63 puts Jacobson in front

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June 26, 2011

Sweden’s Fredrik Jacobson took a one-shot lead after the third round of the Travelers Championship thanks to a bogey-free 63.

Swede Fredrik Jacobson took a one-shot lead after the third round of the Travelers Championship thanks to a bogey-free 63.

Jacobson, 36, is yet to make a single bogey in 54 holes at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut, and will be hard to beat on Sunday if he maintains his flawless form.

After completing a second-round 66 early on Saturday thanks to weather delays on the first day of the competition, Jacobson continued his third round in a similar vein of form, picking up three birdies in his first seven holes.

He added four more birdies on the back nine to shoot a seven-under-par 63 and claim a one-shot advantage over American Bryce Molder, who followed up his second-round 66 with a six-under-par 64.

Jacobson’s putter stayed hot in the third round, and he’s needed only 77 putts in 54 holes, the second best in the field.

His best putt came at the 10th, where he sank a 23-footer for birdie from the right side of the green, but he also acknowledged the importance of par saves to keep a low round going.

“It obviously takes some good par putts every now and then to keep a round like that going,” he said. “It’s nothing in particular I’ve been focusing on, but it just turned out that way.”

Jacobson has a chance of achieving the rare feat of completing a 72-hole pro tournament without a single bogey, but he’d be happy just to take the win.

“I don’t think I’ve played in the last group on a Sunday,” he said. “I think I’ve been kind of within reasonable reach, but been looking forward to getting myself in position where I can get tested, you know, put myself in that position.”

But for an early bogey at the par-four third, Molder would have equaled Jacobson’s round of 63, as he also picked up seven birdies in his round.

The highlight of his round was a monster 38-footer for birdie across a huge left-to-right break on the 17th.

“You’re just trying to get it close, and what do you know, the hole gets in the way,” he said of his effort.

American James Driscoll lies alone in third a further two shots behind Molder, thanks to a 64 and a back nine that featured five birdies.

A total of six players lie a further shot behind him in a tie for fourth – Americans Ryan Moore, John Rollins, Blake Adams, Webb Simpson and Nick Watney, and Argentina’s Andres Romero.

Second-round leader Patrick Cantlay, the amateur who rocked the field with a 60 on Friday, had a tougher third round, eventually shooting a 72 that saw him drop to 11 under, five shots behind Jacobson.

Most disappointing for the youngster would be the two dropped shots that came at the last two holes. Up till that point he had been fighting manfully to keep himself near the top of the leaderboard.

“I hit a couple of bad drives coming in, and it cost me,” he said. “I could have made a couple more putts, as in every round, but I’m in a good spot, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Elsewhere, two players managed a hole-in-one on the day – DJ Brigman at the 11th and Nat Smith at the long par-three fifth – though neither player could mount a sustained charge.

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