Joel Dahmen, who has led the field since the first round, shot a 1-under-par 71 on a windy Saturday and will bring a three-shot lead into the final round of the Corales Puntacana Championship in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
Dahmen bogeyed two of his first five holes and added another bogey in his toughest round of the weekend, but finished with four birdies and sits at 17-under 199.
“It was a challenge, for sure,” Dahmen said. “It’s always tough teeing off with a bigger lead. I feel like I hit some good shots early that didn’t end up in a good spot. Then I screwed up all the easy stuff early, so really frustrating.”
Chan Kim (69 on Saturday), Michael Thorbjornsen (70) and South Africa’s Garrick Higgo (70) sit three shots back at 14-under 202.
Kim bogeyed the par-5 third hole, but bounced right back to pick up an eagle on the par-5 fourth hole and added a pair of birdies to stay within striking distance.
“On 4, hit a really good drive down there and hit a 7-iron that, you know, at that point because it’s so far downwind, we’re just thinking back edge is a great shot, then the chip will be back into the wind,” Kim said. “Somehow I got it to stop pretty nicely and read the putt really well. Yeah, so it was a pleasant surprise when we got up there.”
Thorbjornsen opened his round with three birdies on his first four holes, but stumbled with double bogeys on the par-4 fifth hole and par-4 eighth hole. He turned it around on the back nine, notching a trio of birdies.
“It was very tough,” Thorbjornsen said. “Got off to a really hot start, 3 under through four. Nothing’s guaranteed or given out here. I made two doubles from there on, but I know even though I was 3 under through four, it’s going to be tough throughout the whole day.”
With the low round of the day at 66, Vince Whaley moved up 17 spots into a tie for fifth with Ben Martin (67) and Germany’s Jeremy Paul (67). Whaley overcame a bogey on the par-5 fourth hole with seven birdies, including three out of four holes on the front nine as he seeks his first PGA Tour victory.
“I think guys are so good,” Whaley said. “I know this is opposite field event or whatever, but everyone’s so good, you’ve got to go out there and still attack. It’s going to be even windier tomorrow but there’s no slowing down, you’ve got to keep going and just see how low you can go.”
–Field Level Media
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