Jim Furyk will take a one-stroke lead over fellow American Jason Dufner into the final round of the US PGA Championship, with Australia&aposs Adam Scott four shots off the pace. Furyk carded a two-under 68 in his third round at the Oak Hill Country Club in Pittsford, New York, to move to the top of the leaderboard at the final major of the year. The 43-year-old made a difficult start on Saturday, bogeying the second and third holes, but Furyk steadied, making five birdies in the remainder of his round, offset by just one more dropped shot at the 15th. A rare birdie at the 17th moved him to nine under, one shot clear of overnight leader Dufner, who shot 71. Dufner hit trouble at the par-four fifth, when his tee shot found the water and led to a double bogey, and although he birdied the seventh, another dropped shot at the next whole curbed his momentum. The world No.21 was solid on the back nine, however, going bogey-free to remain right in calculations ahead of Sunday&aposs final round. Dufner is one shot clear of Sweden&aposs Henrik Stenson, who carded 69 to sit on seven under, while another Swede, Jonas Blixt, is in fourth place on six under thanks to a 66. Scott is still in contention on five under after a 72 but could have been in a much better position, save for a double bogey at 16, and he is joined there by American Steve Stricker. Birdies at 17 and 18 gave Rory McIlroy&aposs hopes of defending his title a boost. The Northern Irishman is six shots off the lead on three under heading into the final round, alongside England&aposs Lee Westwood. American Dustin Johnson enjoyed the best round of the day with a 65 seeing him move to two-under par along with compatriots Kevin Streelman and Roberto Castro. Matt Kuchar, equal second overnight, fell away with a 76 all but ending his hopes, while Tiger Woods (four over for the tournament) and Phil Mickelson (10 over) are out of contention. Marc Leishman and Jason Day are the next best of the Aussies after Scott, even with the card, while Marcus Fraser is one over. John Senden is five over, one shot ahead of fellow Aussie Matt Jones.
Author: Omnisport