Gooch up by 3, seeking first win
Talor Gooch is playing some of his best golf in the toughest weather, even when he hasn’t been in the best position off the tee. Now the former Oklahoma State player is one round away from his first PGA Tour victory at the RSM Classic.
Gooch hit only six fairways Saturday at Sea Island in Georgia and still managed a 3-under 67, stretching his lead to three shots going into the final round.
“Any day like that is going to be a grind on the tour,” Gooch said. “To be frank, what you’re trying to do out there is avoid bogeys. It would have been easy today at times to just really get conservative and really be defensive. I was pleased I was able to stay aggressive at times.”
He was at 16-under 196, three shots clear of Seamus Power of Ireland
(67) and Sebastian Munoz of Colombia (69). Both have won on the PGA Tour. Power won the Barbasol Championship this summer the same week as the British Open, so it did not come with an invitation to the Masters. A victory Sunday will.
Tom Hoge, also in search of his first win, had a 67 and was alone in fourth, while Luke List (66), former RSM Classic winner Mackenzie Hughes of Canada (70) and Scott Stallings (69) were another shot behind.
Gooch pulled away with a short birdie putt at the par-5 15th hole and a 12footer for birdie at the par-3 17th. He missed from 25 feet on the final hole but could hardly be upset about holding himself together on a cloudy, chilly, windy day.
Gooch is playing as well as anyone in the fall who hasn’t won, with four finishes among the top 11 in his six tournaments. He now is on the cusp of breaking into the top 50 in the world.
EUROPEAN TOUR
Rory McIlroy was on the rocks late in his third round at the DP World Tour Championship.
Some cliff-edge improvisation, followed by a final-hole birdie, put him back in control.
Seeking a second straight victory to end his season, McIlroy delivered another wild finish at Dubai’s Jumeirah Golf Estates in shooting a 5under 67 that left the fourtime major champion with a one-stroke lead on Saturday.
Sam Horsfield bogeyed the 18th hole to shoot 69 and drop out of a share of the lead with McIlroy, who was 14 under overall in the season-closing event on the European Tour.
Collin Morikawa, still on course to become the first American to finish a season as the tour’s No. 1 player, was three shots back in a four-way share of fifth place after his round of 69.
LPGA TOUR
Nelly Korda and Jin Young Ko are part of a four-way tie for the lead going into the final round of the season, with nothing less than $1.5 million and LPGA player of the year on the line.
Ko started pouring in putts and ran off seven straight birdies that helped her make up a six-shot deficit and carried her to a 6-under 66. Korda followed by overpowering the par 5s on the back nine at Tiburon in Naples, Florida, for a 67 to get back in the game.
They were tied at the CME Group Tour Championship with Celine Boutier of France, who started with a four-shot lead and wasn’t hurt by her 72, and Nasa Hataoka of Japan who had the low round of a windblown Saturday at 64.
They were at 14-under 202, setting up a final day bursting with possibilities.
A dozen players were separated by two shots, a group that includes Lexi Thompson, who took bogey on the last hole for a 68 and still was right in the mix.
The winner gets $1.5 million, the largest prize in women’s golf.