Cameron Champ, pictured, was tied with Jason Gore in second place, one shot behind leader Charles Howell III, after Saturday's third round at the RSM Classic.ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. - Charles Howell III shot a 2-under-par 68 for a one-stroke lead Saturday in the RSM Classic, but he also got a reminder that winning for the first time in more than 11 years won't be easy.
With two quick birdies, Howell stretched his lead to five shots. By the end of the third round, his lead was down to one shot over PGA Tour rookie Cameron Champ and Jason Gore, who each shot a 66 and made up ground on the back nine of the Seaside Course at Sea Island Resort.
"I have a chance to win the tournament, and I'd have taken that Thursday morning," said Howell, who led by two strokes after the first round and by three strokes after 36 holes.
Howell was at 16-under 194 after 54 holes as the 39-year-old Augusta native tries to end 332 starts on the PGA Tour without winning. Champ is trying to win for the second time this fall.
The winner gets an invitation to the Masters.
"I didn't finish off with much of anything," Howell said of his third round. "I knew the guys would make birdies and close the gap if I didn't get going, and that's what happened."
Ryan Blaum (65) and Webb Simpson (63) were three shots behind in fourth, and Baylor School graduate Luke List (63) was sixth and just four shots out of the lead. List, 33, is making his third start of the 2018-19 season - he tied for fourth at the Safeway Open in early October and missed the cut at last week's Mayakoba Golf Classic - as he hunts the first win of his PGA Tour career.
Fellow Baylor graduate Harris English (67) was tied for 43rd at 6 under.
Tight race in Dubai
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Patrick Reed and Danny Willett each put on a green jacket the previous time they won a golf tournament. Now they have their eyes set on another significant prize.
Reed, the reigning Masters champion, and Willett, who won that major two years earlier, entered the final round of the European Tour's season-ending DP World Tour Championship as co-leaders at 14-under 202. Reed, a 28-year-old American, shot a 5-under 67 in the third round as Willett, a 31-year-old Englishman, carded a 68.
Jordan Smith (69) was one stroke behind in second, with Dean Burmester (68), Matt Wallace (71) and Lee Westwood (65) tied for fourth.
Although the tournament remains poised for an exciting finish, the fate of the year-long Race to Dubai was almost sealed on the penultimate day of the season when Tommy Fleetwood, needing to win to retain the title over Francesco Molinari, slumped to a 74 and fell eight shots behind the leaders.
Thompson up three
NAPLES, Fla. - Lexi Thompson has control of the CME Group Tour Championship, and Ariya Jutanugarn is in control of just about everything else.
Thompson's 4-under 68 pushed her to 16-under 200 entering the final round of the LPGA Tour's season-ending event, in which she has dropped just one shot, and she moved three shots clear of Nelly Korda (67) and six ahead of Carlota Ciganda (69) at Tiburon Golf Club. Thompson has nine LPGA tour wins, but none this year.
Jutanugarn (69) will start her final round 10 shots back and tied for 12th but with a substantial lead in the Race to the CME Globe's projected standings. She's in position to win the tour's season-long points race for the second time in three years.
Ancer's lead at five
SYDNEY - Abraham Ancer shot a 7-under 65, moved to 13-under 203 overall and took a five-stroke lead into the final round of the Australian Open.
The bogey-free round at The Lakes Golf Club put the 27-year-old Mexican in position for his second professional win, with Ancer's first coming at the Web.com Tour's 2015 Nova Scotia Open.
Japanese amateur Keita Nakajim (70) was second, with Keegan Bradley and Marcus Fraser another stroke back in third after each shot a 71.
The Australian Open is the first qualifying tournament for the 2019 British Open, with the top three players not already exempt earning spots.