San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Johnson, Putnam tied at St. Jude
Andrew Putnam will be playing in the last group on Sunday for the first time looking for his first PGA Tour victory.
His playing partner will be Dustin Johnson, who’s already won once this year and needs his 18th career victory to reclaim his spot as the world’s top-ranked golfer. No pressure at all.
“It’s going to feel a little different than the typical Sunday round of golf, but I’m excited for it,” Putnam said. “I’ve earned my way here and I feel like it’s going to be a fun day. See what happens.”
Putnam matched the best round of his short PGA Tour career Saturday with a 6-under 64 and tied Johnson atop the leaderboard at the St.
Jude Classic in Memphis, Tennessee. Johnson had a 65 to match Putnam at 15-under 195 and said he’s in great position going into Sunday.
“I can kind of control my own destiny,” Johnson said. “If I go out and play really good golf, probably going to win. If I don’t, I’m sure Andrew’s going to beat me. He’s playing really good right now. It’s pretty simple.”
A two-time winner on the Web.com Tour, Putnam birdied No. 18 to tie up Johnson once again after a bogey-free round and consecutive 64s. Putnam, who joined the tour in 2015, has had only one bogey through 54 holes here.
“I’m happy with everything I’ve been doing,” said Putnam, 29, from Washington.
Stewart Cink, who had a hole-in-one on No. 8, matched his low round of the year with a 64 to get to 10 under.
Ricky Werenski got to 10 under but bogeyed No. 18 to finish with a 68. He was tied with Bryan Wesley (69) at 9 under. Brandt Snedeker (70) was at 7 under.
Johnson and Putnam, a 29-year-old from Washington with a pair of Top 10s this year on tour, quickly turned the third round at TPC Southwind into a two-man race.
PGA Tour Champions: Tom Lehman shot a 7under 65 on Saturday to take a two-shot lead into the final round of the Principal Charity Classic in Des Moines, Iowa.
Lehman eagled the par-5 eighth and played a 10-hole stretch in 7 under before dropping a stroke on the par-4 18th. He had a 13-under 131 total, the best two-round score at Wakonda Club.
Curtis Cup: Kristen Gillman won two more matches and the United States opened a 9-3 lead over Britain and Ireland at Quaker Ridge. Gillman, the 20-year-old University of Alabama star from Austin, Texas, improved to 4-0 and helped the Americans move within 1½ points of regaining the cup they lost in 2016 at Dun Laoghaire in Ireland.