Finau, Pendrith share four-shot lead in Detroit
Tony Finau shot a 7-under-par 65 on Saturday to match Taylor Pendrith at 21-under 195 with a round left in the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit.
The 3M Open winner last week in Minnesota, Finau is trying to become the first to win consecutive regular-season tournaments in three years.
A stroke a ahead entering the round, Pendrith birdied four of the last five holes for a 66.
Rookie of the Year front-runner Cameron Young (65) was four strokes back. He matched the Detroit Golf Club record with a 63 on Friday.
Stephan Jaeger was five shots back after a 65.
Patrick Cantlay ,No.4 in the world ranking, was six shots behind after a 66.
Pendrith was the second-round leader after setting the tournament 36-hole record at 15under 129.
The 31-year-old PGA Tour rookie from Canada missed nearly four months this year with a broken rib,.
The duel in Detroit seemed like match play with Pendrith and Finau taking turns pulling and falling into ties and moving ahead.
Pendrith opened with 6-foot birdie putt to take a two-shot lead. Finau pulled within a stroke on the next hole, making a 20-foot chip from the greenside rough for birdie. “Stay hot, Tony!” a fan shouted.
Pendrith, who had his share of fans back home in Ontario, looked cool as calm as he bumped fists with two young boys as he walked to the third tee.
Finau pulled into the lead with a 15-foot putt at No. 3, then Pendrith pulled his 3-foot putt to miss an opportunity to stay ahead.
Pendrith’s errant tee shot to the left on the par-5 631-yard fourth hole put him in the No. 6 greenside rough, leaving him behind several towering tees in his path to the green. He he hit a shot 104 yards to the hole, an approach within 16 feet and made the putt to restore his one-stroke lead.
Pendrith took a twostroke lead at No. 6, making a 7-foot putt that curled in the right side.
Finau equaled Pendrith at 18 under at the turn after making birdies at Nos. 7 and 8 while Pendrith missed a 1-foot putt and make bogey on the ninth hole.
Pendrith ended up behind a tree again at No. 13, forcing him to chip back onto the fairway and leading to a bogey that dropped him him into a second-place tie with Young.
Finau took a two-shot cushion with an 8-foot birdie putt at 14.
Pendrith, who won twice on PGA Tour Canada, bounced back from his second bogey with three straight birdies to pull back into a tie with two holes to play.
Finau went ahead at 17 with a birdie, and Pendrith tied it again with a birdie on the 54th hole.
If Finau can outlast the competition to win Sunday, he will be the first to win two straight regularseason events since since Brendon Todd in 2019.xxx
WOMEN’S SCOTTISH
Lydia Ko was joined by Celine Boutier at the top of the leaderboard after day three of the Women’s Scottish Open in Irvine.
France’s Boutier shot a 5-under 67 — five birdies on the front nine — to make up four shots on the New Zealander, who could manage only a 1under 71.
“I really like links golf and playing in windy conditions. I feel like my ball flight is pretty low and so I never really have trouble keeping it down which is an advantage here because the ball doesn’t get affected as much,” Boutier said.
“And I had some good memories of playing well in the past so that’s always helpful.”
Ko offset three bogeys with a birdie finish at Dundonald Links.
“My irons were not as sharp so I don’t think I set myself up for as many easier kind of 15 feet and birdie opportunities,” she said. “I know it wasn’t the best golf I’ve played, but I was able to scramble around. I don’t think it was as bad as I think, and I think because I had two really low rounds it makes me compare more to the past couple days.”
Canada’s Maude-Aimee Leblanc started and finished with birdies for a 66 which lifted her to second place alongside Germany’s Leonie Harm at 14-under, one shot off the lead. Eun-Hee Ji of South Korea (70) and Lilia Vu of the United States (71) were two off the lead going into the last round.
EUROPEAN TOUR
Sean Crocker’s chip-in eagle on the par-5 18th hole gave him a twostroke lead headed into the final round at the Hero Open in St. Andrews, Scotland.
The American, bidding for his first European tour title, finished at 3-under 69 to keep Jens Dantorp of Sweden two shots behind after three rounds at Fairmont St. Andrews. Crocker, who started the day with a one-shot lead, moved to 18-under for the tournament as he goes for a wire-to-wire win. Dantorp is alone in second after a bogey-free 69.