Ryan Moore carded a bogey-free 4-under-par 66 to grab a one-stroke lead over Aaron Baddeley of Australia heading to the final round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn.
Moore, who played at UNLV and lives in Las Vegas, holed out from 38 feet after he came up short of the sixth green to record his third eagle in as many days and added birdies on the 11th and 17th holes.
“This is a tournament I really want to win and I know it’s a tournament I can win,” said Moore, who has three victories on the PGA Tour, including the CIMB Classic last November in Malaysia.
“Today was a great example that it doesn’t have to be pretty to shoot a great golf score. I honestly didn’t feel great all day hitting the ball, but drove it well enough to kind of keep myself out of trouble.”
Baddeley, who claimed the last of his three PGA Tour victories in the 2011 Northern Trust Open at Riviera, collected six birdies in a round of 65.
Sergio Garcia posted his second 65 in three days and was two strokes back in a tie for third with Michael Putnam (69) of Pepperdine, K.J. Choi (69) of South Korea and 36-hole leader Scott Langley (70).
Jamie Lovemark of Rancho Santa Fe and USC had a 70 and was four shots behind in a tie for seventh with Nick Watney (65) of Davis and Fresno State, Kevin Streelman (64), Chad Campbell (67), Bud Cauley (68), Carl Pettersson of Sweden (66) and Tim Wilkinson (67) of New Zealand.
Patrick Rodgers of Stanford, the former No. 1 player in the college and world amateur rankings, had a 71 after opening with 66-69 and was tied for 34th in his first event as a pro.
