Matthew

NeSmith

The South Carolina product sits in a tie for third after the opening round, two shots behind overnight leader Brendan Steele. Last week’s runner-up at TPC Summerlin was just his sixth career top-10 finish on Tour, but NeSmith is poised for more success after an opener that featured seven birdies including three over his final six holes. NeSmith told reporters that he credits a more patient mindset for his recent success, which also includes a T-9 finish at the Sanderson Farms and which has gotten him inside the top 100 (currently No. 98) in the world rankings for the first time in his career.

NeSmith arrived fresh off a T9 finish at the Sanderson Farms Championship. It was just the sixth top-10 finish of his PGA TOUR career but he’s added another after this week at TPC Summerlin. It’s actually his second top 10 at the course as well (T8/2020-21 Shriners). His recent surge of big finishes has him reconsidering his schedule for the fall, “I generally play a good bit, but I don’t know, now we’ll see what happens. I’m going to go to Japan tonight and see how that works out, and then we’ll come back. We’ll probably reevaluate here in a couple weeks. I’m really happy where things are at, and we’re just going to keep going.” NeSmith finished 83rd in the FedExCup race last season, a career-best for him but he’ll shatter that pace if he can come close to maintaining his current level of play. He ended the week ranked 1st in strokes gained tee-to-green (+10.4).

NeSmith hasn’t dropped a shot since the sixth hole Thursday, and in the 48 holes since he has circled 16 birdies. Half of that haul came during a third-round 63, as NeSmith moved up the leaderboard to give him a chance at a breakthrough victory. The former South Carolina product picked up more than 2.1 strokes on the greens, and a late birdie run over Nos. 15-17 lifted him into a tie for third at 16 under. It also netted him a spot in Sunday’s final group, as he’ll anchor the tee sheet alongside co-leaders Tom Kim and Patrick Cantlay who sit three shots clear of the field. NeSmith has found success at TPC Summerlin, with three prior finishes all going for T-18 or better, and he has now been in the 60s in all 15 career rounds on the par-71 track. He’ll look to channel some of his form from last week in Mississippi, when he closed with 64 to finish T-9 at the Sanderson Farms.

NeSmith put on a clinic with his iron today, gaining 4.2 strokes on approach to set up a lot of birdie chances. He converted on nine of them to erase a lone bogey. All nine of his birdies were poured home from inside of 15 feet, more evidence that his irons did all of the talking today. This will go in the books as the low round of the day, and matches Keegan Bradley’s 64 on Saturday as the low round of the weekend. It will be his sixth career top 10 on the PGA TOUR.

NeSmith put on a ball-striking clinic today as peppered 17 greens in regulation, gaining 3.8 strokes on approach, along the way. He poured home six birdies to offset a lone bogey, and all six were converted from inside of nine feet (five from inside of six feet). His best measured approach round on TOUR was +4.8 in round two of this year’s Valspar Championship but this will likely land as his second or third best when all is said and done. NeSmith has now gained strokes on approach in all five rounds at TPC River Highlands, despite entering the week with two missed cuts in two tries at the event.

The South Carolina alum, who’s chasing clubhouse leader Collin Morikawa (66), is making his second major appearance, first among the paid ranks after a missed cut (76-73) at the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay while still in college. He checked in 16-for-22 on the season, and after kicking off with 68-69, has now made his last seven cuts in a row, looking to better a career- and season-best T3 at this season’s Valspar eight starts ago, where he was the 36-hole leader by two (67-61-69-71). Today, the 28-year-old played “boring golf” according to his post-round interview (link below), camouflaging one sqaure with two circles on 12 (of 14) fairways and 15 greens in regulation. At last glance, he recorded +1.19 SG: Off-the-Tee, +2.12 SG: Approach, -0.30 SG: Around, and -0.01 SG: Putting with 32 total putts.

NeSmith was steady off the tee today with 312 yards driving distance (top 5) while striping 10-of-14 fairways (top 15). His highlight on the greens was a 21'11" birdie blast at the par-3 11th while he also added a par-saver from nearly 14 feet at the 14th. “I did basically everything you’re kind of supposed to do at a U.S. Open. Hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens. Didn’t really put myself in harm’s way too many times, and when I did, I made eight-footers for par.” The South Carolina product entered with six straight paydays and is well on his way to a seventh in a row. After the round, he talked about how much he likes the layout here at The Country Club, " The golf course just seems to suit me. I really like the way it looks. I like the tee balls. I like a lot of things about it. I’m just excited to be here and excited to play some golf, but I think the golf course fits me well.”

The 28-year-old NeSmith, who hails from Aiken, S.C., and stands at No. 170 in the Official World Golf Ranking, posted the day’s low score with a 62 at Royal Oaks Country Club, making nine birdies and no bogeys. He followed up with a 69 at Lakewood Country Club to finish at 11-under 131, along with Kurt Kitayama (65-66), Sean Crocker (64-67) and Japan’s Jinichiro Kozuma (68-63). NeSmith, a third-year PGA Tour player, has competed in just one major, missing the cut in the 2015 U.S. Open. Thirteen players advanced to The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., including Davis Shore and Roger Sloan, who advanced via a six-for-two playoff. On the season, NeSmith has made 14 cuts in 20 starts with two top 10s including a T-3 at the Valspar Championship and T-4 at the Zurich Classic.

Debutant Moore, a PGA TOUR rookie, nabs his second career top 10 in 18 events, supplanting a prior-best T8 on debut at this season’s RSM Classic back in November. NeSmith was making his second appearance after a missed cut last year with Chase Seiffert, and records his second top 10 of the season in 18 events, joining a career-best T3 three starts ago at the Valspar as the 36-hole leader. For the festivities, the teammates opened with a bang, matching the then-tournament record in four-balls with 60 on Thursday, eclipsed later in the day by eventual champs Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay (59), and chased with 73-64-68. The duo was 2nd after 18 holes, T8 at the midpoint and T9 at the three-quarter pole, returning to the top 5 today after an impressive five-birdie one-bogey effort.