American Tony Finau scored 62 (-8) while Rory McIlroy had a game-changing birdie in the 15th pennant, and both players built themselves to the top of the standings at the Canadian Open on Saturday.
Finau and the Northern Irishman had a combined score of -11 after three rounds, two strokes ahead of the group of four chasers.
Finau had the best round of the tournament, with seven birdies and an eagle on the course at St. Louis. Georges in Etobicoke, near Toronto.
I didn’t finish my round the way I wanted yesterday and I think that was the spark for today’s good round, launched Finau, who tied at 16e position after the first two rounds. What I did was not bad. I had a few birdies and played flawless golf.
Whenever you’re at the top of the leaderboard and have a chance to win a tournament on the PGA Tour, it’s exciting.
Finau played on the Canadian PGA Tour in 2013 and he remembers touring the country with fellow golfer JJ Spaun.
It’s nice to be back in Canada, ”said Finau, who was paired with Spaun in the first two rounds of the tournament. It’s almost like a tournament at home. I get a lot of fan love, which is pretty amazing.
McIlroy started the day tied with four other golfers at No. 2, but led with six birdies and a 65 (-5).
His final birdie came on the 15th hole when he saved himself from a bad situation – his approach went over the green.
So 22 meters from the cup, he made an approach shot that allowed him to get only 3 meters from it.
It was one of those approach shots where I tried to go to the green and spin the ball to get close to the cup, McIlroy explained. Fortunately, I made a good putt to settle at -11.
Americans Justin Thomas (63), Sam Burns (65), Wyndham Clark (68), and Alex Smalley (67) tied for 3rd with a score of -9. The weather on Sunday requires rains and even storms.
Nick Taylor, who turned 67 (-3), was the highest-ranked Canadian-15th with a -5 total. Corey Conners (-4) and Adam Svensson (-3) took 19th and 29th positions respectively.
The Canadian Press
Source: Radio-Canada
