Rough finish has Spieth in the lead
Jordan Spieth knows how to finish out of the rough, and still had the lead after three rounds at Colonial.
After hitting his final drive Saturday into the thick grass on an incline right of the No. 18 fairway, Spieth recovered with an approach to eight feet before rolling in the birdie putt that gave him the solo lead again over playing partner Jason Kokrak in the final group at the the Charles Schwab Challenge.
Spieth had his second consecutive round of fourunder 66 to get to 15 under at Colonial. That put up one stroke ahead of Kokrak, who had matched him for the lead with four birdies in a six-hole stretch before a closing par in his round of 66.
“It’s never easy to win out here. It’s a Saturday,“Speith said. “It’s one of those where you would like to separate yourself and get a big lead, but then he’s going to go make those putts on the back nine, and he’s a player that plays with a lot of confidence. Colonial is a great setting for a good finish.”
The resurgent Spieth has the 54-hole lead for a PGA Tour best-matching fourth time this season, all in a span of 11 tournaments. That stretch includes his win at the Valero Texas Open, the first time he had won since the 2017 British Open.
They will play again in the final group Sunday, when Kokrak will be going against the local favorite who won Colonial in 2016 and has been the runner-up there two other times.
“Jordan birdied 13, the par three and I walked off the green, I was like, ‘Well, I’m definitely not the favorite here this week.’ He’s a Texas guy. I’m an Ohio guy. It’s fun,” Kokrak said. “The crowds are crazy. But it’s fun to have a local kid and play well and him be in the last group, and I’d be more than happy to spoil it for him tomorrow.”
The 36-year-old Kokrak got his first career victory in the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas in October. That was after he tied for third at Colonial last June, when the Charles Schwab Challenge was played without spectators while marking the PGA Tour’s resumption of competition.
Sergio Garcia, who was 21 when he got the first of his 11 PGA Tour victories at Colonial 20 years ago, was alone in third at 10 under after a 68 with one bogey.
Ian Poulter had the best round of the day with a 64 after getting started with four birdies in a five-hole stretch on the front nine, moving up 26 spots into a tie for fourth at eight under with Sebastian Munoz (70). Twotime heart transplant recipient Erik Compton was tied for sixth at seven under with Brendon Todd and Patton Kizzire.
Champions
Steve Stricker took advantage of Mike Weir’s backnine collapse to take the lead into the final round of the Senior PGA Championship at Tulsa, Okla.
Stricker shot a threeunder 67 in a stiff north breeze at Southern Hills for a one-stroke lead over Alex Cejka, the senior newcomer who beat Stricker in a playoff this month in the major Regions Tradition in Alabama.
Stricker was at six-under 204. Cejka shot 68.
Weir was eight under through 11 holes, then made a double bogey on 12, starting a stretch of giving back five shots in five holes. The Canadian left-hander finished with a 74, leaving him three strokes behind Stricker, but still in the final group Sunday.
Cejka, a four-time winner on the European Tour, won his only PGA Tour event in 2015 when he captured the Puerto Rico Open. He played his way onto the PGA Tour Champions as a Monday qualifier and was an alternate in Alabama before getting in the field and eventually winning the Tradition. He was second at the Chubb Classic in April.
LPGA
Ally Ewing made a fivefoot birdie putt on the parfive 18th hole to beat local favorite Danielle Kang 1 up and join three major champions in the LPGA Match Play semifinals at Las Vegas.
“It was a grind,” Ewing said after the long, hot day at Shadow Creek. “Danielle is a competitor and I knew it was going to be a match from the start.“
Ewing will face Ariya Jutanugarn, a 5-and-4 winner over Minjee Lee, on Sunday in the final event before the U.S. Women’s Open next week at Olympic in San Francisco.
“Really tired,” Jutanugarn said. “I haven’t played 36 holes for so long.”
In the other semifinal, Sophia Popov will play Shanshan Feng. Popov beat ANA Inspiration winner Patty Tavatanakit 3 and 2, and Feng finished off EunHee Ji with a birdie putt from more than 100 feet on the 19th hole.
Ewing, then known by her maiden name of McDonald, also held off Kang in late October in Florida at Reynolds Lake Oconee for her lone LPGA Tour victory. On Saturday with U.S. Solheim Cup captain Pat Hurst looking on, she rebounded on the par-five 18th after Kang pulled even with a birdie win on the par-3 17th.
“I knew if I gave Danielle any open door she would capitalize, as she did all day,” Ewing said. “Thankfully, I rolled that putt in and sealed it.”