Sepp Straka of Austria shot 8-under-par 64 for the second day in a row to surge to the lead of The American Express on Saturday at La Quinta Country Club in La Quinta, Calif.
Straka will take a four-stroke lead to the final round. His bogey-free third round included 6 under through nine holes as he started on the backside.
In Sunday’s final round, Straka will be aiming for his first PGA Tour victory since the 2023 John Deere Classic and his third overall.
Second-round co-leader Charley Hoffman (69), Justin Lower (68) and Australia’s Jason Day (67) share second place at 19 under. That trio all played the Pete Dye Stadium Course on Saturday in the event’s unique set-up.
Mark Hubbard (69) and Patrick Cantlay (66), who finished with three straight birdies on the stadium course, share fifth at 18 under. Justin Thomas (68) is in seventh at 17 under, while Max Greyserman (65) and Daniel Berger (65) are at 16 under tied for eighth place.
Greyserman had one of the day’s highlights with an eagle 2 on the 10th hole.
Rico Hoey, who shared the top spot when Friday’s play concluded, slumped to a tie for 17th at 14 under after a 74 on the stadium course. First-round leader J.T. Poston, who shot 64 on the La Quinta Country Club layout, is also at 14 under.
The cut for this tournament, which involves play on three courses, comes after 54 holes. With a few entrants still on the course, golfers needed to be at 9 under or better to advance.
So that means that 17-year-old Blades Brown, who shot 64 on Friday as he competed in his first PGA Tour event, won’t play Sunday. He posted 74 during Saturday’s round on the Pete Dye Stadium Course, putting him at 6 under 210 for the tournament.
–Field Level Media
