Brown, Thomas lead at CJ Cup
JEJU, South Korea — Justin Thomas fired a 2-under-par 70 in windy conditions Saturday and shared the lead with fellow American Scott Brown after the third round of the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges.
Thomas offset a double bogey and a bogey with five birdies to reach the clubhouse at 9-under 207 overall in the PGA Tour event.
“I know for a fact I played better today than I did on Thursday, when I shot a 9 under,” said Thomas, who won five times last season on his way to being named player of the year. “It’s just so hard out there. I’ve never played in a place where the wind swirls as much as it does here.”
Brown had back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 10 and 11 but recovered with two birdies on the back nine for a 71.
“It was playing tough today,” Brown said. “Just kind of grounded it out, not a lot of birdies to be made. I just made some clutch up-and-downs to kind of keep the round going.”
Anirban Lahiri (69) and Australian Marc Leishman (71) were tied for third, with Lucas Glover (74), Whee Kim (72) and Cameron Smith (73) sharing fourth another stroke back.
Former Baylor School standout Luke List, who led after the second round, struggled with the conditions and fell into a tie for eighth after a 76. He had three bogeys on the front nine and a pair of double bogeys on the back nine.
Langer ties mark
RICHMOND, Va. — Bernhard Langer matched the course record with a 9-under 63 to take a threestroke lead into the final round of the Dominion Energy Charity Classic, the first event in the PGA Tour Champions’ Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs.
Seeking an unprecedented fifth Schwab Cup and fourth in a row, the 60-year-old Langer leads the 50-and-older circuit’s season standings and has a tour-high five victories this season.
Langer made nine birdies in his second straight bogey-free round to reach 14-under 130 after 36 holes at The Country Club of Virginia’s James River Course.
Fellow Hall of Famer Vijay Singh, 54, was second after a 63 of his own. Joe Durant (67) was 10 under, while Michael Allen (64) and Scott Verplank (66) were 9 under.
Garcia by a shot
SOTOGRANDE, Spain — Tournament host Sergio Garcia shot a 3-under 68 and held a one-shot lead after three rounds at the Andalucia Valderrama Masters.
The Spaniard had six birdies and three bogeys to reach 8 under overall at the European Tour event, just ahead of golfer Daniel Brooks, whose 7-under 64 in the third round was the best score yet in this year’s tournament.
Joost Luiten, who led after the second round, shot a 71 and was another stroke back, while Jamie Donaldson (68) and Scott Jamieson (71) were three shots off the lead.
Big edge for Ji
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Eun-Hee Ji shot a 3-under 69 to open up a sixstroke lead after the third round of the LPGA Tour’s Swinging Skirts Classic.
Ji, who shared the lead with Jenny Shin after 36 holes at Miramar Resort & Country Club, recovered from a bogey on the par-4 No. 5 with four birdies and was at 10-under 206 overall. Ji is looking for her first win since the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open.
Lydia Ko made seven birdies with a bogey and a double bogey on the 17th on her way to a 68 — the day’s lowest round — and was tied for second with Shin.