Birdies help Thomas pass Rahm, Griffin at Zozo
Tiger-Mickelson pairing Sunday won’t have fans
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — With one good break and two good putts, Justin Thomas felt much better about his round of 5-under 67 on Saturday that gave him a one-shot lead over Jon Rahm in the Zozo Championship at Sherwood.
Thomas, who trailed by as many as two shots on the back nine, hit driver on the par-5 16th that clanged off a sycamore tree and dropped into the rough instead of he creek. He holed a 10-foot birdie putt to tie for the lead, and then followed with a 30-foot birdie putt up the slope on the par-3 17th.
Rahm finished some two hours earlier with a 63, which he figured at least would get him close to the lead and nearly kept him at the top until Thomas finished strong.
Lanto Griffin was leading the Nos. 2 and 3 players in the world until making two bogeys over the last four holes, one in the water on the par-3 15th, the other by going rough-to-rough on the closing hole.
Thomas was at 19-under 197 in another week of low scoring on the PGA Tour, at least for most players. It was another grind for Tiger Woods, the Zozo Championship winner last year in Japan, who could only manage a 71.
That led to what figures to be the greatest illustration of the strange times brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Woods will be playing the final round with Phil Mickelson, the top two attractions in golf, and there won’t be any fans on the course to watch them.
Mickelson opened with seven birdies in eight holes, and played the rest of the way in 2 over for a 67.
It will be the ninth time they play together in the final round on the PGA Tour, and the first time they have no bearing on the outcome. They were 16 shots out of the lead. The first time they played together on a Sunday was at the 1997 PGA Championship when they were eight shots behind and each shot 75.
Thomas is going for his third victory this year. Rahm can return to No. 1 in the world. Griffin is equally intriguing. He won his first PGA Tour title last year in Houston and showed for so much of Saturday that he doesn’t get caught up in much. Plus, his putting stroke has been pure all week.
Webb Simpson (67) and Bubba Watson (68) were among those four shots behind.
LPGA: In Greensboro, Ga., Ally McDonald held onto the lead in the LPGA Drive On Championship-Lake Reynolds Oconee, shooting a 3-under 69 to take a one-stroke advantage into the final round.
Winless on the LPGA Tour, the 27-yearold from Mississippi had a 13-under 203 total on the Great Waters Course. Bianca Pagdanganan of the Philippines was second after a 69.
Four strokes ahead of Pagdanganan with two holes to play, McDonald bogeyed the par-3 17th, while playing partner Pagdanganan closed with two birdies.