CROMWELL (Connecticut), July 2: American J.J. Henry, in red-hot form with his putter, fired a seven-under-par 63 to surge two strokes clear in the Buick Championship third round on Saturday.
Bidding for his first victory on the PGA Tour, Henry rattled up eight birdies and a solitary bogey on a hot day at the TPC at River Highlands, finishing at 11-under 199.
Compatriot Harrison Frazar, boosted by a six-birdie run from the par-four 10th, was alone in second place after firing a 65.
The 31-year-old Connecticut native, four strokes off the pace at the start of the day, raced to the turn in four-under 31 after picking up shots at the third, fifth, seventh and ninth.
Leading third round scores:
199 – J.J. Henry (US) 68, 68, 63.
201 – Harrison Frazar (US) 65, 71, 65.
202 – Camilo Villegas (Colombia) 66, 70, 66; Ryan Moore (US) 69, 66, 67.
203 – Steve Flesch (US) 69, 70, 64; Trevor Immelman (South Africa) 70, 65, 68; Peter Lonard (Australia) 65, 68, 70.
204 – Mathias Groenberg (Sweden) 68, 71, 65; Hunter Mahan (US) 69, 67, 68; Joe Ogilvie (US) 72, 63, 69; Todd Fischer (US) 66, 68, 70.
205 – David Branshaw (US) 68, 71, 66; David McKenzie (Australia) 69, 69, 67; Woody Austin (US) 67, 70, 68; Robert Gamez (US) 71, 66, 68; Zach Johnson (US) 67, 69, 69; Justin Leonard (US) 67, 69, 69; Nathan Green (Australia) 71, 65, 69; Notah Begay III (US) 68, 66, 71; Scott Verplank (US) 65, 69, 71.
206 – Jason Bohn (US) 73, 65, 68; Marco Dawson (US) 71, 67, 68; Tag Ridings (US) 67, 69, 70; Bubba Dickerson (US) 69, 67, 70; Nick Watney (US) 69, 67, 70; Stewart Cink (US) 69, 65, 72; Darron Stiles (US) 66, 66, 74.
FRENCH OPEN SCORES
203 – Michael Campbell (New Zealand) 65, 70, 68.
204 – John Bickerton (Britain) 63, 70, 71.
206 – Bradley Dredge (Britain) 69, 66, 71; Anders Hansen (Denmark) 70, 68, 68.
207 – Marcus Fraser (Australia) 70, 68, 69; Soren Kjeldsen (Denmark) 70, 71, 66; David Park (Britain) 68, 69, 70; Ian Poulter (Britain) 68, 70, 69; Henrik Stenson (Sweden) 67, 70, 70.
208 – Mattias Eliasson (Sweden) 69, 70, 69; Darren Fichardt (South Africa) 67, 70, 71; Alastair Forsyth (Britain) 69, 69, 70; Peter Hanson (Sweden) 70, 71, 67; Padraig Harrington (Ireland) 69, 70, 69; Phillip Price (Britain) 70, 68, 70; Mark Roe (Britain) 70, 70, 68.—Reuters