Brian Harman had two eagles in a six-under 65 that gave him a one-stroke lead after three rounds of the John Deere Classic on Saturday.
Harman’s solid performance got him to 17-under 196 for the tournament at TPC Deere Run.
Three-time winner Steve Stricker was alone in second, one stroke better than Scott Brown heading into the final round.
Photo: AFP
Tim Clark, Jerry Kelly, William McGirt and 2012 champion Zach Johnson were three back at 14-under 199. Clark shot a 64 to move into contention.
Harman has never finished better than third on the US PGA Tour, but he played quite well in the third round. The lefty hit 17 greens and 12 of 14 fairways.
Harman bogeyed Nos. 12 and 18, the latter by missing the green with his approach. His eagles came from 30 feet on the par-five second and from 47 feet on the par-five 17th.
Stricker finished strong for a seven-under 64. He had his streak of bogey-free holes end at 24 with a five at the par-four 11th, but rallied for birdies on the last two holes.
Brown matched the lowest tour round of the year with his 10-under 61. On a day when players were allowed to clean their ball in the fairway because of an early morning downpour, he flirted with a 59, but had to settle for birdie on the par-five 17th after reaching the green in two shots, and then parred the par-four 18th.
Jhonattan Vegas played with Brown and nearly matched his score with a bogey-free 63 for 200, tying Ryan Moore for ninth place. He opened with three birdies in succession, and collected an eagle on the 17th.
Clark has missed the cut in five of his last seven tournaments, but birdied seven holes to get within three shots of Harman.
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