Paul Casey won the Valspar Championship in March for his first victory on the PGA Tour since the 2009 Shell Houston Open, and now he’s looking for more.
The 40-year old Englishman sank a 23-foot eagle putt on the 15th hole and capped a flawless round of 8-under-par 62 with a virtual tap-in birdie to take a four-stroke lead over Russell Henley heading to the final round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn.
“It’s nice to have an uphill 2½-footer for a closing birdie,” said Casey, whose alignment was off so he had a session on the practice range after round two with his instructor, CBS Golf analyst Peter Kostis.
“I was standing too far from the ball, so he got me a little closer. Whatever he told me worked. It was a stress-free round because everything was working. It’s a pleasure to play at TPC River Highlands and it was just a great day.”
Casey, who collected six birdies while tying the low score of his career set in the 2015 Sony Open in Hawaii, recorded a 54-hole score of 16-under 194.
Henley posted a bogey-free 67, while 36-hold leader Brian Harman saved his round of 69 with three straight birdies on the back nine and is five shots back in a tie for third with J.B. Holmes, who holed out from 143 yards for an eagle on the 14th hole in a 65, and Anirban Lahiri of India, who had a tap-in eagle at No. 13 in another 65.
Ninth-ranked Jason Day of Australia totaled 66 and is another stroke back in a tie for sixth with Beau Hossler (68) of Rancho Santa Margarita, two-time Travelers Championship winner Bubba Watson (67), Bryson DeChambeau (68) of Clovis) and Ryan Blaum (66).
Seventh-ranked Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland of Northern Ireland is tied for 15th after a 69, second-ranked Justin Thomas shot 70 and is tied for 32nd, fourth-ranked Brooks Koepka, coming off his second straight victory in the U.S. Open, totaled 69 and is tied for 38th, and fifth-ranked Jordan Spieth, the defending Travelers champion, is tied for 46th after a 71.
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