Andrew Landry missed the cut in his last five tournaments and seven of eight this season, but this week he has flipped the script.
The 32-year-old Landry, whose only PGA Tour victory came in the 2018 Valero Texas Open, shot 7-under-par 65 on the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West https://www.pgawest.com in La Quinta and is tied for the lead with rookie Scottie Scheffler heading to the final round of The American Express.
“It’s been a heck of a week so far with my ball-striking,” said Landry, who kept his share of the lead by sinking a 12-foot par putt as he finished on the ninth hole. “Just kind of one day’s ball-striking, the next day’s putting, and putting’s just been here all week.
“So, we’ll just keep riding it out and see what happens tomorrow.”
Landry (pictured), who lost this tournament to Jon Rahm of Spain in a playoff two years ago, birdied six of the first eight holes after starting on the back nine and held a one-stroke lead before making his only bogey at No. 8 while recording a 54-hole score of 21-under 195.
Scheffler, who shared the 36-hole lead with Rickie Fowler, carded a bogey-free 66 with three birdies on each nine of the host Stadium Course at PGA Tour West, where the entire final round will be played.
“It’s a tough course, it’s a good track,” Scheffler, who won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour last season, said of the Stadium Course. “If you’re not on your game, you can really struggle.
“There’s a lot of trouble out there, so you’ve got to hit a lot of quality shots to keep the ball in play. Good test.”
Fowler, from Murrieta about a two-hour drive away, struggled out of the gate with two bogeys on the first seven holes before making his first birdie at No. 9, and added three more on the back nine to salvage a 70 on the Stadium Course and is four strokes back in third.
“I was actually surprised by the green speed early on,” said Fowler, who is playing in the tournament for the first time in six years. “They were a bit slower than what I’ve seen the last two days, so adjusting to that, I really didn’t have anything go in early until the ninth hole.
“But I thought I did a good job of hanging around, not getting too far behind.”
Ryan Moore birdied three of his last five holes on the Stadium Course to total 67 and is five shots behind in a tie for fourth with Chase Seiffert, who made four birdies while finishing his own 67 on the front nine of the Nicklaus Tournament Course.
Andrew Putnam of Pepperdine collected four birdies on each nine in a 65 on the Stadium Course and is six down in a tie for sixth with Abraham Ancer of Mexico, who had a 66 on the Stadium Course, and Sebastian Cappelen of Denmark, who made an eagle on the 11th hole in a 64 at La Quinta Country Club https://www.lqcc.org.
Max Homa of Valencia opened a 63 that was the low score of the round with six straight birdies on the Nicklaus Tournament Course and is seven strokes behind in a huge tie for ninth that includes Tim Wilkinson of New Zealand (66, Stadium Course); Sepp Straka of Austria (68, La Quinta CC); Tom Hoge 66, Nicklaus Course); Alex Noren of Sweden (68, La Quinta CC); Sungjae Im of South Korea (69, Stadium Course); Brendon Todd 65, La Quinta CC); Wes Roach (69, Stadium Course); Paul Casey of England (67, Stadium Course); Tony Finau (71, Stadium Course), and Hank Lebioda (66, La Quinta CC).
Defending champion Adam Long shot 71 and missed the 54-hole cut by three strokes, while Bill Haas, who won the tournament in 2010 and 2015, had a 75 to miss by four shots, and tournament host Phil Mickelson, the 2002 and 2004 winner, totaled 71 and missed by six. All three played the Stadium Course.
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