Chris Kirk fired eight birdies in a seven-under par 66 on Saturday to take a one-shot lead over Akshay Bhatia going into the ultimate spherical of the $20 million (A$30m) US PGA Tour Sentry match in Kapalua, Hawaii.
Australia’s Jason Day can be firmly within the combine on a stacked leaderboard, sitting simply three photographs off Kirk after firing a 67.
He’s stage with world No.1 Scottie Scheffler, whose brief sport was ice chilly, most notably lacking a put inside three-feet on the par-five 18th gap to remain at 18-under.
The winner of the primary signature occasion of the PGA season pockets $3.6 million (A$5.4m).
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With windy situations driving up scores on the par-73 Plantation course, Kirk shook off an early bogey with 4 straight birdies on the entrance 9, capping the burst with a 16-foot birdie on the eighth.
He strung collectively three extra on the twelfth, thirteenth and 14th to grab a share of the lead and gave himself a birdie of lower than a foot on the par-five 18th to take the solo lead with a 21-under par complete of 198.
“Slightly little bit of a gradual begin, for positive,” Kirk mentioned. “These first-hand filled with holes with the wind path and the way robust it was are literally taking part in actually troublesome. We’ve had comparatively calm winds, then fairly breezy right this moment.
“You then get into 5, six, seven, a few of these holes the place you may make the most of, and (I) performed actually nice the remainder of the way in which,” added Kirk, who gained his fifth tour title on the Honda Traditional final yr to finish a close to eight-year drought.
Bhatia had one of many day’s handful of bogey-free rounds with seven birdies in his seven-under 66 for 199.
That included a burst of three in a row from the fifth by the seventh, and a 12-foot birdie at 13 briefly gave him the outright lead.
He was tied for the lead after a 17-foot birdie at 15, however he couldn’t decide up one other stroke, ending with a disappointing three-putt par at 18.
“That’s what I’m going to consider, nevertheless it was an excellent day,” mentioned the 21-year-old who’s taking part in Kapalua for the primary time after profitable his maiden title on the Barracuda Championship final July.
The elite season-opening occasion, this yr with a handbag of $20 million, is open to final season’s match winners and to the highest 50 in final yr’s FedEx Cup.
Bhatia mentioned he was counting on the expertise of his caddie to know when to assault and when to be extra conservative on the unfamiliar course.
“You’ve received to make numerous birdies,” he mentioned. “You simply preserve plotting round and hopefully you play this golf course an increasing number of you get extra snug on sure issues.” Former champion Jordan Spieth additionally went bogey-free with six birdies in his six-under 67 to headline a trio on 200 that additionally included Xander Schauffele and South Korean An Byeong-hun.
Schauffele had 9 birdies in a formidable eight-under par 65 whereas An carded a 68.
World primary Scheffler, who held a one-shot in a single day lead, carded a one-under 71 to hitch a gaggle three off the tempo on 201.
He was tied with Harris English (64) Sahith Theegala (68) and Day (67).
Main third-round scores on Saturday within the US PGA Tour Sentry match at Kapalua, Hawaii (USA until famous, par-73)
198 – Chris Kirk 67-65-66
199 – Akshay Bhatia 69-64-66
200 – Xander Schauffele 66-69-65, Jordan Spieth 66-67-67, An Byeong-hun (KOR) 68-64-68
201 – Harris English 71-66-64, Jason Day (AUS) 65-69-67, Sahith Theegala 64-69-68, Scottie Scheffler 66-64-71
202 – J.T. Poston 68-68-66, Patrick Cantlay 66-68-68, Collin Morikawa 65-67-70, Matt Fitzpatrick (ENG) 69-64-69
203 – Brian Harman 67-66-70, Sepp Straka 67-66-70, Tyrrell Hatton (ENG) 69-62-72
204 – Max Homa 67-69-68, Adam Schenk 69-65-70, Patrick Rodgers 69-65-70, Im Sung-jae (KOR) 65-66-73, Viktor Hovland (NOR) 65-67-72, Brendon Todd 67-64-73