Battle ahead on final day of PGA
SAN FRANCISCO — Dustin Johnson lost his yardage book and still found his way through an enormous crowd of contenders Saturday at TPC Harding Park, making eight birdies for a 5-under-par 65 and a one-shot lead in the PGA Championship.
Nothing ever comes easily for Johnson in the majors. In this case, his brother had a spare yardage book. Even that might not have stopped Johnson from making his most birdies in any round of a major.
And he needed them all. Johnson, who was at 9-under 201 as he goes for his second major title, was one of eight players who had at least a share of the lead at some point Saturday, a wild third round of low scores, long putts and endless possibilities.
One possibility is Brooks Koepka hoisting the Wanamaker Trophy for the third straight year, which hasn’t happened since Walter Hagen won four in a row in the 1920s when it was match play. Koepka was one shot behind when he made a few careless mistakes, ran off three straight bogeys and had to birdie the 18th for a 69 to stay within two shots, tied for fourth with Paul Casey (68) and Collin Morikawa (65).
Scottie Scheffler, a PGA Tour rookie, bogeyed his last hole for a 65 and was one shot behind Johnson, tied for second with Cameron Champ (67), who has the most powerful swing on tour.
For all the chances Johnson has had, this is only the second time he has led going into the final round of a major.
“It’s simple,” said Johnson, the 2016 U.S. Open champion. “I’ve got to hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens. If I can do that tomorrow, I’m going to have a good chance coming down the stretch.”
Keith Mitchell (68) was tied for 30th at 2 under for the best standing of the three Baylor School graduates in the field, with Harris English (69) another shot back and sharing 34th and Luke List (70) tied for 52nd at 1 over.
Advantage grows in England
WARE, England — Andy Sullivan shot a 7-under 64 in the third round of the English Championship, moving to 21-under 192 for a five-shot lead as he tries for his first victory in five years.
The 33-year-old Englishman won three times in 2015 as he finished in the top 10 on the European Tour, but he has not lifted a trophy since the Portugal Masters in October of that year. He entered the third day at Hanbury Manor with a one-shot advantage and carded two eagles, five birdies and two bogeys to strengthen his position.
England’s Steven Brown (66) was second, with South Africa’s Dean Burmester (69) and Brandon Stone (67) and Spain’s Adrian Otaegui (67) tied for third at 15 under.
The top 10 players in the European Tour’s mini Order of Merit after the first five events of the U.K. Swing will seal a place in the U.S. Open next month at Winged Foot Golf Club in New York.
Ko close to ending drought
SYLVANIA, Ohio — Not even a sore back could keep Lydia Ko from building a four-shot lead in the Marathon Classic. Now the former No. 1 women’s golfer in the world with 15 LPGA Tour victories is one round away from ending more than two years without a win.
The 24-year-old from New Zealand felt back pain on the front nine, received treatment from a trainer and played bogey-free over the last 15 holes at Highland Meadows Golf Club for a 3-under 68 and a four-shot lead over Danielle Kang of the United States.
Ko, who has gone 44 tournaments worldwide since her last victory, was at 16-under 197 through 54 holes in the quest for her third Marathon Classic title. Kang, who won last week at nearby Inverness Club, had a 70 and was four shots behind.
Tied for third at 10 under were Australia’s Minjee Lee (68) and England’s Jodi Ewart Shadoff (73), with 26-yearold American Lindsey Weaver (67) another stroke back in fifth.
Ruffels rallies again to final
ROCKVILLE, Md. — Gabriela Ruffels keeps falling behind in her matches at the U.S. Women’s Amateur. But she keeps winning them, too, leaving her only one victory away from becoming the first back-to-back winner of this United States Golf Association event in nearly a decade.
Ruffels never led in her quarterfinal match Saturday until she made a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole at Woodmont Country Club to beat Emilia Maigliaccio. Then the 20-year-old from Australia fell 2 down through five holes in a semifinal against Valery Plata, but Ruffels rebounded quickly, holed a 40-foot birdie putt on the 13th to go 2 up and won, 2 and 1.
Next up is a 36-hole championship final against 17-year-old Rose Zhang of California, who won both of her Saturday matches on the 17th hole, beating Kaleigh Telfer of South Africa in the morning and Alyaa Abdulghany of Malaysia in the afternoon.
Ruffels now has won 11 consecutive matches, the longest streak to start a U.S. Women’s Amateur career since Dorothy Campbell won 13 straight from 1909 to 1911. She will try to become the fifth player to repeat as champion and the first since Kang in 2011.