WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Harris English Going For Wire To Wire Win.

Harris is aiming at being the first wire to wire winner this season and currently leads the WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational by two shots going into the final round at TPC Southwind in Memphis Tennessee.

Harris carded a bogey free third round -5 under par 65 to lead the WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational by two strokes at -18 under par, and is looking to become the first three time winner this season;

“I love playing with pressure, I think it helps me focus. It’s a privilege to be in this spot. You have to take challenges on.”

“There’s a lot of good players behind me and my goal is just stick to my strategy and execute and whatever happens, happens.” 

Cameron Smith, Australia, -5 under par  65 and Bryson DeChambeau with -7 under par 63 were tied in second place at -16 under par.

Bryson lost a fair bit of weight from his Covid infection, but has come back strongly;

“It was beautiful to be able to score really well. I didn’t feel like my ball-striking was perfect, but I got it around really well and I was very pleased with it.”

“It was awesome being able to strike it that close to the hole all day. I didn’t feel as comfortable as I would have liked with the swing, but the results were there so I was very pleased with the results.”

“And honestly, if I can do that again tomorrow, I give myself a great chance to win.”

Ian Poulter is still pressing his Ryder Cup claims, another good round today of -3 under 67 puts him T5 at -13 under par.

WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Harris English Still Leads

Harris English still leads the WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational after the second round at TPC Southwind in Memphis Tennessee.

Harris carded a second round -5 under par 65, to be two shots ahead of his nearest rival, posting a tournament score of -13 under par;

“This game is all about confidence and if you have confidence on your side, you just run with it,” English said. “In years past, a bad shot would send me into a downward spiral.”

“Now I’m enjoying the grind of it.”

“You’ve got to keep the gas pedal down, the scores are pretty low right now and you can’t let up.”

Tied in second place at -11 under are; Cameron Smith, Australia, and Abraham Ancer of Mexico, both players signed for -8 under 62.

Cameron tied the PGA Tour record for fewest putts in a round, 18 putts for the 18 holes;

“I said, `That can’t be right’, it was just a good day on the greens, the surfaces here are so good.”

“It’s a pretty cool little title I guess to have next to your name.”

“I probably didn’t drive it as good as I did yesterday, but the approaches were really nice. Like I said, I felt I was hitting lots of nice shots that were just going off the green and made a couple of them and a couple of them missed.”

“That’s just how it went, but still a pretty cool record.”

Abraham was really happy with his iron play today;

“I’m really happy with the way I stroked the ball, my long irons were spot on.”

Tied in fourth spot with Ian Poulter are Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns, all at -10 under par.

Poults has the Ryder Cup on his mind, and intends to qualify for the tournament;

“I’m not the longest person in the field, so these guys have an advantage if they’ve got four par fives, so if you take two of those away and the other par fives I can reach, then I kind of like that golf course.”

“Yeah, it’s on my mind, theoretically I’ve got two tournaments left this side of the pond, so I need to move up on the points list to obviously further my position in the FedExCup.”

“I’ve got obviously the first event in New York, and obviously then to be top 70 to grab hold of the second one.”

“Playing well this week would take care of that.”

“There’s obviously Wentworth in a few weeks’ time as well, which is obviously when the team gets finalized and obviously Paddy has his picks. For me it’s about playing hard and obviously trying to push my way in.”

WGC FedEx St Jude Invitationl. Harris English With 1st Round Lead.

Harris English leads the FedEx St Jude Invitational after the first round at TPC Southwind in Memphis Tennessee.

Harris had a -8 under par 62 to lead the FedEx St Jude Invitational by two shots after the first round, with good putting being the key, and a good recovery from a bad start to the back nine;

“It was one of those rounds where I was hitting it really good off the tee and making a lot of good putts.”

“I’m just happy with the way I fought back.”

“These greens were a lot faster than what I was practicing on back home, so I did a lot of speed work and I feel like it paid off today.”

Four players are tied in second  pace at -6 under par; Jim Herman, Ian Poulter, England, Carlos Ortiz, Mexico, bogey free today, and Matt Wolf.

