KAPALUA, Maui >> Those following the PGA Tour the past couple of months aren’t surprised to see Justin Thomas and Hideki Matsuyama holding down the top two spots entering today’s final round of the $6.1 million SBS Tournament of Champions.
Matsuyama is your FedEx Cup points leader and is the hottest golfer on the planet after winning four of his last five starts in tournaments around the world. He captured one of six fall events in the early part of the PGA Tour’s wraparound season as did Thomas that qualified both for this winners-only golf event.
Thomas is second to Matsuyama in the FedEx Cup race and holds a two-shot lead over his Japanese counterpart after firing his third consecutive 6-under 67 on Saturday for a 54-hole total of 18-under 201. Thomas won the CIMB Classic in Malaysia for the second year in a row last October with Matsuyama finishing second in the only tournament he didn’t win in five starts.
Matsuyama began Saturday’s round three shots behind Thomas and Ryan Moore to move from alone in sixth to alone in second with a 7-under 66 to match the day’s best round en route to a 16-under 203.
Moore (71), first-round leader Jimmy Walker (70) and William McGirt (66) are tied for third at 14-under 205, with one of these five golfers the most likely to win today.
As well as Thomas scored on Saturday, he felt he left several shots out on the Ben Crenshaw-designed Plantation Course on both nines. He just missed a 10-footer for par for his only bogey in 54 holes, had a 12-footer for birdie at No. 8 that he hit a little too hard and then missed a 5-footer for birdie at the easy par-5 ninth that left him 2 under for the round at the turn.
“I got off to a good start and was 3 under through five,” Thomas said. “I hit it a lot better today than I have the first two days. I just wasn’t as comfortable with the putter and even some of the putts that I hit well. It just didn’t drop.”
Midway through his back nine there were nine golfers within two shots of the lead, but Thomas helped thin the herd with “a huge poke” at the uphill par-4 14th, where his 281-yard drive settled 22 feet from the hole for eagle that he made. But he still couldn’t shake Matsuyama.
“Yeah, if I’m near Hideki in the tournament, that’s usually a pretty good thing,” Thomas said. “He’s obviously a tremendous player and he’s on an unbelievable run the last five events. He’s a great player, but there’s a lot of other great players out there. I just need to take care of my job.”
Thomas added another birdie at the par-5 18th that was just what he needed to secure a two-shot lead over Matsuyama, who carded eight birdies and a lone bogey at the par-3 eighth to keep him in the chase. The star of the show has one double bogey, one bogey and 19 birdies over the first three days. Thomas may be hot, but is he hot enough to hold off Matsuyama come Sunday?
“I played well today,” Matsuyama said via a translator. “I made a couple birdies early. Got it going and I felt good about my round. You’re right, I do have a lot of confidence going into (today’s) round. There’s still a few weak links that I need to work on. Hopefully, that won’t be a bother and we’ll play well.”
Obviously, McGirt and Walker aren’t out of it, even though they are four shots off the lead. McGirt’s 7-under effort Saturday was matched by only Matsuyama. Walker’s 65 on Thursday is still the lowest number fired in three days and may be what he needs again to get close to the top two.
The putter has gone cold over the last two days, something that left Walker a little frustrated, but he’s still in it, especially if Thomas comes back to the pack over the closing 18.
“I’d like to go and make a few more putts,” Walker said of Saturday’s 18. “I feel like I’m hitting it really solid and giving myself plenty of looks. I just didn’t make the putts I needed to make. Plenty of looks. Nothing went in. That’s just kind of frustrating.”
For McGirt, the flat stick finally showed up to give him a chance as well.
“I’ve hit it really well this week and finally made some putts,” McGirt said. “I struggled sort of the first couple days with the grain in these greens. I think (Friday) I could have putted better blindfolded. It was ugly up to the very end.”
Conditions were a little tougher on Saturday as the winds came up, but the players adjusted to a wet course and soft greens that seem to be drying out. It sets up for an exciting closing 18.
