NASSAU, Bahamas — Justin Thomas was long off the tee and made a few long putts on the back nine to overtake Scottie Scheffler with a 6-under 66 and build a one-shot lead Saturday over golf’s best player going into the final round of the Hero World Challenge.
Thomas is trying out a 46-inch driver – a little more than an inch longer than normal – that he previously used for practice at home to gain speed and length. He blasted a 361-yard drive to 8 feet on the par-4 seventh hole and led the field in driving distance.
But it was a few long putts that put him ahead of Scheffler, who had a 69.
Thomas was on the verge of falling two shots behind when he made an 18-foot par putt on the par-3 12th hole. On the reachable par-4 14th, he was in a nasty spot in a sandy area and could only splash it out to nearly 50 feet.
He made that one for a most unlikely birdie, while behind him Scheffler muffed a chip on the 13th hole and made his lone bogey of a windy day.
Scheffler never caught up to him, missing birdie chances on the reachable 14th and the par-5 15th. Thomas hit his approach to 3 feet for birdie on the 16th after a 343-yard drive. Scheffler made an 18-foot birdie putt on the 16th to close within one.
Scheffler missed birdie chances on the last two holes from the 10-foot and 15-foot range, while Thomas missed an 8-foot birdie attempt at the last.
“I had a stretch at 13, 14, 15 where I felt like I lost a shot or two there, but outside of that I did a lot of really good things today,” Scheffler said.
Thomas hasn’t won since the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills, and a victory at Albany Golf Club wouldn’t count as an official win. But the two-time major champion has made steady progress toward getting his game back in order.
“I’m driving it great. I’ve had a lot of confidence with it,” Thomas said of his longer driver. “I feel like I’ve been able to put myself in some pretty good spots going into the green. I’m still not taking advantage of some of them as much as I would like, but that’s golf and we’re always going to say that.”
Thomas was at 17-under 199 and will be in the final group Sunday with Scheffler, who is trying to end his spectacular season with a ninth title.
Tom Kim put himself in the mix, which he might not have imagined Thursday when he was 3 over through six holes of the holiday tournament. Kim got back in the game with a 65 on Friday, and then followed with 12 birdies for a 62.
He had a shot at the course record – Rickie Fowler shot 61 in the final round when he won at Albany in 2017 – until Kim found a bunker and took two shots to reach the green in making a double bogey on the par-3 17th.
Even so, he was only two shots behind. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley (68) was four back.
“Feel like I’ve been seeing signs of improvement, which is what you want and that’s all I can do,” Thomas said. “I can’t control everybody else or what’s going on, I’ve just got to keep playing as good as I possibly can and hope that it’s enough come Sunday.”