Jackson Suber left the course Saturday figuring he might enjoy dinner before the stress of the last round of the RBC Canadian Open.
Suber birdied the final hole to post a 4-under-par 66 and take the lead through the third round during what became an evolving leaderboard at Caledon, Ontario.
Suber is at 13-under 197, one stroke ahead of Bud Cauley, who also recorded 66, going into Sunday’s final round at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley-North Course.
Wyndham Clark (63), Brice Garrett (67), England’s Tommy Fleetwood (67) and Sweden’s Jesper Svensson (68) are tied for third place at 11 under.
Suber was glad he stepped off the course on a high note.
“People say it makes dinner taste better, but it’s definitely a little confidence going into (Sunday) knowing I birdied the last,” Suber said.
Suber, who’s without a PGA Tour victory, was bogey-free until No. 16, but got that back on the final hole for his second 66 of the tournament sandwiched around Friday’s 65.
“I felt like I was really in control of my game all day,” Suber said. “I was giving myself birdie putts, and if they didn’t go in it was kind of low-stress pars. I feel like I stayed patient with that.”
Cauley had a five-hole stretch on the backside with four birdies, including three in a row.
Svensson, bidding for his first victory on the PGA Tour, began the backside with three consecutive birdies. He held the lead until a double-bogey on the 17th hole after having trouble escaping a bunker.
“I mean it’s golf, stuff happens,” Svensson said.
Because of rain in the forecast, there will be threesomes using starting tees at Nos. 1 and 10 for the final round.
“The golf course is probably going to play a lot different (Sunday) with the wind switching and the rain coming in,” Cauley said. “We’ll see what the different challenges that presents.”
Clark said it was important to make a move Saturday.
“Really just wanted a chance on Sunday,” Clark said. “I know the weather’s going to be tough, so it’s going to be a grind.”
Golfers are bracing for a bit of unknown for the final round.
“By the sound of the forecast, it’s going to be cold and wet, and like you say, a different wind, so that will be interesting,” Fleetwood said.
Defending champion Ryan Fox (68) of New Zealand, Billy Horschel (64), Jimmy Stanger (68), Sam Burns (69) and Canada’s Sudarshan Yellamaraju (65) are clustered in seventh place at 10 under. Burns, contending for the second week in a row, was in Saturday’s final pairing and ended the round with a birdie.
Second-round leader Ben James, in his first professional tournament, shot 78 and tumbled all the way to a tie for 59th place at 2 over. James, a 23-year-old former collegiate golfer for Virginia, had five consecutive bogeys on the front side and was 7 over for the round before his only birdie on No. 15.
Clark, Yellamaraju. Fleetwood, Svensson, Keith Mitchell and England’s David Skinns all reached 10 under to pull even atop the leaderboard before James began his round.
Norway’s Viktor Hovland made a big push as well, shooting 64, though his lone bogey came on No. 18 when he took a penalty before reaching the green. He is tied for 12th at 9 under.
–Field Level Media
