Birdie at 18 gives Spieth 1-shot lead

Crowd favorite Weekley fires 65 for second place

Jordan Spieth continues to play just a little better than anyone else at the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Conn.

Spieth, 23, closed with a 20-foot birdie putt for a 4-under 66, giving him a onestroke lead for the third consecutive round at TPC River Highlands.

After predicting earlier that it would take a score of 16 under to win, the two-time major champion took a 12-under 198 total into the final round.

Boo Weekley was second after a 65. Weekley, 43, playing just in front of Spieth, birdied five of the final eight holes, basking in the chants of “Boooo! Boooo!” from the raucous gallery.

Spieth bogeyed Nos. 13 and 14, but matched Weekley with three birdies on the final four holes, capping it with the final shot of the round from below the hole.

“It’s in the shadow,” Spieth said. “I’m looking to hit the putt at the right speed. If it goes in, great, if it doesn’t, so be it, tap it in.

“With a few feet to go it was going to have a chance and it curled right in the middle. That was a loud roar, and those are really fun to experience.

Weekley is looking for his fourth tour title and first since 2013. The colorful Floridian said he has been dealing with personal issues, but declined to elaborate. His had a season-best tie for 37th at the Puerto Rico Open in March and has made just eight cuts in 21 events.

Spieth is looking for his 10th tour win and second this season after a victory in February at Pebble Beach.

Weekley acknowledged that makes for an odd final pairing Sunday.

“He loves to fish, so we’ve got a little in common there,” Weekley said. “So we can talk about that.”

Daniel Berger, looking for his second victory of the month, was three strokes back after a 66.

C.T. Pan (64), David Lingmerth (65) and Paul Casey (66) were 8 under.

Because of morning showers, the players went off in threesomes from the first and 10th tees.

Pan, who went out just after the rain ended, shot a bogey-free round. This 25-year old former University of Washington star is looking for his third top-10 finish this season.

“It wasn’t as windy, so I made birdies on three of my first four holes,” Pan said. “That really helped my mindset and keep my momentum going.”

Spieth hit his first six fairways and got his first birdie of the day on the sixth hole, when he chipped in from 30 feet behind the green. He made another birdie on the next hole, before giving a shot back at No. 9. He repeated that pattern on the back nine, making birdies at 10 and 11 to go up by two strokes, then put his tee shot into the water at 13. He bogeyed that hole and 14.

Other tournaments

BMW International Open: Sergio Garcia carded a 5-under 67 to join Richard Bland in a share of the lead in the third round of this European Tour event in Munich. Garcia, playing his first event in Europe since his Masters win, and Bland of England settled at 13-under overall going into the final round today. Bland hit water on the 11th hole but recovered for his fourth birdie, and he followed up with an eagle on the 13th to move ahead. “A good, solid day,” said Garcia, who is going for his third title of the season.

American Family Insurance Open: Paul Broadhurst shot a 3-under 69 in windy conditions to maintain a twostroke lead in the PGA Tour Champions event in Madison, Wis. Broadhurst followed birdies on the par-5 16th and par3 17th with a bogey on the par-4 18th to finish at 12-under 132. “It was a tougher day today with the wind,” Broadhurst said. “I kept plugging away, really. ... I hit a poor driver on 18. There’s plenty of room right and I toed over underneath the trunk and it cost me a bogey. I’m still two ahead, so got to be happy.”

NW Arkansas Championship: A few weeks off was all So Yeon Ryu needed to kickstart what is shaping up to be possibly the best year of her LPGA Tour career. The thirdranked South Korean star shot a course-record 10-under 61 to take a five-stroke lead into the final round, putting in great position to become the first repeat winner this year. She reached 16 under to break the tournament 36- hole record by two strokes. In April, she won the ANA Inspiration, her second major title.