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Justin Thomas tried valiantly to have Jarrod Lyle's yellow bucket hats shipped to Ohio so the world's best golfers could wear them during the WGG-Bridgestone Invitational.

Logistics prevented that, but new world No.2 Thomas reflected the players' wide support when he dedicated his four-shot victory to Australia's ailing former PGA Tour player on Sunday.

Lyle last week ceased treatment and began palliative care amid a third battle with acute myeloid leukaemia.

"This win, and this week, was definitely for Jarrod," Thomas told AAP.

"I wanted that yellow hat and I asked (equipment manufacturer Titleist) if we could get some, but everything in stock was sent to Jarrod (in Australia), which is understandable.

"But I was glad we could get the yellow ribbons to show some appreciation."

Thomas carded one-under-par 69 at Firestone CC to reach 15 under and finished four shots ahead of Kyle Stanley (68), while world No.1 Dustin Johnson and Thorbjorn Olesen (both 64) tied for third at 10 under.

Adding to the emotion of 25-year-old Thomas' victory was the joy of having his grandparents, Paul and Phyllis Thomas, in the gallery.

Paul was a career club professional and played at Firestone in the 1960 US PGA Championship, missing the 54-hole cut.

"I got a little choked up when I looked over and saw my grandpa and grandma," Thomas said.

"This is my first PGA Tour win with him here and it's really special.

"My grandpa is not emotional, but I hadn't seen him smile or be that happy, maybe ever."

Thomas' ninth title on the US Tour, and second this year, earned him $US1.7 million and moved him up one spot on the rankings to world No.2.

Thomas will take enormous confidence into his PGA Championship title defence this week as he seeks a second major title.

"To win on a championship golf course like (Firestone) and against a very tough field, it just felt great," he said.

Australians Jason Day and Marc Leishman came within striking distance on the final day but crumbled on the back nine.

Former world No.1 Day pulled within two of Thomas when he rattled off three straight birdies starting at the 10th hole.

But back-to-back bogeys from the 13th preceded a double-bogey at the par-5 16th as Day signed for a 73 to share 10th at seven under, while Leishman (73) was a shot back in a tie for 14th.

Queenslander Cameron Smith's 67 earned him outright 23rd at four under, while countryman Wade Ormsby (73) shared 39th at one over.

Adam Scott's 74 left the 2011 winner at four over and tied for 57th.

A disastrous final round three-over-par 75 cruelled Australian Minjee Lee's chances of a first major title as Georgia Hall broke her maiden duck on Tour with victory at the Women's British Open.

West Australian Lee was just three behind overnight leader Pornanong Phatlum, but saw any hopes of a charge evaporate with four bogeys on the last day.

Hall, meanwhile, upstaged all to register her very first win since turning professional when she carded a closing five-under-par 67.

She stamped her authority with three birdies in a four-hole stretch to beat Thailand's Phatlum by two strokes at Royal Lytham & St. Annes.

Cheered on by a large gallery, Hall finished at 17-under 271, becoming the second English player to win the championship after Karen Stupples in 2004.

"I've always joked by saying I haven't really won since turning pro and a major will be my first win and I can't believe it's actually true," the 22-year-old Hall told Golf Channel.

"I told myself just to stay calm the whole way and not think about anything. I thought I'll cry but I think that's going to happen in another couple of hours. Hopefully I'll be alone then."

Lee slumped to a 10th place finish.

Disaster struck with the West Australian bogeying the seventh, 12th, 15th and 16th to finish 10 behind Hall.

Hall joined Laura Davies (four), Alison Nicholas and Stupples as women's major winners from England.

She became the first English player of either sex to win a major at Royal Lytham since Tony Jacklin won the 1969 British Open.

The final round quickly turned into a head-to-head duel between Hall and overnight lead Phatlum, after South Korean Ryu So-yeon triple-bogeyed the third hole.

