



Hideki Matsuyama felt his lower back starting to act up. On a whim, he decided to put a new putter in his bag for the start of the PGA Tour postseason. And now the Japanese star has a five-shot lead going into the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
“I am surprised,” Matsuyama said through his interpreter, breaking into a big smile when he added, “but I did play well today.”
He played well enough for a second straight 6-under 64 that enabled him to pull away from a crowded field and put plenty of distance between him and Nick Dunlap.
Matsuyama quickly atoned for an early bogey by drilling a 3-wood over the water to 15 feet and making the eagle putt. He kept adding birdies the rest of the day in more steamy weather and no one could stay with him.
Denny McCarthy, who was tied for the 36-hole lead with Matsuyama, put four bogeys on his card before registering his first birdie. Sam Burns had only five pars — and a broken driver — in his round of 70 to fall back. Scottie Scheffler lost ground with a few suspect chips and was seven shots behind after a 69.
“I felt like I got away with some stuff, so hopefully clean it up a little bit and give myself a lot more opportunities,” Scheffler said.
Scheffler was at 10-under 200 along with Burns, who slammed his driver to the ground on No. 9 and the head broke off. He made double bogey to go with five bogeys and seven birdies. It was quite a day.
Dunlap did his best to stay close and was within three shots until one wild drive too many. He went so far right on the 12th that he cleared the water and landed on the other side, and then managed to save par. But he hit right again on the 13th in deep grass, couldn’t reach the green and took bogey.
He shot 66 and will be in the final group, extending his remarkable run. A year ago, he was winning the U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills. He won The American Express in January as an amateur, turned pro, and then won the Barracuda Championship last month.
“I should be playing the U.S. Am this week, and I just got done playing a round of golf with Scottie. It was pretty cool,” Dunlap said.
Viktor Hovland, the defending FedEx Cup champion who started this postseason at No. 57, took a big step toward advancing with a 66. He was alone in third, six shots behind.
Jordan Spieth’s season effectively ended when he made two double bogeys in his round of 74, leaving him in 69th place against a 70-man field.
Among those on the bubble to advance going into Sunday are Justin Rose and Adam Scott. Rose is No. 55 in the FedEx Cup and was tied for ninth after 54 holes at the TPC Southwind. He shot 71 on Saturday after making double bogey on the last hole. Scott is at No. 46. He shot 68 and was projected inside the top 50 going into the last day.
Rahm leads LIV event after second-round 62
Jon Rahm finished eagle-birdie-birdie for an 8-under 62, giving the Spaniard a two-shot lead over Brooks Koepka and three others in LIV Golf Greenbrier.
The Old White course at the resort in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., was as vulnerable as ever — only six players in the 54-man field were over par through two rounds — and it led to a bunched leaderboard.
Rahm, coming off an Olympic disappointment when he went from a four-shot lead to not even getting to the podium, was at 14-under 126.
Koepka had a 64 and was in the group at 128 with Talor Gooch (66), 51-year-old Richard Bland (64) and Lucas Herbert (63).
Bryson DeChambeau, who shot 58 in the final round last year to win, had a 65 and was seven shots behind Rahm.
Coughlin goes on late birdie run in Scotland
Lauren Coughlin rolled in a bending, 20-foot putt as part of three birdies on the closing stretch Saturday to cap off a 6-under 66 in the Women’s Scottish Open and give her a one-shot lead over Megan Khang at Dundonald Links in Irvine, Scotland.
Coughlin picked up her first LPGA Tour title three weeks ago in Canada and put herself in position to lock up a spot on the U.S. Solheim Cup team.
“I’m starting to hit the ball extremely well, and I’m just starting to feel really good about my game and myself and trying to keep it going,” Coughlin said.
Khang opened with 11 straight pars, but three birdies toward the end of her round gave her a 69 and allowed the American to close the gap to one shot.
Coughlin was at 12-under 204.