JACKSON, Miss. – Keegan Bradley likes the way he’s putting. He must really like the idea that the birdie putts he made Friday on his way to a 7-under 65 were not terribly far from the hole.

In his debut at the Country Club of Jackson, Bradley made three straight birdies on the back nine to take the lead and closed with another short birdie putt to take a two-shot lead over J.T. Poston and Charley Hoffman.

Bradley, whose victory in the BMW Championship at Aronimink two years ago was his only title in the last eight years, was at 13-under 131.

Poston made five birdies on the back nine for a 67, while Hoffman shot 69.

“I had a blast today playing,” Bradley said. “It’s so fun to be done with the round, done with 36 holes and say, `Man, that was a fun time.’ Sometimes it’s not fun at all. What a great day, and I’m bringing a lot to the weekend that I’m happy about.”

It hasn’t been much fun in the last year for Bradley, who won the PGA Championship as a rookie. He hasn’t had a top 10 since his runner-up finish at the Travelers Championship in June 2019. But he likes how he’s playing and how he’s putting on the fast, pure Bermuda greens.

Also having a blast is M.J. Daffue of South Africa, who gets by on Monday qualifiers and is giving himself another chance. Daffue was a Monday qualifier for the Workday Charity Open at Muirfield Village, birdied his last hole of the second round to make the cut and tied for 22nd. This was his third time Monday qualifying since July.

Daffue, a 31-year-old who played college golf at Lamar, goes week-to-week, so it shouldn’t be too difficult for him to avoid looking ahead.

“Trying to do everything at once – get all those points at once or trying to win – it will really eat at you,” Daffue said. “So I’m just trying to chip away at it. I’m in a good position. Try to get to a target score for the week and just keep hitting the shots and try to hit good putts.”

Kevin Chappell, among four players who shared the lead after the first round, appeared to be on his way to setting a target in the morning and getting some separation. He followed a 64 with five birdies on the front nine – along with a bogey on the par-5 fifth hole – to reach 12 under.

But then he three-putted the 10th. He chopped his way along the left side of the par-5 11th and made double bogey on the third-easiest hole at Country Club of Jackson. He dropped another shot on the 12th. Chappell shot 40 on the back nine and had to settle for a 72, leaving him five shots back.

“I’ve got as much firepower as I need,” Chappell said. “I’ve got to figure out the bad stuff and limit. I’m physically going to make bad golf swings and hit it in bad places. That’s just kind of where my game is at the moment. But I compounded some mistakes out there and let it get out of hand. Those are the things I’ve got to stop.”

He was in the group at 8-under 136 along with Sergio Garcia (68), Anirban Lahiri (70) and Brandt Snedeker (66).

Garcia, making his Sanderson Farms Championship, was putting with his eyes closed. He says he has been doing that a majority of the time all the way back to 2017 when he won the Masters, and sounded surprised to get so many questions. Perhaps no one noticed, or no one has been watching him that closely.

Corey Conners (70) of Listowel, Ont., was the low Canadian, sitting in a group tied for 12th at 7 under. Michael Gligic (73) of Burlington, Ont., and Roger Sloan (71) of Merritt, B.C., were tied with others for 18th at 6 under.

David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., and Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., both missed the cut.

The cut was at 3-under 141, unfortunate for Michael Kim. Since winning the John Deere Classic in July 2018, Kim has made the cut only twice in full-field tournaments, both within three months of his lone victory.

It was good news for Jay McLuen, another Monday qualifier who suffered a heart attack three years ago and was treated with shock paddles in the ambulance. Then, his wife nearly died in April when a tractor fell on them.

He shot 71 and wound up making the cut on the number. He also made the cut in the Puerto Rico Open, where he was given a sponsor exemption.

JACKSON, Miss. – Former PGA champion Jimmy Walker wasn’t feeling his best and wasn’t sure what to expect, especially after missing two short birdie putts to begin the opening round Thursday in the Sanderson Farms Championship.

