Thomas wields hot putter, extends Sony Open lead

Birdie putt on final hole results in seven-shot edge

HONOLULU — Justin Thomas made a 15-foot birdie putt on his final hole to tie the 54-hole record on the PGA Tour and build a seven-shot lead Saturday at the Sony Open.

No one has ever lost a PGA Tour event with a seven-shot lead, and Thomas has given no indication that will change.

His goal was to not drop any shots on another calm day at Waialae, and he wound up stretching his lead as he goes for a sweep of Hawaii. That last birdie putt gave Thomas a 5-under 65 and put him at 22-under 188, tying the mark Steve Stricker set at the 2010 John Deere Classic.

Thomas got into the record book with an eagle on his last hole in each of the previous two rounds — a 59 on Thursday, and the 36-hole scoring record Friday. This time, his second shot into the par-5 18th clipped a palm frond and came up well short in the fairway.

EUROPEAN PGA — At Johannesburg, England’s Graeme Storm shot a 5-under 67 to take a three-stroke leader over second-ranked Rory McIlroy into the final round of the SA Open.

Storm had five birdies and extended his bogey-free run to 41 holes. He was at 17-under 199 at Glendower and in position for his second European Tour title after winning the French Open in 2007.

CHALLENGE SEASON — At Orlando, Fla., former NBA star Ray Allen took the celebrity lead in the Diamond Resorts Invitational, and PGA Tour Champions player Woody Austin remained on top in the professional competition.

Allen shot a 4-under 67, scoring 30 points under the modified Stableford scoring system to push his two-day total to 50.

Allen had eight birdies and four bogeys, with a birdie worth three points, a par one point and a bogey zero points.

Former pitcher Mark Mulder was three points back.