Tringale, Landry share John Deere Classic lead
SILVIS, Illinois – Cameron Tringale and Andrew Landry topped the John Deere Classic leaderboard Saturday, with a half-dozen guys right behind them.
Winless on the PGA Tour, Tringale shot a 6-under 65 to match Landy at 16under 197 at TPC Deere Run. Landry had a 67. He won the Valero Texas Open last year for his lone tour title.
“Some golf courses you can leaderboard watch, but this is not one of them,” said Landry, with eight players within two shots of the lead. “You want to stay with your game plan.”
Bill Haas, the 2011 FedEx Cup champion, and Adam Schenk were a stroke back. Haas shot a 64, tying the best round of the day. Schenk had a 66.
Nick Watney also had a 64 to join 2016 winner Ryan Moore (65), Dylan Frattelli (65) and Vaughn Taylor (66) at 14 under. Chris Stroud (66), Lucas Glover (69) and Roger Sloan (67) were 13 under.
Second-round leader Jhonattan Vegas stumbled to a 76 and fell to 8 under.
Tringale bogeyed the first hole, but that only motivated him to post his lowest score of the tournament.
“The bogey on the first hole was a shot in the leg,” Tringale said. “But I was able to get out of there myself and birdie the next two, which gave me some momentum.”
Landry looked as if was in trouble after bogeys on the 11th and 12th holes. He then birdied Nos. 16 and 17 – only to miss a 10-foot putt that would’ve given him the outright lead.
Haas, who hasn’t won since 2015, was a passenger in a car last February when driver and friend, Mark Gibello, was killed on a winding road outside Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles. Gibello’s Ferrari clipped another car and slammed into a pole. Haas walked away largely unscathed.
Haas has struggled this season, finishing 48th or worse in each of his last six starts. He had seven birdies in a bogeyfree third round.
PGA Tour Champions
AKRON, Ohio – Scott Parel took advantage of Retief Goosen’s problems Saturday to take the third-round lead in the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship, the fourth of the PGA Tour Champions’ five major tournaments.
Seven strokes behind Goosen at the start of the day, Parel birdied two of the last three holes – holing a 30-footer on the par-4 18th – for 3-under 67 and a onestroke lead over Goosen at Firestone Country Club.
“I had quite few short ones on the front nine that I didn’t make,” Parel said. “I guess it all evens out.”
Goosen followed his opening rounds of 69 and 62 with a 75. The South African played the first four holes in 4 over, making a bogey on No. 1, a double bogey on No. 3 and another bogey on No. 4. He had two more bogeys in the back nine and made only one birdie in the round.
“I started off pretty scruffy, let me put it that way,” Goosen said. “It was a tough day out there for me. Everything seemed to go wrong. Get the wrong lies in the bunkers and all that kind of stuff. But I just kept fighting. I kept telling myself, ‘Stay in this thing, we still have another 18 tomorrow. It’s not the end of the world.’”
Parel had a 5-under 205 total. He won twice last year on the 50-and-over tour.
Steve Stricker (73), Kent Jones (70) and Brandt Jobe (73) were 3 under. Stricker is coming off a victory two weeks ago in the U.S. Senior Open at Norte Dame, and also won the major Regions Tradition in May.
LPGA Tour
SYLVANIA, Ohio – Sei Young Kim shot a 5-under 66 on Saturday in the Marathon Classic to take a one-stroke lead over Lexi Thompson into the final round.
Kim had seven birdies and two bogeys in gusty conditions to reach 16-under 197 at Highland Meadows Golf Club.
“It was a little tough to judge the distance,” Kim said. “Wind very gusty, on and off.”
The South Korean player won the LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship in May in California for her eighth tour title.
“Tomorrow, I play with Lexi Thompson, one of my favorite players,” Kim said. “I’m very exciting play with her. … I’m very confident right now. Play same as last three days.”
Thompson made a 20-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th for a 65. She won the ShopRite LPGA Classic last month in New Jersey for her 11th tour title.