Fast-starting Rose pulls 4 shots clear of Grillo, Koepka

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

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, who had a 67.

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

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

Rose has the largest 54-hole lead at Hogan’s Alley since Kenny Perry led by seven in 2005 on way to his second decisive win in three years. Canadian rookie Corey Conners had eight birdies over 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 fourthranked player, and Louis Oosthuizen after they both shot 64. Five more players were at 7 under, including Potter.

Jordan Spieth shot 70 on Saturday, putting him 11 strokes back at 3 under.

Champions: Scott McCarron has been in the final group on Sunday six times in the last two years with four wins, including a major championship.

For Tim Petrovic, it will be something new in his first full year as a senior.

McCarron made his only bogey of the third round on the final hole to shoot a 5-under 66 and slip into a tie for the lead with Petrovic in the Senior PGA Championship at Benton Harbor, Mich. They were at 13 under par after Petrovic, seeking his first win as a senior and first major championship, shot 6-under 65.

England’s Paul Broadhurst matched the best third-round score in tournament history with a 64. He was two shots back at 11 under.

Miguel Angel Jimenez, coming off his first major championship last week, shot 65 and was 9 under.

European Tour: 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 BMW PGA Championship in Virginia Water, England.

It was the lowest score of the day as the Italian took five shots off McIlroy, who started the round with a three-stroke lead and needed birdies at the par 5s at Nos. 17 and 18 for a 1-under 71 to keep at least a share of first place on 13-under 203.

Their nearest challengers — defending champion Alex Noren (70), Sam Horsfield (72), Branden Grace (69) and Ross Fisher (68) — are four shots back on 9 under.