Tournament of Champions 2019: Gary Woodland Leads at 17 Under After Round 3

Heading into the final round of the 2019 Sentry Tournament of Champions, Gary Woodland is in sole possession of the lead with a 54-hole score of 17 under par. 

Woodland started the third round alone atop the leaderboard. He kept pace on Saturday with a 68 and maintained the three-shot advantage he had when the day started. 

Here's how the top 10 looks heading into Sunday at Kapalua Resort in Hawaii, via PGATour.com:

1. Gary Woodland (-17)

2. Rory McIlroy (-14)

3. Marc Leishman (-13)

T4. Xander Schauffele (-12)

T4. Bryson DeChambeau (-12)

T6. Justin Thomas (-10)

T6. Kevin Tway (-10)

T8. Dustin Johnson (-9)

T8. Jon Rahm (-9)

10. Patton Kizzire (-8)

Woodland and Rory McIlroy appeared to be on an identical path late in the round. They were tied for the lead at 14 under par when Woodland teed off on the par-five 15th hole. His second shot landed on the green, 21 yards from the hole and set up this dramatic moment:

Putting was an area of the game Woodland struggled to find consistency with last season. He finished 114th on the PGA Tour with .007 strokes gained with his putter. The 34-year-old has been above-average in that category in two of the first three rounds this weekend, including a 0.821 mark Saturday. 

Woodland admitted after the second round he took a different approach to preparing for this tournament in an effort to improve on his past performances. 

"Obviously it's nice to be here, but I have a little different mindset this week, playing a little more aggressive, trying to contend, and trying to win instead of just enjoying the views out here, which I've done in the past," Woodland said, via PGATour.com's Ben Everill. 

Despite Woodland's consistently strong play through three rounds, he can't afford to go on cruise control Sunday.

McIlroy has been nipping at Woodland's heels thanks to his own consistent level of play, with just two bogeys through 54 holes. He seemed poised to post his best round of the tournament Saturday after making the turn with a four-under 32. 

Marc Leishman and Xander Schauffele kept themselves in contention thanks to matching scores of 68, tied with Woodland for the best round of the day. Leishman made his run on the back nine with four birdies over the final seven holes. 

Schauffele was terrific putting himself in positions to post a low score thanks to his work off the tee and not wasting opportunities to get on the green. The California native was accurate with 86.7 percent of his drives, which helped him hit 15 out of 18 greens in regulation. 

Following a disappointing 74 on Friday, Dustin Johnson rebounded with a four-under 69 in the third round. He still has a lot of work to do if he wants to catch Woodland, but putts like this one on No. 11 are an encouraging sign:

Woodland ended a five-year winless drought last year at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The pressure is on his shoulders to close things out after being the best player in the field all weekend. 

What's Next?

Woodland will attempt to keep McIlroy, Leishman, Schauffele and everyone else at bay when he goes for the win Sunday. Woodland and McIlroy will be partnered up in the final pairing.