Sunday’s final round of The Northern Trust at Liberty National in Jersey City figures to be a shootout, with nine players within four shots of the lead, a number of big names at or near the top of the leaderboard and some dark-horse candidates lurking as well.
Patrick Reed will take a one-shot lead into the final round after shooting a 4-under 67 on Saturday to get to 14-under for the tournament.
Reed, the 2018 Masters champion, leads by one shot over Abraham Ancer, who shot a 3-under 68 to get to 13-under.
Brandt Snedeker and Jon Rahm are both 12-under after Snedeker posted the low round of the day, an 8-under 63, and Rahm shot 69.
Danny Willett, the 2016 Masters champion, pushed himself into contention at 11-under with a 66. He was joined there by Harold Varner III (68) and Justin Rose (69) among those who are three shots out of the lead.
Rory McIlroy and Louis Oosthuizen, both of whom shot 70 Saturday, are 10-under and well within contention.
“I’m right there,’’ McIlroy said. “Get off to a good start and I’m right in the tournament.’’
Rose said he doesn’t mind chasing the lead because he’s in “that sort of great free-wheel zone so to speak.’’
“I don’t have to go crazy [Sunday],’’ he said. “I don’t have to play reckless golf, but I can play free golf and play on the front foot. I’m three back and I’ve won a few tournaments from three back, so it’s definitely an opportunity for sure.If you are going to win a golf tournament, if you’re leading or chasing, it comes down to playing great on a Sunday.’’
Snedeker began the day on the outside of contention looking in. He started the day at 4-under, eight strokes behind Dustin Johnson, the 36-hole leader who shot a surprising 2-over 73 on Saturday.
And then, long before Johnson and the other leaders atop the board teed off, Snedeker showed them that a super-low round was out there on moving day. His 63 vaulted Snedeker up the leaderboard and into first place at 12-under by the time he was finished for the day.
“I kind of continued the way I played the first two days,’’ Snedeker said. “I just didn’t make any putts the first two days. I think I was probably bottom half of the field in putting and finally I was hitting great putts the last two days, just none of them went in. Finally, today they went in and hit some great shots on the par 5s to make two eagles.’’
Snedeker’s round really kicked into gear when he took an eagle 3 on the par-5 sixth hole and then pulled off the same feat on the par-5 eighth hole. He turned in 31.
“I think I made a 10-footer on first par 5 on the front and I made a 3-footer for an eagle there [on No. 8],’’ Snedeker said. “I’m not making two eagles in a round very often. Nice to go out and post a low one.’’
Asked when he recalled last carding two eagles in one round, he said: “My rookie year on Tour when I shot 61 in San Diego. That would be about the last time.’’
Snedeker said the wind Saturday was favorable on the long holes.
“The way the wind is blowing, you’re able to get to those two par 5s relatively easily and I just took advantage of it,’’ he said.
Length is not necessarily a strength for Snedeker.
“For a guy like me who is not cutting off doglegs and flying it 300 yards, I’m hitting a lot of mid to long-irons into these holes,’’ he said. “I’ve done a really good job of leaving myself with some opportunities to get up-and-down. I’ve been smart about my placement and relied on my short game, which I have to do to compete on this golf course.
“Hopefully, I can rely on a little bit less tomorrow and hit a few more greens that takes the stress out.’’
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