Aggressive Ortiz pulls within one
The aggressiveness of how Carlos Ortiz attacked the par-5 16th hole shows he’s playing to win the tournament. He’s not letting up and he didn’t layup on No. 16, going for the green on his second shot and securing a birdie that vaulted him to 8 under and only 1 shot out of the lead after Saturday’s third round.
Ortiz’s ball found the green on his approach. He two-putted from 82 feet, making the 7-footer for a 4. Going for the green in 2 was an easy decision for Ortiz, who will play in Sunday’s final round with Sam Burns and Jason Day.
“That 16th hole is not an easy second shot,” said Ortiz, seeking his first win in his 118th start on tour. “Having a 4-iron in your hand is hard to lay up. I had the whole green. We took enough club, we were not actually looking at the pin. We took enough club to cover the right side and I mean, it’s a pretty wide green if you do that.
“We took our medicine and we just had to twoputt from like (82) feet down the hill. Overall I’m just happy the way I played today.”
Ortiz’s best finish on tour is a tie for second in the 2019 Mayakba Golf Classic.
Straka staying in the moment
Seeking his first PGA Tour win, Sepp Straka, at 7 under, is only 2 shots back of leader Sam Burns and alone in fourth place.
At one point on Saturday Straka shared the lead at 7 under with Dawie van derWalt.
“Saw some leaderboards out there, but especially on Saturdays you really can’t. It’s so early, so much golf to be played, it really can’t make a difference in your game plan,” said Straka, who shot a 31 on the front nine but closed with an evenpar 35 over the last nine holes. “I felt I left my foot off the gas a little bit on the back nine.”
Straka, the only tour member from Austria, has shot under 70 in each of the first three rounds — 68-69-66. His career best finish on tour is third in the 2019 Barbasol Championship.
Van der Walt has much to gain
Contending for a PGA Tour win isn’t something Dawie van derWalt has a lot of experience in. A
member of the Korn Ferry Tour, he’s looking for that first victory on the main tour. On Saturday he shared the lead on the front nine, where he went out in 4-under 31.
The back nine wasn’t as kind to van der Walt, a South African who resides in Kingwood. He went birdie—less over the last nine holes with three bogeys.
Nerves may have been creeping in on van der Walt.
“After you miss a 2footer, you’re going to get nervous,” van der Walt said. “There’s some shots out here that will make you nervous, but overall I wasn’t all that nervous.
“I feel like I don’t have much to lose and everything to gain. I’m pretty calm, it’s just a matter of getting it done. But there’s some, like the shot on 15, I think everybody’s nervous on that one.”
Odds and ends
Brooks Koepka, player consultant on the redesign of Memorial Park Golf Course, shot 5-under 65 Saturday, tied for lowest score of the tournament. … 2019 Houston Open champion Lanto Griffin is tied for 54th at 4 over after rounds of 72-71-71. … Dustin Johnson (66), Tyrrell Hatton (67) and Adam Long (69) had bogey-free rounds Saturday. … For round three, playing as the toughest hole was the par 4 No. 6 (4.206). The easiest hole was the par 4 No. 13 (3.632). …Sunday’s final tee times will run from 8 a.m.—10 a.m. off both No. 1 and No. 10 tee boxes.
…The only player not to finish his second round on Friday due to darkness, Charl Schwartzel, missed a 15-foot par putt to bogey the ninth hole, his final hole, and drop to 4 over, missing the cut by 1 shot.