AVONDALE, La. - Jason Dufner leads after three rounds of the Zurich Classic, shooting 5-under 67 to lead by two shots over Canadian Graham DeLaet.
Dufner is 17 under, buoyed in part by a 52-foot birdie putt at the fourth hole.
DeLaet shot 66 to control second place by himself, one better than John Rollins and Ernie Els.
Ryan Palmer became the third player this week to tie the TPC Lousiana course record with 8-under 64. He shares fifth place on 13 under with Steve Stricker and Cameron Tringale.
World No. 2 Luke Donald and first round co-leader Ken Duke are tied for eighth at 12 under. Donald must finish solo seventh or better to regain the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Lurking in a tie for 16th is Bubba Watson, whose 7-under 65 catapulted him 47 places on the leaderboard. Were it not for a double bogey at the par-3 17th - his eighth hole of the day - Watson would have earned the course record. He trails Dufner by eight shots head into Sunday.