Matt was happy with his performance;

“Everything is starting to fall in place.”

“I think the most important thing for me is my attitude.”

“”I think it’s easy to have a good attitude when you start off well, but I made a pretty bad bogey from the middle of the fairway on No. 7, and after that I just felt like I kept my composure.”

“For me, that’s what I’ve been working on the most is just staying in the present and not getting too down on myself.”

Poults needs points for the FedEx Cup, and to be playing well for the Ryder Cup;

“The only thing I’m focused on is playing as well as I possibly can.”

“I’m not high enough up in the FedExCup. I’ve got two opportunities this week and the first FedExCup event, so I need to move forward.”

“Not only that, I need to pick up some points for the Ryder Cup team. It’s a good tournament, a course I like, so hopefully I can just continue on that.”

Scottish Open. Min Woo Lee Wins In A Three Way Play-Off.

Min Woo Lee of Australia won the Scottish Open defeating Matt Fitzpatrick, England, and Thomas Detry of Belgium at The Renaissance Club in Scotland.

Min Woo Lee carded a final round -7 under par 64, Matt and Thomas both had -4 under 67, to all be tied at the top off the Scottish Open leaderboard with -18 under par totals. Min Woo Lee won with a birdie at the first extra hole the par four 1st.

Min will now play at The Open;

“It’s an awesome day, I was pretty proud of how I played. Six birdies in a row, that was sweet. It kind of happened really quick.”

“I could have holed a few more putts, in regulation I missed it by a roll, that was painful but we regrouped and the tournament starts in the play-off, pretty much.”

“It’s just crazy, I’ve kind of dreamt of it last night and people back home staying up late to watch me, sending messages. This one is for you too.”

“I hit a lot of good shots today, that was just one of them. In that situation, it’s a huge moment but I hit so many great shots.”

“I’ve been playing really good in recent weeks and just trending, a few mistakes over the whole tournament and wasn’t able to capitalize so it’s awesome to do it here. I’ll enjoy this one.”

Ian Poulter, England, with the low round of the day -8 under par 63, Ryan Palmer, USA, -7 under 64, and Lucas Herbert of Australia, finished one shot back in a tie for fourth at -17 under.

World #1 Jon Rahm, Spain, was alone in seventh position, -3 under 68 for his last round was disappointing.

Along with Min, Jack Senior and Thomas Detry also qualified for a place at The Open being played at Royal St George’s Golf Course in England.

Charles Schwab Challenge. Jason Kokrak Wins.

Jason Kokrak wins the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club, Fort Worth, Texas.

Jason posted a final round of even par 70, good enough to win the Charles Schwab Challenge by two shots at -14 under par, which also got him a Texas size pick-up truck;

“I’m a big guy with a big truck, with a big jacket and a big paycheck.”

“They were definitely rooting for the guy next to me, both of us didn’t have our A-game today. We grinded it out.”

“I’ve got a lot of grit and a lot of fight in me.”

Jordan Spieth had a final round failure, +3 over par 73, to finish in second place with a -12 under par tournament total.

Tied in third place at -10 under par were, Charley Hoffman, one of the low rounds of the day with -5 under 65, Patton Kizzire, -3 under 67, Sebastian Munoz, Colombia, -2 under 68, and Ian Poulter of England, -2 under 68 today, in good form for the Ryder Cup in September.

Charley had next week on his mind;

“There’s only one goal, I’m playing Muirfield Village next week, but hopefully this week was enough to get me inside the U.S. Open.”

“Sitting just outside the World Ranking, near my hometown where I group playing Torrey Pines. I’m obviously trying to win golf events but getting in that U.S. Open is a key.”

Charles Schwab Challenge. Jordan Has 54 Hole Lead.

Jordan Spieth leads the Charles Schwab Challenge after 54 holes at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth Texas.

Jordan had a -4 under par 66 to have the 54 hole lead at the Charles Schwab Challenge at -15 under par, and will take a one shot advantage over Jason Kokrak, and five shots over the field into tomorrow’s final round.

