Strong finish gives Finau 3-shot lead at HSBC
Tony Finau struggled for so much of Saturday in the HSBC Champions in Shanghai that he was hopeful of a strong finish to carry some momentum into the final round.
He got much more than he imagined.
Finau closed with three consecutive birdies for a 2-under-par 70 and kept his three-shot lead because of a late collapse by Justin Rose, who played the final two holes in five more shots than Finau required.
“There was no need to panic,” Finau said. “Just play some good golf coming down the stretch, and I was able to do that.”
Finau was at 13-under 203 and led by three over Rose, Masters champion Patrick Reed and Xander Schauffele.
Finau was on the verge of falling three shots behind on the 16th hole after Rose had pitched to within three feet for a birdie, and Finau hit wedge that came up well short. He rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt from off the green to stay within two shots, hit a tee shot that rolled to within 18 inches of the cup for a short birdie on the par-3 17th, and then holed a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th.
Rose wasted a great round with a sloppy finish and had to settle for a 70.
He was two shots ahead going to the 17th when his tee shot went off the side of a hill and into a hazard, leading to double bogey. Then, his 4-iron to the par-5 18th was too far right and tumbled down the hill and into the water. He had a chance to save par until missing a 4-foot putt.
“Three back going into [Sunday], which is not exactly how it looked like it was going to be with a couple holes to play,” Rose said. “There are three guys at 10 under who are all going to be chasing pretty hard, but nothing to lose [Sunday]. It’s going to take a good round. I’m playing well, feeling good. Just got to put that last couple holes behind me and come out a little bit angry [Sunday].”
Reed didn’t make a par over the last six holes, with four birdies and two bogeys. He missed a 15-foot eagle chance on the reachable par-4 16th, and then peeled his tee shot to the right down the slope into the hazard on the 17th to make bogey. A short birdie on the 18th gave him a 70.
But the real collapse came from Rose, who had led since a short birdie on the seventh hole and appeared to be in complete control of his game.
And then it was gone. His double bogey on the 17th hole sent him from a two-shot lead to a one-shot deficit, and then he compounded it with another mistake on the 18th. Rose played the final two holes at Sheshan International in 11 shots compared to Finau’s six.
Schauffele rolled in a long birdie putt on the 16th and momentum until his second shot went into the water on the 18th, though he scrambled for par for a 69.
Andrew Putnam, playing in his first World Golf Championship, had a 67 and was five shots behind, along with Tommy Fleetwood (72). Fleetwood was two shots behind until he chopped up the par-5 14th hole, three-putting from 12 feet for a triple bogey.
Finau’s only victory was in 2016 at the Puerto Rico Open, an event held opposite the Match Play in Texas. He had a three-shot lead going into the weekend, which was gone when he missed a short par putt on the fifth hole and failed to convert a 5-foot birdie putt on No. 7 as Rose was making his move.
PGA TOUR
Cameron Champ shot an 8-under 64 to open a four-stroke lead in the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi.
Champ has held at least a share of the lead all three days at Country Club of Jackson, opening with a 65 and shooting a 70 on Friday. Averaging a field-best 306.7 yards off the tee, the 23-year-old PGA Tour rookie has hit 44 of 54 greens in regulation. On Saturday, he hit 15 of 18 and had just 25 putts.
Corey Conners was second, matching Champ with a 64 to get to 13-under. D.J. Trahan, the
2006 winner when the event was the Southern Farm Bureau Classic, was five strokes back with Shawn Stefani. Trahan shot 67, and Stefani had a 68.
LPGA TOUR
Nelly Korda shot a 3-under 69 to share the lead with Wei-Ling Hsu after three rounds of the LPGA Taiwan Championship in Taoyuan City. Playing in front of a home crowd, Hsu finished with an even-72 after shooting 68 and 67 in the first two rounds.
Korda and Hsu have a total of 9-under 207 and both will be looking for their first LPGA titles in Sunday’s final round.