MELBOURNE, Australia – Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry had a mid-round stretch of 5-under-par in four holes for a 9-under 63 Saturday to give Belgium a five-stroke lead after three rounds of the World Cup of Golf.

Pieters and Detry, who both play on the European Tour, started the day level with South Korea after a steady 71 in terrible rainy conditions in the foursomes (alternate shot) format of Friday.

On Saturday, they took advantage – along with the 27 other teams – of much improved weather conditions at Metropolitan and the fourballs (best-ball) game.

Belgium, which completed the front nine with two birdies and an eagle, then birdied the 10th, had a three-round total of 19-under 197.

Three teams were tied for second – Mexico, Italy and South Korea.

Mexico’s Abraham Ancer, who won last week’s Australian Open, and his partner Roberto Diaz, shot 65. Italy’s Andrea Pavan and Renato Paratore dropped two shots on the par-5 14th when both players had balls run back down off the green from slopes just off the putting surface, but recovered for a 66.

South Korea’s Byeong Hun An and Si Woo Kim, who chipped in for eagle from just off the green on the 16th, finished with a 68.

Three teams were tied for fifth – Sweden, Australia and England, six behind Belgium.

Sweden’s Alexander Bjork and Joakim Lagergren shot 64 and Australia’s Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith 65.

Leishman and Smith let an opportunity slip on the back nine. They shot 6-under 30 on the front nine – four birdies and an eagle – but had six pars to start the front nine before a birdie on 16.

“Probably a story of two different nines,” Leishman said. “Got off to a great start obviously but cooled off a bit on the back nine.”

England’s team of Tyrrell Hatton and Ian Poulter shot 67.

Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin, both from Abbotsford, B.C., fired a 64 to finish the day tied with Ireland and Scotland for eighth at 11 under.

The final round Sunday will be played in the foursomes (alternate shot) format.

Bjork said he and Lagergren combined well to shoot one of the best rounds of the day.

“When I was off, Joakim was on, and when he was off, I was on,” Bjork said.

Americans Matt Kuchar and Kyle Stanley, who were one of the weather casualties on Friday with a 79, improved to a 66 Saturday but were 14 strokes off the lead and in 21st place.

MELBOURNE, Australia – Teams from Belgium and South Korea emerged from the rain, gusty winds and generally miserable conditions after a demanding round of foursomes to share the 36-hole lead at the World Cup of Golf on Friday.

Belgium’s Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry shot 1-under 71 and South Korea’s Byeong Hun An and Si Woo Kim had a 72 for two-round totals of 10-under 134. Teams from Italy, India, Malaysia and England were tied for third, two strokes behind.

Rain showers fell all day on Metropolitan, heavy at times, and tested the players’ patience levels in the alternate-shot format.

Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor, both from Abbotsford, B.C., fired a 73 – one of the better rounds of the day considering the weather – to rise nine spots to enter a tie for 14th at 3 under.

On the 10th hole, when England’s Tyrrell Hatton’s tee shot went into the woods, he angrily smashed a tee marker with his driver. His partner, Ian Poulter, had to take a penalty drop out of the woods and the English bogeyed the hole.

On the 13th, Hatton maintained his patience when he had to take a drop out of casual water in a bunker. The drop took about 10 minutes while officials determined whether the drop was legal. Hatton then hit the lip of the bunker and the ball ended up in casual water – again. Poulter played it out of the water and England bogeyed that hole but finished with a 74.

Anirban Lahiri combined with Gaganjeet Bhullar to keep India near the top of the leaderboard after a 72.

“I think it’s one of the toughest rounds of golf I’ve played in my career,” Lahiri said. “I think we both did really well out there and it wasn’t easy.”

Australia’s Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith shot 76 and went from a tie for first to a tie for eighth.

Americans Matt Kuchar and Kyle Stanley shot 79, including bogeys on their last five holes, playing like they were in a hurry to get out of the rain. That was a 13-shot turnaround from their opening 66, moving them to a tie for 21st in the 28-country field, a drop of eight places.

There were only four rounds under par, but five in the 80s.

The format reverts to fourballs (best ball) on Saturday before a return to foursomes for the final round on Sunday.

The Mexico team of Abraham Ancer, who won last week’s Australian Open, and Roberto Diaz, had the low round of the day – 70, including a bogey on the last, their only dropped shot of the day. They finished about an hour before the later groups, when the rain became heavier.