Phatlum, seeking to join compatriot Ariya Jutanugarn (US Women's Open) as a major champion this year, hit a series of loose drives down the stretch.

But a 70 earned her second place on 15 under, with Ryu (70) another two shots back in third.

Young Australian Anthony Quayle has produced a sensational finish only to be pipped by India's Gaganjeet Bhullar for the rich Fiji International golf title.

Quayle played the back nine holes in seven under par as he shot a course record nine-under 63 to be clubhouse leader late in the $1.25 million, tri-sanctioned tournament on the windy Natadola Bay layout.

However, third-round leader Bhullar chipped in to match Quayle's eagle on the par-5 17th hole and it proved the difference as his 66 gave him a one-shot victory.

Quayle played his final round alongside South African great Ernie Els and out-scored the four-times major champion who carded a 65 to tie for third with New Zealand's Ben Campbell (66).

In his second year as a pro, 23-year-old Northern Territory-product Quayle had three birdies and a bogey on his front nine before catching fire from the 11th hole going birdie, eagle, birdie, birdie, par, par, eagle, par.

Bullar was full of praise for Quayle.

"Anthony played really well. Nine-under in these conditions, it's a great, great round of golf," he said.

Quayle admitted being a bit awe-struck playing with Els.

"I struggled to kind of comprehend I was playing with Ernie," he said.

"It was a great round and it was cool to do it in front of him. He had a few nice words for me in the scorer's tent.

"He said that was some back nine, really impressive. If you keep at it, you'll do well."

Aaron Baddeley has plunged out of the lead in the third round of Barracuda Championship, the PGA Tour's only modified Stableford scoring event.

The Australian topped the leaderboard in Reno, Nevada after the second round but failed to make any progress in a topsy-turvy round on Saturday, falling into a tie for seventh.

Seeking his first win in two years while the tour big guns are away at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Baddeley will start the final day 12 points behind American leader Andrew Putnam (38 points).

Matt Jones is two points further back with fellow Australian Stuart Appleby another shot way.

Putnam had eight birdies and a bogey at windy Montreux Golf and Country Club on Saturday, scoring 15 points under the format that awards eight points for albatross, five for eagle, two for birdie and zero for par, and subtracts a point for bogey and three for double bogey or worse.

Chasing his first PGA Tour victory, the 29-year-old from Tacoma, Washington, leads by three points from Sam Saunders, Arnold Palmer's grandson, eagled the par-5 13th and 18th in a 12-point round.

Saunders is also winless on the tour.

Chad Campbell was third at 32 points after a 22-point day. Shane Lowry eagled the last in an eight-point round to join Monday qualifier John Oda at 29 points. Oda scored 13 points in the round.

Jason Day insists the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational is still wide open, predicting a volatile final round is going to feel like a major championship Sunday.

Day battled an error-riddled third round at Ohio's famed Firestone Country Club and, despite a bogey at the last, the former world No.1 carded a one-under-par 69 to finish at 10 under - four shots off the pace.

Justin Thomas fired a 67 and is in the driver's seat at 14 under.

The world No.3 has 2014 WGC-Bridgestone winner Rory McIlroy (67) and Ian Poulter (70) snapping at his heels three shots back.

Day refuses to concede the elite 71-man event to prolific winner Thomas, whose 2017 US PGA Championship title is among eight US PGA Tour victories during the past three years.

"(Sunday) is a different story," a defiant Day said.

"The course is going to be tougher and totally different to the previous three rounds and it's going to feel like a major.

"There's a lot more pressure on all of us to go out there and try to perform."

Marc Leishman carded a 67 to sit a shot back of fellow Australian Day, in a tie for fifth, and is also confident of making a final-round charge.

"I don't think I'm too far back; it's one of those courses where if you're on you can make a lot of birdies and get on a run," Leishman said.

"On the other hand, if your game's a little bit off and you're missing fairways you can make a few bogeys out there.

"If I shoot a seven or eight under and the leaders (stumble), there's no reason why I can't give them a run for their money."