Jordan, the local favorite, birdied the 18th hole to take that one shot lead over a challenging Jason;

“It’s one of those where you would like to separate yourself and get a big lead, but then he’s going to go make those putts on the back nine, and he’s a player that plays with a lot of confidence.”

“It’s never easy to win out here. It’s a Saturday.”

“It’s nice to be feeling a lot of the hometown support, it was a really good atmosphere out here.”

“It’s crazy to think we were here one year ago with not a person following. What a difference a year makes, and hopefully we can continue to progress that way across the world.”

“Colonial is a great setting for a good finish.”

Jason Kokrak is one shot back at -14 under par, he too signed for a -4 under par 66 third round, and he hopes to spoil the party for Jordan tomorrow;

“Jordan birdied 13, the par 3 and I walked off the green, I was like, ‘Well, I’m definitely not the favorite here this week.’”

“He’s a Texas guy. I’m an Ohio guy. It’s fun.”

“The crowds are crazy. But it’s fun to have a local kid and play well and him be in the last group, and I’d be more than happy to spoil it for him tomorrow.”

Sergio Garcia has third spot, a -2 under 68 giving him a -10 under total, those five shots back of Jordan. It has been 20 years since Sergio won his first PGA Tour title, here at Colonial.

Tied in fourth position at -8 under par are Sebastian Munoz, Colombia, even par round 70 today, and Ian Poulter of England, who carded the low round of the day -6 under 64.

WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. McIlroy Malaise Continues.

Rory McIlroy was beaten 6-5 by Ian Poulter in the first round of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play event at Austin Country Club in Texas.

Rory & Poults in the first round of three pool play rounds.

Poults the 60th of 64 seeds at the World Golf Championships–Dell Technologies Match Play eased past his old poor performing mate 6-5 to gain a vital point for a share of top spot in group 11 with Cameron Smith who defeated Lanto Griffin 1 up.

Poults mentioned Rory’s wayward tee shots;

“Obviously he missed a couple of tee shots left., from that point he was trying to hit a kind of a bit of a hold-up cut.”

“But it’s Rory, it doesn’t take a lot for Rory to spark up pretty quickly and I wasn’t surprised with anything, I just felt that I had done a pretty decent job of putting him under pressure.”

“I made it difficult for him.”

“The two leaders of the group play tomorrow, and Cameron is looking forward to the challenge;

“Poults and I get along. I’m sure we’re going to have a good time but in the last five or six holes we’ll quit talking to each other and it will be on.”

“I’m looking forward to the challenge tomorrow for sure.”

Another 1st day loser was Bryson DeChambeau, going down 2up to Antoine Rozner of France.

Antoine qualified in 63rd spot of the World Rankings, and made some decent putts today, one par putt from 26ft, and an 8ft birdie putt, to stop Bryson in his tracks;

 “I think I’m just trying to play good golf and it’s the strongest field I ever played against, so I’m enjoying it.”

“I had a lot of fun today out there and, yeah, I’m very happy.”

There are 16 groups, so there is a lot of important games to be played tomorrow.

Scottish Open. Robert Rock Leads.

Robert Rock of England has the 54 hole lead in the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club in Scotland.

Robert carded a +1 over par 72 in very tough conditions to top the Scottish Open leaderboard with a -9 under par tournament total, and a two shot advantage going into the final round tomorrow.

Robert was forced to play the final two holes in fading light, complaining on 17 that he could not see the flag on the green, some 203 yards away. After signing his card he left the course without talking to the media, apparently in a huff about having to pay in the dark.

Tied in second place those two shots back at -7 under par are; Tommy Fleetwood, England, -2 under 69 today, Ian Poulter, England, +2 over par 73, Marcus Kinhult, Sweden, even par 71 and Wade Ormsby from Australia with a third round score of -1 under 70.

Tommy relished the tough conditions;

“I loved every minute of it. It’s golf, isn’t it? Somebody’s got to enjoy it.”

“Let’s face it, the money we play for these days, a day like that doesn’t do any harm does it?”

“It’s fine, I’d play in it every day if this is what we’re doing so no problems.”

“It was pretty relentless. Normally you get maybe a downpour, but the rain didn’t stop for half a second and just got worse and progressively worse and windy throughout day.”

