Golf Capsules: Hughes keeps his poise and the lead at Sea Island

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Mackenzie Hughes atoned for a triple bogey that cost him the lead by making a tough par save and three birdies Saturday for a 2-under 68, giving the Canadian rookie a one-shot advantage going into the final round of the RSM Classic.

Next up at Sea Island is 18 holes in the final group with Billy Horschel and Camilo Villegas.

Five events into his rookie season, the 25-year-old Hughes showed plenty of poise. He had gone bogey-free for the first 46 hole of the tournament when he tried to do too much from an awkward lie in fairway bunker on No. 11. The ball stayed in the bunker in a depressed lie, and he compounded his mistakes by dumping his third shot into another bunker, and then three-putting when he finally reached the green.

He followed with perhaps his most important shot of the tournament, a pitch from 50 feet over a steep slope to a back pin to tap-in range to save par. Then he added three birdies with his smooth putting stroke to reach 16-under 196.

Horschel, who hasn’t won since the Tour Championship two years ago when he captured the FedEx Cup, holed a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole of the Seaside course at Sea Island for a 65. Villegas overcame a double bogey early in his round and finished with four straight birdies for a 64.

Joining them at 15-under 197 was another PGA Tour rookie, C.T. Pan of Taiwan. He shot a 67 playing in the final group.

Cme Group Tour Championship

NAPLES, Fla. – Lydia Ko and Ariya Jutanugarn will settle the LPGA Tour’s biggest awards and prizes Sunday at Tiburon. They’re chasing Charley Hull in the CME Group Tour Championship.

Ko needs a victory to top Jutanugarn in the player of the year race, and also would take the season points title and $1 million CME Globe bonus with a win. Ko also is fighting Jutanugarn for the money title and Chun for the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average.

Hull birdied all four par-5 holes in a bogey-free 6-under 66 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over Brittany Lincicome (66) and So Yeon Ryu (69) and two-stroke advantage over Ko (73), Jutanugarn (65), Chun (68), Jennifer Song (66) and Lizette Salas (67).

The 20-year-old Hull, from England, had a 13-under 203 total. She’s winless on the tour.

First-round leader Shanshan Feng was tied for 12th at 8 under after a 69. The Chinese star is coming off consecutive victories in Malaysia and Japan.

World Tour Championship

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Victor Dubuisson shot an 8-under 64 to take a one-stroke lead in the European Tour’s season-ending World Tour Championship.

The Frenchman had a 13-under 203 total.

Big-hitting Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts (66) and the English duo of Matthew Fitzpatrick (66) and Tyrrell Hatton (67) were tied for second. Race to Dubai leader Henrik Stenson was 3 over after a 70.

Australian Open

SYDNEY – Australia’s Geoff Ogilvy shot an 8-under 64 at Royal Sydney to take a two-stroke lead over American star Jordan Spieth and two others into the final round of the Australian Open.

Ogilvy had an 11-under 205 total.

Spieth had a 68 to match Australia’s Aaron Baddeley (67) and New Zealand’s Ryan Fox (71) at 9 under.