DETROIT – The fireworks on 4th of July weekend began a day early for Troy Merritt.
The 35-year-old Boise State product picked a good time to make his first hole-in-one in 10 years on the PGA Tour. From 218 yards on the par-3, 11th hole at Detroit Golf Club, Merritt was stuck between a soft 4-iron and a hard 5-iron. He and his caddie, Wayne Birch, figured they had 210 yards to cover the front with the wind helping out of the right. So Merritt drew a 5-iron that hopped once and disappeared into the bottom of the cup.
“I was geeked,” said Birch, who answers to the nickname Wayne-o, Drain-o.
The ace propelled Merritt to a 5-under 67 and a share of the 54-hole lead at the Rocket Mortgage Classic with Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, who remains bogey-free for the tournament.
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By the time Merritt made his ace, he already had made birdie on four of his first seven holes, including a near ace at the fifth hole to break from the pack. Early in the third round, there was a pile-up near the top of the leaderboard with an eight-way tie for first and a dozen more players within one stroke of the lead. Merritt’s ace temporarily vaulted him three strokes in front, but after hitting 22 straight fairways – he ranks tied for second in driving accuracy this week – he missed three in a row, including to the right rough at No. 12, which led to his only bogey of the day.
Not a bad time to make your first ace… pic.twitter.com/MJC0rVi7Ao
— GOLFTV (@GOLFTV) July 3, 2021
Merritt, who finished T-8 here last year, will be seeking his third PGA Tour title on Sunday and first since the Barbasol Championship in 2018.
“There’s going to be quite a few birdies tomorrow and we’ve got to make them to keep pace and hopefully slightly ahead of everybody. The mindset will be find that fairway first, give ourselves as many looks as we can and keep all the squares off the card,” said Merritt, who leads the field in Strokes Gained: Putting. “Make a few birdies but don’t give any away, make them work to come and get us and hopefully it’s good enough in the end.”
Merritt will be paired in the final group with Niemann, ranked No. 30 in the world and at 22 one of the bright stars on the Tour. Niemann, the winner of the 2019 A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier, shot 68 to improve to 14-under 202 and is attempting to be the first winner to play 72 holes bogey-free since J.T. Poston at the 2019 Wyndham Championship. Niemann, who ranks a pedestrian 88th in scrambling for the season, is a perfect 13-of-13 this week.
“I always try to not make bogeys, but this week it’s working,” Niemann said.
Twenty-four players will start the final round within five strokes of the lead. Hank Lebioda and Cam Davis – both seeking their maiden Tour victory – trail by one stroke and are the closest pursuers. Lebioda’s 6-under 66 tied for the low round of the day, but he said he leaned heavily on his short game and his best shot of the day led to a tap-in par.
“It was the flop shot over the bunkers going towards the water on 14,” said the 27-year-old southpaw, who has continued his hot play after finishing T-5 last week at the Travelers Championship. “I thought I was the older lefty, the one who’s won a few more times, when I hit that. Yeah, it was a great shot.”
Davis, 26, made three birdies in a four-hole span on the front nine to join the fray en route to shooting 5-under 67. The Australian finished T-3 at the American Express and January and has his eye on the top prize this week.
“It’s been what I’ve been working for my whole life, so it would be pretty special,” he said.
Jason Kokrak shot one of nine bogey-free rounds, a 5-under 67, to climb within three strokes of the lead as he seeks his third win of the season.
“I think it’s going to be a putting contest,” Kokrak said. “Troy’s a great putter and it’s going to take everything I’ve got in the bag to catch him tomorrow if he continues the pace he’s on.”
Expect fireworks.
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