Ancer was impressed with Metropolitan’s ability to stay in decent shape despite all the rain.

“I thought it was just absolutely (going to be) probably unplayable, but it was good,” Ancer said. “There were a little bit of puddles here and there, but the fairways are phenomenal. The golf course can take a lot of rain.”

Temperatures were just 13 Celsius (56 Fahrenheit) when play began and only went a degree higher the rest of the day. And with winds gusting to 35 kilometres an hour (20 mph) it appeared much cooler.

For many of Canada’s up-and-coming junior golfers, mid-November sets the stage for an important milestone in their career.

The NCAA’s National Letter of Intent (NLI) signing period opened on Nov. 14, with Canadian golfers officially committing to Division I and II programs in the U.S.

Among the Canadians to sign were recently-named National Team athletes and Quebec natives Céleste Dao and Christopher Vandette.

Dao, 17, of Notre-Dame-de-LÎle-Perrot, Que., committed to the Georgia Bulldogs.

“Celeste has played in the U.S. Open and the CP Women’s Open in the same the year, which is an incredible achievement,” head coach Brewer told the Bulldogs. “Her golf game, since I’ve known her, continues to improve every year. Not even every year, but kind of every three months she becomes better and better. It’s kind of exciting to have signed someone that’s already good but continues to improve. On top of that, she is from just a wonderful family who loves the game of golf.”

Vandette, of Beaconsfield, Que., signed the dotted line to join the Kent State Golden Flashes. The reigning Canadian Junior Boys champion joins a lineage of Canadians who have entered the program including Corey Conners, Mac Hughes, Taylor Pendrith and Jennifer Ha.

Team Canada athletes who have already committed are Monet Chun (University of Michigan), Ellie Szeryk (Texas A&M) and Sarah Beqaj (SMU).

 

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Other Canucks to sign National Letters of Intent are:

• Isabella Portokalis (London, Ont.): Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles
• Robbie Latter (Mississauga, Ont.) : Hattiesburg Golden Eagles
• Jenn McKay: Brigham Young University Cougars
• Susan Xiao (Surrey, B.C.): University of Pennsylvania Quakers
• Luc Warnock (McGregor, Ont.) – Northern Illinois Huskies
• Anabelle Ackroyd (Calgary, Alta.) – University of Minnesota Golden Gophers
• Hailey McLaughlin (Markham, Ont.) – Wingate University Bulldogs
• Tristan Renaud (Sudbury, Ont.) – Sam Houston State Bearkats
• Sean Buckles (North Vancouver, B.C.) – Utah Valley University Wolverines
• Remi Chartier (Montreal, Que.) – East Tennessee State Buccaneers
• Kayla Burke (Port Colborne, Ont.) – Arkansas State Red Wolves
• William Duquette (Laval, Que.) – University of Kansas

Did we miss someone? Let us know at communications@golfcanada.ca

MELBOURNE, Australia – World Cup or Ryder Cup: Put Ian Poulter into a team event and he never seems to disappoint.

Poulter’s approach to less than a foot helped set up one of England’s six birdies on the back nine Thursday to give him and Tyrrell Hatton a share of the lead with South Korea and Australia after the first round of fourballs at the World Cup of Golf.

Cameron Smith made a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th to ensure he and Australia teammate Marc Leishman were in a tie atop the leaderboard with South Korea’s Byeong Hun An and Si Woo Kim, all with 10-under 62s at Metropolitan.

Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor, both from Abbotsford, B.C., are the Canadian entry in the event. They combined for a 68 to sit in a tie for 23rd at 4 under.

“We didn’t have one hole where we were both on the green,” said Taylor. “We were just out of position on the back nine. It sucks to finish with a bogey.”

Best of luck to #TeamRBC and ??’s @ntaylorgolf59 and @ahadwingolf at the @WorldCupofGolf pic.twitter.com/n5HqxbyBdF

— RBC Canadian Open (@RBCCanadianOpen) November 22, 2018

On Friday, the format switches to foursomes, or alternate shot, and again for the final round.

“This tournament’s won and lost on Friday and Sunday,” Poulter said. “Foursomes is the day when you can take yourself out of the tournament pretty quickly. In fourballs you’re always going to make birdies and hopefully you don’t make any mistakes.”

