Making moves at Albany
The third round is often referred to as moving day, and that’s exactly what happened on Saturday at Albany. Justin Thomas moved into the lead at 17-under-par, thanks to a 6-under 66. He holds a one-shot lead over defending champion Scottie Scheffler, who is looking for his second consecutive victory in four starts at Albany.
For Thomas, consistency in all areas of his game has contributed to his lead. Over the first three rounds, Thomas is leading the field in strokes gained off the tee and strokes gained on approach.
“I’m driving it great,” Thomas said after the third round. “I’ve had a lot of confidence with it. I feel like I’ve been able to put myself in some pretty good spots, you know, going into the green. I’m still not taking advantage of some of ’em as much as I would like, but that’s golf and we’re always going to say that. Yeah, I feel like if I just kind of tighten it up a little bit tomorrow, drive it a little bit better, who knows what the conditions will be, but should at least have more opportunities for birdies.”
Paired with Thomas in the final group for Sunday’s fourth round, Scheffler will look to continue the caliber of play that earned him last year’s championship. A combination of driving accuracy (Scheffler leads the field this week at Albany), and ranking behind only Thomas in strokes gained total, Scheffler is in a position to defend his title.
“Overall, my game’s in a good spot,” Scheffler said. “I’ve liked what I’ve seen the last few days out there on the course and hoping to finish off with a real solid round tomorrow.”
A highlight of Saturday’s third round was Tom Kim. A 10-under 62 vaulted Kim into third place, just a shot back of Scheffler and two shots back of Thomas. Kim’s 62 is this week’s low round, the best third-round score ever posted at Albany, and one shot off tying the course record.
Kim opened his third round with four straight birdies as he shot 30 on the front nine. The momentum continued on the back nine with only a small hiccup on No. 17, where Kim carded a double-bogey. To close out his round, Kim holed his bunker shot on No. 18, his 12th birdie of the day.
“I did a lot of good things to keep my momentum going,” Kim said after his round. “Had a few crucial par saves. On 18, it’s just a bonus what happens on 18 after 17. You have such a good day and to kind of end it like that, it is a little disappointing, but for 18 to go in just kind of makes dinner taste a little better.”
The final round of the 2024 Hero World Challenge tees off at 10:45 a.m. ET on Sunday, December 8. Coverage of the final round can be found on GOLF Channel from 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. ET and NBC from 1:30-4:30 p.m.