Owen, Gomez tied in Memphis
England’s Greg Owen hadn’t had a piece of a 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour. Now, he hopes he can stay relaxed with the great short game that has him in position to win his first title in his 214th tour event.
And winning would mean so much more than simply having a title on every tour Owen has played.
“Just a huge, huge relief that what you’ve been striving for your whole life you can say you’ve achieved,” Owen said Saturday.
Owen and Fabian Gomez of Argentina each shot a 3-under-par 67 to share a one-stroke lead after 54 holes at the St. Jude Classic in Memphis, tied at 9-under 201 total.
Swirling wind and tough pins kept everyone guessing on a hectic day at TPC Southwind, where as many as six players had a piece of the lead.
Brooks Koepka had at least a piece of the lead through the first two rounds and got to 10under. He shot a 71 and was tied with Scott Brown (68) for second at 202.
Matt Jones (68) and Austin Cook (72) were tied at 204, and David Toms (69) and Camilo Villegas (66) were tied with six others at 205. Phil Mickelson (69) was in a group at 207. LPGA Tour: Two-time defending champion Inbee Park shot a 7-under 66 to overtake fellow South Korean Sei Young Kim for the lead after three rounds of the KPMG Women’s PGA Champi- onship in Harrison, N.Y.
Kim, a rookie who came into the round with a one-stroke lead, shot a 69 at the tour’s second major of the season. The two went into the final hole tied at 13-under par. Park made her seventh birdie of the day on 18, and Kim missed a 4-foot putt for par.
Suzann Pettersen and 17-year-old Canadian Brooke Henderson each shot a 71. They ended tied with Hall of Famer Karrie Webb for third place, six strokes back. Webb was in second place to start the day, but had to overcome bogeys on her first two holes to shoot a 72. Champions Tour: Bernhard Langer shot a 4under 67 in the third round of the Senior Players Championship in Belmont, Mass., to open an eight-stroke lead heading into the final day at the season’s third major.
Langer is the defending champion, having won last year at Fox Chapel in Pittsburgh. He is trying to become the first golfer to defend his title in the Senior Players Championship since Arnold Palmer in 1984 and ’85. European Tour: Gregory Bourdy of France carded a 69 to maintain his lead at the Lyoness Open in Atzenbrugg, Austria, two strokes clear of Spain’s Rafa Cabrera-Bello and five ahead of England’s Chris Wood. Bourdy, eyeing his fifth European Tour win and the first since the Wales Open two years ago, had four birdies to go to 15-under 201.