Eight-time WGC-Bridgestone champion Tiger Woods dropped three shots after a 73 to plummet to three under.

With the US Tour changing the event's name and moving it to Tennessee next year, the 14-time major winner's hopes of farewelling Akron, Ohio with a first worldwide win in five years are all but over.

Woods, who played the first two rounds with Day and Saturday alongside Leishman, booked another pairing with an Australian after Wade Ormsby posted a 68 to finish at two under.

Cameron Smith is one under after a 69 while Adam Scott salvaged a respectable 54-hole total of even par courtesy of a 67.

Australian Minjee Lee is three strokes behind leader Pornanong Phatlum going into the final round of the Women's British Open.

Starting the day one shot off the pace, the world No.8 made bogey on her third hole before stringing together three birdies to get her headed in the right direction.

She added another birdie on the 13th hole but bogeys on holes 14 and 18 left her at 10 under after a round of one-under 71.

Thailand's Pornanong Phatlum recorded her first bogey of the championship on Saturday and ended the third round as she started it with a one-stroke lead at Royal Lytham & St. Annes.

Apart from her lone hiccup, Phatlum continued her relentless accuracy off the tee and into the green, carding a composed three-under 69.

But she could not break clear of England's Georgia Hall, who sank a 10-foot birdie at the last hole to card a 69 and keep the heat firmly on the leader.

Phatlum, who has four runner-up finishes on the LPGA Tour but has never won in nearly a decade of toil, will head into Sunday's final round at 13 under.

Hall is alone in second place on 12 under with former women's world number one So Yeon Ryu of South Korea a shot behind after a 67 that matched the day's best score.

Lee and Japan's Mamiko Higa (71) were joined by South Korean Sung Hyun Par (69) in a tie for fourth.

Su Oh's even par 72 left her at one under and tied for 34th while Rebecca Artis and Hannah Green both struggled with rounds of 76, leaving them at three over and five over respectively.

hatlum is a relatively short hitter who has found herself at home at Lytham, where the ball is rolling a considerable distance on the fairways.

After 47 bogey-free holes she finally dropped a shot at the par-three 12th, where she found a bunker, before parring the final six holes on another pleasant summer's afternoon.

Phatlum has missed only four fairways and four greens in regulation in an astonishing display of precision this week.

"I got nervous too today so I just tried my best," Phatlum, who sings songs in her head when she starts to feel pressure on the course, said.

"It makes me calm down and not get too nervous. It's all Thai songs."

Hall was not at the top of her game, and was happy to remain only one shot behind.

"My long game wasn't quite on it today but I putted very well. I holed a lot of putts," said the gallery favourite, in contention for the second-straight year at the Open.

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy will play in the same group as title holder Justin Thomas for the opening two rounds of next week's US PGA Championship.

The trio go out early on Thursday's opening day at Bellerive Country Club, with an 8.23am local tee time as 25-year-old American Thomas looks to build on last year's Quail Hollow triumph while in the company of two of golf's superstars.

McIlroy won the US PGA in 2012 and 2014, while Woods is a four-time former champion, landing back-to-back titles in 1999 and 2000 and again in 2006 and 2007.

Jordan Spieth plays with Justin Rose and Jon Rahm in another eye-catching group, while Italy's British Open champion Francesco Molinari will have the company of Americans Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed.

Molinari and Reed, together with Louis Oosthuizen, were in a tie for second place at the US PGA last year.

Event organisers announced Ian Poulter would be joined in his group by Rickie Fowler and Hideki Matsuyama, and Phil Mickelson lines up with Australia's Jason Day and Keegan Bradley.

India's Gaganjeet Bhullar has taken a one-stroke lead and Ernie Els has surged into contention after the third round of the Fiji International.

Bhullar, who plays mainly on the Asian Tour, shot a second consecutive 69 on Saturday to move to eight under after three rounds, a shot clear of Australians Jake McLeod, Jarryd Felton, Terry Pilkadaris and Andrew Dodt.

