He equaled the Blackstone Golf Club course record he had set the previous day to reach 14-under 202.

Marcus Fraser of Australia was in second after a third-round 69, with England’s Oliver Fisher (67) and Chile’s Felipe Aguilar (68) one shot back in a tie for third.

The 26-year-old Wiesberger led by one shot after the second round and he extended his advantage with a 15-foot birdie putt on the fourth green and another from five foot at the sixth.

He made five more birdies on the back nine to close in on his first European Tour victory.

“I have never had a five-shot lead in a European Tour event,” said Wiesberger, who lost a playoff to Thomas Bjorn at the 2011 Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles in Scotland. “But I am not thinking about trying to win by one shot, I am thinking maybe to win by 10 shots. I am going to try to relax and stay positive.”

Fraser has won twice on tour including victory at the Ballantine’s in 2010 at Jeju Island, but he conceded his young playing partner would be difficult to beat.

“He played great today,” Fraser said. “He gave himself a chance of birdie on almost every hole and he putted great. If I was a betting man I would put my house on him winning.”

Two of Europe’s veteran Ryder Cup stars — Ireland’s Paul McGinley and Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez - climbed up to tie for fifth at 7-under 209.

The 45-year-old McGinley is playing only his fifth tournament since undergoing his seventh knee operation last December. Having missed two cuts and withdrawn from the Trophee Hassan II in Morocco because of fitness problems, McGinley had expressed doubts about his playing future. But after a flying start which saw him make five birdies in his first six holes, he finished with a 65.

Jimenez had a 69 and joined McGinley seven shots off the lead.
 
Dufner takes Zurich Classic lead

In Avondale, Louisiana, Jason Dufner is in familiar territory atop the leaderboard after 36 holes.

It’s the weekends that have given him fits.

Dufner moved into position for another bid to win his first PGA Tour title, shooting a 7-under 65 on Friday to take the second-round lead in the Zurich Classic.

The former Auburn player has had at least a share of the 36-hole lead in two of his last four tournaments, including the Masters, where he closed with consecutive 75s. He’s second on the tour in pre-cut scoring, but 98th in third rounds and 108th in final rounds.

“It’s been a difficult weekend for me the last month and a half or so,” Dufner said. “I haven’t quite played as well as I would have liked, but I know that my game is still pretty good.”

Dufner lost a playoffs last year to Mark Wilson in the Phoenix Open and Keegan Bradley in the PGA Championship for two of his three runner-up finishes in 163 starts on the PGA Tour.

On Friday, he capped his bogey-free round with a 30-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th to reach 12 under.

“I had a couple of easy birdies,” Dufner said. “I don’t think I missed a fairway or a green. Just had some tough reads. The greens are kind of tough to read. Sometimes you get competing grains, competing slopes, so you get a putt that might break to the right, but the grain is going left. That can be kind of difficult to judge. Then 18, I had just a really good number for my 5-wood to get somewhere on that green and had a putt that was down grain and breaking to the left with the grain, so that was a nice way to finish the day.”

PGA Tour rookie Russell Knox, John Rollins and first-round co-leader Ken Duke were tied for second. Knox shot a career-best 64, Rollins 66 and Duke 68.

Greg Chalmers holed out for an eagle on the par-4 first and also finished with a 64 to join Steve Stricker and Ernie Els at 10 under. Stricker and Els shot 68.

Knox and Chalmers matched the course record.

Defending champion Bubba Watson had his second consecutive 71 to make the cut on the number at 2 under in his first tournament since his playoff victory in the Masters.

Second-ranked Luke Donald rebounded from an opening 73 with a 65 to reach 6 under. Donald, tied for 22nd, needs to finish sixth or better to regain the top spot in the world from Rory McIlroy.

Knox, a Nationwide Tour graduate playing in his ninth tournament, had seven birdies and an eagle - on No. 18 - along with one bogey.

Stricker had four consecutive birdies beginning on the seventh to move into a tie with Dufner, then missed a 2-foot birdie putt on the 11th that would have given him sole possession of the lead. Stricker stumbled home with bogeys on the 12th and 15th.

Donald also holed out from the fairway on the first hole, marking the first two eagles on the hole since the tournament was first played at the course in 2005.

Watson, away from his wife and recently adopted son after taking a two-week break following the Masters, eagled the seventh and birdied the eight, but bogeyed the 10th when he missed the green from 47 yards on his approach. He also three-putted the 12th for another bogey, moving him to 1 under, one above the cut line.