Second-ranked Jon Rahm of Spain stepped up when leader Tony Finau faltered in the third round of the Memorial Tournament.
The 25-year-old Rahm carded a 4-under-par 68 to take a four-stroke lead over Finau and Ryan Palmer heading into the final round at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, where hot and dry conditions made the course play extremely difficult.
“I would have taken 18 pars today because it was playing so hard,” said Rahm, who can possibly take the No. 1 spot in the World Golf Rankings with a victory. “Once I got through No. 12, I knew the next three holes I could go after it, if I putt the ball in the right shots. No. 16 was a bonus, and it was great to make four birdies in a row.
“I made a lot of two-putts early in the round and that was a great way to start to give me a chance. I hope to play the same way tomorrow and hopefully enjoy a nice walk down 18.”
Rahm, who has won three times on the PGA Tour and 10 times as a pro, made his only bogey at No. 8 before those four straight birdies gave him a 54-hole total of 12-under 204.
Finau, who had at least a share of the lead after each of the first two rounds, sank a 50-foot birdie putt at No. 10 and built a three-shot lead after three-foot birdie putt on the next hole.
However, he made double bogeys on the 12th and 17th holes and dropped back with a 73.
“It was good and then it was not so good,” said Finau, whose only PGA Tour victory came in the 2016 Puerto Rico Open. “The course is getting firmer and I made some mistakes on the back nine.
“But I still feel like I’m fortunate to be this close and I’m in a good position heading into tomorrow. It’s going to be even more difficult because the wind is supposed to blow, and things can change so fast, in the blink of an eye.”
Said Palmer, who was tied for the 36-hole lead with Finau and also shot 73: “I hit the ball great today, but just didn’t get anything out of it.”
Danny Willett of England, the 2016 Masters champion, is six back in solo fourth after a 70, while Jason Day of Australia totaled 72 and is one more back in a tie for fifth with Henrik Norlander of Sweden, who had a 71.
Matt Wallace of England finished at 70 and is eight shots behind in a tie for seventh with Chez Reavie, who struggled to a 74, while defending champion and 10th-ranked Patrick Cantlay of Los Alamitos and UCLA posted a 73 and is nine back in a tie for ninth with Patrick Rodgers of Stanford, who wound up at 71, and Mackenzie Hughes of Canada, who came in at 73.
Top-ranked Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland is tied for 12th following a 72, while third-ranked Justin Thomas stumbled to a 75 and is tied for 26th, eighth-ranked Patrick Reed shot 70 and is tied for 29th, five-time Memorial champion Tiger Woods is tied for 45th after a 71, and sixth-ranked Brooks Koepka totaled 73 and is tied for 56th.
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