BLAINE, Minnesota – Jhonattan Vegas birdied six of the final eight holes for an 8-under 63 and a one-stroke lead over Matt Kuchar on Saturday at the 3M Open.
Vegas had a total of 16-under 197 at the TPC Twin Cities. The 39-year-old Venezuelan has three PGA Tour victories, the last a successful title defense at the 2017 Canadian Open.
“It kind of makes you feel like you’re doing the right thing and that you need to keep working hard,” Vegas said.
Kuchar, 46, also shot 63, sinking eagle from 30 yards on the par-5 18th, to probably the biggest roar from the tournament crowd. He won the last of his nine PGA Tour titles at the 2019 Sony Open.
“You can really let your focus go, let go of all the focus that you’ve been holding, you can just let it go and know that the day is over and you can enjoy the moment a little more than if you still have three or four holes left. ahead,” he said.
Maverick McNealy, with another 63, was two shots behind. Patrick Fishburn, with a plus 63, was four points behind at 12 under with Sahith Theegala (66). Theegala won the Fortinet Championship last year with his first victory on tour.
“Lots of low scores out there,” Theegala said. “I don’t know how, it’s still difficult to get off the 18th green, there’s so much water, so many stressful shots. I just take my hat off to the guys for shooting 64 and 63, especially at the top of the board.
Four shots behind early in the day, Vegas birdied Nos. 5 and 6 and added three more flurries of two birdies on the back nine – at Nos. 11-12, 14-15 and 17-18. He made a 5-footer on the par-3 17th and holed in on 18.
Vegas dominated the last nine in three rounds. He is tied for the top nine but at 16 under at Nos. 10-18.
“I’ve been lucky on the back nine and hit some good shots and some great putts,” Vegas said. “You have to hit your irons really well on the back nine here, which I’ve been able to do the last three days,” he said.
Kuchar missed the cuts in nine of his first 11 events this year and 11 of 18 overall, with his best finish tying for 17th at the Charles Schwab Challenge two months ago.
On Saturday, he three-putted for double bogey on the par-3 fourth and then birdied the next four holes. He tapped in for birdie on the 17th from 167 yards after a near ace.
“On air, I had a good feeling it was going to be good, not as good as it turned out,” Kuchar said. “I think it’s always a bonus on a difficult hole when you come in and make a birdie in between without even having to think about the second chance.
Cam Davis (65), Adam Svensson (66) and Matt NeSmith (70) shot five shots at 11 under.
Second-round leader Taylor Pendrith had a double bogey and four bogeys in a 73 that left him six shots behind.
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
