Now it’s about finishing the task for Gary Woodland in the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
He shot 5-under-par 65 on Saturday to maintain the lead through three rounds as he seeks his first victory in nearly seven years in Houston.
“I’m here, I put myself in this position for a reason, so take a deep breath and maintain what I’m doing,” Woodland said.
Woodland is at 18-under despite his highest score of the tournament Saturday.
Hard-charging Nicolai Hojgaard of Denmark posted the best round of the day with a 63, so he’s one stroke back going into Sunday’s final round at Memorial Park Golf Course.
“There’s still a lot of players in the field that can win the tournament,” Hojgaard said. “But, obviously, Gary and I have a good chance. I’m going to go out, try to build up the round like I did today.”
Hojgaard has never won on the PGA Tour in 62 previous tournaments. His last international tournament title came in 2023.
Woodland tied for second place in the tournament a year ago. The galleries have been supportive this week, and he has noticed.
“Crowd (has) been amazing,” Woodland said. “Energy was so good. Definitely helped me. Something I fed off of and hopefully that’s the same (Sunday).”
Woodland had four birdies on a six-hole stretch on the backside to maintain the lead. The last three of those birdies came with putts inside of 7 feet.
“Once I settled in, I hit some great shots on the back nine,” Woodland said. “It was a good fight, for sure.”
Hojgaard also was 4-under on that same six-hole stretch, with a 14-foot putt his longest birdie among those holes.
Both golfers had pars on No. 18.
“The course is playing into my strengths,” Hojgaard said. “Good driving length off the tee and approach play, and then I felt like I had good pace with the putter all day.”
Defending champion Min Woo Lee of Australia shot 67 to sit at 12-under, joined by Michael Thorbjornsen (66). Lee might be a long shot to make up enough ground, but he hasn’t dismissed that from happening.
“Just got to stick to the process and hopefully make a lot of birdies,” Lee said. “You’ll probably need help from them to come backwards. I think I’m in the final group, so I’ll have a nice show (Sunday).”
As one of the highlights from Saturday, Lee took a bunker shot on one knee on No. 17, rolling the ball close enough for a birdie putt.
“It wasn’t the most pleasing lie when I first got there,” Lee said. “It was nearly very unplayable because it was on such a steep hill. Luckily, I’m somewhat flexible and I can get low and, yeah, play that shot.”
Combined with the 16th hole, that gave Lee birdies on consecutive holes for the second time during the round.
Thorbjornsen said he has been encouraged by his play this week.
“I think we’re just trying to play smart golf, play to the numbers, just whatever will produce the best score on average,” Thorbjornsen said. “That’s kind of the strategy we’re going to take.”
Sam Stevens (67) and Australia’s Jason Day (68) are at 11-under.
First-round leader Paul Waring of England moved back into contention by shooting 66. He’s at 10-under with Sahith Theegala (66) and Canada’s Sudarshan Yellamaraju (65).
