Jon Rahm continued his march towards another PGA Tour victory by scoring a three-under 68 in Saturday’s third round to remain two clear at the top of the leaderboard; Cameron Champ and Kurt Kitayama are tied for second – watch the Mexico Open all week on Sky Sports Golf
Last Updated: 01/05/22 8:05am
Jon Rahm is chasing a first worldwide victory since last June’s US Open
Jon Rahm remains two clear going into the final round of the Mexico Open at Vidanta Vallarta.
Rahm continued his march toward another PGA Tour victory by scoring a three-under 68 in Saturday’s third round to remain at the top of the leaderboard.
Rahm carded four birdies against one bogey to sit at 15-under after 54 holes. The Spaniard leads Cameron Champ (67) and Kurt Kitayama (66), who are tied at 13-under for the tournament.
Davis Riley (67), Patrick Rodgers (66) and Nate Lashley are three strokes back at 12 under, tied for fourth. Lashley was one of two players to fire a round-low 64 to vault 21 spots up the leaderboard on moving day.
Stephan Jaeger of Germany jumped 45 spots up the leaderboard to a tie for 13th with his 64. Alex Smalley shot 70 to sit alone in seventh place.
Rahm carded back-to-back birdies on holes six and seven before recording a bogey on the par-four 10th. He then birdied two more on the back nine, including the last.
“I played really good golf. Tee to green was really, really good,” Rahm said. “The only hiccup was the tee shot on 10 and it wasn’t even that bad. Maybe making a few more putts, right?
“That one on 18 was the first one outside 10 feet I saw roll in. If I can just keep that going and make putts like I did the first two days, I think tomorrow I’ll give myself a really good chance.”
Rahm is searching for his seventh victory on the PGA Tour
Lashley made a fast start to the third round, carding three birdies and an eagle on the front nine. He also ended with consecutive birdies for his bogey-free round.
“I hit the ball nice, made some nice putts early,” Lashley said. “It’s a great day out here, the weather. The wind’s not blowing that hard, so it’s scorable right now and I just took advantage of it, so hopefully going into tomorrow I can continue to play well.”
Rahm is in search of his seventh victory on the PGA Tour. He was asked what he’s most looking forward to.
“Enjoying a Sunday in the lead. It’s been a little bit of a while,” Rahm said. “The crowd loves me so far, I can tell. You know, they want me to win, so hopefully I can do it for them.”
England’s Aaron Rai produced a third round of 69, which matched his second round score, and he shares eighth position with four others on 10-under.
Watch the Mexico Open at Vidanta throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Coverage continues on Sunday on Sky Sports Golf from 4.30pm.
Get the best prices and book a round at one of 1,700 courses across the UK & Ireland