Justin Thomas is warming up with his title defense in the PGA Championship less than a week away.
The 25-year-old Thomas shot 3-under-par 67 to build a three-stroke lead over Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland and Ian Poulter of England heading to the final round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on the South Course at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio.
“The hard part of this course is that if you get off track, you’re not going to play or score very well,” said Thomas, has won only the Honda Classic in 2018 after claiming five titles last year. “But the course has been soft enough this week that there have been some low numbers. I got it going today, but there are a lot of good players chasing me and I have to do it again tomorrow.
“It’s cool to be here, and pretty special to have my grandmother and grandfather here, because they don’t get to see me play in person very often any more.”
The third-ranked Thomas collected five birdies in a span of eight holes through No. 14 on his way to a 54-hole score of 14-under 196.
Seventh-ranked McIlroy, won captured the Bridgestone in 2014, sank a 16-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole during a bogey-free 67, while Poulter, the first-round leader at 62, made two birdies early and two more late in a 70.
Tenth-ranked Jason Day of Australia is four shots back in fourth after a 69, while fellow Aussie Marc Leishman birdied three of the first six holes in a 67 and is one more behind in a tie for fifth with Kyle Stanley, who made one birdie and one bogey in a 70.
Ninth-ranked Rickie Fowler of Murrieta carded a bogey-free 65 that was the low score of the day and is six strokes back in a tie for seventh with fifth-ranked Jon Rahm of Spain, who totaled 68, while Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa finished at 69 and is seven behind in a tie for ninth with Tommy Fleetwood of England, who struggled to a 74.
Fourth-ranked Brooks Koepka is tied for 11th after a 68, top-ranked Dustin Johnson shot 66 and is tied for 22nd, while eight-time Bridgestone champion Tiger Woods stumbled to a 73 and is in a tie for 28th that includes Phil Mickelson, the 1996 World Series of Golf champion at Firestone who came in at 69.
Defending champion Hideki Matsuyama of Japan is tied for 36th following a 70, eighth-ranked Jordan Spieth totaled 68 and is tied for 49th, and sixth-ranked Francesco Molinari is tied for 57th after a 70.
For complete results, visit https://www.pgatour.com/competition/2018/wgc-bridgestone-invitational/leaderboard.html