“It was pretty tough towards the end. The golf shots I was hitting, you have to give yourself a pat on the back sometimes.”

Scottish Open. Lucas Herbert Leads The Way.

Lucas Herbert of Australia has the 36 hole lead at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, at The Renaissance Club in Scotland.

Lucas had a second round -6 under par 65 to lead the Scottish Open after 36 holes with a -11 under par total;

“I’m pretty happy.”

“To be honest I turned up here on Wednesday and hit it all over the place. Sort of not really expecting too much the last few days, but it’s all come together nicely, and yeah, pretty happy.”

“I’ve given myself a lot of chances, could have easily been another four or five if I had have rolled more putts in, but that’s just been great, which has taken the pressure off, and I haven’t had to get it up-and-down from ball washers to try and save pars.”

Robert Rock, England, has second place, one stroke back at -10 under par after signing for a bogey free -4 under par 67;

“I kept plodding along, and thankfully with no bogeys, you pick them up every now and again and it adds up to a decent score, doesn’t it?”

“I hit a couple iron shots close. I didn’t really hole many putts, but yeah, an easier day.”

Yesterdays first round leader Lee Westwood, even par 71 today, is joined in third place by another old boy, Ian Poulter, who had a -5 under 66 for his second round, both players from England, with -9 under totals.

Poults enjoyed being back on the European Tour;

“It’s nice to be in contention and good to come back, play and support the Tour.”

“It’s great that we have these events on right now, to be able to showcase the Tour a bit and I’m not thinking anything about Saturday bar bringing an umbrella and a pair of waterproofs.”

“The weather forecast looks horrific, 20mph winds and a couple of inches of rain. You can be blown off the course easily, but we’re at the right end of the leaderboard to try and batten down the hatches, dig in deep and hold strong as much as you possibly can.”

Lee had a very different day today;

“I was actually pleased, really, I felt like I didn’t have much go my way.”

“I ran a lot of putts close and when I did hit it slightly off line, instead of finishing just in the semi rough, it would finish in the thickest possible clump I could find.”

“I’m pleased that I stuck with my game plan and 71 feels like an all right score. They toughened the course up. They put the flags on the side of hills. The pin positions were noticeably tougher, so I can only apologise to everybody for shooting 62 yesterday!”

Workday Charity Open. Justin Thomas Takes Over At The Top.

Justin Thomas takes over the lead of the Workday Charity Open after 54 holes at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Ohio.

    Justin / getty

Justin carded a third round -6 under par 66 to lead the Workday Charity Open by two shots at -16 under par, he is bogey free through the 54 holes. He has also been revealed as the face of the new PGA Tour 2K21 video game.

Justin is looking forward to tomorrows challenge;

“It’ll be fun to hang with those guys tomorrow, but at the end of the day I’m worried about myself and trying to win a golf tournament and have a good round.”

Viktor Hovland is in second place at -14 under par, after his third round of -6 under 66.

Collin Morikawa abandoned his attempt for a wire to wire win with a lackluster third round of even par 72, remaining at -13 under for the tournament;

“It was just a little frustrating that I couldn’t get really any iron shots going, and when you have days like that, you just kind of fight them off.”

Sam Burns, -2 under 70, and Kevin Streelman -1 under 71 share fourth place with -11 under totals.

Kevin benefited from a putting tip from Aaron Baddley, given during a friendly practice round;

“He just saw one little thing in my putting and kind of gave me a little tip, and I’ve been putting beautifully since.”

Another shot back at -10 under par are two old timers, Ian Poulter and Rory Sabbatini, who both recorded third rounds of -3 under 69.

Poults is aware of what he needs to do tomorrow to win;

“It’s going to have to be a low one tomorrow.”

The weather is predicted to turn nasty tomorrow, so the tee times have been moved up, and the players will be in groups of three. Who will handle the wet conditions the best?

There can not be a Monday finish as the Muirfield Village course is due to be set up for the upcoming Memorial Tournament, being played here next week. This is the first time in 63 years that the PGA TOUR has had back-to-back tournaments on the same course.