HOUSTON — Min Woo Lee chipped in for birdie to take the lead after which left Scottie Scheffler and everybody else in his wake Saturday with a 7-under 63, giving him a four-shot lead within the Houston Open because the Australian closes in on his first PGA Tour victory.
Scheffler started the third spherical with a one-shot lead and was caught in impartial at Memorial Park, making birdie solely on the par 5s and lacking a number of par putts within the 6-foot vary to fall 5 photographs behind with a 69.
Lee, the 26-year-old youthful brother of LPGA main champion Minjee Lee, turned a bunched leaderboard into massive separation across the flip, which included a tee shot on the par-3 ninth that was inches from moving into for an ace, a 12-foot birdie putt on the tenth gap and an strategy to five ft on the twelfth.
He had eight consecutive one-putt greens, although a few of these began simply off the inexperienced, permitting him to putt.
“Every part’s type of clicking and I simply really feel actually good about it,” Lee mentioned.
Lee, who has three European tour titles and one on the Asian Tour, was at 17-under 193. He was 4 photographs forward of Alejandro Tosti of Argentina, who had a 65. Tosti contended to the very finish a yr in the past within the Houston Open and now will get one other crack.
Scheffler was 5 photographs behind together with Ryan Fox (65) and Ryan Gerard (68). Rory McIlroy was the primary to tee off on No. 10 with the two-tee begin, made a late eagle for a 66 and was eight photographs behind.
Scheffler made his first bogey of the event on the fourth gap when he went over the inexperienced and pitched too strongly. Worse than bogey, he wasn’t making something, even on the finish of the spherical when he had an opportunity to a minimum of shut the hole.
He had a 15-foot eagle putt on the par-5 sixteenth that stopped a flip away from dropping. On the reachable par-4 seventeenth, he blasted out weakly from a entrance bunker and missed a 12-foot birdie likelihood, and his 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th by no means had an opportunity.
“I really feel like yesterday I holed a bunch of putts,” mentioned Scheffler, who was coming off a 62. “As we speak I really feel like I could not get the ball to go within the gap.”
Davis Thompson made an early surge to catch Scheffler earlier than falling again. Then it was tight on the high amongst Scheffler, Lee and Taylor Pendrith. And with a burst of birdie, Lee had the stage to himself.
It began with lacking the inexperienced with a wedge on the sixth gap, just for Lee — also known as “Dr. Chipinski” — lived as much as his nickname by holing the chip to go one forward of Scheffler. After which he saved proper on going, making 4 birdies in a six-hole stretch beginning with that close to ace on the ninth gap.
He stretched his result in as many as six photographs till gamers chasing him made up a little bit little bit of floor as Lee did not capitalize on a closing stretch of birdie probabilities at Memorial Park. He three-putted from 70 ft for par on the par-5 sixteenth, and his drive on the 301-yard seventeenth was close to the grandstand, leaving him a contact chip to fifteen ft for a two-putt par.
However he was glad together with his lengthy day of labor. Lee needed to return early Saturday for a few holes to finish the rain-delayed third spherical, placing him within the final group with Scheffler and Pendrith. He was worn out by the top of the day.
“I have to get again into mattress,” mentioned Lee, who figures he slept solely 5 – 6 hours. “However possibly that is what I’ve to do. I might need to do two warmups, two physio classes and possibly I can shoot 7 below on a regular basis. No, it was nice enjoyable and really strong total.”
Lee already is within the Masters from being within the high 50 on the planet on the finish of final yr. A visit to Augusta Nationwide is at stake Sunday for Michael Kim and Ben Griffin, each simply outdoors the highest 50 on the planet with the cutoff after the Houston Open.
Kim was tied for twenty ninth, which needs to be sufficient for him to crack the highest 50. Griffin was tied for forty first and had a little bit work to do on Sunday.
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