Category: Professional

Brendon Todd falls short of third straight victory, but what a run it was

Brendon Todd’s tank hit empty as he lost the lead and stumbled to a 2-over 72 and fourth-place finish at the RSM Classic.

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ST. SIMON’S ISLAND, Ga. – Brendon Todd’s glorious run on the PGA Tour stalled on Sunday when the 54-hole-leader of the RSM Classic ran out of gas in his attempt to win his third straight start on the PGA Tour.

“I was definitely tired on the back nine, and with no momentum going, no birdies through 14 holes, it just seemed like I couldn’t summon the energy to make some birdies,” said Todd, who shot 2-over 72 to finish fourth.

Back-to-back victories at the Bermuda Championship and Mayakoba Golf Classic lifted Todd into the conversation for a Presidents Cup captain’s pick as he attempted to become the first player to win in three consecutive weeks on the Tour schedule since Tiger Woods in 2006, and the first to win three consecutive starts since Dustin Johnson in 2017.

RSM CLASSIC: Scores | Gallery | Schedule, results | Trophies

“Coming into the weekend I figured that he was going to be someone that was going to make a run for it, the golf that he’s been playing,” said Tyler Duncan, who won in a sudden-death playoff. “We were talking about if anyone had won three consecutive golf tournaments in a row and he’s found something and he’s been playing some unbelievable golf.”

If Todd’s brilliant third round 8-under 62 at Sea Island Resort’s Seaside Course on Saturday was “like a video game out there,” as he put it, Sunday’s round was more like a pinball machine on tilt.

“I didn’t feel I was in the zone,” Todd said. “I was in this just like adrenaline‑fueled zone the last three weeks and I couldn’t get there today. I think it just didn’t start out very good and I wasn’t able to kind of — once a bogey happens, then you’re just in this weird fight‑or‑flight mentality, so it kind of took all my positive energy away.”

Todd entered the final round with a two-stroke lead, but it evaporated quickly as Webb Simpson, who lost in a playoff, birdied two of the first three holes. Todd’s round took a turn for the worse at the fifth hole when he attempted to punch a 7-iron into the wind and blocked it right into a hazard. It was a 4-iron in 2015 that sailed 50 yards right of his target snd led to Todd’s struggles with the full-swing yips. But Todd said that fear of a reoccurrence wasn’t a factor in his miscue.

Of the stray shot that led to a double bogey, Todd said, “I felt like I made a pretty good swing. I was a little aggressive with my line, I was going pretty much right at it because I thought the wind was in off the right and I feel like the wind switched off the left. So the second it got moving right, it just moved hard right.  Probably just a situation where Webb tied me up and I was trying to play aggressive and I just kind of got caught there on a wind switch.”

Todd did himself no favors in that his putter cooled off more than the weather, which dipped into the low 60s. Todd missed a series of makeable birdie and par putts – all to the right. Through his first 11 holes, he had made 22 feet of putts and ranked No. 70 of 76 in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting.

“One of those days,” Todd lamented. “The greens were fast again and the pins were tucked a little more and the wind was blowing harder. I think it was really just the wind. I mean, nobody in our group made a putt through 14 holes, not one really that I can think of. It was just a tough day on the greens for everybody.”

When Todd finally canned a 7-foot birdie putt, he raised his arms in mock celebration as if he’d just won the tournament. His final-round 2-over par 72 snapped a string of 12 consecutive rounds of 68 or better dating to the final round of the Houston Open.

What a difference a year makes for Todd. Flash back to last November and he had to shoot 61 to Monday Qualify into the RSM Classic. After contemplating a career change, he posted four rounds in the 60s in the tournament, and his T-54 here gave him the shot of confidence to continue his comeback. He said he would enjoy some time off and be raring to go at the winners-only Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua Resort in Maui.

“Now I’m sort of flying high, my game’s really there, I’m confident and I know how to navigate the golf courses and my swing and my putting,” Todd said. “I’m looking forward to picking my schedule next year and going every week and trying to get under par and get in contention.”

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How much money each golfer earned at the CME Group Tour Championship

We list the payouts for each player who made the cut at the 2019 CME Group Tour Championship.

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Sei Young Kim won the CME Group Tour Championship in dramatic fashion with a 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole.

Kim held off several competitors Sunday at Tiburon Golf Club as she shot a final-round 70. With her win, the 26-year-old Kim claimed the biggest winner’s check in women’s golf history — $1.5 million — for a week’s work in Naples, Florida.

