LAS VEGAS – National Amateur Squad member Jared du Toit continued his impressive run on Wednesday, finishing in a tie for third at the Southern Highlands Collegiate.

The 21-year-old senior (and captain) at Arizona State closed the event at 5-under par—one stroke off the lead. His final-round scorecard included a hole-in-one on the par-3 2^nd hole, lifting him into contention down the stretch.

du Toit, a Kimberley, B.C., product, is coming off a hot streak which includes a victory, a T1 (playoff loss), T11 and now T3 in his last four collegiate events with the Sun Devils. His efforts helped him earn Pac-12 Golfer of the Month for February; he’ll look to keep rolling when Arizona State plays host of the ASU Thunderbird Invitational from March 18-19.

Click here for full scoring.

For the first time in event history, Presidents Cup team captains have the option to add a fourth assistant to their respective teams.  Today, U.S. Team Captain Steve Stricker and International Team Captain Nick Price announced Jim Furyk and Mike Weir (Canada) as their fourth captains’ assistants, respectively, for the 2017 Presidents Cup.

Weir will join the International Team as a first-time captain’s assistant after having competed in five Presidents Cups (2000, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009); he was a teammate of Price in the 2000 and 2003 events. The eight-time PGA TOUR winner is 13-9-2 all-time at the Presidents Cup and one of five International Team members with 10 or more match wins in the competition. In 2007, the Presidents Cup was staged in Canada for the first time, and Weir put on a show for his Canadians fans with a 3-1-1 record that was capped by a thrilling 1-up victory over Tiger Woods in Singles.

Of his eight PGA TOUR victories, Weir’s career is highlighted by his breakthrough playoff win at the 2003 Masters – one of three titles he collected that season.

“The Presidents Cup has been such a big part of my professional career, and some of my fondest memories are from the competition and, perhaps even more so, the team cabins,” said Weir. “I’m excited to be a part of the International Team again, especially alongside Ernie, Geoff and Tony, with an aim to help Captain Price and the International Team win back the Cup.”

The biennial competition pits the United States against a team of players from countries outside Europe.

As a member of captain Nick Price’s crew, Weir won’t play in the Sept. 26-Oct. 1 event at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, N.J.

His role will be to support Price in decisions on pairings and provide advice to the players leading up to and during the event.

A Masters champion in 2003, Weir defeated Tiger Woods 1-up in front of some 35,000 Presidents Cup fans at Royal Montreal in 2007.

At the time, Weir said when he looks back on his career, that win “may be even more special than winning the Masters.”

Weir also played in two matches with Price at the 2000 and 2003 Presidents Cups.

There are currently no Canadians with enough points to automatically qualify for the International team. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., is the highest-ranked Canadian at 26th.

“I would certainly love to see a Canadian or two on the team, and they’re certainly capable of doing it,” Weir said.

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., is the highest-ranked Canadian at 26th in the standings, and Hadwin said he would relish the opportunity if he ended up making the team.

“The Presidents Cup hasn’t really been on my radar, and I know I have a lot of work to do to make the team,” he said. “But no doubt it would be an honour play alongside some of the great international players, and of course to play for Nick Price and Mike Weir, a guy that I’ve looked up to for years, like so many other kids growing up in Canada.”

The native of the Sarnia, Ont., community Bright’s Grove doesn’t have any PGA Tour status this year. His play has been impacted in recent years by injuries and time off for personal reasons.

And although Weir said he has not spoken with anyone about taking the captain’s reins, he would love to have that opportunity, especially if the Presidents Cup comes back to Canada.

“Nick alluded to that, how they’re trying to have guys as assistants who can potentially be captains down the road. I’d certainly love to be a captain sometime,” stated Weir. “I’m just going to enjoy this year and this opportunity though, and if the chance came later, I’d be thrilled.”

A transcript of today’s announcement can be downloaded here.

The Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship tournament organizers are putting out a call to fans to be part of the event as the designer behind the Event’s Official Tournament Trophy. For the first time, the public will have the chance to design and select what will be the inspiration behind the trophy presented to the PGA TOUR Champions winner after the final putt drops on Sunday. 

The trophy design contest establishes an opportunity for the community to create a unique vision that represents the nature of golf in Canada and celebrates the winner, PGA TOUR Champions, the Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship, and the scenic and natural landscape of the island. 

