The leaderboard through 54 holes at the Honda Classic would have sent Paul Revere into a frenzy.
There are three Englishman among the top four contenders, led by Tommy Fleetwood, who birdied four of the final six holes to shoot 3-under 67 and grab his first 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour.
Fleetwood, 29, leads American Brendan Steele, who shot 71, by one stroke at 5-under 205 at the Jack Nicklaus-designed Champion course at PGA National Resort & Spa. He leads fellow Brits Lee Westwood and Luke Donald by two.
“It’s just an all-around very, very difficult test, and it tests everyone,” Fleetwood said of the layout. “It tests every part of your game.”
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The wind blew and the greens got crusty and the course played so tough that Fleetwood was the only player in the final eight twosomes under par in the third round. Only 13 players are under par through 54 holes.
“It feels like a major championship toughness-wise,” local product Daniel Berger said after shooting 69.
Or as NBC commentator David Feherty put it, as only he can, “This golf course is kicking you know what.”
Fleetwood kicked back with a ferocious finish as his putter warmed up. Winner of five titles on the European Tour and making his 64th career PGA Tour start, Fleetwood has four runner-ups, including at last year’s Open Championship, and 16 top-10 finishes, but nary a win to show for it on U.S. soil. He’s ranked No. 12 in the world and is the highest ranked player without a victory on the PGA Tour. Fleetwood said there’s nothing he’d like more than to nab that first Tour title on Sunday.
“For a guy who has never won, he sure looks ready,” NBC’s Paul Azinger said.
And just like that, @TommyFleetwood1 regains a share of the lead. 🙌#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/kXHXB0nH88
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 29, 2020
Fleetwood said he hadn’t made many mid-range putts this week, but his putter came alive beginning at No. 13, where he canned a 14-foot birdie. One hole later, he was simply trying to lag one close from 45 feet and it dripped in for another birdie. He gave a stroke back at 15, but called the 11-foot bogey putt he holed crucial to keeping the momentum of his round going. On 17, he drilled another bomb, this time a 49-footer from the fringe for birdie, and he capped the day with a two-putt birdie at 18, after becoming just the seventh player to reach the 18th hole in two on Saturday.
“I sort of fancied that one, but it’s always nice to pull it off when you’re trying,” Fleetwood said of his 258-yard cut 5-wood from a downslope.
Steele, the 36-hole leader, jumped out of the gates with birdies on two of his first three holes, but made back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 4 and 5 then 10 and 11 to fall out of the lead. He drained a 12-foot birdie at 17 to climb within one stroke heading into Sunday and will play in his second final group of the season (Sony Open in Hawaii).
Westwood from Worksop, who spent a combined 22 weeks as World No. 1 in 2010-11, and Donald from Hemel Hempstead, and World No. 1 in 2011-12 for a combined 56 weeks, both had up-and-down days but salvaged rounds of 1-over 71 to remain in the hunt.
“I didn’t have my A-game today, struggled with my swing a little bit. But I didn’t do too much damage,” Westwood told Golf Channel after the round. “I don’t feel like two shots [deficit] is much around this golf course. My confidence levels are high. The good thing is I’m driving the ball well.”
Berger is joined at 2 under by South Korea’s Sungjae Im and South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel.
Canadian Mackenzie Hughes made the biggest move of the day. After making the cut on the number, he shot 4-under 66 and improved 51 spots into a tie for eighth at 1 under with a group that includes former Honda champions Russell Henley and Rory Sabbatini.
“Anything under par is pretty good,” said Schwartzel, the former Masters champion who missed nine months last season with a wrist injury and shot even-par 70. “As you can tell by the scores, no one is really going anywhere, and I don’t really see anything different happening tomorrow.”
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