Chris Gotterup carded a 6-under 65 on Saturday and holds a four-stroke lead after three rounds of the Myrtle Beach Classic in South Carolina.
Gotterup stands at 18-under 195 at The Dunes Golf and Beach Club and is tied for the largest 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour this season.
South Africa’s Erik van Rooyen also shot 65 and is tied for second at 199 with Spain’s Jorge Campillo (67 on Saturday) and Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre (68). Davis Thompson (67) is alone in fifth at 13 under.
Gotterup is 18 holes away from notching his first career victory. His previous best finish was tying for second at the 2022 John Deere Classic.
This is his 27th career PGA Tour start.
“I practiced all those days at home for a day like tomorrow,” Gotterup said. “It’s going to be hard. There’s a lot of good guys behind me. I’m going to have to bring it.
“But if I was here at the beginning of the week and you said this was going to happen, I’d be all in. I’m excited. It’s what I play the game for.”
Gotterup wrapped up his round with a birdie on No. 18, his seventh of the day against one bogey. Five of the birdies came on the back nine.
“That birdie on the last (hole) was huge,” Gotterup said. “I was kind of in not a great spot over there on the right, but hit a great shot and finished it off with a really nice putt.”
A bogey-free round consisting of six birdies helped van Rooyen deliver his best round of the tourney. He had four birdies on the front nine and two on the back side, finishing his round with a flourish by sinking a 60-foot putt.
“Yeah, putting has been great all week,” van Rooyen said. “You look at the back nine, you’ve got 13 which is a beautiful opportunity, you’ve got 15, and you walk away with a bit of a sour taste in your mouth. But that’s golf. It’s a stupid game we play, and you make a 60-footer on 18. I’m playing great. That’s all I can do.”
Campillo scored an eagle on the par-5, No. 4 and made five birdies on the back nine. But on the front side, he had a bogey on No. 5 and a harmful double-bogey on the par-4, No. 8.
“Still 18 holes to go,” Campillo said. “It’s never easy to win a golf tournament, and I like my chances. Obviously I have to play great. I cannot make any mistakes, and I have to keep playing like this.”
MacIntrye had four birdes and one bogey. He carded three straight birdies on Nos. 15-17.
“I made one bogey the first round. I made one bogey the second round,” MacIntrye said. “When I bogeyed the first, walking to the second tee, I said … ‘that’s my one bogey gone,’ and I only had one bogey. I just had to stay patient. I knew there was going to be lots of chances. It’s just about giving yourself as many as you can.”
Alex Smalley shot 68 and is sixth at 12-under 201.
–Field Level Media
