Ben Griffin fired a 6-under-par 66 to extend his lead to three shots after 54 holes of the Sanderson Farms Championship on Saturday in Jackson, Miss.
Griffin sits at 20-under 196, holding a three-shot edge over China’s Carl Yuan heading into Sunday’s final round at the Country Club of Jackson. Three players are four shots back in a tie for third, and another two golfers are tied for sixth at 15 under, five shots off the lead.
Griffin followed his sterling 63 on Friday with another bogey-free round, posting six birdies — three on the front and three on the back.
“I felt like that was a good goal, try to get three on each side,” Griffin said. “I knew it was going to be windy, and I needed to make sure I missed it in the right spots. Felt like I left myself a lot of 20-, 30-footers, but it was on holes where I needed to do, so if I had missed it on the wrong side, I was going to be scrambling to try to make pars.”
Griffin, 27, has yet to win on the PGA Tour and earned just one top-10 finish in all of 2022-23. However, he ranked a respectable 66th in the FedEx Cup Fall standings entering the week and could crack the top 60 with a win.
That would qualify Griffin for two of the tour’s signature events next winter: the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational.
“Was very proud of myself the way I stuck to the game plan, and I missed a few tee shots on the back nine but was able to escape, and that’s always been one of the strengths of my career,” Griffin added.
Yuan paired seven birdies with two bogeys for his round of 67 to remain within striking distance.
“I think I definitely hit a lot of solid shots. I think just being very smart, knowing where to leave the shots. I think I did a pretty good job of it,” Yuan said. “But yeah, I was happy with the way I played the course today.”
Cameron Champ fired a 7-under 65 to vault 10 spots up the leaderboard and into a tie for sixth with Zecheng Dou (68) of China. Champ is bidding for his second win at Sanderson Farms, having won in 2018.
“I love the golf course,” Champ said. “Obviously if I can drive it well here, it definitely sets me up, and I’ve been able to do that so far. Today I think I finally took advantage of that.”
Scott Stallings (65), Luke List (68) and Henrik Norlander (68) of Sweden are tied for third at 16 under.
–Field Level Media