MORE: LPGA schedule, results | Gallery

The CME title marks Kim’s 10th career LPGA victory, her third of 2019, and helped give her financial stability for the foreseeable future.

Below is a breakdown of how much each player earned in Naples this week:

Position Player To par Earnings
1 Sei Young Kim -18 $1,500,000
2 Charley Hull -17 $480,000
T-3 Danielle Kang -16 $269,637
T-3 Nelly Korda -16 $269,637
5 Brooke M. Henderson -15 $176,570
T-6 Lexi Thompson -13 $119,683
T-6 Jessica Korda -13 $119,683
T-6 Su Oh -13 $119,683
T-9 Brittany Altomare -12 $82,790
T-9 So Yeon Ryu -12 $82,790
T-11 Ally McDonald -11 $59,613
T-11 Marina Alex -11 $59,613
T-11 Georgia Hall -11 $59,613
T-11 Ariya Jutanugarn -11 $59,613
T-11 Jeongeun Lee6 -11 $59,613
T-11 Jin Young Ko -11 $59,613
T-11 Caroline Masson -11 $59,613
T-18 Katherine Kirk -10 $46,289
T-18 Bronte Law -10 $46,289
T-20 Inbee Park -9 $42,234
T-20 Mi Jung Hur -9 $42,234
T-20 Yu Liu -9 $42,234
23 Megan Khang -8 $39,529
24 Hyo Joo Kim -7 $38,179
T-25 Shanshan Feng -6 $35,052
T-25 Nasa Hataoka -6 $35,052
T-25 Carlota Ciganda -6 $35,052
T-25 Amy Yang -6 $35,052
T-29 Eun-Hee Ji -5 $30,447
T-29 Alena Sharp -5 $30,447
T-29 Lizette Salas -5 $30,447
T-29 Nanna Koerstz Madsen -5 $30,447
T-33 Nicole Broch Larsen -4 $27,363
T-33 Azahara Munoz -4 $27,363
T-35 Wei-Ling Hsu -3 $24,997
T-35 Jenny Shin -3 $24,997
T-35 Jodi Ewart Shadoff -3 $24,997
38 Jennifer Kupcho -2 $23,309
T-39 Jaye Marie Green -1 $21,322
T-39 Moriya Jutanugarn -1 $21,322
T-39 Jasmine Suwannapura -1 $21,322
T-39 Jing Yan -1 $21,322
T-43 Ashleigh Buhai E $18,619
T-43 Mi Hyang Lee E $18,619
T-43 Amy Olson E $18,619
T-43 Cheyenne Knight E $18,619
T-47 Gaby Lopez +1 $16,717
T-47 Morgan Pressel +1 $16,717
T-47 Celine Boutier +1 $16,717
50 Anna Nordqvist +2 $15,703
T-51 Stacy Lewis +3 $15,028
T-51 Chella Choi +3 $15,028
T-53 Kristen Gillman +4 $14,351
T-53 Lydia Ko +4 $14,351
55 Minjee Lee +5 $13,846
T-56 Mirim Lee +6 $13,337
T-56 Hannah Green +6 $13,337
58 Annie Park +7 $12,832
59 Angel Yin +10 $12,493

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How much money each golfer earned at the RSM Classic

We list the payouts for each player who made the cut at the 2019 RSM Classic at Sea Island Golf Club.

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The fall portion of the 2019-20 PGA Tour season wrapped with the RSM Classic at Sea Island Golf Club on Sunday.

Tyler Duncan earned his first PGA Tour victory after making a 12-foot birdie putt in the second hole of a playoff, defeating Webb Simpson. The loss for Simpson marks the second time in his career he lost in a playoff at Sea Island.

RSM CLASSIC: Scores | Gallery | Schedule, results | Trophies

Brendon Todd fell short of winning three PGA Tour events in a row after he shot a final-round 72. Todd finished in fourth place at 16 under.

