With one round to go at the BMW PGA Championship, Tyrrell Hatton is poised for a breakthrough on home soil.
Hatton went 3-under par on Saturday at the Wentworth Golf Club in Surrey, England. His third-round 69 keeps him at 14 under, three shots ahead of the field. The 28-year old has been impressive so far at the European Tour’s flagship event, firing 66 and 67 in the first and second rounds, respectively.
With four international trophies and a PGA Tour win at the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational, Hatton had to deal with two bogeys on the day: one at the third and another at the 15th. He salvaged his scorecard with three birdies and an eagle at the par-5 12th. A victory on Sunday would represent Hatton’s third Rolex Series win — his first two came at the 2017 Italian Open and last season’s Turkish Airlines Open.
“I’ve said earlier in the week it’s been a goal of mine to hopefully win this tournament,” spoke Hatton, who once attended the BMW PGA Championship as a 5-year-old fan with his father. “You can’t win it on Saturday and there are still 18 holes to go. I have to try and not get too far ahead of myself.
“I can take confidence from the fact that I’ve won on Tour before and I’ve just got to go out there and try and control myself, hopefully play well like I have been the past three days and just see what happens.”
BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP: Leaderboard
Currently T-2 at 11 under are Victor Perez of France and Joachim B. Hansen of Denmark. Perez, 28, had a forgettable front nine with three bogeys against two birdies. He waited until the last moment to right the ship, cashing in an eagle at the par-5 18th for a 2-under 70.
Hansen, 30, had two bogeys of his own along with four birdies. He also carded 2 under on the day, which could have been 3 under had he not barely missed an eagle putt attempt on the final hole.
“To me, it looked like it rolled over the hole,” Hansen said of his missed opportunity. “I just needed a bit more speed, then it would have gone in.”
Four men are currently T-4 at 10 under: Shane Lowry (Ireland), David Horsey (England), Tommy Fleetwood (England) and Patrick Reed (United States). Lowry, 33, has been Jekyll and Hyde over the past two days — he followed up a sensational second-round 65 with a double bogey on the ninth and two bogeys on the last three holes, causing his third-round score to balloon to 74.
Meanwhile, the 35-year old Horsey put together his best round of the tournament so far: a 5-under 67. His two bogeys were more than offset by seven birdies, five of them coming on the back nine.
Fan favorite Fleetwood, who has six international wins to date, is also trending up with his own 5 under effort. The 29-year old has rebounded from an opening-round 71, carding six birdies against just one bogey on the day.
“You just have to keep playing all the time,” said Fleetwood. “That’s your job and that’s all you can ever do.
“I’m not that far off. Hopefully it’s a good message to the kids, just keep going because you never know what’s going to happen in golf.”
Reed is the most decorated golfer in the field, with eight PGA Tour victories (including one at the 2018 Masters). He has yet to win abroad, but currently leads the Race to Dubai. The only man to go bogey-free on Saturday, Reed notched two birdies and an eagle on the 18th for a round of 68.
“Making the putt on the last definitely made it a lot more satisfying because a lot of things that I’ve been trying to fix or tweak in my golf swing really paid off today and I felt like I hit the ball where I needed to on most of the holes,” said Reed.
The final round of the BMW PGA Championship takes place on Sunday. Golf Channel’s coverage will run from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. ET.
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