Zimbabwe’s Brendon de Jonge seized a one-stroke lead by posting his second consecutive two-under 69 on Saturday in the third round of the storm-hit AT&T National.
De Jonge birdied three holes, but hardly anyone witnessed it in person at the Congressional Country Club after spectators were told to stay away because of a severe storm that struck the area overnight.
De Jonge said playing without spectators seemed odd at the start, but then once they got going, it was all about managing your golf game.
Photo: AFP
“At first, it was definitely very strange,” he said. “Then we kind of got used to it. Just the no buzz. It was hard to get the adrenaline going, kind of felt like you were playing a Tuesday practice round or a qualifier.”
Tiger Woods carded a four-under 67 to climb into a share of second place at minus-six. He is tied with first-round leader Bo Van Pelt (67) and South Korea’s Noh Seung-yul (69).
Woods moved to within one shot of the lead with four birdies on his first 10 holes.
Photo: Reuters
“It was amazing we even got it in,” Woods said. “So that was good. Today, I just tried to make a run and fight back to get myself in the tournament.”
The storm snapped trees, tore temporary tents from their foundations and scattered debris across the course.
Officials delayed the start of the round for six hours, then the players went off the first and 10th tees in threesomes. Because of safety concerns, fans and volunteers were told to stay away so just players, their family members, security and media were allowed in.
The USPGA Tour issued a statement saying winds in the range of between 112 and 128kph were reported in the area near Washington.
Along with downed branches around the course, a 22m tree fell on the fairway of the 14th hole and many of the wooden signs identifying the holes were blown down.
Woods said he has played without galleries following him for a few holes before, but not an entire round.
“It was very similar to what we faced when we play overseas in practice rounds or when we have dangerous conditions, thunderstorms blow in in the summertime and all the spectators are taken off the golf course and then we go back out and finish in the evening and have a few holes to play,” Woods said. “I’ve played in front of people like this, but not generally for an 18-hole competitive round.”
De Jonge, who is chasing his first USPGA Tour title, finished 54 holes at seven-under 206.
“Winning here would be that much more special,” De Jonge said. “It’s obviously a great tournament with a great field, so that would be a good feather in your cap, but obviously, I’ve got a lot of work to do tomorrow.”
Second-round leader Hunter Mahan stumbled to a two-over 73. He finished three rounds tied with fellow American Billy Hurley (66) at five-under-par 208. Jhonattan Vegas (68) is one stroke back at four-under.
Tournament officials said they hope to have most of the downed trees removed by in time for yesterday’s final round.
TITLE CAMPAIGN: The victory sent the Monkeys to the Taiwan Series for the third time in the past four seasons as they seek their first championship since 2019 The stage is set for the Taiwan Series after the Rakuten Monkeys on Monday beat the Uni-President Lions 4-3 in Game 5 of the CPBL Challenger Series in Kaohsiung. The Monkeys, who entered the top of the ninth scoreless, tied the game with a three-run blast by Lin Chih-ping and scored the winning run in the 10th on an RBI single by Lin Li, a three-time batting champion in the CPBL. Both players entered the game as pinch hitters. “The coach told me to stay prepared as a pinch hitter in the later part of the game. My teammates had
The Ministry of Sports on Wednesday night called for the Chinese Taipei Football Association (CTFA) to address issues in Taiwanese soccer after national manager Huang Che-ming on Tuesday resigned following Taiwan’s elimination in AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. Taiwan on Tuesday were thrashed 6-1 by Thailand in their Group D tie at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Taiwan finished with no points, after losing all four of their matches, eliminating them from qualifying for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. Huang made his surprise resignation at a post-match news conference, following three losses since he took over the team from English coach Gary White in August. Huang
HIT AND RUN: Toronto manager John Schneider got his wish that his team ‘find some slug in the air out here,’ as the Blue Jays combined to total 611m of homers Tired in Toronto, the Blue Jays slugged in Seattle. Vladimir Guerrero Jr and George Springer on Wednesday woke up the Jays, as Toronto hit five home runs to rebound from an early deficit, routing the Mariners 13-4 and closing to 2-1 in the American League Championship Series (ALCS). Toronto had 18 hits — all within the first three pitches of each at-bat. “If they give us a first pitch, the pitch that we’re looking for, we’re going to attack and we’re going to be aggressive,” Guerrero said. Seattle starter George Kirby gave up eight of the hits. “I wasn’t really executing when they got
The Rakuten Monkeys on Sunday downed the CTBC Brothers 2-1, handing the hosts their second consecutive loss in the best-of-seven CPBL Taiwan Series at the Taipei Dome. Monkeys’ ace starter Pedro Fernandez of the Dominican Republic dominated on the mound, cruising through six scoreless innings before giving up a run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning. He gave up only three hits and walked two batters in a 93-pitch outing, giving his Taoyuan-based team an edge. Offensively, the Monkeys’ leadoff batter Lin Li hit Brothers starter Brandon Leibrandt’s pitch over the center-field wall in the game’s first at-bat,
RSS