Fowler birdies last three holes to lead at Phoenix
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Rickie Fowler birdied the last three holes to take the lead in the Waste Management Phoenix Open, overcoming a sluggish start in front of the largest crowd in golf history.
Justin Thomas went the other way, wasting a brilliant opening run with another late meltdown.
Fowler shot a 4-under 67 on Saturday to reach 14-under 199 with a round left at TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course, the fanfriendly layout packed with an estimated 216,818 fans on an 80-degree afternoon.
“I really made some good swings coming in,” Fowler said. “I just wasn’t getting the ball close enough and finally on the last few there I was able to get some good looks.”
The fourth-ranked Thomas, the PGA Tour player of the year after winning five times last season, birdied the first six holes to take the lead. But instead of making a run at his second sub-60 round in a little over a year, Thomas had to fight for an even-par 71 that left him eight shots back. He dropped six strokes in a three-hole stretch, making a bogey on the par-4 14th, a triple bogey on the par-5 15th and a double bogey on the rowdy par-3 16th. On Thursday in the first round, he had a double bogey on 16 and a bogey on 17.
Thomas left the course without speaking to the media.
Former Arizona State players Jon Rahm and Chez Reavie were a stroke back along with Bryson DeChambeau. Phil Mickelson was two shots behind, another former Sun Devils star riding the crowd support.
“It means a lot to me,” Mickelson said. “It’s very helpful and very important to my success. I think it’s been a big instrument in allowing me to get into the round and play and have fun and get out of the technical side.”
The crowd pushed the week total to 654,906, just short of the record of 655,434 set last year.
Fowler is trying to finally win in the desert. He finished a shot behind Hunter Mahan in 2010, lost to Hideki Matsuyama on the fourth extra hole in 2016, and tied for fourth last year.
“It’s just a matter of time,” Fowler said. “It would just be nice if it was sooner rather than later.”
Rahm had a 65, playing alongside Mickelson and Schauffele for the third straight day. The 23-year-old Spaniard had five birdies in a seven-hole stretch on the back nine. He won two weeks ago in the California desert at La Quinta to jump to No. 2 in the world.
Reavie birdied the final two holes for a 67.
Mickelson birdied the final two holes for a 66. He’s making his record-tying 29th start in the event he won in 1996, 2005 and 2013.
Xander Schauffele and Daniel Berger also were 12 under. Schauffele shot 66, and Berger had a 68.
Maybank Championship:
Lee Westwood couldn’t emulate his second-round 62, but did enough Saturday to stay in contention Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, after shooting a 70 to trail the leaders by three strokes.
The Englishman managed only three birdies in comparison to his mammoth 11 on Friday.
Jorge Campillo of Spain and Dylan Frittelli of South Africa are the joint leaders after both shot 66s for 15 under overall at the European Tour event.
“I had a few tough holes, but I managed to make the putts so overall I played solid,” Campillo said.
Henrik Stenson (73) and defending champion Fabrizio Zanotti (75) trail the leaders by 11 shots.
It was a day of low scores, with six golfers — including Campillo — firing an eagle on the par-5 first hole.
With 18 golfers separated by only three shots at the top, competition will be rife on Sunday.
Khalin Joshi of India and Berry Henson of the United States trail the leaders by one shot after matching 65s. Henson is a self-proclaimed “Mr. Sunday” after shooting 65 and 64 at the Singapore Open and Myanmar Open, respectively, and will be out for another low score.
Overnight leaders Phachara Khongwatmai (70) and Nino Bertasio (70) are 13 under, along with Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand (67), Japanese duo Hideto Tanihara (68) and Ryo Ishikawa (63) and Scotland’s Marc Warren (69).
Vic Open: Australian Minjee Lee shot a 2-over 75 Saturday and held on to a onestroke lead in Barwon Heads, Australia, in the first tournament of the year on the Ladies European Tour.
Lee had a three-round total of 7-under 212, one better than fellow Australian Karis Davidson, who shot 67 Saturday.
Cheyenne Woods, niece of Tiger Woods, rebounded from a second-round 80 to shoot 69 and was five strokes behind Lee and tied for fifth.