Justin Thomas of the United States plays his shot from the second tee during the third round of the World Golf Championships Mexico Championship at Club de Golf Chapultepec on February 22, 2020 in Mexico City, Mexico.Hector Vivas/Getty Images
Justin Thomas made bookend bogeys but piled up eight birdies in between en route to a one-shot lead over Patrick Reed and Erik van Rooyen in the third round at the WGC-Mexico Championship on Saturday.
On a day when overnight leader Bryson DeChambeau self-destructed, Thomas carded six-under-par 65 at Club de Golf Chapultepec in Mexico City.
Two years after losing a playoff to Phil Mickelson, Thomas has a chance to avenge that near-miss and claim a 13th PGA Tour victory.
“I really want that first place. I definitely feel like I have a bit of unfinished business here,” said Thomas after posting a 15-under 198 total.
Fellow American Reed (67) hit an unusually poor bunker shot to bogey the final hole and slip back into a tie for second with South African van Rooyen (67).
American DeChambeau struggled to a 71, hitting a series of poor shots down the stretch and compounding his misery by missing several short putts as he frittered away a handy lead with three late bogeys.
He fell back into a tie for fourth with Spaniard Jon Rahm (61) and Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy (68), four strokes from the lead.
Rahm’s course record, which tied his career-best score, included a hole-in-one at the 158-yard 17th, where his ball went in on the second bounce.
If Rahm was near perfect, second-placed Reed lamented several mental errors.
“It was a little sloppy today. I still hit a lot of quality shots but hit some shots that were question marks,” said the 2018 Masters champion.
“If a sloppy day around here equals six birdies, as long as I get a bit tighter I should make a lot more.”