Thomas pads lead to three; Woods fades

AKRON, Ohio — Justin Thomas pulled away from the crowd with five birdies in the middle of his round for a 3-under-par 67 and a three-shot lead going into the final round of the Bridgestone Invitational.

No one could keep pace with Thomas, least of all Tiger Woods.

Starting the third round GOLF Saturday five shots behind, Woods managed one birdie and shot 73 to end his streak of 10 consecutive rounds at par or better during his comeback season. He was 11 shots behind.

Thomas, who defends his title this week in the PGA Championship, was at 14-under 196 goes after his third victory of the season but first in five months.

■ PGA: At Reno, Andrew Putnam took the lead in the Barracuda Championship with 38 points, three ahead of Sam Saunders, in the tour’s lone modified Stableford scoring event. UNLV product Chad Campbell (32) was in third after a 22-point day.

■ LPGA: At Lytham St. Annes, England, Pornanong Phatlum maintained her one-stroke lead in the Women’s British Open, shooting 3-under 69 for a 13-under 203 total as she seeks her first tour title. Georgina Hall (69) was alone in second.

■ Champions: At Blaine, Minn., Kenny Perry tied a tournament record with a 12-under 60 and set a tournament mark at 18-under 126 through two rounds to take a five-shot lead into the final round of the 3M Championship.