Pre-tournament favorite Jon Rahm moved into a share of the lead through three rounds of The American Express PGA tournament with rookie Davis Thompson Saturday by shooting a 7-under-par 65 at PGA West’s Stadium Course.
Rahm entered the round in second, two shots behind Thompson, who shot a 5-under-par 67 Saturday, also on the Stadium Course.
Rahm began his round with back-to-back pars, then birdied the third and fourth holes and eagled the fifth, his first of the tournament. He birdied the eighth and ninth holes, to complete the front nine at 6-under.
The Spaniard birdied the 10th and 12th holes and bogeyed the 17th, his second of the tournament. His other bogey came on the 10th hole at La Quinta Country Club during Thursday’s first round.
“Ball striking felt amazing,” said Rahm, who is seeking his second consecutive victory. He won the Sentry Tournament of Champions, which concluded Jan. 8 in Kapalua, Hawaii.
“Hit a lot of great shots out there off the tee. Giving myself a lot of opportunities with the irons. Took advantage of quite a few of them. So very confident going into tomorrow and knowing that I’m going to have to shoot another low score if I want to have a chance to win.”
Thompson began his round with a birdie. He also birdied the fifth, seventh and ninth holes, completing the front in 4-under. The former University of Georgia star birdied the 12th hole, bogeyed the 14th, his third of the tournament, and birdied the 16th.
“I felt like I stayed patient all day and made some putts,” Thompson said after holding a 54-hole lead or co-lead for the first time in his 20 PGA Tour starts. His previous best was a tie for fifth in the season-opening Fortinet Championship in September, which he finished tying for ninth, his lone top 10 finish on the tour.
“Got off to a great start, which always helps. Up-and-downs on 5 and 6 were huge for me just keeping the momentum going. I was really proud with how I stayed patient. Didn’t really force anything. Made a bad bogey on 14, but came back and birdied 16. So it was a good way to finish.”
South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout and American J.T. Poston are tied for third at 19-under 197, four strokes off the lead.
Bezuidenhout entered the round among 13 players nine strokes off the lead, tied for 21st, then shot a bogey-free 10-under 62 at the Nicklaus Tournament Course, his career low 18-hole score in his 181st round on the PGA Tour.
South Korean Tom Kim and Americans Harry Higgs, Sam Burns and Taylor Montgomery are tied for fifth at 18-under 198, five strokes off the lead.
The original field of 155 professionals and 18-year-old University of Tennessee freshman Caleb Surratt, playing on a sponsor exemption, was reduced to 69 professionals at the conclusion of the third round — the low 65 plus ties.
The cut came at 10-under, tying the lowest 54-hole cut since The American Express became a 72-hole event in 2012. The other time the cut was at 10-under was in 2013. Jhonattan Vegas, the tournament’s 2011 champion, and Charley Hoffman, the 2007 winner, were among the players missing the cut.
Surratt played his three rounds at 7-under-par 209, including a 3-under 69 Saturday at La Quinta Country Club, missing the cut by three strokes.
After playing the first three rounds on three courses in La Quinta, the entire remaining field will play at the Stadium Course for Sunday’s final round.
Six third-round leaders or co-leaders have gone on to win The American Express since 2012 when it became a 72-hole event.
The winner of the $8 million tournament will receive $1.44 million.
If Thompson wins, he will receive an invitation to the Masters. Rahm has already qualified with his victory in the 2021 U.S. Open.
A victory by Rahm would make him the 10th player to win the tournament at least twice. He also won in 2018 when it was known as the CareerBuilder Challenge. Arnold Palmer is the only player to win more than twice, winning five times.
Rahm, who is fourth on the Official World Golf Ranking, was the 6-1 pre-tournament favorite according to BetMGM, an official betting operator of the PGA Tour. They odds dropped to 4-7 following the third round. Thompson is the second choice at 3-1.
Play is scheduled to begin at 8:33 a.m. with the final group of Rahm, Thompson and Poston set to tee off at 10:45 a.m.
The ESPN+ streaming service will begin its coverage at 8:30 a.m. with additional feeds of featured groups beginning at 9:15 a.m. Golf Channel will begin its coverage at noon.