An retains lead entering final round
GREENSBORO, N.C. — The rounds are starting to repeat for Byeong Hun An: No bogeys, a bunch of birdies and more time atop the Wyndham Championship leaderboard.
An shot a 4-under 66 on Saturday for a onestroke lead after three rounds at the PGA Tour’s final event before the playoffs.
An, who was at 17-under 193, has held or shared the lead after each of the first three rounds and has yet to play a hole worse than par. The
27-year-old South Korean with three international victories has put himself in position to claim his first win on tour.
“It feels similar to yesterday, to be fair,” An said. “I had some nice shots here and there, but scrambled well today. Another bogey-free (round). I’m quite happy with it — a 66 out here, and I have a lead.”
Former Wyndham winner Webb Simpson and Brice Garnett were tied for second, with Simpson shooting a 65 and Garnett a 66. Ryan Armour was
15 under following a 65.
“One shot is basically nothing,” An said. “It’s not that big of a lead. It’s just one shot.”
Overall, it was yet another low-scoring day at Sedgefield Country Club. For a while midway through An’s round, six players were tied for the lead at 13 under.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if somebody shot 8, 9, 10 under, a guy who’s within striking distance,” Simpson said. “I’ve got to keep the pedal down, and if I don’t shoot a low one, I’m not going to win.”
An started to get some separation from the crowd with three birdies in the four-hole span from Nos. 5-8, moving to 16 under.
Then came his best shot of the day, a 50-foot birdie putt on the par-4 14th. He closed with four straight pars.
Simpson — a native North Carolinian who named his daughter Wyndham after his first career victory came here in 2011 — strung together three birdies around a bogey midway through his back nine to move to 16 under.
If nothing else, he’s in good position to claim his fifth top-10 finish in six years at this tournament.
Garnett made the turn at 15 under following back-to-back birdies, then rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt on the 17th to pull even with Simpson and saved par on the 18th after rolling his third
Davis can become the first multiple FLW Cup winner, although that might not be any more surprising than his 2018 title on Lake Ouachita. An Alabama native with a double major from the University of Montevallo who also fished for the university’s bass team, Davis earned FLW Tour rookieof-the-year honors in 2012. But after the “worst two years of my career,” Davis lost his spot on the Bassmaster Elite series and almost quit the sport.
“Then FLW talked me into coming back to the FLW Tour, and that was the greatest thing I’d ever done because I won the Forrest Wood Cup ($300,000 first prize),” Davis said.
Capping the tournament with a five-bass limit of 17 pounds, 13 ounces, Davis won by more than 7 pounds. “I’ve worked for this my whole life,” he said. “I guess it was time for it to happen.”
Burnout, he said, should not be a problem again: “Now I take a big break every fall, and I’m always fired up to get fishing again.”
At 33, Davis shares the same birthday (Dec. 30) as LeBron James and Tiger Woods. Unlike his beloved University of Alabama football team, he’s defending a national championship.