Sebastian Munoz of Colombia didn’t lose his place atop the leaderboard.
The 29-year-old Munoz, who has been in the lead most of the way since opening with a tournament record 12-under-par 60, shot 66 and will take a one-stroke lead over ninth-ranked Jordan Spieth into the final round of the 68th AT&T Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas.
“Besides winning in Bogota, Colombia, I’ve never been the favorite of any other place,” said Munoz, whose only PGA Tour victory came in the 2019 Sanderson Farms Championship. “So it’s a familiar spot. Jordan is, of course, the golden boy here, so everyone’s favorite. I’m good friends with him, so it’s going to be a lot of fun tomorrow.
“I didn’t play great yesterday, but I got off to a good start today and kind of kept pushing. I think we’re ready for whatever the other guys shoot We’ll just try to do our best tomorrow, that’s all we can do.”
Munoz, who holed a 57-foot bunker shot for an eagle on the sixth hole, added five birdies and took his only bogey at No. 16 while recording a 54-hole total of 21-under 195.
Spieth, a native of Dallas who played at the University of Texas, made five birdies on the front nine and added four more coming home against a single bogey on the 15th hole in a 64.
“It’s great to have a chance to win in my hometown because my Dad was taking me out to this tournament since I was about 5-years-old,” said Spieth, who claimed the 15th PGA Tour victory of his career in his last start in the RBC Heritage. “Playing at home certainly is exciting and gets my blood flowing.
“It’s weird to shoot 67-65-64 and be behind, but that’s what this course is giving us this week. After taking a few weeks off, you never know how long it’s going to take to get your game back on track, but it’s nice to be in the mix and have a chance to win tomorrow.”
Joaquin Niemann of Chile carded a second straight 65 that included eight birdies and is two shots back in solo third, while James Hahn of Alameda and Cal sank a seven-foot eagle putt on the 12th hole, added 10 birdies in a bogey-free 61 and is three behind in a tie for fourth with eight-ranked Justin Thomas, who carded a bogey-free 64.
“I was just having fun out there,” said Hahn, who has won twice on the PGA Tour, but not since the 2018 Wells Fargo Championship. “I hit the ball well the first two days, but didn’t make any putts, and then today everything was going in.
“It feels good and I’m happy about the way I’m playing, but I’m not taking it for granted because it’s been a bit of a struggle for me the last couple of years. I’m just trying to stay in the moment and enjoy it without thinking too much.”
Defending champion K.H. Lee of South Korea birdied the last hole for a 67 and is four strokes behind in a tie for sixth with Charl Schwartzel of South Africa, who birdied the last hole to cap a 68, and 36-hole co-leader Ryan Palmer, who finished at 70.
Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, another Texan who has won four times this season including the Masters, made seven birdies in a 65 and is five shots behind in a tie for ninth with Davis Riley, who put up a second straight 64, and Beau Hossler of Rancho Santa Margarita, who had three birdies on each nine in a 67.
Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, the 2021 Masters champion who is ranked 13th, is tied for 18th after a 69, 11th-ranked Dustin Johnson shot 66 and is tied for 21st, and 12th-ranked Xander Schauffele, the Olympic Gold Medalist from La Jolla and San Diego State, is tied for 30th following a bogey-free 65.
For complete results, https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html
