The Upshot: FedExCup showdown in January?

KAPALUA, Hawaii – Notes and observations from Saturday’s third round of the SBS Tournament of Champions, where Justin Thomas forced his way to a two-shot lead over hot hand Hideki Matsuyama. For more from Kapalua check out the Daily Wrap-up. FEDEXCUP SHOWDOWN Sunday at the Plantation course will see a potential shootout between the top two players in the FedExCup as Justin Thomas and Hideki Matsuyama continue their fine starts to the 2016-17 season. Thomas rode a 4-under 67 on Saturday to be 18-under for the tournament, two clear of Matsuyama (66) at 16-under, leaving them together in the final group. Matsuyama is at least two clear of the rest of the chasing pack. Thomas is the only player to win in a field with Matsuyama in it since last season’s TOUR Championship was put in the books. He held off the Japanese star at the CIMB Classic. Matsuyama settled for second that day but has won in the other four of his last five worldwide starts including the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. With his 850 points coming into Kapalua, Matsuyama sits on the top perch in the season-long FedExCup points race. Thomas is next best at 614 points. The pair were effusive in praise for each other as they get ready for a Sunday showdown. “Justin doesn’t have any weaknesses at all in his game. He hits it long, has a marvelous short game, putts well, hits the ball well. We’ve got to go low tomorrow to be able to catch him,” Matsuyama said of his recent rival. “If I’m near Hideki in the tournament, that’s usually, probably a pretty good thing on Sunday,” Thomas said. “He’s obviously a tremendous player and he’s on an unbelievable run here the last five events.”
 One guy who thinks Thomas can prevail is the defending champion at the SBS Tournament of Champions, Jordan Spieth. “I think his course management has gotten significantly better,” Spieth said of Thomas. “As a young player on TOUR, you really have to manage the course better than you ever have before, and it’s always an adjustment for everybody to start. He certainly kicked that into gear. “He’s also obviously learned how to win and close tournaments out. He’s the only guy who beat Hideki all fall. He was beating the hottest player in golf at his hottest time, so he’s certainly not scared of that. And off the tee, he’s certainly got more consistent.” CALL OF THE DAY Free play-by-play coverage of the final round streams from 2-7 p.m. ET Sunday on PGATOUR.COM DAY’S COLD PUTTER World No.1 Jason Day will need to match his 2015 heroics if he has any chance of contending in his first tournament of the season. Day finished with a 11-under 62 in 2015 to fall just one shot shy of a playoff in 2015 and will need something similar, or better, given he will start Sunday eight shots off the pace. The problem for the Australian has not been rust with his ball-striking after his three-month layoff, but rather a cold putter. Usually one of the best putters on TOUR, Day sits 23rd in Strokes Gained: Putting in the 32-man field. “It’s everything; I’m struggling to really start my ball on the line I’m picking … it’s very difficult to know where I’m aiming and it’s difficult to hole putts,” he said. Day has missed 10 putts inside 10-feet over the opening three rounds. On Saturday, he failed to make a putt over 6-feet. Another player upset with his putting in the third round was Jimmy Walker with the Texan resident putting in plenty of post round work on the putting green. Walker started the round just one off the pace but now sits four back. “Just didn’t make the putts I needed to make. Hit it really good. Plenty of looks. Nothing went in. That’s just kind of frustrating, especially the finish,” Walker said. “Speed was a little off. Keeps coming up short a little bit. I feel like it may have slowed down a little but that’s just me. I’m hitting the putts the way I feel like I need to hit them. They are just not going in.” THE TAKEAWAY MCGIRT FLIRTS WITH WIN NO. 2 William McGirt matched the low round of the day with an impressive 7-under 66 on Saturday, leaving him just four shots back as he looks for a second PGA TOUR win. The Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide winner needed 30 putts in Round 1 and 34 in Round 2, but was able to turn things around Saturday with just 28 putts. Only Hideki Matsuyama (27) had less. “I’ve hit it really well this week. Finally made some putts today. I struggled sort of the first couple days with the grain in these greens,” McGirt said. “I think yesterday, I could have putted better blindfolded. It was ugly up until the very end.” Making his Kapalua debut McGirt could be forgiven for struggling with the extreme slopes and grain on the Plantation course’s putting surfaces. “It seems like all the greens and grain, once it starts breaking and starts losing speed, that it really goes at that point,” he said. “You’ve got to really keep the pace up on it. That’s not the way I like to putt. I like to die putts in there, but you kind of have to change your approach this week and kind of bang them in.” SHOT OF THE DAY BEST OF SOCIAL

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