Henley soars to three-shot lead
Golfer shoots 67 to slip past players in his threesome
Russell Henley left everyone in his wake with three straight birdies to start the back nine, pivotal in turning a four-shot deficit into a three-shot lead by the end of the day in the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek.
He is going for his fourth PGA Tour victory.
He has never had a lead this large with 18 holes to play.
And what Saturday made him realize was how quickly it can turn around at Shadow Creek — for him and the four players immediately behind him.
“I’ve got to just keep my head down and play a good round for me,” Henley said after a 5-under 67. “There’s so much golf to be played. This is just a break we’re taking, and
I’m just going to try to keep doing it.”
He did enough on another still, quiet, warm day. And he had plenty of help from the other two players in his group.
Xander Schauffele, who had a three-shot lead going into the weekend, had a pair of late bogeys and failed to capitalize on the par 5s in his round of
74. Tyrrell Hatton didn’t make a birdie until the final hole in a 73. Of the top 25 players, they were the only two who shot over par.
Henley’s putting has been a great fit for the firm, glass-like greens of Shadow Creek. He leads the field in the most important putting category, and it has carried him to only the second 54-hole lead of his PGA Tour career.
He was at 15-under 201. Lanto Griffin, who won his first PGA Tour event a year ago at the Houston Open, found the water off
the tee on the par-5 18th and made bogey and still managed a 66. He was at 12-under 204 along with Talor Gooch (69), Jason Kokrak (68) and Schauffele, still in the mix despite a sloppy Saturday.
Hatton was in the group five shots behind with Justin Thomas (68) and Jason Day, who had a 66 as the former world No. 1 tries to end more than two years without a victory.
Champions: The other lefthanded, 50-year-old former Masters champion was on top after a long Saturday at The Country Club of Virginia. While
Phil Mickelson got most of the attention going into the Dominion Energy Charity Classic as he tries to open his senior career with consecutive victories, Mike Weir was a little better on a 36-hole day after rain washed out play Friday. The Canadian shot 68-63 to reach 13 under and take a three-stroke lead over Mickelson. Mickelson shot 68-66. He won his PGA Tour Champions debut at Ozarks National in August. Weir won the 2003 Masters.
European PGA: English golfer Matt Wallace opened up a three-stroke lead after the third round of the Scottish Champi onship after shooting 6-under 66 . Wallace birdied three of his last five holes to complete a bogey-free round.