Michael Thompson Luke Guthrie tied for lead after third round of Honda Classic

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Michael Thompson birdied the 18th hole at the Honda Classic Saturday to join Luke Guthrie at 8-under 202.

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Doug Ferguson

Associated Press

Series: PGA Tour

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- PGA Tour rookie Luke Guthrie and Michael Thompson survived the chilly, blustery conditions and shared the lead Saturday in the Honda Classic.

With wind making the course play longer and the water look even more daunting, Guthrie held on for a 1-over 71 in his first time playing in the last group on tour. The 22-year-old from Illinois closed with eight good pars. Thompson narrowly missed a 20-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th hole for a 70.

They were at 8-under 202, and had to buckle down for what figures to be a wide open final round.

Lee Westwood chipped for an unlikely birdie on the 14th hole, made a 20-foot birdie on the 17th and salvaged a par despite hitting 3-wood into the water on the final hole for a 70 that left him only two shots behind. Geoff Ogilvy also had to work hard for a 70, starting with three bogeys on the opening four holes. Ogilvy made a 7-foot birdie putt on the 18th to join Westwood at 202 and give him a great chance to erase a miserable West Coast Swing.

Ogilvy, who failed to finish in the top 50 and qualify for the Masters at the end of last year by one shot, missed his last four cuts and didn't qualify for the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship last week. He has until the end of the month to go from No. 79 into the top 50, making Sunday an important day.

Eleven players were separated by four shots going into the final round, a group that included Rickie Fowler, Charles Howell III, Keegan Bradley and Justin Rose.

Missing from the mix was Tiger Woods.

Woods had hoped to post a low score to at least get into contention and was headed that way with a 32 on the front nine. But he didn't make another birdie the rest of the way, and took a double bogey on the par-3 17th when his shot plugged into the bank short of the green and he never found the ball. He wound up with a 70, not a bad score under the conditions, but not good enough to achieve what he wanted. He was eight shots behind.

Woods was nine shots out of the lead a year ago after 54 holes, closed with a 62 and was runner-up by two shots to Rory McIlroy.

Instead of the No. 1 player at the top of the leaderboard, there is a pair of players who have never won on the PGA Tour, two players who realized that a victory Sunday would get them into the Masters. Thompson hasn't been to Augusta National since 2008 as a U.S. Amateur finalist.

If the wind is anything like it was Saturday, it could be a matter of hanging on -- and not just for them.

"Even par for the day was never going to go backward," Ogilvy said. "It was only going to go forward, and I did that."

Proof of that was the scoring. No one among the last 20 players to tee off Saturday broke par. Former PGA Champion Y.E. Yang had a 67, the low score of the third round, and moved up 36 spots into a tie for seventh.

Westwood made a pair of sloppy bogeys to end the front nine and was in danger of falling too far behind until a 33 on the back nine got him back in the game. Just as key was getting through the 10th and 11th holes with par.

The par-4 11th, with the second shot over a lake, played so difficult that it yielded only birdie among 75 players -- a 35-foot putt by Yang -- and played to an average score of 4.8, which was higher than both the par 5s at PGA National.

The 10th played just over 500 yards as a par 4 and into the wind, so tough that Ogilvy had to hit 3-wood for his second shot.

"I like my chances regardless of the conditions," Westwood said. "I'm playing nicely. Just got a couple of mistakes I made today, but other than that, I'm playing solidly. I have to start making a few putts. I had a lot of chances to make putts that just grazed the hole. I like being out late on a Sunday and having a chance."

Five of the nine players within four shots of the lead could get to the Masters with a win, and that would be particularly meaningful to Howell, who grew up in Augusta. He was five shots out of the lead, until making a 20-foot birdie on the 15th and coming close to the water on the 18th, stopping short of a bunker for an up-and-down birdie that gave him a 71.

Fowler had a 69 and finished nearly two hours before the leaders. When the round was over, his name was prominently on the leaderboard. He will play in the final round with Howell in the third-to-last group.

"The biggest thing is being within a few shots going into the back nine tomorrow," Fowler said. "That's where the tournament really starts."

Rory McIlroy holds on to win by one shot over Louis Oosthuizen at Deutsche Bank

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Rory McIlroy became the youngest winner of a PGA Tour playoff event on Monday at TPC Boston.

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Doug Ferguson

Associated Press

Series: PGA Tour

NORTON, Mass. -- In a Labor Day finish filled with some of golf's biggest names, Rory McIlroy sent his stock soaring in the Deutsche Bank Championship.

