LPGA Tour:
Jonas Blixt of Sweden and Cameron Smith of Australia apparently are enjoying playing as teammates too much to be unsettled by wind gusts reaching 36 miles per hour in Avondale, La.
The pair extended their bogey-free run to three rounds in the new team format at the Zurich Classic, deftly adjusting to winds that unsettled many other PGA Tour pros and posting a 4-under 68 Saturday to widen their lead to four strokes.
“It’s like going back to playing as a kid,” the 33-yearold Blixt said. “I don’t feel like there’s any stress at all out there.”
Alternating shots on Saturday, as teams did in the first round, the Blixt-Smith partnership posted four birdies to improve to 19 under, building on a lead that stood at one shot through two rounds. They are the only team without a bogey.
“Feels like back in the amateur days,” Smith said of playing in the first team event held on the PGA Tour since 1981, about 12 years before he was born.
The Kevin Kisner-Scott Brown and Nick Watney-Charley Hoffman teams were tied for second. Also in contention are Jordan Spieth and Ryan Palmer, five shots behind — although they could have been several shots closer if not for some uncharacteristic misses of short putts by both players.
Spieth missed a 3-footer for birdie on the par-5 18th, wasting Palmer’s well-executed 86-yard approach. Throughout the round, Spieth was among players backing away from shots when they sensed a gust building and said the wind affected putting “significantly.”
“If it gusts or doesn’t gust when you’re over it,” Spieth said, “it affects the putt by an entire cup, even from 6 or 7 feet. It’s really a guessing game.”
Expect more guessing in the final round, which will start earlier than planned — at 6:40 a.m. — because of rain in the forecast. The format returns to “best ball,” as in the second round, with each team taking the best score of either player per hole.
As much fun as Blixt and Smith seem to be having, the pressure could mount a bit as they try to protect their final-round lead. Each golfer takes home $1.02 million and 400 FedEx Cup points. Never mind the fact that the 23-year-old Smith has never won a PGA Tour event. But Smith noted there’s always the possibility for the veteran Blixt, who has won twice, to pick up the slack.
“I feel very comfortable going into tomorrow,” Smith said. “Jonas is playing so well ... it’s just like having a backup.”
Haru Nomura of Japan shot a 1-over 72 on another windy day in Irving, Texas, to extend her lead through three rounds despite a late double bogey. Nomura was at 8-under 205 Saturday — two strokes ahead of Cristie Kerr, two-time Texas winner Inbee Park and 17-year-old amateur Eun Jeong Seong.
Lydia Ko withdrew before Saturday’s round because of an eye infection and could lose the No. 1 ranking she has held for 79 straight weeks.
Dylan Frittelli of South Africa moved three strokes clear of the China Open field after an 8-under 64 in the third round. Pablo Larrazabal of Spain was his nearest challenger after a 70.
European Tour: