Stallings shoots 60 to lead at Barbasol
OPELIKA, Ala. — Scott Stallings birdied the final hole for an 11-under-par 60 and a one-stroke lead Saturday in the PGA Tour’s Barbasol Championship.
Stallings’ 12-foot putt on the par-4 18th caught the right edge and dropped in for the second 60 in two days in sweltering conditions at Grand National’s rain-softened Lake Course.
“It’s brutal hot out there. … I think that was a good distraction for me,” Stallings said. “I knew I was playing well, but just trying to drink as much water as I could and try to eat when I could, and when it was my turn to hit, be ready to go.”
Grayson Murray was second after his second straight 64.
Stallings hit all 18 greens in regulation and birdied the final three holes to tie the course record set last year by Jhonattan Vegas and matched by Chad Collins on Friday. The three-time PGA Tour winner had the lowest round of his tour career and broke the tournament’s 54-hole record at 19-under 194.
Stallings played the first five holes in 5 under, holing a 15-foot eagle putt on the par-5 fifth. He bogeyed the par-3 sixth, birdied Nos. 8 and 9 for a front-nine 29, and added birdies on Nos. 11 and 13 before the late run.
Collins followed his 60 with a 69 to drop into a tie for third with Tag Ridings (63) at 17 under.
Korda grabs lead
SYLVANIA, Ohio — Nelly Korda birdied the final two holes of her third round for a 5-under 66 and a two-stroke lead in the Marathon Classic.
Korda was at 15-under 198 for 54 holes after opening with a 68 and shooting a second-round best 64 that had her tied for second. An 18-year-old LPGA Tour rookie, Korda finished ninth on the money list for the Symetra Tour last year. She is the sister of LPGA Tour winner Jessica Korda and a daughter of tennis major champion Petr Korda, who won the 1998 Australian Open.
In-Kyung Kim was second after a 68.
Gerina Piller, the leader after each of the first two rounds, had a 70 to drop into a tie for third at 12 under with Aditi Ashok (68), Sandra Changkija (65), Peiyun Chien (69), reigning U.S. Women’s Open champion Sung Hyun Park (67) and Lexi Thompson (69).
Ryder in charge
In Omaha, Neb., Sam Ryder will take a seven-stroke lead into the final round of the Web.com Tour’s Pinnacle Bank Championship after shooting a 62 to move to 17-under 196.
Four golfers shared second place at The Club at Indian Creek.
Former Dalton High School golfer Blake Adams (69) was tied for 22nd at 6 under, Chattanooga’s Stephan Jaeger (71) shared 43rd at 4 under and former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga golfer Jonathan Hodge (72) was tied for 62nd at 2 under.
Goodwin prevails
ANDOVER, Kan. — A year after finishing runner-up at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Noah Goodwin won the U.S. Junior Amateur at Flint Hills National Golf Club.
The 17-year-old Goodwin, who is from Corinth, Texas, beat Matthew Wolff, 18 and from Agoura Hills, Calif., 1 up in the 36-hole final. Goodwin was four holes down with eight to play, and his comeback in 100-degree heat was the second biggest in a championship final in the tournament’s history.
Goodwin lost 2 and 1 to Australia’s Min Woo Lee at The Honors Course in 2016. Saturday’s win made him one of just three golfers to win the U.S. Junior Amateur a year after finishing second, along with Mason Rudolph (1950) and Tim Straub (1983).
Goodwin plans to graduate from high school early and enroll at SMU in January.