Varner fires a 63 for one-shot lead
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Harold Varner III shot an eightunder-par 63 to take a onestroke lead in the RBC Heritage on Saturday in pursuit of his first PGA Tour victory.
Varner had eight birdies in a bogey-free round to match Cameron Young’s opening score as the lowest at Harbour Town Golf Links this tournament. Varner was at 11-under 202 through three rounds.
He will need to be just as crisp Sunday. FedEx Cup champion Patrick Cantlay, 2019 British Open winner Shane Lowry of Ireland and Erik van Rooyen of South Africa were a stroke back.
Cantlay, the secondround leader, had a 70, and Lowry shot a 65. Van Rooyen had a 67.
Former RBC Heritage champion Matt Kuchar, Hudson Swafford, Sepp Straka and Aaron Wise were nine under. Swafford fired a 66, Kuchar and Straka had 67s, and Wise shot a 68.
Varner has two international victories, winning the Australian PGA Championship in 2016 and the Saudi International in February.
He appeared to shoot himself out of contention with his finish Friday, going four over his final four holes for a 72. But it was a ruling on No. 6 that angered Varner — and fueled him for Saturday.
Varner’s tee shot on the par-four sixth was called out of bounds. Varner told officials that he saw a spectator pick up the ball that was eventually identified as Varner’s and he might have put it back beyond the outof-bounds marker.
The decision stood, and Varner made a double bogey and fumed about it. “I would say I’m really good at putting things aside, but I did not put that aside,” he said.
Instead, he used the frustrating finish to fuel his run to the top. Varner birdied four of his first six holes — including that troublesome sixth — and took the lead with a 10-footer on the 16th.
Lowry too bounced back from a 72 on Friday to get within a stroke of the lead. He was choppy at first, following birdies on the second and fifth holes with bogeys on the next one. But he steadied himself after that for a 65, matching his career low at Harbour Town.
Lowry said windy conditions eased and made the usually tricky course defenseless.
Kim edges Shibuno
Hyo Joo Kim staved off a late charge from Hinako Shibuno to win the LPGA Tour’s Lotte Championship at Ewa Beach, Hawaii.
Kim closed with a oneunder 71 — following a bogey on the par-four 17th with a tap-in birdie on the par-five 18th — to finish at 11-under 277, two shots clear of Shibuno at breezy Hoakalei Country Club.
Kim earned $300,000 for her fifth LPGA Tour title.