The third round of the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational was a wild, up-and-down Moving Day that resulted in a neatly separated leaderboard (no incorporate the top five) and a monstrous setup for a fun Sunday surface. Brendon Todd leads by one over Ben An, and if Todd wins, he probably ends up being the frontrunner for PGA Tour Player of the Year with just 5 events remaining.
His chasers have some intriguing stories of their own however. After struggling through the restart, both Brooks Koepka and Rickie Fowler are extremely much within striking distance, and possibly the finest player since the restart– Justin Thomas– is going for his third win of the season with a potential second major champion on deck next week at Harding Park. Lets dive into Round 3 and expect what need to be an incredible finish on Sunday afternoon.
1. Brendon Todd (-12)– Weve been here before with Todd. He led the Travelers Championship by three entering into the final round there a month earlier but faded hard as Dustin Johnson went on to win. The uneasy part here is that Todd has acquired over 2.5 strokes per round with his putter, which is not sustainable when names like “Koepka,” “Fowler” and “Thomas” are lurking behind you on a Sunday afternoon in a massive event. Todd might win on Sunday, however its going to be a war for him all the time to attempt and keep the tee-to-green game on the tracks.
Ben An (-11)– A caught fire on the back 9, where he made four straight birdies. He can ball-strike it with anybody at the top of this board, but he does not have a leading 25 because February, and I would fret about the putting stroke on the back 9 on Sunday.
Rickie Fowler (-10)– Tough surface for Fowler after shooting 32 on the front nine on Saturday (he and An shot a best-ball 61, by the way). He had a genuine possibility to take over the tournament on the back however faded coming home. Hell be chasing after from behind, which is how he often wins, and hes striking the hell out of it this week so far at TPC Southwind.
A bogey on No. 17 upended the momentum, however hes at least provided himself a possibility to go back-to-back at this event after winning last year. His ball-striking has been definitely on-point throughout the week, which indicates its not challenging to imagine him popping up, shooting 66 and winning again on Sunday– this regardless of a lousy reboot to what was an already-lousy year for the four-time significant champ. A win here would be the ultimate pivot from golfs ultimate switch-flipper.
5. Justin Thomas (-8)– Ive been attempting to tell you that Thomas was going to pop over the weekend. He closed with a 31 on the back nine because he finally began draining pipes putts. Hell play with nothing at all to lose on Sunday, which might be troubling for the last few gamers on the course as they attempt to hold off his stampede. He remains in the top five in strokes gotten from tee to green this week.
T6. Phil Mickelson, Louis Oosthuizen, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Chez Reavie (-7)– Quite a round for Mickelson, who has now gotten strokes off the tee in all but one round and acquired strokes on his methods in every round. That is to say, hes not just holding things together with a smoking putter, which is excellent news for him both entering into Sunday along with next weeks PGA Championship at Harding Park, where his driving accuracy will once again be tested.
Lets dive into Round 3 and look ahead to what need to be an incredible surface on Sunday afternoon.
The worrisome part here is that Todd has gained over 2.5 strokes per round with his putter, which is not sustainable when names like “Koepka,” “Fowler” and “Thomas” are lurking behind you on a Sunday afternoon in a huge event. Todd may win on Sunday, however its going to be a war for him all day to try and keep the tee-to-green video game on the tracks.
His ball-striking has actually been definitely on-point throughout the week, which means its not challenging to visualize him popping up, shooting 66 and winning again on Sunday– this in spite of a lousy reboot to what was an already-lousy year for the four-time significant champion. That is to state, hes not simply holding things together with a smoking putter, which is excellent news for him both going into Sunday as well as next weeks PGA Championship at Harding Park, where his driving precision will once again be evaluated.
