BMW Championship Golf

Keegan Bradley hits from the 17th fairway Saturday during the third round of the BMW Championship in Castle Rock, Colo. Matt York/Associated Press

CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — Keegan Bradley finished with an 8-foot birdie putt – his eighth birdie of a Saturday round that only gave him a 2-under 70 but was good enough for a one-stroke lead going into the final round of the BMW Championship.

Adam Scott hit one tee shot out-of-bounds and another in the water after just three holes and had to rally at the end to limit the damage to a 74, leaving him alone in second place.

Ludvig Aberg began his day with a nose bleed in high altitude. He wiped off the blood and drained a 50-foot birdie putt at the start. The super Swede went from a four-shot deficit to a three-shot lead after just five holes but settled for a 71, leaving him two shots back.

He was tied with fellow Swede Alex Noren, who was six shots behind at one point but closed with three straight birdies, the last one from 35 feet across the 18th green for a 70.

Most telling about this wind-blown day in mile-high air was Xander Schauffele. When told Friday how unusual it was not to see his name or Scottie Scheffler’s among the top 20 on the leaderboard, Schauffele smiled and said, “Give it another day. One of us will be there.”

It turned out to be him. He started the day 11 shots behind. After a 67 – despite a double bogey on his card – he goes into Sunday four shots behind.

Advertisement

Bradley, the newly appointed Ryder Cup captain for the 2025 matches, was at 12-under 204.

“I played some brilliant golf but I hit also some terrible shots, too. I guess that’s the way of the world,” Bradley said. “But I’m proud of the way I fought there in the end.”

WOMEN’S BRITISH OPEN: Two-time champion Jiyai Shin capitalized on a back-nine collapse by top-ranked Nelly Korda to take a one-shot lead after the third round in St. Andrews, Scotland.

Shin, of South Korea, shot a 5-under 67 that took her to 7 under at the fifth and final major of the year as she tries to add to her British Open titles from 2008 and 2012.

Korda is also seeking her third major title – it would be her first at the British Open – but will start the final round two strokes off the lead after seeing her form of the opening two days desert her on the way to a 75.

Starting the day with a three-shot advantage, the American missed short putts for bogeys on her first two holes to drop into a share of the lead, only to regain it with three birdies before the turn.

Advertisement

But then Korda lost her way on the back nine, missing a par putt from 4 feet at No. 12, another from 5 feet at No. 13, and then making double on No. 16 after pushing her drive out of bounds.

There was another bogey at the 17th, but a birdie on 18 left Korda in third place.

“It’s nice to finish with a birdie,” Korda said, “but it wasn’t the best of days.”

Defending champion Lilia Vu, playing alongside Korda in the last pairing, rolled in a birdie putt on No. 18 to shoot 71 and was alone in second place.

Join the Conversation

Please sign into your Press Herald account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe. Questions? Please see our FAQs.