MCKINNEY, Texas — On a day when tee times were moved up and groups were sent off both tees in threesomes to avoid potential afternoon weather, the sun baked TPC Craig Ranch.
And while the sun was out, the scores were low. The third round of the AT&T Byron Nelson is complete, and although a couple of the names near the top are the same, numerous others find themselves in contention with 18 holes to play.
There are 11 golfers within three shots of the lead heading to Sunday, including world No. 2 Scottie Scheffler, who would regain the top spot with a win.
Here are takeaways from the third round of the AT&T Byron Nelson.
AT&T Byron Nelson: Photos | Merchandise
Austin Eckroat's putter change paying off
Before heading to TPC Craig Ranch this week, Austin Eckroat made a stop at home.
He has been tinkering with his putting for quite some time. While home, his high school putter caught his eye. He decided to bring it with him this week, and he ended up putting it in the bag,
Boy, has that paid off.
Eckroat leads the field in Strokes Gained: Putting, and it was his putter that guided him to a career round of 8-under 63. He sits tied for the lead at 16 under heading to Sunday.
“It’s kind of been holding me back, the putter has been a little bit,” Eckroat said. “I just grabbed it from the garage when I stopped home for a day and it looked good, so I thought I would give it a run.
“It’s working out.”
On the greens, Eckroat has gained 6.7 strokes. He also leads the field in total Strokes Gained with 18 holes to play.
Eckroat birdied his first two holes Saturday, and after a par at No. 3, he birdied three straight. On the par-3 seventh, his tee shot drifted into a swell short and left of the creek. After an awkward pitch, he left his third short of the pin, and his putt lipped out.
The double doesn’t look pretty on the scorecard, but it was his only blemish. He proceeded to birdie Nos. 8 and 9 to turn in 5-under 31.
Then on No. 11, he buried a 31-foot par putt to continue the momentum, and on the next hole, he drilled a 21 footer for birdie.
“Getting a putt like that to go, you feel like you stole something,” he said. “Keeps the momentum going.”
Eckroat, a 24-year-old PGA Tour rookie from Oklahoma State, came into the week with one top-10 finish this season. He has missed the cut in 10 of his 18 starts.
He also sits on top of the leaderboard with 18 holes to play.
“You put yourself in this position, and you kind of feel like a win is the only way that it’s a successful week,” Eckroat said. “But just go out tomorrow and try to play the best I can and see what happens.”
Marty Dou finishes strong
Marty Dou had his PGA Tour card during the 2017-18 season and made only four cuts. Since then, it was a long trek to get his card back.
He finally did last year after playing strong on the Korn Ferry Tour all season. However, he hasn’t quite been able to find a rhythm on Tour this year.
He has made the cut in nine of his 17 events, but his best finish is T-17 at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. He sits 164th in the FedEx Cup Standings.
Similar to his victory last year that helped secure his card, hoisting a trophy Sunday could be another career-changing moment.
Dou birdied four of his final six holes to shoot 7-under 64. He’s tied with Eckroat at 16 under.
“Played really solid today,” Dou said. “Hit really good drives. Left myself more opportunities than yesterday and rolled a couple, and once in a while you make one. That’s how confidence is gained.”
Dou’s card was clean. He had seven birdies and no bogeys. He has also been stellar on the greens, gaining nearly five strokes, which is good for fifth in the field.
A Dallas resident, Dou said he’s looking forward to Sunday.
“I think nerves is the same thing as me playing on the Korn Ferry,” Dou said. “Everybody gets in the lead not that even, and you get into it and you’re going to be nervous no matter what.”
Jason Day again in contention
Jason Day is getting closer and closer to his first victory since the 2018 Wells Fargo Championship.
He shot 5-under 66 and is two shots back entering the final round. Just this season, Day has six top-10 finishes.
Day noted the course conditions were tougher Saturday, which is something he wants.
“I’d prefer like a U.S. Open-style golf course where it’s like everything has to be firing,” Day said. “I’m not saying that you don’t have to — you have to have your A-game here, as well, but I just feel like when the course conditions are a lot tougher, that’s when guys that are finding their game or know that their game is well, that’s when they kind of start to rise.
“Like I said, it could be anyone’s tournament tomorrow.”
Day is hoping it can be his.
“That’s kind of the plan for tomorrow is try and get myself into contention and see how it goes on the back side.”
Final group can't find footing
The final grouping of Scottie Scheffler, Ryan Palmer and Mackenzie Hughes teed off at 11:15 a.m. local time Saturday. The final putt of theirs dropped around 4:40 p.m.
It was a slog for the group, and it’s not their fault. Because of anticipated storms that held off until after the round, groups were sent off in threesomes off both tees, and that led to Scheffler, Hughes and Palmer waiting on nearly every shot.
And on a day when most everyone went low, those three did not, though Palmer rallied late.
He birdied three of his final five holes, including narrowly missing an eagle putt on the 18th, and he shot 3-under 68 and is tied for the lead with Eckroat and Dou.
Palmer hasn’t won an individual event in 13 years, and he knows how difficult it is to win. While Eckroat and Dou are looking to get over the hump, Palmer is trying to rekindle old magic.
“It’s hard to win, and I’ll tell you what, winning that first one, you never know if it will ever come,” Palmer said. “I don’t know if I’ll ever win again. It’s so hard to win. But I’ve loved my experiences I’ve had when I’ve been in this position. I’ve played well. I may not have won a handful of times when I finished second, but I’ve been there quite often and I’ve played well on Sunday, just haven’t gotten over that winner’s hump.
“I’m excited. It’ll be fun getting to know those guys a little bit and show them what the old guy can do.”
Scheffler, the 36-hole leader, bogeyed the par-5 18th and shot 71 after consecutive 64s to open. Hughes went backward. He had five bogeys and shot 2-over 73.
Scheffler is in a four-way tie for fourth with Day, Si Woo Kim and Vincent Norrman at 14 under. Hughes is 11 under and T-15.
Sunday's weather forecast
Rain and thunderstorms held off Saturday, but the forecast for Sunday looks to be wet.
Temperatures are expected to reach 78 degrees, but rain is also going to be present for most of the day, according to Windy.com. There could also be some thunderstorms.
If it rains, that means golfers will face a different course than the first three days. Saturday’s conditions were firm and fast, and rain could make it play longer.
