With dry and fast conditions at TPC Louisiana, many players were able to make a move up the leaderboard during the third round in the Big Easy. Here’s how things shape up heading into the final round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where Lucas Glover holds a slim advantage over several players:
The leaderboard: Lucas Glover (-14), D.A. Points (-12), Billy Horschel (-12), Jimmy Walker (-12), Kyle Stanley (-12), Kevin Stadler (-11), Ricky Barnes (-10)
What it means: At one point Saturday afternoon, Glover was staked to a three-shot lead, but a pair of back-nine bogeys trimmed his advantage to a single shot before a birdie on the home hole pushed the lead back to two shots. He’s in position for just his second win since claiming the 2009 U.S. Open, but has a large group of players within striking distance hoping to overtake him, including Horschel and Walker in search of their first career wins.
Round of the day: A rookie this year on the PGA Tour, Henrik Norlander is still in search of his first top-25 finish. After a bogey-free 65 Saturday, though, the 26-year-old Swede is in position for a big payday Sunday. Norlander began with birdies on four of his first five holes, ultimately turning in 5-under 31. Two more birdies on the back nine moved him to 10 under par overall, and Norlander will now begin the final round tied for seventh.
Best of the rest: Both Stadler and Stanley matched Norlander’s 65 Saturday, rocketing up the leaderboard in the process. Stadler, among the best players on Tour still without a win, birdied seven of his first 11 holes and notched nine total birdies during the third round, moving up 30 spots into solo sixth place in the process. Stanley, meanwhile, eagled the second hole and added six birdies against just one bogey Saturday, ascending 22 spots into a tie for second with one round still to go.
Biggest disappointment: While most of the field was counting birdies by the handful, Boo Weekley saw his his name drop down the leaderboard with an over-par round Saturday. Weekley, who played in the final group Saturday with Glover, appeared to struggle with his swing all day and managed just two birdies en route to a 1-over 73. After starting the day just one shot off the lead, Weekley fell back into a tie for seventh, four shots off the pace.
Main storyline heading into Sunday: A year after Jason Dufner notched his first PGA Tour win at TPC Louisiana, is this the week that one of the Tour’s rising stars breaks through for a maiden victory? Horschel, Walker and Stadler all sit within three shots of the lead, while players like Barnes, Harris English and Luke Guthrie enter Sunday’s final round with a realistic chance to win.
Shot of the day: Making his first career PGA Tour start, Ken Looper finished his third round in style Saturday at TPC Louisiana. Looper, who gained entry to this week’s field through the Monday qualifier, pulled his second shot to the par-5 left into the rough. The subsequent short-sided chip found the hole, though, and Looper finished his round of 5-under 67 with an eagle to move into the top 10.
Quote of the day: ‘The wind picked up a little bit more than was forecasted. But we are outside, so that stuff can happen.’ – Glover, who was among the afternoon wave facing conditions that were relatively more difficult than those Saturday morning.