Andrew Dodt held the lead for the third straight round at the Australian PGA Championship yesterday, hanging on to a two-stroke cushion after Adam Scott started fast but faded and Harold Varner III scrapped on the front nine and finished strongly.
Dodt had five birdies and three bogeys as he went around in 70, moving to 14-under 202.
A two-time winner on the European Tour, Dodt finds himself on rare ground going into the last round.
Photo: EPA
“My wins have been from behind, so this is new to me,” Dodt said. “I’m really trying to embrace it and enjoy my time out there.”
“The first three rounds are irrelevant now,” he said. “There are a lot of world- class players behind me, so I’ve got to keep the foot down.”
Varner started the day five shots off the pace and narrowed the gap to two, moving into a share of second spot at 12-under with Australian Ashley Hall after carding a 67 that included eagles at the 15th to the 17th and a clutch putt for a bogey at the 18th.
Hall had two eagles and twice pulled level for the lead, but bogeys on the last two holes meant he finished with a 70.
Varner had eight straight pars before a birdie at the ninth. He had another birdie at the par-5 12th and then unleashed a “364m drive” — which he needed Scott to translate to 400 yards — on the 15th to set up an eagle.
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