2018 Honda Classic leaderboard, scores: Justin Thomas surges with huge third round

Luke List leads the Honda Classic after three rounds at 7 under, but he has a host of big names chasing him around PGA National. Justin Thomas (-6) is one back. Webb Simpson (-6) is one back, too. Tommy Fleetwood (-5), Alex Noren (-4), Louis Oosthuizen (-2) and Daniel Berger (-1) are all in the mix, as well. And on a blustery Sunday at PGA National, pretty much anything can, and probably will, happen.

Tiger Woods (E) is also still lingering after he shot his best round since August 2015. He's part of a crew a little deeper that will need something truly spectacular to find their names at the top of the leaderboard at the end of Sunday. Still, Woods' 69 was among many events that unfolded in a thrilling Round 3.

Here are four takeaways from a full day at the Honda.

1. Saturday wasn't easy, but it was easier: After the scoring average soared over 73 in Rounds 1 and 2 on Thursday and Friday, it fell back to right at 1-over 71 on Saturday. Part of this is because the cut was made on Friday, which removed some of the golfers who weren't playing as well. But some of it was because the wind laid down. Over the first two days there were 33 total scores in the 60s. On Saturday, despite slicing the field in half, there were 21 (including a pair of 65s). I'm hoping it howls again on Sunday as a winner is crowned.

2. Hello, Justin Thomas: J.T. shot a 31 on the back nine on Sunday that included a filthy birdie at the par-3 17th. That vaulted him all the way to second on the leaderboard. Thomas picked up five shots on the field from tee to green, and following a day in which he made a double bogey and 17 pars, his six birdies popped. He's the guy to beat at +185, according to Vegas, and I would imagine that's how the rest of the field sees it, too.

3. Noren and Fleetwood getting Ryder Cup-py out here: How about these two strokes from Alex Noren and Tommy Fleetwood late in the afternoon on Saturday for eagle? They're two of the purest ball-strikers on the planet, and I would imagine both are hoping for the wind to thrash on Sunday.

Their collective ball flights will weaken knees across the property.

4. Hope for Tiger? Here's your lifeline if you're a Tiger Woods fan. In 2012, Woods was 2 under after three rounds. This year he's even. He shot a 62 in the final round that year but finished two back of Rory McIlroy. If that happens again this Sunday, we at CBS Sports might have to purchase some new server space and pray for the best. Woods enters the final round seven back but with just 10 golfers in front of him, so a top-10 finish is completely feasible if not expected based on how he's hit it through 54 holes.

The rest of our notes on Round 3 can be found below.

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