Phil Mickelson lost the lead for the first time this week, but once again was on top of the leaderboard at the end of the round.
The 48-year-old Mickelson recorded a bogey-free 66 on the TPC Stadium Course at PGA West www.pgawest.com in La Quinta to take a two-stroke lead over Adam Hadwin of Canada heading to the final round of the 60th Desert Classic.
The final round will be played on the Stadium Course
“I just love being in contention, having a chance to win, being in the final group, feeling the nerves, feeling that excitement, the opportunity; it’s really fun,” said Mickelson, who started with five consecutive pars before chipping in from 35 feet on No. 6 for the first of three straight birdies. “I missed some short putts, but then I chipped in and sometimes that’s what you need to give yourself some momentum. I followed with two more (birdies).
“My goal or game plan of playing the Stadium Course is to actually hit drivers and to try to bomb it down there as close to the greens as you can, and see if I can make some more birdies. It’s a course you don’t have to be perfect on. You have to hit a lot of good shots in certain spots, but if you miss it properly, you can still play this golf course.
“I feel like I don’t have to be perfect. I can come out, play aggressive, which is how I like to play, try to crush drivers and get it down as close as I can to the greens and see if I can make some more birdies.”
Lefty, gunning for his third victory in the Desert Classic and 44th of his PGA Tour, has been in or near the lead since opening with a 60 and recorded a 54-hole score of 22-under 194. On Sunday, he can tie the record of 14 victories in California shared by Billy Casper and Tiger Woods.
Hadwin shot a bogey-free 65 on the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West and held the lead for a while until Mickelson got it going, while Adam Long is three behind in third after a 63 at La Quinta Country Club www.lqcc.org, followed one more back by Steve Marino, who had a 67 on the Nicklaus Course.
Patrick Cantlay of Los Alamitos and UCLA totaled 66 at La Quinta CC and is five strokes behind in a tie for fifth with Michael Thompson, who finished at 65 that included six birdies on the back nine of the Stadium Course.
Seventh-ranked Jon Rahm of Spain, the defending champion, carded a 68 on the Stadium Course and is six shots back in a tie for seventh with Dominic Bozzelli (64, La Quinta CC), Sungjae Im of South Korea (64, Stadium Course), Talor Gooch (66, Nicklaus Course) and J.T. Poston (64, Nicklaus Course).
Top-ranked Justin Rose of England is tied for 29th after a third straight 68, this one Stadium Course.
For complete results, visit https://www.pgatour.com/competition/2019/desert-classic/leaderboard.html
