Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown lost in a playoff at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans last year, and they are again in position to win the tournament.
Brown tapped in a two-foot birdie putt on the last hole to cap an 8-under-par 64 in the four-ball format and give them a one stroke lead over Tony Finau and Daniel Summerhays, and Michael Kim and Andrew Putnam at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, La.
“We’ve been doing this for 20 years,” Kisner said of his long-time friend Brown. “We know each other pretty well. I think that’s why we jell so well together.
“He knows I’m not going to be upset if he’s playing bad, or if I hit a bad shot he’s not going to be upset at me. What did they tell us, your bad shots are the other person’s problem, so have fun.”
Kisner (pictured right) and Brown (left), who lost out last year to Jonas Blixt of Sweden and Cameron Smith of Australia, posted a 54-hole score of 20-under 196.
Finau and Summerhays recorded four straight birdies through No. 17 en route to a 63, while Kim, of Alameda and Cal, and Putnam, who played at Pepperdine, both birdied the final hole in a 68.
Brice Garnett and Chesson Hadley birdied four of the last six holes and are two strokes back in fourth after a 61, while Billy Horschel and Scott Percy carded a 61 that was matched by Jason Dufner and Pat Perez, who eagled the 11th hole, and both teams are another stroke behind in a tie for fifth with Brendon de Jonge of Rhodesia and Troy Merritt, who had a 62 that included six birdies on the back nine.
South Africans Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen collected five birdies on each nine in a 62 that left them four down in a tie for eighth with Scots Russell Knox and Martin Laird (63), Englishmen Tommy Fleetwood and Chris Paisley (63), Tyler Duncan and Adam Schenk (64), J.J. Henry and Tom Hoge (65) and two more South Africans, Retief Goosen and Tyrone Van Aswegen (64).
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