It turned out to be his best start in more than two years.

Walker played bogey-free on the fast greens at the Country Club of Jackson for an 8-under 64 to join Charley Hoffman among the early starters. Walker made his eighth and final birdie with a speck of mud on the right side of the ball, trusting the wind with a shot to 2 feet.

“I was like, `We’ll see if I can judge it just right,’ and I ended up hitting it like this,” he said, holding his hands a little more than a foot apart. “Finishing that off was pretty nice.”

Hoffman made nine birdies in his round of 64.

Walker hasn’t had much go his way since he won the 2016 PGA Championship at Baltusrol. He had Lyme disease the following year that took its toll for more than that season, and he now has gone 88 starts on the PGA Tour without winning since his major title.

More recently, he had tendonitis in his right elbow so bad that it hurt even to remove a club from the bag. Walker got some good work in at home in Texas last week, his physical therapist working with him, and he took it easy during practice leading up to the opening round.

“I’ve always had stuff with my left shoulder, but I just picked up some tendonitis at the U.S. Open,” Walker said. “I just had no strength. But I rested a lot last week, played a few 9-hole rounds with some buddies and came in this week and my physio, we’ve been banging away on it. And it’s feeling better.”

The putter felt better, too. After two short misses, Walker realized he needed to move the ball up slightly in his stance. Then, he started pouring in a collection of 15-footers, one from 25-feet and a par save from 10 feet.

The last time he started a PGA Tour event with a round this low was a 64 in May 2018 at the AT&T Byron Nelson.

Michael Gligic of Canada had a 65, while the group at 66 included another former PGA champion, Keegan Bradley, and Anirban Lahiri of India, who got into this tournament only by finishing in the top 10 last week at Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.

Fellow Canadians Corey Conners (Listowel, Ont.) and Roger Sloan (Merritt, B.C.) closed in a tie for 12th at 5 under.

Lahiri gave himself a little extra motivation by booking a seat on the PGA Tour charter flight from the Caribbean, even though he wasn’t yet in the Sanderson Farms. And then he had a 64-70 weekend to tie for sixth.

Sergio Garcia, out of the top 50 in the world for the first time since 2011, made his tournament debut in the afternoon, along with Henrik Stenson.

Defending champion Sebastian Munoz also played Thursday afternoon.

Stewart Cink opened with a 69 in his first tournament since winning the Safeway Open three weeks ago with his son on the bag, Cink’s first victory since he won the British Open at Turnberry in 2009.

Although restrictions put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19 initially wreaked havoc on the golf season, Laurence Applebaum said this season showed the sport’s resilience in Canada.

The Golf Canada CEO looked back at the shortened 2020 season on Wednesday as encroaching winter weather started to wind down recreational play across the country.

“What an incredibly strange and challenging year,” said Applebaum. “Golf has been a silver lining, a bright light, call it what you may, in giving people a bit of a break from the pandemic.”

The LPGA Tour was one of the first professional sports associations to be affected by the coronavirus pandemic, forcing the women’s professional circuit to cancel its Asian swing and then many more events in North America.

Canada’s two professional tournaments – the RBC Canadian Open in June and the CP Women’s Open in September – had to be cancelled. The Mackenzie Tour, a third-tier men’s tour that plays across Canada, also had its season shelved.

Golf Canada also had to cancel all of its national championships, with many provincial bodies having to postpone or drastically alter their events.

In late March Applebaum urged recreational golfers in Canada to follow the advice of public health officials, even if that meant staying off the course.

“We were cautious and we were coming into a situation with so many unknowns,” said Applebaum. “Looking back, I’m proud of the way the entire industry came together.

“I’m proud of the way the operators in particular handled play. The golf clubs, the golf club operators and owners did an exceptional job.”

Golf, however, was able to seize the moment as COVID-19 restrictions loosened across Canada for the summer.