McIlroy overcame a three-shot deficit Monday in five holes, and then survived mistakes on the final two holes to close with a 4-under 67 and escape with a one-shot victory over Louis Oosthuizen.

McIlroy joined Tiger Woods as the only three-time winners on the PGA Tour this year, and with one of his wins being the PGA Championship, that might be enough for his peers to vote him player of the year. He also finally built a comfortable gap at No. 1 in the world.

Oosthuizen had a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to force a playoff, only it slid by on the right side for a 71.

Woods made an early charge to get back in the hunt, though he never got closer than three shots until a two-putt birdie on the par-5 18th gave him a 66. He finished in third place, two shots behind, and earned enough money to become the first player to surpass $100 million in PGA Tour earnings.

Phil Mickelson also had a 66 and tied for fourth, along with Dustin Johnson, who had a 70 and likely played his way onto the Ryder Cup team. Brandt Snedeker made a strong case for a captain's pick with a 65-67 weekend to finish sixth.

Davis Love III will announce his four picks Tuesday morning in New York.

McIlroy didn't make it easy on himself. The 23-year-old from Northern Ireland had a three-shot lead with six holes to play, and only a clutch bogey putt on the 17th hole kept him from losing all of his lead.

"I had a couple of wobbles coming in, but I obviously did enough and I'm very excited to get a victory," McIlroy said.

Oosthuizen, who had to cope with pain in his right shoulder earlier in the round, came back with two birdies on the back to get within one shot. McIlroy hit a chip over the 17th green into more rough, and it looked as if he would struggle to make bogey. Oosthuizen, however, missed the green from the fairway, chipped poorly to 10 feet and missed his par putt, and Boy Wonder calmly sank his 5-foot bogey putt to stay one shot ahead.

"The 17th hole cost me," Oosthuizen said.

McIlroy finished 20-under 264 and moved to No. 1 in the FedExCup, assuring he will have a shot at the $10 million bonus at the Tour Championship later this month.

It was the second time this year that Oosthuizen, who won the British Open by seven shots at St. Andrews two years ago, failed to win after leading going into the final round. McIlroy made an early charge with three straight birdies, but the turning point came on the fifth hole when Oosthuizen felt pain in his shoulder on a tee shot that sailed into the trees and led to double bogey.

The pain went away on the back, which the South African attributed to an adrenaline rush.

As always at the TPC Boston, this was quite a show on a late summer day in New England. This is the tournament that in its 10-year history has delivered great duels between Woods and Vijay Singh (twice) and Woods and Mickelson. On this day, all the contenders had a fleeting hope of winnings.

McIlroy and Oosthuizen turned it into a two-man race, with Woods lurking until he couldn't convert enough putts. In the end, neither could Oosthuizen. He missed from just inside 10 feet for par on the 17th and from 12 feet on the 18th.

"I probably made all my putts yesterday," Oosthuizen said.

McIlroy becomes the youngest player with five PGA Tour wins since Woods, who had 15 wins at age 23.

There was other drama at the Deutsche Bank Championship, though it was not nearly as compelling as the top of the leaderboard.

Charley Hoffman went from the first page of the leaderboard to an unimaginable collapse until he steadied himself at the end. Hoffman, who was 13 under after a birdie on the eighth hole, played his next nine holes in 8 over par, including a quadruple-bogey 7 on the par-3 11th. He came to the 18th needing a par to finish among the top 70 in the FedExCup and advance to the third playoff event next week in Indianapolis.

He went over the green in two, barely chipped onto the putting surface, and then ran his putt 12 feet by the hole. He made the putt for par, and moves on.

"I didn't expect to be playing next week," Hoffman said. "Shooting 42 on the back nine, I don't think I deserved to play next week. But I guess I've got another chance."

Others who advanced included Dicky Pride, who birdied his last two holes to get the 70th spot by one stroke over Jonas Blixt; and Chris Kirk, who stumbled at the start only to birdie four of his last five holes.

Oosthuizen had a three-shot lead at the start of the final round, though he was never expecting an easy time. McIlroy rallied to cut a six-shot deficit in half on the back nine of the third round to give himself a chance, another example why he is No. 1 in the world.

Sure enough, McIlroy came out firing.

He hit a beautiful lag from just off the green on the par-5 second hole for birdie and rolled in a 12-foot birdie on the third to get within one shot. McIlroy hit 3-wood into the front bunker on the drivable par-4 fourth, the ideal position, and his bunker shot bounced off the pin to set up a third straight birdie. Oosthuizen stayed in front when his birdie putt from 25 feet dropped in on the final turn.

