Lucas Glover and Billy Horschel began the Wyndham Championship as lengthy photographs to advance to the PGA Tour postseason. Now, they’ve cause to consider profitable.
Glover had nice management on Saturday, hitting each fairway and lacking just one inexperienced, on his approach to an 8-under 62. That gave him a share of the lead with Horschel, who fought his swing in direction of the tip and nonetheless managed a 63.
They had been at 18-under 192, one shot forward of 36-hole chief Russell Henley. He rolled in a sweeping birdie putt from simply inside 30 toes on the final gap for a 65.
The Wyndham Championship is the ultimate PGA Tour occasion earlier than the profitable postseason, and solely the highest 70 advance to the FedEx Cup playoffs subsequent week in Memphis, Tennessee. That’s a change from earlier years, when the highest 125 made the postseason.
Glover got here into Sedgefield Country Club at No. 112 and with out a win in additional than two years. But he has been constructing so far, with three finishes of sixth or higher in his final 4 tournaments, and he put it collectively on a heat, sunny day that started to dry out the course.
He completed with birdies on his final two holes, a wedge that landed close to the pin and settled 2 toes away on the seventeenth, and a 6-foot birdie putt on the 18th gap.
Horschel, who’s No. 119 within the standings, started his day below a tree proper of the primary fairway. He chopped out throughout the golf green into tough, used the contour of the inexperienced to run a wedge into 8 toes and escaped with par.
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He went on to a bogey-free spherical and scores of 62-63 that give him an opportunity to increase his season, having already booked a visit to the Bahamas along with his household subsequent week.
Billy Horschel of the United States putts on the 18th inexperienced throughout the third spherical of the Wyndham Championship.
| Photo Credit:
Logan Whitton/Getty Images through AFP
Billy Horschel of the United States putts on the 18th inexperienced throughout the third spherical of the Wyndham Championship.
| Photo Credit:
Logan Whitton/Getty Images through AFP
Justin Thomas additionally stayed within the combine, at the least for his season. He posted a 66 that moved him right into a tie for eleventh, and whereas the nine-shot deficit is probably going an excessive amount of floor to make up, he’s on the verge of sneaking into the highest 70 to increase his season.
Thomas has by no means missed the postseason since his rookie season in 2015. Even extra is at stake this yr. He is into consideration as a captain’s decide for the Ryder Cup, and it might make such a selection harder if he doesn’t have a spot to play the following three weeks.
“It’s a different kind of nerves,” Thomas stated. “It’s a lot harder than trying to win a golf tournament, in my opinion. I think when you’re trying to win a tournament you’re there and if you don’t win it’s a bummer, but you still had a great week. If I just don’t get it done for what I need to get done this week, then it sucks and my year’s over.”
Byeong Hun An, already a lock for the postseason, had a 65 and was three photographs behind. Stephen Jaeger (64) was at 13-under 197, the one different participant inside 5 of the co-leaders.
Horschel and Glover are coping with setbacks of various varieties. Glover had been working by means of a spell of the yips when he switched to an extended putter on the Memorial, the model that has labored nicely for Adam Scott.
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He missed a 2-foot putt in a playoff with a U.S. Open spot at stake in a qualifier, however he has been discovering his groove in latest weeks.
“It’s nice to feel you can make all your tap-ins for a change,” Glover stated with amusing. “I was down to two options, the long one or left-handed. … This seemed to work. It’s been streaky, but I like the freedom it’s given me mentally.”
Horschel has been struggling along with his swing all yr, and it reached a low level when he shot an 84 on the Memorial and held again tears chatting with the media in regards to the state of his recreation. Horschel has but to register a prime 10 in stroke play this yr.
Suddenly, he feels as if he is aware of the place the ball goes, and his confidence was rising even after just a few free swings took him out of birdie possibilities towards the tip.
“I had really good control, really good tempo until the last two holes,” Horschel stated.
Horschel and Glover every may advance to the postseason with a runner-up end, although each have a much bigger purpose they’re chasing.
Scoring has been so good that Henley shot 65 and will barely sustain. Even so, he’s proper there at a match that he felt acquired away from him two years in the past.
“You’re going to get lapped if you’re just playing for par out here,” Henley stated.