Westwoodthrows downthegauntlet to Dechambeau
Sawgrass is set for another Super Sunday
Leewestwood maintained his lead at the Players Championship in Florida but faces another Sunday battle with Bryson Dechambeau.
The man from Worksop finished runner-up to Dechambeau at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last weekend, and holds a two-shot lead over the American after three rounds at Sawgrass.
Westwood, who is looking to become the first Englishman to win the event, has been rock solid so far and did not drop a shot in a four-under-par round of 68 to move to 13 under.
After shooting all pars on the front nine, the 47-yearold began to take his chances coming home with birdies at the 10th, 12th, 16th and, most memorably, the fearsome 17th.
Dechambeau carded a 67, making his move with hat-trick of birdies from the 10th to reach 11 under.
The 27-year-old praised Westwood, saying: “His driving is impeccable, his iron play is impeccable and he makes putts when he needs to.
“Fortunately for me last week, I was able to get the job done, and I think tomorrow is going to be an incredible battle.”
The round of the day came from American Justin Thomas, who carded an eight-under 64 to move to 10 under par.
He birdied the first four holes while the highlight was an eagle at 16.
Thomas said: “I wish all rounds were that easy.
“I hit the ball beautifully, I drove it well. I just know that I have to stay patient out here because you can make a lot of birdies.”
Thomas is tied with fellow American Doug Ghim, while Paul Casey is the second Englishman on the leaderboard a further shot back after a second consecutive 67.
He hit an eagle at the second and went out in 31, before three birdies and three bogeys on the way home.
“Cracking front nine, wasn’t it?” said Casey.
“And then I messed things up a little bit on the back nine, but that’s the way this golf course is. You’re always on the hairy edge of disaster.”
Spaniard Jon Rahm and American Brian Harman also sit on nine under, while England’s Matt Fitzpatrick, who began the day in second, is among a group on eight under following a disappointing 72.
The two remaining Scots in the field had contrasting days.
Russell Knox maintained his steady performance with a 72 to sit on even par.
But Martin Laird had another slack round, shooting 76 to be in the clubhouse at four over par.
Meanwhile, Rory Mcilroy has admitted that trying to add more length to his game, partly influenced by Dechambeau’s dominant US Open triumph, has led to his current swing problems.
Mcilroy missed the cut in defence of his Players
Championship title after rounds of 79 and 75 at TPC Sawgrass.
“Probably the swing issues and where it all stems from, probably like October last year,” Mcilroy said.
“I was doing a little bit of speed training, and started getting sucked into that stuff.
“My swing got flat, long, and too rotational.
“Obviously I added some speed and am hitting the ball longer, but what that did to my swing probably wasn’t a good thing, so I’m sort of fighting to get out of that.”
Asked why, as one of the longest players on Tour anyway, he had taken that approach, Mcilroy added: “I think a lot of people did.
“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t anything to do with what Bryson did at the US Open.”
The odds are still stacked against Glasgow Warriors in their bid for a topthree finish in their PRO14 Conference, despite their 30-25 win over the Ospreys on Friday night.
Even winning their two remaining games might not be enough for them to get into those Champions Cup places ahead of the Welsh side, who have just one game left but have a seven-point lead over Danny Wilson’s team.
Yet whatever happens, one thing was made crystal clear in that victory at a rainy Scotstoun – the Warriors’ future is in extremely safe hands.
The 20-year-old full-back Ollie Smith, winger Rufus Mclean, 21, and 19-yearold scrum-half Jamie Dobie have all emerged as key players in the Glasgow back line in recent weeks, but the real star has been Ross Thompson.
The 21-year-old stand-off was making just his sixth appearance on Friday, but played with a composure way beyond his years. It was a must-win game for the Warriors, and the pressure grew all the greater when they fell 12-0 behind. But, as he explained after he had accepted his player-of-the-match award, Thompson appears to thrive on pressure.
“I love it,” he said. “It’s a big step up, but that’s the level I want to play at.
“I don’t mind getting chucked in at the deep end, and hopefully I’ll float and not sink. Pressure goal-kicking and stuff like that, I really enjoy it.”
The 100% goal-kicking performance was impressive enough, but Thompson’s work in open play really impressed, with his kick through for Mclean’s try being the standout moment of the game. And all this from a player whose first professional contract, signed last month, does not kick in until the summer.
“I’m really looking forward, having signed my first professional contract, to kick on next season and compete for the jersey,” he added. “I want to play as much professional rugby as possible, both at the tail end of this season and looking forward to next season as well.”
With Scotland cap Duncan Weir and Argentina international Domingo Miotti both coming to Scotstoun in the summer, Thompson will have a lot of competition for that No 10 jersey. However, he is set to hold on to it for the remaining games, against Dragons next Sunday, then Benetton on Saturday 27th.
Stuart Hogg know s discipline is increasingly crucial in deciding who wins rugby Test matches.
In this year’s Six Nations, many games have hinged on one side getting on the wrong side of the referee.
Take Scotland’s two games. In the historic win against England the Auld Enemy constantly fell foul of the official, while against Wales last time out it was the Scots who were judged guilty of persistent infringements.
Wi t h Ire l a n d v i s i t i n g BT Murrayfield today, the Scotland skipper says: “The thing we’ve talked about is trusting our ability as individuals and as a team. Trust that you can do your role and trust that the man next to you is going to do his.
“You want to be in a situation this afternoon once the game’s finished that we have done all our basic things incredibly well and we’ve not had to bring the referee into play at all.
“At times we’ve let ourselves down by our ill-discipline.
“Giving away one penalty’s fine, giving away two you start to question it, giving away three or four is just unacceptable.
“But we’ve got strategies now to overcome that and we are in a better place because of it.
“I’d like to think we’ll not be making the same mistakes again.”
Today’s man in the middle is Romain Poite who has drawn the ire of the Scottish fans with some of his decisions in previous encounters.
Indeed, one of Ho g g ’ s predecessors in the captain’s armband, Greig Laidlaw, said the Frenchman “doesn’t seem to like us” after an incident in this fixture two years ago that saw
Hogg have to leave the field injured.
“As with all referees, you have to try and get on their good side. It all depends on the manner in which you come across,” says the full-back.
“Just as in life, if you’re argumentative or confront them in the wrong way, they’re not going to listen to you.
“That’s something I’ve learned massively over the last year. I’ve watched a huge amount of different sports as well.
“You speak to umpires or referees – i t ’s all about building relationships. I’ve got a lot of respect for referees because they’ve not got an easy job.
“We need to make his job easier by just making sure we do all the basics really well, not giving him opportunities to penalise us, and making sure we don’t get on the wrong side of him.
“It’s a big challenge, it’s even more challenging when there is no crowd because you hear a lot more, but if we get things right in this game we’ll be in a good place.”
Coach Gregor Townsend has taken the bold step of not naming cover for star stand- off Finn Russell on the bench, meaning Hogg will step in as playmaker should anything u n t ow a rd happen to the talismanic 10.
“I’d love to say that I stand and watch Finn Russell and see how to play 10 but there’s nobody in the world who can implement what he does.
“I’ve tried to watch training back and review how he’s been going but I just can’t do what he does so I’m not even going to try.
“For us today to be in with the best chance of winning we need Finn Russell on the money, for the forwards to give him dominance and get him on the front foot, and if I have to step in at 10 I’m more than happy to do whatever’s best for the team.
“In the Wales game in the autumn I played 10 for about 25 minutes and then against England covered 10 when Finn was in the bin.
“There were squeaky- bum moments but I believe in my ability to perform and make sure we’re driving the team around.”