The fifth hole changed everything.

Oosthuizen reached for his shoulder after a horrific snap hook off the tee. The ball dove into the woods and landed in the middle of shoulder-high bushes, leaving him no option but to take a penalty drop out of the hazard. He laid up short of the creek and two-putted for double bogey. They were tied, because McIlroy's tee shot found a clump of native grass on the edge of a bunker, and he had to chip out short of the creek and made bogey.

Oosthuizen, though, was clearly hurting. He couldn't get through his swing on the next tee shot, which sailed into the bunker and kept him from attacking the pin. That's what McIlroy did, hitting 9-iron into 3 feet for birdie and his first lead. He never gave it back.

McIlroy and Oosthuizen could barely see Woods in his bright red shirt ahead of them, but they could hear what was going on. Woods ran off four birdies over the last six holes on the front nine, but he didn't make another one until the last hole.

"I certainly had my looks," Woods said. "I drove it really well on the back nine and just didn't hit it close enough at all. The only one I stuffed there was 17, and I missed that one."

Just a walk in the park for Adam Scott

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Rory McIlroy became the youngest winner of a PGA Tour playoff event on Monday at TPC Boston.

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Doug Ferguson

Associated Press

Series: PGA Tour

NORTON, Mass. -- In a Labor Day finish filled with some of golf's biggest names, Rory McIlroy sent his stock soaring in the Deutsche Bank Championship.

McIlroy overcame a three-shot deficit Monday in five holes, and then survived mistakes on the final two holes to close with a 4-under 67 and escape with a one-shot victory over Louis Oosthuizen.

McIlroy joined Tiger Woods as the only three-time winners on the PGA Tour this year, and with one of his wins being the PGA Championship, that might be enough for his peers to vote him player of the year. He also finally built a comfortable gap at No. 1 in the world.

Oosthuizen had a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to force a playoff, only it slid by on the right side for a 71.

Woods made an early charge to get back in the hunt, though he never got closer than three shots until a two-putt birdie on the par-5 18th gave him a 66. He finished in third place, two shots behind, and earned enough money to become the first player to surpass $100 million in PGA Tour earnings.

Phil Mickelson also had a 66 and tied for fourth, along with Dustin Johnson, who had a 70 and likely played his way onto the Ryder Cup team. Brandt Snedeker made a strong case for a captain's pick with a 65-67 weekend to finish sixth.

Davis Love III will announce his four picks Tuesday morning in New York.

McIlroy didn't make it easy on himself. The 23-year-old from Northern Ireland had a three-shot lead with six holes to play, and only a clutch bogey putt on the 17th hole kept him from losing all of his lead.

"I had a couple of wobbles coming in, but I obviously did enough and I'm very excited to get a victory," McIlroy said.

Oosthuizen, who had to cope with pain in his right shoulder earlier in the round, came back with two birdies on the back to get within one shot. McIlroy hit a chip over the 17th green into more rough, and it looked as if he would struggle to make bogey. Oosthuizen, however, missed the green from the fairway, chipped poorly to 10 feet and missed his par putt, and Boy Wonder calmly sank his 5-foot bogey putt to stay one shot ahead.

"The 17th hole cost me," Oosthuizen said.

McIlroy finished 20-under 264 and moved to No. 1 in the FedExCup, assuring he will have a shot at the $10 million bonus at the Tour Championship later this month.

It was the second time this year that Oosthuizen, who won the British Open by seven shots at St. Andrews two years ago, failed to win after leading going into the final round. McIlroy made an early charge with three straight birdies, but the turning point came on the fifth hole when Oosthuizen felt pain in his shoulder on a tee shot that sailed into the trees and led to double bogey.

The pain went away on the back, which the South African attributed to an adrenaline rush.

As always at the TPC Boston, this was quite a show on a late summer day in New England. This is the tournament that in its 10-year history has delivered great duels between Woods and Vijay Singh (twice) and Woods and Mickelson. On this day, all the contenders had a fleeting hope of winnings.

McIlroy and Oosthuizen turned it into a two-man race, with Woods lurking until he couldn't convert enough putts. In the end, neither could Oosthuizen. He missed from just inside 10 feet for par on the 17th and from 12 feet on the 18th.

"I probably made all my putts yesterday," Oosthuizen said.