New Zealand's Ben Campbell, who led the $US1.2 million ($A1.6 million) tournament by four shots after the second round, had a five-over 77 and dropped back into sixth place at six under.

That's a stroke ahead of Els, who carded a 69 to lie seventh, three shots off the lead at Natadola Bay.

Els produced a brilliant back nine to revive his week in Fiji and sit only three shots off the lead at five under.

The South African had been tied for 19th after an even-par first round of 72 and was 20th after his two-under 70 in the second round.

Bogeys on the seventh and eighth holes on Saturday dropped him back to one under, eight shots behind Campbell, who was still in front early in the third round.

But the four-time major champion had four birdies in his last 10 holes to move into contention as players still on the course battled high winds.

Els hasn't finished in the top-10 at a professional tournament since June 2016 and had missed cuts in his past eight tournaments before Saturday.

"There is a low score out there for me," he said.

"I'm starting to hit the ball nicely, starting to get a bit more confidence in the putter. So it's there and if it really blows tomorrow anything can happen."

Australian Aaron Baddeley has taken advantage of Ollie Schniederjans' late triple-bogey to take the lead after the second round of the Barracuda Championship, the PGA Tour's only modified Stableford scoring event.

Baddeley scored 12 points under the format that awards eight points for albatross, five for eagle, two for birdie and zero for par, and subtracts a point for bogey and three for double bogey or worse.

"It's a tough day today," Baddeley said after the round at Montreux Golf and Country Club in Nevada.

"The wind was really gusting and gusting in different directions. You really had to wait until it was your turn to hit, pick a club. Because it could be 15 downwind, switch and be 15 straight in to you. It was just crazy."

Baddeley has a 26-point total for a one-point lead over Schniederjans.

"My game's been pretty good," Baddeley said. "I haven't capitalised with the putter and just been working really hard on that. Been hitting the ball pretty solid this week. I'm hitting the ball well and making a few extra putts, which has been nice."

The 37-year-old Australian won the last of his four PGA Tour titles in 2016.

Schniederjans, the first round leader, fell back with the triple bogey in the tricky wind on the par-3 seventh - his 16th hole of the day.

"It's frustrating," Schniederjans said. "But everyone else who is out there this afternoon is dealing with it."

Sam Saunders, Andrew Putnam and John Merrick were tied for third with 23 points.

Saunders, Arnold Palmer's grandson, had a 13-point day with seven birdies and a bogey.

Marc Leishman has challenged himself to "move out of third gear" and get aggressive over the closing rounds at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational in Ohio.

The three-time US PGA Tour winner has lamented not taking advantage of a solid display from the tee and having to rely on his world-class short-game to get himself in contention at Ohio's famed Firestone Country Club.

Leishman scrambled around the difficult Firestone course on day two - posting a one-under-par 69 which left him sharing 10th at six under, alongside several others including eight-time WGC-Bridgestone winner Tiger Woods.

Australian world No.19 Leishman sits five shots back of a three-way tie for the lead at 11 under held by England duo Ian Poulter (67) and Tommy Fleetwood (63), as well as world No.3 Justin Thomas (64).

The Victorian native ranks first for strokes gained around the green and is still a fighting chance to add a maiden WGC title to his resume.

Positive but frustrated, 34-year-old Leishman says he's going to have a crack during Saturday's third round, for which he will be paired with 14-time major winner Woods.

"Aggressive I think," Leishman said of his approach to the weekend.

"I feel like I have left myself in some pretty good spots and haven't take advantage of some solid driving.

"I won't be reckless, but I definitely want to make as many birdies as possible because I'll need to if I want to win.

"I've left a lot of shots out there but if a couple breaks go my way and I putt a little better, I can get out of third gear and give this tournament a run."

Leishman's closest call at the WGC-Bridgestone was an outright third place in 2014.