Brendon Todd watches his tee shot on the second hole during the third round of the World Golf Championship-FedEx St. Jude Invitational on Saturday in Memphis, Tenn. Todd takes a one-stroke lead into Sunday’s final round after shooting a 69. Mark Humphrey/Associated Press
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Winning a World Golf Championship event easily would be the biggest victory of Brendon Todd’s career.
He has a recent reminder of how to best protect a lead in the final round – even if that memory is a bit painful.
Todd had a two-stroke lead going into the final round at the Travelers Championship in late June, only to shoot a 75 and tie for 11th. He shot a 1-under 69 on Saturday at the FedEx St. Jude Invitational to take a one-stroke lead into the final round.
“What I learned at the Travelers is just you cannot control the result, you can’t control the way you’re going to feel, where the ball’s going to land, if putts are going to go in … ,” Todd said. “The best players in the world treat each final round like it’s just another day, and they just go out there and try to execute and stick to their game and let the results fall as they do.”
Todd started the third round with a two-stroke lead. He had five birdies and four bogeys to put him at 13-under 198 on a nearly perfect day at TPC Southwind, with the temperature in the 70s.
The 35-year-old Georgian is looking for his fourth career victory, and third since last fall.
“I’m excited to be in this position and feel like if I can go out there and swing a little better and keep this putting momentum going, I’ll be in good shape,” Todd said.
Byeong Hun An of South Korea, who made four straight birdies on the back nine, finished with a 66 and was alone in second place. Rickie Fowler was two strokes back after a 69.
Defending champ Brooks Koepka struggled early before he reeled off six birdies in eight holes for a 68. He was fourth at 9 under.
Justin Thomas, who can become No. 1 in the world with a victory here, was fifth at 8 under after a 66. He won on this course in 2018 before the event became a World Golf Championship in 2019.
“I kind of found something those last 12 holes where I really started hitting some good putts and making them with good speed,” Thomas said. “Yeah, it was nice to shoot 4 under on that back nine to give myself somewhat of a chance.”
Phil Mickelson (66) and Louis Ooosthuizen (68) were in a group five strokes back.
• Troy Merritt made two late birdies in Truckee, California, to take a four-point lead into the final round of the Barracuda Championship, the PGA Tour’s lone modified Stableford scoring event.
Seeking his third PGA Tour victory, Merritt had 33 points. Maverick McNealy and Emiliano Grillo were tied for second.
Branden Grace, who was two points out of the lead after the second round on Friday, tested positive for the coronavirus Saturday. It was a double blow to the South African, who had to withdraw from the tournament and now can’t play next week in the PGA Championship.
Grace asked to be tested because he felt tired after Friday’s round, and it came back positive.
“I wanted to get tested out of respect for my peers and everyone involved with the tournament,” Grace said in a statement to the tour. “While it is unfortunate given my position on the leaderboard, the most important thing is our health.”
Under PGA Tour guidelines, Grace has to self-isolate for 10 days and be without a fever for 24 hours before returning. The PGA Championship starts Thursday in San Francisco.
LPGA: Danielle Kang returned from a 45-minute rain delay with two straight birdies, then made three straight bogeys to settle for a 1-over 73 in difficult scoring conditions, giving her a share of the lead with Celine Boutier and Jodi Ewart Shadoff in the LPGA Drive On Championship in Toledo, Ohio.
Only two players broke 70.
Boutier (71) and Ewart Shadoff (72) played in the morning before the harshest of the weather. They were at 5-under 139, along with Kang, in the LPGA Tour’s first event since the Women’s Australian Open on Feb. 16.
CHAMPIONS TOUR: Brett Quigley shot an 8-under 64 in Grand Blanc, Michigan, and took a one-shot lead in the Ally Challenge – the first PGA Tour Champions event in five months.
Monday qualifier Carlos Franco also had a 64 with two eagles and was in the group one shot behind that included Jim Furyk (66) in his debut on the 50-and-older circuit.
Tommy Armour also was within one shot of the lead.
Quigley was at 11-under 133 as he tries to win for the second time this year.
EUROPEAN TOUR: Sam Horsfield had a six-stroke lead cut to one going into the final day of the Hero Open in Birmingham, England.
Horsfield shot a 1-under 71 and was 14 under for the tournament – one shot ahead of Oliver Farr of Wales, Danish teenager Rasmus Hojgaard and Mikko Korhonen of Finland.
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