San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
BIRDIE BINGE
Russell Henley takes charge with a three-shot lead at the CJ Cup in North Las Vegas.
Russell Henley left everyone in his wake with three straight birdies to start the back nine, pivotal in turning a four-shot deficit into a three-shot lead by the end of the day in the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek in North Las Vegas.
He is going for his fourth PGA Tour victory.
He has never had a lead this large with 18 holes to play.
And what Saturday made him realize was how quickly it can turn around at Shadow Creek — for him and the four players immediately behind him.
“I’ve got to just keep my head down and play a good round for me,” Henley said after a 5-under 67. “There’s so much golf to be played. This is just a break we’re taking, and I’m just going to try to keep doing it.”
He did enough on another still, quiet, warm day. And he had plenty of help from the other two players in his group.
San Diego’s Xander Schauffele, who had a three-shot lead going into the weekend, had a pair of late bogeys and failed to capitalize on the par 5s in his round of 74.
Tyrrell Hatton didn’t make a birdie until the final hole in a 73. Of the top 25 players, they were the only two who shot over par.
Henley’s putting has been a great fit for the firm, glass-like greens of Shadow Creek. He leads the field in the most important putting category, and it has carried him to only the second 54hole lead of his PGA Tour career. He was at 15-under 201. Lanto Griffin, who won his first PGA Tour event a year ago at the Houston Open, found the water off the tee on the par-5 18th and made bogey and still managed a 66.
He was at 12-under 204 along with Talor Gooch (69), Jason Kokrak (68) and Schauffele, still in the mix despite a sloppy Saturday.
Hatton was in the group five shots behind with Justin Thomas (68) and Jason Day, who had a 66 as the former world No. 1 tries to end more than two years without a victory.
Henley started to close the gap when he got up-and-down from a bunker in front of the green on the par-5 seventh, and Schauffele missed the green on the par-3 eighth and took bogey.
And when they made the turn, Henley took off.
Schauffele was hopeful of at least finishing his round at par, and that didn’t go his way, either.
He went long on the par-3 17th into rough so deep he could barely keep it on the green, leading to his fourth bogey. And he went just over the back of the 18th green in two, again in rough facing a downhill chip that he rolled all the way to the fringe.
Schauffele likes to talk about “strokes gained attitude,” and it was a struggle for him with rounds that stretching close to six hours at Shadow Creek because of deep rough, limited marshals and plenty of searching.
Sung Kang knows the feeling. He took an 11 on the par-4 second hole, which included two lost balls when he spent more than three minutes looking and came up empty. He also hit a few backward trying to escape trouble. Nothing worked.
Schauffele wasn’t that bad. It just felt like it.
“I was trying to figure out what was worse, the pace of play or my quality of golf,” he said.
“It was kind of a tie today. Not to be a sour person, but just one of those days. Today was my bad day for the week. Got it out of the way before (today). I guess I’m in a familiar place being three back now.”
Schauffele has been trailing going into the final round in all four of his PGA Tour victories.
Henley’s last victory was in 2017 at the Houston Open, where he came from four shots behind in the final round.
Now he has a cushion at Shadow Creek, and a hot putter on putting surfaces he loves.
Elsewhere
The other left-handed, 50-yearold former Masters champion was on top after a long at The Country Club of Virginia in Richmond.
While Phil Mickelson, a San Diego native, got most of the attention going into the Dominion Energy Charity Classic as he tries to open his senior career with consecutive victories, Mike Weir was a little better on a 36-hole day after rain washed out play Friday. The Canadian shot 68-63 to reach 13 under and take a three-stroke lead over Mickelson into the final round.
Mickelson shot 68-66. He won his PGA Tour Champions debut at Ozarks National in August.
“Having carts makes playing 36 a lot easier,” Mickelson said. “I certainly enjoyed the day and don’t feel all beat up like we normally would. I thought it went OK. I let a lot of shots go and I’m going to go work on it now, but I’m in a good position heading into (today) and hopefully I’ll put together a good round.”
• England’s Matt Wallace opened up a three-stroke lead after the third round of the Scottish Championship on the European Tour after shooting 6-under 66 in Fife, Scotland.
Wallace birdied three of his last five holes to complete a bogey-free round at Fairmont St. Andrews and pull clear of countryman Garrick Porteous, who also shot 66 in the next-to-last group.