AKIE IWAI CATCHES FIRE, STORMS TO LEAD AT PORTLAND
LPGA Tour rookie Akie Iwai shook off an early bogey to shoot 9-under par over the final 16 holes Saturday to storm to the 54-hole lead at the Standard Portland (Ore.) Classic.
Starting the day tied for fourth at the Columbia Edgewater Country Club, the 23-year-old native of Japan shot an 8-under 64 — tied for the low round of the tournament — to sit at 18-under 198 for the three rounds and carry a two-stroke lead into Sunday.
Australia’s Grace Kim shot a 5-under 67 and sits second at 16-under 200, with Sweden’s Linn Grant sitting one shot behind Kim after making a charge with a 7-under 65.
Iwai, who has never won on Tour but has a pair of runner-up finishes earlier this season, bogeyed the par-3 second hole Saturday but followed that with three birdies and an eagle over the next five holes. She opened the back nine with three birdies over the first four holes, then made four straight pars before closing her round with a birdie on 18.
After her round, Iwai credited one hole in particular for sparking her big run.
“No. 5, (the) par 5, I made eagle,” she said of the hole that started a three-hole burst in which she went 4 under. “After I got many birdie chances, (I rode) good tempo.”
While Iwai got hot early, Kim was middling at 1 under on her round through 13 holes before finishing her round birdie-birdie-par-eagle-par.
The eagle came the par-4 17th, when her approach from the right rough hit the rough to the right of the hole, then bounced left on the green and then rode the break into the hole.
“Yeah, I leaked my drive a little right. I thought I was going to be in the rough, which it was,” Kim said. “(The approach) leaked right again. I was like, “Oh, please get through the rough.” Somehow went in the hole, so I guess a little bit of luck in there.”
Gurleen Kaur shot a 2-under 70 and sits in fourth at 13 under, one stroke ahead of Aditi Ashok of India (65) and Gina Kim (67).
Jeongeun Lee5, who began the day with a one-stroke lead over Kaur and Grace Kim, carded a 2-over 74 to fall into a tie for 11th at 10-under 206.
One of those in pursuit of Iwai, whose last top 10 finish was a tie for seventh at the Meijer LPGA Classic in June, is her twin sister Chisato Iwai, a fellow rookie who shot a 6-under 66 and is tied for seventh at 11 under.
Like her sister, Chisato Iwai eagled the par-5 fifth and birdied the par-5 seventh. She bogeyed the par-3 13th but followed that with back-to-back birdies and closed with a birdie 3 on 18.
Tied with Chisato Iwai at 11 under are fellow Japanese player Rio Takeda (66), Lauren Coughlin (66) and South Korea’s Haeran Ryu (67).
DUSTIN JOHNSON GRABS SHARE OF LEAD IN INDIANAPOLIS
Dustin Johnson shot a 7-under-par round of 64 and tied Columbia’s Sebastian Munoz at the top of the leaderboard at the LIV Golf Indianapolis in Westfield, Ind.
Both players are at 16-under 126 through two rounds at the par-71 Club at Chatham Hills Course.
Johnson posted a bogey-free round and has not bogeyed a hole since shooting a four on the par-3 second hole on Friday. He birdied six holes in an eight-hole stretch in the middle part of the round, posting a score of 32 on both the front and back nines.
Munoz, who shot a 12-under 59 on Friday, looked like he would run away with the tournament after birdieing six of the first seven holes to reach 18 under. He was erratic on the back nine, playing even-par golf until hitting a poor tee shot on 18 and ending up with a double bogey to fall back into a tie with Johnson.
“I had a really great start,” said Munoz. “I kind of kept myself flowing from the momentum from yesterday. Got to, I think it was 6-under through 9, and then just a couple mistakes. Misjudgment of speed on 10 and then a really bad lie on 15 and unfortunately a bad swing on 18. I had my fair share of mistakes on that back nine. But yeah, looking forward to tomorrow.”
Johnson discussed trailing his playing partner by seven shots on the front nine.
“Obviously, he got off to a great start, I got off to a slow start, and I was seven back,” said Johnson. “But you’ve just got to keep trying to make birdies. Get it in the fairway and just get looks. That’s what I did. I did that from about 6 on in. I played really well.”
Six players are tied for third place at 12 under. Of those, Poland’s Adrian Meronk and Spain’s David Puig posted the best rounds of Saturday, each 8-under rounds of 63.
Meronk eagled the par-5 seventh and 13th holes.
Also tied at 12 under are Thomas Pieters of Belgium, Patrick Reed, Chile’s Joaquin Niemann and Sweden’s Henrik Stenson. Spain’s Jon Rahm, South Africa’s Brandon Grace and Bubba Watson are one stroke behind that group of six in a three-way tie for ninth.
Johnson is also looking forward to the challenge of what could be a match-play situation on Sunday.
“You’ve just got to play from the fairway here,” said Johnson. “If you can play out of the fairway, you get a lot of good chances, you can attack the golf course. But if you’re in the rough or fairway bunkers, it’s tough. But yeah, as long as I drive it well tomorrow, I think I’ll contend.”
LEADER MIGUEL ANGEL JIMENEZ CONTINUES STRONG START IN CALGARY
Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez matched his first round by shooting a 7-under-par 63 on Saturday, keeping him in the lead at the Rogers Charity Classic in Calgary.
After getting to 14 under for the tournament, Jimenez took a one-stroke lead over Australia’s Richard Green, who fired an 8-under 62 on Saturday.
Jimenez, who entered the event ranked No. 1 in the Charles Schwab Cup race, twice got on hot streaks, pocketing birdies on holes 3-5 and holes 11-13. He had additional birdies on the 15th and 18th, while his eagle on No. 8 dazzled.
