American Jacob Bridgeman made his intentions clear from the opening hole of Saturday’s Genesis Invitational third round, carding seven birdies and an eagle to open up a six-shot lead from Rory McIlroy in Los Angeles.
The Northern Irishman entered the weekend just one shot behind Bridgeman and England’s Marco Penge, but Bridgeman quickly opened up some space at the top of the leaderboard with birdies on three of his first four holes.
A dropped shot on the eighth did nothing to derail his momentum as the 26-year-old from South Carolina went birdie, eagle, birdie immediately after the turn.
Two more birdies and a bogey down the stretch saw Bridgeman card a score of seven-under 64, which pushed him to 19 under for the tournament.
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McIlroy trails by six after shooting 69 on Saturday where his ball striking was exemplary, but he struggled on the greens.
“You’re grinding over three-footers and all of a sudden you get one [putt] that you think you can have a bit of a run at and if you hit it a little bit too hard,” McIlroy said. “The greens [were] really, really difficult today. That was most of the frustration. Actually felt like I played pretty well.”
Despite his six-shot lead, Bridgeman expects to be challenged by playing partner McIlroy in the final round. They tee off at 7.20pm Irish time.
“I know he’s going to play well tomorrow [and] I know that I can’t back up at all,” Bridgeman said. “I was paired with Rory [last year] and it was kind of a lot, I thought. Then I got out there and he was super nice to me and super welcoming, and the fans were great as well. I think if it was my first time, maybe it would be a little unsettling, but now I’m not worried about it.”
Young South African star Aldrich Potgeiter moved up to third place after carding a six-under 65, while England’s Aaron Rai carded a five-under 66 to sit a shot further back. Penge fell to equal-seventh place after struggling to a score of three-over 74.
Shane Lowry carded a two-under 69 to move to three under for the tournament.
Meanwhile, Leona Maguire finished in a share of 32nd position at the LPGA Honda Thailand in Pattaya after carding a level-par 72 in her final round to finish on 10 under on her first outing of the season on tour.
Local favourite Jeeno Thitikul claimed victory on 24 under after closing with a four-under 68 to win by one stroke from Japan’s Chizzy Iwai, who carded a 66 in her final round.
