Putnam, Johnson make St. Jude two-man race

Lehman shoots 65, leads by 2 in Iowa

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Andrew Putnam matched the best round of his short PGA Tour career with a 6-under 64 and tied Dustin Johnson atop the St. Jude Classic on Saturday.

In position to reclaim the No. 1 ranking with a victory, Johnson had a 65 to match Putnam at 15-under 195.

A two-time winner on the Web.com Tour, Putnam birdied No. 18 to tie up Johnson once again after a bogey-free round. Now he will play in the last group on the final day for the first time on the PGA Tour with Johnson.

“It’s going to feel a little different than the typical Sunday round of golf, but I’m excited for it,” Putnam said. “I’ve earned my way here and I feel like it’s going to be a fun day. See what happens.”

Stewart Cink, who had a holein-one on No. 8, matched his low round of the year with a 64 to get to 10 under.

Ricky Werenski got to 10 under but bogeyed No. 18 to finish with a 68. He was tied with Bryan Wesley (69) at 9 under. Brandt Snedeker (70) was at 7 under.

Johnson and Putnam, a 29-year-old from Washington with a pair of Top 10s this year on tour, quickly turned the third round at TPC Southwind into a two-man race.

Playing in the final group, Johnson opened with a birdie after hitting his approach to 6 feet on No. 1. Putnam, a group ahead, birdied three of his first four holes and took the lead to himself briefly at 12 under by rolling in from 31 feet for birdie on No. 5.

A tee shot way left on the par5 No. 3 cost Johnson a penalty and a drop, making par the best he could do. Johnson tied Putnam with a birdie on No. 5. But the man trying to get back to No. 1 before going to the U.S. Open bogeyed No. 9 after hitting his tee shot into the right rough and two-putting from 14 feet.

Johnson rebounded with a birdie on No. 10, hitting his second from 152 yards to 8 feet and tied Putnam again. Putnam rolled in a 22-footer for birdie on No. 12 to reach 13 under only to see Johnson sink an 8-footer for birdie on No. 13 to tie him up again.

Looking for a victory before going to Shinnecock Hills, Johnson birdied No. 13. On No. 15, he hit his approach 130 yards to within 4 feet for birdie and birdied the par-5 No. 16 after hitting out of the bunker to 5 feet to become the first to reach 15 under.

Putnam rolled in from 17 feet to wrap up his round with a share of the lead, and Johnson settled for a two-putt for par.

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS: In Des Moines, Iowa, Tom Lehman shot a 7-under 65 to take a two-shot lead into the final round of the Principal Charity Classic.

Lehman eagled the par-5 eighth and played a 10-hole stretch in 7 under before dropping a stroke on the par-4 18th.

He had a 13-under 131 total, the best two-round score at Wakonda Club.

First-round leader Bernhard Langer had a 69 to fall into a tie for second with Glen Day (68), Woody Austin (68) and Scott Parel (66).

CURTIS CUP: In Scarsdale, N.Y., Kristen Gillman won two more matches and the United States opened a 9-3 lead over Britain and Ireland in the Curtis Cup at Quaker Ridge.

Gillman, the 20-year-old University of Alabama star from improved to 4-0 and helped the Americans move within 1½ points of regaining the cup they lost in 2016 at Dun Laoghaire in Ireland. The U.S. leads the series 28-8-3.

The United States won five of the six matches Saturday, sweeping the morning four-ball session.

LPGA TOUR: In Galloway, N.J., Sei Young Kim birdied seven of her last 10 holes for a share of the lead with Celine Herbin in the suspended second round of the ShopRite LPGA.

Kim was 10 under for the tournament with three holes left when play was suspended because of darkness.

Herbin had her second straight 5-under 66.

Herbin birdied No. 18 after play resumed following a delay of nearly three hours because of lightning strikes in the area. The Frenchwoman left her job as a biochemical engineer at age 27 to become a professional golfer.

Herbin had made the cut in just five of 11 tournaments prior to this week.

“There is no secret really, just keep working on what I’m doing,” she said. “I don’t care if you miss 10 cuts if you win the 11th. The missed cut doesn’t mean too much. “