Below is a breakdown of how much each player earned in Sea Island this week:

Position Player To par Earnings
1 Tyler Duncan -19 $1,188,000
2 Webb Simpson -19 $719,400
3 Sebastián Muñoz -18 $455,400
4 Brendon Todd -16 $323,400
T-5 Henrik Norlander -15 $244,200
T-5 Scottie Scheffler -15 $244,200
T-5 Kyoung-Hoon Lee -15 $244,200
T-8 Denny McCarthy -14 $199,650
T-8 D.J. Trahan -14 $199,650
T-10 Will Gordon -13 $160,050
T-10 Brian Stuard -13 $160,050
T-10 Vaughn Taylor -13 $160,050
T-10 Alex Noren -13 $160,050
T-14 J.T. Poston -12 $110,550
T-14 Matthew NeSmith -12 $110,550
T-14 Keith Mitchell -12 $110,550
T-14 Scott Brown -12 $110,550
T-14 Brian Harman -12 $110,550
T-14 Nick Watney -12 $110,550
T-20 Russell Knox -11 $80,850
T-20 Cameron Tringale -11 $80,850
T-20 Ricky Barnes -11 $80,850
T-23 Chase Seiffert -10 $57,420
T-23 Ryan Armour -10 $57,420
T-23 Talor Gooch -10 $57,420
T-23 Fabián Gómez -10 $57,420
T-23 Jim Furyk -10 $57,420
T-23 Davis Thompson -10 Amateur
T-23 Doc Redman -10 $57,420
T-30 Kyle Stanley -9 $43,230
T-30 David Hearn -9 $43,230
T-30 Hank Lebioda -9 $43,230
T-30 Troy Merritt -9 $43,230
T-30 Tim Wilkinson -9 $43,230
T-35 Alex Cejka -8 $32,257.50
T-35 Jim Herman -8 $32,257.50
T-35 Dylan Frittelli -8 $32,257.50
T-35 Brandon Hagy -8 $32,257.50
T-35 Adam Long -8 $32,257.50
T-35 Harry Higgs -8 $32,257.50
T-35 Bill Haas -8 $32,257.50
T-35 Scott Stallings -8 $32,257.50
T-43 Stewart Cink -7 $22,147.72
T-43 Mark Anderson -7 $22,147.72
T-43 David Lingmerth -7 $22,147.72
T-43 Scott Harrington -7 $22,147.71
T-43 Rhein Gibson -7 $22,147.71
T-43 Kyle Reifers -7 $22,147.71
T-43 Luke Donald -6 $22,147.71
T-50 Chesson Hadley -6 $17,006
T-50 Ryan Brehm -6 $17,006
T-50 Anirban Lahiri -6 $17,006
T-53 Mark Hubbard -5 $15,493.50
T-53 Luke List -5 $15,493.50
T-53 Maverick McNealy -5 $15,493.50
T-53 Kramer Hickok -5 $15,493.50
T-53 Rory Sabbatini -5 $15,493.50
T-53 Tim Herron -5 $15,493.50
T-53 Tyler McCumber -5 $15,493.50
T-53 Rob Oppenheim -5 $15,493.50
T-61 Wes Roach -4 $14,652
T-61 Ben Crane -4 $14,652
T-61 Austin Cook -4 $14,652
T-61 Zach Johnson -4 $14,652
T-65 Mackenzie Hughes -3 $14,190
T-65 Doug Ghim -3 $14,190
T-65 Vincent Whaley -3 $14,190
T-68 Shawn Stefani -2 $13,728
T-68 Patton Kizzire -2 $13,728
T-68 Michael Thompson -2 $13,728
T-68 Adam Hadwin -2 $13,728
T-72 Peter Uihlein -1 $13,332
T-72 Matt Jones -1 $13,332
74 Satoshi Kodaira Even par $13,134
75 Bo Hoag +1 $13,002
76 Davis Riley +1 $12,870

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Tyler Duncan wins RSM Classic with birdie at 18

Tyler Duncan wins his first PGA Tour title at the 2019 RSM Classic in dramatic fashion.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Tyler Duncan sank a 12-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole of the RSM Classic to win his first PGA Tour title over Webb Simpson.

On a cool, blustery day, Duncan birdied the final two holes to tie Simpson. He made only one bogey all week and fired a 5-under 65 Sunday and 72-hole total of 19-under 261 at Sea Island Resort’s Seaside Course.

Simpson birdied two of his final holes and signed for a 3-under 67, but lost in a playoff at Sea Island for the second time in his career.

RSM CLASSIC: Scores | Gallery

The wheels finally came off for Brendon Todd, who was attempting to become the first player to win in three consecutive weeks on the Tour schedule since Tiger Woods in 2006, and the first to win three consecutive starts since Dustin Johnson in 2017.

Dating to the final round of the Houston Open, Todd hadn’t shot higher than 68 in his last 12 rounds, but he punched a 7-iron from 148 yards into the hazard to the right and made double bogey to squander the lead. Then his putter let him down as he missed a series of makeable birdie and par putts. He didn’t circle his first birdie on the card until 15 and closed in 2-over 72 to finish fourth.

