Fast finish lifts Finau into a lead
Ex-Lobo Ewart Shadoff, ex-Ag Byrum contend at their events
SHANGHAI — Tony Finau struggled for so much of Saturday in the HSBC Champions that he was hopeful of a strong finish to carry some momentum into the final round.
He got much more than he imagined. Finau closed with three straight birdies for a 2-under 70 and kept his three-shot lead because of a late collapse by Justin Rose, who played the final two holes in five more shots than Finau required.
“There was no need to panic,” Finau said. “Just play some good golf coming down the stretch, and I was able to do that.”
Finau was at 13-under 203 and led by three over Justin Rose, Masters champion Patrick Reed and Xander Schauffele.
Finau was on the verge of falling three shots behind on the 16th hole after Rose had pitched to within 3 feet for a birdie, and Finau hit wedge that came up well short. He rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt from off the green to stay within two shots, hit a tee shot that rolled to within 18 inches of the cup for a short birdie on the par-3 17th, and then holed a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th.
Rose wasted a great round with a sloppy finish and had to settle for a 70.
He was two shots ahead going to the 17th when his tee shot went off the side of a hill and into a hazard, leading to double bogey. Then, his 4-iron to the par5 18th was too far right and tumbled down the hill and into the water. He had a chance to save par until missing a 4-foot putt.
PGA: In Jackson, Miss., Cameron Champ shot an 8-under 64 to open a four-stroke lead in the Sanderson Farms Championship.
Champ has held at least a share of the lead all three days at Country Club of Jackson, opening with a 65 and shooting a 70 on Friday. Averaging a field-best 306.7 yards off the tee, the 23-year-old PGA Tour rookie has hit 44 of 54 greens in regulation. On Saturday, he hit 15 of 18 and had just 25 putts.
“Obviously, today went great,” Champ said. “I executed all the shots that I wanted to … and just kept up with my game plan. Took advantage of the par 5s, made the putts when I needed to. I was just able to give myself a lot of chances.”
Corey Conners was second, matching Champ with a 64 to get to 13 under.
CHAMPIONS TOUR: In Thousand Oaks, Calif., Miguel Angel Jimenez shot his second straight 4-under 68 o take the second-round lead in the Invesco QQQ Championship.
Second in the season points standings, Jimenez had a one-stroke lead over Stephen Ames, Michael Bradley and Scott Parel in the second of the tour’s three playoff events.
Ames shot 65, Bradley 69m and Parel 70. Firstround leader and former New Mexico State Aggie standout Tom Byrum (72), David McKenzie (70) and David Toms (67) were 6 under, and points leader Bernhard Langer (71) was 5 under with Paul Goydos (69).
Langer is the defending tournament champion. The 61-year-old German star finished second behind Woody Austin last week in the playoff opener in Virginia.
LPGA: In Taoyuan City, Taiwan, Nelly Korda shot a 3-under 69 to share the lead with Wei-Ling Hsu after three rounds of the LPGA Taiwan Championship. In front of a home crowd, Hsu finished with an even-72 after shooting 68 and 67 in the first two rounds.
Five players are within two shots of the leaders: Jin Young Ko (69), Bronte Law (69), Megan Khang (70), Lydia Ko (72) and former New Mexico Lobo Jodi Ewart Shadoff (73).