Troy Matteson fired his second straight
nine-under 61 Saturday to take a three-stroke lead after three rounds of the
Frys.com Open.
He set a pair of records along the way to finishing 54 holes at 16-under-par
194. His back-to-back 61s set a PGA Tour record for lowest 36-hole score
(122), breaking the record of 124 that Mark Calcavecchia set in 2001 at the
Phoenix Open.
Matteson also established a new 54-hole scoring record for this event. His
total of 194 broke Kevin Sutherland's mark of 196 from last year.
"It's just been unbelievable. I've never even shot a 61 prior to this week,"
admitted Matteson. "To shoot two of them, I don't even know what to say. I am
just making a lot of birdies out there and hitting a lot of good shots and
keeping my ball in play."
Webb Simpson shot six-under 64 to move into a share of second place at 13-
under-par 197. He was joined there by Tim Clark and Chris Stroud, who both
shot 65 in the third round.
Second-round leader Rickie Fowler managed a one-under 69 and slipped into a
tie for fifth at minus-12 at Grayhawk Golf Club.
Matteson was not the only one with an impressive day. Nicholas Thompson carded
a double-eagle and a hole-in-one en route to a five-under 65 that moved him
into a tie for 10th at 11-under-par 199. Thompson's ace was one of three on
the day.
"That was my second double eagle and my eighth hole-in-one," Thompson said.
"I've never had both in the same round, I hadn't had either of them in
competition as a professional. So it was pretty cool experience and to have
them within three holes was pretty unbelievable."
There will be plenty on the line on Sunday. With just two PGA Tour events
remaining, players are battling to get into the top 125 on the money list.
Matteson entered the week ranked 131st while Stroud is the official bubble boy
at No. 125.
The 29-year-old Matteson was on fire throughout his round. He birdied the
second and fourth to move to nine-under. He dropped in back-to-back birdies
from the seventh.
Matteson again made two straight birdies from the 10th to grab the lead at 13-
under. He fell one behind Bill Lunde with a bogey on 13, while Lunde birdied
the same hole.
At the 14th, Matteson moved into a share of the lead with a birdie and he
followed with a five-foot birdie putt on 15 to re-gain the lead.
Matteson pushed his lead to two with a birdie on the 17th
"I probably played over double the break I would've played on my putt on 17
and made it, which was really exciting," Matteson explained. "I actually
guessed right on one of those difficult putts."
He poured in another birdie putt at the last to extend his lead to three.
"A lot of close opportunities, and that's really the key out here," said
Matteson of his last two rounds. "How many times can you hit it inside five,
ten, 15, 20 feet, just doesn't cut it out here.
"So I've had a lot of good looks at it over the last two days, and I've had a
lot of easy putts. If you get easy putts and you're stroking it well, you're
going to make a lot of putts."
Fowler carded a pair of double-bogeys, a bogey, an eagle and four birdies in a
five hole stretch Saturday en route to his 69.
He is trying to earn his PGA Tour card through sponsors invitations, but has a
dilemma next week. Fowler is slated to start the first stage of PGA Tour Q
School on Tuesday. A top-10 finish here would get him into the Viking Classic
next week and if that happens, Fowler has a big decision to make.
Fowler stands alongside Nick O'Hern (67), Ryan Moore (67), Lunde (65) and
Jamie Lovemark (65) in fifth place at minus-12.
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