Young stars surge up leaderboard at 3M Open

JACKSON, Miss. – Patrick Armour celebrated his ninth birthday Saturday in Jupiter, Florida, and his father Ryan wasn’t there to hand him a present. Maybe Armour will bring him a trophy and a $774,000 first-place check instead. Armour took a big step in securing that special prize on Saturday, overcoming chilly weather and a string of bogeys to fire a 5-under 67 in the third round of the Sanderson Farms Championship to take a five-shot lead into Sunday’s final round at the Country Club of Jackson. Armour sits at 15 under par. Chesson Hadley (68) and Vaughn Taylor (70) are tied for second at 10 under. Scott Strohmeyer (68), Beau Hossler (69), Ben Silverman (69), and Seamus Power (71) are tied for fourth at 9 under. Armour, 41, is seeking his first PGA TOUR title in his 105th TOUR event. The journeyman who has been on and off the TOUR since 2007 – he didn’t make a start on the PGA TOUR from 2011-14 – credits his home life for his recent resurgence away from home. Wife Erin and sons Patrick and Nicholas, 6, have added order to his life and helped him focus on his goals. “The kids have helped me become more disciplined,â€� said Armour. “Back coming out of college, you thought you could do everything. But now with kids who get up early, wanting to be part of their life, I want to have energy. I get to bed early and up early, and that’s discipline that’s helping me on the golf course. “I’m happy where I’m at with my family, my caddy, my instructor. My parents are healthy finally, everything is falling into place.” Thursday’s first round and most of Friday’s second round were played in near ideal conditions, breezy with temperatures near 80. When the third round started Saturday, it was in the 40s, and the highs never climbed out of the 50s. Biting, swirling winds added to the chill factor – and the uncertainty on judging shots. An Ohio native who now calls Florida home, Armour fought through those conditions to post the day’s low round – despite making bogeys on holes No. 5, 6, 7. Four straight birdies on the back nine, capped by a 57-foot putt on the most difficult hole on the course, the par-4 16th, helped him regain control. Armour took just 26 putts and made eight birdies Saturday. He followed his bogey string by stuffing an 8-iron to 4 feet for birdie on No. 8, made a 21-footer from the fringe for birdie on No. 10, and then got on a roll – again – on Nos. 13-16. That birdie binge marked the second straight round he parred each of those holes. Asked how he’ll handle being in the final group on Sunday, the even-natured Armour said he’ll do what he’s done each day. “Kind of stick with what you’re doing,â€� he said. “You’re not always going to be able to, but my strength is – obviously, I have figured this out, finally – driving it in the fairway, hitting it on the green, and trying to make putts. I don’t overpower a golf course.â€� Maybe so, but so far he’s overpowered the field – his five-shot lead is the largest 54-hole lead in this event since 1986. OBSERVATIONS Strohmeyer is bidding to become perhaps the most unlikely PGA TOUR winner ever. Strohmeyer, who will be in Sunday’s final threesome with Armour and Hadley, shot 68 on Friday and is in a five-way tie for third at 9 under, six shots off the lead. Several factors make his position highly unusual. One, this is his first PGA TOUR event (he’s never even played in a Web.com Tour event). Two, he gained entry into the event through the Monday qualifier at nearby Deerfield Golf Club, holing out for eagle from a bunker on the third playoff hole. And three, he had to play to get through the pre-qualifier at Deerfield last week just to get into Monday’s four-spotter. “It’s been a rollercoaster,â€� said Strohmeyer, who was a teammate at Alabama with 2017 PGA TOUR Player of the Year Justin Thomas. “When I finished on Monday I thought I was going to miss it by one. I was kind of kicking myself because I left a lot of shots out there. I hung around, hoping for a playoff. And then I had to make like a 15-footer on the second hole just to go to the next one. So it’s been an awesome opportunity.â€� He said he’s leaned on Thomas for advice this week. “He’s got tons of experience with stuff like this,â€� Strohmeyer said. “This is my first PGA TOUR event. He said to take what’s given me but also be myself. I learned the hard way, I guess, three, four weeks ago at Q-School. I tried not to be myself and it didn’t work out.â€� The last Monday qualifier to win on the PGA TOUR was Arjun Atwal at the 2010 Wyndham Championship. There were no bogey-free rounds recorded in the third round. Hadley’s 68 included one bogey, on the par-4 12th, when his second shot from 125 yards out of the rough flew the green. “It came out pretty nuclear,â€� he said. “I was posing. I was looking right at it, and it just smoked the grandstand (behind the green) and then ricocheted off the ShotLink tower. It was not awesome back there, to be honest. If I can do something differently on that hole, I think I’m going to hit the green tomorrow and maybe one-putt for a birdie.â€� With his father Davis Love III following him for part of the round, Dru Love shot 72 and is T-16, nine shots off the lead. Davis Love III missed the 36-hole cut and spent part of Saturday morning bow-hunting for deer. Beau Hossler had one of the more unusual bogeys of the day on the par-4 9th hole, playing his third shot from behind the grandstands that are located behind the green. Hossler’s second shot from 127 yards flew the green, hit a sprinkler head, bounced over the grandstand, and across a cart path before coming to rest in a grassy area next to the CCJ clubhouse, some 52 yards from the hole. After much consultation with rules officials, it was decided his point of relief would have placed him in a flowerbed and bushes, so he played his third shot from the grass, flopping a lob wedge over the grandstand and onto the green. The ball trickled off the front, but he got up and down for bogey. “It was adventurous,â€� he said. “Very interesting.â€� QUOTABLE “The golf course is playing really tough with how cold and how windy it is, so if you start getting wrapped up in how other people are doing you’re going to get yourself in trouble. I’ve played three really solid rounds. I’m driving it well, putting it well. It’s felt really good thus far. I’m looking forward to the challenge of (Sunday) because I know it’s going to be another really tough day.â€� – Beau Hossler, who has shot 69 in each round “You don’t plan on making those. But as Vaughn (Taylor) said when we were walking to 17, ‘That was in from the minute you hit it.’ Hey, I’ll take it. You don’t plan on them, but definitely take them.â€� – leader Ryan Armour, on the 57-foot birdie putt he drained on No. 16 SUPERLATIVES Low Round – Ryan Armour, 5-under 67. He made eight birdies and three bogeys. Longest Drive – 341 yards, by Wyndham Clark, on hole No. 15. Longest Putt – 57 feet, 3 inches, by Armour, for birdie, on No. 16. Toughest Hole – The par-4 6th hole played to a 4.413 average, yielding just three birdies. There were 30 bogeys and two doubles made there. Easiest Hole – The par-5 14th played to a 4.64 average. There were 29 birdies made there, with only two bogeys and one double. CALL OF THE DAY SHOT OF THE DAY BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

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The United States entered Saturday with a big lead — then made it even bigger. For Europe to keep the Ryder Cup it will need an epic comeback on Sunday.

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