Record numbers of recreational rounds were registered with Golf Canada through June (1.2 million), July (1.6M), and August (1.5M), as people took advantage of being able to remain physically distant but social.

 

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Another record month for Canadian #golf ⛳️ Shoutout to all Golf Canada members, clubs, and course staff ❤️

A post shared by Golf Canada (@thegolfcanada) on Sep 15, 2020 at 12:35pm PDT

“We’re going to look back on 2020 and say ‘amongst all challenges, amongst a lot of really difficult situations for so many people, golf was a bright light that we built from,”’ said Applebaum.

“I feel really lucky, I feel quite fortunate to be a part of that movement.”

Another bright spot has been the play of Canada’s male professional players, once the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour resumed their seasons.

Five Canadians were in the top 125 in the world by the end of September, led by the solid play of Mackenzie Hughes, who was No. 48 in the world. Adam Hadwin (62), Corey Conners (72), Taylor Pendrith (118) and Nick Taylor (121), also rounded out the Canadian contingent.

Pendrith earned his world ranking by virtue of being second on the feeder circuit Korn Ferry Tour’s rankings.

On the women’s side, Brooke Henderson returned to dominant form after a seven-month break from competitive play. She moved up to fourth overall in the world rankings, making her the highest-rated Canadian player of either gender.

“It’s a moment that swells the heart of our golfer nation with pride,” said Applebaum. “It continues to amaze me how passionately the country follows our Canadian golfers.”

Applebaum also noted that Golf Canada and the Golf Canada Foundation were able to give back to the community with a COVID-19 Golf Relief Fund announced in late July.

He said on Wednesday that more than $400,000 was raised for the initiative that has two main steps. The first is that the relief fund subsidizes non-medical personal protective equipment for golf course employees, as well as sanitization, hygiene, and protective material expenses. It also subsidizes rounds of golf for front-line workers as well as juniors.

GALLOWAY, N.J. – Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee withdrew from the ShopRite LPGA Classic on Tuesday after learning that her caddie tested positive for COVID-19.

Lee said in a tweet that she learned of her caddie’s positive test on Tuesday morning, despite her caddie having no symptoms.

The 23-year-old has spent most of her season on the Symetra Tour.

She returned to the LPGA Tour on Aug. 6 at the Marathon Classic at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania, Ohio.

After finding out this morning that my caddie tested positive for COVID-19 despite not showing symptoms, I have WD from @ShopRiteLPGA. While I wish I could be playing this week, I am working with the @LPGA to take all of the proper precautions needed in this unusual time. pic.twitter.com/GE097PCulc

— Jaclyn Lee (@JaclynLee57) September 29, 2020

A severe wrist injury derailed Lee’s 2019 campaign and she has a medical exemption for this season.

An international research study backed by The R&A has found new evidence to suggest golf can provide significant health benefits to older participants in the form of improved muscle strength and balance.

Muscle strength and balance exercises form an important part of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended guidelines to tackle physical inactivity in older people about which little was previously known for golf.

The Strength and Balance Study, carried out with two sample groups over two years by Professor Maria Stokes OBE at the University of Southampton and Dr George Salem at the University of Southern California (USC), has indicated that older golfers have and develop strength and balance benefits.

Underlining the sport’s capability to improve the physical health of participants, the evidence suggests golf can improve quality of life through muscle strengthening, improved balance, aerobic exercise (equivalent to gym-based work or yoga) and social interaction.

The Southampton group involved 152 individuals aged 65-79 and over 80 and set out to demonstrate the physical and psychosocial benefits associated with playing recreational golf regularly by comparing physical measures between older golfers and sedentary non-golfers.

A study at the USC was undertaken to see if non-golfers developed these benefits while undertaking a 10-week instructional golf training programme. The USC group involved 15 individuals aged 63 (+/- 5 years) at a municipal course in the greater Los Angeles area, which also examined the feasibility, safety and adherence of the programme for senior non-golfers.

