Two-time defending champion Steve Stricker shot a flawless round of eight-under-par on Saturday to head into the final round of the John Deere Classic with a two-stroke lead.
The American followed up his earlier rounds of 66 and 64 with a bogey-free 63 to reach 20-under-par with the kind of spectacular golf that could well bring him a third consecutive triumph in the Silvas, Illinois event.
“I feel pretty relaxed out there to tell you the truth and I’m looking forward to tomorrow, but it’s going to be tough,” Stricker said. “There’s going to be guys that will come out of the blocks shooting probably lights out right away and I’m going to have to continue to do what I’ve been doing the first three days.”
Photo: AFP
Stricker, ranked No. 5 in the world, began the day by draining a superb 75-foot birdie putt on the first and ended with a 15-foot par save on the 18th to make sure he maintained his two-stroke cushion over Zimbabw’s Brendon de Jonge, who also shot 63 on Saturday.
“Obviously [Stricker] knows how to play this golf course very, very well. He’s very comfortable around it, but it’s nice that I do have a chance tomorrow … regardless of who it is, you’re going to have to play a good round of golf and you’re going to have to make a bunch of birdies,” de Jonge said.
Overnight leader Chez Reavie slipped back to outright third place at 17-under after overcoming a bad start to his round. He bogeyed the sixth and eighth holes, but made birdies on four of his final six holes to finish a shot clear of fellow American Kyle Stanley and three behind Stricker.
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