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Justin Thomas uses long putts and longer driver to lead Scottie Scheffler
AP • December 8th, 2024 12:00 pm
Photo: AP
Justin Thomas was long off the tee and made some long putts as he shot a six-under 66 and seized a one-shot lead over world No.1 Scottie Scheffler going into the final round of the Hero World Challenge.
Thomas is trying out a 46-inch driver - a little more than an inch longer than normal - that he previously used for practice at home to gain speed and length. He blasted a 361-yard drive to eight feet on the par-4 seventh hole and led the field in driving distance.
But it was his long putts that put him ahead of Scheffler, who had a 69, following Saturday's third round of the 20-player, Tiger Woods-hosted tournament in the Bahamas.
Photo: AP
Thomas was on the verge of falling two shots behind when he made an 18-foot par putt on the par-3 12th hole. On the reachable par-4 14th, he was in a nasty spot in a sandy area and could only splash it out to nearly 50 feet.
He made that one for a most unlikely birdie, while behind him Scheffler muffed a chip on the 13th hole and made his lone bogey of a windy day.
Scheffler never caught up to him, missing birdie chances on the reachable 14th and the par-5 15th. Thomas hit his approach to 3 feet for birdie on the 16th after a 343-yard drive. Scheffler made an 18-foot birdie putt on the 16th to close within one.
Thomas hasn't won since the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills, and a victory at Albany Golf Club wouldn't count as an official win. But the two-time major champion has made steady progress toward getting his game back in order.
"I'm driving it great. I've had a lot of confidence with it," Thomas said of his longer driver.
"I feel like I've been able to put myself in some pretty good spots going into the green. I'm still not taking advantage of some of them as much as I would like, but that's golf and we're always going to say that."
Thomas was at 17-under 199 and will be in the final group Sunday with Scheffler, who is trying to end his spectacular season with a ninth title.
Tom Kim put himself in the mix, which he might not have imagined on Thursday when he was three over through six holes. Kim got back in the game with a 65 on Friday, and then followed with 12 birdies for a 62.
He was only two shots behind while Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley (68) was four behind Thomas in outright fourth place, a shot clear of Sahith Theegala (66) and Akshay Bhatia (71).
"Feel like I've been seeing signs of improvement, which is what you want and that's all I can do," Thomas said.
"I can't control everybody else or what's going on, I've just got to keep playing as good as I possibly can and hope that it's enough come Sunday."
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