The combined findings show that:

• Participants in the golf training programme improved their muscular strength, power, endurance, balance, flexibility and walking performance
• Golfers under the age of 80 had better strength and balance than sedentary non-golfers of similar ages
• Golfers had better dynamic balance and static balance than non-golfers
• Strength of limb muscles and balance were better in golfers than non-golfers e.g. indicative through gripping and swinging a club, walking, squatting
• The golf training programme was feasible and effective; novice golfers were able to play 9 holes of golf by the 10th week and completed 282 of 300 (94%) total training sessions
• The physical demands recorded during a golf round were equivalent or greater than the demands for other common activities e.g. gym work or yoga
• Participants benefited from green space, social interaction and walking over hilly terrain
• The programme was safe; there were no golf-related injuries or adverse events

Ahead of the study being peer reviewed to validate findings and future presentations made to the academic world, Professor Maria Stokes said, “The findings indicate that golf is associated with health benefits related to better muscle strength and balance.

“This suggests golf may meet World Health Organization recommendations for older people, which would potentially qualify golf for social prescription and exercise referral schemes among policy makers to help manage health conditions.”

Dr George Salem added, “Our findings suggest that golf should be considered when prescribing exercise for older adults because it appears to be safe, feasible and an adherent form of exercise for a better, healthier quality of life.

“Moreover, as golf is an exercise activity that includes strengthening, power, balance, endurance and cognitive challenges, it satisfies the recommended physical activity guidelines of the World Health Organization, the American College of Sports Medicine and UK guidelines.”

Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said, “These findings should encourage policy makers and healthcare professionals to consider recommending playing golf to older people as part of encouraging them to adopt a more active lifestyle, as well as tackling physical inactivity to reduce healthcare costs.

“We are seeing more and more evidence that golf can provide significant physical and mental health benefits for participants as a moderate intensity activity and so we will continue to advocate these in all of our work with golfers, national federations and associations, healthcare professionals and policy makers.”

Since 2016, The R&A and its partners, including the World Golf Foundation (WGF), the United States Golf Association (USGA) and the European Tour, have sought to: raise awareness of the health benefits of golf to encourage interest in participation by people of all ages and abilities; improve the sport’s image; and increase advocacy for golf by government agencies and public health bodies.

The Golf & Health Project, supported by The R&A and the other WGF partners, continues to strive to achieve these aims by producing and publishing high quality science that evidences golf’s physical and mental health benefits to target existing golfers, non-golfers, golf bodies and policy makers in government and health.

Dr Roger Hawkes, Executive Director at the Golf & Health Project, added, “The evidence from this study is indicative that golf helps strength and balance, with no previous research to highlight this to the golf industry until now. The overall findings and benefits should be of great value for golfers and non-golfers going forward.”

The R&A has also published today a new golf and health report to help further educate golfers, non-golfers, national federations and policy makers on the physical and mental health benefits of the sport.

Highlighting The R&A’s work and the endeavours of others in this sphere since 2016, the 28-page document provides a comprehensive overview of golf as a health-enhancing activity for people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds, with the Strength and Balance Study featured.

The R&A Golf and Health Report (2016-20) can be viewed here.

WICHITA, Kansas – Jared Wolfe survived a windy final round at Crestview Country Club to earn his second Korn Ferry Tour title of the season at the Wichita Open Supporting Wichita’s Youth. The 32-year-old carded a final-round 71 to finish the week at 16-under 264. Taylor Pendrith finished solo-second at 15-under 265.

“It’s huge,” Wolfe said of his win. “I feel like I’ve been playing great all year. These last six or seven events, I’ve been playing good and just had a couple of bad holes here and there. To pull through today was pretty cool.”

Wolfe, who began the final round with a three-stroke lead, stumbled out of the gate with a bogey on the par-4 first dropping his lead to one. Despite the setback, he settled into the round carding five consecutive pars on Nos. 2-6 maintaining the lead. As he played the par-4 seventh, the weather began to turn as rain and heavy winds delayed play for an hour and 18 minutes.