McIlroy becomes the youngest player with five PGA Tour wins since Woods, who had 15 wins at age 23.

There was other drama at the Deutsche Bank Championship, though it was not nearly as compelling as the top of the leaderboard.

Charley Hoffman went from the first page of the leaderboard to an unimaginable collapse until he steadied himself at the end. Hoffman, who was 13 under after a birdie on the eighth hole, played his next nine holes in 8 over par, including a quadruple-bogey 7 on the par-3 11th. He came to the 18th needing a par to finish among the top 70 in the FedExCup and advance to the third playoff event next week in Indianapolis.

He went over the green in two, barely chipped onto the putting surface, and then ran his putt 12 feet by the hole. He made the putt for par, and moves on.

"I didn't expect to be playing next week," Hoffman said. "Shooting 42 on the back nine, I don't think I deserved to play next week. But I guess I've got another chance."

Others who advanced included Dicky Pride, who birdied his last two holes to get the 70th spot by one stroke over Jonas Blixt; and Chris Kirk, who stumbled at the start only to birdie four of his last five holes.

Oosthuizen had a three-shot lead at the start of the final round, though he was never expecting an easy time. McIlroy rallied to cut a six-shot deficit in half on the back nine of the third round to give himself a chance, another example why he is No. 1 in the world.

Sure enough, McIlroy came out firing.

He hit a beautiful lag from just off the green on the par-5 second hole for birdie and rolled in a 12-foot birdie on the third to get within one shot. McIlroy hit 3-wood into the front bunker on the drivable par-4 fourth, the ideal position, and his bunker shot bounced off the pin to set up a third straight birdie. Oosthuizen stayed in front when his birdie putt from 25 feet dropped in on the final turn.

The fifth hole changed everything.

Oosthuizen reached for his shoulder after a horrific snap hook off the tee. The ball dove into the woods and landed in the middle of shoulder-high bushes, leaving him no option but to take a penalty drop out of the hazard. He laid up short of the creek and two-putted for double bogey. They were tied, because McIlroy's tee shot found a clump of native grass on the edge of a bunker, and he had to chip out short of the creek and made bogey.

Oosthuizen, though, was clearly hurting. He couldn't get through his swing on the next tee shot, which sailed into the bunker and kept him from attacking the pin. That's what McIlroy did, hitting 9-iron into 3 feet for birdie and his first lead. He never gave it back.

McIlroy and Oosthuizen could barely see Woods in his bright red shirt ahead of them, but they could hear what was going on. Woods ran off four birdies over the last six holes on the front nine, but he didn't make another one until the last hole.

"I certainly had my looks," Woods said. "I drove it really well on the back nine and just didn't hit it close enough at all. The only one I stuffed there was 17, and I missed that one."

Glover and Clarke share lead after two rounds at Open Championship

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Lucas Glover's even par round was good enough to snag him a share of the lead heading into the weekend.

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SANDWICH, England (AP) -- A player from Northern Ireland charged up the leaderboard at the Open Championship.

Just not the one you might expect.

Darren Clarke shot his second straight 2-under 68 on Friday, taking a lead role heading to the weekend and showing his younger countrymen a thing or two at Royal St. George's.

Once the face of Northern Ireland golf, the 42-year-old Clarke became an afterthought when first Graeme McDowell, then Rory McIlroy claimed major championships. Maybe it's time for the old guy to get his title, too.

"It would mean an awful lot," Clarke said. "But obviously, this is only after two rounds. There's an awful long way to go yet."

Clarke rolled in a 90-footer for eagle at the seventh and closed his round with a birdie at the tough 18th, sending him to the clubhouse tied for the top spot with Lucas Glover at 4-under 136.

Glover, the 2009 U.S. Open champion, followed an opening 66 with a solid 70 on a warm, sunny day on the English seaside.

"I didn't hole as many putts as I did yesterday," the bearded Glover said. "But I'm happy to grind out even par."

The U.S. has gone five straight majors without a title -- its longest drought of the modern Grand Slam era. Glover shrugged off the slump; besides, he could be in line to snap another streak.

"They told me no one has won the Open Championship with a beard since the 1890s," he said.

Also in contention from the other side of the Atlantic: Chad Campbell, who shot 68 and was one shot back at 3-under 137; Dustin Johnson (68) and old-timers Davis Love III (68) and Tom Lehman (67), all at 138; and, yes, even Phil Mickelson, who came to England trying to forget his Open record.

