Thomas opens three-shot lead over McIlroy at Bridgestone

Justin Thomas turned on the jets midway through the third round and opened a three-stroke lead at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio on Saturday.

A week before defending his title at the PGA Championship, Thomas carded three-under 67 after starting the day tied for the lead with Englishmen Ian Poulter and Tommy Fleetwood.

The American gathered five birdies in nine holes from the sixth en route to a 14-under 196 total with one round left at Firestone Country Club.

Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy also had a 67 to jump into second place with Poulter (70) at 11-under.

Tiger Woods plunged 11 shots behind after a poor 73.

Thomas and McIlroy are paired for the final round, potentially setting up a duel between the south Florida neighbours.

"The hard part about this course is you can get off track pretty quick if you're not playing well," Thomas told CBS television.

"I just need to continue to play well tomorrow because I have a lot of really good players chasing me."

Australian Jason Day (69) moved into fourth place, four shots behind. Nobody has come from further back in the final round to win the championship.

World number three Thomas has won eight times on the PGA Tour, but is still after his first World Golf Championships title.

He lost to Phil Mickelson in a playoff at the WGC-Mexico Championship in March.

McIlroy was satisfied with a bogey-free round, particularly the quality of his driving, as he smashed his tee shots more than 300 yards with monotonous regularity.

"I like to hit driver as much as possible and this course allows me to do that," he said.

"It allows you to be aggressive off the tee. (Hitting) nine out of 14 fairways today is a good number if I can do that tomorrow hopefully I'll have a chance."

As McIlroy crept up the leaderboard, Fleetwood regressed. He got an unlucky break at the first hole when his approach shot hit the flagstick and clattered off the green, which set the tone for a 74 that left him seven shots back.

Woods, an eight-times champion at Firestone, dismissed speculation that his surgically-repaired back had bothered him.

"I'm fine," he said. "I just played like crap."

Asked to specify, he said: "Everything. I didn't warm up very well, didn't hit the ball crisp or clean.

"Very similar to the first day. Difference is I made everything the first day. Today I didn't make anything."

(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina, editing by Pritha Sarkar / Ian Ransom)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Tiger seeks 15th major, Spieth a Career Slam at 100th PGA

ST. LOUIS - Tiger Woods stalks his first major win in 10 years and Jordan Spieth chases a Career Grand Slam at next week's 100th PGA Championship while top-ranked Dustin Johnson hunts a second major triumph.

The American trio is expected to contend in the year's final major showdown over a 7,316-yard, par-70 Bellerive layout in the last PGA Championship to be played in August. The event moves to May next year.

Woods, a 14-time major champion who hasn't won a major title since the 2008 US Open, underwent spinal fusion surgery in April 2017 after years of back pain and began a comeback last December, rising from 1,200th in the world to 50th.

The former world number one shared second in March at the PGA Valspar Championship, switched to a mallet putter in June and shared fourth at the PGA National and last month led briefly in the final round of the British Open before settling for a share of sixth at Carnoustie behind Italian winner Francesco Molinari.

"I certainly can win again," Woods said. "I feel like I'm starting to hit the ball a little more crisp. And since I've switched putters, I've started to make some putts. When you make putts here and there, it changes everything."

Woods, 42, has won 79 career US PGA titles but hasn't won any event since the 2013 WGC Bridgestone Invitational.

"I've had an opportunity to win a couple times this year," Woods said. "My game has gotten better and good enough where I feel like I can win again out here."

Woods has won four PGA Championships, one shy of the record five won by Jack Nicklaus and Walter Hagen, but missed the cut in 2015 in his most recent appearance. He last won the PGA title at Southern Hills in 2007.

Third-ranked defending champion Justin Thomas, trying to become the first back-to-back PGA Championship winner since Woods in 2006 and 2007, wants to see Woods win if he's not in the hunt.

"I'm always pulling for Tiger if I'm not playing, or if he has a chance to win and I don't," Thomas said. "I said this at the beginning of the year I think he's going to win if he stays healthy. And it would be really cool for the game, if and when he does.

"But at the same time, I'm trying to make sure that he doesn't do that, for many reasons."

SPIETH ACCEPTS CHALLENGE 

Spieth was third at the Masters and shared ninth in his British Open title defense last month.

But the 25-year-old Texan who took the 2015 Masters and US Open titles hasn't won since claiming his third major crown last year at Royal Birkdale.

World number eight Spieth could become only the sixth player to complete the career Slam -- winning the Masters, US and British Opens and the PGA -- to join a list that includes Nicklaus, Woods, Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan and South African Gary Player.

"When you have an opportunity to do that, certainly it weighs on you a little bit," Spieth said. "All I can do is embrace the challenge."

Spieth could have become the youngest player to complete a Career Slam by winning last year's PGA but shared 28th at Quail Hollow.

DJ TOUGH TO BEAT

Johnson, coming off a victory in last week's Canadian Open, is an oddsmakers favorite to win the Wanamaker Trophy despite missing the British Open cut.

"I felt like I was hitting it fine," Johnson said. "It was the worst I've ever scored and the only thing I could come up with was I really wasn't focused on the shots and what I was trying to do."

But Johnson, whose lone major win came at the 2016 US Open, feels he can beat anyone anywhere when playing his best.

"If I'm playing my best, yeah, it's going to be very tough (to lose)," Johnson said.

Bellerive is hosting its third major tournament, having been the site of Player's 1965 US Open triumph to complete his career Grand Slam and Zimbabwean Nick Price's 1992 PGA Championship title, the first of his three major crowns.

js/bb

source: news.abs-cbn.com