POTOMAC, Md. — The cheers were so loud for Tiger Woods that no one could hear the starter announce the name of Joel Dahmen when it was his turn to hit.

And then it got even rowdier Saturday at the Quicken Loans National with each putt Woods made – 12 feet for par, four in a row for birdie, a 25-foot birdie putt on the ninth hole to head to the back nine just two shots out of the lead.

Abraham Ancer heard it all in the group ahead, and it carried him into a share of the 54-hole lead.

Woods couldn’t keep up.

Ancer had the lowest round of his PGA Tour career, an 8-under 62 on the TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm, and wound up atop the leaderboard with Francesco Molinari (65).

“The crowds were absolutely amazing. Every hole was packed,” Ancer said. “I just drew on that. I just heard all the roars. He was making a lot of putts on the front nine. The roars were crazy. I just wanted to be one step ahead of him. So it worked out.”

Advertisement

It worked out even better.

Ancer, a 27-year-old Mexican, had never been among the top 10 going into the final round. Now he’s one round away from his first PGA Tour victory.

Molinari, a two-time Ryder Cup player with a World Golf Championship among his credentials, overcame a few putts he missed from short range to close with two birdies and join Ancer at 13-under 197.

Ryan Armour (68) and Zac Blair (66) were two shots behind.

Woods lost all momentum on the back nine by missing two birdie chances inside 10 feet, taking a bogey on a short par 4 and then driving just through the green on the reachable 14th, where he missed an 8-foot birdie chance.

He had to settle for a 68 and was six shots behind.

Advertisement

“It was frustrating because I played better than what my score indicates,” Woods said. “I thought that 10 under would have been a good score for me to end up at for the day, and I could have easily gotten that today on the back nine.”

LPGA: So Yeon Ryu broke away on the closing holes to take a three-stroke lead in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Kildeer, Illinois.

The 28-year-old South Korean star birdied the 14th and 15th holes to jump ahead of Canadian Brooke Henderson and finished with a birdie on 18. She shot a 5-under 67 on another scorching afternoon to get to 11-under 205 and move a step closer to her third major victory.

Henderson bogeyed Nos. 14 and 16 and shot a 70.

South Korea’s Sung Hyun Park was 7 under after a 71, and American Angel Yin shot a 68 to get to 6 under.

CHAMPIONS TOUR: Jerry Kelly squandered the lead, then regained it, and will head into the final day of the U.S. Senior Open with a one-shot advantage over David Toms in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Advertisement

Kelly shot 1-over 71 at The Broadmoor to finish at 4 under, despite three-putting from inside of 2 feet on the 12th hole for a double bogey that briefly cost him the lead.

Toms shot a bogey-free 66.

Tim Petrovic had a 71. He briefly led after a birdie on No. 14, but bogeyed three his last four holes to finish two out of the lead, tied with Kirk Triplett (68).

EUROPEAN TOUR: Marcus Kinhult of Sweden carded a 4-under 67 and maintained a two-shot lead going into the final day of the French Open in Paris.

Kinhult stayed ahead of England’s Chris Wood at Le Golf National, where the Ryder Cup will be staged in September.

Sergio Garcia moved into third place at 7 under after a 64 that included eight birdies.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.