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Tommy Fleetwood leads Honda Classic as PGA National beats up the field

With a round of 3-under 67, Tommy Fleetwood will take a one-shot lead over Brendan Steele into the final round of the Honda Classic, where PGA National has been the real winner through three days in South Florida.

Leaderboard: Fleetwood (-5), Steele (-4), Luke Donald (-3), Lee Westwood (-3), Daniel Berger (-2), Charl Schwartzel (-2), Sungjae Im (-2)

What it means: The 12th-ranked player in the world, Fleetwood, a five-time winner on the European Tour, is still seeking his first PGA Tour victory after four runner-up finishes. A victory Sunday would also give the Englishman his first win in the United States. Giving chase on Sunday will be Steele, the 54-hole leader who failed to close the Sony Open less than two months ago, Westwood, the 46-year-old who last month won his 25th European Tour title and is now seeking to end a 10-year PGA Tour drought, and Donald, the former world No. 1 who hasn’t won anywhere in the world since 2013. As for just how difficult the Champion Course at PGA National is playing this week, there were 278 bogeys or worse from the 69 players in the field Saturday. Jason Dufner was the only player to make it through the golf course unscathed with a bogey-free 68. Fleetwood’s 5-under total is the highest 54-hole score to par this season by five shots.


Honda Classic: Full-field scores | Full coverage


Round of the day: Mac Hughes’ 4-under 66 tied for the round of the week and was the lowest score of the day by one. He made six birdies Sunday, including two on his last two holes, to move into red figures and jump from T-59 to a T-8 at 1 under par for the week.

Best of the rest: Fleetwood likewise made six birdies, including two on this last two. Through 54 holes, he leads the field in strokes gained: off the tee, and is second in strokes gained: tee to green, a recipe for success on a layout that, more than most, rewards quality ball striking and punishes those who miss fairways and greens.

Biggest disappointment: Playing in the day’s final pairing with Steele, J.T. Poston played his first four holes in 4 over par and finally signed for a 3-over 73 after a closing birdie at 18. Separately, seeking his first win since his U.S. Open triumph, Gary Woodland went from two off the lead 36-hole lead to six off the 54-hole lead with a 4-over 74 featuring two doubles, three bogeys and three birdies.

Shot (and celebration) of the day: Grayson Murray, from 151 yards at the raucous par-3 17th – cue the hat throw.

It was Murray’s fourth ace on the PGA Tour.