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February 21-24
Chapultepec GC, Mexico City, Mexico
$10,250,000
Dustin Johnson will take a four shot lead into the final round of the WGC-Mexico Championship as he seeks a sixth World Golf Championships title at Chapultepec Golf Club.
“I think I’m doing just everything really well. I feel like I’m driving it well. I’m really controlling the distance well with the irons, and I just feel good. The putter is pretty good too. I mean, these greens are tricky. I feel like I keep giving myself great opportunities. Hopefully tomorrow I can capitalise on a few more.
“I played really well the front nine, even though I missed quite a few short birdie putts on the front nine. And on ten, I actually had a decent shot at the flag, I just misjudged the lie a little bit. I don’t know what happened, but it shot straight up in the air, and I did not think it was going to come out like that. Then a lot of stuff happened after that, but I ended up making a double. I didn’t let it bother me, because I knew I’m playing well, and I knew there was plenty of holes I could make birdies on.
“I’m going to come out and play exactly how I have been playing the last three days. The guys behind me, I’ve got a lot of great players behind me. I’m going to have to go out and shoot a good score probably.”
The American is the only player to have won all four WGC crowns and has won this one twice in 2015 and 2017 – the first year it was played in Mexico City.
He led by six after eight holes in round three but had to recover from a double-bogey on the tenth – the first blemish on his scorecard in 57 holes – to post a 66 that moved him to 16 under, four clear of Rory McIlroy.
“Obviously, four shots behind DJ, it’s going to be a tall order to overcome,” said McIlroy. “I was happy with how I played the last ten holes, being one over through the first eight and then playing the last ten in four under was nice, I gave myself plenty of chances.
“It was just end of the day, there was a lot of traffic on these greens. It’s hard to hole putts, and putts are sort of doing some different things. But, I need to get off to a better start tomorrow than I did today. If I can do that, hopefully I will be right back in it.
“I played the par fives better today. I played those in two under par, which I needed to. I just stayed patient. Being six shots off the lead after eight holes today, it was hard to stay patient, but I feel like my patience was rewarded. I made some good birdies coming in and I’m still four behind. It’s going to be tough, especially against DJ, who is arguably the best player in the world. So, I’m going to have to go out there and just play a good round of golf and hopefully that’s good enough.”
Americans Patrick Cantlay and Patrick Reed, Spaniard Sergio Garcia and Australian Cameron Smith were then seven shots off the lead as Sunday looked set to be a two-horse race between a pair of World Number Ones with five Major Championships between them.
Masters Champion Reed matched the lowest round of the day with a birdie-birdie-birdie finish in a 64 that also featured two eagles – including a chip-in on the par four second. Garcia placed the Green Jacket on Reed’s shoulders last Spring and he signed for a 69, while back-to-back Australian PGA Championship winner Smith carded a 68.
“It was definitely a solid day,” said Reed, “It was one of those days I needed to go out and post a number and try to close that gap a little bit. Even if it’s not to close the gap to win a golf tournament, it’s at least get up there as high as I can. Never know what can happen tomorrow.
“I’m naturally an aggressive player as it is, and I feel like I played pretty aggressively so far on this golf course. I just need to keep on kind of doing what I did today, hitting the ball solid and give myself a lot of chances.”
Thai Kiradech Aphibarnrat and England’s Ian Poulter were at eight under, two shots clear of Tommy Fleetwood, David Lipsky, Louis Oosthuizen and Tiger Woods.
