Min Woo Lee started the third round trailing by one shot and carded a career-low 7-under, bogey-free 63 to take a four-shot lead at 17-under ahead of the final day at the Texas Children’s Houston Open.

“Very solid day again,” said Lee. “The last couple days were really good. Today was a really long day, I need to get back into bed. But maybe that’s what I have to do, I might have to do two warmups, two physio sessions and maybe I can shoot 7 under all the time. No, it was great fun and very solid overall.

“The irons have been amazing. I think obviously you’ve got to hit it close, and holing putts helps. Yeah, putted really good. I only hit five fairways, but I’m glad and I love that the rough isn’t thick. That’s obviously why I’m playing pretty good. Hopefully tomorrow I can hit a little bit better off the tee and get it going.”

This marks the Australian’s first 54-hole lead/co-lead in his 56th PGA Tour start. His previous-best 54-hole position was second at the 2023 Players Championship when he trailed eventual winner Scottie Scheffler by two shots and finished T6 after a 76 (Scheffler shot 69).

Lee set a personal-best 54-hole score of 193. His previous record was 196 at the 2023 Travelers Championship where he finished T9.

Lee has had two runner-up finishes on Tour, at the 2024 Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches and the 2024 Rocket Classic (his last top-10).

Making his second start at the Texas Children’s Houston Open after holding the 54-hole co-lead in 2024 before a final-round 68 led to a career-best T2 finish, Argentina’s Alejandro Tosti lies in second place at 13-under after signing for a 65. With a win on Sunday he would become the first player to finish runner-up and win the same tournament the next year since Robert MacIntyre (2023, 2024 Genesis Scottish Open).

World number 1 Scottie Scheffler entered the third round with a one-stroke lead over Canada’s Taylor Pendrith, Min Woo Lee and fellow American Ryan Gerard. He followed a tournament record-tying 62 on Friday with a 69 and lies in a share of third place at 12-under alongside Gerard who carded a 68 and New Zealand’s Ryan Fox who recorded a 65.

FedExCup leader and World No. 2 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland trails by eight shots following a 65 and lies in T14 at 9-under.

Preferred lies were in effect for round three. With the potential for fog Sunday morning, final-round tee times will feature threesomes off split tees from 10 a.m. – 12:01 p.m. CT.

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Uncertain future, mounting challenges lie ahead.