Sepp Straka got off to a hot start with a 6-under-par 64 on Saturday to take a four-shot lead over a trio of players heading into the final round of the US PGA Tour’s American Express tournament in La Quinta, California.
Austria’s Straka, seeking a third US Tour title, recorded a total of 193, 23 under par, while Australian former world number one Jason Day, US veteran Charley Hoffman and Justin Lower , its closest rivals, scored 197.
Straka started with a 10 on the La Quinta course, one of three used over the first three rounds, and racked up six birdies in his first nine holes.
He holed a long birdie putt at the 18th to make the turn with a three-shot lead and after missing birdie attempts from inside six feet at the third and fourth, he birdied the fifth and sixth – both short par fives – to extend his lead to four.
Straka has yet to make a bogey this week in the California desert near Palm Springs, saving par on his final hole Saturday after pulling his tee shot to the left.
“It’s one of those big holes here at LaQuinta where it gets stuck, and the more you try to push it, the tighter it gets,” Straka said. “I tried to hit a three-wood there and just missed it by a hair, and, yeah, I didn’t really get anything from there.
“I hit a really good shot just to put it 10 yards off the green, hit a really nice wedge shot in there, so that was nice to see to end the day.”
Day and night, co-leaders Hoffman and Lower all played on the more difficult stadium course, which will host the final round on Sunday.
Day climbed the leaderboard with a five-under par 67, Hoffman posted a 69 and Lower – who had won second place solo before a bogey on his penultimate hole – had a 68.
“It’s a very fun ranking to watch,” Straka said as he looked ahead to the final round.
Day, 37, has 13 PGA Tour titles, including the 2015 PGA Championship title. Hoffman, 48, won the first of his four titles at that event in 2007 and Lower is aiming for his first Tour crown.
– No lead is safe –
Day said recent work has seen a “dramatic improvement” in his swing which he hopes will pay off this season as he targets a first title since the 2023 Byron Nelson Championship.
World number 12 Patrick Cantlay carded an impressive under-par 66 on the Stadium Course to share fifth place on 198 with Mark Hubbard, who posted a 69 at La Quinta.
Despite his advantage, Straka said Sunday could still turn into a shootout.
“I think the Stadium is the type of course where no lead is safe,” he said, recalling that he was five shots from the start of the final round when he won his first title on ” a very similar golf course.
“You’ve just got to keep hitting your points, and you’ve got to hit the ball really well, so that’s really what I’m looking for tomorrow, is just a good round of solid ball striking,” Straka said.
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