Simpson charged early with birdies at Nos. 1 and 3 to erase his two-stroke deficit at the start of the day. Then he strung together 10 pars in a row before a bogey at 14 dropped him into a tie with Sebastián Muñoz and Duncan.

Muñoz, the winner of the Sanderson Farms Championship in a playoff, capped off a terrific fall season with a third-place finish after shooting 2-under 68 to finish at 18 under. Muñoz had a 26-foot birdie putt to tie for the lead, but missed it to the left.

Duncan, who had only three top-10 finishes in 67 previous starts, played his first 54 holes bogey-free until making his only hiccup of the week, a bogey on No. 1 on Sunday. But he poured in four birdies through 15 holes to share the lead with Simpson and Muñoz, who both birdied the short par-5 15th to pull in front of Duncan. The 30-year-old Purdue grad answered at the par-3 17th, sticking his tee shot to 7 feet and rolling in the putt, and then, for good measure, draining a 25-footer at 18 for birdie.

Simpson canned a 22-foot birdie putt at 16 and parred in for 67. But he still hasn’t won the RSM Classic after losing in a playoff in 2011 and finishing third in 2018 at the RSM Classic.

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Sei Young Kim pockets $1.5 million with clutch finish at CME Group Tour Championship

Sei Young Kim held on down the stretch at Tiburon Golf Club to put her name on the biggest winner’s check in women’s golf history.

Sei Young Kim won twice on the LPGA tour in 2019 before ever reaching the season finale in Naples, Florida. Those previous victories filled Kim’s pockets with just a percentage of what she walked away with on Sunday at the CME Group Tour Championship.

Kim held off a handful of charges down the stretch at Tiburon Golf Club to put her name on the biggest winner’s check in women’s golf history. Kim, 26, claimed $1.5 million for her week’s work in Naples, which is nearly three times what she won for her first two victories this season, combined.

It was a landmark week for women’s golf, largely because of the big box of cash that awaited the winner.

Kim entered the week No. 7 in the Race to the CME Globe standings. In the past, only a handful of players at the top of the Race to the CME Globe had a chance to win the $1 million bonus. This year tournament officials combined bonus money with the first-place prize and gave anyone in the 60-player field the chance at the $1.5 million payday.

That much money on the line could understandably create a mental hurdle, and at times it appeared to weigh on Kim. She blew a birdie try way past the hole at No. 17 and shared the top spot on the leaderboard with Charley Hull as she walked to the 18th tee.

Minutes earlier, Hull made birdie at No. 18 for a final-round 66 that moved her to 17 under, where Kim had staked the lead.

U.S. Solheim Cupper Danielle Kang also closed in on Sunday. Kang’s closing 7-under 65 bumped her seven spots up the leaderboard but she only got as far as 16 under. She ended up tied for third with Nelly Korda, who started the day one shot back and played in the final group with Kim but lost control of too many drives on the back nine to take control of the leaderboard.

Ultimately, Kim locked in her major payday when her 30-footer for birdie at No. 18 dropped in the left side of the hole. She won wire-to-wire after opening the week with a 65 and holding on for a final-round 70. Kim was 18 under total.

The CME title was Kim’s 10th career LPGA victory and helped gave her financial stability in this career for the forseeable future.

The breakdown for the top five players on the leaderboard is as follows:

CME Group Tour Championship
Total purse: $5 million
1st place: $1.5 million
2nd: $480,000
3rd: $310,882
4th: $226, 432
5th: $175,912

How much money each player won at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai

Sunday was a lucrative day for Jon Rahm, the 25-year-old Spaniard who walked away from the DP World Tour Championship with $5 million.

Sunday was a lucrative day for Jon Rahm. The 25-year-old Spaniard walked away from the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai with $5 million.

When Rahm putted out for birdie on the final hole at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, he collected the $3 million first-place check for winning the European Tour finale plus an additional $2 million bonus for finishing the season as No. 1 on the Race to Dubai.

The Arizona State grad joins the late Seve Ballesteros in the European Tour record books. Rahm is the second Spaniard, and first since Ballesteros in 1991, to end a season as European No. 1.

