Finau leads in Bahamas; Tiger is last in the field
NEW PROVIDENCE, Bahamas — Tony Finau had never seen Albany Golf Club until the pro-am at the Hero World Challenge, and one aspect of the course caught his eye immediately.
“When I’m playing well, I feel like I can score on any golf course, especially a course that has five par 5s,” Finau said.
He made birdie on four of them Saturday, leading him to a 5-under 67 that gave him a share of the lead with Henrik Stenson and Jon Rahm and set up a wide-open conclusion that could feature more than half the 18-man field.
The tournament host is not among them. Tiger Woods took three shots from just off the green at the par-5 third hole — chipping is tough on everyone at Albany — for a double bogey and a ragged start that never got much better until a few late birdies salvaged a 72. He was in last place, 11 shots out of the lead.
“It’s definitely not alarming, for sure,” said Woods, in his first 72-hole event since winning the Tour Championship. “I just haven’t played clean.”
Stenson and Rahm each had a 3-under 69 to join Finau at 13-under 203.
Stenson and Finau are going for their first victory of the year, even though this holiday event is not attached to any tour and is considered unofficial except for the world ranking points, which are more than four of the domestic events in the fall on the PGA Tour.
Finau did everything right except win this year, including his first Ryder Cup appearance. Stenson has won at least once around the world in five of the last six years.
Winning is always nice,” said Stenson, a runner-up to Hideki Maruyama two years ago in the Bahamas. “It never gets old no matter how big or small the tournament. You can’t say that this is a small tournament given the field. Who you’re playing against is obviously going to give you a nice boost if you managed to win it.”
Gary Woodland, who was over par toward the end of his opening round, had a 67 and suddenly is only two shots behind. Rickie Fowler also had a 67, and the defending champion is back in the mix at three shots behind.
AUSTRALIAN PGA: In Gold Coast, Australia, defending champion Cameron Smith shot a 5-under 67 to increase his lead to three strokes over Marc Leishman after three rounds of the Australian PGA Championship at Royal Pines.
Smith had a 54-hole total of 14-under 202. Leishman and Smith played together at the World Cup of Golf team event last week in Melbourne, where they finished tied for second behind winning Belgium.