June 29, 2014. The blue course was playing hard to get on Saturday, but that did not prevent an exuberant Seung-Yul Noh from posting a 5-under 66 to join Freddie Jacobson and Marc Leishman in a three way tie for second. K J Choi had a miserable day, enduring a 75 as he slipped to 27th. American Patrick Reed was in command, an even par 71, good enough to give him a 2 shot cushion at the top.
The 23 year old South Korean was in impressive form, four birdies on the front nine helping him make the turn in 32 shots and setting the stage for his steep journey up the leaderboard. The lone dark spot came on the 11th, where he made a bogey at the par-4 hole.
Choi needed nine shots more than his young compatriot to get through the day, denting any hopes of a final push for contention. The 66th ranked golfer from Wando suffered as many as seven bogeys as he stumbled from one hole to another to end the day with a dismal 75, slipping to 3 over 216.
Jordan Spieth has been lackluster for much of this week, but finally found something of meaning in the third round. Spieth made three birdies and a bogey at the fifth to sign for 69 and drag himself back to even par for the week.
Reed had a pair of 68s in the first two rounds and that was insurance enough for the American to post an even par 71 to retain a two stroke lead going into Sunday. Reed enjoyed two straight birdies at 4 & 5, but gave it back to the course with bogeys on eight and nine.
Leishman needed just a 71 to stay with the leader, but slipped to a 73 to give away two shots and slide into a tie for second. Jacobson’s 67 in the first round is still ensuring he remains in the main dialogue for the weekend. He followed up his 71 in the second with another in third round to keep up with Leishman and stay in second.
