CROMWELL, Connecticut: Brian Davis and Roland Thatcher, who are both chasing their first victories on the PGA Tour, were tied for the third-round lead at the $6 million Travelers Championship on Saturday.
Englishman Davis fired a six-under 64 to reach 12-under 198 after 54 holes. He is level with Thatcher who shot a five-under 65.
“It was one of those things where you had the rhythm, you were playing and you just kept going,” Davis said of his front nine. “We hit the back nine and the wind’s picked up, and all of a sudden it was two groups on every tee coming it. Sort of lost some momentum a little bit.”
Davis rolled in six birdies with a 29 on the front nine. Thatcher had a one-shot lead on the back nine but missed a seven-foot par putt on the 17th hole that set him back. He had three consecutive birdies during one productive stretch of his round.
“It’s been a really good three rounds, obviously one more to go, and it’s a really packed leaderboard up there,” Thatcher said.
The tournament was hit by stormy weather Friday which resulted in half the field not finishing the second round. The players returned early Saturday and the event is now back on schedule after some players had to play 36 holes in one day.
Nine players shot 65 or better as the players took advantage of soft conditions.
“It played longer, softer, but we didn’t have any mud balls, so that was nice,” said Will Claxton, who shot a 69.
John Rollins, James Driscoll and Stuart Appleby were two strokes adrift of the leaders.
Defending champion Fredrik Jacobson shot even par to remain at nine under. He managed a round of even-par 70 on Saturday and is tied for sixth place with five others. Jacobson led the event after 36 holes.
Three-time major winner Padraig Harrington (65), Matt Kuchar (66), Tim Clark (66), Charley Hoffman (67) and Claxton are also at nine under.
In-Woo wins Volvik Hildesheim Open
In Seoul, South Korea’s Lee In-Woo fended off a challenge from 13-time Asian Tour winner Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand yesterday by closing with a four-under-par 68 to win the first Volvik Hildesheim Open J Golf Series.
Lee posted a winning total of 12-under-par 276, putting on hold Thaworn’s quest for a 14th title after he signed for a 69 to take a share of second place with Lee Sang-Hee at the event jointly sanctioned with the Korean Golf Tour.
Lee, among six players tied for the overnight lead, knew that he had to be on top of his game given the quality of his closest rivals and the 40-year-old put in a flawless round with four birdies to end a seven-year winning drought.
“When I took a share of the third round lead yesterday, I told myself that this was my chance of winning again and I cannot waste it, he said.
“My only victory came in 2005 on the Korean Golf Tour and I badly wanted to win again. What made this victory even sweeter was that I managed to win against a strong field that included players from the Asian Tour.”
Thaworn bemoaned a costly bogey on the par-three 17th which ended his chances of winning. The Thai was tied for the lead with Lee until a bad shot on the 17th caused him to slip.
He could have forced a play-off on the 18th but could not sink a birdie putt from 20 feet.