From the center of the fairway on the par-4, 440-yard hole, the 61-year-old arced his second shot within two feet of the hole, with the ball spinning back into the hole. Jimenez pretended to holster his club in celebration, then shimmied backward and waved to the crowd.
“I’m very happy to be in this position,” Jimenez told The Canadian Press. “I’m at 14-under par, one shot ahead, but you cannot sleep. Other people are playing very well. You can see the scores.”
Jimenez overcame two bogeys to take the solo lead, putting him a round away from winning his fifth tournament this season.
Green, 54, has four top 10 finishes this season, but is still looking for his first Champions Tour victory. He helped his cause by hitting a hot streak of four straight birdies on the front half (Holes 6-9), added an eagle on 11, then finished his day with birdies on 15 and 18.
It was the best round of the tournament.
“Miguel’s obviously having an amazing year this year,” Green said to The Canadian Press. “He’s going to be tough to beat, so I’m going to have to play my absolute best golf. I’d have to say that today was pretty close to some of my best golf. If I can continue to do that, I’ll be very happy.”
Three golfers are tied for third at 12 under. Argentina’s Ricardo Gonzalez shot a 7-under 63 to knot things up with Tommy Gainey (64) and New Zealand’s Steven Alker (65).
Alker had shared the lead with Jimenez on Friday, and he remains in the hunt despite falling off the pace by two strokes.
Tied for sixth at 10 under are Matt Gogel (64), Australia’s Mark Hensby (64) and Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen (65).
Rounding out the Top 10 are Sweden’s Freddie Jacobson (63) at 9 under and a pair of golfers at 10 under: South Korea’s Charlie Wi (64) and Jason Caron (66).
ROBERT MACINTYRE LEADS SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER BY FOUR AT BMW CHAMPIONSHIP
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Robert MacIntyre likes to lean on that old chestnut: “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”
The unassuming Scotsman is a few inches shorter than Scottie Scheffler, and it’s a similar story when you compare their resumes. Yet it’s MacIntyre who is one round away from a wire-to-wire victory at the BMW Championship.
MacIntyre drained a 41-foot, left-to-right birdie putt at the 18th hole of Caves Valley Golf Club on Saturday, ensuring he’ll carry a four-stroke advantage over the World No. 1 into the final round.
MacIntyre posted a 2-under-par 68 to climb to 16-under 194 at the second leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs. Where MacIntyre’s first two rounds featured birdies in bunches, his third round was about keeping Scheffler at arm’s length.
“Every save, every shot is a prisoner for me,” MacIntyre said. “Yeah, that shot there is no more important than that one I’ve hit on 18, any of the shots I’ve hit today. I’ve played beautifully all week, so it’s just about continuing that going into tomorrow.”
Playing in the final pairing with MacIntyre, Scheffler managed a 3-under 67 but never got closer than three shots of the lead. He and MacIntyre will play in the final pairing again Sunday.
“I think Bob has got a four-shot lead going into tomorrow and it’s up to me,” Scheffler said. “He’s playing some great golf, and it’s up to me to go out there and chase him down.”
Ludvig Aberg of Sweden is alone in third at 10 under after he sank a 30-foot birdie putt at the last hole to shoot 68. Sam Burns and Englishman Harry Hall both shot 67 and are tied for fourth at 8 under, while Maverick McNealy and England’s Tommy Fleetwood are another shot back after matching 69s.
Rickie Fowler rolled in five birdies in a round of 67, moving to 6 under and a tie for eighth with Michael Kim (70) and Norway’s Viktor Hovland (69).
MacIntyre recovered from an opening bogey by birdieing Nos. 4 and 9; he also made a difficult par save at the par-4 fifth hole in which he punched out of a heavily-treed native area.
Scheffler made three birdies through 11 holes but was caught up in a greenside bunker on No. 12 and made his only bogey. He got the stroke back at No. 14 with an 18-foot birdie putt.
MacIntyre followed Scheffler with a par putt, and in an eye-catching move with the Ryder Cup six weeks away, he appeared to shush pro-Scheffler American fans.
“He was just jeering. He was shouting I missed it, pushed it,” MacIntyre said. “Pushed it right in the middle of the hole, I guess.”
At the next hole, the Scotsman flighted a perfect bunker shot to 2 feet of the cup for a tap-in par, and he converted another par from the sand at the par-5 16th. The pressure and the pro-Scheffler sentiment certainly didn’t seem to affect him.
“It started on the first tee,” MacIntyre said. “It probably started when I walked down to the range. It ain’t bothering me.
The tournament is likely down to MacIntyre, Scheffler and possibly Aberg, but for many here, the bigger chase is in the FedEx Cup standings.
The top 30 players in points at the end of the tournament will advance to the Tour Championship next week. Akshay Bhatia — who had a hole-out eagle and a hole-in-one amid a round of 66 Saturday — is No. 28 in the live projections, Kim is No. 29 and South Korea’s Sungjae Im is No. 30.
The first man out in the projected standings is Chris Gotterup, followed by Fowler.
“Not in a bad spot,” Fowler said. “We obviously have a chance going into tomorrow. In a way, I’d much rather be on the outside looking in. I know what I need to go do, versus maybe being inside (the top 30) trying to protect type of thing.”
Bhatia’s hole-in-one came at the 227-yard 17th hole. His 5-iron tee shot landed just short of the pin and rolled into the cup.
“The wind was straight off the left, so it was a perfect 5-iron,” Bhatia said. “I could draw it, which is nice. Again, that’s a hole you’re just trying to hit it front of the green to back of the green. But I told myself just don’t be afraid to hit it, execute it, because it’s easy to bail out there.
“When that golf ball goes in, it was the craziest thing in the world … I couldn’t even feel my body.”
