Colombia’s Nico Echavarria played his first seven holes in 6-under par to shoot 65 and take a 2-stroke lead at 14-under in the Puerto Rico Open as he works toward his first career top-10 finish on Tour in 11th start.
Right at the flagstick from @Nicolas_Ech ⛳️
Another birdie for the solo leader @PuertoRicoOpen. pic.twitter.com/2hg3FvTolH
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 4, 2023
"It was a dream start. I found something on the range yesterday and even if I felt nervous out there today on some holes, I just kept putting my game plan and my feeling of what I found on the range and it worked really good. Happy with how I played, happy with the shots I hit when I was under pressure. Hopefully we can do it tomorrow.
"The last couple weeks I've been struggling in tempo and I've been having too many things in my head of technical-wise. It was not helping. The first two days I honestly felt like I was guiding it. I was making a lot of putts that made me keep the round going. Today just felt the swing, trying to feel it longer on every shot, and it felt comfortable yesterday and I've done it before while I was struggling with tempo and hips turning too fast that we played with that all day today and probably going to play with that tomorrow."
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American rookie Carson Young, who held the lead by three and four shots, respectively, after rounds one and two, posted a third-round 71 to drop from the top spot and trail by two strokes.
"I played solid today, I just didn't hit anything really close, left myself 20, 30 feet a lot for birdie and hit a bunch of good putts, just nothing dropped for me. I still feel good about my game. I drove it better today than I did yesterday, which is a positive. Today, I mean, it was just a grind today just because I wasn't hitting really anything close, but I feel good about my game and I'm ready to see what I can do tomorrow," said Carson.
Sam Stevens, also an American rookie, birdied his final four holes for a 65 and a share of third place at 13-under alongside compatriot Nate Lashley who birdied five of his first seven holes for a 65.
Rafael Campos, the lone Puerto Rico native to make the cut, sits T54 at 2-under 214.