Poulter has picked up 15 career points in Ryder Cup events for Europe over the United States. He had two in Europe’s win in Paris in late September – one with Rory McIlroy in foursomes (he also lost with McIlory in foursomes) and a singles victory over Dustin Johnson.

He was happy with the way he and Hatton combined for the fourballs on Thursday.

“We dovetailed nicely, when one was out of position, the other one was in position and that’s exactly what you have to do.”

Leishman said he and Smith, who will play in the next-to-last group Friday with Malaysia, need to avoid any early mistakes

“If you get off to an average start in foursomes, things can start going the wrong way pretty quickly,” Leishman said.

An said he and Kim combined well to keep South Korea atop the leaderboard.

“I think we saved each other pretty good,” An said. “When he was struggling, I made some birdies, and when I was out (of the hole) he made some good par saves.”

Three teams were tied for fourth, one stroke behind – Belgium (Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry), Malaysia (Gavin Green and Ben Leong) and Soren Kjeldsen and Thorbjorn Olesen, who won the title for Denmark by four strokes two years ago at nearby Kingston Heath.

India (Anirban Lahiri and Gaganjeet Bhullar) and Ireland (Shane Lowry and Paul Dunne) were tied for seventh after 64s. The U.S. team of Kyle Stanley and Matt Kuchar was in a large group tied for 13th among 28 teams after a 66.

Officials moved up tee times for Thursday because of expected storms and showers which didn’t eventuate. When the last group finished, the sun was shining and the wind had dropped off.

Rain is in the forecast for both Friday and Saturday, with a high temperature expected of only 14 Celsius (57 Fahrenheit) on Friday.

Jan Dowling, a native of Bradford, Ont., was selected to coach the international team at the 2019 Arnold Palmer Cup in Roland, Ark., from June 7-9.

The former Canadian Women’s Amateur champion (2000) is in her sixth year of coaching the Michigan University Wolverines, having led the team to two appearances in the NCAA championship in 2016 and 2017.

“I’m grateful the WGCA, GCAA and the Arnold Palmer Cup have entrusted me with this incredible honour to coach the International Team this summer,” Dowling told the University of Michigan. “With the addition of women last year, the tournament is unique and creates an incredible arena of world-class golf and competition.”

As a collegiate golfer, Dowling led the Kent State Golden Flashes to four straight Mid-American Conference Titles. She also represented Canada at the World Amateur Team Championships in 2002.

MELBOURNE, Australia – The World Cup of Golf is getting an early taste of Melbourne’s fickle weather.

Organizers of the 28-team event at Metropolitan Golf Club have moved up tee times by an hour for Thursday’s first round of the 72-hole stroke-play tournament that features fourballs (best ball) and foursomes (alternate shot) over two rounds each.

Heavy rain is in the forecast beginning in the early afternoon Thursday. Wednesday was mostly sunny after a big storm hit the course on Tuesday evening, bringing with it hail, high winds and plenty of rain.

The forecast is even worse for Friday, with cool temperatures and more rain.

Teams from Malaysia and Zimbabwe will tee off in the fourballs competition on Thursday at 7:20 a.m. with the top-ranked teams of Australia (Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith) and the United States (Matt Kuchar and Kyle Stanley) off last about three hours later.

Soren Kjeldsen and Thorbjorn Olesen, who won the title for Denmark by four strokes two years ago at nearby Kingston Heath, are back for another attempt to win on a sandbelt course in southeast Melbourne.

“Obviously we’ve picked up a few things two years ago, what worked and what didn’t work, mainly what worked,” Kjeldsen said Wednesday. “I think we’ve got a good idea what we need to do, but like Thorbjorn says, it’s going to be very difficult. I think there are a lot of strong teams this year as well.”

Stanley said he’s not too worried about the weather.

“It’s one of the best golf courses in the world so it’s a great venue for this week,” he said. “I know we’ve got a little weather coming in but I live in Seattle so that’s no big deal for me.”

Martin Kaymer, who will represent Germany with Maximilian Kieffer, was in the same frame of mind.

“The weather forecast is what it is and we all have an umbrella and rain gear so off we go,” Kaymer said.