From March 7th – 31st, 2017, fans are invited to submit their designs. Entries will be reviewed by the Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship team to determine the top three designs. These will go up on www.PacificLinksChampionship.com  from April 3rd – 12th, 2017 for the public to vote on their fan favourite. The design that receives the majority of votes at closing will serve as the inspiration for the 2017 Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship Official Tournament Trophy. 

In addition to bragging rights, the winner will receive:

• (4) Champions Clubhouse tickets to the 2017 Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship (clubhouse access; food and beverage incremental)
• (2) Honorary Observer Passes – inside the ropes access on Saturday September 16 with select grouping
• (1) round of golf for four on the Bear Mountain Valley Course during Event week (cart included)
• Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship apparel package, including golf polo, outerwear piece, and headwear.
• Winner will be incorporated into the 2017 Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship closing ceremonies and trophy presentation Winner will be recognized in follow up press release and media as designer of the trophy

Key Contest Dates

• Submissions Open: March 7, 2017 at 10:00am PST
• Submissions Deadline: March 31, 2017 @ 11:59pm PST
• Fan Vote: April 3rd, 2017 @ 10:00am PST – April 12, 2017 @ 11:59pm PST
• Winner Announced: April 18th, 2017

The trophy design contest is open to people of all ages in the province of British Columbia. Submissions are not limited to any material or size. One submission per person, and only one person shall be the winner. 

For more information, contest rules and regulations, or to submit your design, go to http://bit.ly/2lsKLjE  OR www.PacificLinksChampionship.com  and click on the “Spectators” tab to view the trophy design page. 

The event will once again be played at The Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort & Spa the week of Monday, September 11th – Sunday, September 17th, 2017. Tournament week will commence with Official Pro-Am’s on Wednesday and Thursday, where participating teams will play alongside a PGA TOUR Champions professional over 18 holes of premiere golf. Competitive action will follow with 54 holes of championship play from Friday to Sunday, with no cut.

The Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada schedule was announced Tuesday, featuring 12 events from May to September in 2017 as players look to make the next step on the path to the PGA TOUR.

The season will once again begin in May with the Freedom 55 Financial Open (May 29-June 4) at Point Grey Golf and Country Club in Vancouver, B.C., with purses of $175,000 (CA$) for the first 11 events and a $200,000 purse for the season-ending Freedom 55 Financial Championship (Sept. 11-17) at Highland Country Club in London, Ont.

“Our host organizations have done tremendous work to establish our tournaments for this season, and thanks to the support of our sponsors we have a wonderful slate of events from coast to coast again this year,” said Mackenzie Tour President Jeff Monday. “Our goal remains to provide players with the opportunity to make the next step on the path to the PGA TOUR while making a positive impact in the community, and we look forward to making an even greater impact this year.”

With 11 events confirmed, a 12th event taking place prior to the season-ending Freedom 55 Financial Championship will be added to the schedule in the coming weeks.

Mackenzie Tour players will look to make the next step on the path to the PGA TOUR by leveraging their performance into advantages to reach the next level. The Order of Merit winner will be fully exempt on the Web.com Tour for the following season, with Nos. 2-5 earning conditional status. Those players Nos. 2-10 will earn an exemption into the Final Stage of the Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament while Nos. 11-20 will earn an exemption into the second stage.

Players will look to follow in the footsteps of PGA TOUR winners Mackenzie Hughes, Tony Finau and Nick Taylor, who are among the 10 PGA TOUR-era (2013-present) alumni competing on the PGA TOUR this season. 40 Mackenzie Tour players from 2016 went on to earn Web.com Tour status for this year and will look to make the next step on the path to the PGA TOUR.

Off the course, Mackenzie Tour events will look to build off a record-breaking 2016 season that saw more than $1 million donated to charity, bringing the total since 2013 to more than $2.1 Million.

