OPELIKA, Ala. – A day after Chad Collins shot a course-record 60 at the Barbasol Championship, Scott Stallings did the same to take the lead heading into the final round on Sunday. The course is a favorable one for golfers, but Stallings isn’t thinking about what Collins did on Friday or what anyone else was doing on Saturday. “I could care less what anyone else does,� he said. “I have enough problems on my own. That’s not to sound arrogant, it’s just I can’t worry about what anyone else does. I go out there and put myself in position, you know, put my best foot forward and hopefully that’s good enough.� Stallings’ 19-under 194 is a new 54-hole tournament record, besting the 16-under 197 shot by Jhonattan Vegas in 2016. In addition, his 60 is three strokes better than his personal best and he was a perfect 18 of 18 greens in regulation in the third round. The intense heat and humidity that has resulted in a heat advisory throughout central Alabama had taken a toll on the Tennessee native in the second round. “I was super frustrated with the way I finished yesterday,� Stallings said, “being eight-under through 14 and then kind of stumbling and just missing some short putts down the stretch. I let my mind go a little bit … as far as staying on top of drinking water, eating food. You kind of lose sight of that out there and the heat will zap you.� Stallings, who has won three tournaments on the PGA TOUR, is in search of his first win since the 2014 Farmers Insurance Open. So far this year, only 11 of 35 third-round leaders have finished the job and won their respective tournament. The last to do so was Jordan Spieth at the Travelers Championship. Weather moves up final round With the summer heat comes a threat of afternoon thunderstorms and the PGA TOUR has moved up the tee times for the final round in an effort to finish ahead of the projected storms on Sunday afternoon. Twelve three-man teams will tee off from the first hole, with the final group of Scott Stallings, Grayson Murray and Tag Ridings teeing it up at 10:31 a.m. CT. The same formula will be used on the 10th tee for the remaining 36 golfers. “I’m glad that they’re doing threesomes because it gives us a chance if storms do come in and we have some daylight to get it done,� Murray said, “because most of us are going to Canada next week so we would like to get this done tomorrow. So kudos to the TOUR for doing that. “Obviously, twosomes are the luxury of making the cut – you like the twosomes aspect of it – but it’s going to feel like a Thursday or Friday round. It’s going to be slow, it’s going to be a long day, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.� The forecast for the Opelika area calls for a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms in the 2-3 p.m. range. Nothing amateur here Sam Burns came up a little short on a 14-foot birdie putt on 18, but that didn’t seem to dampen the spirits of the LSU sophomore, who is the top-rated amateur in the Barbasol Championship. Burns, who set a school scoring record last year with a 70.05 stroke average, will celebrate his 21st birthday on Sunday with the final round of the tournament. “I knew there some holes out there I could get after and make some good scores on,� he said, “but there are a few you have to be careful on, too. Overall, I thought it was a pretty good day. I made three birdies – six, seven and nine. Once I did that, I thought I could make some more on the back.� While there are some familiar names that Burns followed as a collegiate golfer and back in his younger days in Shreveport, La., he said there is no pressure on the Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year entering the final round. “I’ve got nothing to lose,� Burns said. “If anybody can free-wheel it, I can. These guys are out there playing for money and for their livelihood, I’m just out there having fun. I’m just looking forward to the challenge tomorrow. Coming into the week, I just wanted to play some good golf and I think, so far, I’ve done a good job of that.� Burns, making his fifth start on the PGA TOUR this week, made his first cut in the process. He was the only amateur to make the cut. The RTJ Golf Trail at Grand National is familiar to collegiate golf players as the home of Southeastern Conference rival Auburn and a host site for NCAA regionals, but Burns has a history with the course from several years earlier when his sister Tori was a student at Auburn. On cooler days, of course. “My dad and I used to come and play every now and then when we she was in school,� Burns said. “I was probably 13. Being from Louisiana, (the weather is) pretty similar, so it’s not that big of a change.� Burns said he plans to play in the 2017 Western Amateur Championship on July 31, the U.S. Amateur on Aug. 15 and “hopefully the Walker Cup� at Los Angeles Country Club on Sept. 9 before turning professional. Slow and steady wins the race At least, that’s the motto Tag Ridings has employed for the Barbasol Championship. Ridings has been among the leaders every day, shooting a 66, a 67 and a 63. Nothing spectacular – “I thought eight-under was shooting, is that not good?�, Ridings asked – but a steady pace that keeps him in the threesome with Grayson Murray and Scott Stallings that will tee off last in the final round. “The day was great for me because you get in a moving day situation on a course like this, you know you’ve got to put up some numbers,� Ridings said. “And I didn’t start off very good so to be able to stay patient – something I’m not really known for – was nice. You know, I’m playing solid. “I like the tortoise guy. I like the guy that’s shooting 69 every day in tough conditions. That’s kind of where I’ve been my whole career and if I can get on some (roll) … “This is a strange situation for me to be in contention on a fairly easy golf course because of that, but I’m happy to be there.� Ridings birdied five of the eight holes on the back nine before bogeying the 18th hole. He made six birdies on Thursday, seven on Friday and nine on Saturday, stepping up his game a little each day to stay in contention. A former University of Arkansas golfer before turning pro, Ridings is 175th in the FedExCup rankings and can use a top 10 finish to move up in the rankings. Sabbatini makes a move Rory Sabbatini made a move on the leaders early on Saturday with a 62 in the third round after starting the day in fifth place. Sabbatini is arguably playing his best golf in some time after finishing in a tie for 19th last week in the John Deere Classic and 14th the week before in The Greenbrier Classic. Sabbatini hasn’t had a top-10 finish since 2015, when he had four. He is currently 152nd in the FedExCup rankings and his 62 on Saturday tied his career low. “I was driving the ball good,� he said. “I was hitting my irons well and made some putts today. After the conclusion of my round (Friday), I was a little ticked off at the course so I came out here with an aggressive attitude and it paid off.� Sabbatini was teamed with former Auburn University golfer Blayne Barber as the third group to tee off, so he was cautious in his analysis as he prepared for the final day of the event. “It puts me, obviously, a lot better off than I started the day but there’s a lot of golf to be played today still and also tomorrow,� he said. “I think if I can go out there tomorrow and fire another good low round, anything’s possible.� As it turned out, Sabbatini had every reason to be cautious. Golfers feasted on the Grand National course as the scoring average dropped from 70.402 in the first round to 68.992 in the second round and 68.916 in the third round. While he is 11-under, it is eight strokes back of leader Scott Stallings and tied for 14th overall entering the final round. Best of social
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