NASSAU, Bahamas — Justin Thomas was absent and made a couple of long putts on the back nine to overtake Scottie Scheffler with a 6-under 66 and build a one-shot lead over Saturday’s leading golfer in 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’s been practicing at home for speed and length. He blasted a 361-yard drive to 8 feet on the par-4 seventh hole and led the field in driving distance.
But it was a few long putts that put him ahead of Scheffler, who had a 69.
Thomas was two shots behind when he made an 18-foot par putt on the par-3 12th hole. On the approachable par-4 14th, he was in a bad spot in the sand and could chip it to about 50 feet.
He made an unexpected birdie, while behind him Scheffler chipped in on the 13th hole and made his bogey of the windy day.
Scheffler never found him, missing birdie opportunities on the 14th and the par-5 15th. Thomas worked his way 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.
Scheffler missed birdie opportunities on the final two holes from 10-foot and 15-foot distances, while Thomas missed an 8-foot birdie attempt at the last.
“I was 13, 14, 15 when I felt like I missed a shot or two there, but other than that I did a lot of really good things today,” Scheffler said.
Thomas hasn’t won since the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills, and a win at Albany Golf Club wouldn’t count as an official win. But the two-time champion has made solid progress in getting his game back on track.
“I’m driving it well. I’ve got a lot of confidence with it,” Thomas said of his long driver. “I feel like I’ve been able to put myself in some really good spots on the green. Some of them I haven’t used as much as I would have liked, but that’s golf and we always will. you name it.”
Thomas was 17-under 199 and will be in the final group on Sunday with Scheffler, who is trying to cap his incredible season with a ninth title.
Tom Kim found himself in trouble, which he may not have imagined Thursday when he went 3-under through six holes of the holiday tournament. Kim bounced back with a 65 on Friday, then followed up with 12 birdies for a 62.
He shot off the course record – Rickie Fowler shot 61 in the final round to win at Albany in 2017 – until Kim found a layup and took two shots to get to the green for double bogey on the par-3 17th.
Even so, he only had two guns left. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley (68) was four back.
“I feel like I’ve been seeing signs of improvement, which is what you want and that’s what I can do,” said Thomas. “I can’t control everyone or what happens, I have to keep playing as well as I can and hopefully it’s enough to get to Sunday.”
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