“That was incredible,” he said of the weather. “Whatever hit with that wind and everything came out of nowhere. I tried to just stay calm and relax.”

Battling difficult conditions as players returned to the course, Wolfe remained steady keeping his lead after pars on Nos. 7-13.

Pendrith, who played in the final group with Wolfe, made the turn two strokes off the lead. On the par-3 12^th, he converted his second birdie of the round to reach 15-under and pull within one.

Entering the final stretch with a one-stroke advantage, Wolfe drained a 10-foot eagle putt on the par-5 14^th to give himself a three-stroke lead with four holes to play.

Immediately after the eagle, Wolfe dropped a shot with his second bogey of the day on the par-4 15^th. As Wolfe moved back to 17-under, Pendrith tallied his third birdie of the day on No. 15 to cut the lead to one. Both Wolfe and Pendrith dropped a shot on the par-4 16^th, giving Wolfe a one-stroke lead with two holes to play.

After both players made par on No. 17, Wolfe teed off on the 72^nd hole with a one-stroke advantage. After his approach shot came up short of the green, Pendrith stuck his second shot to within 15-feet leaving himself a chance for birdie. Despite his best effort, Pendrith’s putt slid past the hole leaving him a short par putt. With the tournament on the line, Wolfe converted his up-and-down and secured his second win of the season.

“Taylor (Pendrith) was playing some great golf,” Wolfe said. “Him and I were going back-and-forth which made it a lot of fun. I’ve known Taylor for a while, and he’s been so close all year too. It was just a fun day.”

With the win, Wolfe moved to fourth on the season-long Korn Ferry Tour points list and is one win away from the three-win “Battlefield Promotion” to the PGA TOUR. The feat has only been accomplished 11 times in the Tour’s history, most recently by Wesley Bryan in 2016. The Murray State University product joined Davis Riley as the only players to win twice on Tour this season.

“I’m going to go home and celebrate with my daughter and my wife,” Wolfe said. “My parents are in town too so; I get to hang out with them for a day. Then, it’s off to Savannah and we’ll try to go get (win) number three.”

Pendrith’s runner-up was good for his fifth top-3 finish of the season. With the result, he moved to second on the Korn Ferry Tour points list but is still in search of his first Korn Ferry Tour victory.

Next week, the Korn Ferry Tour travels to Savannah, Georgia, for the Savannah Golf Championship.

PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic – Hudson Swafford lost control of the tournament without ever losing any confidence he could hit the right shot when it counted.

Standing in the 13th fairway Sunday in the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship, he had a four-shot lead. Walking off the 15th green, he was tied.

“Honestly, I one bad golf shot all day,” Swafford said of his 9-iron that he didn’t finish and led to the bogey on the 15th.

With the tournament on the line, he delivered.

Swafford hit a three-quarter 6-iron on the par-3 17th to 10 feet for birdie to regain the lead, and then reminded himself how well he had been putting when he stood over an 8-footer for par on the final hole for the victory.

“Its like, `Man, just hit another solid putt. Just one more solid putt,”’ Swafford said.

He closed with a 3-under 69. The birdie on the 17th allowed him to break out of a tie wit Tyler McCumber and Canadian Mackenzie Hughes, and the par putt on the 18th avoided a playoff with McCumber.

It was his second career victory on the PGA Tour, the other coming at the Desert Classic in January 2017. That was a year before he missed time with a rib injury, which was followed by foot surgery in the summer of 2019.

Swafford hopes he’s on the right path again. The victory gets him into the Masters next April, which will be his first major since the 2017 PGA Championship.

McCumber rolled in a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th for a 66. In the group ahead of Swafford was Hughes, who made bogey from short of the 18th green for a 70 to fall two shots behind.

