NASSAU, Bahamas — The nice and cozy solar within the Bahamas introduced out loads of mud on the rain-soaked fairways and created some wild pictures for almost everybody however Viktor Hovland. He made 10 birdies Saturday to construct a three-shot lead within the Hero World Problem.
Hovland ran off six birdies on the again 9 at Albany and completed with a bogey from a mud-shot on the 18th for an 8-under 64, placing him in place to hitch match host Tiger Woods as the one back-to-back winners of this match.
“I hit a number of simply good high quality iron pictures to present myself 7 to 12 ft. It wasn’t like I hit one simply unbelievable shot and stuff it or make it like I did the opposite days, but it surely was simply form of constantly giving myself appears to be like,” Hovland mentioned.
He was at 13-under 203, and he made it look straightforward. It wasn’t that method for the remainder of the 20-man area, even with a number of the finest scoring of the week.
Scottie Scheffler, who can go to No. 1 on this planet with a win, dropped just one shot and had an eagle on the par-5 fifteenth for a 66 that put him within the ultimate group with Hovland. It was day on his card. It was powerful on the feelings seeing a lot mud on his ball that he had no thought the place it was going.
“Who’s good at these? You just about don’t know what the golf ball’s going to do,” Scheffler mentioned. “It is not one thing that I might observe at dwelling simply because it is not one thing that I consider ought to occur on the golf course.”
The Masters champion’s finest work was not a lot his 5 birdies and his eagle, however moderately not letting the mud balls get in his head.
Everybody needed to take care of it, some worse than others. Justin Thomas figures the one man who caught a break was PGA Tour official Rick Wild, who data all of the scores on the finish of the day. Good factor it is a small area.
“Solely 20 individuals coming in and complaining versus 120. I believe that is most likely just a little simpler on him,” Thomas mentioned. “It is unlucky. And you will get some actually, actually unfortunate breaks and unlucky conditions. However like I mentioned, everyone has to take care of it and the extra you let it get to you, most likely the more serious off you might be.”
Thomas was bogey-free for a 66, tied for third with Cameron Younger (68).
Younger, the PGA Tour rookie of the 12 months, dealt with his misfortune effectively. With a 31 on the entrance 9 and his sixth birdie of the spherical on No. 10, he was main by two and in the course of the green on the par-5 eleventh.
He went to put up with a 4-iron and noticed the ball shoot straight out to the suitable and into the bush, resulting in a penalty shot earlier than enjoying the following one and making bogey. He had one other bogey on a par 5 and needed to accept a 68, leaving him 5 pictures behind.
“The one that actually damage me was on 11,” Younger mentioned. “I really feel like I made a reasonably good swing and it was into the weeds. It simply takes a mediocre shot there to present your self a reasonably good have a look at birdie. In order that positively, positively damage. Yeah, there have been a number of.”
Kevin Kisner had a hole-in-one on the twelfth gap with a 6-iron, the lone shiny spot on a day when he shot 77.
“I used to be placing most likely the worst of my profession at this time so I made a decision simply to make it from 189 yards,” Kisner mentioned. “However it was so much simpler on par 3s since you bought to hit a clear golf ball.”
As a result of a majority of the course was in cheap form, the PGA Tour determined to play the ball down. Officers had been involved about 4 or 5 fairways, however the mud made its presence felt from fairways that had been deluged with rain on Wednesday.
Hovland ran off three straight birdies early on the entrance 9, all from 15 ft or longer, after which he actually took off on the again 9. He twice two-putted for birdie. He hit 6-iron to 12 ft on the par-3 twelfth, hit 9-iron to 7 ft on the following gap after which bought some separation with an 8-iron to fifteen ft on the sixteenth and a 7-iron to eight ft on the par-3 seventeenth.
“He performed so good I nearly felt unhealthy about my spherical,” Xander Schauffele mentioned after a 69 left him six again. “It was clear. It was so good I did not even understand what he was doing till he bought to the top.”
Woods gained the World Problem in 2006 and 2007 when it was at Sherwood Nation Membership in California. He’s not enjoying this week due to plantar fasciitis in his proper foot that prompted him to withdraw on Monday.