After beginning the season with the Mackenzie Tour’s first event in Vancouver, the Tour will head to Victoria, B.C. for the 35th playing of the Bayview Place DC Payments Open presented by Times Colonist (June 6-12) at Uplands Golf Club, followed by the GolfBC Championship (June 12-18) at Gallagher’s Canyon Golf and Country Club in Kelowna, B.C. The Players Cup returns to Pine Ridge Golf Club in Winnipeg, Man. (July 3-9), followed by the Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel in Thunder Bay, Ont. (July 10-16) and the inaugural Mackenzie Investments Open at Les Quatres Domaines Golf Club in Montreal, Que. (July 17-23), after which the top three players on the Order of Merit earn exemptions into the RBC Canadian Open on the PGA TOUR.

The season resumes in Alberta, with the Syncrude Oil Country Championship presented by AECON at Windermere Golf and Country Club in Edmonton (July 31-August 6) and the ATB Financial Classic at Country Hills Golf Club in Calgary (August 7-13), followed by the National Capital Open to Support Our Troops at Hylands Golf Club in Ottawa, Ont. (August 15-21).

The season’s home stretch begins with the Cape Breton Open at Bell Bay Golf Club in Baddeck, N.S. August 28-3, followed by an event to be added in near future. The top 60 players on the Order of Merit through 11 events will retain exempt status and play their way into the season-ending Freedom 55 Financial Championship at Highland Country Club in London, Ont.

The USGA has introduced Resource Management, a new web-based product that will help golf course superintendents, owners and operators be more precise, efficient and productive in maintaining their facilities.

Launched today during the North American Golf Innovation Symposium in Vancouver, USGA Resource Management is a map-based tool that allows facility managers to understand better their consumption of resources – such as labor, water and fuel – and to measure accurately, even down to the square foot, the allocation of these resources to each feature of the golf course. The data will help facilities to manage their maintenance practices in ways that reduce costs while also improving the experience of their golfers.

“As the cost of maintaining a golf course continues to rise, facilities increasingly need smart tools and data to operate efficiently,” said Rand Jerris, the USGA’s senior managing director of Public Services. “For nearly a century, the USGA has helped improve golf course operations and golfer experience through educational materials, research, and agronomic and environmental consulting services. This investment in technology is an important next step, which will help facilities realize immediate benefits through simple and effective behavioral changes.”

The USGA Resource Management tool features a user-friendly interface that empowers superintendents and facility managers to perform “what-if” analyses and develop models that quantify the financial impacts of proposed changes in maintenance.

Another key feature of the application is the ability to generate visual mapping of golfer traffic, allowing facility managers to focus maintenance and resources on the areas that are most heavily used, while reducing unnecessary costs on acreage that has little to no impact on golfer experience.

“Information and data are critical in our business,” said Darrell J. Marcinek, director of golf maintenance for the Somerset (N.J.) County Park Commission. “This tool would take the guesswork out of our budgeting, and the end product will be better for the golfers because we’re maximizing our limited resources.

“The USGA is at the forefront of our industry. There’s nothing on the market that I’m aware of that does what this tool does.”

The USGA Resource Management product will be an important part of the toolkit used by USGA agronomists across the country in 2017 as they work directly with facilities to improve the impact and efficiency of their maintenance practices. To contact a USGA Green Section agronomist, go to www.usga.org/greensectionstaff.html.

The USGA also has begun working with the industry to develop additional functionalities for the application and encourage innovations built on this platform. The ongoing development and refinement of USGA Resource Management reflect the USGA’s commitment to advance the game by making the benefits of science and technology available to all facilities. These advancements will help to elevate the golfer experience and improve productivity at 35,000 golf courses around the world.

Hosted by the USGA in conjunction with Golf Canada and the Mexican Golf Federation, the North American Golf Innovation Symposium provides golf course operators/owners and industry experts with an information-exchange forum to advance the game of golf and spark innovative thinking.

Although the logos of the USGA and the R&A dominate the wave of communications accompanying last week’s announcement of the proposed modernized Rules of Golf, picture a tiny maple leaf-shaped asterisk there as well.

Since 1952, when the separate Rules committees of the USGA and R&A came together to develop a single set of Rules, there has been a Canadian delegate on the Joint Rules Committee (JRC). This makes us unique in the world of golf as the USGA oversees the United States and Mexico and the R&A governs play in the rest of the world, with the exception of Canada.

For the past four years, that representative has been Dale Jackson of Victoria, B.C., in his capacity as Golf Canada’s Chair of Rules and Amateur Status. Although Jackson stepped down from his Golf Canada role at last month’s Golf Canada annual general meeting, he will continue to participate on the JRC for at least another year in the interest of continuity.