DP World Tour Championship: Leaderboard

Below is a breakdown, in pounds, of how much each player earned in Dubai this week:

Position Player To par Earnings
1 Jon Rahm -19 € 2,712,722.67
2 Tommy Fleetwood -18 803,418.03
3 Mike Lorenzo-Vera -17 535,762.73
4 Rory McIlroy -12 302,468.58
5 Danny Willett -11 240,980.20
6 Sergio Garcia -10 172,710.01
6 Tom Lewis -10 172,710.01
6 Thomas Pieters -10 172,710.01
9 Matthew Fitzpatrick -9 120,716.16
10 Jason Scrivener -8 102,631.34
10 Andy Sullivan -8 102,631.34
12 Christiaan Bezuidenhout -7 86,355.01
12 Shane Lowry -7 86,355.01
14 Robert MacIntyre -6 76,408.36
14 Paul Waring -6 76,408.36
16 Marcus Kinhult -5 69,174.43
16 Guido Migliozzi -5 69,174.43
18 Jorge Campillo -4 63,748.98
18 Paul Casey -4 63,748.98
20 Rafa Cabrera Bello -3 53,689.30
20 David Lipsky -3 53,689.30
20 Joost Luiten -3 53,689.30
20 Louis Oosthuizen -3 53,689.30
20 Victor Perez -3 53,689.30
20 Justin Rose -3 53,689.30
20 Matthias Schwab -3 53,689.30
20 Richard Sterne -3 53,689.30
28 Adri Arnaus -2 42,273.26
28 Thomas Detry -2 42,273.26
28 Mikko Korhonen -2 42,273.26
28 Patrick Reed -2 42,273.26
28 Matthew Southgate -2 42,273.26
28 Erik Van Rooyen -2 42,273.26
28 Matt Wallace -2 42,273.26
28 Bernd Wiesberger -2 42,273.26
36 Joachim B. Hansen -1 35,491.45
36 Justin Harding -1 35,491.45
38 Benjamin Hebert E 33,004.79
38 Lee Westwood E 33,004.79
40 Romain Langasque +1 30,744.19
40 Francesco Molinari +1 30,744.19
40 Aaron Rai +1 30,744.19
43 Haotong Li +2 28,935.71
44 Ian Poulter +3 27,579.35
44 Henrik Stenson +3 27,579.35
46 Tyrrell Hatton +4 26,222.99
47 Jordan Smith +5 25,318.74
48 Kurt Kitayama 8+ 24,414.50
49 Scott Hend +9 23,058.14
49 Andrea Pavan +9 23,058.14

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How does life on tour compare for women and men? Let the numbers speak for themselves

For the first time in 10 years, I was home in Houston at the same time as the PGA Tour’s Houston Open. I have to be honest: I had no desire to set foot on the property. It was very disheartening to watch all the stands go up, see all the courtesy …

For the first time in 10 years, I was home in Houston at the same time as the PGA Tour’s Houston Open. I have to be honest: I had no desire to set foot on the property.

It was very disheartening to watch all the stands go up, see all the courtesy cars around town and then see the purse that these guys are playing for. A $7.5 million purse for an event that didn’t have a single player inside the top 30 in the world competing? Well, you ask, why am I so disappointed? For starters, through last month’s BMW Ladies Championship, LPGA events averaged 19 top-30 players at each tournament. Let’s run through some more stats.

The purse at the Houston Open was greater than every single tournament on the LPGA tour’s schedule. The closest is the U.S. Women’s Open at $5.5 million, which will be played here in Houston next summer. We received courtesy cars at two events this year (KPMG, U.S. Open), and the men get them every week.

I think the one number that really highlights the difference is the total amount of money each tour plays for in a season. PGA Tour players competed for more than $343 million plus an additional $71 million in bonuses in 2018-19, while the LPGA came in at $70.2 million with only $1.1 million in bonuses in 2019! I’ll do the math for you: The women play for roughly 17% of what the men do.

Stacy Lewis hits her tee shot on the 13th hole at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Kemper Lakes Golf Club. (Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports)

This is significantly behind what women are making in the workplace in 2019. According to the latest report from Payscale.com, women make on average 79 cents to every dollar earned by a man. I’m not writing this to complain; I’m writing this to make you aware. I believe this topic needs to be talked about more and not be one we all shy away from because it is uncomfortable. It is the truth. Let’s talk about the truth.

Club manufacturers across the golf industry have begun to pull back on sponsorships on both sides, but this has been a huge hit to our tour. Callaway and PXG are the only companies consistently out every week, and we all so appreciate their investment, but neither have a tour van. I saw at least 10 companies with their trucks in Houston for the guys. The LPGA has a full-time employee who has to drive a van to service our players. I have heard of very good players having to buy their own equipment.

