Nicolai Højgaard carded a bogey-free 66 on Friday to take a share of the lead at 14-under in the Dominican Republic, his first lead/co-lead after any round on Tour. It is just the second time in eight starts on Tour that he has made the cut (T53/2022 Open Championship).
"It was stress free like the second round. Another day where I felt quite calm out there game-wise. A lot of wind obviously, but I had good control, so really happy with the round.
"After the first round we did some work on irons. It's about discipline when you play a course like this, and patience. There's a lot of birdies out there, but with this wind you can make some mistakes. It was all about the discipline mindset, hitting more greens and you can score out here. And I've been driving the ball quite solid and approach game is starting to show up. I guess that's presently the difference compared to the first round."
The Dane will enter the final round with a 39-hole bogey-free streak in his quest for a victory that would make him eligible for PGA Tour membership. He leads the field in birdies this week (19), greens in regulation (44 of 54) and driving distance (332.5 yards) and also owns shot the longest drive of the week (402 yards/No. 12/R2).
Se have a tie for the third round of #CoralesChampionship ⛳️ pic.twitter.com/EKm80gl62u
— coraleschamp (@CoralesChamp) March 25, 2023
PGA Tour rookie Sam Stevens (USA) shares the lead after closing with a 68 that featured an eagle at the par-5 4th and a bogey at the 16th.
He holds his first lead/co-lead on after any round. His previous best position was T3 after the third round of the 2023 Puerto Rico Open.
"It was pretty steady all day. I made some putts on the front nine and then yeah, gave myself a couple opportunities that I took advantage of. And I played pretty good on the back, 16 I kind of misjudged the wind and sliced it and made a bogey there.
Then 18 I just hit a bad iron shot, but that was really my - that was my worst swing of the day. I felt pretty good about everything else.
"Especially when it's windy, it can be hard to make some of those putts even if you feel like you're hitting it close. I felt like today I putted well, but I definitely had a few that I thought were going in for birdie that missed. So just have to stay relaxed and stay patient and when you get a few opportunities, try to take advantage.
"I try not to worry too much about the result, just try and make as good a swing as I can. That's why I'm a little frustrated with the shot on 18, just my mind was elsewhere, made a bad swing. But that's OK, just got to try and hit a good shot and go find it. If it's good, great. If it's not, got to play it."
Belgium's Thomas Detry (65) is tied in third place at 13-under alongside Americans Wyndham Clark (69) and Tyler Duncan (67) as well as overnight leader Matt Wallace (70) of England.