The format will switch to foursomes on Friday and Sunday, with Saturday returning to fourballs.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Charles Howell III made a 15-foot birdie putt on the second hole of a playoff with Patrick Rodgers on Sunday in the RSM Classic to end an 11-year victory drought.

Howell dropped to his knees and buried his head in his hands, then tearfully embraced wife Heather and children Ansley and Chase – neither of whom were born when he last won on the PGA Tour at Riviera in 2007.

Howell earned $1,152,000 and a return trip to his hometown of Augusta, Georgia, in April to play in the Masters for the first time since 2012

“That was the first thing that popped into my head (after making the clinching putt),” Howell said. “Obviously, it means a lot to me being from Augusta but it means a lot to every player, right? Every golfer in the world knows what the Masters is so I’m nothing special on that. But that tournament, that atmosphere, just everything … it’s tough at home to sit back and watch that on television.”

After Rodgers sent a birdie attempt of 21 feet past the cup on the second extra hole, Howell’s putt died in the cup and capped a comeback in which he went bogey-double bogey on his first two holes to lose the lead he had held through the first three rounds.

“The way I started today, I just honestly thought I shot myself in the foot again,” Howell said. “I thought that was pretty much over. I had seen this movie before.”

Howell closed with a 3-under 67, birdieing Nos. 15-17, to match Rodgers at 19-under 263 in the final PGA Tour event of the year. After making the 36-hole cut on the 2-under number, Rodgers shot 61-62 on the weekend.

Howell had a 22-foot birdie attempt on the final hole to win in regulation, but the ball turned away from the cup inches from the edge. Both players had birdie looks on the first playoff hole, with Rodgers missing from 27 feet and Howell from 14 feet off the front fringe.

The 39-year-old Howell also won in 2002 at Kingsmill.

Rodgers’ 17-under 123 weekend was one shot off Troy Matteson’s PGA Tour record for consecutive rounds of 122 set the 2009 Frys.com Championship. He finished second for the third time in four years.

“I fought as hard as I could,” said Rodgers, who broke Tiger Woods’ scoring record at Stanford and tied his victory record. “I didn’t really back down. I stayed aggressive and I made birdies all the way to the finish. It’s a testament to how well Charles played.”

Webb Simpson (65) had a 12-foot birdie opportunity at the final hole to join the playoff, but missed. He lost the RSM Classic in sudden death to Ben Crane in 2011.

Luke List (65) and Bryan Blaum (66) tied for fourth at 17 under and Tour rookie Cameron Champ, who took the lead after Howell’s early stumbles and was in a four-way tie for first with Howell, Rodgers and Simpson with seven holes to play shot 69 and finished alone in sixth at 16 under.

Canadian David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., finished tied for 15th at 13 under par.

NAPLES, Fla. – Lexi Thompson was the best this week, and Ariya Jutanugarn was the best all season.

Neither left any doubt about that Sunday.

Thompson shot a final-round 70 to finish at 18-under 270 and win the LPGA’s season-ending CME Group Tour Championship by four strokes over Nelly Korda. The win makes this the sixth consecutive year that Thompson has won at least once, extending the longest such active streak on the LPGA Tour.

“It’s very gratifying,” Thompson said. “This is such a special event for me in general, growing up in Florida. … It was just very gratifying.”

Lexi Thompson poses for a photo with the CME Group Tour Championship trophy at Tiburon Golf Club on November 18, 2018 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Jutanugarn took the other two big prizes that were up for grabs this week, clinching the yearlong Race to the CME Globe prize – and the $1 million bonus that comes with that – as well as the Vare Trophy for winning the season’s scoring title. The world No. 1 already had wrapped up player of the year honours, and finished 2018 with a 69.415 scoring average to edge Minjee Lee (69.747) for the top spot there.

Jutanugarn shot a 6-under 66 on Sunday, finishing the week tied for fifth at 12-under 276.

“It felt great today,” Jutanugarn said. “I’m very proud of myself.”

Jutanugarn briefly lost the lead in the projected Globe standings on Sunday after Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., made three birdies on her first seven holes to grab the top spot. Jutanugarn reclaimed the advantage with four birdies in a six-hole stretch midway through her round, and the trophy was just about locked up when she birdied the par-5 14th almost simultaneously to Henderson making bogey on the par-3 16th.

