GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Beau Hossler handled a half-dozen tough par putts and two rain delays Saturday for a 4-under 66 that gave him a share of the lead with Michael Brennan going into the final round of the Wyndham Championship with postseason berths at stake.
Hossler is No. 122 in the FedEx Cup, knowing his only mathematical chance to be among the top 70 to advance to playoffs is to win for the first time on the PGA Tour.
Brennan, who went from the
PGA Tour Americas to a PGA Tour card by winning the Bank of Utah Championship last fall, made a birdie putt from 15 feet on the last hole for a 63.
They were at 16-under 194, one shot ahead of Scottish Open winner Tom Kim (63), and two shots clear of 44-year-old Alex Noren and Alex Smalley, who each shot 65.
Such is the nature of the final regular-season tournament — and the stakes — that nine of the top 10 players on the leaderboard shot 66 or lower on Saturday.
Hossler was leading until a 30-minute delay because of storms, and returned to three-putt from 30 feet for bogey on the par-3 16th hole, ending his streak of 31 holes without a bogey. He hit his tee shot into the rough on the 17th and then came another delay of 1 hour, 20 minutes.
The rough was even thicker and damper when he returned, and the greens were challenging as ever. Hossler save par with three putts from 10 feet or long, and three others in the 5-foot range that looks even longer with the grain in the greens.
“That might be the hardest two-putt on the PGA Tour right there,” Hossler said of the 18th green. “Was really glad to get that down in two and give myself a chance for tomorrow. But very chaotic day, and just glad to make it through.”
Jordan Smith of England, at No. 68 in the FedEx Cup, helped his cause in many ways when he made a hole-in-one on the par-3 16th hole with a 9-iron. That also came with a million reward points from tournament sponsor Wyndham.
Davis Thompson had enough drama to last a week. He is at No. 81 — a year ago he finished 71st after the Wyndham Championship and missed the postseason by five points — and holed out with an 8-iron from 186 yards for an albatross on the par-5 fifth hole.
“Making an albatross usually helps get things going,” Thompson said.
The other par 5 at Sedgefield didn't work out as well. Thompson noticed a crack in his driver on the 13th hole, and he had a spare driver head in his locker. But before it could be brought out to him, he reached the par-5 15h and had to hit 3-wood. He his 3-iron (instead of a mid-iron) into the bunker and had to settle for par.
Even so, his 65 put him in a great spot to hold his own and advance to the postseason.
“It’s my fourth year on tour and two of the three years I’ve been right on the bubble, so I’ve got experience with it,” Thompson said.
He also was close enough to the lead — three shots — to think about winning.
Hossler has no choice but to win if he wants to get into the lucrative postseason, that starts with a pair of $20 million tournaments. Brennan, at No. 105, could finish in a three-way tie for second and still have a mathematical chance at the top 70.
Brennan was more honest than most about the final round.
“I know where I need to be. I know what I need to do. I know I'm going to be thinking about it,” he said. “Just get myself to comeback to the golf I'm playing.”
Keegan Bradley got a reprieve by making the cut on the number, but he could only muster a 69 and needs a low round Sunday to move from his spot at No. 72. Andrew Putnam and Austin Smotherman also need something special.
Ben James, the No. 1 player in the PGA Tour University ranking who made his pro debut in June, has to win and he started one shot out of the lead and in the final group with Hossler. But he had four bogeys in a five-hole stretch on the back nine and, much like his Saturday in the Canadian Open, went the wrong direction in a hurry. He shot 72 and was seven shots behind.
Brooks Koepka, meanwhile, will see his season returning from LIV Golf end sooner than he would have hoped. Koepka shot a 74 on Saturday and was 11 shots behind where he needed to be to have any chance of advancing.
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