J.T. Poston continued his quest for a wire-to-wire victory with a 4-under-par 67 during Saturday’s third round at the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill.
Poston sits at 19-under 194, three shots ahead of Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo (third-round 65), Denny McCarthy (66) and Scott Stallings (64).
Poston is chasing his second career victory on the PGA Tour after taking the 2019 Wyndham Championship.
Callum Tarren (65) of England sits alone in third at 15 under while Chris Naegel (67) and Bo Hoag (63) are tied for sixth at 14 under, five shots back. Hoag shot the best round of the day to vault 18 spots up the leaderboard on moving day.
Poston opened with three birdies on the front nine before posting a birdie, two bogeys and an eagle on the back.
“Obviously the first two days I had everything working great,” Poston said. “And today wasn’t as sharp tee to green and didn’t putt it as well. To be able to still shoot 4-under, which is still very solid today, that gives me some confidence going into tomorrow.
“Hopefully hit it better, but if I don’t, I still got the ability to shoot a decent number.”
Grillo birdied four of his last five holes in a bid for his second career PGA Tour title and first since 2015. Grillo has shot 64-65 the past two rounds after opening with a 68.
“If you’re shooting 68, 69 you’re falling behind,” Grillo said. “You got to look at that 67, 66 range, especially out here with soft greens and perfect conditions. I mean, there is barely any wind and the guys who are shooting lower than 3-under par on the front, they’re playing really well; the opportunities are mostly on the back nine.”
Hoag opened birdie-eagle en route to a round of seven birdies against one bogey.
“I’ve got nothing to lose. I haven’t been playing that well coming in here, and just trying to, yeah, shoot a couple good rounds and prove to myself I can play well for a week,” Hoag said. “I would love to shoot 63 again. I don’t really have a number. Just maybe try to make the most birdies of anybody tomorrow and the rest will take care of itself.”
–Field Level Media