IRVING, Texas — Brooks Koepka overcame two early bogeys and the huge shadow of playing alongside Jordan Spieth in his home event, shooting a 5-under 65 on Saturday to take the Byron Nelson lead. ADVERTISING IRVING, Texas — Brooks Koepka
IRVING, Texas — Brooks Koepka overcame two early bogeys and the huge shadow of playing alongside Jordan Spieth in his home event, shooting a 5-under 65 on Saturday to take the Byron Nelson lead.
Koepka was at 16-under 194 to match the best 54-hole score at the Nelson and put him two strokes ahead of Spieth with one round lead.
Koepka took the lead with a 20-foot birdie putt at No. 14. Spieth hit his drive into the water, had to punch into the fairway and then made a 23-foot bogey putt in his round of 67.
Spieth played his first PGA Tour event at the Nelson as a 16-year-old amateur six years ago. He is now the world’s No. 2-ranked player and the crowd favorite. His image is everywhere, including the 8,000 bobbleheads given away Saturday.
At 26, Koepka is four years older than Spieth but has only one win (Phoenix in 2015) in his 54 previous PGA Tour starts.
Matt Kuchar (65), Bud Cauley (68) and Sergio Garcia (68) were tied for third at 13 under.
IRISH OPEN
STRAFFAN, Ireland — Rory McIlroy had a three-stroke lead in the Irish Open when third-round play was suspended in the event bedeviled by lightning storms.
From Northern Ireland, the third-ranked McIlroy was 9 under overall on the 16th tee at The K Club when play was stopped because of darkness. Masters champion Danny Willett was second, also with three holes left.
Officials had already suspended play twice and evacuated the course for nearly four hours as lightning posed a danger to the players and 20,000 spectators. Attempts to complete the round produced two brief evening periods of play amid monsoon-style downpours.
REGIONS TRADITION
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Bernhard Langer surged to a four-stroke lead in the Regions Tradition.
A stroke behind leader Kenny Perry entering the round, Langer shot a 3-under 69 to move to 12-under 204 in the first PGA Tour Champions major of the year — while Perry and others stumbled at Greystone.
The 58-year-old Langer won the Chubb Classic in February for his 26th victory on the 50-and-over tour.
Perry held the lead after each of the first two rounds but had a double bogey on the opening hole on his way to a 74. He and Scott McCarron (72) were tied for second going into the final round.
John Daly was among five players at 7 under after a 69. Playing in his second PGA Tour Champions event, the two-time major winner had a double bogey, two bogeys, an eagle and five birdies.
KINGSMILL CHAMPIONSHIP
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Ariya Jutanugarn moved into position for her second straight LPGA Tour victory, shooting a bogey-free 6-under 65 to take the third-round lead in the Kingsmill Championship.
The 20-year-old Jutanugarn had three birdies in a four-hole stretch on the front nine on the soggy River Course and birdied three of the last six. She’s coming off a victory two weeks ago in Alabama that made her the first Thai winner in LPGA Tour history.
Jutanugarn had a 10-under 203 total.
Second-round leader So Yeon Ryu bogeyed the final hole to drop a stroke back along with fellow South Korean player In Gee Chun and Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum.
Ranked 11th in the world but sixth in the race for the four spots on South Korea’s Olympic team, Ryu shot a 69. Chun had a 62 to tie the course record set by Jiyai Shin in 2012. The U.S. Women’s Open champion is eighth in the world and fourth in the South Korean Olympic race. Phatlum shot a 65.
GOSLING’S DARK ‘N STORMY CLASSIC
MILTON, Ga. — Laura Wearn won the Gosling’s Dark ‘n Stormy Classic for her first Symetra Tour title, and Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom was second to break the season money record.
Wearn led after all three rounds, closing with an even-par 72 for a 6-under 210 total at Atlanta National Golf Club. She birdied the par-5 18th after dropping strokes on 12, 13 and 17.
The 25-year-old former Furman player made $15,000 to jump from 72nd to 17th on the money list with $18,592, with the final top 10 earning LPGA Tour cards. She missed most of last season after back surgery.
Sagstrom shot a 70 to finish a stroke back. The 23-year-old former LSU player earned $9,467 to push her seven-event total to $103,181. Cindy LaCrosse set the previous mark of $94,578 in 2010. Sagstrom has two victories this season, one short of an immediate LPGA Tour promotion, and six top-five finishes.