Life is very different on the LPGA. Another big difference is corporate sponsorships. While I don’t know specific numbers, I estimate the 17% applies here as well, and it may be even less. I have been very fortunate in my career off the golf course. I’ve had to work very hard for it, but I haven’t had to worry about covering my expenses every year. But there are plenty that do.

Let’s take the 100th-ranked player on the LPGA money list. This season Mariah Stackhouse made $127,365. No. 100 on the PGA Tour money list for 2018-19, Carlos Ortiz, made $1,073,962. Once Mariah pays taxes and expenses, I bet she barely breaks even. The PGA Tour had 112 guys make over a million dollars in 2018-19, while the LPGA has 13 so far this year.

Stacy Lewis waits to tee of on the 10th tee during the second round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club. (Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports)

The truth is LPGA players are playing for more than we ever have in our history. We have seen significant increases specifically in our major purses over the last few years. Why? Because the person/sponsor writing the check said 17% is not OK. I would love to see more companies that sponsor the PGA Tour come to an LPGA event and ask them if 17% is OK. Another truth is we currently have great sponsors and partners. Many have been with the LPGA for a long time, and we are so appreciative of them for our progress over the last decade. But I think it’s time we start looking forward and figure out how to narrow the gap.

This is an uncomfortable subject I know, and it’s not a simple fix. It goes back to the chicken or the egg, which comes first. You need to spend money to make more money, but how do you make more money if you don’t have it to spend? I’m OK with not having totally equal purses, but I think we can do better than 17%. Gwk

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Sei Young Kim, Nelly Korda paired for final 18 holes of CME Group Tour Championship

Sei Young Kim and Nelly Korda are paired together for the final 18 holes. Each hopes to win the $1.5 million prize.

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Sei Young Kim still is at the top, but a five-shot gap she built in the middle of Saturday’s third round is all but gone in the CME Group Tour Championship.

Kim, who has nine victories but no major championships despite a few chances, has a one-stroke lead over 21-year-old Nelly Korda with Sunday’s $1.5 million winner’s check on the line.

“Back nine was little tough to focus on what I have to do,” Kim said. “I kept think about like future, so I was like, ‘Nope, Sei Young. Stop thinking. Focus on it.'”

Korda was focused on catching Kim, 26.

MORE: Leaderboard | Photo gallery | Tee times, viewing info

“It’s moving day, so I try to move up the leaderboard, try to get closer to her,” said Korda, who finished second behind Lexi Thompson last year. “She’s playing really solid golf. I’m just trying to take it shot by shot and see where it goes.”

Kim was in the last group in the 2018 Evian Championship, but finished one stroke back of Angela Stanford. In 2015, Kim had a three-shot lead in the ANA Inspiration, but shot a final-round 75 and tied for fourth.

But Kim does have eight top-10 finishes in majors over the past five years.

“I know that if I win that’s my career 10 times win, but I don’t want to think about it,” she said. “Just I want to play well. That’s my biggest target.”

Kim will enjoy playing with Korda.

“She’s my favorite player,” Kim said. “She plays so fast. So fast, yeah. When I play with her, it’s like, yeah, very fast, fast, fast.”

Beware of the sick golfer, though. Kim, who lives in Dallas, went home after the Asian swing, and picked up a cold she’s been battling this week.

“I couldn’t practice that much because of the weather,” Kim said. “But I try, so that’s the reason why I got bad cold.”

Outside of Kim and Korda, it may be a case of the rest of the field at Tiburón Golf Club at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort.

Germany’s Caroline Masson is four back at 12-under 204, and England’s Charley Hull, who set the course tournament scoring record at 19 under when she won here in 2016, is another stroke back after a 66.

Rolex Player of the Year and World No. 1 Jin Young Ko of South Korea also had a 66 and is joined by Nelly’s older sister Jessica, Australia’s Su Oh, and Canada’s Brooke Henderson, a Miromar Lakes resident, at 10 under, six back.

Defending champion Lexi Thompson was 3 under for her round after the front, but shot just 1 under on the back and is tied with six others at 9 under.

NBC will show the final round live from 1 to 4 p.m. A cool front is scheduled to move in overnight, with a chance of rain early in the morning but diminishing as the day goes on.

