IRVING, Texas — Brooks Koepka was exasperated with his ball striking but made three birdies on the back nine to charge past hometown favorite Jordan Spieth and into a two-shot lead after the AT&T Byron Nelson third round here Saturday.
Seeking a second PGA Tour win, Koepka posted a five-under-par 65 for a 16-under total at the TPC Four Seasons Resort in Irving, while fellow American Spieth closed with bogeys at 14 and 18 for a 67 to drop back into second place.
“I putted well today and that’s about all I can say,” the 26-year-old Koepka told reporters. “That was about the worst ball-striking performance I’ve had as a professional. It was embarrassing after the first nine holes, but I kept it together.
“It wasn’t just off the tee — it was wedges, irons, everything but the putter. I hope to get things straightened out for tomorrow. But I’m proud of the way I hung in there.”
Koepka and Spieth began the third round in a four-way tie for second with Spaniard Sergio Garcia and American Bud Cauley, one stroke behind overnight leader Ben Crane.
Koepka, however, failed to make an early move as he traded two birdies with two bogeys and two pars in his first six holes.
Spieth, meanwhile, was also frustrated with his play but he scrambled superbly and jumped out in front with four birdies in his first 11 holes.
One stroke clear, the US Open champion found water with an errant tee shot at the par-four 14th, resulting in his first bogey of the day and a two-shot swing there as Koepka drained a 20-foot birdie putt.
Americans Matt Kuchar (65) and Cauley (68), and Spaniard Garcia (68), were tied for third at 13-under while American Crane struggled to a 72 to fall six strokes off the pace.
Jutanugarn moves 1 ahead
Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn birdied three of the last six holes to break clear of a tightly bunched leaderboard in Saturday’s third round of the Kingsmill Championship in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Two weeks after winning her first LPGA title at the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic in Alabama, the 20-year-old Jutanugarn fired a flawless six-under-par 65 on the rain-softened River Course at Kingsmill Resort.
The fast-finishing Thai birdied the 13th, 14th and 17th to post a 10-under total of 203, ending the day a stroke in front of South Korean Chun In-gee (62), Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum (65) and second-round leader Ryu So-yeon of South Korea (69).
“Normally if I’m tied for the lead or one shot behind, I get a little bit excited, but today I’m not,” Jutanugarn, who is seeking a second LPGA win in as many starts, told reporters.
Just under an inch of rain had saturated the River Course earlier on Saturday, making it play much longer from tee to green but more receptive to approach shots.
Ryu, who had been a stroke in front after 36 holes, was tied for the lead with Jutanugarn as she headed to the 18th tee before she dropped her only shot of the day.
“I was almost going to play a bogey-free round and I made a bogey at the last hole,” said the Korean, who is seeking her fourth LPGA victory. “I was pretty disappointed.
Six players held at least a share of the lead during the third round — Ryu, Jutanugarn, Phatlum, Israel’s Laetitia Beck, Japanese Mika Miyazato and American Stacy Lewis — before Jutanugarn ended the day alone at the top.
New Zealand’s world No. 1 Lydia Ko was six strokes off the pace after carding a second successive 68.
— Agencies
