Daniel Summerhays started the third round of the Memorial Tournament five strokes back in solo second place. He had played great golf his first two rounds, shooting 66-69 to get to nine-under for the week. But it looked like he, and the rest of the field, would be playing for second place.
Jason Dufner had set the 36-hole scoring record, cruising to a 14-under total. But the Auburn alum stumbled early on Saturday, dropping four shots on his first five holes. This opened the door for Summerhays, who carded a four-under 68 and now leads by three at Muirfield Village.
The Utah native was steady, going out in two-under 34 on his opening nine, which included a 26-foot birdie putt on the par-3 eighth hole. His first bogey didn't come until the par-4 13th, but he made two more birdies on his way to the clubhouse to get to 13-under for the tournament. It's his seventh appearance at Jack Nicklaus' place, with his best finish coming in 2012 at T-4. The 33-year-old has never won on the PGA Tour, and a victory tomorrow would extend the streak of first-time tour winners at Muirfield Village to four (Hideki Matsuyama, David Lingmerth, and William McGirt were the others).
Summerhays will have to fend off big-time talent on the leaderboard, including 2013 Memorial winner Matt Kuchar, who posted a five-under 67 to get to 10-under. Kuchar's round was bogey-free until the difficult par-3 16th, but he was able to erase it on the 17th hole with a 155-yard approach to eight feet that led to a birdie. He's looking for the eighth win of his career and first since the 2014 RBC Heritage.
Three players are four back at nine-under, including the surprise of the week, Bubba Watson. The two-time Masters champion fired a four-under 68, highlighted by a six-under 30 on his back nine. He's joined by Justin Thomas and the aforementioned Dufner, who struggled all day and posted a five-over 77. Thomas' three-under 69 was his third straight under par round of the week, and positioned himself to challenge for his fourth win of the season.
Those with work to do but still not far behind include Rickie Fowler (eight-under), Jamie Lovemark (eight-under), and Jordan Spieth (seven-under).
The low round of the day belonged to James Hahn, who posted a seven-under 65 to vault up the leaderboard. Hahn's round featured 10 birdies, including making five consecutive twice. The unconscious performance got Hahn to five-under for the tournament, eight back.
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