The 13th hole on Sunday provided the shift that Thompson used to hold off Korda. They went to the tee of that par-4 with Thompson up by two; she made birdie, Korda made bogey, and Thompson was suddenly up four with five holes to play.

“It was just very special to win in front of all my family and friends,” Thompson said.

Jutanugarn finished in style, rolling in a 15-footer for birdie on the final hole to cap the year where she swept the LPGA’s biggest prizes.

“It means so much to me because like to be honest, after 2016 I never expected anything,” Jutanugarn said. “I feel like I achieve like too much already in my life, so I never think I can do anything more than that. So this year … just like unbelievable.”

It was the 10th career win for Thompson, who grabbed the lead on Friday and kept it the rest of the way. She hadn’t finished better than a tie for ninth in any of her last eight starts – but Tiburon Golf Club has been a haven for the native South Floridian, who is 31-under in her last seven rounds at the tour championship there.

The win also helped ease the pain of last year’s tour championship for Thompson. She had a 2-foot par putt on the 72nd hole – one that could have meant a tournament win, the world No. 1 ranking and player of the year honours – but pushed it right and wound up losing to Jutanugarn by a shot.

There was no final-hole angst this time, and the role reversal was complete. Like Thompson in 2017, Jutanugarn departed with the Globe and the Vare Trophy; like Jutanugarn in 2017, Thompson got the win in the season finale.

Among other notables, Brittany Lincicome (67) to finish tied for third at 13-under with So Yeon Ryu (68), Lydia Ko went 68-68 on the weekend to finish 12-under alongside Jutanugarn, Marina Alex (69) and Carlota Ciganda (70). Nasa Hataoka finished alone in ninth at 10-under, and first-round leader Amy Olson shot a 4-under 68 to finish at 9-under and in a group with Henderson and Sei Young Kim.

“For me, I think just consistency. My driver and long game has been really good,” said Henderson. “That’s kind of my strengths for sure. But around the greens I want to improve a little bit, so I’ll work with my dad and my sister to try to get that a little bit better.”

“To finish top 10, top five, whatever it’s going to be, going into the off-season, obviously I made a few extra dollars because I’m not playing until January,” Lincicome said. “I feel pretty good about it.”

The 2019 LPGA schedule is expected to be released in full later this month. The year begins with the inaugural Tournament of Champions in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, from Jan. 17-20. Winners from the last two LPGA seasons are eligible for that field, which means there should be about 36 pros playing along with some celebrity participants and amateurs.

NAPLES, Fla. – Lexi Thompson has control of the CME Group Tour Championship, and Ariya Jutanugarn is in control of just about everything else.

Thompson’s 4-under 68 on Saturday pushed her to 16 under after three rounds of the LPGA’s season-ending event. She moved three shots clear of Nelly Korda and six ahead of Carlota Ciganda at Tiburon Golf Club. Korda shot her second consecutive 67 to get to 13 under, and Ciganda grinded out a 69 to get to 10 under for the week.

Thompson has been nearly flawless this week. Her only dropped shot of the tournament came Saturday when she made bogey at the par-4 fourth hole, then put together five birdies over the rest of her round.

“Golf is all about momentum,” Thompson said.

Right now, she has an abundance of that going for her. For the week, she has 14 birdies, one eagle and the one bogey. She’s been calm and collected with her newly purchased Havanese Poodle around this week, finding a rhythm with an old putter and having her brother Curtis as her caddie.

“I just tried to keep the same attitude as I did the last two days,” Thompson said. “Curtis kept me nice and relaxed. He’s always cracking jokes out there. It’s been a nice relaxing week just having him on the bag and having all my family and friends out here supporting me.”

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., fired a 69 to finish the day tied for 16th at 5 under.

If Thompson hangs on Sunday, she’ll have her first win of the season.

If Jutanugarn keeps things together, she’ll leave with plenty of prizes as well.

Jutanugarn will start her final round 10 shots back but leading the projected Race to the CME Globe standings and in position to claim the $1 million bonus for winning the LPGA’s season-long points race – which would be her second in three years. Jutanugarn already has clinched player of the year and is nearly mathematically assured of winning the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average on tour.

“I did a pretty good job. I didn’t think about that at all,” Jutanugarn said of the Globe race and what’s at stake this weekend. “Yesterday I (thought) about that too much, worrying about that.”