Swafford was on the front portion of the green and left his 40-foot putt up the ridge 8 feet short. He made that for the win, finishing at 18-under 270.

Swafford was playing on a medical extension from his foot surgery and now gets a two-year exemption, along with invitations next year to the Masters and PGA Championship, along with the Sentry Tournament of Champions on Maui.

McCumber was bogey-free in the final round and never seemed to be part of the picture until the end. He worked his way around the back nine with a collection of tough par saves, birdies on the par 5s and then a must-make birdie on the 18th.

Adam Long, the 54-hole leader, shot 38 on the front and close with a 75 to finish fifth, four shots behind.

Swafford nearly stumbled to the finish line. Staked to a three-shot lead at the turn, he missed good birdie chances with a 6-foot putt on the 11th hole and a 7-iron for his second shot to the par-5 12th. But he pulled that enough to go down to a steep collection, the first chip came back to his feet and he had to hit a super pitch to escape with par.

On the next hole, he wasn’t so fortunate.

From left of the 13th, another chip came back down the hill. His next chip was 12 feet short and he missed the putt, taking a double bogey. Ahead of him, Hughes, from Dundas, Ont., birdied the par-5 14th. And when Swafford missed the 15th green from the fairway and failed to get up-and-down, he was tied.

The 6-iron to the 17th, where so many other players had come up short, changed everything.

“A good flighted 6-iron,” he said. “Done it 100,000 times. I love hitting that golf shot. It was a good one, and even a better putt.”

Will Zalatoris, coming off a tie for sixth in the U.S. Open, tied for eighth. Zalatoris, who plays the Korn Ferry Tour but cannot get a PGA Tour card until next year, can get into the next PGA Tour event because of his top-10 finish.

David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., tied for 33rd at 7 under.

WICHITA, Kansas – Jared Wolfe carded a 5-under 65 on Saturday to claim the 54-hole lead at the Wichita Open Supporting Wichita’s Youth at 17-under 193. Taylor Montgomery and Taylor Pendrith sit three strokes off the lead at 14-under 196 after three rounds.

Wolfe, who began the day one stroke off the lead, used a birdie-eagle-birdie start to gain the lead after his first three holes on a windy day at Crestview Country Club. After a bogey on the par-4 fourth, he settled into the round with four consecutive pars. The Murray State University product tallied his third birdie of the day on No. 9 to make the turn at 16-under.

On the back nine, Wolfe converted another birdie on the par-4 11^th to reach 17-under. After dropping a shot on the par-5 14^th, the 32-year-old rebounded with a birdie on No. 15 to get back to 17-under for the week. After a birdie on the par-3 17^th, he stumbled with a bogey on the par-4 18^th to finish the third round three strokes clear of the field.

“I got off to a dream start,” Wolfe said after the round. “I just kind of kept things going with some good par saves. It was a good day.”

Earlier this season, Wolfe captured his first Korn Ferry Tour title at The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at Baha Mar. Entering the final round in the Bahamas, Wolfe held the 54-hole lead and went on to secure the victory. Once again, he has the 54-hole lead and his second Korn Ferry Tour title within reach.

“It always helps,” he said of his win earlier this season. “Thankfully, that’s kind of the way most of the wins I’ve had have been. I know my game right now and I know it’s solid. If I play my game, I feel like things should go well.”

In 17 starts this season, Wolfe has made 13 cuts with four top-10s and entered the week ranked 15^th in The 25. With a victory tomorrow, he would join Davis Riley as the only two-time winners on the Korn Ferry Tour this season.

“That’d be awesome (to win again),” he said. “I feel like this year has been the best year that I’ve had. I want to cash in on how I feel like I’ve been playing this year.”

Montgomery carded a 5-under 65 on Saturday to claim a share of second place after 54-holes. Like Wolfe, Montgomery played his first three holes 4-under to start his round. After making the turn at 12-under for the week, he tallied two birdies on his back nine to reach 14-under for the tournament.

