McIlroy leads by one in HSBC
Rory McIlroy spun a wedge down to 3 feet for birdie on his final hole for a clean card at a 5-underpar 67, giving him a oneshot lead over Louis Oosthuizen on a Saturday of big runs and ugly collapses in the HSBC Champions in Shanghai.
Oosthuizen opened with five consecutive birdies and closed with two birdies in his last three holes for a 65.
McIlroy was at 15-under 201 as he goes for his fourth victory of the year and tries to move a little closer to the No. 1 ranking.
Li Haotong of China had a robust crowd going early with five birdies through six holes to take the lead, only to shoot 42 on the back nine for a 74 that knocked him out of contention.
McIlroy had no such troubles and was rarely in trouble aside from an 8foot par save on the opening hole and a 6-footer for par after hitting wedge just short into the bunker.
He didn’t miss a fairway from the third hole until the par-5 18th, where he had to play short of the water before hitting a towering lob wedge that caught the ridge with enough spin to roll back toward the cup.
Defending champion Xander Schauffele felt a little better in his battle to recover from the flu, and it showed early when he opened with three straight birdies and missed an 8-foot putt that would have been four in a row. He overcame a few mistakes around the turn and finished with three consecutive birdies for a 68 to finish two off the lead.
This is the only World Golf Championships event where no one has won back-to-back, and Schauffele is in the best shape to try to keep the WGCs in American hands for the eighth straight time.
He was tied at 13-under with Matt Fitzpatrick (70), who kept his bogeyfree streak going with a 70-foot par putt on the fifth hole, only to miss a 4-foot par putt on the seventh hole, his first bogey since the first hole of the tournament.
PGA TOUR
Harry Higgs rebounded from his first bogey of the week to take a two-stroke lead in the PGA Tour’s inaugural Bermuda Championship in Southampton.
After dropping a stroke on the par-4 14th at hilly Port Royal, Higgs birdied the par-3 16th and par-4 18th for his second 6-under 65 in a row. He had a 17-under 196 total.
Bryson DeChambeau’s teammate at SMU, Higgs is making his sixth start of his rookie season after winning on the Korn Ferry Tour and finishing fifth on the developmental tour’s regular-season points list to earn PGA Tour card.
Brendon Todd, tied for the second-round lead with Higgs and Scottie Scheffler, was second after a 67. Bo Hoag and Brian Gay were 14-under. Hoag had his second 64 in three days, and Gay shot his second 65 in a row.
LPGA TOUR
Defending champion Nelly Korda shot a 7under 65 to take a threestroke lead after the third round of the LPGA Swinging Skirts in Taipei, Taiwan.
Korda, who started the round one stroke back of overnight leader Mi Jung Hur, carded seven birdies at the par-72 Miramar Golf Country Club to finish at 18-under 198, three strokes ahead of Minjee Lee, who shot a 67.
Lee briefly moved into a tie with Korda after backto-back birdies on the 11th and 12th. But Korda quickly regained the lead with a birdie of her own on the par-5 12th.
Caroline Masson shot 66 and was in third place, four strokes behind.