Field Level Media
27 Sep 2020, 06:35 GMT+10
Adam Long put on a putting clinic on the back nine Saturday and finished the day with an 8-under par 64 and a two-stroke lead through three rounds at Corales Puntacana Resort Club Championship in the Dominican Republic.
Long's bogey-free round consisted of eight birdies and 10 pars. He made four birdies on each side of his card, starting with Holes 2, 3 and 7. But the ninth is where things really got going for the 33-year-old.
Starting with a 2 on the par-3 ninth, Long one-putted nine of his final 10 holes, giving him the tournament's 54-hole record at 17-under 199. It is also the first 54-hole lead of his career, besting his third-place standing through three rounds at The American Express in 2019 -- Long's only win thus far on tour.
"It was nice when those days are like that where you're just kind of feeling the putter and you're just making putts," Long said. "It was nice. I wasn't thinking about a whole lot of things, I was just trying to make everything."
Compatriot Hudson Swafford, who held a two-stroke lead of his own heading into the weekend, shot a 3-under 69 in the third round and is alone in second at 15 under. Canadian Mackenzie Hughes (third-round 67) is another shot back, followed by China's Xinjun Zhang (68) at 13 under. Americans Nate Lashley (65) and Sean O'Hair (70) -- who began the day in a trio tied for second -- are tied at 12 under.
India's Anirban Lahiri tied Long for the best round of the day (and the tournament thus far) with a 64 to climb 47 spots to a tie for seventh at 11 under. Americans Tyler McCumber (69), Luke List (71) and Justin Suh (71) are also 11 under. List and Suh were the other two players tied for second entering the day.
As for Long, he is looking to become the third straight golfer to win the Corales Puntacana after holding the lead after three rounds.
Swafford -- like Long a 33-year-old looking for his second career tour win -- looked like he may run away with the tournament after answering a bogey 4 on the second with a run of two birdies and an eagle over five holes.
But after a sinking a lengthy birdie putt on the par-4 eighth, Swafford parred each of the last 10 holes while Long was working his putter magic.
Hughes, whose 14th-place finish in the FedEx Cup standings last season is the best among any golfer in the field this weekend, will look to carry momentum over into Sunday after posting three straight birdies on Holes 15-17.
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