In his first full season on Tour, Montgomery has made eight cuts in 15 starts highlighted by two top-10s. Earlier this season, he finished solo-third at the LECOM Suncoast Classic and T2 at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. The 25-year-old entered the week ranked 32^nd in The 25 and in search of his first Korn Ferry Tour title.

Pendrith, who began the day one stroke clear of the field, carded four birdies against three bogeys on Saturday to reach 14-under after three rounds.

Pendrith, who entered the week ranked third on The 25, is still in search of his first Korn Ferry Tour title. In 18 starts this year, the 29-year-old has made 16 cuts highlighted by three runner-up finishes.

Final-round tee times will run from 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. on Sunday with players teeing off Nos. 1 and 10.

PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic – Adam Long went from trying to hit a fairway to a course so open it’s hard to miss. He went from grinding over pars to pouring in birdies.

One week after he toiled to a tie for 13th at Winged Foot in the U.S. Open, Long is loving life in the Caribbean.

Long ran off five birdies in a six-hole stretch to grab the lead and finished with key par saves for an 8-under 64 that give him a two-shot lead over Hudson Swafford in the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship.

“Big contrast from the U.S. Open to here, obviously,” Long said. “That was just such a mental grind. It was just trying to hit a fairway. You’re probably going to miss it and then you try to get it up on the green and try to make pars. Here, it’s a lot different landscape. It seems really wide open coming from Winged Foot, but it’s a lot of drivers and trying to hit it as far as you can. This is more about making birdies.”

Swafford didn’t make any birdies over his last 10 holes in his round of 69, though he wasn’t about to take on any risks and drop unnecessary shots. He’s still in the final group with a good shot at his second PGA Tour title.

“Right in it. I didn’t do anything to hurt myself today,” Swafford said. “Obviously, Adam Long went out and played a great round in tricky wind. … Got to get the bad one out of the way and put a little pressure on Adam.”

Long, who one-putted nine of his last 10 holes, matched the low round Saturday and will go after his second PGA Tour title. His other was in January 2019 when he birdied the last hole of the Desert Classic to beat Phil Mickelson and Adam Hadwin.

He has a little more separation going into the final round in the Dominican Republic. Long was at 17-under 199, with only five other players within five shots of the lead.

Swafford was at 15 under and will be in the final group. Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., twice chipped in for birdie late in his round of 67, leaving him three shots behind. Xinjun Zhang of China had a 68 and was at 13 under, while Nate Lashley (65) and Sean O’Hair (70) were five shots behind.

Long took off with five birdies in a six-hole stretch around the turn, and he really poured it on when Swafford began to stall. Along with birdies on both par 5s, Nos. 12 and 14, Long punched a wedge from a flyer lie in the rough on the 13th, and it came out perfectly to 8 feet pin-high for birdie.

“The best shot of the day,” he said. “It was a tough lie, it was a flyer lie sitting up pretty good, but crosswind. And short’s not great and long’s even worse, so hit a good pitching wedge in there and that really felt nice to convert that birdie.”

He saved par from right of the 16th green and had another key save on the 18th when he had mud on his ball that sent it it to the right, just on the edge of a bunker. He chipped that down to about 4 feet to protect a bogey-free round.

Hughes played with Long and felt like he was further behind than he was.

“I didn’t have much going today and I was watching Adam play awesome, so it was like getting run over by a semi,” Hughes said. “But hung in here. My caddie did a good job of reminding me of just hanging tough and waiting for a little run there.”

It happened when Hughes least expected it. From left of the green, his chip was running hot when it banged into the pin and dropped for birdie. After another birdie on the 16th, he came up just short of the green on the par-3 17th hole that runs along the Caribbean, and pitched that with perfect pace into the cup.

Golf is easy for @MacHughesGolf ??‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/zfsN0fWEyF

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) September 26, 2020

It was one of only four birdies on the 17th in the third round.

