STEWART CINK HEATS UP, TAKES 3-STROKE LEAD AT BOEING CLASSIC
Stewart Cink shot a bogey-free 8-under-par 64 on Saturday to take a three-shot lead going into the final round of the Boeing Classic in Snoqualmie, Wash.
Cink moved up 10 spots from the first round on Friday with eight birdies at Nos. 6, 7, 8, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 18 to get to 12 under for the tournament at The Club at Snoqualmie Ridge.
“If you stopped me after about No. 5 and said, ‘Hey, what are the chances you’re going to shoot 64 today?’ I would have probably said you were crazy because nothing was happening at all,” Cink, 52, said after the round. “I made a really good par save on the third hole, which is a tough par 4. I made a sloppy par on the first hole, which is an easy par 5. … Nothing was happening.
“But then, amazing how your momentum can flip with just one, really one putt, and a good putt on 6 from about 15 feet went in the center. It was kind of just the lid was off.”
Cink saved par at No. 17 after his tee shot landed about 80 feet from the pin and he got within 5 feet putting his second shot at the par-3 hole.
“Yeah, that was a really big moment because you don’t want to throw away a shot. It wasn’t a horrible shot off the tee, just a little bit of a cut that didn’t really cut and it just ended up down where it did,” Cink said. “To get that ball close enough where the next putt was really makeable was a good way to just kind of keep the momentum going and keep the mindset in the right place.”
Steven Alker of New Zealand and Paul Goydos are tied for second at 9-under 135. Alker shot 4-under 68 on Saturday, while Goydos carded 69.
“I just kind of kept the round going,” Alker said. “I played the par 5s poorly. You’ve got to get the par 5s out here today. I think I played them 1 over, so you can’t do that tomorrow. But otherwise, most of the day just kept my nose clean and hit some good shots. Kind of felt like I left a little bit out there.”
Alker was working an unblemished round with birdies at Nos. 5, 6, 12, 14 and 17, then he bogeyed the par-5 No. 18.
“Yeah, just unfortunate about 18,” Alker said. “Going to make dinner taste a little bit not as good. But I’m right there, so I like the golf course, the game’s feeling OK, so go get ‘em tomorrow.”
First-round co-leaders Jerry Kelly and Matt Gogel each fired a 71 to move to 8 under and are tied for fourth with Australian Steve Allan (68). Kelly, 58, is trying to win the Boeing Classic for the second time. It was the site of his first PGA Tour Champions victory in 2017; now he’s searching for his 14th title overall.
Two-time defending champion Stephen Ames of Canada is tied for 19th at 4 under after back-to-back rounds of 70.
DEAN BURMESTER’S 65 PUTS HIM ON TOP AT LIV GOLF CHICAGO AHEAD OF FINAL ROUND
South Africa’s Dean Burmester surged to a two-shot lead at LIV Golf Chicago after firing a 6-under 65 in Saturday’s second round at Bolingbrook Golf Club.
Burmester, 36, sits at 9-under overall as he eyes his second career LIV Golf title and his first win of the 2025 season. On a blustery day that saw conditions challenge much of the field, Burmester produced a round that included five birdies and an eagle. He made only one bogey on the day at the par-4 eighth.
Burmester will enter Sunday’s final round with a narrow cushion over Jon Rahm and rookie Jose Luis Ballester, both at 7-under after strong second rounds.
“For me to kind of have a chance coming this late in the season is kind of what I need and what I wanted,” Burmester said after his round. “Just to have a chance to win on a Sunday is special, and to do it against one of the best players in the world in Jon and a new exciting kid in Ballester is going to be special. It’ll be fun. Going to have to brush up on my Spanish, but it’ll be a good day.”
Ballester, just 21 and making his seventh professional start, turned heads again with a 5-under 66 highlighted by an eagle and five birdies. The Fireballs GC rookie, who finished T7 at LIV Golf UK at the end of July, continues to impress and has helped vault his squad into a tie atop the team standings.
“I’m really excited for the test tomorrow,” said Ballester. “I’m super pumped to play with Jon. It’s something that when I came to college here in the States, I always looked up to him, and being able to share a final pairing with him is going to be really fun.”
Rahm, captain of Legion XIII, carded a 4-under 67 as he chases not only the tournament title but also the season-long individual points crown.
Bryson DeChambeau (-6), Carlos Ortiz (-5) and Paul Casey (-5) round out the top five of the leaderboard heading into Sunday’s final round.
Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia, who were tied for the lead after Friday’s first round, both shot two-over 73 on Saturday to drop into a tie for 12th.
In the team competition, Stinger GC, Crushers GC, and Fireballs GC are locked in a three-way tie at 10-under with one round to play.
TOMMY FLEETWOOD WITHSTANDS EARLY STRUGGLES TO TAKE LEAD INTO FINAL DAY AT ST. JUDE
MEMPHIS — England’s Tommy Fleetwood struggled early and lost his lead at the FedEx St. Jude Championships before recovering on the back nine Saturday to remain atop the leaderboard after three rounds of the opening leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Fleetwood shot 1-under 69 and is at 14-under 196 after the third round at TPC Southwind. He will carry a one-stroke advantage into Sunday’s final round over England’s Justin Rose and a two-shot lead over world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
Rose posted a 67 and finished with birdies on holes 16 and 18, which sandwiched a bogey at the 17th. Fleetwood bogeyed the final hole after missing the fairway on his drive, his only missed fairway of the round. Fleetwood had a three-shot lead after 17 holes.
Fleetwood, 34, is seeking his first win on the PGA Tour. Rose, 45, is attempting to become the first player in his 40s to win on Tour this season.
Scheffler closed with birdies on Nos. 16 and 18 to post a 5-under 65, tied for the best round of the day, and is at 12-under 198.
U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun made the biggest move Saturday. He matched Scheffler’s 65 to advance from a tie for 11th to a tie for fourth at 11-under 199. Andrew Novak is also at 199 after making back-to-back pars to end his round.
Rickie Fowler shot a 66 to put himself in position to qualify for the second round of the playoffs. He’s tied for sixth at 9-under 201 and just inside the top 50 in the Cup standings.
Those who finish in the top 50 of the FedEx Cup standings after Sunday’s round will advance to next week’s BMW Championship — the second of the PGA Tour’s three playoff tournaments — in Owings Mills, Md.
Fleetwood has had five top-five finishes this season, including a runner-up showing at the Travelers Championship in June.
Rose was runner-up to Rory McIlroy at the Masters and had two top-20 finishes — sixth at the Scottish Open and 16th at The Open — last month.
