Starting 5: Justin Thomas tries to keep playoff hopes alive; Western hires coach, more

Justin Thomas still has a chance to make the FedEx Cup playoffs.

But he still has plenty of work to do entering the final round of the Wyndham Championship.

Thomas carded a 4-under-par 70 Saturday, moving up 10 spots on the leaderboard to sit in a tie for 10th through 54 holes. If he doesn't win the Wyndham, Thomas will need a high finish — as well as help from those ahead of him in the playoff standings.

He entered the tournament 79th in the FedEx Cup playoff standings. Only the top 70 advance to the playoffs.

Since joining the PGA Tour in 2015, Thomas has never missed the playoffs. He won the FedEx Cup in 2017, the same year he captured the PGA Championship for the first major title of his career. Thomas added another PGA Championship trophy last year, part of his 15 PGA Tour victories.

But that was the most recent win for the former World No. 1. Since that triumph at Southern Hills Country Club, Thomas has just five top 10s (and three top fives) in 27 events. He entered the Wyndham having missed the cut in back-to-back tournaments, failing to make the weekend five times in his last seven outings.

Thomas entered 2023 having made the cut in 23 of his 28 major championship appearances; this year, he went 1-for-4, only making the 36-hole cut at the PGA Championship and finishing in a tie for 65th.

Thomas' recent results have dropped him to 26th in the most recent Official World Golf Ranking, his lowest spot since he was No. 35 in 2016.

Around the city: Western High hires new boys basketball coach; U of L names new deputy AD/CFO

• Julio Anthony is the new boys basketball head coach at Western High. Anthony replaces Brandon Britt, who left last month to became an assistant at Edward Waters University, a Division II school in Jacksonville, Florida. Britt went 83-56 in five seasons at Western, which included the school's first regional championship game since 1977 in 2021 and a 23-5 record the following season, the best single-season mark in Western's annals.

• Louisville hired Nick Bowes as its new deputy athletics director and chief financial officer. He will oversee all business activities, serve as liaison to the university, ULAA board and board of trustees as well as providing oversight to capital projects, facilities and the U of L Golf Club. Bowes also will be the sport administrator for football and serve on athletics director Josh Heird's executive team and senior staff. "We're excited to have Nick join us in a vital role for Louisville Athletics," Heird said Friday in announcing Bowes' hire. "... His talents and counsel will be critical to our financial success now and into the future." Bowes had worked as Southern Cal's executive senior associate athletic director and chief operating officer since April 2021. Prior to that, he worked in Cincinnati's athletics department from 2009 to 2021. An Ohio native, he earned his bachelor's degree at Ohio State in 2008 and his master's in business administration from Cincinnati in 2016.

• Thomas Mercer, St. Xavier's star swimmer, qualified for another event at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, this time in the 200 IM. In June, he clinched a spot in the 400 IM. The team trials will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis from June 15 to 23, 2024. Mercer is vying to be the second male swimmer from St. X to compete in the Olympics, joining Clark Burckle, who placed sixth in the 200-meter breaststroke at the 2012 Games in London. St. X had four swimmers qualify for the 2021 Olympic trials.

• The Bellarmine volleyball program released its schedule for the 2023 season.

Performance of the week: Mercy Academy golf takes top honors at Cherokee Cup

The Mercy Academy golf team brought home some hardware last week, as it placed first at the Cherokee Cup, held Thursday at Cherokee Golf Course. The Jaguars combined to shoot a score of 177, paced by Samantha Stone and Sophia DeFazio, who carded 43s in the nine-hole event.

Manual High's Ella Sizemore had a stellar week on the links herself. She placed second on the individual leaderboard at the Cherokee Cup, which marked her second top-10 finish in three days. Two days earlier, Sizemore finished sixth at the Stableford Invitational at the Polo Fields Golf & Country Club in Louisville.

High school recruiting: South Oldham star commits to Louisville baseball; Trinity defender announces commitment

• Baseball: Kian Vorster, a right-handed pitcher at South Oldham High, committed to Louisville. He is a 2024 prospect. ... Former DeSales outfielder Caleb Thompson, who graduated in 2023, committed to Campbellsville University, an in-state NAIA school.

• Football: Nate Tronzo, a defensive end/linebacker for Trinity High, committed to Southern Illinois on Wednesday. He is part of the 2024 class. ... Eastern Illinois, a 16-time participant in the FCS playoffs, offered 2024 Bullitt East defensive lineman Isaiah Hare. ... 2024 Trinity lineman Gabe Kays earned his first Division I offer: Dayton. ... Da'Von Martin Jr., a 2025 recruit who plays both ways for DeSales High, picked up his first college offer: John Melvin University, in Crowley, Louisiana.

• Softball: Madison Newton, who plays for Male High, committed to Coker University, a Division II school in Hartsville, South Carolina. She is in the 2024 class.

• Girls basketball: 2026 prospect Madison Young, who plays at South Oldham, picked up an offer from Toledo. She also holds an offer from Murray State. ... 2026 Manual guard Ashlinn James earned a pair of offers last week: Murray State and North Carolina A&T. ... Bullitt East forward Aubrey Packer, a 2025 prospect, was offered by Kentucky Christian University, an NAIA school in Grayson.

• Boys basketball: Jackson Washington, a 2024 guard at Christian Academy of Louisville, was offered by Florida Gulf Coast. It is his 10th Division I offer. ... 2024 point guard Damone King, who plays at DeSales, landed an offer from Eastern Kentucky. ... Justice Decker, a 2025 wing at Manual, picked up his first Division I offer: Eastern Kentucky. ... Former Western standout Jayden Miles was offered by Bryant University. Miles, a 2025 recruit, now plays at CHI Prep in Chicago.

Mark your calendars

• Louisville City FC has a pair of games this week, both at the friendly confines of Lynn Family Stadium. Lou City hosts Charleston Battery at 8 p.m. Wednesday before welcoming Rio Grande Valley FC to town for an 8 p.m. tilt Saturday.

• The Louisville Bats wrap up versus the Omaha Storm Chasers on Sunday. Louisville has a day off before hitting the road for six straight games against the St. Paul Saints. The series opener is set for 8:07 p.m. Tuesday at CHS Field in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Play of the week

Deadlocked at 2-all in stoppage time Wednesday, South Africa needed a spark as it tried to upset Italy and advance to the knockout stage of the World Cup.

Thembi Kgatlana lit the fuse.

And provided the fireworks.

Kgatlana, a forward for Racing Louisville FC, found the back of the net to give South Africa a 3-2 win. It marked the first World Cup win in the country's history after it lost all three matches it played during its debut appearance in 2019.

High school boys soccer: Meet the top teams in the Louisville area in 2023

High school girls soccer: Meet the top teams in the Louisville area in 2023

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @RyanABlack.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Justin Thomas tries to extend season, Western hires new boys coach