Jackson’s timing allowed him to be a part of golf history, witnessing the best Rules minds in the world blowing up the existing Rules and reformulating a new code consisting of just 24 Rules rather than the current 34. The last major shake-up of the Rules came in 1984; before that, there were significant revisions in 1899, 1934 and 1952.

But literally none of the previous episodes had torn the existing Rules apart like this one, which began in 2012 with what Jackson calls the “Rules Modernization Project Team” comprised of volunteers and staff from the USGA and R&A, plus representatives from the PGA Tour and European Tour. And Jackson, of course.

“The objective was to take every single line in the Rule book, every Rule, every note, every exception, and say, ‘How can we do this better? What makes more sense? What are the alternatives? What is the history behind this? Why does this exist?’”

In some cases, says Jackson, it was a case of “back to the future” in that the modernization project team found a former Rule was preferable to its modern version. Jackson points to the proposed Rule allowing the flagstick to remain in the hole while players are putting as a prime example. Until 50 years or so ago, that was permissible, but under the current Rule, if a player on the putting green putts the ball and it hits the flagstick while in the hole, he incurs a two-stroke penalty.

Jackson marvels not only at the incredible amount of time and energy poured into the project by all concerned, but the dedication and single-mindedness of everyone involved, no matter what organization they represented.

“Everyone on the team was pulling in the same direction,” Jackson says, “with the same goal: Make the Rules better, simpler, easier to understand, easier to apply on the golf course.”

While he says the proposed new Rules address most of the challenges faced by the modernization project team, one major bugaboo remains: the stroke-and-distance situation.

“Everyone, especially at the recreational level, realizes that hitting the ball out of bounds off the tee or hitting it out of bounds from the fairway and having to go back to play another stroke, especially on a busy golf course, is really difficult.”

Jackson says the modernization project team spent an inordinate amount of time searching for the answer and continues to do so.

“What we are hoping for is, by putting all this out there for anybody and everybody to review, that somebody comes up with a solution that works.”

Although the current Rules remain in effect until the new version becomes official on Jan. 1, 2019, golfers are encouraged to review them, play by them and provide comments and reaction back to the USGA and R&A by Aug. 31.

For details on the proposed changes in the Rules and to voice your opinion, visit www.usga.org or www.randa.org.

MEXICO CITY – The only elevation that mattered at the Mexico Championship is how much higher Dustin Johnson can go.

In his first start since a five-shot victory at Riviera that made him No. 1 in the world, Johnson captured his fourth World Golf Championships title Sunday by blowing by some of golf’s biggest names and then delivering his best shot at the end to secure a one-shot victory over Tommy Fleetwood of England.

He won for the fifth time in his last 15 starts on the PGA Tour, including a major and two World Golf Championships.

And at nearly 7,800 feet above sea level at Chapultepec Golf Club, Johnson kept soaring.

He closed with a 3-under 68, and finished this one off with one of the most difficult shots in golf. Clinging to a one-shot lead, his feet on the edge of the bunker and ball below his feet, Johnson hit a three-quarter shot from 127 yards with his 54-degree wedge to the middle of the 18th green for a two-putt par.

He called it a “dink.” He also could have called it clutch.

“Probably the best shot I hit all week, especially under the circumstances, was that second shot on 18,” he said. “A fantastic shot.”

It wrapped up a spectacular week in Mexico City, which hosted this World Golf Championship after it had been at Trump Doral the last seven years. Johnson walked through the roped corridors with his arms extended to slap hands and bump fists with an energetic crowd, especially kids who called out, “Dee-Jay!”

Johnson finished at 14-under 270.

Justin Thomas had a one-shot lead over Johnson, with Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson another shot behind. It was an All-Star cast that Johnson turned into a one-man show with a 31 on the front nine to build a four-shot lead.

And just like that, it was gone.

“Around here, anything can happen,” Johnson said.

Thomas fell back with a double bogey in the water on the par-3 seventh. Neither McIlroy nor Mickelson got anything going. The challenge came from Jon Rahm, the dynamic rookie from Spain, who made an eagle and two birdies in a five-hole stretch on the back nine. That’s right when Johnson had his only real struggles, three-putting from 25 feet for bogey on No. 12 and taking bogey from a bunker on No. 13.

