Belgium’s Thomas Detry has yet to raise a trophy following a PGA Tour event, so he will improvise his mental approach going into the final round of the WM Phoenix Open at Scottsdale, Ariz.
After his third-round, 6-under-par 65 on Saturday, Detry has a five-shot lead with 18 holes remaining.
“It’s OK to think about it, but then try to come back in the present,” Detry said. “I think that will be the key (for Sunday).”
Detry moved to 18-under par 195 overall with a group of four at 13 under. Daniel Berger (66), Jordan Spieth (67), Michael Kim (68) and Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard (65) share second place.
Detry, a 32-year-old who played collegiately at Illinois, had birdies on four of the first five holes of the TPC Scottsdale Stadium course and tallied three more to override his one bogey.
“Getting off to such a good start was kind of the dream,” he said.
His strong third round followed a 66 and 64 during the first two days of the tournament.
Detry, after hitting his drive into a bunker on No. 18, closed the round with a par putt from about 19 feet.
“Definitely pretty happy with the way I handled the whole day,” he said.
Berger said he’s aware that Detry hasn’t won on the tour and will be intent on doing what he can do to challenge for the top spot.
“Really just keep doing the things that I’ve been doing and make birdies,” Berger said. “That’s what I’ve got to do. I’ve got to make birdies.”
Hojgaard likes being in contention in a tournament with an electric atmosphere.
“It’s what we all try to do,” he said. “We just try to embrace the crowds and how loud it is.”
Hojgaard moved to 6 under on the day after an eagle on the par-5 13th. He washed that away with a double-bogey on the par-5 15th after his tee shot went into the water. It got worse.
“I was being a bit aggressive trying to get there in 3 and save my par, and hit another one in the water,” Hojgaard said.
He rallied to birdie two of the next three holes.
Spieth hasn’t won on the PGA Tour since 2022, but he’s gaining confidence.
“To be able to shoot a score like this where the pins were, and they were a lot harder today,” Spieth said. “So to be able to do that with not my best stuff makes me feel even better because it takes a little bit of pressure off maybe trying to be perfect and coming back.”
Now, he’ll see if he has enough to make a final-round charge.
“I’ve had a good history here, so we’ll see how I continue to progress on other courses,” Spieth said. “But (Sunday), I’m going to have to hit more fairways because I’m going to have to hit it closer to try to catch Thomas.”
Maverick McNealy made a big move with a 63 — the best round of the day and tied with the best round of the tournament — to hold sixth place at 12 under.
“The putter got hot,” McNealy said. “There were a bunch of challenging pins to hit it close to with the firmness of the greens, and I did a good job.”
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (68) is tied for 10th place at 10 under.
–Field Level Media
