SAN ANTONIO – Jordan Spieth scored 5 under 67 on Saturday and drew for the lead in the final round of the Valero Texas Open.
Spieth and Englishman Matt Wallace have 12 strokes, after each player has birdie on his last two holes of the day. Wallace also posted a 67, and Charley Hoffman is alone in third with 10 under after hitting a 65.
Hoffman was seven shots back after a bogey at No. 4, but he ended up with six birdies and sank a five-foot eagle shot in the 14th. He won here five years ago.
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Three consecutive bogeys at the start of defense nine sent second-round leader Cameron Tringale to a 1-over 73 that put him 8 under for the tournament. Anirban Lahiri from India is 7 under a 69.
Tom Hoge finished with five birdies and moved up 26 places on the leaderboard with a third round of 66. He is in a group of four players with 6 under that includes Lucas Glover (70), Gary Woodland (67) and Matt Kuchar (70 )
The start of the game was delayed 2 ½ hours by rain.
Time is almost running out for Rickie Fowler’s chances of making his 11th consecutive appearance at the Masters next week. He has to win to get in, but his 69 on Saturday puts him in 21st place and nine shots out of the lead.
With four birdies on an eight-hole stretch, Spieth was tied with Wallace and Hoffman for the lead going into the 17th of 308 yards. Spieth sailed his starting shot about 50 meters off the line, to the right of the green, still almost at the pin height. His ball rolled several feet down a concrete cart path and stopped on a gravel maintenance path.
“I didn’t feel like I had a lot of control over the golf ball,” said Spieth. “I left the ball in the right places when it failed and really, I did a great job managing it today.”
Wallace hit his starting shot at the edge of the lawn. Spieth had free relief from a fall on the gravel. From about 52 yards, Spieth opened the face of his wedge and sailed upwards, a beautiful recovery shot that caused the ball to fall about three feet from the cup.
With his chip and short stroke, Wallace also made a birdie at 17. Wallace and Spieth reached 18th place in two and each made birdies again.
“It has been good fun for the past nine, exchanging birdies,” said Spieth. “I think that is what we hope to do tomorrow. In the back, it was nice to see some putts entering the group. It was a fun atmosphere outside. “
Spieth, without a win since the 2017 Open title, has knocked on the door for the past two months. He led by going to the final round at AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He shared the lead with 18 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and led the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard with 11 holes ahead.
Wallace was a blow behind Tringale entering the day and took the lead after opening with two birdies. He bogeyed No. 11, but came with four birdies after that.
“It started off really well,” said Wallace, a four-time winner in Europe looking for his first victory in the United States. “I was nervous, but that’s a good thing because I haven’t been in this situation for a while.”
The Valero Texas Open 2016 is one of four PGA TOUR wins for Hoffman. He was also runner-up here in 2019 and 2011, and finished third in 2013.
Hoffman made his fourth hole on Saturday and was seven behind. But he did birdie 6 and 8 with putts within 2.5 meters, and put aside a 17-foot birdie on 12th.
His club remained warm at 16 and 17 – both birdies came from more than 13 feet.
He ended up with a 340 yard drive in 18, reached par 5 in two from 260 yards and left his eagle streak 12 meters up a few meters away for an easy birdie.
“After my start on Thursday, I didn’t know if I would be here for the weekend,” said Hoffman. “Something clicked on Thursday night arriving. And this course is something that fits my eyes, I like to play on this golf course and obviously I do some putts. So, I like where I am and I’m playing well for tomorrow. “