Rahm leads by 3 over Homa at Genesis; Tiger fires 67
Jon Rahm kept mistakes off his card Saturday at Riviera, the difference in allowing him to post a 6-under 65 and start to pull away from the field at the Genesis Invitational.
Tiger Woods lost ground, too, even if he looked good doing it. Woods had a tap-in eagle on his way to a 67, his lowest Saturday round in an official event since he won the Zozo Championship in Japan in the fall of 2019. Even so, he was 12 shots back.
Rahm capped off his bogey-free day with a 25-foot birdie putt that gave him a three-shot lead over Max Homa, who had a share of the lead until consecutive bogeys from the bunker along the back nine. He had a 69.
Keith Mitchell made his only bogey on the final hole and had a 69 to fall four behind. The only other player within five shots was Patrick Cantlay (68).
Rahm has been the best player in golf over the past six months. Dating to the BMW PGA Championship on the European tour, he has finished among the top 10 in nine consecutive tournaments, winning four of them.
All that's left is a return to No. 1 in the world, and he can do that with a victory Sunday.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Bernhard Langer remained in position to tie Hale Irwin’s PGA Tour Champions victory record of 45, shooting a 2-under 70 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the Chubb Classic in Naples, Fla.
The 65-year-old Langer, the winner last year, had a 10-under 134 total on Tiburon Golf Club’s Black Course after bettering his age Friday with a 64.
Charles Schwab Cup winner Steven Alker (65) was a stroke back with Jerry Kelly (66), Dicky Pride (70) and Paul Goydos (71).
At 8 under, two shots back, were Fred Couples, who shot 69 with bogeys at two par 5s, and Steve Stricker (69), who is seeking a record fourth consecutive PGA Tour Champions victory.
Langer already is the oldest winner in PGA Tour Champions history, having won the TimberTech Championship last fall after his 65th birthday.
“To win with this kind of leaderboard, you’ve got to play a near-flawless round of golf, I think,” Langer said. “You’ve got to have a pretty low score, one of the lowest scores tomorrow, and that’s got to be my goal.”
DP WORLD TOUR
Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark moved a step closer to his seventh European Tour after he shot an 8-under 64 to take a twostroke lead at Thailand Classic on Saturday.
Olesen made eight birdies in a bogey-free third round at Amata Spring Country Club to reach 18-under 198 overall, two shots in front of countryman Nicolai Hojgaard and Germany’s Yannik Paul.
Joost Luiten of the Netherlands was a further shot back.
Hojggard had seven birdies and an eagle.