-free round despite a freak accident that broke her tooth before she teed off.

“I was stretching out on the floor and next thing I know, I slept 30 minutes,” Kang said. “I broke a tooth. Call the dentist on range. It’s all good.”

The Canadian Deaf Sports Association and Canadian Deaf Golf Association are excited to send a national team to the 12th World Deaf Golf Championships that will be held from July 21 – 28 at the Carton House Golf Club in Maynooth, Ireland.

Team Canada will compete in the men’s event, Senior Men’s event and Ladies’ event.

Jonathan Rose, Ont., Alexandre Ouellet, Que., Ryan Mobberley and Sheldon Dueck, Man., and Dale Proctor, B.C. will take part in the Men’s event while British Columbia’s Jim Cranswick, Michael Parkes and Paul Landry as well as Denis Marchand (Que.) will compete in the Senior Men’s event. Sasha Laoun, of Quebec and Janette Lyon of Ontario will take part in the Ladies’ event.

Team Canada’s coach Stan Smith of Ontario will travel with the Canadian golfers.

In 2019, the Canadian Deaf Golf Championships will take place at the Mayfair Lakes Golf and Country Club in Richmond, B.C. The best Canadian golfers will be selected to represent Canada at the 2020 World Deaf Golf Championships in England.

This event is open to all Deaf and hard of hearing men and women. Note that a hearing loss of at least 55 dB in the better ear is required to compete in Canadian and international golf tournaments.

PEORIA, Ariz. – Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee wrote a chapter in history on Monday, breaking an Ohio State school record with a 64 at the Westbrook Spring Invite, collecting her second NCAA victory in the process.

Lee, a Team Canada National Amateur Squad member, marched to the tune of seven birdies accompanied by an eagle on the par-5 8th hole, finishing at 8 under par for the day on the Westbrook Village Golf Course.

The 20-year-old junior finished at 19 under par in the 36-hole event, two strokes clear of runner-up Kaitlin Milligan of Oklahoma State.

????????Lee used seven birdies and an eagle en route to an Ohio State-record 64, breaking @JPorvasnik‘s opening-round 65 at the Westbrook Spring Invite in 2014.#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/bvWRhtt07n

— Ohio State W Golf (@OhioState_WGOLF) February 25, 2018

Lee’s first NCAA victory of her career came in 2017 when she split medallist honours at the East & West Match Play.

The former Alberta Ladies Amateur champion paced the Buckeyes to a 2nd place finish, one stroke behind Oklahoma. She was named as the Big Ten Conference Golfer of the Week for her efforts in Arizona.

Congrats to @JaclynLee57 on her second Big Ten Golfer of the Week honor of the 2017-18 season!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/xpOjDDxKgz

— Ohio State W Golf (@OhioState_WGOLF) February 28, 2018

In her sophomore season, Lee led the Buckeyes in scoring average as well as total finishes in the top-5, earning her a selection to the All-Big Ten Second Team.

Click here for full scoring.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Justin Thomas nearly holed a wedge that got him into a playoff, and then hit 5-wood over the water and onto the 18th green for a two-putt birdie to beat Luke List on the first extra hole Sunday to win the Honda Classic.

Thomas closed with a 2-under 68 and won for the second time this season. He also won in a playoff at the CJ Cup in South Korea last fall.

Thomas and List matched birdies and tough pars over the final eight holes, and List appeared to have a big advantage on the par-5 18th when he hit a big drive that left him a 4-iron he hit onto the back of the green. Thomas was in the left rough and had to lay up instead of taking on the water.

He hit a wedge from 117 yards that landed a few feet in front of the hole and rolled some 6 inches to the side of the cup, settling 2 feet away. It brought to mind Lanny Wadkins stuffing a wedge on that hole to secure a U.S. victory in the 1983 Ryder Cup.

List, going for his first PGA Tour victory, blinked first in the playoff by missing his drive well to the right amid palm trees. He blasted that out left and against the grandstand, and then he watched Thomas take on the water and hit the green in two.

Thomas rapped in a 4-footer for is birdie and the eighth win of his career. It moves him to No. 3 in the world, one spot ahead of longtime friend Jordan Spieth for the first time in their careers.

“It was a hell of a battle out there,” Thomas said. “I stayed very calm all day. It feels awesome to come out on top.”

Alex Noren was tied for the lead playing the 18th and caught an awkward lie from the side of a bunker. He made par for a 67 and finished one shot behind.

Thomas and List finished at 8-under 272. It was the seventh playoff in 15 PGA Tour events this season.

Mac Hughes of Dundas, Ont., and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., both shot 73s on Sunday to finish in a tie for 59th at 9 over.

Tiger Woods was briefly within three shots of the lead on the front nine. He closed with a 70 and finished 12th.

Woods made that Sunday red shirt look a little brighter, at least for a while. With an 8-foot birdie putt on the par-4 eighth hole, he momentarily pulled to within three shots of the lead. That only lasted the few minutes that it took Thomas to tap in for birdie on the par-5 third.

Woods made bogey to close out his front nine, and he still was four shots behind until getting swallowed up again by the water-filled closing stretch. He put his tee shot into water and made double bogey for the second straight day, three-putted the 16th for bogey and was out of hope.

“I made a big leap this week because I really hit it well,” Woods said. “I was able to control it, especially in this wind, which is not easy to do.”

Woods led the field in proximity to the hole on his approach shots at just over 29 feet.

Not to be overlooked was Sam Burns of LSU, who last year won the Jack Nicklaus Award as the top college player who received a sponsor exemption. Playing alongside Woods in such a chaotic arena, he was bogey-free for a 68 to tie for eighth. That will get him into the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook in two weeks.

Five players had at least a share of the lead. Only three of them stuck around until the end.

Webb Simpson missed the fairway on the 11th hole and had to lay up instead of taking on the water. That led to the first of three bogeys in a four-hole stretch and sent him to a 72, four shots behind. Tommy Fleetwood was tied for the lead until a three-putt bogey from long range on the 14th, and a bogey from the back bunker on the 15th. A birdie on the final hole for a 69 left him two shots behind.

Noren faded early on the back nine with a three-putt bogey on the 11th and a bad tee shot that led to bogey on the 13th. He rallied, however with birdies on the two of the next three holes and had a chance on the par-5 18th until his second shot got hung up in the thick collar of a bunker. He made par for a 67, and could only watch as List and Thomas finished with birdies.

Thomas made one more that mattered.

“This one is going to sting a little bit,” List said. “But I found a restored passion for what I do out here. I gave it my best effort on every shot.”