Billy Hurley III carded a 3-under-par 67 to take a two-stroke lead over Angel Cabrera of Argentina after three rounds of the Greenbrier Classic on the Old White TPC at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.
Hurley, the Annapolis graduate and Navy veteran, backed up scores of 68-63 with another solid round, padding his margin with five birdies and holding a three-shot lead until making his second bogey of the day on the 15th hole.
“That’s been my goal for quite a while now, to win on the PGA Tour and I hope I can make it happen (on Sunday),” said Hurley, whose only two professional victories came on the mini-tours.
“I hit only one bad shot, on No. 15, and it wasn’t that bad in the whole scheme of things. I played nicely and I’m looking forward to doing it again tomorrow. The golf course is in great shape, but it’s firming up and it’s going to play very tough.”
Cabrera, whose only two PGA Tour victories came in the 2009 Masters and the 2007 U.S. Open at Oakmont, said he was energized by Argentina’s victory over Belgium in the World Cup and birdied four of his first six holes on the way to a 64.
Kevin Chappell of Fresno and UCLA was three strokes behind in third after a 69, and Cameron Tringale of Laguna Niguel had a 64 and was four strokes back in a tie for fourth with Steve Stricker (68), Michael Thompson (64), Will Wilcox (65), Joe Durant (66), Camilo Villegas of Colombia (67) and Chris Stroud (70).
Masters champion Bubba Watson shot 69 and was six shots off the lead in a tie for 12th.