Kim got to 15 under with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 6 and 7, but stalled after that. She parred the next seven holes, including having to save a pair of pars, then drained an 18-footer from the back of the green on No. 15 to get to 16 under after Korda drew within one.

“Back nine it was kind of boring,” Kim said. “I had a lot of chances.”
Korda double bogeyed No. 3, but that just set off a string of seven birdies in 11 holes, including three in a row, as she re-climbed the leaderboard.

“Kind of hit the brakes every single day on the back nine, and I just told myself, ‘Just be really aggressive on the back nine,’ and it worked out today,” Korda said.

Masson didn’t play her way out of having a chance, but didn’t enhance it with pars on the last four holes.

None of the top three have a major championship victory, although Kim has nine wins and Korda has three, including two this year. Masson, 30, has one win, back in 2016.

There’s $1.5 million on the line, and a leaderboard that includes two major winners — Ko has two, both this year, and Henderson has one — for Kim to battle, along with her cold, Sunday.

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Sei Young Kim clings to 1-shot lead with $1.5 million on the line

Sei Young Kim is giving that $1.5 million prize her all. After the third round, she holds a one-shot lead at the CME Group Tour Championship

NAPLES, Fla. (AP) — Sei Young Kim was on the verge of taking all the drama out of the chase for the richest payoff in women’s golf history.

She opened with three birdies in seven holes Saturday in the CME Group Tour Championship as her challengers either stalled or faded. She led by five shots before making the turn.

Kim hit the brakes.

Nelly Korda hit the gas.

When the third round ended at Tiburon Golf Club, Kim had to settle for a 4-under 68 and a one-shot lead over Korda with one round remaining to see who wins the $1.5 million.

MORE: Leaderboard | Photo gallery | Tee times, viewing info

Both made it sound as though it will be just another round of golf.

Then again, no one in LPGA Tour history has ever played for this much cash. It’s more than either of them has made all year.

“I had a pretty solid round front nine,” Kim said. “But back nine was little tough to focus. I kept thinking about future, so I was like, ‘Nope, Sei Young. Stop thinking. Focus on it.’ I had a lot of chances back nine. Going to practice and ready for tomorrow.”

Korda, who has a chance to reach No. 2 in the women’s world ranking with a victory, fell back early with a double bogey by going long of the green on the par-3 fourth. She recovered with three birdies over the next five holes, and then really turned it on.

“Kind of hit the brakes every single day on the back nine,” Korda said. “I told myself to be really aggressive on the back nine, and it worked out today.”

She opened with three straight birdies, holing out from a greenside bunker on No. 11, and she was back in the game. Korda shot a 31 on the back nine for a 66.

Kim was at 16-under 200 and will be in the final group with Korda.

Caroline Masson of Germany, who will join them in the final pairing, had a 70 and was four shots behind, with Charley Hull of England another shot behind after a 66.

For so many others, an ideal day for scoring at Tiburon turned out to be a lost opportunity.

Brooke Henderson of Canada, who attracted the biggest gallery playing with Korda and with a horde of Canadians in Florida for the winter, had bogeys on three of the par 5s and never got anything going for a 71. She was six shots behind.

Defending champion Lexi Thompson made an early charge, only to be slowed by a pair of bogeys on the back — all her bogeys this week have been on the back nine — that gave her a 70 and put her seven shots behind.

Kim has shown few signs of coming back to the field. She has made only one bogey through 54 holes, and with her strong start it looked as though the 26-year-old Korean might run away from the field.

The back nine changed everything.

Korda appeared to be in trouble on No. 11 when she fanned a shot from the waste area into a bunker. She blasted it out and watched the ball crash into the pin and drop for birdie. She made another at the par-3 12th and took advantage at the end with a 4-hybrid on the green at the par-5 17th for at two-putt birdie.

Kim gave herself plenty of reasonable looks at birdie on the back nine. She couldn’t get any to fall except for a 25-footer on the 15th hole that restored her lead to two shots, but only briefly.

Kim’s second shot into the 17th was well short and to the right into a bunker, and she blasted out to some 30 feet away. She played away from the flag on the 18th and two-putted for par from about 40 feet.

Still, she was in the lead after the third straight day, one step closer to a massive payoff.

The format changed this year from a points-based system in which only the top 12 players had a shot at a $1 million bonus to any of the 60 players who made it to the Tour Championship getting $1.5 million in official money by winning the tournament.

