Rose up big at Colonial

Justin Rose birdied the first three holes to quickly extend his lead at the Fort Worth Invitational and finished with a 4-under-par 66 yesterday to take a 4-stroke advantage into the final round at Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas.

Rose, the 2013 U.S. Open champion and Olympic gold medalist with eight PGA Tour victories, was 14-under. Emiliano Grillo, his playing partner, shot 69 and was at 10-under with Brooks Koepka (67).

After a 2-putt birdie at the opening par 5, Rose had back-to-back birdie putts to get to 13-under. That put him 4 strokes ahead of Grillo, who had eight pars in a row before consecutive birdies at 9 and 10.

The closest Grillo got after the opening stretch was 3 strokes, when he was 11-under with an 8-foot birdie at No. 10. Rose regained his 4-stroke edge with birdie at the 616-yard 11th hole, and his only bogey was at the 173-yard 16th, where his tee shot settled on the back fringe and he then missed a 5-foot par chance.

Rose has the largest 54-hole lead at the Hogan’s Alley since Kenny Perry led by 7 in 2005 on way to his second decisive win in three years — he had a record 8-stroke lead for three rounds in 2003. The largest lead anyone had taken into the final round since had been 2 strokes, and that had happened only twice.

Canadian rookie Corey Conners had eight birdies in his last 12 holes for a career-best round of 63 that matched Ted Potter Jr. for the best of the day.

Conners was tied for fourth at 8-under, in a group of five players that included Jon Rahm, the world’s fourth-ranked player, and Louis Oosthuizen after they both shot 64. Five more players were at 7-under, including Potter.

Molinari, McIlroy tied

Francesco Molinari mastered the toughest conditions of the week at Wentworth to shoot a 6-under 66 and share the lead with Rory McIlroy after three rounds of the European Tour’s BMW PGA Championship in Virginia Water, England.

Molinari managed a bogey-free round in gusty winds and on firm, fast greens. He had six birdies and jumped up to match McIlroy, who started the round with a 3-stroke lead.

McCarron eyes No. 2

Scott McCarron, seeking a second senior major title to go with his 2017 Senior Players Championship, made his only bogey of the third round on the final hole to slip into a tie for the lead with Tim Petrovic at the Senior PGA Championship in Benton Harbor, Mich.

They were at 13-under par after Petrovic, seeking his first major, shot 65 . ...

Minjee Lee shot a 4-under 68 to take a 2-stroke lead on Stacy Lewis, who is five months pregnant, at the LPGA Volvik Championship in Ann Arbor, Mich.