Pos. |
Player | Nat |
To Par |
R1 |
R2 |
R3 |
Total |
1 |
Dustin Johnson | USA |
-16 |
64 |
67 |
66 |
197 |
2 |
Rory McIlroy | NIR |
-12 |
63 |
70 |
68 |
201 |
T3 |
Patrick Reed | USA |
-9 |
72 |
68 |
64 |
204 |
T3 |
Patrick Cantlay | USA |
-9 |
72 |
67 |
65 |
204 |
T3 |
Cameron Smith | AUS |
-9 |
69 |
67 |
68 |
204 |
T3 |
Sergio Garcia | ESP |
-9 |
69 |
66 |
69 |
204 |
T7 |
Ian Poulter | ENG |
-8 |
68 |
68 |
69 |
205 |
T7 |
Kiradech Aphibarnrat | THA |
-8 |
68 |
69 |
68 |
205 |
T9 |
David Lipsky | USA |
-6 |
68 |
71 |
68 |
207 |
T9 |
Louis Oosthuizen | RSA |
-6 |
72 |
66 |
69 |
207 |
T9 |
Tiger Woods | USA |
-6 |
71 |
66 |
70 |
207 |
T9 |
Tommy Fleetwood | ENG |
-6 |
70 |
65 |
72 |
207 |
T13 |
Paul Casey | ENG |
-5 |
71 |
72 |
65 |
208 |
T13 |
Xander Schauffele | USA |
-5 |
69 |
73 |
66 |
208 |
T13 |
Francesco Molinari | ITA |
-5 |
71 |
67 |
70 |
208 |
T16 |
Lee Westwood | ENG |
-4 |
73 |
71 |
65 |
209 |
T16 |
Hideki Matsuyama | JPN |
-4 |
72 |
70 |
67 |
209 |
T16 |
Gary Woodland | USA |
-4 |
71 |
71 |
67 |
209 |
T16 |
Tyrrell Hatton | ENG |
-4 |
67 |
70 |
72 |
209 |
T20 |
Danny Willett | ENG |
-3 |
71 |
69 |
70 |
210 |
T20 |
Kevin Kisner | USA |
-3 |
73 |
67 |
70 |
210 |
T20 |
Charles Howell III | USA |
-3 |
69 |
68 |
73 |
210 |
T23 |
Matthew Fitzpatrick | ENG |
-2 |
72 |
71 |
68 |
211 |
T23 |
Tony Finau | USA |
-2 |
73 |
69 |
69 |
211 |
T23 |
Branden Grace | RSA |
-2 |
71 |
71 |
69 |
211 |
T23 |
Keegan Bradley | USA |
-2 |
69 |
73 |
69 |
211 |
T23 |
Rafael Cabrera Bello | ESP |
-2 |
76 |
69 |
66 |
211 |
T23 |
Bubba Watson | USA |
-2 |
70 |
75 |
66 |
211 |
T23 |
Richard Sterne | RSA |
-2 |
69 |
68 |
74 |
211 |
T30 |
Brooks Koepka | USA |
-1 |
73 |
70 |
69 |
212 |
T30 |
Patton Kizzire | USA |
-1 |
69 |
73 |
70 |
212 |
T30 |
Rickie Fowler | USA |
-1 |
71 |
73 |
68 |
212 |
T30 |
Aaron Wise | USA |
-1 |
73 |
68 |
71 |
212 |
T30 |
Haotong Li | CHN |
-1 |
69 |
72 |
71 |
212 |
T30 |
Joost Luiten | NED |
-1 |
71 |
67 |
74 |
212 |
T30 |
Matt Kuchar | USA |
-1 |
66 |
67 |
79 |
212 |
T37 |
Shugo Imahira | JPN |
Par |
73 |
67 |
73 |
213 |
T37 |
Justin Thomas | USA |
Par |
66 |
73 |
74 |
213 |
T37 |
Webb Simpson | USA |
Par |
73 |
72 |
68 |
213 |
T37 |
Kevin Na | USA |
Par |
72 |
75 |
66 |
213 |
T41 |
Abraham Ancer | USA |
1 |
71 |
72 |
71 |
214 |
T41 |
Billy Horschel | USA |
1 |
68 |
76 |
70 |
214 |
T41 |
Russell Knox | SCO |
1 |
72 |
72 |
70 |
214 |
T41 |
Erik Van Rooyen | RSA |
1 |
72 |
68 |
74 |
214 |
T41 |
Thorbjorn Olesen | DEN |
1 |
72 |
74 |
68 |
214 |
T46 |
Aaron Rai | ENG |
2 |
70 |
74 |
71 |
215 |
T46 |
George Coetzee | RSA |
2 |
67 |
74 |
74 |
215 |
T46 |
Matt Wallace | ENG |
2 |
74 |
71 |
70 |
215 |
T46 |
Jake McLeod | AUS |
2 |
70 |
69 |
76 |
215 |
T46 |
Byeong-Hun An | KOR |
2 |
77 |
74 |
64 |
215 |
T51 |
Jon Rahm | ESP |
3 |
72 |
72 |
72 |
216 |
T51 |
Phil Mickelson | USA |
3 |
79 |
65 |
72 |
216 |
T51 |
Henrik Stenson | SWE |
3 |
72 |
73 |
71 |
216 |
T54 |
Kyle Stanley | USA |
4 |
73 |
72 |
72 |
217 |
T54 |
Alexander Bjoerk | SWE |
4 |
75 |
70 |
72 |
217 |
T54 |
Shubhankar Sharma | IND |
4 |
70 |
77 |
70 |
217 |
T57 |
Shane Lowry | IRL |
5 |
70 |
76 |
72 |
218 |
T57 |
Emiliano Grillo | ARG |
5 |
76 |
73 |
69 |
218 |
T59 |
Ryan Fox | NZL |
6 |
72 |
72 |
75 |
219 |
T59 |
Alexander Noren | SWE |
6 |
71 |
74 |
74 |
219 |
T59 |
Jordan Spieth | USA |
6 |
75 |
69 |
75 |
219 |
62 |
Eddie Pepperell | ENG |
7 |
77 |
70 |
73 |
220 |
T63 |
Bryson DeChambeau | USA |
8 |
75 |
73 |
73 |
221 |
T63 |
Marc Leishman | AUS |
8 |
77 |
75 |
69 |
221 |
65 |
Adrian Otaegui | ESP |
9 |
77 |
74 |
71 |
222 |
T66 |
Satoshi Kodaira | JPN |
10 |
75 |
72 |
76 |
223 |
T66 |
Chez Reavie | USA |
10 |
75 |
76 |
72 |
223 |
T68 |
Tom Lewis | ENG |
11 |
74 |
73 |
77 |
224 |
T68 |
Lucas Bjerregaard | DNK |
11 |
76 |
76 |
72 |
224 |
70 |
Sang-Hyun Park | KOR |
14 |
80 |
79 |
68 |
227 |
71 |
Matthew Millar | AUS |
17 |
74 |
82 |
74 |
230 |
72 |
Shaun Norris | RSA |
19 |
79 |
80 |
73 |
232 |
