Fowler heading to final round with 4-shot lead
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Another strong finish over the closing stretch Saturday. Another big lead after 54 holes.
Rickie Fowler can only hope today at the Honda Classic turns out as easy as it did the last two weeks on the PGA Tour, when Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson converted big leads into victories.
Fowler made two birdies over the final three holes to cap a 5-under 65 that gave him a four-shot lead over Tyrrell Hatton of England.
“It would be nice to follow in their footsteps,” Fowler said, “but I do have a lot of work to do . . . A four-shot lead is nice. That can obviously go away very quickly, too.”
Graham DeLaet (70) of Weyburn, Sask., was seven strokes back of Fowler. David Hearn (67) of Brantford, Ont., was 3 under and Mackenzie Hughes (72) of Dundas, Ont., was 2 over.
Fowler holed a 10-foot birdie putt on the 16th, got a potential break with a ruling behind the 17th green that allowed him to use a putter instead of a wedge, and then closed with a drive so bold and big that he had only a 7-iron into the par-5 18th to set up a two-putt birdie. That put him at 13-under 197 with plenty of room for error.
Fowler is 5 under over the final four holes at PGA National so far this week.
“Birdies happen in the Bear Trap,” he said of the closing stretch. “But other numbers do, as well.”
Two-time major champion Martin Kaymer is in a large group at 7-under 203.