Saturday 18 April 2015 23:40, UK
Troy Merritt remained on course for his maiden PGA Tour title after a third-round 69 earned him a three-shot lead at the RBC Heritage.
Following Friday's record 61 which lifted him four clear of the field at Harbour Town Golf Links, Merritt again went on the attack and birdied two of the first three holes to get to 14-under.
The 29-year-old then came unstuck at the eighth after tugging his approach into water and running up a double-bogey six, but he bounced back with a birdie at nine and added another at 14 in between a solid run of pars to stay at the top of the leaderboard.
Merritt admitted his five-foot putt for a six to limit the damage on the eighth was crucial to keeping his lead. "It was one good shot on the hole," he said. "It was just a momentum keeper.
"I was hitting the ball just fine all day and I just tugged a six-iron, something that hasn't happened in a while, and watched it sail into the water and make a spectacular splash. But I was able to roll that five- six-footer in and keep the momentum going."
Brendon Todd emerged as Merritt's closest challenger as he set the early clubhouse target at 11 under after a flawless, eight-birdie 63.
Todd raced to the turn in 31 and also birdied two of the last three holes - including a chip-in for a three at the 18th - before being reeled in by Kevin Kisner, who also kept a bogey off his card and posted two birdies on each nine in a 67.
Defending champion Matt Kuchar recovered from a double-bogey at the short seventh to return a 68 which earned him a share of second place, while South African Branden Grace interrupted the American stranglehold in the top 10 as four back-nine birdies capped an excellent 66 and lifted him to 10 under par.
Grace, a two-time winner on the European Tour this season, shares fifth with Brice Garnett (65) and veteran Jim Furyk (68), while Masters champion Jordan Spieth will look to put pressure on Merritt as he goes into the final round five shots adrift.
Spieth hit back from an opening bogey with birdies at the second and fifth, and he picked up further shots at 11 and 15 before parring in to close out a battling 68.
Luke Donald continued his return to form with a second-consecutive 66 getting him to eight under alongside former Ryder Cup team-mate Graeme McDowell (70), while Ian Poulter is a further shot behind after he birdied four of the last six holes in his 67.
The final round starts earlier than scheduled due to bad weather being forecast. Sunday's coverage now begins at 4pm on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf.
