Sam Burns watches his tee shot on the second hole during the third round of the AT&T Byron Nelson tournament on Saturday in McKinney, Texas. Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

McKINNEY, Texas — Sam Burns still has the lead going into the final round of the AT&T Byron Nelson despite more magic on the 18th green from local favorite Jordan Spieth.

Now it’s a race to beat the weather in Texas in the final round with a good number of the players headed to the PGA Championship in South Carolina.

Burns shot a 3-under 69 for a one-stroke lead over K.H. Lee, who had a 67. Spieth, Matt Kuchar and Charl Schwartzel each shot 66 and were three strokes back along with Alex Noren, who shot 70.

The players will switch from twosomes back to threesomes going off the first and 10th tees soon after daybreak Sunday with heavy rain in the forecast. Without delays, the tournament will finish about four hours earlier than normal.

Spieth rolled in another eagle at the par-5 18th, this time a shorter, bending putt from the fringe behind the hole. This time it just trimmed his deficit after Spieth’s 55-footer up a hill that splits the green gave him a share of the first-round lead.

The roar was the same, though, from the biggest gallery on the new course of his hometown event, the TCP Craig Ranch in McKinney, about 30 miles north of Dallas. It’s the third venue in the past four Nelsons.

Advertisement

“Once it got on the green, it looked good,” Spieth said. “Started the putter raise and I wasn’t positive it was going in because the angle it was coming in at. I wanted to do the no look to the crowd, but, I mean, it was a really cool moment.”

Seamus Power holed out on a 35-foot bunker shot on the par-4 15th for a 67 and was tied with 2017 U.S. Amateur winner Doc Redman at 16 under. Redman shot 69.

Scott Stallings and Harris English shot matching 63s after making the cut on the number at 6 under, a record low for the Nelson on a course that hosted Korn Ferry Tour Championships but looks overmatched against some of the game’s best.

Burns, trying to become first player since Camilo Villegas in 2008 to get his first two PGA Tour victories in consecutive events, had his first bogey of the tournament on No. 1 and another on the sixth hole. He missed an eagle by inches on 18.

EUROPEAN TOUR: Richard Bland won his first European Tour event at the 478th attempt after beating Guido Migliozzi in a playoff for a dramatic finish at the British Masters in Birmingham, Englad.

 

Advertisement

Bland became the oldest first-time winner in European Tour history at 48 when he parred the first extra hole at The Belfry after Migliozzi three-putted from long range.

Bland carded a superb final round of 66 to set the clubhouse target on 13 under par, but looked in danger of cruelly being denied victory by the fast-finishing Migliozzi.

Birdies on the 15th and 16th gave Migliozzi a share of the lead and he then found the green in two on the par-five 17th, but missed from five feet for birdie after lipping out from long range for an eagle.

CHAMPIONS TOUR: Paul Goydos shot a bogey-free 3-under 69 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over Billy Andrade into the final round of the PGA Tour Champions’ Mitsubishi Electric Classic in Duluth, Georgia.

The 56-year-old Goydos had an 8-under 136 total at TPC Sugarloaf. He has five senior victories after winning twice on the PGA Tour.

Andrade eagled the par-5 18th in a 68.

 

Copy the Story Link

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.