Jin Young Ko, celebrated Thursday night as LPGA Player of the Year, tried to get back into the game with a 66. She still was six shots behind along with Jessica Korda (69), the older sister of Nelly Korda.

Ko is virtually a lock to win the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average and needs a 65 to become only the second woman to finish with a sub-69 average score for the year.

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Should Tiger have waited and picked Brendon Todd for the Presidents Cup?

Tiger Woods might have pulled the trigger on Rickie Fowler too soon. Brendon Todd is hot and would have been a good Presidents Cup pick.

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ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Did Tiger Woods pull the trigger too soon with his latest pick as captain of the U.S. Presidents Cup team?

It’s a valid question, courtesy of Brendon Todd, who is in the pole position to win a third consecutive event on the PGA Tour.

On Wednesday, Woods, while he could have waited, didn’t waste any time in replacing the injured world No. 1 Brooks Koepka with Rickie Fowler to round out his band of 12 that will head to Australia Dec. 7 to face the Internationals at Royal Melbourne.

RSM Classic: Tee times, viewing info | Scores | Photos

Fowler was the expected choice. He’s a force in the team room, a solid, experienced player in the matches, a guy who finished 11th in the points race to be one of the eight automatic qualifiers. Fowler was Woods’ fifth pick – he earlier selected himself, Tony Finau, Gary Woodland and Patrick Reed.

But Fowler hasn’t played since August, as he got married in October and then got sick at the end of his honeymoon with an intestinal bacterial infection.

Meanwhile, Todd has gone bonkers.

He’s won the Bermuda Championship and the Mayakoba Golf Classic and will take a two-shot lead into Sunday’s final round of the RSM Classic at Sea Island Golf Club. With a bogey-free, 8-under-par 62 in Saturday’s third round, Todd got two clear of Webb Simpson and Sebastian Munoz, is three clear of D.J. Trahan and four ahead of three other players.

Todd missed just one green in regulation on the Seaside Course and hit every fairway in regulation. While he made birdie putts from 20, 12, 6, 2, 28, 18, 2 and 9 feet, he also lipped out four other birdie putts.

“Like my caddie said, it was like a video game out there today,” Todd said. “Just thrilled with the way I’m hitting it and feeling out there. That was about as good as I could ask for in the circumstances.

“I just expect certain areas of my game to perform at a certain level right now. So when they do, the scores come and then you just kind of take them and move through the round and try to shoot as low as you can.”

Todd’s remarkable run could lead him to winning three consecutive events on the PGA Tour. The last player to do that? Woods, in 2006.

It’s a stunning about-face. Todd nearly quit the game and considered opening a pizza franchise when he missed 37-of-41 cuts and went more than two years without breaking 70 on the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour from 2016-18.

Now he’s posted 12 consecutive round in the 60s, signing for 66-68-63-67-62-63-68-65-68-66-66-62. Folks, that’s a whopping 68-under par.

But he has no ill will toward Woods for not picking him.

“If there was any inkling at all, Davis (Love III) or Zach (Johnson) or one of the assistant captains might have mentioned it to me. Obviously Tiger had Rickie in mind a long time ago, as he should have, and I’m fine with that,” Todd said.

Todd also isn’t complaining about the final group on Sunday, where he’ll go out with Simpson and Munoz. Todd and Simpson played junior golf against each other and they’ve remained friends ever since. In times of struggle, each has consoled in the other. On Sunday, they will play on the PGA Tour together for the first time since being grouped in the first two rounds at Colonial in 2016.

“We’ve been able to talk to each other on the phone and help each other out,” Simpson said. “I’ve been so proud of him for hanging in there.  I mean, I think besides the Player of the Year, I mean, his story could be the biggest story of the year. To come back just proves what kind of guts he has inside of him to not give up or throw in the towel.”

But Simpson won’t question Woods’ decision to take Fowler.

“It’s funny, Brendon texted me after he won (in Mayakoba) and he said, ‘Captain’s pick?’” Simpson said. “But now it’s like he’s playing as good as anybody in the world. But I think the team’s set, but he definitely gave it a good try.”

That’s all Todd will do in the final round, for he’s not going to change anything.

“I just want to get into my little zone and attack the golf course like I’m trying to go shoot nothing because that’s been my mindset every day for the last three events and there’s really no reason to change it just because I’m (in) the lead,” Todd said. “And whether it happens or not, you know, I’m not going to change my game plan, I’m not going to feel good or bad about myself, I’m just going to keep attacking.”

It’s worked pretty well for three consecutive tournaments.

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