San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Casey’s 62 puts him in charge at Travelers
After going nine years without a PGA Tour title, Paul Casey has a chance at his second tournament win of the year Sunday in the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Conn.
Casey shot an 8-under-par 62 on Saturday to take a fourstroke lead into the final round.
Casey, whose win at Valspar in Florida in March was his first PGA Tour title since 2009, called the bogey-free round at TPC River Highlands his best of the year.
In addition to six birdies, the Englishman had an eagle at the signature par-4 15th hole, where he hit his tee shot onto the green and then sank a 23foot putt. He broke out of the pack by hitting all 18 greens and has a streak of 23 heading into Sunday.
He was at 16-under 194.
“It was clinical,” he said. “I did everything I wanted to do. I can’t do any more than that.”
Russell Henley was 12-under after a 67, and J.B. Holmes (65), Anirban Lahiri (65) and second-round leader Brian Harman (69) were 11-under.
Jason Day (66) and Bubba Watson (67) were at 10-under.
The shot of the day came from former Cal golfer James Hahn of Alameda.
Hahn aced the 154-yard 11th hole. His tee shot went over the greenside bunker on the right front of the hole, struck the bottom of the flag pole and went into the hole, which required some repair work to the front lip after taking the hit.
“Sorry, not sorry,” joked Hahn, who said it was the sixth or seventh ace of his lifetime, but the first on Tour.
LPGA Tour: Minjee Lee and Nasa Hataoka each shot 6under 65 to share the secondround lead in the NW Arkansas Championship in Rogers. Australia’s Lee, who won last month in Michigan, bogeyed her final hole to drop into a tie with the 19-year-old Japanese player at 13-under 129.
PGA Tour Champions: Esteban Toledo birdied four of the last six holes for a 6-under 66 and the second-round lead at 9-under 135 in the American Family Insurance Championship in Madison, Wis. Defending champion Fred Couples (67), David Toms (66), Kent Jones (67) and Billy Mayfair (68) were a stroke back.
European Tour: Danish golfer Lucas Bjerregaard shot a 5-under 67 to equal the week’s lowest round for a six-way share of the lead after the third round of the BMW International Open in Pulheim, Germany. Joining him at 5-under 211 were Martin Kaymer, Maximilian Kieffer, Chris Paisley, Aaron Rai and Scott Hend.