And then he was one shot behind, but only as long as it took him to get up-and-down from a bunker on the par-5 15th for birdie to tie for the lead. Johnson was flawless with pars. Rahm, who had gone 59 holes without a three-putt, took two straight for bogeys that took him out of the game.

“Sometimes you’re going to make some bogeys from those greens and unfortunately for me, it happened at the end,” Rahm said.

Johnson became the fifth player to win in his first tournament as No. 1 in the world. His fourth World Golf Championship title is second on the career list behind Tiger Woods, who won 18 times since the series began in 1999.

It was quite the consolation prize for the 26-year-old Fleetwood.

His 40-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 66 put him alone in second and secured a spot in the Masters for the first time. He moves to No. 35 in the world and is certain to stay in the top 50 over the next three weeks before the cutoff to get an invitation to Augusta National.

Rahm’s two late bogeys gave him a 68 and a tie for third with Ross Fisher, who closed with three straight birdies for a 65. That assures Fisher a place in the next WGC event in three week at the Dell Match Play.

The great theatre among the stars in Mexico City never really materialized.

Thomas bounced back from a 38 on the front nine and was still in range until closing with three pars for a 72 to tie for fifth with Thomas Pieters. McIlroy and Mickelson each shot 71 and tied for seventh. McIlroy had a two-shot lead going into the weekend and shot 70-71.

“These two rounds were the sort of rounds I would have expected the first two days, not the last two,” said McIlroy, playing for the first time in seven weeks while recovering from a rib injury.

Johnson was steady right to the end to capture his 14th career victory on the PGA Tour, and his second straight.

The greens of Chapultepec gave him fits all week. Johnson missed eight putts from inside 5 feet. In the opening round, he missed six putts from the 6-foot range or closer. His power and his clean striking allowed him to overcome that.

The most recent player to win in his debut at No. 1 was Adam Scott at the Colonial in 2014.

“It’s a tough spot to be in,” Johnson said. “There’s a lot of pressure on you. I came out and played really well.”

Johnson now takes the next two weeks off before playing the Dell Match Play and the Shell Houston Open ahead of the Masters, where Las Vegas already has installed him as the favourite.

SINGAPORE – Inbee Park won the HSBC Women’s Champions tournament by one stroke on Sunday after closing with a round of 8-under 64.

The South Korean finished on 19-under 269 at the Sentosa Golf Club, one shot clear of her playing partner Ariya Jutanugarn, who was second after a 66.

Sung Hyun Park (68) was third, a further shot back, while overnight leader Michelle Wie dropped back into a tie for fourth after a 72.

Wie was two in front after making birdies on the second and third holes before her round unraveled when she four-putted for a double-bogey on the par-5 fifth.

The American finished alongside Canadian Brooke Henderson (66) and last year’s Singapore champion Jang Ha Na (69).

Inbee made her first birdie of the day on the same hole that Wie’s charge started to falter, then proceeded to reel off another eight birdies to the 17th hole, draining a series of long putts in a near-flawless display on the greens.

“My putting was amazing today, obviously,” she said. “I couldn’t make any putts yesterday and obviously I made up for it today.

“Pretty much everything I looked at, it wanted to drop in. It was very consistent ball-striking all week, and obviously there is a lot of birdie opportunities out there and I was able to convert the birdies.”

Despite being a seven-time major winner, Inbee Park said she surprised herself by winning so soon. The 28-year-old took six months off shortly after winning the gold medal at the Rio Olympics last year to recover from a thumb injury and was playing only her second event.

“I thought it may take maybe a couple months to kind of get back out on the tour and to get my rhythm back,” she said. “I thought I was going to be just a little bit rusty. That’s how I felt exactly last week. This week was totally different. Especially the final round was just what I wanted.”

Jutanugarn was tied with Park after 10 holes and was left in awe at her playing partner’s performance.

“I had so much fun playing playing with Inbee. She’s awesome. She’s the best player,” said Jutanugarn. “I learned a lot from her. She’s very calm. I feel like she makes every putt. I don’t think she missed one today.”