The Vare Trophy isn’t hers yet, but it would take the most improbable of outcomes for that to slip away from Jutanugarn in the final round of the season. The two closest players to Jutanugarn in the season scoring standings are Minjee Lee and Jin Young Ko; either of them would have to beat the world’s No. 1 player by about 30 strokes on Sunday to pass her in the Vare race.

Korda had an eventful day with more birdies than pars – 8-7 – but with three bogeys as well. So Yeon Ru (69 for the third straight day) and Marina Alex (71) are tied for fourth at 9 under, and Lydia Ko shot a bogey-free 68 on Saturday to move into a tie for sixth at 8 under with Brittany Lincicome (73).

First-round leader Amy Olson made three double-bogeys on her way to a 76, leaving her in a tie for 16th and 11 shots off Thompson’s lead.

INDEX: SPORTS

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Charles Howell III had a 2-under 68 for a one-shot lead Saturday in the RSM Classic, along with a reminder that winning for the first time in more than 11 years won’t be easy.

With two quick birdies, Howell stretched his lead to five shots.

By the end of the third round, his lead was down to one shot over PGA Tour rookie Cameron Champ and Jason Gore, who each shot 66 and made up ground on the back nine of the Seaside course at Sea Island.

Howell was at 16-under 194 as he tries to end 332 starts on the PGA Tour without winning.

“I have a chance to win the tournament, and I’d have taken that Thursday morning,” Howell said.

His last victory was at Riviera in 2007, and the last time Howell had at least a share of the 54-hole lead was 10 years ago at Turning Stone, a tournament that no longer exists. Howell has not won in any of his previous five times atop the leaderboard going into the final round.

Webb Simpson had a 63 and was two shots behind, along with Ryan Blaum (65).

David Hearn (67) of Brantford, Ont., was tied for seventh at 11 under. Ben Silverman (65) of Thornhill, Ont., was tied for 32nd at 7 under, Corey Conners (70) of Listowel, Ont., was in a group tied for 43rd at 6 under and Roger Sloan (71) of Merritt, B.C., was tied for 75th at 1 under.

Ten players are within five shots of the lead, a list that includes Sea Island resident Zach Johnson, who had a 65.

That was the size of Howell’s lead over the field when he had two birdies through three holes, and even after his first bogey of the tournament when he went just over the back of the green at No. 4. But he recovered with a pair of birdies, made the turn in 32 and had a four-shot lead over Champ.

And then it was steady golf the rest of the way as Champ and Gore, along with Simpson and others, closed the gap.

Champ ran off four straight birdies starting with the par-5 seventh, the last two from about 20 feet. Gore missed a tap-in par on the ninth and was burning, but he bounced back with a birdie to start the back nine, and really got in the game with a 3-wood to 18 feet for eagle on the par-5 15th.

Howell had one birdie, one bogey and not nearly enough good birdie chances on the back nine.

“I didn’t finish off with much of anything,” Howell said. “I knew the guys would make birdies and close the gap if I didn’t get going, and that’s what happened.”

Howell will be playing Sunday with two players who couldn’t be any different.

Champ is a 23-year-old who in his second start as a PGA Tour member last month in the Sanderson Farms Championship. He also hits it harder than anyone Howell has ever seen. Gore is a part-time insurance salesman and part-time comedian who still loves the chance to compete. He is certified only as an insurance salesman, proudly showing his certificate that he earned a few weeks ago.

“Passed on my first try,” he said.

As powerful as Champ is off the tee – driver or strong 3-iron, it really doesn’t matter – he is contending this week on the strength of his putting. He hit a 343-yard drive on the ninth hole leaving a flip wedge to the green, but he came up some 20 feet short and made the putt.

He only had a chip 6-iron to the par-5 15th, hit that into the bunker and had to make a 15-footer for his birdie.

“I’ve been playing well,” Champ said. “This is the best I’ve ever putted.”

Gore only received a sponsor exemption Sunday night, and he had second thoughts about flying across the country from California because he hadn’t played on any tour in three months and he was enjoying life at home.

It lowered his expectations, and even going into the final round one shot, that’s where he’s keeping them.

“What am I going to do tomorrow? I’m going to show up,” he said. “I wish I could give you a profound answer. It’s not going to change my life. Well, it could change my life, but I’m not going to look at it that way.”