Lefty has only one top-10 finish in 17 previous appearances. Despite missing several short putts over the first two days, a 69 made him a factor at 139.

"It's fun to be in contention heading to the weekend of the British Open," he said.

McIlroy won't run away with this championship as he did last month at the U.S. Open, but the 22-year-old wasn't complaining about his position. Playing in the afternoon, after the wind picked up, he shot an impressive 69 and was at 140 overall.

He saved his best for last, pulling out a par after plugging his approach in a pot bunker in front of the green. McIlroy somehow knocked it on the green and sank a 12-foot putt, pumping his fist as he walked toward the cup.

All four current major champions were headed to the weekend, but not the top-ranked player in the world. England's Luke Donald closed with four straight bogeys for a 75.

PGA champion Martin Kaymer (67) was at 137, with Masters winner Charl Schwartzel (68) another stroke back. Defending Open champion Louis Oosthuizen (70) also was safely above the cut line at 142.

The forecast was much worse for the final two rounds, with both wind and rain expected.

Bring it on, said Mickelson.

"One of the things I'm looking forward to is actually the bad weather," he said. "I hope it comes in."

Bjorn, playing in the same group as Dyson, was in danger of falling completely out of the mix when he bogeyed three straight holes at the start of his round. But the 40-year-old Dane pulled himself together, playing 1 under the rest of the way for a 72 that left him one stroke off the lead heading to the weekend.

"It wasn't the prettiest of days golfwise, but I'll take where I stand in the championship," Bjorn said.

So will Miguel Angel Jimenez, also at 137 after shooting 71.

There was plenty of experience on the leaderboard with 40-somethings Clarke, Jimenez, Bjorn and Love, plus the 52-year-old Lehman, who won the Open 15 years ago.

"The round just kind of flowed," Lehman said. "I hit it solidly, made a few nice putts, drove the ball extremely well, so I feel like I wasn't really pressured all day long. It was a good day."

The opening round produced a pair of unlikely leaders. Bjorn had missed the cut in four of five events before he got to Royal St. George's, his game in disarray, his heart heavy after the death of his father, and lugging around plenty of baggage at this place.

Eight years ago, Bjorn squandered a two-stroke lead in the final three holes, allowing Ben Curtis to sneak away with one of golf's most improbable wins.

Getting into the tournament on Monday as an alternate when Vijay Singh dropped out, Bjorn played only one practice round, then went out and shot a 65.

So did 20-year-old Tom Lewis, who became the first amateur to lead the Open since 1968, the first to pace any major since Mike Reid at the 1976 U.S. Open.

But Reid looked more his age in the second round, bogeying the final two holes for a 74 that dropped him three strokes off the pace. At No. 18, Lewis knocked his approach over the green, striking a fence post in front of the grandstands and forcing him to play a chip off a gravel road.

Still, he's made it through to the weekend -- his primary goal.

"If you asked me that two days ago, I would have taken it," Lewis said. "But at this moment, it doesn't feel so good."

At least he had a good view for the shot of the day.

Playing partner Tom Watson, the five-time Open champion Lewis is named after, sent a charge through the place with a hole-in-one at the sixth.

Pulling out a 4-iron, Watson sent the ball soaring to the green, then watched it bounce one time before dropping into the cup. The 61-year-old threw both arms in the air, high-fived Henrik Stenson, shook hands with Lewis, then took a bow toward the grandstand.

"Wish I could have seen it go in," Watson said as he walked toward the hole to retrieve the second hole-in-one at this Open. Johnson aced the 16th during the opening round.

Watson missed some short putts, though, and finished with a 70 for a 142, good enough to send him through to the weekend.

The morning starters definitely caught a break with the weather. Early on, there was barely a cloud in the sky and little wind off the Strait of Dover, the flags hanging limply above the grandstand.

Clarke took advantage, though it had nothing do with being spurred on by the success of his younger countrymen.

"I've been personally delighted for both of them," he said. "We've got back-to-back U.S. Open champions from a small, little country like Northern Ireland. That's a massive achievement."

Clarke will likely be carrying on this weekend without McDowell, who stumbled to a 77 for a 5-over 145.

"It's getting to be a bit of a habit, these type of days," McDowell moaned. "A bad habit to get into, obviously."

Donald's finish epitomized the woes for the English, who had hoped to make a big splash at the club that has hosted more Opens outside Scotland than any other course.

Lee Westwood, No. 2 in the world, shot 73 and was in danger of missing the cut. Ian Poulter headed home after a 78.