O’Hair, coming off a torn oblique in February 2019 and required surgery and kept him out of golf for a year, was hanging around with a clever knock-down wedge from 95 yards that stopped inches away for birdie on the 12th. But he drove into a stand of palm trees that led to bogey on the 13th, and he dropped another shot on the 626-yard 14th.

David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., shot a 3-under 69 to get to 6 under.

Anirban Lahiri of India also had a 64 and was in a large group at 11-under 205 that included Justin Suh, the former Southern Cal star who needs a top 10 to get into the next PGA Tour event.

WICHITA, Kansas – Taylor Pendrith fired an 8-under 62 on Friday to claim the 36-hole lead at the Wichita Open Supporting Wichita’s Youth at 13-under 127. Jared Wolfe sits alone in second at 12-under 128.

Pendrith, who began the day two strokes off the lead, started the second round with two birdies on his first four holes. After his lone bogey of the day on the par-3 fifth, the Canadian took advantage of the short par-4 seventh with an eagle.

On the back, Pendrith tallied his third birdie of the round on the par-4 11^th. After a par on No. 12, he caught fire with four consecutive birdies on Nos. 13-16 to reach 13-under for the week. He closed with pars on Nos. 17 and 18 to card an 8-under 62, good for a new career-low on the Korn Ferry Tour.

“I hit the driver really well,” Pendrith said. “There are a couple holes here where you can get a little more aggressive and get it up close to the greens. I drove it really well and my putter was on. I didn’t make too many mistakes and when I missed the green, I was in pretty simple spots where I could almost chip in.”

Pendrith, who won twice on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada in 2019, has been one of the most consistent players on the Korn Ferry Tour this season. In 18 starts this season, Pendrith has recorded five top-10s and three runner-up finishes. Despite the close calls, the Kent State University product is still in search of his first Korn Ferry Tour title.

“It’s a great spot to be. I’ve been in similar positions this year, but I haven’t been able to close it out,” he said. “It’s nice to get off to a good start. I feel like at those other tournaments, I was always kind of trailing. I’ll just try and make as many birdies as I can and see where we’re at on Sunday. I’m looking forward to it.”

After a great stretch of play on the Korn Ferry Tour earlier this summer, Pendrith earned a spot in last week’s U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club. Highlighted by a final-round 70, the 29-year-old earned a T23 result in his U.S. Open debut.

“That place (Winged Foot) is so hard. I’m happy to be back out here making birdies,” he said with a laugh. “I played great on Sunday and shot even-par. That gives me a ton of confidence. A lot of the top guys out there struggled which is very easy to do there. I managed my game nicely and had a good week.”

 

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A major debut for @pendy31 ? The Richmond Hill, Ontario native and Team Canada member was 3rd in driving distance and closed off the weekend with an even-par 70 on Sunday – the second-best score of the day ? He also cleaned up with a $116,385 paycheck – the largest of his career ? #GolfCanadaLeaderboard #TeamCanada #golfstagram #teamtitleist #golfer #golflife

A post shared by Golf Canada (@thegolfcanada) on Sep 21, 2020 at 7:45am PDT

Wolfe, who held a share of the first-round lead, sits alone in second after a 5-under 65 on Friday. Beginning on the back nine, Wolfe carded two birdies and an eagle on his first eight holes to reach 11-under for the tournament. On the par-4 18^th, Wolfe’s tee shot narrowly fell out of bounds resulting in a double bogey. Despite the setback, he rallied with three birdies on his final nine holes to reach 12-under after two rounds.

“I know how I’m playing right now, and I know I like this course,” Wolfe said. “I know how I’m putting it so, I’m just kind of waiting to see how each hole and each shot goes. Thankfully, I made a lot of birdies again today and hopefully I can keep that going on the weekend.”

Third-round tee times will run from approximately 9:20 – 11:20 a.m. on Saturday with players teeing off Nos. 1 and 10.