Chappell grabs Texas Open lead

Kevin Chappell birdied three of his final five holes and took a step closer to his first PGA Tour victory with a 1-under 71 on Saturday, giving him a onestroke lead after three rounds of the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio.

Chappell is 8-under through 54 holes. He’s ahead of first-round leader Branden Grace, who rallied with 2-under 70, and John Huh. After an eagle-birdie finish, Huh shot 71.

Ryan Palmer, a West Texas native who cut through winds as strong as 25 mph, had the round of the day with 4-under 68. He’s joined at 6-under by second round co-leaders Bud Cauley (74) and Tony Finau (74), Sweden’s Carl Pettersson (71), 2013 Texas Open champ Martin Laird (71), Kevin Tway (72) and Australian Cameron Smith (73).

Chappell tied for seventh with Rory McIlroy at the Masters this month, and he got his late charge going Saturday after leaving an eagle putt short at the par-5 14th. He tapped in to gain a stroke, and he made good two holes later with a 12-foot birdie. He chipped to two feet on the downwind, 318-yard 17th and had another tap-in birdie.

Chappell, 30, flirted with trouble on the 18th when his second shot rolled next to a brook, but he had enough room for a full swing and reached the green to set up a 2-putt par.

Grace lost his early tournament lead with a 2-over 73 in the second round. But the South African rallied Saturday and had a lead until a bogey at No. 15.

Gusts that blew past 20 mph kept scores high — there were 14 scores below par Saturday. On Friday 49 rounds were under par, and 69 sub-par scores were recorded Thursday.

As notable as Palmer’s round was in the windy conditions, it fits with the Texans’ profile at this course. Since the tournament moved to TPC San Antonio’s Greg Normandesigned Oaks Course seven years ago, Palmer’s got three top-10 finishes including his best of a fourthplace tie last year.

Bernd Wiesberger of Austria shot a 3-under 69 to take a three-stroke lead into the final round of the Shenzhen International.

Wiesberger, who started the third round at Genzon Golf Club with a four-shot advantage, offset two bogeys with five birdies for 15-under 201 overall.

South African Dylan Frittelli was second after a 68 with a birdie-birdie finish.

Frittelli’s countrymen Dean Burmester and George Coetzee were tied for third at 11 under, alongside England’s Ross Fisher and American David Lipsky.

Wiesberger has been in impressive form the last eight months, having not missed a cut since the PGA Championship with seven top-five finishes.