There was some drama even after Inbee Park clinched the title when play was halted because of an electrical storm, with Sung Hyun Park , Wie and Ko still on the course, within a wedge shot off the 18th.

When the weather cleared and play resumed, the trio finished off their rounds and Park received her winner’s trophy.

Ko shot a final-round 72 and finished at 12-under, seven behind.

MEXICO CITY – Justin Thomas hit a 6-iron that one-hopped into the bottom of the cup. Dustin Johnson hit a wedge that never came down from a tree. In one of the 10 fairways that Phil Mickelson missed, a spectator apparently ran off with his golf ball.

Even better than the wild action Saturday in the Mexico Championship was the promise of more to come.

Thomas, going for his fourth PGA Tour victory of the season, rode a hole-in-one to a 5-under 66 to take a one-shot lead over Dustin Johnson at Chapultepec Golf Club. Right behind were Mickelson and Rory McIlroy, who saw his momentum stall when his flip wedge on No. 12 struck the pin and spun back.

Such a world-class leaderboard should have been enough to delight the crowd at Chapultepec Golf Club.

It was how they got there that made it so entertaining.

Thomas was lingering around the leaders, trying to piece together a swing, when he was caught between clubs from 239 yards away on the par-3 13th. He hit 6-iron and sent the crowd into delirium when it bounced once and disappeared into the cup.

“It looked perfect,” he said. “I think I said, ‘Go in.’ You might as well say it,” Thomas said while watching the shot on a TV monitor. “I haven’t hit too many shots exactly how I wanted. I liked this result.”

Johnson was tied for the lead when his second shot on the 16th got stuck in a tree. He had no choice but to walk back to the original spot and hit his fourth shot that settled 15 feet from the cup. Just his luck, the ball fell out of the tree as he was walking to the green.

“It happens,” Johnson shrugged after a 66. “I did make a nice putt for bogey, though, so I was definitely happy about that.”

Mackenzie Hughes (73) of Dundas, Ont., is tied for 38th at even par.

Johnson is happy when he sees any putt fall into the cup. He is swing as beautifully as he did at Riviera two weeks ago when he won by five shots, but missing seven out of 15 putts from inside 7 feet has made him wonder if the greens are conspiring against him.

“If it’s not the greens – someone is playing goalie up by the hole – the trees are catching my ball,” Johnson said.

No one was more wild than Mickelson, who used to thrive on such scrambling skills. This time, he was disappointed. Mickelson thought he had those big misses off the tee out of his system, but they returned in a big way on Saturday. He missed seven out of eight fairways in one stretch, and through 12 holes, he had more drops than he had birdies. He still managed a par when the spectator made off with his golf ball. He managed par after taking a drop from a sprinkler into bushes.

He still managed a 68, and was just two shots behind.

“I’ve shot numbers like this hitting shots like that and salvaging strokes, but I’ve been playing better than that,” Mickelson said, clearly disappointed. “That looks like the way I’ve hit it the last three years – all over the place and saving shot. I haven’t been doing that this year. I wanted to come out here and strike the ball the way I’ve been striking it, and then to hit it the way I did was disappointing.”

McIlroy was playing in the final group with Mickelson for the first time on a weekend, and his round of 70 was comparatively boring. If anything, he felt he lost a little rhythm waiting on Mickelson to get rulings on three consecutive holes to start the back nine.

“Phil rode his luck out there,” McIlroy said. “But geez, if I was hitting it off the tee like he did today, there’s no way I would shoot 68. That’s the great thing about Phil. … I would be a mess if I was hitting it the way he was today. I guess that’s the difference between us. I like to see it going down the fairway and playing nice that way, where he goes like this and shoots two better than me. So there you go.”

At nearly 7,800 feet of elevation, the final round figures to be up in the thin air. That might even include Jordan Spieth, who set the course record with an 8-under 63 and was among a dozen players within five shots of the lead.

Lee Westwood, who has played in more World Golf Championships than anyone since they began in 1999, shot 31 on the back nine for a 66 and was three behind, along with Spanish rookie Jon Rahm, who had a 67.

Johnson is trying to become the fifth player to win in his debut at No. in the world, and he still likes his position. He will be in the final group with Thomas and McIlroy.

“I have a lot of great players chasing me,” Thomas said. “I just have to go out and make a bunch of birdies.”